Horse Behavior - Herd Dynamics

 Herd Dynamics 

In the summer there is a continuous rotation of horses on the farm as equines arrive from all parts of the country. They stay various lengths of time, depending on their individual needs in their re-education and often rehabilitation. 

Supporting the "Purging" horse

This question was posed by a student of mine and I thought it'd be a great way to start the week.

Horse Behavior Tips and Questions

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Horse Transitions- Mental and Physical

 

Most horses I meet fall into two categories:

*Fearful or defensive (tight, rigid, lethargic movement) when moving forward

Or

*Hyper reactive and overreacting with fast, fleeing movement when moving forward

Being Hopeful with Horses

 

Hopefulness. Waiting and Seeing. Reactive Riding. Taking the "try" and willingness out of your horse. What do all of the above have in common? They are a domino effect that occurs in the riding world far too often. Let me explain.

Alternative Horsemanship™ Defensive Horse Behavior Livestream

 Join Alternative Horsemanship™ the Remote Horse Coach on Tuesday, July 15th, at 6pm pdt, for a discussion on how to interrupt default defensive equine behaviors and offering Positive Alternative communication to help the horse let go of unwanted responses in a reasonable manner.

 

Click to register or join the LIVE version.

Click HERE to watch the REPLAY through July. 

 

Why Enjoying the Equine Interactions Matter

 

Many times when I'm teaching a student, if a tense moment arises, I will instruct them to pat their horse.

This is not for the sake of being "touchy-feely," rather for the release that happens within the rider when they touch their horse.

Without realizing it, they will exhale the breath they'd been unintentionally holding.

The rider will inevitably smile; this creates an emotional relaxation, which causes them to drain the tension they had been defensively carrying between their hands, forearm, shoulder blades, neck, lower spine, hamstrings, calves, and all the way through how they are leveraging on their stirrups. This mental shift influences their unintentional continuous gripping/bracing or containment of the horse, with a physical release of their aids.

The softening of the rigidity in the human's muscles is usually immediately mimicked in the horse's behavior and can be seen in his sighing, chewing, dropping his head, rapid blinking, passing manure, and overall deflation in his posture.

The pat, smile, and tension release in the human, allows for them to regroup and decrease the potentially overwhelming moment they experienced with the horse.

This affects the clarity and specificity in which the student can effectively communicate and can support the horse, building his confidence in their guidance.

Defensive Horse Behavior toward Rider Aids Replay

Join Alternative Horsemanship™ the Remote Horse Coach as she discusses in-depth contributors and often overlooked horse behavior and other signs of the equine defensive toward the rider's seat and leg aids. Included is a demo video. Click HERE to watch

Clarity & Intention- Evolving the Equine Partnership

Too many people are unclear in what, where and how they communicate with their horse. They unintentionally "challenge" the horse into guessing what they want. Then they reprimand the horse every time he can't figure it out. Or they present a task using the same manner of communication repetitiously, driving the horse's stress levels up, until he accidentally figures out what the person is asking. The more the horse has to "guess" at what the person wants, the more he will tune out the person's aids or communication and can become dull and unresponsive to the aids or feel like he is "taking over" during the session.

Alternative Horsemanship™ Southern California Clinics 2025-26

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Preparing the Horse for the Unknown

I hate practicing anything in a mindlessly repetitive manner. Irrelevant of the discipline, there are many folks who teach that as long as there is "time in the saddle" it is equivalent to quality training. I find that by "training" this way dulls the interest, awareness, intention and focus in both the horse and human.

Human Mental Distractions & Anticipations Sabotaging the Equine Interactions

Many people get triggered by distractions and mentally go far away from where they are with their horse as they get lost in their "stories" of what ifs, history of previous experiences, or anticipation of what might potentially happen.

July Alternative Horsemanship™ Livestream Schedule

Join Alternative Horsemanship™ the Remote Horse Coach for the two-part July Livestreams discussing defensive horse behavior toward rider aids.

Signs of Defensive Horse Behavior
Tuesday, July 8th, 6pm pdt

Addressing Defensive Horse Behavior
Tuesday, July 15th, 6pm pdt

Register Now