How do you desensitize the belly and under-tail area during imprinting?

The belly and under-tail area are among the most sensitive regions of the horse's body and among those most frequently associated with reactive behavior — kicking during belly touching, resistance to grooming under the tail, and difficulty with reproductive examinations, enemas in foals, or rectal examinations in adults all commonly trace to insufficient desensitization of these areas during the imprinting window. Thorough work on these areas during imprinting produces a horse that accepts contact here with the same calm familiarity as any other part of the body. Begin belly desensitization by rubbing firmly along the underside of the belly from the girth area rearward to the sheath or udder region. The belly is heavily innervated and the horse's protective reaction to belly contact is strong in horses that have not been desensitized — kicking out, tightening the belly muscles, and attempting to roll away are all common defensive responses to unexpected belly touching in adult horses. A foal that has had the belly firmly rubbed during imprinting has established a baseline tolerance that significantly reduces these reactions. Work the sheath area in colts or the udder area in fillies, establishing acceptance of contact in the regions that will require cleaning and veterinary attention throughout the horse's life. Sheath cleaning is a necessary routine procedure for male horses that many geldings and stallions resist dramatically; early desensitization of this area during imprinting produces horses that accept the procedure with significantly less resistance. The under-tail area requires specific attention. The handler should lift the tail gently and run fingers under the tail and around the dock, desensitizing the perineal area that will be examined during breeding soundness evaluations in mares and that is approached during rectal examinations in both sexes. A foal that has had this area touched firmly and repeatedly during imprinting is a horse that does not clamp the tail defensively when approached from behind, that accepts tail braiding and grooming without resistance, and that is easier and safer to manage during reproductive and veterinary examinations throughout its life. The under-tail area desensitization should also include inserting a finger gently into the rectum to simulate the veterinary rectal examination — a specific desensitization that is advocated by Dr. Robert Miller and other imprinting proponents as preparation for one of the most important and most frequently resisted veterinary procedures in equine medicine. A foal that has experienced this during the imprinting window accepts it as a familiar contact rather than an alarming invasion.