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NEWS & ARTICLES : My Horse is Just Stubborn – NOT!

My Horse is Just Stubborn – NOT! - (originally published in PetFolio magazine)

Human interpretation of horse behavior can be misleading.

(In this story, the names have been changed to protect the unsuspecting!)

Jen was trying desperately to get her horse Reggie to traverse the horse teeter-totter, and the situation was getting worse instead of better. I overheard her tell him, in a something-less-than-patient tone, that he had done it before, he should just do it again. He did not agree at all, and began to pull back on the lead rope.

I posed a question to Jen. "What do you think he is saying to you?"

"Well, I think he is just stubborn! And if he isn't stubborn, then he is just lazy!" she replied with exasperation.

I repeated my question several times, explaining that I didn't think Reggie just wanted her to know he was stubborn or lazy. Jen finally said, "Well, then I don't know what he is telling me!!"

As I took over the leading, it was obvious that Reggie was completely uncomfortable with the teeter-totter. He was trying to tell her he was afraid!

One step at a time I drew him forward, then praised, and confirmed that at that moment Reggie was confident and relaxed. We made our way calmly over the teeter-totter within a few minutes.

LESSONS LEARNED:

1. Just because a horse has done "it" (e.g. horse trailers, bridges, trashcans, etc.) before, doesn't mean he understood the entire picture. He may have done it without understanding it, and after a few times of thinking it over, decided it wasn't safe/sane/comfortable to do and became worried about "it".

2. We often take for granted, and think that horses should understand human things automatically.

3. We must "check in" with the horse step by step, to verify his okay-ness with "it".

4. There is always more to it that our human thinking allows.

Get in your horse's head and find out what he is thinking. Looking at things from his point of view will help you help him better.

By Rebekka Rhodes