Posts Tagged ‘fear’

If there is one thing that horse owners fear on the ground-it’s getting kicked. And with good reason. If you get kicked by a horse you risk getting seriously injured and even killed.

So why do horses kick? Like a lot of issues involving bad horse behavior, the answer comes down to one of two things. Either the horse kicks out of fear-or he kicks out of dominance.

The good news is that horse kicking can be controlled or even eliminated without smacking the horse or even focusing on kicking at all. Instead, you can deal with the problem by building leadership, trust, and respect. How do you do this? Simple-with proper ground training.

Good ground training will eliminate horse kicking because a horse that knows he can trust you is a horse that won’t fear you. When the horse isn’t afraid generally, he isn’t going to fear having his feet handled or fear having you behind him. Conversely, a horse that sees you as his respected leader is not going to try and dominate you. So let’s explore a few ways that we can build leadership, trust and respect with ground horse training, with the goal of eliminating horse kicking in the back of our minds.

Often, eliminating fear and dominance go hand in hand. So you don’t have to focus on what “type” of horse you have too much when applying general principles of horsemanship. First off, what do dominant horses do with the other members of the herd? Well, they herd them around! This simple fact-and keep in mind this is something a horse intuitively understands-is something we can use to our advantage to train our horses gently without using any kind of force. All we have to do is move our horses around. When you do that, your horse will instinctively see you as a leader. Horse kicking will be unlikely in that case because a horse doesn’t kick his leader.

We can make a horse move forward, backward, to the side, or in a circle. OK here are a few basic things we can do:

• Ask your horse to go backwards.
• As your horse to move his forehand.
• Ask your horse to move his hindquarters.
• Circle or lunge your horse.
• Circle or lunge at liberty in the round pen.

By doing these groundwork exercises we teach the horse to view us as a respected leader. This is because we are tapping into his built-in instinct to see those who make him move as his leader. In fact, working your horse at liberty at the round pen may be one of the most important exercises you can use to do this. That’s because you control three things:

• When the horse moves and when he can come to rest.
• How fast he goes.
• What direction he goes.

Round pen work is also safe. By doing these three things, you establish yourself as a leader because your horse will know automatically you’re his leader because you’re controlling his movement. That’s what the trick really is-control the movement of the horse at all times. Then he will see you as his respected leader.

Next time your horse kicks-instead of giving into your impulse to smack him-try asking him (firmly) for a backup instead. By asking him to move off, you build leadership and respect-so reduce the chance of a horse kicking in the future.

David McMahon is a free lance author who owns 3 horses and writes about horse training issues. For more information please visit Mastering Basic Groundwork (Horse Training) [http://nmhorse.com/Basic_Groundwork.html].

Author: David McMahon
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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We cannot load our horse (who is very tall)… He will walk in, but as soon as he raises his head, he bolts. He is a normally calm horse, so this is not a behavioral issue, but a fear issue. Advice please!

Your horse runs over you or crowds you. He bites. Or maybe balks, bucks, or tosses his head. He won’t take the bridle, and he rears, runs away and bolts.

If any of these describe your horse, then you’re dealing with bad horse behavior. While each of these problems can have their own specific solutions, it turns out that by applying some very general but effective horse training principles, we can go a long way toward eliminating all of these problems.

When it comes to horse behavior, many problems can be reduced to one of two issues with the horse. If a horse is acting badly he is either:

1. Afraid (acting out of fear)
2. Dominant (acting in a way that disrespects you)

We can get around both problems by being an effective leader for our horse. If we are a strong and effective yet compassionate leader, our horse will not be afraid because he knows he can trust us. And if we are a strong and effective leader, a dominance-minded horse won’t be naughty with us. This can be done with proper ground training.

