We can learn How To Avoid Horse Behavior Problems and, instead, get the horse behavior we want.
We love horses! That’s something we have in common.
While there are all types of horses and all types of horse people, there is something else we have in common – we want and need to Get Good Horse Behavior and avoid horse behavior problems.
Good horse behavior makes us safer and happier.
It also makes our horse safer and happier. (The same way that a child is much better off when they know how to behave and what is expected of them.)
Get Good Horse Behavior is all about getting the horse behavior we want and avoiding horse behavior problems that represent the horse behavior we don’t want.
Ways Horse Behavior Problems Happen
Sometimes the horse behavior we want can be elusive because we and our horse can quickly get into patterns and habits, and it’s easy to not realize that things could be so much better.
Sometimes the horse behavior problems we don’t want are difficult to notice because they sneak up on us – and then we may feel confused. We end up wondering how we got here.
How I Learned A Lesson
I’ll give an example from my past and how I learned a big lesson about horse behavior problems – the hard way:
When I got my first horse, I was ecstatic. Finally!
I loved him and groomed him and fed him some good grain because he was a little thin. I wanted him to look better, feel better, and for his coat to get nice and shiny. He started putting on weight and he looked really good.
As the weeks went by, I noticed that he started becoming more high-headed and jittery, but I didn’t know what to make of it. Within a few months, he was so jacked up with energy from the extra feed I was giving that he became first unmanageable and then dangerous.
Guess what? I still didn’t know what was going wrong!
People told me that he would wheel and kick with both hind legs. I was in denial until he did it to me! Yikes! He sent me flying and I was lucky to get by with a bruise the size of a grapefruit rather than a broken leg – or worse. Thank goodness it happened to me and not to my friends or their kids.
Now I know that when I hear about a change in behavior where a horse begins acting overly nervous and jumpy, the first place we can look is: what are they being fed. When this happens, it’s not our horse’s fault. And, it’s not our fault! We are just trying to take the best possible care of them. But the results can be problematic.
The Value of The Lesson
The value of this experience came only later:
First, because I never made that mistake again!
Secondly, when I could point this out to others to turn their situation around easily.
Third, it inspired the article: “Overfeeding Causes Horse Behavior Problems” to help avoid this situation altogether.
Dream to Nightmare
My “dream come true” suddenly turned into my nightmare. I didn’t realize what was wrong, but I was scared. Wow, I had a lot to learn!
So much of what I have learned came literally through the school of hard knocks. But now I believe it doesn’t have to be that way.
It Doesn’t Have To Be That Way
With some pointers, I believe we can take short-cuts that allow us to have the horse we always wanted sooner and easier. And, in a manner that is safer for us, our loved ones, and our horse.
When I started out, I searched for answers, but it took a long time to find those answers or to figure them out for myself.
Unfortunately, I needed the answers then. Now I wonder if I would have even known what questions to ask.
Today I realize that it all condenses to this: Get Good Horse Behavior.
I’m definitely better off knowing the things I have learned over time. Now I want to share so others don’t have to go through the same long process of trial and error.
As the story above shows, it can be easy to innocently get things going down a wrong path. What I thought was a good thing (feeding him extra) was actually causing problems.
Get Good Horse Behavior looks at solutions and short-cuts that can benefit anyone who is around horses. Here are some of the things we’ll cover:
- How to be immediately safer – The Golden Rule of Horse Safety
- How to speak to our horse in their language.
- What our horse really needs and why.
- How to understand horse emotions.
- Why horses do what they do.
- What to do when we’re stuck and out of ideas.
- How to never again be stuck and out of ideas.
A Lifetime of Joy and Fulfillment
Horses offer us a lifetime of joy and fulfillment – if we learn how to be safe and how to avoid horse behavior problems.
For more, you can check out: About Horse Training And Why Our Horse Needs It.
Horses Forever!
Pat Moses
Horse-Solutions.com
30+ Years of Supporting Horse Lovers
P.S. If you want ideas right now on how you can avoid horse problem behavior, email Pat@Horse-Solutions.com, Subject: Set Up Free 15-Minute Phone Call.