Arizona
Hi Chelsie,
I have a 15yr old quarter pony who will set back when tied, at first only once in awhile, he's getting worse and now is doing this more often. When you saddle him he tightens up and sets back and snorts and acts like he's about to be killed. I haven’t owned him long so I don’t know why he's doing this. He is also shying away and snorting at everything. He wasn’t like this when I first purchased him. I have seen him be totally calm about something one time and blow the next time. I talk to him and reassure him, but what else can I do?
-Tracie from Paulden Arizona
Hello Tracie,
The first item I would like to address is that I don’t have my horses tied to anything when I saddle them. A lot of horses will set back when being tied and saddled. Horses are claustrophobic, so when a horse is tied and being saddled, they feel very trapped. It sounds like you need to get this horse confidant with the saddle being put on him again. You need to saddle him like it is his first time being saddled. Meaning, go slow, let him smell the pad and saddle, put it on him and take it off him until you hear a deep breath and a change of relaxation comes over him. I wouldn’t put the cinch on until he is confident with this.
What happens is we don’t see what happens before what happens, happens. By this, I mean that this horse is giving you the signs of being unconfident before he blows up, they just are so subtle that you are missing them. Some horses can be really good at hiding their emotions until they can’t take it any longer.
When your horse starts snorting don’t just ignore it. Take the time to help him get over the problem that he is having. You can do this by just going out and putting the saddle (or what ever he is having a problem with) on the ground and just standing there by that object until he is confident enough to start sniffing and biting it.
As another example… some horses will chomp on the bit. When someone wants me to help them get their horse over this, I watch them put the bit in the horse’s mouth. The horse has his head up high and they are forcing him to take the bit, or they are bribing him with cookies to open his mouth. So, to fix this problem, I get the horse confident with taking the bit in his mouth and do not put it in the horse’s mouth until the horse has asked for the bit. Then when the people get on their horse to ride, the horse has no problem with the bit. This is because the problem was not the bit; it was the confidence in the horse to be willing to accept the bit. The problem that people have is rarely really about the problem, it is something deeper.
There are other Q&A’s on my website that tell the signs of a horse that is confident or unconfident. If a horse is unconfident we can not just push him past it, we have to slow down and take the time to get the confidence. I think you will find it very helpful to read those articles.
Also you need to get this horse to trust you as a leader; and build his confidence that you are going to keep him safe, help him get over his problems and not push him over the limit. You will not gain this horse’s respect by pushing him around, but you will get him to trust and respect you by taking the time that he needs to get over his fears. I think that if you just take the time to get him confident about being saddled, you will find you have a much happier and trusting friend that is going to trust you in other areas also.
Please also take the time to read the Q&A about “What to do about a Barn Sour Horse”. Although that is not the particular problem you are having, you will learn a lot about thresholds and how not to push your horse past them.
I have an upcoming clinic in Chino Valley. I also offer private lessons every other weekend in Chino, Paulden, Prescott, Cottonwood and Sedona. I can come to your house for these lessons. Please contact me if you are interested.
Thanks,
Chelsie Kallestad
Please visit Chelsie’s website at www.ChelsieNaturalHorsemanship.com to submit your own horsemanship question to “Ask Chelsie” or to subscribe to our newsletter. You can also reach Chelsie at 928-713-3468 or email her at Chelsie@ChelsieNaturalHorsemanship.com. Also, please see our ad in this issue of Bridle and Bit.
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