Ear plugs can be a great tool for schooling a horse that is spooky or sensitive to sounds, or if the ring is particularly noisy that day. However, putting ear plugs in and taking them out, while not painful, can be a strange sensation for a horse that isn’t used to it.
Jen Bauersachs does a fantastic job of demonstrating the least stressful way of putting ear plugs in and taking them out in this video from Anne Kursinski Riding and Jumping Mentor. The key is to go super slow and stop as soon as the horse gets nervous or resists. And, of course, carrots at the end!
Check out how she does it:
