The first issue that become apparent at her new home, was
how pushy she was towards the other horses in the herd. She wasn’t aggressive, but she always maneuvered
herself to be in the “middle” of whatever was going on. The next “surprise” was the extent of her
herd bound-ness; when she first came to my facility she literally attempted to
climb through my fencing to get to other horses that had been trailered onto the
property for lessons. She didn’t even know the other horses and yet felt she had to be near
them. Even after several days,
irrelevant of which horses were coming and going, she literally could not stand
still.
She was initially sent to me just for “fine tuning,” but it
became apparent within a few minutes, she had no concept of following,
softening or yielding to pressure, she had no concept of looking and moving at
the same time. It was also clear that although a gorgeous mover in a straight line, her physical
coordination was so far off that she literally couldn’t trot and turn at the
same time. She was incredibly insecure about all human contact and although she’d
let you catch her, it felt as if she were counting down the minutes until you
would let her go. She wasn’t mean, didn’t
act overly dramatic, but could not let down her internal agitation. She would hold her breath so strongly when
you’d get near her, that if you asked her to turn her head, take a step back or
draw her forward, she’d literally grunt.
The problem is horses like this are very common. She’d do whatever you asked of her. Even if it was new, she’d figure out within a
few tries and seemed to comply. She wouldn’t
cause issues or fear in her rider. She
was an easy keeper. And she was pretty, very pretty. The problem is she’s the most dangerous kind
of horse there is. Not today, nor
tomorrow or perhaps six months from now, but at some point, the level of stress
she is stuffing internally is going to come to a peak.
It isn’t a matter of “if” but rather “when” she can no
longer handle what people have been asking of her. Because she seems “mild” in
her current forms of resistance, which is based on her insecurity, worry and
lack of confidence, she is the type of horse that will be unintentionally
pushed, and pushed and pushed until the day something is asked that is overwhelming
and is the catalyst that triggers all of her emotions to come to a head and her
to physically act out dangerously.
Most humans don’t believe or want to consider what the horse
is offering unless that horse creates enough dramatic and dangerous behaviors
that the human can no longer ignore the horse’s mental and emotional state. But
often, until then, the horse is never considered by the human. It is usually the person’s riding goals or
desires where the focus is directed, irrelevant of if the horse is ready or
able to be a complimentary partner for those particular goals.
Below is a video of us at a halt on day two. If you watch her “backwards” thinking while
standing, and her constant swinging of her head attempting to look back at me
as we stand, there is no forward or intentional thought. Her ears are at a rear angle, thinking about what is behind her rather than what is in front. Thinking about what is behind them, is a way
for a horse to avoid addressing what is ahead of them. This behavior is common in insecure, barn
sour, herd bound horses. Watch how hard and fast she is breathing. We had only taken a few steps and halted; the shallow breaths are a reflection of the tension in her ribcage from anticipation.
Even within the first two sessions, which I started on the
ground and at liberty with this horse, there were some huge changes. Just for her to blow her nose the eight or
nine times in a row, lick her lips and drop her head while I was in her proximity,
was a big change. Although initially
resistant and a bit mentally checked out, she started to realize I was there to
help her, and clarify the “chaos” humans had thus far presented her with.
With each tool I established, I then had a way to clearly communicate what worked and what didn't; this allowed her to soon be able to let go of
her initial defensiveness. This led to her learning how to soften to pressure, follow mentally or
physically, look before moving, think towards wherever I directed her brain,
and remain emotionally relaxed throughout our sessions… The blowing and licking
and chewing that came out, was years of pent up frustration finally being "let go" of. The clearest evidence of a lasting change was not actually when I was with or on her, but rather when she was left in the pasture alone and the other horses left. There she stood, foot caulked, head dropped and eyes half closed.
The following are some of the more common reasons I’ve
encountered in what can contribute to “broke” horses becoming dangerous:
Most folks often don’t see the dramatic issues in their
horses because they don’t ask the “right” (or wrong) questions; they unintentionally
create routines and patternized behaviors in how they interact with their horses, leading to the illusion that the horse is behaving. Which he does, until the day the person attempts to change the pattern, and then they get a fire breathing dragon.
People tend to not recognize, nor do they understand and therefor tend to misinterpret what the horse is
communicating, and so many patterns and behaviors of quiet resistance are created unintentionally.
Most people don’t realize without boundaries and definitive
leadership towards their horse, the animal is going to feel the need to “take over” in the decision
making process. Which may be fine as long as the horse comes up with what you want, but what happens on the day he comes up with something you don't want? Can you influence a change in his brain during a moment of chaos, stress or unexpected events?
Most people don’t have any concept of what standard they can
hold for both themselves and their horse.
So the next time you encounter that “quiet” or “bombproof”
horse, perhaps watch the horse with a new perspective. You’ll probably be
surprised to see that the horse may not be as settled and “relaxed” or
reliable as you once thought; typically the "calm" demeanor is really a reflection of being mentally and emotionally shut down, rather than warm and fuzzy.
