The theme of the past few days has been new folks asking for help with horses that are going "fine" and then the horse "randomly" or suddenly stops, or quits, moving forward.
First, nothing is random when a horse does it. You may not know why the horse did it, but it was not an accident... Including all those times he "accidentally" rubbed your leg on the fence or put you under a low branch while riding.
Second, the body is a reflection of the horse's brain and emotions.
So is the real problem the horse is not moving forward? No.
That is the result of his asking for support that was ignored and "answered" with a "driving" him into doing something. Which may have appeared to have "worked" until it didn't.
The question should be, what was all the activities or scenarios asked of the horse prior to the moment of "final resistance"?
When/where were the INITIAL signs of insecurity, resistance, or him being unsure?
So take a few minutes and play detective:
Did the horse start looking away (literally) to avoid the area you were leading/riding him into?
Was there a time when the horse was fixated on an object/buddy horse and not focused on where he was being asked to move?
Did he attempt to speed up and rush through an area or task and feel you had to contain him?
Did his movement start to drift or leak as you approached an area he was unsure of? If you were able to pass through an area of potential bother, did it feel like he was rushing or "fleeing" afterward?
The horse only has so many ways to communicate he is unsure or needs more support.
Unfortunately, because humans tend to be task fixated they tend to push a horse through something thinking if the horse does it once, he'll be okay the next time. And sometimes it appears that way. Until the day the horse "suddenly" quits wanting to move forward.
So to save you and your horse a lot of unnecessary stress, start to believe him from the moment he begins to show concern. Start to focus on what "tools" and skill set you have to help redirect his thought, drain his tension, soften his body and create a curiosity versus a defensiveness in him when you present new or unfamiliar scenarios.
Prioritize being able to influence and re-direct his thought WITHOUT it feeling like a fight. If you can't do that from the start, before you present a potentially stressful scenario, you're setting yourself up to be "at the mercy" of the horse.
It isn't about getting the horse through/past one imaginary boundary or location, it is about the quality of every conversation between you and the horse that either contributes positively to building a quality partnership or starts to deteriorate it.
Do you value the horse's feedback? Do you see the horse's behavior as insight into what may have been missed in his education? Do you prioritize addressing the horse's communication in a manner that has value to him, without triggering his fear?
Horse Training Tips
Teaching the Horse to Learn how to learn, think, search, and try while building his confidence, willingness, and adaptability.
Full video on the Alternative Horsemanship YouTube Channel
#alternativehorsemanship #horses #horsetraining #horsebehavior
Equine Emergencies & Horse Evacuations
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Emergency Evacuation YouTube Video 1
https://youtu.be/52RflMZoP4w
Emergency Evacuation YouTube Video 2
https://youtu.be/jRCmOTq9mto
Equine enthusiasts are often focused on task accomplishment without having a foundational understanding of how the quality and timing of their communication affect the horse's future willingness, adaptability, and try.
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Is your communication relevant?
Saturday, November 2nd 9am
Real-time Communication
Saturday, November 9th
Recognizing and Addressing Avoidance
If I asked what is the horse in the picture doing? Most people would say, "Standing there."
Their answer would be looking at the horse's physical lack of hoof movement.
But what if we look at the direction of his eyes, the tightness of his ears, the locked up posture of his knees, the bulge in his rib cage, blocking with his left front shoulder... He is obediently standing there, but nothing about him in this moment reflects mental presence, available, or physically softness.
How would the information from the assessment affect what you address or ask of him next?
Your evaluation would "tell" you that instead of saying "yeah he accomplished the task, let's move one," you perhaps say, "Wait a minute. I need to help him mentally participate in what we're doing, rather than physically tolerating it. I need to first engage his brain to focus on what we are doing, rather than physically standing but without an availability to my communication. I need to ...
This describes a horse who is mentality unavailable to hear the human; frequently referred to as one that is "shut down, dull, dead sided, lazy, heavy or leaning on the bit, bombproof, kid proof, husband proof, etc. Orrrrrrr one that is, "always mentally anticipative and physically chaotic."
The misnomers come from a person's misinterpretation of the outwardly slow, still, and "quiet" behavior, thinking this is a reflection of the horse being okay with life.
The overly lethargic movement, postures and responses can actually be a build of emotions brewing inside that have been contained; until the day the human unintentionally presents something unexpected, and then the horse "suddenly" gets dramatic in letting out those pent up emotions and stress.
The contained horse will offer "quiet responses" to evade confrontation and to avoid conflict or reprimand. These are often displayed physically as:
Tucking the chin towards the chest to create slack in the rein, or evade the pressure of the lead rope, rein, ...