Articles The first piece of advice is not to use the label "vice". There are reasons that horses have these behaviors.
I observe several categories of behavioral problems, and every one is a result of the horse responding to its environment. The horse is either fearful, confused, disrespectful, or frustrated.
People ask my advice for every type of problem you can imagine; hard-to-catch, jigging, pulling back, trailer loading, kicking, biting, cribbing, weaving, pacing, and the list goes on. Most horse owners have either seen or experienced one of these problems, from mild to dangerous levels.
It‟s amazing to me how common horse problems are. I would say that one of the biggest reasons for the prevalence of behavioral problems is that the horse industry today seriously lacks information about how horses think and what‟s important to them.
Most education is focused on becoming good riders and caretakers. When horses are sick, we get the vet. If they resist, we get a different bit, spur, or tie down. If they‟re a real problem, we sell them, send them to the „trainer‟, or have them destroyed. I regularly ask at seminars how many people know of someone who has not ridden his or her horse in a month, six months, a year, five years. I‟m always amazed how many people just leave their horses in the pasture waiting for... something.
Another very common situation I‟ve seen is a ridable horse that gets along pretty well, with just one or two problems that we‟ve found a way to overlook or accept because we don‟t know it can be any other way.
Most behavioral problems can be prevented or eliminated if the three basic needs of the horse are met.
1. Horses need to feel safe
2. Horses need to feel comfortable
3. Horses need to play
Many behavioral problems are fear based. The horse does not feel safe, therefore he kicks, strikes, runs off, rears, etc., in self-defense. Horses are natural prey animals; we know we would never eat them, but how could they know that when our normal method of handling difficulties is to tie a leg up, ear them down, cross-tie them in an aisle or use pain-inflicting devices to „control‟ them. These methods just confirm their fears. Most horses put up with it... but some won‟t tolerate it. And these are the horses most often labeled stupid or rogues.
The second category of problems is connected to horses needing comfort. Resistance to the bit, the leg, the rein are all signs that the horse is seeking comfort but doesn‟t know where to find it. It‟s up to us to teach him by releasing when he is right. The 7 Games on the ground help develop the feel and timing we need to give release to the horse – even when riding.
Lastly, some of the more subtle problems come from a horse who feels safe, is comfortable with his life... but he‟s bored, BORED, BORED!
He‟s got fun games planned for when the human turns up! Games like pushing with his nose, nipping, stepping on a foot, pawing at the hitching rail, or even more exuberant things like leaping into the air and snorting about.
More extreme symptoms of boredom are the more perplexing problems like pacing, cribbing, weaving, popping lips, or lolling the tongue. These behaviors are so common that they‟re accepted as normal. These horses are displaying a form of psychosis or are self-inducing an endorphin release, a natural „drug‟ that has a morphine-like effect.
I wonder how many people would overlook a human with such displaced behavior or drug addiction. If they cared for the person, they‟d do everything possible to help them.
Regardless of the type of problem, these behaviors are all very natural for horses that are scared, confused, disrespectful, or frustrated. Now that the „why‟ is answered, let‟s explore how to help the horse.
Playing the 7 Games with a horse meets the three basic needs by developing trust, comfort, respect and play. I‟ve seen every problem you can imagine dramatically decline or totally disappear. Letters come in daily with examples of this from students. They‟re amazed – it almost seems magical, but it‟s very logical to the horse.
The first game is the Friendly Game, where we earn the horse‟s trust. The second game is the Porcupine Game, where horses learn to gain comfort by finding release when moving off steady pressure. Game three is the Driving Game where horses move away from rhythmic pressure. These three „primary games‟ combine to make up the remaining four games; the Yo-Yo, the Circling, the Sideways and the Squeeze Games.
Safety, comfort, and play. The 7 Games meet the horse‟s three basic needs. Remember... the horse is not wrong for his behavior, and natural solutions will create a great partnership for you and your horse!
by Pat Parelli