SCARED OF YOUR NEW HORSE?

You buy what seems like a perfectly nice horse, but shortly after bringing it home it begins acting spooky, pushy, anxious and aggressive. What's the deal, you wonder, as you begin feeling afraid of your new horse. Were you duped by a less-than-truthful trainer? Was the horse drugged when you went to try it out? Were the folks who sold it to you flat-out lying about the horse's mellow nature? The answer to those questions is probably not. 

Perhaps there are some unscrupulous horse sellers in the world, but from what I can tell, they are far outnumbered by good people seeking good homes for good horses for a variety of reasons. For example:

• riders go off to college and can't afford to take their horses with them;
• they switch disciplines and have to sell in order to buy horses suited to the new disciplines;
• they have come upon hard times financially;
• they can no longer ride due to health problems;
• they simply lose interest in riding; or
• they are trainers who train and sell horses in their everyday course of business.

I'm writing this article on behalf of two young riders who sold their horses because their riding skills outgrew their horses' capabilities. The sales were made through their trainers' assistance. 

Since I personally know the girls, the trainers, and the horses, I know first-hand that both animals were very well-trained and the girls enjoyed riding them safely for years. I witnessed it with my own eyes. The buyers, both adult women, were seasoned riders who had owned horses previously. By all rights, the sales should have gone smoothly, but they didn't.

Within weeks, both buyers were frightened of their new horses, questioning the trainers' ethics, and asking for their money back. One of the buyers, apparently terrified, felt her only option was to put the horse down if a buy-back couldn't be arranged. What should have been win-win situations for all turned into really awful ordeals.

Now, if you are feeling for the buyers because you too are frightened of your new horse, I totally understand. But I'm guessing you never would have bought your new horse if you hadn't seen some proof of its training...with your own eyes...whether on video or in person. Considering this, surely some part of you is thinking there's a chance your issues have nothing to do with the horse. I'm betting there is a 99.99999 percent chance of it. 

It doesn't matter how long you've been riding or how many horses you've owned in the past, if you can't get this horse to behave calmly, chances are you're missing a part of your education... and you're not alone. It is incredibly common for people to learn all kinds of things about riding horses, yet little to nothing about how to keep well-trained horses behaving like well-trained horses. 

Even if you took a bunch of riding lessons, chances are you never received a fundamental leadership education. An unfortunate truth about the riding lesson industry is that most students don't, and that needs to change. I wrote The ALPHA Equestrian Challenge to help facilitate change because far too many riders wind up fearing good horses.

If you're wondering how to get your new horse to behave like the well-trained horse it is supposed to be, this book is for you. Please, before giving up on this horse... before badmouthing the trainer or the former owner... before inciting a distraught teenager to start a GoFundMe campaign to save a beloved first horse from death... I urge you to buy this book and take the The ALPHA Equestrian Challenge for yourself.

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" I am a huge supporter of your book.  I had been thinking about selling my horse due to her behavior and my fear.  Got to the point where I would have severe anxiety whenever I thought about riding.  Saw an ad for your book on Facebook and thought, "What do I have to lose?"  and purchased it.  I have been working with her and the steps for a little over a week and the change in myself and her is amazing.  Thank you."

-Shannon Guinan

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HANDLING HORSES ON STALL-REST: Tips for Keeping it Calm

When extended stall rest is prescribed to help a horse recover from injury, eventually there comes a day when the horse must come out of its stall and get moving again....usually for short periods of limited exercise. This often turns into a time of high anxiety for horse owners. They want their horses to behave calmly so they don't re-injure themselves, but the horses have a bunch of pent-up energy and are itching to blow off steam.

A friend of mine is currently in this stressful predicament. On vet's orders, she is supposed to walk her horse and have him do a few two-minute sessions of trot each day. The walking part goes smoothly, but the horse starts bucking and rearing whenever she asks for trot. Here are some tips I shared with her.

Hedge your bets beforehand by keeping your horse's mind and body as active as possible the entire time he's on stall rest. Spend lots of time grooming him. Move him to a stall that allows him to see the activity going on in the barn. Spend time teaching him something, like various stretches or an easy trick. Perhaps get him a toy and teach him how to play with it.

Provide as much company for your horse as possible. Rotate other horses into an adjoining stall. Clean your tack next to his stall, or pull up a chair and read a book.

Don't give up asking for mannerly behavior from your horse during this time. I can't stress that enough because it happens a lot when folks start feeling sorry for horses. Bear in mind that your horse needs your attention, care and guidance, not your pity. By all means, correct his behavior if he starts crowding your space, nipping at you, etc.

Make a conscious effort to chill out about the idea of your horse re-injuring himself if he blows up. Sure, there's a chance of it happening, but there's also a chance of it not happening. There is a chance he can blow up like crazy and be just fine. Think about that and give up worrying. It creates nervous energy in you, which is completely unhelpful. Besides, if worse comes to worse and your horse does wind up hurting himself, you are perfectly capable of handling the situation at that time...at that moment in the future.  The best you can offer your horse in this moment is as much calm, confident energy as you can muster.

Choose ahead of time to face any blow-ups with an "oh well" attitude.  You can do your very best to keep your horse calm, but understand that's ALL you can do. Come to terms with that, and make an agreement with yourself that if your horse happens to lose his sh**, you won't lose yours.

Insist on mannerly behavior exiting the stall. If your horse starts to fire up just because you put his halter on, take it off and put it on again a few times, and then just stand there until he relaxes. When you begin leading your horse out of the stall, correct him if he tries to push past you. If he does manage to push past you, take him back into the stall and start over.

Once you get going, insist that your horse walk 3 or 4 feet behind you.  I've found this to be one of the easiest ways to settle an excited horse. Use your body language and flicks of the lead rope to keep him back, and be as assertive as necessary. Ask nothing else of your horse until he relaxes into this, has lowered his head, and is consistently maintaining a respectful distance behind you. Only then should you move on to the next step.

Do as much as your vet allows to engage your horse's mind and body at the walk. Shoulder-fore, shoulder-in, leg yield, counter-flexion through the corners, whoa to walk transitions, and stepping over ground poles are just a few examples of the things you can ask for at the walk. All of them require the horse to focus and use more energy than simply walking around...thus, they help dissipate excess, excited energy.

We put this theory to test with my friends horse and it proved helpful, although he still presented a couple of little bucks and a rear when asked to trot. While not perfect, it was a huge improvement over the bucking and rearing she'd been dealing with...and that's a good start.

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"Just got your book and I can't put it down! Packed with knowledge and instruction, can't wait to pass on the gold!"

-Katie Keller Trosclair

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