These days there are a myriad of ground training techniques. But its possible to identify a few key items you should be using on every horse that will help establish leadership. Here are five key methods that produce all around general results regardless of the type or horse you have or his disposition, or what type of “bad horse behavior” he is showing:

1. Lead your horse properly. When leading a horse on the ground, you’re not just walking from place to place-you’re using body language to communicate with your horse on multiple levels. By leading him properly, we can show the horse that we are a confident leader to be trusted-and someone that he must follow. A confident leader is one worthy of being followed-this helps build confidence in the horse that is afraid and shows a dominant horse that he is not the leader-you are.
2. At-Liberty Round-Pen Training. A great way to become a leader for your horse is to utilize at-liberty training in the round pen. By mimicking the behavior of the dominant horse in the herd, we can establish leadership in a way that not only speaks to the horse in a way he naturally understands, but in a way that gets rid of many problems like crowding, balking, being hard to catch, kicking, and biting.
3. Back Your Horse Up. Yes, backing up is a simple exercise, but it can be made challenging as well as basic. Not only that, its a sure fire way to build up trust with your horse, and to also show leadership by asking him to walk backwards where he can’t see.
4. Flexing. By practicing flexing on the ground, you train your horse to respond lightly to the reins and teach him how to respond to an emergency stop.
5. Get and Keep the Attention of Your Horse. If you’re the trusted leader of your horse-he is going to pay attention to you at all times. Simple exercises can be performed with your horse during groundwork training that make this automatic.

Building a solid horse training foundation with groundwork will allow you to eliminate fear, and prevent a horse from dominating you. by putting in some extra effort now, you can have a sfae and fun riding experience later.

David McMahon is a free lance author who owns 3 horses and writes about horse training issues. For more information please visit Mastering Basic Groundwork (Horse Training) [http://nmhorse.com/Basic_Groundwork.html].

Author: David McMahon
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Even if you’re not a dressage rider, it’s still important to sit straight and square in the saddle. Can you tell if you’re collapsing at your waist and sitting crookedly?

Ask a ground person to stand behind you.
1. Are your shoulders level (i.e. the same height)?
2. Is your seat in the center of the saddle so that each seatbone is the same distance from the middle of the saddle?

If your shoulders aren’t level which means that one shoulder is lower than the other, you’re collapsed at your waist, your shoulders aren’t the same height, and your seat isn’t in the middle of the saddle.

Here are 3 simple tips to help you sit straight and square:

Let’s say you’ve collapsed the left side of your waist, your left shoulder is lower, and your seat is off to the right.

1. Bring your right seat bone over and place it on top of an imaginary line that runs down the center of the saddle from the pommel to the cantle. You won’t really be on top of that line. You’ll just end up sitting in squarely.

2. Stretch your left arm straight up so it passes by your ear and your fingers are pointed straight toward the sky. Feel how that elongates your left side.

3. Now to keep yourself straight and stretching tall as you ride, pretend you have two sticks of equal length between your last rib and your waistband. If you collapse again, you’ll get jabbed in the ribs by the stick on the left side. And the stick on the right side will end up on the ground.

Are you sick and tired of complicated and confusing training techniques?
Are you frustrated by negative emotions like fear and lack of confidence?
Would you like to be trained by a Three Time Olympic Coach? Learn how by going to: http://janesavoie.com/

Author: Jane Savoie
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Even if you’re not a dressage rider, it’s still important to sit straight and square in the saddle. Can you tell if you’re collapsing at your waist and sitting crookedly?

Ask a ground person to stand behind you.
1. Are your shoulders level (i.e. the same height)?
2. Is your seat in the center of the saddle so that each seatbone is the same distance from the middle of the saddle?

If your shoulders aren’t level which means that one shoulder is lower than the other, you’re collapsed at your waist, your shoulders aren’t the same height, and your seat isn’t in the middle of the saddle.

Here are 3 simple tips to help you sit straight and square:

Let’s say you’ve collapsed the left side of your waist, your left shoulder is lower, and your seat is off to the right.

1. Bring your right seat bone over and place it on top of an imaginary line that runs down the center of the saddle from the pommel to the cantle. You won’t really be on top of that line. You’ll just end up sitting in squarely.

2. Stretch your left arm straight up so it passes by your ear and your fingers are pointed straight toward the sky. Feel how that elongates your left side.

