I met this beautiful young mare at the WEG in Herning. She recently had a traumatic experience at a competition where a pot plant blew into her face. In this clinic, I showed her how to find relaxation again.
You move away, perhaps might even run. It’s natural to creep away from scary things and we often do not think about it.
The same goes for horses.
But they can’t tell what’s exactly life-threatening or not.
To be in control of all scary situations, you first must be in control of yourself.
Tension is often something we carry around without being too aware of it, until someone draws your attention to it.
The same goes for horses. Just showing your horses that they’re holding tension in their skin, will actively make them want to relax. And feeling relaxed is better than feeling tense.
The root of this training is not teaching the horses to never react, we can all be surprised by a sudden noise. It’s about what happens afterwards, how the horse feels in their body and mind.
Teaching your horse to move in a way that feels confident and relaxing means you’re teaching your horse how to control themselves, even in moments of tension.
By teaching your horse to approach the scary object, you’re guiding him into the “yes-posture”. It’s a posture that will give your horse the feeling of being in control.
Get my Reduce Tension course with 50% off and learn how you can follow all those steps with your own horse.