Every day I get many, many messages from horse owners worldwide about animals that are displaying fearful behavior. People reach out with questions ranging from minor concern to extreme scenarios that have become dangerous for the human and equine.
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Showing posts with label fearful horse. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fearful horse. Show all posts
Helping the Spooky or Highly reactive Horse
Spooky and highly reactive horses
Beginning of the week thoughts... Someone was asking about a highly reactive Thoroughbred and how fix his spooking issues, even after he had been at a trainer for two months.
Fearful, Anticipative, Spooking Horse Behavior Help
Dear Sam: Horse Help Horsemanship Series
Fearful, Reactive, Spooking horse behavior
Discussing how many horse training approaches can reinforce the horse's fear. Tips and insights into building trust and try during equine interactions, creating safe and reasonable horse behavior.
Click the link to watch on the Alternative Horsemanship YouTube Channel
Horse Help: Defensive Equine Behavior & Re-Education by Alternative Horsemanship
Preparing the Horse to not Hurt the Farrier
Preparing the Horse How Not to Hurt the Farrier
Two big challenges for many horse owners are trailer loading and having their horse stand well for the farrier.
Two big challenges for many horse owners are trailer loading and having their horse stand well for the farrier.
Helping the Highly Reactive Horse
Dear Sam: Horse Help Horsemanship Series
The Highly Reactive Horse
Alternative Horsemanship the Remote Horse Coach discusses the overlooked contributors in everyday human patterns and interactions that create highly reactive horses and unwanted equine behaviors.
Click the link in the comments to watch on the Alternative Horsemanship YouTube Channel
Fearful and Reactive Horse Behavior
Dear Sam: Horse Help Horsemanship Series
Fearful and Reactive Horse Behavior
Alternative Horsemanship the Remote Horse Coach discusses breaking down and understanding unwanted horse behavior recognizing the equine's feedback and differences between symptoms and root cause(s).
New videos posted on the Alternative Horsemanship YouTube Channel every Friday.
Click the link to watch now. https://youtu.be/_oIaZxvmj4I
Avoiding Triggering the Fearful Horse
Dear Sam: Horse Help Horsemanship Series
Avoiding Triggering the Fearful Horse
Discussing Horse Help and Problems when trying to avoid triggering the Fearful and Distrustful Horse.
Weekly videos posted in the series on the Alternative Horsemanship YouTube Channel.
Horse Trainer Help- Addressing the Horse that Spooks
We may giggle...
But in all seriousness, how did this become the norm?
We've probably experienced our horse spooking at least one or more of the things (and on more than one occasion) in this horse meme.
Defensive & Fearful Horse Behavior
Alternative Horsemanship the Remote Horse Coach discusses recognizing signs of Defensive & Fearful Horse Behavior in response to Horse Training Methods creating distrust.
Helping the Traumatized and Fearful Horse Part 3
Dear Sam: Horse Help Horsemanship Series
Helping the Traumatized & Fearful Horse
Part 3
Horse trainer Thoughts & Perspective on the contributing Horse Training practices that create Traumatized and Fearful Horse leading to increasingly dangerous and unwanted equine behaviors.
Watch by clicking the link in the comments.
Subscribe to the Alternative Horsemanship YouTube Channel for weekly videos posted every Friday.
Helping the Traumatized & Fearful Horse
Part 3
Horse trainer Thoughts & Perspective on the contributing Horse Training practices that create Traumatized and Fearful Horse leading to increasingly dangerous and unwanted equine behaviors.
Watch by clicking the link in the comments.
Subscribe to the Alternative Horsemanship YouTube Channel for weekly videos posted every Friday.
Prioritizing Addressing the "Scary" Horse
Dear Sam: Horse Help -Spooky Horses
*Spooky Horses
Alternative Horsemanship with Samantha Harvey the Remote Horse Coach addresses why reacting after the fact or attempting to contain unwanted and dangerous horse behavior does not solve the long-term issues of the horse's insecurity and fear.
