GET OVER FEAR OF UPSETTING YOUR HORSE: Horses Need Us to Challenge Them

Jennifer Kutch messaged me through Facebook to tell me that reading my book helped her solve many problems with her horse, Mack.  But she still struggled with a bolting issue and wanted to know if she could call and discuss it with me.  “Absolutely,” I replied!  (I’m thrilled when readers contact me!)  When we talked on the phone later on, I learned that Jennifer would have four or five good rides in a row, and then suddenly Mack would spook at something (anything, nothing) and go bolting off.  She wanted to solve the issue for once and for all.  I don’t blame her.

During the course of our conversation, I asked Jennifer lots of questions.  One of them happened to be, “Do you feel comfortable disciplining your horse when you’re in the saddle?”  Her answer revealed an important clue.

“No, I really don’t,” she said.  “When I first bought Mack, his previous owner told me that she found she could only push him so far without upsetting him.  That thought has been stuck in my mind since day one, so I’ve always gone a little bit easy on him.”

All horses get upset when we start pushing them outside their comfort zones.  They throw fits. They have a right to.  They are prey animals.  Comfort zones to them are literally a matter of life and death.  But it is only by calmly, steadily, fairly pushing horses beyond their comfort zones that we actually become their comfort zones. 

Horses’ fits can be intimidating, but to become good leaders we have to learn how to deal with them calmly.  Horses can’t help the fact that they are a lot bigger than us and can easily hurt us.  We just have to be aware of that and be smart about a) pushing our horses past throwing fits about stuff while we are standing on the ground; b) keeping their bodies away from ours so they can’t possibly hurt us; and c) trying our best not to push horses so far that they panic and hurt themselves.

Here’s an example: Suppose I try to lunge a horse over a little jump but the horse stops right in front of it, turns to me and rears up instead.  I’ve clearly pushed the horse far enough to upset him. That’s okay. What’s not okay is for me to allow his rearing to scare me.  Even if it does, I’m going to pretend like it doesn’t for the horse’s sake.  (Horses can’t stand it when their behavior freaks us out.)  Once the horse settled down, I would resume lunging and pretty quickly try to send him over the jump again. He’ll be much more likely to jump it this time (here’s the important part) because I didn't allow his fit to intimidate me.

 

Bomb-proofing exercises help Jennifer
build Mack's trust in her leadership.

Now if the horse happens to rear a second time, I would help him out by breaking the exercise down into smaller pieces.  I would walk with him over the jump a few times, and then send him out on the lunge to walk over it alone before bringing him back up to a trot.  I wouldn’t let the fact that he threw a fit about it at first prevent me from pushing the horse outside his comfort zone… but nor would I hesitate to make it easy for him to go there without throwing a fit.

Jennifer is on her way to becoming a great leader, but Mack knows she is still a bit intimidated by him.  After dealing with enough of his challenges, the time has come for Jennifer to get confident challenging Mack without fear of upsetting him.  I suggested she start by asking a friend to help her create bomb-proofing sessions that push Mack outside his comfort zone.  By working with her horse amidst all kinds of distractions that might upset him, she will give herself ample opportunity to become the calm, stabilizing factor that can prevent him from bolting anytime, anywhere.   

CARPE DIEM AND HORSEFLIES: Recognize Teaching Moments and Embrace Them!

Just recently I took into training a small but gifted young horse. Because of his size, his owner would like to see him eventually leased to a 4-H’er or some other young rider.  He’s pretty spooky right now so I take him through one or two bomb-proofing exercises each time I work with him.  One of our sessions was on a very hot day, so I cooled him down with the hose afterward. Right about the time I was finishing up, a giant horsefly came zipping in. The horse started bucking like mad. “Oh no,” my client yelled. “Quick, get him into the barn!”

“What," I asked? "And waste this perfect opportunity?” I had to smile, though, because I knew where she was coming from.  It is human nature to want to shelter horses from things that upset them.  We think we’re being compassionate… doing them a favor. But we’re really not. Teaching moments don’t come when horses are standing around behaving calmly. They come when horses are freaking out about stuff. We must embrace those moments because they are our opportunities to help our horses grow emotionally, and to help ourselves develop better horse-handling skills.

I did not run the horse back into the barn. I reprimanded his bucking and got it under control.  I knew the horsefly was not going to kill him, so I got him to stand still long enough for me to kill the fly. The poor little guy was shaking like a leaf, but that’s okay. The next time a horsefly comes around we will do it all over again, and he will shake less.  Soon this young horse will be mentally mature enough to behave calmly when horseflies are near… at which point he will be much safer for a young rider to handle.

Growth for both you and your horse comes from facing challenges… not trying to avoid them.  Horses don’t want to go through life afraid of stuff.  So when your horse starts freaking out about something, don’t let it freak you out.  SEIZE THE OPPORTUNITY to help your horse become more confident in his surroundings, in himself, and in you.