Many horse owners face problems because their horse is nervous or anxious. Every horse is scared at times, but sometimes fear can lead to an unpleasant or even dangerous situation for your horse. How should you deal with this in a horse-friendly way?
Why is my horse startled?
When you think about it, it’s not surprising that horses are often startled by sudden movements and sounds or unfamiliar objects. Horses are natural flight animals and built to always be on guard. After all, in nature, anything sudden and unknown can pose danger to the herd. So the horses are very irritable and so the instinctive reaction of the horses will be to get away from the? Scary? situation. If the potential danger turns out to be harmless, peace is soon back in the herd.
Our domesticated (= kept by humans) horses of course still have this instinct in them. They’re used to more so won’t be as skittish as ?? wild ?? horses, but still they will be startled by certain situations and objects. We, humans, think this is undesirable behavior and want a horse that is as down-to-earth as possible. Logical, it is of course much nicer to have a horse with which you can enjoy a ride outside, without being startled by everything. But here we do ask the horse for itself against to resist his natural behavior! This is of course not nothing and requires trust and a good relationship between horse and rider. By means of desensitization you can make your horse less sensitive to stimuli and thus overcome fears.
Also know how to recognize a scared or nervous horse, so you can already take measures before the real shock reaction takes place, for example take a step back. A suspicious horse is tense, so will stand with its head high and ears straight to the scary. object and have its tail taut down. Often times a horse will “dribble” (taking very small steps) or he will start twisting his body nervously. A horse that is really scared has its tail clamped between its legs and you can often see a part of the white of its eyes. He has an extremely tense attitude and will either stand still or want to flee.
Trust and leadership
Many horses have lost faith in people after unpleasant experiences, or have never really had this because they simply did not pay attention to them. Horses are skeptical prey animals, humans predators. In general, horses tolerate us, but our real trust is another story. If you want to help your horse get rid of his fears, you will first have to make sure that he trusts you. You have the task to guide your horse, to position yourself as a leader and to tell your horse that everything is not as scary as he thinks. If your horse does not trust you (yet), it is of course logical that he does not accept this from you. Leadership is also very important. Your horse will have to see you as a leader if you want to help him overcome his fears. A horse that does not see you as a leader will focus completely on the scary object and forget that you are there. Of course you can’t help him like that. Trust and leadership can be obtained by doing groundwork (read more about this: Join-up, responding to herd behavior). Only then can you start the real fear training and desensitize it.
Desensitization
In desensitization, you gradually and repeatedly expose your horse to situations or stimuli that normally trigger a fear response, but at such a low level that the horse is not really or hardly startled. That not being startled is rewarded, and therefore the horse becomes less sensitive to the stimulus. Gradually, as the horse no longer responds to a certain level, the intensity of the stimulus is increased, but again such that the horse does not really startle or react.
Example: Your horse has become afraid of pressure on its back due to a traumatic experience. It has become so bad that saddling is no longer possible. What to do? This fear runs deep, so it will not be overcome in a day or week. Start at the very beginning, petting your horse. Start petting in places you know your horse likes, such as his neck, so that he relaxes. Move more and more towards his back. If you notice that he is getting tense again, take a step back and stroke another place that is nice for your horse. Over time, build this up to touches with a brush, a pad on his back and finally ?? admittedly after a lot of effort and time ?? will be able to get on the saddle again.
You own attitude during startle reactions and during desensitization is also very important. Make sure you remain calm and assertive, even if your horse is in a panic. Never join in that panic, this would only confirm his fears. Your horse knows very well when you yourself are tense, and will not accept much from you anymore. When you notice that you find something very exciting, focus it on your breathing. Keep breathing from your stomach and try to relax your muscles. If you have your horse on a lead rope, make sure to leave the rope long and not tension it. This way you do not pass on any tension to your horse, and he has the space to jump to the side once without you being pulled along. You can therefore stand still if your horse gets scared, and that way you do not confirm the fear of the horse.
How do I fix it not on?
Punishing your horse for scaring is never a solution! The horse will only become more anxious or may actually panic, as it associates the punishment given with the stimulus it was already afraid of.
Example: Your horse is afraid of a certain obstacle and does not want to jump over it. If you were to hit your horse before the obstacle, the horse would have even more negative associations with the obstacle and refuse it even more firmly the next time.
So never punish a horse that has hurt you or destroyed something in its fear. That is an accident, the result of panic, not a targeted action.
Don’t set a time limit either. Desensitizing a horse can take ten minutes or ten days. Your horse indicates how fast it is. It is also not a solution to be in your comfort zone. to stay. The thought makes sense, but it doesn’t help you or your horse. Teaching your horse to cope with stress is more difficult, but better in the long run. This also means that you are in a scary place. situation should let your horse look at what he finds scary. Turning him away from it won’t fix anything or make the situation worse, because the horse doesn’t know what’s happening right now. Remember that most startle reactions are very natural for horses, but just not acceptable to humans. So don’t choose whips, sharp bits, chains or other so-called aids, this makes the situation worse and is downright unethical.
Practice, practice, practice ??
A horse does not find anything scary overnight. Patience is also very important in overcoming fears. As said before, you often see that people with nervous horses avoid problem situations. This of course does not solve anything and only confirms the fear of the horse (and not least your own!). So to solve problems you will have to look up the scary situations. It is inevitable that your horse will be startled at first. Don’t make it a big deal, it’s just part of the process. Keep an eye on safety. Imagine: your horse is afraid of tractors, do not immediately confront the road, but first introduce your horse to a stationary tractor in the yard, and a driving tractor like you and your horse in an enclosed space. (a paddock for example). The only way you will eventually achieve a relaxed and level-headed horse is through practice. Practice a lot. This way you yourself become more and more handy in such situations and you will be able to respond better to the horse the next time something exciting happens.