Sudden Behavior Change
Today’s horse training question is from Debra. She writes: My horse accepted being bridled when I bought her with little problems. After working with her she was fine with it. Now all of a sudden she throws her head, lifts it high in the air. and wont let me near her to get the bridle on. She has also changed from willingly lounging to acting like a wild horse on the lounge line. This has come on all of a sudden. Any suggestions? Thanks, Debra
Hi Debra, Thank you for your training question. Sometimes at this time of year my horses start acting up as the seasons change and the weather gets colder. However, it seems odd that your mare had suddenly started acting up both with being bridled and with longeing. It makes me wonder if she’s injured herself… maybe not in a way that you can see, but maybe spinal aligment or something of that nature that is causing her to resist anything that leads up to riding, which might now be painful. It is impossible for me to tell without seeing the mare and knowing her history. If she’s just a green broke horse, she may just be at the low point of a learning curve. But if she has been ridden for years, and never acts this way, I would talk to your veterinarian about the possibility of back pain or some physical factor that is causing her behavior. Let’s rule physical problems out, and if that is not an issue let me know and we can work on some other aproaches to training her out of this behavior. Thank you for your question!
