Are you teaching your horse to Quit?

 Are you teaching your horse to Quit?

Nothing is random when a horse does it. You may not know why the horse did it, but very rarely was it not intentional... 

Including all those times he "accidentally" rubbed your leg on the fence, put you under a low branch while riding, takes just one step away with his hindquarters from the mounting block as soon as you put your foot in the stirrup, or when he walks super slow leaving home and rushes on the return trip, etc.

Each time you see something unwanted in your horse's physical behavior, pause and remind yourself that the horse's body is a reflection of his brain and emotions.

Instead of categorizing the resistance as the issue, you need to play detective as to what contributor(s) have been influencing the horse's mental and emotional state to where based on what he's experienced in the past- i.e. been "taught" by the human experience, his only "option" is to avoid participating. 

The resistance in the horse typically occurs as a result of him having had previously "asked" for support in past scenarios and having been "answered" by the human driving/pressuring/forcing compliance.

This reconfirmed to the horse that human input magnified his fear or concern. 

Yet, often the initial human response appeared to have "worked," until the day it didn't. "All of a sudden" the previously contained mental and emotional fear in the equine comes pouring out in dramatic physical behaviors.

The human thought they were fixing the horse's problem by addressing his movement, and the horse appeared to quit offering unwanted behaviors. In reality, his original defensiveness either evolved into another form of unwanted action or was temporarily contained. But the root source(s) was never addressed by the human. 

So the person neither improved the horse's trust nor supported him through his concern. When this cycle happens enough times, many horses are "taught" quitting is the best option.

So how do you fix this? I always suggest play detective. Folks need to mentally review past activities or scenarios they had asked of the horse prior to the moment of "final resistance." I don't mean on the day of the horse quitting, but in the weeks prior to the "new" unwanted or resistant behavior(s).

When/where were any INITIAL signs of the horse's displaying insecurity, distracted or unsure?

Did the horse start looking away (literally) to avoid the area you were leading/riding him into?

Was there a time where the horse was fixated on an object/buddy horse and not focused on where he was actually being asked to move?

Did he attempt to speed up and rush through an area or task and you felt like 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 reasonable ways to communicate he is unsure or needs more support.

To save you and the horse a lot of unnecessary stress, start to believe him from the moment he begins to exhibit concern. 

Practice checking in to assess his mental availability and directability while things still are emotionally quiet.

Assess what "tools" and skillsets you have to help redirect the horse's thought and to help him to drain his physical tension. When the fear or concern is diminished it is replaced with curiosity, which changes everything in how the equine experiences the unknown. He will offer reasonable behaviors, even in unfamiliar situations.

Practice refining the Conversation between you and your horse.

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.

Start to prioritize searching how much support does it take to help the horse mentally to "let go" of his concern. His ability to "hear" you will rapidly diminish if his proverbial cup of mental concern is continuously filling every time you interact.

It isn't about getting the horse to physically comply, through/past one imaginary boundary or location, it is about refining the Quality of every Conversation between you and the horse. EVERY interaction either contributes positively to building a trusting partnership or one that drives the animal into a stressful state and starts to deteriorate his try and hinders his willingness to participate.

📸 Private collection of Siksikaitsitapi artifacts here in UY