03/07/2025
When your horse is exhibiting a problematic behaviour today, it is likely that the problem has been brewing for a while… and you haven't noticed the early warning indicators.
Environment, pain, fear, poor training, or a combination of these can cause behavioural issues in horses. Horses that exhibit minor symptoms of stress or pain are frequently overlooked or dismissed completely. These behavioural shifts can include things such as halting when being walked or ridden, turning away when gear is introduced, or subtle adjustments to posture or facial expression.
The issue may then worsen to the point that we witness stronger, more dangerous behaviours as the rider keeps pressuring the horse to comply. As an alternative, we might see the emergence of a distinct behavioural issue. Most of us have been taught historically to apply more pressure if a horse doesn't comply with our requests. We ought to look into why our horses exhibit these behaviours.
Horses don't just ‘misbehave’ to be challenging, they are trying to communicate in the only way they know how to
If you notice any changes in your horse's behaviour, you should first rule out things like-
ill fitting tack, teeth, ask yourself is your training method in the horses best interest? and contact a knowledgeable veterinarian. If a physical examination reveals no issues this doesn’t mean they don’t have any physical issues, the body can hold secrets that we can’t see on a radiograph. Also think about how they are being managed, trained, and how their surroundings may have changed. The time has come for us to examine our behaviour towards horses in detail. We're accountable for their issues.
"My horse is just an as***le" 🙄
I came across a post this morning stating some horses are just as***les. Ussually I would just roll my eyes and scroll past, but this morning I didnt, I shared my thoughts on this.
Horses don't have an ego. They don't wake up in the morning and decide they are going to be an as***le today just to upset their owner.
Those horses that people call "as***les" are doing everything they can to protect themselves from fear/ pain or memory of an event or events associated with fear or pain.
Every dissection I attend of a horse that is euthanasied due to behavioural issues/ physical issues, is confirmation that there is always a reason why!
It took me years to be able to understand the subtleties of a horses' communication.
It's not something that was taught when I was going through pony club or out in the competition ring. The catalyst for me was having my heart horse become very unsound.
Only then did I start looking for an alternative way of working with these animals. Only then did I realise my style of riding at the time was the reason for his unsoundness.
I wish the younger version of myself knew then what I know now.
I was the reason for so many behavioural and soundness issues in my horses and I was oblivious at the time.
The more we learn, the more we begin to understand on a deeper level and then the way we work with horses changes too.
Always question things. There is always a reason which runs much deeper than "the horse is an as***le".
It can be compared to people in this way- those who bully are often the ones who have grown up in environments where they have felt insecure themselves. They have memories of feeling not enough.
Whilst horses don't have an ego, they, like us retain memories of past events. Be it a memory from a training session, a float trip, the herd dynamics in the paddock- eg which horse always gives them a hard time and which makes them feel safe.
Memories can influence a horses' behaviour just as much as active pain.
Then there is also the component of breeding.
The term "Trainability" really is open to interpretation.
Many describe a donkey as un- trainable and stubborn, but there is a reason! and it stems back to physical attributes. A donkey has complete lamellae of the nuchael ligament- making them more solid in structure, and reducing their ability for lateral and ventral dorsal bend. This doesnt make the donkey an as***le, this is simply how they are made, its their conformation.
Horses arn't technically designed for riding. We breed according to what WE see as desirable traits, but with his comes other issues.
Take for example a modern day dressage horse. Dressage was once training for strength, soundness and partnership. A good solid partner who was brave, versatile and good on their feet. Ready for the battlefield.
Now compare that to the modern day dressage horses' we see and their big expressive movement. Is it functional?
Would you take this horse to war?
I for one wouldn't.
These horses' are often kept in stables for their safety and don't go trail riding because "they arnt good on their feet".
I hear so often warmbloods being called "dumb bloods".... but... what they really are is a product of what humans have selectively bred. Humans are breeding hypermobility (that "WOW" movement) meaning less tensegrity of ligamental and tendonous attachments. The neural pathways are "slower". Consequently decreasing the horses' ability to "be a horse". We label it as temperament but really it's an adaptation they have in order to adjust to what we think a dressage horse should look and move like.
This problem is across every breed and in every discipline in some way or another.
Poor conformation in itself can cause deregulation of the nervous system.
Arthritis, OCD, soft tissue damage, and malformation are all going to effect a horses' ability to perform even a basic task with ease.
How can people be so sure that "The horse is just an as***le" without being able to see the "whole picture". We don't have xray eyes to be able to see every inch of the horses musckuloskeletal system.
Even veterinary diagnostics can't reach areas such pelvis, and the transverse processes of the lumbar (which are often found to be kissing before the spinous processes of the lumbar) you would have to put the horse through an MRI to assess everything physically whilst alive.
And the harsh reality of it is that not every horse can be rehabilitated. In my opinion there are many worse things in this world than being laid to rest, at least they will finally be free of the pain.
So next time you go to label a horse as dangerous, or difficult ask yourself, are they really? Or does it just fit the narrative you are telling.
Sometimes its easier to label our horses' then admit that we don't have all of the answers.