New EPISODES every Friday Subscribe to the Alternative Horsemanship YouTube channel to not miss any.
Help- My horse suddenly stops moving forward!
The theme of the past few days has been new folks asking for help with horses that are going "fine" and then the horse "randomly" or suddenly stops, or quits, moving forward.
Horse Problems- Tacking up Assessment
Most people never consider how the horse responds to just the sight of tack or notice if there are Quality Conversations while doing so.
Each part of the interaction influences the mental reasonableness and physical softness that follows.
While the norm (often out of convenience) is to tie the horse while tacking, the degree of bother or concern a horse may have while doing so frequently is suppressed.
I suggest practicing tacking the horse without tying him. The goal is not about getting tacked up.
It is an Opportunity to notice how your horse feels about standing while you are moving around him.
Young Horse Education- Mental Availability vs Physical Obedience
"Just" a horse standing in front of an open gate...
When I met this two-year-old Andalusian he was bolting off, kicking, biting, and striking when led by his owner.
His answer to everything was to get big, flamboyant, and have his legs go in four different directions at the same time.
He was literally trying to climb out of the round pen the first few times I did sessions with him.
He saw no value in the human and was very defensive towards them, trying to avoid them at all costs.
When I met this two-year-old Andalusian he was bolting off, kicking, biting, and striking when led by his owner.
His answer to everything was to get big, flamboyant, and have his legs go in four different directions at the same time.
He was literally trying to climb out of the round pen the first few times I did sessions with him.
He saw no value in the human and was very defensive towards them, trying to avoid them at all costs.
Deconstructing The Horse's Spook * Dear Sam: Horse Help Horsemanship Series
Deconstructing The Horse's Spook
Dear Sam: Horse Help Horsemanship Series
Addressing the Human Consideration, Quality of Communication, and how the Horse's Mental and Emotional state influences his Physical behaviors.
Subscribe to the Alternative Horsemanship YouTube Channel for more horse learning
Things Horses Spook At... and why the dramatic response
Alternative Horsemanship the Remote Horse Coach shares common encounters or scenarios that cause many horses to spook.
Rather than seeing the dramatic response from the horse a the issue, it is often reflecting the degree of the equine's mental and emotional containment.
Subscribe for the upcoming Dear Sam: Horse Help Episode addressing this "issue" in depth.
Dangerous, Dramatic, Reactive, Anticipative, Fearful Horses
It isn't Convenient
Resistant to being caught
Constantly pulling when led
Pulls back or gets stressed when tied
Always moving away when trying to tack up
Steps away when trying to mount
Walks off as soon as the rider is in the saddle
Is drifting, bracing, or anticipative when ridden
Takes "awhile" to load into the trailer
Might explode out during the trailer unloading
Is "buddy" or barn "sour"
Has the same "issue" with the same scary spot repeatedly
Offers dramatic behaviors when something unexpected arises
Paws, paces, cribs, weaves, wall kicks, bites while in his enclosure
Is aggressive towards other horses or at feed time
Etc., etc., etc.
Every single unwanted unfortunately common horse behavior above, is a symptom.
Most people try to band-aid the symptom by adding more pressure to the already fearful and defensive equine.
Then one unwanted behavior morphs into another because the root cause was never addressed.
The horse that is left living in a state of constant fear and anticipation because they are defensive toward human interaction leads to mental and physical trauma.
It isn't a matter of "if" they explode, get hurt, or injure the human, but when.
Please stop ignoring the subtle, reasonable behaviors the horse conveys reflecting his fear and defensiveness.
Please start prioritizing slowing down, breaking down the communication to offer short, specific, clear, supportive, and non-critical information that has meaning to the horse.
The horse is not trying to wreck your day, annoy you, psych you out, etc.
The only thing he is trying to do is find a safe space. If every time you show up you bring chaos, distraction, hurried behaviors, anticipation, and unclear communication, what are you teaching him?
To get the Change in the horse, first we must start with the Human.
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