Developing a Quality Relationship with the Horse

Every week I receive 20-30 "Ask the Trainer requests"... From unwanted trail behavior/lack of manners to groundwork issues to equipment suggestions to feeding options, etc. from around the world. People often expect a "step by step" or "cut and dry" answer. Their focus is on the unwanted physical action without considering the horse's mental or emotional status.

Horse Question Helping The Fixated Equine

 Thoughts on using the Human's Body to "intervene" with a scary object.

Answer:

One of the members of my Facebook coaching group asked me about the video with a dog where the owner used their body to "show" that a triggering object for the canine was "safe." They asked if a horse had a similar response and if I would approach it using my body the same way as what they tried to do with the dog.

The simple answer is no not at all.

Building the Horse's Confidence and Trust

Building the Horse's Confidence and Trust The video (beginning of week 2 with me) is of a 17 yo Quarter Horse gelding who was a stallion until 2 months ago. He'd never been outside a barn, had no horse skills, was very anticipative, and was physically pushy because of his defensiveness towards human interaction. (Follow his story from arrival to present on https://tiktok.com/@AlternativeHorsemanship or Instagram https://Instagram.com/alternative_horsemanship #alternativeHorsemanship)

Building the Horse's Confidence by Alternative Horsemanship the Remote Horse Coach

Confidence- just because a horse is going through the motions of "doing things" and is "learning" does not mean that he is gaining confidence and feeling secure from his experiences.

The horse may "quietly" tolerate a situation a few or even many times before he starts to show more obvious signs of stress, insecurity, or fear about what is being presented if he is being pushed to physically comply with the task given.

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.

Horse Training: Helping the Equine that Bucks & Bolts Build Confidence...

Despite a horse going through the motions of exposure and learning, does not mean that his confidence is increasing, irrelevant of all of his new experiences.