STRESS IN HORSES

by John O'Leary
Horseman
© 2003

I meet so many horses with stress problems. Almost all of those problems are caused by man. I will try to graple with this most complex of subjects in a form that you may understand. At the end, I will be stressed.

The causes are endless but first I will deal with a couple that are not man made.

  • Mares with hormonal imbalance problems can be stress heads and there are injections now that can help this. Having a foal can also assist.

  • Geldings that have been poorly gelded and may be confused as to their sexuality. These too can have hormone imbalance problems and may require treatment.

  • I have met other horses that have been born similar to Attention Deficit Disorder in people although these can respond to a more challenging and interesting training regime.

So what are the man made things that cause stress in horses? Here are just some of them.

  • Over rugging horses.

  • Boxing horses where they cannot see their friends.

  • A lack of exercise in stabled, yarded or boxed horses. A lack of fatigue.

  • Over feeding and under working. Too much built up energy can lead to stress.

  • Over lunging horses in an attempt to so called quieten them down. This simply stresses horses, makes them fitter and serves no useful purpose whatsoever.

  • Too much flat work. Too many days of flatwork. Not enough Trail Riding, jumping, Parelli or other activities of interest.

  • Not enough spelling for the horse.

  • Bad float drivers and experiences.

  • Over working horses prior to a competition.

  • Over lunging horses at competition.

  • Attempting to train your horse just prior to a competition. Altering the work pressure and stress level.

  • Stress levels and vibes of the rider changing.

  • The attitude of the rider. The caring, rewarding or lack of.

  • Treating horses like 'Robots' and not being empathetic enough towards them. Not understanding them well enough.

  • Not using the principals of 'Reward and Relief' in the training of the horse.

  • Not enough attention to detail to the  health & welfare of the horse.

  • Being mouthy whilst riding and training.

  • Riders' who don't have enough knowledge to know if a horse just did good and to back off as a result..

  • Over riding and training, especially taking into account the age and status of the young horse.

  • The inability of the owner to not fight with their horse on the ground when leading, standing, tying up, or whilst riding.

  • Not being able to identify and to reward a horse quickly enough after it has done something good.

  • Not knowing how to make a horse walk on a trail ride and allowing the horse to jig jog instead.

  • Allowing bad ground manners and fights with your horse

  • Speaking to your horse using a voice that holds stress in it.

  • Leading your horse like the Racing Industry does. Go look there for stress.

  • A lack of understanding of the 6 kinds of 'Reward & Relief' and the regular use of it.

  • Over facing horses whilst jumping.

  • Not being sure that a horse totally understands before demanding in an assertive manner.

  • Failing to discipline with justice.

  • Too many shows and hanging around way too late at them. Not a lot of people go home and put their horse as the priority over presentation. Especially young horses.

In general, horses are the most relaxed with the confident, knowledgeable and assertive rider who leads with confidence. Horses like clear signals, clear rules, boundaries set and a firm foundation of knowledge to back it up. Confusion can lead to stress. Mood swings in the rider, such as with the teenagers', passes on to the horse.

So, I hope you think more about this type of subject when interacting with your friends in the future. They sure will appreciate it.

 

 

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