There will no doubt be a time when your horse will need to leave the yard, but how do you manage him when he becomes agitated in a strange place? Mel Beale finds out how to train a horse to be cool and calm in all surroundings
YOU HAVE CONSULTED the calendar and there is a show coming up in a fortnight that you would love to enter. The weather is set to be perfect, your training has been going well, but there is one thing holding you back: the second your horse exits the horsebox he becomes anxious, upset and difficult to handle. You simply can’t bring yourself to sign up for another stress-filled trip.
It isn’t uncommon for horses to be easy to handle at home but unsettled and tricky at a new location. Whether you want to strut your stuff at a competition, sign up for a training clinic, or book your horse into the vets, knowing that he will become agitated as soon as he leaves the yard can make any move a tricky — or even dangerous — endeavour.
“If your horse isn’t confident, he’ll look to his handler for safety,” says equine behavioural trainer Bev Walton. “If he doesn’t feel like you provide him with that, then he’ll run through you or try to flee.”
In this situation, when a horse is focused on everything else, it puts the handler in a vulnerable position in which they could get injured. It can be frustrating, nerve-racking and even frightening if a horse ignores them or if he won’t stand still. Bad behaviours like napping back to the horsebox or rearing might then start to creep in.
“Our first instinct when a horse is anxious is to tense up and hold onto him, but this causes him to worry about what’s going on. His instinct is to run, so he may well try to flee,” says Bev.
It is never too early — or late — to begin preparing your horse to be away from home; after all, accidents can happen at any time. He might need to be taken to the vets in an emergency and he won’t be able to be treated effectively if he won’t safely stand for an injection or trot up calmly for a lameness examination.
“As soon as you take custody of your new horse you need to prepare him to be away from home, starting with groundwork exercises,” says Bev.
Help him at home
The fundamentals should begin in the place your horse feels the safest — at home. There are a few things handlers should be able to do with their horses with ease.
