Unwanted Horse Behaviors and Sleep Deprivation by Alternative Horsemanship

 Horse Health, Behaviors & Sleep

When we say "horse" the initial image in our mind is that of the horse galloping through a field, or some other majestic movement. But there's also the aspect of thinking about how comfortable mentally and emotionally the horse is.

Unwanted Horse Behavior Problems Symptom vs Issue- Unasked for Backing

Ask the Trainer... Q & A Unwanted Behaviors- Backing

"Hi, I just bought another quarter horse. When I went to check her out, 2 different people, a man and a lady got on her to ride, she too a step or two back. I got her home, tried to mount her, and she just keep backing up. I tried for about an hour to go get on her and she keeps backing up. I tried to do this in my field. She let me put the saddle on her easy and the bridle. I tried on 2 different days. I don't have a round pen, should I try to do it in the stall next just to get on and off of her a few times? Thanks for your help."
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Helping the Highly Reactive Horse

Dear Sam: Horse Help Horsemanship Series

The Highly Reactive Horse

Alternative Horsemanship the Remote Horse Coach discusses the overlooked contributors in everyday human patterns and interactions that create highly reactive horses and unwanted equine behaviors.

Click the link in the comments to watch on the Alternative Horsemanship YouTube Channel

 

Behaviors Sabotaging the Human and Horse Partnership

What is the most common issue I see sabotaging the human & horse partnership?
Containment

I define it as:

When a person is physically trying to "stop" an unwanted equine behavior, which is usually the symptom and not the underlying "issue," without acknowledging and addressing all the constant equine communication reflecting holes in the horse's education or understanding.

Are you teaching the horse Unwanted Behaviors?

Dear Sam: Horse Help Horsemanship Series 

Teaching the Horse Unwanted Behaviors

Are you teaching the horse fearful, defensive, avoidant, or dangerous behaviors? Alternative Horsemanship the Remote Horse Coach shares insight into common human interactions causing unwanted equine responses. 

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Unwanted Horse Behavior- Pain the Equine an Unaddressed Contributor

 Pain - the Unacknowledged Frequent Contributor to Unwanted Equine Behaviors

Many horses and humans live with pain to varying degrees on a daily basis. If you've ever been injured or have ongoing pain, think about the all-consuming feeling and emotional state the pain triggered in you.

Horses don't "just" pin their ears when you saddle, get tight or twitch their skin when you touch them, and move away every time you go to mount. If the horse is showing concern, tension, or defensive, please, BEFORE you focus on the "training" first start with your horse's behavior, and assess it for potential pain or discomfort.

Horse Help Concepts- The Box an Alternative Horsemanship tool

 The "Box"

I developed the concept of "the Box" because I was finding too many people wanting to be polite and kind in their communication with their horses, but were lacking specificity, boundaries, or spatial awareness.

The concept of the Box was to give the humans a mental image of where they needed their horse to be to communicate clearly without being distracted by the horse's counteroffers of often leaking, fleeing, drifting, or pushing into them movement.

Unwanted Horse Behavior, Resistance & Responses

 Dear Sam: Horse Help Horsemanship Series Unwanted Horse Behaviors, Resistance, and Responses

Explaining the source and missed equine communication reflects building defensiveness in the horse towards human interaction creating unwanted, resistant horse responses.

Weekly videos on the Alternative Horsemanship YouTube Channel.

Are you creating unwanted horse behavior?

 Alternative Horsemanship the Remote Horse Coach shares insight into human interactions that can lead to unwanted equine behaviors.

Subscribe to the YouTube Channel for weekly videos in the Dear Sam: Horse Help Horsemanship Series.

Need Horse Help? Experiencing Unwanted, Resistant, or Dangerous Horse Behaviors

Need help with your horse? Not understanding the horse's behavior? 

Feeling frustrated and overwhelmed when with your horse? Having problems with your horseback riding? 

Learn how The Remote Horse Coach can help you understand horse behavior, refine your awareness, improve your communication, build your confidence, and increase your horse's trust, try, and reasonableness in offering safe behaviors.

