Sometimes, the best way to beat these fears is to kind of solve it backwards to start with. First, figure out exactly what she does when she sees poultry, like side-step, stop, half rear etc so you know what to expect. Then, just lead her around the school or field by yourself with nobody or anything else there apart from you and her. Practice getting her to halt, walk and trot quietly and obediently with you, and only settle for perfection otherwise the later steps may not work, so it may take a couple of sessions with her. Praise her loads when she does it right.
Next, put an object, such as a bike or chair, in the school/field that she has never seen before. She will be nervous at first, but pretend that you haven't even realised that the object is there. Just practice everything you did before, and she will eventually calm down. Once she's settled with this object, try another the next day, not on the same day as you might overload her and make her stressed. You will notice that each day it takes her less time to fret about the object, and soon she'll hopefully only glance at it and move on.
Once you're satisfied with that, you might want to try having an object that moves or makes sound. You could use a radio, or if not another smaller animal or a person. Hopefully she'll be much more confident now so this might not make much difference, but some horses can freak at sound and movement so it's best to try anyway.
Then she should be ready for the big one. Very gently and calmly, lead her through just a few poultry. Once she's done it, make a huge fuss of her and maybe even give her a treat. Tell her she's a good girl, horses respond a lot to vocal sounds and then she'll know that she's doing good. You could then try leading her back through the poultry, even making her stop in the midst of them, but don't overdo it too much in one day.
Hopefully she'll then be ready to walk through any number of poultry and anything else scary with confidence. Remember PPR for this kind of thing: Patience, Praise, Result.
Edit- just thought of another method if the above is too time consuming![]()
I'm guessing that Dreamer is young and unbroken? From your siggie, she looks quite young. Young horses are nervous and spook a lot more than adult horses. This is because horses are naturally herd animals, and young horses are very used to a mothering figure in their lives. Young horses can find it very difficult to adapt to being the only horse around, and therefore are very wary of their surroundings, as there is no other horse to keep guard in case a 'predator' comes. Young domesticated horses have no real picture of this 'predator' inside their minds, but instinct tells them that it's something that moves or makes noise suddenly, so they must get away fast! In time, a horse will learn that these things to don't hurt them, but it can take a while for that to happen naturally.
I would try taking her for walks with your donkey. She will recognise him as a 'horse' figure and will therefore be a little more calm. When you walk through the poultry, Dreamer will realise that they are not bothering Jack, and will learn that chickens are not to be feared. I still think that the first method would be a better way to tutor her, but it is time consuming and if you don't have that time then this is a second option![]()
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