Avoidant Horse Behavior

 

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 "check-in" to assess if there is a physical brace (rigidity)- or if I can move his head, neck, shoulder, front end, and hindquarters separately. I need to assess if he can separate looking at where I'm directing his focus, before offering movement. When I attempt to do so, if there's a push/lean/drag on the lead, the horse is defensive toward how I'm communicating- which means I have no ability to influence his mind, or affect what is about to happen. I need to recognize what the horse is trying, and address his counteroffers (unasked for responses,) rather than ignoring them and causing them to escalate because I'm fixated on my task or goal."

 

Helping the horse learn to think through scenarios, let go of patterned avoidant responses is crucial to eliminating the "all of a sudden" unwanted behaviors.

 

The human's interpretation of what we see and acknowledge in the horse and his feedback, directly affects the relevance, quality, and the specificity we offer in our communication and equine interactions. This then influences the effectiveness of our ability help the horse think to think, search, and try. These are what create the willing, adaptable, reasonable horse.