3. Now to keep yourself straight and stretching tall as you ride, pretend you have two sticks of equal length between your last rib and your waistband. If you collapse again, you’ll get jabbed in the ribs by the stick on the left side. And the stick on the right side will end up on the ground.

Are you sick and tired of complicated and confusing training techniques?
Are you frustrated by negative emotions like fear and lack of confidence?
Would you like to be trained by a Three Time Olympic Coach? Learn how by going to: http://janesavoie.com/

Author: Jane Savoie
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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What causes horses rearing? Like everything else involving horses and their interactions with people, the answer usually boils down to one of two causes. Horses of course will engage in a threatening display like rearing if they are feeling well, threatened. So the first cause to look for is fear. A second cause of horses rearing is defiance. A horse may rear to intimidate you, or while balking about accomplishing some task you want him to do. In this case, the root cause of horses rearing is disrespect.

It turns out that fear and disrespect are two sides of the same coin when it comes to the horse-human relationship. The reason is simple. A horse isn’t going to have fear about a situation or task provided that he’s got a strong leader he can look to. Are you that strong leader, inspiring unwavering confidence in your horse? Or do you lack confidence, as exhibited in your actions or body language?

At the same time, a horse isn’t going to respect a handler that hasn’t shown leadership. Once again it boils down to confidence. Are you confident handling horses? Can the defiant horse sense weakness or wavering in your body language?

So we see that when it comes right down to it, the fearful horse or the disrespectful horse that rears is really doing so for the same fundamental reason: they don’t really have an alpha member of the herd. As the handler of the horse, it’s up to you to become the alpha and demonstrate calm and confident leadership at all times. Once it’s established, leadership will cause a horse to respect and trust you. So all at the same time, by being a leader for your horse, you can win over horses with all kinds of different dispositions. There is no need to study whether a horse is “left brained” or “right brained”, “introverted” or “extroverted”, “fearful” or “dominant”. Horses are naturally wired to follow a leader plain and simple, and by giving the right cues you can easily establish leadership and inspire confidence and get any horse to follow you. Horses that see you as their leader are going to be less fearful, so less likely to turn to rearing when something startling happens. A horse that respects you isn’t going to use rearing, or anything else, in an effort to intimidate you.

That sounds simple enough, but how do you establish leadership?

The first step in a leadership program is a good round pen training program. This means taking your horse in the round pen at liberty (no lead rope) and going through the exercise to have him hook on to you. This exercise really taps into the mind and emotions of the horse and like nothing else, helps a horse see you as the herd leader. You should always go back to round pen training first when encountering some major behavior problem.

The second task at hand is to simply get your horse listening and paying attention to you. This can be done on several levels-basic groundwork for example. Spend more time simply moving your horse around-moving the hindquarter, the forehand, backing up. Do some leading exercises.

One of the most important exercises for a horse with behavior problems in my view is lunging. Done correctly, which means continually asking the horse to pay attention by randomly asking for walk, trot, canter, slow down, speed up, stop, turn-is a great exercise for getting your horse listening for your commands. That helps cement the position of leadership you lay down as a foundation with round pen training.

When faced with horses rearing, like anything else, all it takes to solve the problem is getting back to basics. Punishment in the moment might give a short term fix, but it’s not a long term solution. Go back to a solid training program of round pen training, leading, groundwork yields, and lunging to fix that attitude.

David McMahon is a freelance author and horse owner. He invites you to visit http://horse-training-tips.com where you can learn more about horses rearing.

Author: David McMahon
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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PART 1

Horses, Journey from Fear to Respect. From a husband’s point of view.

The world of horses as a hobby is dominated by women. Yes, this is a generalization. It does not always hold true, but I can confidently say that this is a fact. Two years ago my wife wanted to get a horse. It had always been a dream of hers, and frankly I was beggin for her to get a hobby. I have tons of hobbies, and when I left to do these things she would always be a little irked that I was not spending a little more time with her. Frankly I can’t fault her. I do have a lot of hobbies.

