When I sense that a horse is fearful I’m going to approach how I work with him differently than if I sense challenge or indifference. There are different types of fear and I need to have a feel as to which type the horse has. There’s the fear a young, green horse will have with a new person in the round pen. This horse isn’t necessarily mistrustful of people because he’s been abused or hurt by them, he just doesn’t know what to expect. If this horse hasn’t been mishandled, has been allowed to grow up with other horses, and hasn’t been treated too much like a big pet dog, he will have a certain amount of respect for people because he hasn’t experienced a time when he has had the upper hand. So first real contact in the round pen with this horse will cause him a little fear as he will not know who will end up being the leader.
The other type of fear is the kind that a horse who has been abused and mishandled has. In this case, the horse mistrusts people and for good reason – they have confused him and hurt him. This type of fear takes on a whole different training approach.
With the horse who’s fearful because he doesn’t know what to expect – I’ll work with a moderate amount of energy and use soft vocal and body aids gauged on his reaction to me. My goal with this horse is to affirm myself as leader but also to sooth him and let him know that I’m kind and fair and won’t ask him for more than he can handle. I also have to be careful I don’t drive this horse into fight mode by pushing him too hard. This is a great kind of horse to work with as once trust is established, which can be done quickly if one is calm, fair and matter-of-fact, he learns rapidly and is eager for more interaction.
The other kind of fear in the horse is one of people-mistrust. This horse has been hurt or confused by people. He is afraid of what the new person will do to him and all he is thinking about is how to get away. This is a harder horse to work with. Getting him to move away from you at any gait or turn directions is easy – he’s only too happy to keep away from you. But instead of him viewing you as a leader, he sees you as a ‘threat’. This is the kind of horse that needs a totally different approach.
Many years ago I worked with a 2-1/2 y.o. BLM Kieger Mustang who was deathly afraid of being saddled. This horse had a huge fear of people too as his prior saddling experience (and people experience) consisted of being roped and thrown, having a saddle left on him for days even though it had slipped around under his belly, and being “bucked” out. This horse learned that people were dominant, frightening and confusing.
With a lot of patience and perseverance from his new owner and months spent working in the round pen, a level of trust was established and this horse got better. He could be caught and brushed, a fly mask could be put on him and he even started liking the attention he was getting. However, there were two things that came very hard to him – handling his feet and putting that saddle on.
He would stand for the saddle pad being put on his back but the minute the saddle was lifted towards him, he would fly off in a panic and race around the round pen. And he wouldn’t stop. No matter how much he was made to turn, no matter how much he was dripping with sweat, no matter how many times he willingly came into the center of the arena – the moment that saddle was lifted off the ground he’d panic and start to run.
The Kieger mustang kissing my daughter - he loved children
I kept thinking that the main purpose of putting the saddle on him was to eventually get on and ride him. He was unfortunately associating the saddle on his back with people who were fearful. If I could break that down to ‘people on his back’ equals no fear or pain, then maybe the saddle would become less fearful. He seemed to have developed some level of trust for people – just saddle + people were a big mental block for him.
In a moment of inspiration, I decided the best thing to do might just be to get on him bareback for that first ride. With a little help one day I quickly scrambled on his back in the round pen. Since he hadn’t been bridled yet, all I had in my grasp was the lead rope attached to his halter and a chunk of his thick black mane.
The instant I sat upon his back, he took off. As he flew around the pen, I relaxed my legs and body and spoke to him in a soothing voice. After several rounds, his run started to slow down. Then it was a trot and finally a walk. When he was walking calmly, I quietly slipped off of him and gave him lots of pets. He never bucked. I don’t know why other then all those months of work forged some bond of trust. So even though there was fear when I got on his back there was also some trust that I wasn’t going to hurt him. He calmed down and accepted the situation.
My older daughter riding the Kieger mustang
After this first bareback ride the horse suddenly accepted the saddle, and from that point on, riding started. Now this horse is 11 years old. Beginners and small children can easily ride him. He is calm, docile and patient. There is still a very slight energy of cautious hesitation with new people or new situations and in those moments if he were handled badly he might revert back to that fearful 2-1/2 year old. But, handled fairly, treated kindly, his trust grows. This horse can now go anywhere and do anything!
Training horses is always a journey of discovery. It helps to break down learning processes into small chunks. And in some cases, the typical process isn’t going to work for all horses. This is where it is necessary to think outside the box, especially when it comes to the fearful horse that has experienced some kind of abuse. What helps is to have an understanding of where the horse is coming from and why he is acting the way he is. We don’t always get to figure this out, but if we make some educated assumptions and are willing to think and work with sensitivity towards the horse, we can achieve success. Take time to watch horses interact with each other in a group setting. Watch their body language so you can start to learn what they are “saying”. Take time to observe how your horse reacts to you. And when what you’re doing isn’t working, step back, watch, and listen to what your horse is “saying” to you. Then, start in a different direction with a new perspective.