No horse is naughty!

No horse is naughty!

We know horses have personalities and no two are the same. They may have quirks and edges, but at what point do people start labelling these behaviours as “naughty”. At what point do we start looking more closely at why horses are behaving a certain way, rather than simply putting it down to “how they are”?

If we really delved deeper, could we actually be contributing to their behavioural outbursts or reactions? And how much of this comes from how we’re sitting? 

When we’re on their back’s day after day, it is inevitably going to have an impact on their bodies and how they move. And what do they do? Initially, they might ignore it. But over time, as they alter the way they move, their bodies may start to niggle as they compensate for us.

If you’re sitting just one inch off centre, that can mean an additional 10–14 kilograms of weight down one side of your horse. If you do this once, they might feel a little sore, but they will likely recover fairly quickly. If you’re doing this day after day, it becomes their normal. It can become harder for them to push off one hind leg, potentially leading to one side becoming underdeveloped and the other overdeveloped. The problem can become more pronounced the longer it is allowed to continue.

Now, imagine this in human terms. If you go on a long hike and you carry a heavy rucksack on one shoulder, after a while you’re going to get sore down one side, you’ll probably start walking in a strange way to compensate and you’ll be desperate to put it down. 

It’s the same for horses, but they have absolutely no say in the matter — and this is where behaviour comes in.

They can’t explain the problem. The only way they can tell us something is wrong is to react. This can come out in a negative way, and it’s our responsibility to notice it, understand it and address it, not simply label or blame the horse for “naughty behaviour”.

So, next time your horse reacts, think “Why is he behaving like that?” Maybe he’s not understanding the way I’m asking? Maybe he’s finding it physically hard? Maybe he’s feeling sore, or the way I’m sitting is affecting him?