Articles: respect

Do you ever run into the problem of not having enough time to spend with your horse? It's something that can plague all of us. We wish we had more time to go out and spend time with the horses. Perhaps the weather has kept us inside, or late working hours brings us home too late to spend much time with the horses. It's a very common complaint I hear from a lot of folks. When this happens, does it seem like your horse becomes resentful of you? When you approach him, he'll turn and walk away or pin his ears at you?


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Do you ever have that lead horse that appears hard on the rest of the herd? Take a look at this question from Facebook: I am a bit beside myself.. I am green with horses as is my mare that I have.. She has the sweetest disposition.. I had to put her in with a alpha mare as I have not got a pasture fenced for her yet.. This mare has bit her a lot and now the alpha has gotten my girl to where she won't come near me.. I don't blame her every time she does she gets bit... Will this alpha ruin my girl from me permanently or will this be something we can work out when I am able to have her with me? - Vivianne via Facebook


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If you've followed Natural Horsemanship for any length of time, you've likely often heard a thousand references to "gaining your horse's respect". Getting your horse respectful on the ground and under saddle. How a respectful horse is one that is not going to spook, buck, bolt, bite or kick you. How a respectful horse makes for a better partnership and relationship with your horse. How trust is built on respect. But what does that mean?


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You enter your horse’s stall or corral, he flattens his ears, flares his nostrils, swishes his tail and threatens to kick or bite. He's sending a clear message: "Get OUT!". Does this look familiar? If so, your horse is exhibiting a normal horse behavior of dominance. Perhaps he only displays this aggression when you bring his food. You’re worried that he’ll eventually hurt someone. Why does he do this and what can you do about it? Aggression toward people is especially common with many horses who have a history of abuse, or who are confined to small corrals or in stalls, but can also be common with horses that spend a lot of time around people. Horses can get used to people to a point where they start viewing us a other herd members. Aggression is often manifested around food, or it may just be whenever we enter their stall or corral. If we don’t curb this behavior, it can be dangerous. Horses outweigh humans by over 1,000 lbs, it is easy for them to hurt us, even if they don’t mean to.


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