"WHEN YOUR HORSE GETS ANTSY"
By Barbra Schulte
It's a natural instinct.
When your horse gets nervous and starts "antsing" around, you try and calm him by looking down at him, petting him on the neck and loosening the reins. A loving look, a pat on the neck and a release of the reins are three responses that would seem to take the pressure off of him, right?
Not so much ... actually those actions are often the opposite of what you need to do.
Granted the touch of a hand on the neck for some horses could be comforting, but to others it might signal a reward for the movement.
Secondly, regarding the release of the reins ..
well ... a horse learns by the release of
pressure so upon closer inspection, if this is
true, then loosening the reins (releasing
pressure) would reinforce his nervous
behavior.
A more high strung, or fidgety horse (for any
reason) quiets down with consistent guidance
and a redirection of his focus. Those actions
calm him. If you just react and release the
reins, then you have not guided or redirected
him.
Sometimes it helps to redirect his focus and
guide him into some "work" like walking or
trotting in a circle, or backing up, or
something he knows and you can repeat. Once
he is "working" and you feel a softening in his
once tight muscles and staccato movements,
THEN you can loosen the reins to reward his
softening/calming. If he gets tight again, then
redirect, focus and do the work routine again
until he gets soft and relaxed, and then
release again. Repeat a million (-: times as
necessary, or however many times it takes to
focus and work until relaxed and released.
So release for calmness. Guide, focus and work for random motion.
Don't forget to check in on your own emotions, too. Your horse is a powerful reflector of your emotions. In most cases, when you are in a heightened energy state, so is your horse. When you let down and relax, so does your horse.
Keep your eyes up, too. Eyes up evoke the positive emotions within you of focus and steadiness. Eyes down evoke a wide range of undesirable emotions.
Professional Cutting Horse Trainer, Personal Performance Coach, Author, Clinician, and Equine Consultant. In 2012 Barbra was inducted into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame
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