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Horse Issues

© Caryn A. Tate

I've received a lot of letters recently from people who have problems with their horses--usually young, stubborn horses. What I want to discuss is how so many people feel that what their horses are doing is wrong, that their horse is being "bad."

First of all, I do realize how frustrating it is when your horse isn't accepting what you're trying to teach him. When you feel that you're doing everything possible to teach him something, and he's simply being stubborn. The purpose and intent of this article isn't that I'm unsympathetic to that frustration, or that I've never felt it.

The intent of this article is to stress patience, and that the majority of things your horse does are perfectly normal, perfectly healthy things for a horse to do. Yes, sometimes they're frustrating to you as the trainer; yes, sometimes you may doubt what you're teaching, or your method, or even your horse. But that doesn't mean that you should give up, or take it out on your horse. If you're sure deep down that you're using a good training method with your horse, maintain it and you will eventually have rewards.

For instance, a horse that picks up his pace on the ride home...this is a perfectly normal thing for a horse to do, and you may be able to train him to the point where he slows down a bit. But for the most part, horses will always look forward to coming home after a ride. You can compare it to the way that people feel at the prospect of going out with friends or coming home after being at work all day. Realistically, you shouldn't feel that you should quell that feeling in your horse, that spirit. I realize that it's frustrating at times; but please remember that spirit is part of what makes your horse who he is. To make that disappear would be to break, or at least change, part of your horse's spirit; and that is simply wrong.

So, hopefully this article inspired many of you to try to have more patience with your horses. While some things can be truly frustrating, many times I'll use tactics that we use in our relationships with people: if you feel that you're getting upset over something that is no one's fault, or that you're upset with something entirely different and are about to take it out on a loved one, count to ten. Walk away for a while, take a breather, and come back refreshed to begin again with the person (or horse!). It's worth it!