Instead of talking about how to change your horse's undesirable behavior, we're going to figure out what might be causing it.
Welcome to Your Behavior (Wellness) Consult
I will definitely ask you to tell me what behaviors your horse is exhibiting that you would like to have "go away." Behaviors give us valuable insight into your horse's emotional state.
Where things "get weird" though is that I'm not going to tell you how to fix that unwanted behavior. No siree. I'm going to do some sleuthing and figure out what's causing it in the firsts place. That means you and I are going to have an in depth conversation about your horse so I can learn what might be troubling him and causing him to do things that are troubling you.
What Does Diet, Lifestyle, and Exercise Have to Do with Your Horse's Behavior?
EVERYTHING! How your horse lives has a huge influence not only on behavior but on how he manages life and its many surprises and stressors. His daily routines, friends, enemies, nutrition, and interactions with you color his internal responses and external view of the world.
Behavior is a reflection of how your horse feels about himself and his environment. I often find when I'm unraveling a behavior issue, the horse is struggling with one or more aspect of his day-to-day life.
Five Behavior Busters
Here are my top five causes of all types of challenging behavior from refusals, aggression, bucking, spooking, rearing, biting, pawing, and even that behavior that YOUR horse does that you wish he would stop doing.
Ulcers
Jaw pain
Sore feet
Muscle Pain
Unbalanced feet
Don't get me wrong. There are a LOT more reasons for a horse to "misbehave," but these are the most common ones I see when I'm assessing a horse.
First Things First
Once we have identified potential causes for your horse's behavior, I will design a plan for resolving them. It's completely unfair to ask a horse who is suffering from pain, discomfort, or structural imbalance to behave or perform well and willingly. If we ignore these issues and compel your horse to behavior differently, we run a real risk of doing him harm.
Oftentimes, removing the "thorn-in-the-paw" that's causing your horse to feel upset is all that needs to be done to restore peace and tranquility in the land.