So she got her horse, and we saw each other less and less. At first it was great. We were both happy doing what we do, and we made the most of the time we spent together. Eventually, we realized that we would have to meet on some common ground so we were more a part of each others lives. One Huge Problem. I realized horses terrified me. (By the way, she made some concessions as well. Not a ton of wives I know that totally get into Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Battlestar Galactica. But that is a discussion for another time.)

Thing is, I am not a fan of being controlled by anything. This includes fear. So I set out to overcome this irrational feeling. I know a guy named Paul Creviere Jr., the man was deathly afraid of water. He overcame this fear, became scuba certified, and eventually wrote a book called “Wild Gales and Tattered Sails.” It is about the shipwrecks of the Great Lakes. Which by the way he explored himself. I can’t honestly directly compare my situation with his. I believe his fear was rooted deeper than mine own. Yet his situation did provide me with some small amount of inspiration.

These animals are huge, powerful creatures that seemingly have an unpredictable nature that stems from them being prey animals. Huge, Powerful, Unpredictable. Take all three, and you have a very fearsome and dangerous animal. Thus my fear seemed warranted. But I have motivation, spending quality time with my wife and not completely hating it.

I am dog guy. I love dogs. I have never met a dog I don’t understand. I can always tell if a dog is approachable. Does it want to bite me, warn me, love me, lick me? I can just tell. I cant explain how I know what the dog is thinking, I just do. We fear what we don’t understand. Through knowledge comes understanding. Through understanding comes trust, and the absence of fear.

I am Capricorn, thus I think in logical terms. Logically speaking, learn everything you can about the horse’s language so you can eventually understand it’s reactions and the reasons for these reactions.

The process that gets us there is much more complicated.

PART 2

Usually when you are trying to overcome something or learn something new, you always have that “Ah HA” moment. The moment where something suddenly clicks. When this happens, it usually gets you over the hump and on the path to victory. My moment came at a barn where the owners had two great danes in their yard. They were separated off by invisible fencing and some “Beware of Dogs” signs. As we walked up to the barn, they came barreling out of the house, barking and growling, doing their job. The big one (Mighty Joe) was saying “This is my house, don’t do anything stupid.”

Well, I love dogs, and I grew up with big dogs. When I saw them, I simply had to meet them. So I entered the no fly zone. I know all the rules. I kept my eyes down, I knelt down in an attempt to soften any aggression they may sense, and I let them smell me for several minutes before petting them. It took about 5 minutes before I was rubbing bellies and scratching ears.

Sitting there playing with a couple confident 150 pound predator animals, I took a gander at my wife across the way brushing a 1000 pound slightly nervous prey animal and realized that I can do this. I just had to learn the signals. If I was not afraid of two barking/growling Great Danes, then there is no reason I should fear the horse. So I immersed my self one step at a time.

It started with exposure. Just being around horses, and listening to everything my wife and her trainer (Karen Zoelle) said during lessons. Early on, without doing anything but listening, you would not believe how much I learned. At this time, my wife was just beginning formal training. Thus her lessons started right from the basics, both in riding and handling a horse. Being able to listen at first, without having to do, allowed me grasp some understanding and thus confidence. Slowly I learned to brush, pick hooves, put on a saddle, and even ride a little. The most important part of the early experience was Karen. (disclaimer: so I don’t get yelled at, my bride plays the biggest role in all of this as we move forward) I am not sure if Karen did it on purpose, but she kind of hand picked my first experiences and made sure I did not end up in any negative situations.

I am still not sure when it happened, but at some point I suddenly realized I was no longer afraid. I still did not have a lot of confidence, but the paralizing /hand trembling fear was gone. In it’s place was a healthy respect for these incredible animals. I had come to understand the similarities and the differences between dogs and horses. (sorry, I always refer back to dogs because it is what I know.) Both animals need strong leaders, but for seemingly different reasons that I am not sure I can easily explain in words. If handled improperly, they are both capable of hurting you. Dogs will do it on purpose, horses will do it on accident, but they have one huge thing in common. Both species will almost always do it out of fear. If you can reduce the fear factor, you greatly reduce the chance of anything bad happening.

