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One of the Secrets of Holistic Horse Training: Managing Anxiety, Not Energy

Energy Doesn't Cause Behavioral Issues; Anxiety Does. Why the adage “A Tired Horse is a Good Horse” isn’t true. How Holistic Horse Training Can Help You Calm Your Horse's Energy.


Have you heard the saying “a tired horse is a good horse?” Well, which kind of tired do they mean, mental or physical?


Most training involves physically exhausting a horse, naturally stimulating the horse’s need for self-preservation. This is how anxiety starts and why horses develop behavioral issues.


Don't be afraid of your horse's energy. Rather, understand where it is coming from, the source or the cause, so you can redirect it, harness it, and regulate it.


Work with the mind first and the body will naturally follow.

Horses are, by nature, designed and hardwired through their nervous system to conserve energy, not expend energy. Just watch the wild horse documentaries or Facebook wild horse sanctuary groups that post live videos 24 hours a day. You will only see wild horses running when there is present danger. The remainder of the time, they are grazing, sleeping, bonding, and walking to find forage and water.


I've raised many weanlings and professionally developed and trained hundreds of young horses. By nature, they are quiet, calm, and willing to learn and work with you. So, why do we see so many young "problem" horses? They become "problem" horses because of us, the way we handle them, and the way we work with them.


In the end, we create the fight. Horses, by nature, are oppositional. This is how they fight a predator. They push into, pull away from, and flee when they either feel threatened or are faced with an attack.


When you respect this natural instinct for self-preservation, you learn how to work with a horse so they do not fear you, fight you, or run from you. Once they understand your gentle yet firm hands will not hurt them, they will give to your touch, to pressure. This is how you create softness in your horse. A horse that is responsive and light to your touch.


A defensive horse is a tight, tense, and anxious horse. Nobody wins when we’re fighting. This is why I work with the horse’s mind first. I do everything I can to avoid stressing a horse out, as I know the body will follow softly when the mind is at ease.


I recently came across an article about the saying, “A tired horse is a good horse.” While the article did not agree with this saying, I had to search online to see if this saying was elsewhere. Lo and behold, I found a video from DU Horsemanship titled “Lessons Learned: A Tired Colt is a Good Colt.”


DU Horsemanship creating stress in a horse during training, aka, teaching.

 

The video began with a student’s testimony and experience of tiring colts before they were ridden. He preached that a tired horse is a good horse, especially when training young colts. The DU student went on about how “you don’t see a tired colt bucking people off, running away with them, kicking at their leg or acting up.”


Well, honestly, that’s not true. I’ve seen many horses go nuts after being run into the ground for thirty-plus minutes. If something bothers them, and they haven’t learned helplessness, they will do what they need to do to get out of that situation. It’s what horses are hardwired to do; it’s called self-preservation.


What bothers me the most about DU Horsemanship, any horsemanship like this, is it promotes rough, stressful, forceful horse training.


The type of training described not only normalizes forceful, dominant, and submissive tactics but also harms horses from within. Horses trained using excessive pressure, force, and dominant/submissive tactics become stressed, tight, and tense, leading to behavioral issues. This is why we have so many horses with problems.

 

Holistic Horsemanship can help a horse become calm instead of jumpy and unpredictable
Stressed dressage horse during the 2022 Olympics.

Consider this at any level, including the Olympic level. How often do you see horses performing while being tense, tight, bracing, and heavy? Unfortunately, it's far too common. This behavior is widespread, from promotional magazine ads for equine products to every discipline and sport. The more we witness horses being handled and trained in this manner, the more it becomes normalized.



Like children, horses deserve the time, respect and consideration needed to grow and mature to their potential.

 

You can’t force it; you can’t make it happen. When you do, you and your horse (child) will suffer the consequences, which in most cases, lead to us getting hurt.


If you know horses, you know the following truths about them. For one, horses are natural followers who prefer to partner. They have an instinct to work together and get along for the well-being and safety of the herd and the community.


Horses are also passive and lazy by nature. They do not want a job, nor do they seek confrontation, rather they are hardwired to avoid it. So, when your horse avoids you, it’s time to take a hard look at what you’re bringing to the relationship that turns your horse off.


Just because a horse has the talent and desire to jump perfectly, work a herd of cattle on its own, or race other horses freely doesn’t mean it wants to do this every day.

 

Holistic Horsemanship can help a traumatized horse with fears or other triggers
Starved, broken-down horses at an auction.

They aren’t built for the level of physical, mental, and emotional stress we put on them when we work them hard and on a daily basis.


Look at all the broken-down horses. They are everywhere...at auctions, rescues, backyards.





We owe it to our horses to take care of them. To love, nurture and protect them at all costs.

 

Horses are wicked smart, too, which means they get bored easily. This doesn’t mean you have to change their routine and training daily or weekly. Rather, learn how to develop the relationship and interest (mind), so they want to be with and work with you. Spend time on the subtle nuances of learning, and your horse will be just as connected and interested

as you.


This means developing their mind so they are disciplined in their work. While you’re developing age-appropriate focus and discipline, work on helping them regulate their nervous systems.


When you have these areas, you will have a well-balanced horse, from the inside out, at any age.

Remember, energy doesn't cause behavioral issues; anxiety does. A stressed-out horse operates fully in its SNS (sympathetic nervous system), which means it is in self-preservation. This means it is unpredictable, nervous, anxious, tight, defensive, and unable to learn. The only reason it does what you tell it is out of fear or pain.


Work the mind, and the body will follow. A mindful horse is a present horse. The present horse is a calm, relaxed, happy, and safe horse.


Holistic Horsemanship Training focuses on bringing a horse into the Parasympathetic Nervous System
Lovey, one of Caroline's horses, demonstrating a relaxed, happy and connected horse during her clinic.

If you’ve been searching for a deeper way to be with horses, a better way to train horses, and in a connected and safe riding partnership, the Tao of Horsemanship Academy's 

Mastery Riding Foundation program will show you how every step of the way!


With a comprehensive website of holistic horsemanship information, as well as free resources, support, and complete online learning programs, you can immerse yourself in the world of consensual partnership with your horse and love the journey as you learn together.


May you always be one with your horse,


Caroline Beste

Founder, Tao of Horsemanship

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