Preparing the Horse for Realistic Unknowns

If you have the opportunity to spend time with your horse, there are plenty of ways to learn to notice any unintentionally conditioned behaviors in them.

By learning to assess and put value to addressing both your own and the horse's ability to adapt, you are building a more willing, reasonable and safe equine partner for whomever may have to handle and interact with him in the future.

Below are a list of questions where you  an start your assessment.

When does your horse takes a deep sigh or blows his nose?

When/if he shows signs of concern with excessive movement (pawing, pacing, running the fenceline, etc.,) what was the trigger? Can you help him let it go?

Are there any behaviors where "he always does _____ when I do x,y,z..."

Does it feel like he is overly "helpful" in daily interactions- automatically diving into the halter, automatically turning himself around through the gate, automatically lining up for the mounting block? What happens if you interrupt him in the middle of his movement?

If you always feed in a certain order and you change that, what does your horse do?

Have you ever "interrupted" your horse at feed time, calling him off his feed? What was his response?

I just made a 1,400 mile journey home. Yes, being self sufficient in fuel, feed and water I avoided all contact with other humans. Here are some of what I had to do with the four horses that traveled with me:

Standing at the gate and catching from three different pastures, in a pitch black middle of the night. They each came trotting over when called.

Trailer loading in the dark.

Unloading in the dark at an unfamiliar location.

Blanketing without haltering.

Standing tied to the trailer while other horses moved out of view.

Unloading desert horses and immediately having them learn about snow, how to walk through the foot plus crusty remaining sections, in a spatially narrow, new location.

And in each scenario it was clear that our previous conversations prior to the trip had meant something. To support each horse I had established "tools" to help address their mental availability, let go of a fixation, be curious rather than fearful about something unfamiliar, be able to mentally and physically pause and check in with me, be physically reasonable when trying something new, not be concerned with the other horses, and to process what was asked of them without it becoming emotionally overwhelmed.

So whether it is for every day interaction or future unknown scenarios, why not start the conversation today by putting the time and effort in now to best prepare your horse for any occasion, anywhere, anytime?