Horse problem fixes...overshadowing nervousness and tension at new placesDid you worked hard to successfully achieve a certain movement or behavior with your horse and when you took them to a new place it seemed like the horse forgot everything? Don't feel bad, almost everyone experiences the same thing. Let me give a few tips to help you overcome the problem. First and foremost understand that when a horse is brought to new place or introduced to a different situation they will immediately be on guard, looking for any silly thing that might eat them. It is this natural instinct that causes newly trained behaviors to suddenly vanish. A good trainer will understand this natural inclination and make concessions to the horse when first introducing a new scary or place. They will not require perfection, but take what the horse can give them and reward any small effort on the horse's part. Having an attitude of "how can I help" instead of dominance or struggling to attain the leadership position, the friendly trainer will set the stage for success. How? By having certain tools in place, ready to be used when faced with a nervous and tense horse. Understanding that controlling the feet is the key to controling the mind, there are a few simple movements that can be used to over come or overshadow the horse's nervous and tense behavior. Rocking the horse back and forth a few steps at a time is very effective at refocusing the horse. It can be done on the ground or in the saddle. Step the horse forward a few steps and then immediately ask for a backup. Done repetitively, the horse will refocus on the trainer and calm down. Bending and turning the horse in a random fashion is another overshadowing technique used by the top trainers in the world. At the ranch, we call it Random Turns. Anytime the horse speeds up, looks around, raises the head, veers away from something, or makes a turn on their own we bend and turn them. This is done repetitively and in such a random fashion that the horse is forced to focus on the rider. What makes these two simple movements so powerful is that you never punish the horse for making a mistake, becoming nervous or not listening. They are, instead, rewarded for correctly performing these simple movements. Which then effectively interrupts the unwanted behavior, leaving a horse that can now be asked to perform that new movement just taught them. Lastly, the friendly trainer also understands the natural process of how horses learn. Just like children, learning begins with the basics and moves progressively to harder and more difficult learning. Taking a horse out once to a new place and then getting mad because they cannot perform correctly does not follow this natural process. It takes at least 7-10 times of encountering a new object or place for this natural process to work. So instead of looking for perfection next time you take your horse to a new place, look for progress, use simple movements to interrupt nervousness and tension and make sure you reward them for any effort they can give. After 7-10 places you should see a remarkable difference in your horse.
| 
