You are Your Horse’s Protector (or at Least You’re Suppose to Be!)
Ever wonder WHY a
herd needs a hierarchy? The horses who are making the decisions for the herd not
only choose where to eat, when to seek shelter and who breeds to whom, but they
are providing PROTECTION to the subordinate members of their group. Once we
remove a subordinate from the herd, who provides the protection?
If we don’t do it consciously, the horse is placed in a position to DECIDE who is best suited to the task. Nine times out of ten, they decide that it’s another horse, or group of horses. This is what we commonly call “barn sour” behavior. A horse is unwilling to go with us away from his “herd”, or barn because he feels safer there than with us.
Here’s some examples:
I take “Flicka” away from the barn on a ride. She goes out willingly. Her pasture mate “Goldie” (who has been left alone), calls out. Is Flicka sour? Is Goldie? The answer is neither one. Flicka went with me willingly and with confidence. Therefore she had no need to call to Goldie as she was with ME. She has faith in my ability to keep her safe, maintain reasonable expectations and work levels and to continue with my regular “history” of feeding and caring for her. Flicka has self CONFIDENCE and CONFIDENCE in me. Goldie has been left alone and is entitled to be a little concerned that I have left with Flicka. When I take Goldie out she behaves the same way Flicka did AND Flicka reacts like Goldie. Both behaviors are based on their herd needs being met by ME and not another horse.
I take “Midnight” out for a ride. He calls to other horses and refuses to go beyond the property gate. Is he sour? Midnight’s level of trust in me (or humans in general) is not established firmly enough that he is willing to count on me beyond the confines of the property. This is called “barn sour” but in reality it is a confidence level behavior issue, rooted in fear. Midnight has little confidence in me, or in himself to venture beyond the gate. He fears for his safety (remember, fear can be real OR perceived).
How do we get the horse to “choose” us versus another horse or a symbolic “herd” (such as the barn, the trailer etc…)? We can begin by “setting the horse up for success”. This means placing the horse in safe situations that we know he can handle successfully and then praising him for the work. These are confidence builders. We can also be confident handlers with strict boundaries that mimic the rules of the herd (such as the space invader policy - see June's Tip of the Month). A subordinate horse would NEVER be allowed to invade the space of the dominant horse(s). Furthermore, the dominant horse would rarely require a subordinate horse to directly confront a potential threat alone. So why would we allow either? I often handle babies who are afraid to walk past an object. Rather than make a big issue of it I may switch leading sides and place myself between the horse and the object and just walk on. Typically, the object looses its “fear” factor and I have gained trust with the baby as a good protector. This need to place myself between horses and objects is needed less and less as confidence in ME increases and as the horse has more and more success and self confidence. Challenges should be added appropriately to the individual horse as each horse progresses at different speeds.
I often here about people
“desensitizing” horses to various objects. In reality, there are just too
many “objects” out there that could scare a horse. What these people are
really doing is building a horses confidence level that they are SAFE if they
follow the direction of the handler/rider! This is helping a horse to
“choose” the person versus running back to the “herd” (his natural
instinct). Because this training is actually based on having the horse look to
the person for guidance, I discourage leaving “scary stuff” draped on
stalls, tied to pens etc… without a person present to offer “protection”.
To me, this is “abandoning” your horse and might work for that one object
but teaches him nothing about trusting you in the long run.
Final note: Being your horses “protector” is not something to be taken lightly. It is an enormous responsibility that requires thoughtful decisions on your part. This includes his housing (fencing/shelter), trailering, groundwork, under saddle work etc… It is a VERY LARGE part of the foundation you need to establish a life long healthy, working relationship with your horse that is based on trust.