Fixing Unwanted Horse Behaviors

 

Defensive & Fearful Horse Behavior

Alternative Horsemanship the Remote Horse Coach discusses recognizing signs of Defensive & Fearful Horse Behavior in response to Horse Training Methods creating distrust.

 

Helping the Traumatized and Fearful Horse Part 3

Dear Sam: Horse Help Horsemanship Series

Helping the Traumatized & Fearful Horse

Part 3

Horse trainer Thoughts & Perspective on the contributing Horse Training practices that create Traumatized and Fearful Horse leading to increasingly dangerous and unwanted equine behaviors.

Watch by clicking the link in the comments.

Subscribe to the Alternative Horsemanship YouTube Channel for weekly videos posted every Friday.

 

Horse Problems- Helping the Equine starts with the Human

 It isn't Convenient 

Bad Horse Behaviors or Vision Issues

 

Bad Horse Behaviors or Vision Issues?

Discussing some equine behaviors that may be indicators of potential vision issues. Many unwanted, dramatic, fearful, and dangerous horse behaviors stem from a combination of factors, often including an equine that is experiencing physical issues or pain.

Watch the latest episode in the Dear Sam: Horse Help Horsemanship Series on the Alternative Horsemanship YouTube Channel.

(Subscribe for weekly equine behavior videos and insight.)

Unwanted Horse Behavior Help

Alternative Horsemanship the Remote Horse Coach shares insight into breaking down contributing factors leading to unwanted horse behaviors like difficult to catch, tack, lead, stand, mount, trailer loading, etc. Dear Sam: Horse Help Horsemanship Series Unwanted Horse Behaviors

New videos posted every Friday on the Alternative Horsemanship YouTube Channel

Understanding Unwanted Horse Behavior

 Horses don't just "do" that...

What if we recognized and addressed the initial signs of concerned, fearful, or defensive equine behaviors before they erupted into things like:

Bucking

Bolting

Kicking

Spooking

"Over-reaction"

Biting

Fixating

Fleeing movement

Biting at the Air

Pawing

Jigging

Stomping

Weaving

Eliminating the Hurry to Improve your Horsemanship

In western society, people tend to hurry, and unintentionally carry their chaos into their horsemanship.

Their self-imposed urgencies of task accomplishment often become the focal point, rather than prioritizing the Quality of Communication with the horse. The general unspoken standard of "if the horse's behavior doesn't scare me, we're still okay," leaves many horses in the gray area during a majority of human interaction. If the horse "mostly" complies, the tendency is to add more to what is being asked of him.

Horseback Riders and Equine Enthusiast Tips- Stop overwhelming Yourself

Stop Overwhelming Yourself
It is very easy to become overwhelmed by everything that "isn't" or is challenging, frustrating, and exhausting with the horse.
Unrealistic expectations, hopefulness and continuously comparing ourselves or our horses to what "everyone else" is/can do, is detrimental to the Quality of our interactions and leads to less-than-ideal scenarios.
I wish more folks gave themselves permission to literally and figuratively focus on being present and addressing themselves and their horse in small segments. Each segment of Clarity in Communication can connect to the next, which influences how the "final" piece of accomplishment is experienced by the horse.

The Resistant Horse

When the horse is...

Resistant to being caught
Constantly pulling when led
Pulls back or gets stressed when tied
Swishes his tail every time you walk behind him
Always is moving away when trying to tack him up
Steps away when trying to mount
Walks off as soon as the rider is in the saddle
Is drifting, bracing, or anticipative when ridden
Takes "a while" to load into the trailer
Might explode backward during the trailer unloading
Is "buddy" or barn "sour"
Has the same "issue" with the same scary spot repeatedly
Offers dramatic behaviors when something unexpected arises
Paws, paces, cribs, weaves, wall kicks, bites while in his enclosure
Is aggressive towards other horses or at feed time
Etc., etc., etc.