Early in my learning experience, I did not fully grasp how important the concept of fear was in horse training. I was so focused on controlling my own fear, that I never fully understood that it was the horses fear that really needed to be quelled. This is a lesson I learned later, when my wife bought her own horse.

PART 3

At this stage, things start to ramp up a bit. It is one thing to be taught how to handle an old, calm, and well trained horse. The stakes were higher when my wife bought a scared, untrained, younger horse. His name is Sequoia. He is half quarter horse, half pony, cute, and kind. But his confidence was shot. He was head shy and jerky. He spooked easily. He had little to no dressage training. I went from thinking I knew how to handle a horse to realizing exactly how much I still had to learn.

Early in his training, Leslie realized she needed help. She turned to Ellie Neerdales, a natural horsemanship trainer here in Green Bay, WI. She began to learn this method of training, and began to use it on Sequoia. She was spending between 5 to 8 nights per week with her horse. (no that was not a typo) About 3 months in she hit her low point. She took Sequoia for his first trailer ride to another stable. If she wanted to be able to show him at some point, he was going to have to get used to traveling. She had all kinds of problems. All the progress she had made with him during the first 3 months just flew right out the window. He was back to spooking, and generally acting a little crazy. A girl at the barn even commented on how bad of a horse he was, and told Leslie she should give up on him and get a new horse. (I am not naming names, but I hope this girl reads this article someday and takes her foot out of her mouth long enough to say I am sorry). That night Leslie was a bit of a wreck. With the amount of hours that she put in she seemed to be at wick’s end and possibly ready to cash it in.The next night, she was back at the barn and working as hard as ever. (Did I mention she is slightly stubborn.)

Most of the time, it seems as though a horse’s fear is born out of new situations, new sounds, new places. In general, it is the unknown that causes the horse to freak out, and it is impossible to introduce your horse to every possible scenario or sound that may cause this reaction. Since you cannot prevent the scenarios from happening and you cannot fully prepare your horse for every scenario, then what you must do is reduce the level of your horses negative reaction to these events. In my humble opinion there is one way, and only one way to do this. Through TRUST. Trust must be built and earned with a horse. The most important thing in any relationship is trust, and that goes for both people and horses. Each time Sequoia ran into an obstacle, Leslie would break it down with time and trust. So many horse owners just seem to accept certain behavior, and by accepting the behavior they reinforce it.

Sequoia was afraid of the fly spray bottle. Rather than accept his fear, she beat it. She took him in the arena, set the spray bottle on the ground, and made him stand by it and look at it. When he seemed comfortable, she picked up. Not sure why, but as soon as she was holding it, it became a whole new threat. She waited til he calmed down and then made him look at it and smell it again. She then proceeded to rub the bottle all over his body until he was completely comfortable with it, and finally she was able to spray him with it. The process took over an hour, and it had to be repeated several times, but he has no problem with the spray bottle anymore.

Now I realize that most horse owners may not be willing to put in this much time in to get their horse over a fear of a bottle, but what they fail to realize is that this positive reinforcement was a brick in the foundation of the well balanced horse that Sequoia became. The time spent with the spray bottle served to increase the horse’s trust in it’s owner. He began to realize that she was not going to hurt him. Every time he conquered a fear with her assistance his trust in her would grow, and the time it would take to overcome each obstacle would slowly decrease. His trust has grown to the point where he not only trusts “her” to not hurt him, but to the point where he believes she will protect him.

Now when faced with a new and dangerous lawn chair, he no longer “spooks”. His reaction is much more subtle. He looks to his trusted leader and seems to ask, “Should we be scared.” And through the simple act of letting him see and smell the obstacle she seems to answer, “There is nothing to be afraid of.”

Now that the horse is trained, it is my turn to be trained.

