Trisha wren ~ Connect With Your Horse

Ever get the feeling that your horse is stubborn, deliberately ignoring you, and should know better? "He’s done this exercise a million times, he’s just being awkward!" Sound familiar? Stop! Take a deep breath! If necessary, go and sit down away from your horse, and let’s consider the situation.

In my experience, horses don’t do (or not do) things just to annoy us. If your horse is ‘all of a sudden’ not doing something he usually has no problem with, or is offering strange behaviour, in all likelihood there are other issues at play. Before you jump to conclusions and rush out to buy a different bit, put on your spurs, or call a trainer to ‘fix’ your horse, examine these possibilities.

Teeth: when was the last time you had your horse’s teeth floated? Sharp points can develop on the outside edge of the upper molars, which can jag into the cheeks causing discomfort when you use a direct rein. This could result in the horse turning his head the opposite way to that requested in order to escape the pain, not to mention tension through the rest of his body.

Saddle fit: poor saddle fit can affect your horse’s performance in many ways. It may cause him to hollow his back and therefore carry his head higher (which may also lead to more spooking, due to the way that horses eyesight works); or if it pinches at the front it may inhibit his shoulder movement.

Feed: have you changed your horse’s diet recently? Even small changes could mean a more sluggish – or more volatile – horse.

Living arrangements: have you moved your horse to a different yard, or turned him out with different horses? These kinds of changes can be an upheaval emotionally; some horses take up to a year to really settle in a new place!

Pain: has your horse had any accidents or injuries, however insignificant they seemed at the time? He could have put his back out rolling or slipping and falling in the field. Leg injuries often result in back pain, as the horse carries himself differently in order to save the injured leg.

Feet: if you have changed farriers recently or your horse is overdue for a trim his feet may not be as balanced as he needs. This can result in varying levels of (hopefully temporary) unsoundness and can affect his performance, leading to stumbling, or stiffness as he tries to carry himself more efficiently.

Your position: if you aren’t riding in a balanced position, have, for instance, back pain, or recently incurred an injury, the way you are riding may be making things more difficult for your horse.

Focus: the way you are thinking and how you are feeling can have a big effect on your horse’s behaviour! If you are on a tight schedule ("have to get home to make the tea"), or aren’t feeling great – had a bad day at work, an argument with someone, have something on your mind, have a headache or whatever – then you probably aren’t in tune with your horse in the first place, not to mention all the confusing or negative signals you may be passing on to him. Horses are very sensitive and pick up on our moods and feelings, so before you blame your horse for whatever isn’t going right take a good look at yourself and make sure you aren’t a big contributing factor; it’s hard for your horse to be soft and willing if you aren’t. Take a deep breath, and focus all your attention on your horse.

Ride the horse you have today: your horse has feelings and opinions too; maybe he is having an off day! We don’t always feel in the mood to do certain things and neither does our horse. Just because he’s done a certain thing before doesn’t necessarily mean he won’t have a problem with it today. Pay attention to what he is trying to tell you and let him make some of the decisions and you may have a healthier and happier relationship.

In summary, try to give your horse the benefit of the doubt. He can’t just tell you what is bothering him; his only way of communicating is to use body language, so we need to really be aware of even little changes in our horse’s behaviour. Think of anything and everything that has happened or changed in the run up to your current problem. Try to eliminate – or act on - as many as possible, and try not to fight with him; it may be that he genuinely doesn’t understand your cues, so just keep quietly and consistently presenting your request, don’t fall into the trap that people do when talking to someone who doesn’t speak their language and just shout louder! If you are still at a loss get help from someone more experienced; sometimes just a fresh pair of ears or eyes can pinpoint what is really going on.

Trisha