Page 66 - ST November 2013

education I

BY LINDA PARELLI

Fear of

Oncoming Horses

T

his is often a big problem when riding 2. The moment you feel it, gently leg yield your
in groups at trail riding events, and horse away from the oncoming horse, but keep

in warm-up arenas at competitions. his nose tipped slightly towards it.

Horses that are afraid of other horses 3. Do this every time, yielding right and left de-
coming towards them are expressing pending on where the horses are coming from.

insecurity with new herd relationships:
It won’t take long for your horse to realize that

you are keeping him safe and he will begin
• They don’t know the other horses. Horses are to relax and trust you more. You’ll notice his

very bonded to their herd mates, and estab- bubble getting smaller and smaller, and pretty

lished herds tend to reject newcomers.
soon he will have no bubble at all.
• They are unsure of where they stand in the 4. Take the time it takes. This is not something

pecking order and are avoiding conlict. you can rush or expect the horse to overcome

Most likely this is not a very self-coni- in just one session, but it will start to improve
dent or dominant horse; more of a right- right away. And if you can practice this at

brained Horsenality.
home with friends and other horses, that will

help accelerate the process too.
What to do
5. Never don’t do it! Every time you ride in

Being your horse’s leader, it’s your responsibility company, feel for your horse’s bubble. Address

to keep the horse safe. If you understand his emo- it right away if you feel his fear, and his coni-
tional fear, then it makes sense to support the horse’s dence will keep growing. But remember, the

feelings rather than negate them and force the horse moment you discount his feelings, things can

to go forward and stay on track. This will actually get worse again. Consistency is important;
cause the problem to worsen, the fear will escalate, that’s how horses learn to trust their human

and it can lead to panic and explosive reactions.
leaders, and when they trust that you are
1. Feel your horse’s “bubble.” As the other horse taking care of their needs, they will relax.
ST
approaches, you will feel your horse start to

worry. Note how far from the other horse this
occurs. For particularly sensitive and insecure

horses, this can be quite some distance away.

64 | Savvy Times November 2013