“Lee Geurts” aka Lee Speakin

My Knowledge Sources (bibliography)

* Karen Zoelle – Green Bay, WI Based Dressage Trainer

* Ellie Neerdales – Green Bay, WI Based Natural Horsemanship Trainer

* Danielle Jauquette – Green Bay, WI Based Hunter Jumper Trainer

* And of course my lovely wife, Leslie Heyden

My stories will vary greatly, because my interests vary greatly. My personal hobbies include: Collecting and reading comic books, Sci Fi Books, and Fantasy books. Playing boardgames. Watching geeky movies and TV shows. Both playing and watching sports.

My wife’s hobbies, which consequently have also become my hobbies include: Horseback riding, dressage, natural horsemanship, and Orchid Growing.

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Lee “Speakin” Geurts

Author: Lee Geurts
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Yesterday we talked a little about the 6 Keys for a
Life Long Partnership with your horse, today I would
like to visit with you about the first key,
*Understanding.*

Have you ever wondered why your horse acts like he does
how he thinks and moves? If so, then you need to
understand the prey-predator relationship, but before
we start it’s important that you understand, if your
going to effectively communicate with horses you need
to *think like horses*. You need to look at and approach
everything from the *horse’s point of view*.

If you understand that horses are prey animals and that
*horses perceive people as predators* and realize that
each thinks differently, you can begin to understand how
your horse thinks, acts and moves, and why you react the
way you do. Understand, Both the horse and human are
simply considering all factors then adjusting to the
situation.

If you understand that horses are Prey animals by nature,
are programmed to be cowards and are herd fear-flight
animals, in other words when they perceive danger they
run and continue running until they feel they have
escaped the danger, then you can begin to develop a
deeper apreciation of why your horse acts, thinks and
moves like he does.

To horses we *humans* look and smell like *predators*.
If your going to communicate with your horse in an
effective manner then it’s necessary to prove to your
horse that you are not a predator. You need to
understand what type of behavior you need to show if
you are to get a certain behavior from your horse.

Once the horse accepts that you are not as bad as you
seem and you are not a predator he becomes gentle, in
other words he no longer perceives you to be dangerous.

In a herd of horses there is always a pecking order
and once your horse decides that you are not a danger
to him he will put you in a pecking order to fit into
his world (remember all of this is about the horse his
world and perceptions not yours) you will be placed
higher or lower depending on respect and authority.

*Remember the horse is a prey animal and is supposed to
act the way he does.** It’s your task to help him act
less like a prey animal and more like a partner. To
accomplish this you need your horse to be sensitive or
aware of your cues and communication rather than danger.

You need to turn his flight from fear reaction into
forward motion or impulsion. You have to work at getting
him to want to be with you, to take the herd instinct
and turn it into bonding with you.

The concepts you and I have discussed today are much
easier said than done. Why, because horses and humans
think differently and this is often a source of
conflict.

Let’s wrap up what we have discussed today. You will
gain respect from our horse if you uphold your
responsibilities which are: Not act like a predator,
be where you need to be emotionally when communicating
with our horse, to think like a horse and not a human
and focus on where you are headed and what you want to
do, if you do your horse will sense this, respect you
and follow you as the leader.

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In the next article we will discuss Mind Set; Your
Attitude= How you communicate. Being assertive
vs.aggressive and being evenhanded. Your mind-set
(attitude) affects the mind-set (attitude) of your
horse.

Copyright © Mike Gorzalka All Rights Reserved
Worldwide

*You have permission to publish this article electronically, in print, in your ebook or on your web
site, free of charge, as long as the content of this
article is not changed in any way and the author
bylines are included.

If you choose to publish this article I would
appreciate a Quick e-mail letting me know where it will
be published: Mike@perfect-horse-gifts.com

*DISCLAIMER*: The information contained in this article
is of my personal opinions and beliefs and should not be
taken as anything more.

About The Author:

Mike Gorzalka has spent the better part of his life around horses. His dad, Mike Sr., taught him the importance of understanding the horse and how to use a firm, but kinder and gentler approach to helping horses understand what it is we humans are trying to communicate.

Author: Mike Gorzalka
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