Introduction
Though I use loading and transporting your equine as examples in this article, the information can be applied to any situation or animal. I use loading and transport because it creates an immediate visual and is widely accepted as a stressful event for both the caregiver and equine. This may be a short article, but it’s packed with useful information to prompt you to rethink your relationship with your critter.r
It Starts With Trust
Preparedness is critical to avoiding injury, anxiety, and undue stress; therefore, it’s important to practice loading and transporting your equine long before you actually have to take her to an event or hospital. Unfortunately, and though it boggles my mind, many people don’t bother doing this, and then wonder why their horses don’t trust the process.
It is equally imperative that your horse is taught to load and transport in a manner that rewards them for good and natural behaviour, instead of focusing on what she’s doing wrong. This means that every incremental success should be rewarded by treats or praise, or a combination of both. Why is this so important?
Behaviour modification, such as scolding, dominating, or intimidating the horse, will only reinforce undesirable behaviour, because they will associate the consequence (scolding) with the event they are reacting to (loading), resulting in a memory (fear and pain) that will be triggered in similar circumstances.
Like humans, animals will emotionally shut down to block painful experiences. It doesn’t matter whether you believe there’s a danger; it’s how the equine feels, and if she bolts because she thinks there’s a threat in the corner, don’t scold her. Scolding her will only add more evidence to reinforce the original fear. In her view, she’s not acting out. but merely expressing her feelings, which is what you want to treat the actual issue.
We forget that much of what we ask our horses to do is for our convenience and not entirely for their benefit. Yes, grooming is essential, but expecting her to stand in crossties isn’t a natural equine behaviour, and she should be rewarded for doing so. The more you reward good or natural behaviour, however mundane it may seem, the stronger your bond will become.
When you focus on developing a respectful bond, each task will become progressively easier. You’ll be able to trust your horse to listen and understand there’s a definite reason when she doesn’t, which will help prevent an inaccurate assessment of her behaviour.
A New Perspective Requires Thoughtful Planning
What I recommend should be practiced with horses familiar to you, prior to working with unfamiliar animals or during an emergency. There could be days your equine does everything right, and others when they’ll test your every nerve. However, I still believe the guardian and the environment create most behavioural issues, and learning patience before reacting will substantially improve your equine’s life. Never wait until an emergency to prepare your horse and yourself to travel.
Consider the Environment
Did you know houses that are staged sell faster, and at higher prices? It’s important to mention this because setting the stage for success begins long before attempting to load and transport your equine. It still surprises me that handlers expect horses to behave naturally in abnormal environments, such as clinics, shows, and paddocks, where there are unfamiliar people and stimuli.
These environments and situations may indeed become tolerable, and even enjoyable, with desensitization training. However, there are too many variables and inconsistencies between one situation and the next to guarantee a consistent reaction.
Horses, donkeys, mules, and ponies are sentient beings with sensitive cognitive abilities and deserve to be treated respectfully. Unfortunately, though they often mean well, many handlers and guardians still don’t understand the stress they unknowingly cause through common practices.
With this in mind, unless your equine is a seasoned pro, avoid distractions, such as having an audience while loading. Everything you ask of your horse should be based on the path of least resistance to allow her time to develop confidence. This is accomplished by building incremental successes, for which she is rewarded, before introducing other factors, such as an audience.
We don’t expect children to run before they learn to crawl, yet we often forget animals require confidence, time, and a safe environment to succeed. If you are a coach or trainer, please consider not using a live audience while working with a fearful or anxious horse. In situations such as these, it’s best to record the process so the horse does not associate people with stress and existing fear or trauma. As always, it’s important to think beyond what is convenient for us as handlers to assess whether our actions will have lasting effects on our horses.
Note on Hiring
Some of us don’t have the equipment to transport our animals and rely on others to do so. We would like to think all services are equal and everyone has your equine’s best interest in mind, but that’s not always the case.
It is your responsibility to ensure that whomever you hire has specific experience hauling equines and is recommended by reputable training facilities. To better prepare, create a list of reliable and vetted resources, such as training facilities and drivers, before you need them. An emergency is not the time to do a test run.
Summary
Our expectations of how an animal should behave can cloud our judgment. Now that you have read this short article, how will building trust between you and your critter help with training, performance, and overall quality of life?