By Will Clinging

Problem horses are not generally born problem horses; they have been taught to be problem horses! There are certainly a few exceptions but as a rule, they behave the way they do because of the handling they get, or lack of handling as the case may be. They most effective way of dealing with problem behaviour is to prevent it in the first place. Unfortunately this is not always possible, and if you find yourself with a horse you cannot manage, what then? There is a solution to most problems that horses develop. Unfortunately there are some that are so well established in their problem behaviour that they are not fixable. “Fixable” is also a relative term as there are several factors that determine whether a problem horse has actually changed its behaviour permanently.

If you have a young horse that is essentially a clean slate you are in a fortunate position. You are capable of creating and directing behaviour patterns that the horse will live his life by. This is a big responsibly and one that should not be taken lightly.

Many young horses are spoiled by inexperienced hands. It is not the inexperience itself that causes this but a lack of understanding of how horses learn, and often input from other horse people offering bad advice, which is given with the best of intentions, or good advice taken out of context. When this advice is received by the inexperienced handler who is not able to tell whether the advice is valid, mistakes are made and not resolved, which leads to the horse developing resistant or evasive behaviours because he knows his handler does not know how to get what he is asking for.

If we can understand why horses behave the way they do we can start to notice problems before they are developed. This is best accomplished by studying your horse. If you pay closer attention to your horse when interacting with him, he will tell you all you need to know. How does he react when you ask him to do something? He will ignore you, challenge you, anticipate what you are asking for, respond correctly or run away from you. Which response you get should indicate what you need to change, if anything. Maybe you need to be more difficult to ignore, or be less predictable, maybe more confidant, or more assertive, possibly more sensitive? A different approach might be enough to change the response you are getting for the better. If you teach good habits you won’t need to fix bad ones.

If you have a horse that is already established in his poor behaviour you will have a tougher job. Remember that your horse is not “bad”; rather, he is behaving badly. There is a difference. Before you can start to change things you need to determine a set of guidelines for you and your horse. Do not set unrealistic goals for either of you. Be prepared to consistently correct the behaviour you don’t want and reinforce the behaviour you do want. Inconsistent handling will not change problem behaviour and will more likely reinforce bad habits rather than good ones. The beauty of horse training is that there are no set rules. If you are your horse’s leader you are allowed to make all the rules! Be disciplined: if you do not fix the things that go wrong every single time as they are going wrong, they will never be right.

There are solutions for most problems. There are unfortunately several limiting factors that can slow or prevent progress. It has taken me many years to accept that I cannot help them all. The older the horse, the harder it is to change his behaviour.

The quality of the early training is what the horse has to fall back on. If he had a good start he will often remember, with a little help, how he is expected to behave. If he has been abused he may be very difficult to help. Mental trauma has a way of building walls around what a horse has left of his true personality. These horses are sometimes unwilling to accept our offers of help. These horses need special, sometimes extreme, measures to get through to them, and they are not for the inexperienced handler. Love and gentle handling will not always get through to them.

Some horses are just plain mean; just like people, there are a few bad apples. No amount of training will discourage this type of horse. If you feel you may have a truly bad one, get a few trusted opinions before you decide what to do.

Economics is the last limiting factor in changing behaviour. Is your horse worth what it might cost you to try and change him into a horse you can enjoy? There is the emotional cost also to think about. Are you prepared for disappointment if the money runs out before he is reformed? What if he is beyond salvage? There are no guarantees in life or horse training. We all have the occasional disappointment. Given enough time (possibly years) I believe that they are all fixable but that brings us back to the limiting factors for changing behaviour.

Most horses will respond positively to remedial training. The handling he will get when he returns to the environment where the behaviour was established will dictate how long he remains well behaved. If the handler is not part of the solution, the problem behaviour will likely return. It is important for the handler to understand the remedial training and continue it or the time, money and emotion involved in the process may be wasted. To quote Ray Hunt: “they live what they learn and they learn what they live.”