Horses exhibit all kinds of coping behaviors to deal with situations that either frighten them or challenge them in some way. The articles in this section deal with some of those problem behaviors. Topics are addressed as we have experienced them or as friends or friends of horse-pros.com have asked the questions. If you have some unique solution to one of these problems that might help someone, feel free to chime in. If you have a problem you would like us to address, send it to us. We’ll do our best.
Equine PTSD. Horse abuse pulls on anyone’s heart strings. It usually comes in the form of neglect and malnutrition or is practiced as unpredictable or traumatic physical punishment. Horses with true PTSD need special care. Their reaction to stress is usually exaggerated, frantic, not proportional to the stress a normal horse exhibits. Some researchers posit… Read More Horse Problems: Training The Abused Horse
It has been raining for a week solid, and the mud is ankle deep all over the ranch. But we have an appointment with the Horse Tooth Fairy, Loren Hardie, to float the teeth on several horses today. “Floating” involves a series of rasps (called floats) of different sizes, angles and depths that are inserted… Read More The Horse Tooth Fairy – A Kristull Chronicle
It can be highly irritating to be taking a long, slow, beautiful trail ride and have your horse continually diving to the ground for a morsel of grass or grabbing tall grasses from the side of the trail. It jars you every time, and can whip the reins right out of your gentle, relaxed hands.… Read More Horse Problems: Horse Eats on the Trail
So you can’t catch your horse. Why do horses run away from their owners? 1. Wild or untrained horses are intimidated or afraid. They need an owner who understands how they view the person approaching through an instinctive prism of fight or flight and they need de-sensitizing training. 2. Horses in a group take cues… Read More Horse Problems: The Difficult to Catch Horse
In most cases, spooking is a symptom of deeper problems. Your horse is not properly prepared to look to you as a leader and stop in his tracks when presented with unfamiliar objects or situations. He has not had enough experience controlling his anxiety and coming down from a fearful situation. Some horses are just… Read More Horse Problems: Spooky Horse
Reign gets in with ease, but it was not always so. This topic is one of the most difficult of all horse topics. Horses are: 1. Claustrophobic. Afraid of small spaces. 2. Without good vision as light changes from sunlight to shadow. Afraid of dark spaces. 3. Afraid of loud noises or different footing. 4.… Read More Horse Problems: Trailer Loading
Picking up your horse’s feet can present a challenge, but it is necessary. Some horses refuse to lift the foot. Some grab it from you and stamp it to the ground. Some put all of their weight on it when you are holding it. Some kick when you try to get close. Some kick out… Read More Horse Basics: Picking up the feet
Try “less-is-more” before going to “harsher-is-better” There are many possible reasons to change bits: 1. Your horse is ready to graduate to a bit that teaches him another skill. When your horse has mastered the skill you were teaching with his first bit, he should be rewarded by a bit that gives him more freedom… Read More Horse Problems: Bitting Issues
Every horse should be as easy to mount as this one. A horse that won’t stand still while you mount is, to say the least, irritating and even dangerous. If you’re lucky, you mount and dismount your horse from the ground. If you’re older (like I am) or your horse is particularly tall (like the… Read More Horse Problems: Mounting Issues
There are a couple of situations where a stallion is a better performer than a gelding. I think particularly of Spanish “dancing” horses, Lippizaners, etc. They perform many maneuvers that take tremendous back-muscles. Generally only a stallion can perform them to perfection. However, in almost all other activities, testosterone is a liability. Many people want… Read More Horse Problems: Controlling a Stallion Around Mares