If you are working with a sensitive, reactive horse, there is no such thing as a quick fix for problems.  Unfortunately, it is very common for trainers to have a “sure-fire” fix for a particular issue.  If you hear about or read about these tips you might be tempted to try them out on a horse you are working with. 

Be aware that many options you might try with your horse will exacerbate the issue rather than making it better.  I have personally tried some options for fixing a behavioral problem that only created new issues.  There are also some things that work well with square horses, and even if they don’t work for you will certainly do no harm if you try them.

Here are some things that I and others have tried, only to discover there are reasons for not using these methods:

• If your horse won’t go forward, back him up quickly.  Rationale: horses search for the easy route and essentially are lazy at heart.  The horse will want to avoid work, and will find it easier to go forward (eventually). 

With many horses what actually happens when you use this method is that they decide backing up quickly is the thing to do if they are ever uncertain about going forward.  It makes sense if you think about it: they freeze up, you push them backwards, so they associate barred forward motion with a swift backward escape route. 

Applied in real life with a reactive horse: a) you’re in a line of horse traffic and the horse is upset because he can’t move forward.  He begins backing up into the line of horses behind.  Cursing from the other riders ensues, along with the “domino” effect. b) A noisy truck scares your horse so he begins backing up quickly toward a barbed wire fence and a ditch…or the edge of a cliff. c) When your horse doesn’t want to cross water he backs up.  The more you give him cues to move, the faster he goes backwards. 

• If your horse won’t stand still when tied, find something really stout and tie him up for hours on end or even overnight.  Just keep an eye on him, he’ll be fine.  Rationale: the horse will learn that he may be tied up for a very long time and will decide to conserve his energy. 

What really happens with many horses when you use this method is that they will decide they don’t want to get caught because they might end up tied for a very long time.  Especially in cases where the horse is tied without food or water, it can be very stressful and mentally damaging to the horse.  If horses get frightened they may pull back seriously enough to injure their atlas or axis in the neck vertebrae, causing permanent damage.  They also may damage their facial nerves, leading to lifelong issues with bits and bridles. 

Even when a “square” horse is not permanently harmed by this method, it has been observed that they did not stand more patiently in the future, but instead the trainer ended up with a large trench dug or worn into the ground where the horse was tied.  In some cases, instead of teaching the horse patience it teaches the horse to be anxious about this stress-inducing tying marathon and to pace even more.  The truth is, there are horses that are extremely athletic and also have the mental energy to canter for a hundred miles (as in FEI endurance racing).  These horses will often keep moving as long as they are stressed, even if they harm themselves doing it.

•  If a horse is difficult to catch, chase him around and tire him out.  Rationale: He will soon learn that the easiest option is to allow himself to be caught rather than be forced to run around.

 A horse can elude someone trying to catch him in a space as small as a round pen.  The fact is, many horses have very good reasons for not wanting to be caught and they all relate to human error.  A horse may not wish to be caught because each time he is taken out of the field he is worked very hard and left sore and exhausted.  If this is the case, chasing the horse will only reinforce his idea of the human as the slave driver who causes pain and exhaustion.  Then again, we come back to the fact that some horses can be cantered for 100 miles…do you have the ability to chase your horse for 20 hours or more?  Not likely.  This method is a bad idea for hot, excitable horses as it will only make them fearful, fit and teach them new ways to avoid being caught.

Now for some things that do work, or if they don’t work for your horse at least they won’t cause any harm or new behavioral issues.

If a horse won’t go forward, often the best solution is to get off and lead the horse for awhile.  You need to understand why the horse does not want to go.  Is he concerned about leaving his home environment and horse buddies?  Is he afraid of the monsters in the woods?  Has he never faced this particular obstacle alone before?  In any case, simply leading the horse over it on a ride or two will soon leave him confident enough to do it while being ridden.  You must realize that for many horses, when you are on their back they feel that they are doing things while physically “alone.”  Having another creature walking with them helps build their confidence.  There is no compelling reason for why everything must be done from the saddle with horses.  Even if you begin by walking quite a bit with some horses, the time you spend riding will increase as the horse gains confidence.

If a horse won’t stand still when tied, you need to find out the reason for the horse’s anxiety.  Is he looking around and calling for his buddies?  Then he’ll need to learn gradually to be tied with a buddy nearby and then farther away until he gains the confidence to be tied alone.  Has he had bad experiences while being tied?  Then he needs to have enough good, calm, shorter experiences that will help him understand it is safe to be tied.  Has he just never learned how to be tied?  Begin by not tying the lead rope so the horse learns he can get away whenever he needs to.  Then slowly progress to tying, with a watchful eye so you can release the slip knot if the horse gets frightened.  Or buy a special ring that always lets more rope out if the horse moves away.

Some horses will never stand perfectly still when tied due to high energy levels.  If the horse is simply shifting his feet around because he is too energetic, there is nothing to fault him for as long as he maintains a state of general calm.  If he is fearful or nervous, however, that is something that will resolve with time and good experiences. 

A horse that is truly difficult to catch can take some time to retrain.  It begins with teaching the horse that a person in the field might be coming to give the horse something pleasant rather than catching the horse.  Walk out, toss the horse an apple, leave.  Once you progress to touching the horse, you must not catch the horse for several sessions but instead just walk away.  Then you need to go out and give treats to the horse with a halter over your shoulder, which often will send the horse galloping again.  Once you can put the halter on the horse, you should lead the horse around the field for a minute, then release the horse.  Then progress to taking the horse outside the field, grazing the horse for several minutes then putting the horse back out.  You get the idea.  After awhile, the horse will understand that at least you are not going to cause pain, overwork and stress each time he is caught.  Expect the horse to regress into old habits if put in a new situation or under stress, but it will quickly be resolved by repeating a mini version of these methods.

At all costs, avoid ever tricking the horse by hiding the halter, doing the “treat and grab” or lassoing the horse.  All of these methods will erode the trust the horse is establishing with you.  Most hard to catch horses are very savvy and wary of any tricks that have been used to catch them in the past.