Pixie and the evil horse eating paddleboat--advice needed

[BlueEyedSorrel]

Pixie has an arch-nemesis....The Evil Horse-Eating Paddleboat. Her pasture faces a large pond, which is stocked with fish, a canoe and a paddleboat for the entertainment of the non-horsey husbands and children of boarders. If the paddleboat is not in use, just left laying upside down on the bank of the pond, she doesn't give it a so much as a glance. When the kids start using the paddleboat, it's a whole other story, because OMG, it's evil, it makes a weird splashing noise, moves on water and eats horses. Pixie gets all bug eyed:eek:, puffs up, snorts, runs back and forth on the fenceline when the boat is on "her side" of the pond and stands at attention, staring at it, when it's on the far side. Of course, being that the pond is a giant circle, the kids will paddle back to Pixie's side eventually and the cycle starts again:rolleyes:. When the boat starts heading towards her, she'll run clear to the other side of her pasture. This goes on as long as the the paddleboat is out....over an hour at times. Then she's dripping in sweat... Forget trying to catch her, let alone lead her when the paddleboat is around. It's like her brain just totally leaves the building. I don't think she's being stubborn or disobedient--she's genuinely scared of the thing.

Strangely, Pixie is not generally spooky. She's looky but more curious than anything else. The noisy farm tractors get no reaction. Neither do the barn dogs & kids running around, or the noise from the local 4th of July fireworks display. She's not bothered at all by the sorts of things that other horses spook at, like the mounting block being in a different spot. If she does spook, it's a stop&snort spook, not a whirl&run, and she's normally over it within 30 seconds. Last summer, the paddleboat didn't get any reaction, so I'm not sure where this is coming from. It's out of character for sure.

What can I do? I had hoped that after seeing The Evil Paddleboat in use all summer long, at least once a week if not more, that Pixie would habituate and realize it's not going to eat her. But from what I can tell and what the barn workers tell me, every time it's the same show. I can't very well tell people not to use the boat just because my silly mare loses her head whenever she sees it moving. I worry that she's going to hurt herself with these shenanigans, and since she's a bit of a hard keeper, the running around when she should be grazing doesn't help either.

I'm planning to ask my trainer for help with desensitizing her to the Evil Horse-eating Paddleboat. I'm figuring that one person (me, or one of the barn kids if they're inclined to help) will have to paddle the boat back and forth while the trainer handles Pixie. In the meantime, has anyone ever dealt with a fear like this?
BES

[Drive NJ]

Any way to safely let her look at the 'dead' paddleboat as it lies on the beach, then to find out it supplies treats?

Once that's established, is she able to allow it to float away from her along the shore so she can 'chase it' away from her, then maybe coming back and providing more treats

Then maybe it will be OK for it to come to her and provide treats. Finally, if the kids will once in a while provide treats (or skritches or whatever) she may decide it isn't so evil. Dunno if this will work with paddleboats, but it does help with carriages.

[KonaPony]

Cows. My horse knows they have fangs.

Some cows moved in to our old boarding facility, and she was Not Pleased. Every time we had to pass them, or they would pass her stall, she'd go nuts. What it came down to was desensitizing - lots of exposure, while giving her something else to think about. We ground drove her or led her past them every day, always giving her something that she needed to be doing while she was near them, even if it was just to continue walking steadily (so fewer brain cells were available for worrying about cows). If she ignored us and went nuts, she had to work much harder. If she was good, she got lots of praise and treats. When the cows went out for a walk, she went for a walk with them. Eventually, she only got silly if she didn't have something else to think about, and then she finally figured out that if she just walked quietly past the cows, she got to eat a lot of her favorite goodies without doing any work (also right near the cows). Then cows weren't so bad anymore. Obviously it helps if your horse is a greed-head and would do anything for a cookie :D

[Luckydonkey]

I agree- she needs to see the paddleboat as a treat machine.Every day. :D

[BlueEyedSorrel]

The funny thing is the "dead paddleboat" laying on the ground by the pond is NOT scary. She'll walk right by it without even noticing. The silly "It's gonna eat me!" stuff only starts when the boat comes to life and starts paddling around the lake. So maybe that's what's so scary--it's coming back from the dead like Frankenstein. :confused: I don't even try to fathom what's going on in her little pea brain anymore....:sigh:

Fortunately, Pixie is both very food motivated and a little on the lazy side, once her QH heritage wins out over the TB in her. I suspect that given the choice of lunging in sight of the "live paddleboat" or standing quietly and eating treats while the paddleboat paddles by, she would settle down....eventually. And if the paddleboat dispenses treats with every pass near her field, so much the better. Since this seems to be a 2 person job, it will just take some coordination with me, my trainer and maybe the BO's kids, who use the boat enough anyway, as helpers.

BES

[Luckydonkey]

Here is what I would do then- I would set the boat free to float around the pond for a few days...Then when she starts to get used to that- I would ad "moving objects to it" such as a few balloons tied to the seat- so they move a bit.... Then after a few days- I would make a point to get the boat and paddle it around a bit, and get out and give her a treat- then get back in and paddle a bit more, get out and give her treats... I have been spook proofing my big draft chicken (I have poultry that is less chicken than him)and he has learned that scary things generally equal treats...big flappy tarp? no biggie- if we stand on it,mom feeds us!