Horse Help- Fear of the Barn

 Question:
I decided to have stables built and they are now ready for my horses to use. The ex-racer will be fine as he is used to being stables, but the other horse has not been stabled for many years! I am worried he will refuse to go in the stable he gets anxious and skittish when walking through gates as well. How can I make him feel safe and encourage him in this task? I have been leading him to the stable to allow him to look at the space but now I  need to introduce him to actually entering the stable without getting frightened or panicking.

Answer:
I have lost track of how many folks have built their horse a barn, that the animal has refused to go into. Multiple aspects need to be considered and addressed that influence the "how" you help the horse work through concern.

November Livestreams

 

 Equine enthusiasts are often focused on task accomplishment without having a foundational understanding of how the quality and timing of their communication affect the horse's future willingness, adaptability, and try.

Join the Alternative Horsemanship Locals Community to participate in this 2-part horse learning series in the November Livestreams.

Click the link to subscribe. Replays will be available throughout the month.

Horse Considerations... Task Fixation Haltering

 

We've talked about how the "ride" begins when you think about going for the ride, and learning to "leave" reality of daily stresses and demands behind as you show up to be with your horse.

I've mentioned the Conversation starts with how your horse approaches you to be caught, whether in a stall or pasture, which is a great time to assess his mental focus and "tells" you what you might need to address before you even catch him.

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.

Horsemanship and Doing Harm

 

There have been multiple very experienced, "well-trained" horses that have participated in recent clinics (all are obedient, but tension-filled, hypersensitive, hyper-responsive, and avoid humans if given the choice.)

 

An interesting discussion has accompanied working with them to "reawaken," re-educate, and rebuild trust, when addressing old triggers and giving them "new" clarity and quality during human interactions. This then allows for teaching relevant skills, with curiosity replacing the fear, thought replacing anticipation, and soft, intentional movement replacing tension-filled reactions.

The Illusions of the Safe Horse

Many people I meet judge the horse based on how the equine's behavior makes the person feel (safe, scared, confident, anxious, etc.) rather than having any acknowledgement or understanding of the animal's communication to learn how to decipher what the animal is experiencing in real-time and howthat will affect his future behaviors.

This leads to a lot of "he seemed fine" moments followed by excessive, dramatic, reactive, or even dangerous  behaviors.

Illusions of the Safe Horse: Avoidant Horse Behavior

Alternative Horsemanship™ Horse Learning- Mindset

  Dear Sam: Horse Help Horsemanship Series 

Horse Learning Mindset

Horsemanship and Horse Rider Tips - Recognizing how one's perspective and mindset affect the quality of the equine interaction. Addressing commonly overlooked horse learning opportunities that either build the human and horse's confidence, trust, willingness, and adaptability or increase their defensiveness.

Click the link to watch on the Alternative Horsemanship YouTube Channel.

Horse Learning- Mindset adjustment

 There comes a point...