How To Calm A Horse In A New Place

In the Q&A calls we practise for our online programs, we oftentimes get questions about how to handle things when yous take your horse off your property and he acts completely different than he does at dwelling house (usually more excited).

When challenging and unexpected moments arise we demand to be improve horsemen, but nosotros can't expect ourselves to magically become that in an instant. We can, however, up our game in our everyday moments, and we tin program opportunities to arm-twist challenging behavior on days we are prepared to 'go in that location'. Nosotros tin get more feel when it'south planned and when we have the time and patience to assist our horse through information technology. The better we take rehearsed at abode, the meliorate we will be able to brand the best of information technology when it happens elsewhere.

Preparation will involve more than idea than just taking your horse off the property a lot. How you handle your equus caballus'south challenging behavior when you are away from habitation will exist a product of:

• How y'all handle similar challenges at home on a daily basis.
• Your emotional state in the moment.

Here'southward what to do:

1. Eliminate the reasons that could make the situation worse.
2. Go meliorate at the things that volition make it better.
3. Put in the time at home to to do and gear up.

The particular exercises to do when your horse is excited away from home could be quite unlike for different horses. I'll explain the factors that will enable the do you choose to actually work!

"If your horse is afraid (no matter how irrational it seems), you take to accolade that and make certain you are a source of calm, clear leadership and safety. Practice Non become notwithstanding another thing for him to be afraid of."

Have Responsibleness - Feel Compassion

The most common affair that makes any situation worse is us . We take to make certain we are at our best for our horses in every state of affairs. It'due south easy to become frustrated or disappointed when our horses act up, peculiarly if information technology's during something we have invested a lot of time or money in, like going to a competition. Your emotional fettle matters. Don't permit your horse feel your frustration or thwarting. Your stress will make them more afraid.

We take to call back that MOST of the time when our horse acts unusually excited information technology's because of fright. If your horse is afraid (no affair how irrational it seems), you lot have to honor that and make sure you are a source of calm, clear leadership and prophylactic. Do Not become yet another thing for him to be afraid of.

Sometimes at a new location, your horse can be simply 'fresh and excited', just their big energy may intimidate or scare you. If you experience agape it can make you either freeze or over-react. This could brand the situation even more unsafe. It tin can take a fresh happy horse and make it agape and tense! If you find yourself in a situation where you lot are agape of your equus caballus, don't exist shy nearly request for help. Fearfulness begets fright and you demand to break the cycle.

As you exercise seeing fearfulness and tension and finding means to alleviate it, you will go ameliorate at seeing the difference betwixt a scared, inattentive horse and a horse who is fresh, happy, and playful. Observe this at home. If your equus caballus is 'up' and listening to you lot, then you can do trusting him and your riding skills. Maybe y'all are near to take the best ride always!

A Reflex To Relax

Exercise improving your emotional fitness and having a reflex to relax on a daily basis . Make sure you can take a jiff and deliquesce your own tension. Practise your best to have a sense of sense of humor: 'Well that certainly didn't plow out equally planned!'

If y'all aren't able to detect and clear the little tensions that creep in during normal days, then you definitely won't exist able to manage them in the more challenging moments.  Actively practise releasing negative emotions and make a habit of getting curious. You tin can get-go by merely stating out loud: "I am really tense correct now!" Then ask yourself empowering questions such as: 'I wonder how I can help my horse?'. Recollect, as frustrating as information technology may exist to you, it is just equally scary for your equus caballus. Find a fashion to be compassionate towards him fifty-fifty equally you attempt to get things under control. Yoga, meditation, and jiff-work are all keen practices to accept.

Take some pressure off yourself. Don't compound the problem past beating yourself upward when things go incorrect. Unexpected and challenging moments happen to everyone. All you can do is your all-time.

Goals and Expectations

Much of the fourth dimension, tension around taking horses to shows or events is related to a lack of organization and/or too high expectations.

In the Prepare Perform Progress course (prepares riders for dressage competitions) the ii over-arching themes are about setting appropriate goals and expectations, and being organized.

This is because the first and 2nd most common reasons people have a terrible feel at a show is because they put too much pressure level on themselves AND they were either running late, were distracted by logistical challenges they hadn't prepared for, or forgot to pack necessary items. (OR all of the to a higher place!) Their poor results at the show had less to do with their skills or their horse's behavior, and more than to do with their mind-set and logistics.

We know that horses choice upward on our stress. Have you lot always known a horse who loads perfectly EXCEPT for when you're going to a show or important clinic? They can feel the pressure of your high expectations as soon equally you set foot on the holding. They run into y'all running back and forth throwing the terminal minute items in the truck, perhaps stomping effectually, peradventure breathing heavily (or not enough), and maybe blasphemous a bit every time y'all're most the trailer. So yous tell your horse to get on it! Yikes!

I recall horses demand me to write a blog for them chosen: What to exercise with my human when they freak out!  :-)

Ready Your Horse

Preparation for your horse, simply like grooming for your own mental fitness, starts at dwelling house, every day . Make sure you are prioritizing advice, attentiveness, and calmness. Avoid intimidation tactics or force as a training style.

If y'all make a addiction of fighting with your horse at home, information technology may 'work out', but in a state of affairs where your equus caballus's free energy is upwardly or he is fearful it tin can escalate the problem quickly.

Do practice techniques for control. The goal for me is always communication but the reality is sometimes we need to exist able to gain control of a situation. Command tin be calm : it merely needs to exist effective . If you HAD to get your horse from indicate A to betoken B, could y'all? Every bit much as I emphasize giving my horses liberty and choice during grooming likewise as giving them the fourth dimension they need to learn, I besides know that sometimes the safety of the horse, myself, and those around me will depend on me beingness able to exist constructive. Practice this at home so y'all have a chance of it working when emotions are high.

Have some tried and tested strategies

Notice when your equus caballus is inattentive, distracted, or tense at dwelling house and have some 'become to' exercises to bring him back to calmness.

Every horse is dissimilar, so it will be your homework (and life'due south work) to figure out what those exercises are for your horse. The Habits For Excellent Horsemanship grade is a good resource and there are many videos in the Video Classroom that can aid with these foundational problems.

When y'all are diffusing a stressful situation, some horses will need to move and some will need to hang out. Some will feel better if y'all have close and particular conversations with them, and some will demand to follow a pattern or utilize obstacles to bring them dorsum to calmness.

Pay attention to what works and what doesn't, at home. Practise dissimilar strategies on the days where he is but a piffling tense or distracted instead of waiting for the big blowup!

Exist your horse'southward rock. Be a calm leader and let him know you are the aforementioned trust-worthy person you always are. Your horse wants to feel safe and calm.

Do

The all-time preparation will involve practice-runs. Take practice trips away from home on days when the only purpose is to help him experience safe and attentive. Choose the people you go with during this phase; make sure they know that your goal is to detect at-home considerateness and confirm that they volition be your partners in the process. Detect low-stakes environments (being at a competition but not competing) and requite yourself lots of time.

This mode, when you lot practise go to something that is a footling more than 'high stakes', y'all take a better chance of predicting your horse'due south behavior and can do even more to help him.

When yous do all of these things, you lot will take set yourself upwardly for success. Equally I said earlier, even with the best preparation, sometimes our horses demand things nosotros can't figure out, and we accept one of 'those days'…. Learn from it, do your best, and stay safe and stay calm…. Tomorrow's another day!

Thoughts? Roll down to leave a comment!

Source: https://blog.dressagenaturally.net/horse-stressed-in-new-places

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