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What is the difference between mental and physical training, and how does it affect our horse’s needs?
I recently took my thoroughbred Alyssia, who is training for the 2021 Mega Thoroughbred Makeover, to a horse show. She was agitated and nervous, and it took her a long time to settle. We walked around our trail pattern, and unfortunately, could not complete the entire competition the way it was intended.
I posted some pictures and videos of her rearing and bucking, and many people were commenting, suggesting that maybe she needed to be checked for ulcers, needs a massage or be seen by a vet. Others said that perhaps it was because she’s a young horse, and maybe she needs more experience. All points were valid because her behavior could have been caused by something physical or mental that she was experiencing.
It is essential to look at both sides to figure out what’s happening and why this horse is rearing, bucking, and leaping in the air. Is it mental, or is it physical, and how do we try to figure that out? It is easy to spend a ton of money and time going through all the different variables in situations like this. So, you must try to listen to the horse and observe the horse fully to help narrow things down; otherwise, you could be going down a rabbit hole with a lot of potential answers.
Whether it is terrible feet, stomach ulcers, energy, etc., all will effective your training. When analyzing Alyssia, I had to look at the fact that she’s good at home; I can ride her in the arena by herself and outside with other horses, and she’s excellent. It was only off-site that she was reacting in this manner. To me, the answer was apparent that it was not going to be a physical issue but possibly a mental one. Suppose your horse reacts the same way away from home as at home that could be related to a more physical problem.
In Alyssia’s case, bucking and rearing is a way for her to relieve herself of that stress. If you think about when you are stressed, it could be caused by not enough sleep, nervousness or fear due to added pressure. Whatever the cause, it only takes little things that normally wouldn’t upset you, to cause you to react in a manner outside of your normal comfort zone. And for horses, it’s very much the same; if they’re already feeling stressed, the slightest triggers can set them into a frenzy.
The key to helping a horse in these mental states is to get the horse in a calm state of mind to handle the situation. If you find your horse stressed about being off property, one of the kindest things you can do is take them off property multiple times to expose them to different things and situations. This doesn’t mean competing with the intent of winning, instead go and participate to see if you can get them to a calm state in the situations that stress them out.
If your horse is experiencing something physical, there will be some consistency about what is happening before your horse reacts. For example, if every time you go to put the saddle on and your horse pins its ears, swishes its tail, or kicks its belly, that’s a pretty good sign that your horse is probably feeling sore or uncomfortable. Actions like that could mean it has soreness in its back or belly or something to do with ulcers and is worth checking out. If your horse gets grumpy or refuses to go forward while riding, jumping, or other, that could be caused by an issue with their feet or legs.
It can be confusing to determine if it is physical or mental because, in some cases, horses can be lazy or not super motivated to keep doing the task at hand. This is why I like to work with horses and find them a job that they are naturally well suited to and enjoy doing or use positive reinforcement to keep them motivated. We have to pay attention to why our horse is showing up for us. Is it because of the rewards we’re giving them, or simply do they enjoy the tasks?
If your horse has something physical going on, they usually are not going to be very tolerant of what you’re asking them to do that’s hurting them. If the horse is compensating, you may notice the horse limping or favoring one side, so rewards may not work in this case either. Often, the physical issues are back, belly, or feet, and out of those three, the feet tend to be the main issue. You may notice some lameness, limping, or unevenness in the stride. If you pick up their legs, they might have a different range of motion from one leg to the other, and this is where it’s crucial to get your vet and or farrier involved.
When the horse is experiencing pain in their belly, they will be sensitive to touch, being groomed and tacked up, or become sour if you have your legs on too tightly while riding. Ulcers are prevalent in horses and a great way to help prevent them is to feed alfalfa pellets of alfalfa hay cubes; the alfalfa and calcium help to act as a buffer for the stomach acid. Also, having 24hr access to pasture or hay will keep the belly full and help with stomach acid as well.
To assess the horse for back pain, you can run your hand down your horse’s back along either side of the spine and feel as you go down and watch if your horse winches away or flinches in a particular area. This can tell us something is wrong. They could have injured themselves in some way or could be caused by you or your saddle. It’s super important to make sure that we take care of ourselves because if we’re riding crooked or putting weight in one stirrup more than the other, these things will affect the horse. Getting your vet and farrier and or massage therapist involved can make a big difference.
Horses can be struggling with physical or mental issues, and it’s our job to help figure out what it is and what is causing the problem. This way, by giving them all the tools they need to thrive What is the difference between mental and physical training, and how does this affect our horse’s needs?
I recently took my thoroughbred Alyssia, who is training for the 2021 Mega Thoroughbred Makeover, to a horse show. She was agitated and nervous, and it took her a long time to settle. We walked around our trail pattern, and unfortunately, we could not complete the entire competition the way it was intended.
I posted some pictures and videos of her rearing and bucking, and many people were commenting, suggesting that maybe she needed to be checked for ulcers, needs a massage or be seen by a vet. Others said that perhaps it was because she’s a young horse, and maybe she needs more experience. All points were valid because her behavior could have been caused by something physical or mental that she is experiencing.
It is essential to look at both sides to figure out what’s happening and why this horse is rearing, bucking, and leaping in the air. Is it mental, or is it physical, and how do we try to figure that out. It is easy to spend a ton of money and time going through all the different variables in situations like this. So, you must try to really listen to the horse and observe the horse fully to help narrow things down; otherwise, you could be going down a rabbit hole with a lot of potential answers.
Whether it is terrible feet, stomach ulcers, energy, etc., all will effective your training. When analyzing Alyssia, I had to look at that she’s good at home; I can ride her in the arena by herself and outside with other horses, and she’s excellent. It’s was only off-site that she was reacting in this manner. So to me, the answer is apparent that it is not going to be a physical issue but possibly a mental one. Suppose your horse reacts the same away from home as at home that could be related to a more physical problem.
In Alyssia’s case, bucking and rearing is a way for her to relieve herself of that stress when she gets stressed. So if you think about when you are stressed, it could be caused by not enough sleep, nervousness, or fear due to added pressure. Whatever the cause, it only takes little things that normally wouldn’t upset you, to cause you to react in a manner outside of your normal comfort zone. And for horses, it’s very much the same; if they’re already feeling stressed, the slightest triggers can set them into a frenzy.
The key to mental hindrance is to get the horse in a calm state of mind to handle the situation. If you find your horse stressed about being off property, one of the kindest things you can do is take them off property multiple times to expose them to different things and situations. This doesn’t mean competing with the intent of winning, instead go and participate to see if you can get them to a calm state in the situations that stress them out.
If your horse is experiencing something physical, there will be some consistency about what is happening before your horse reacts. For example, if every time you go to put the saddle on and your horse pins its ears, swishes its tail, or kicks its belly, that’s a pretty good sign that your horse is probably feeling sore or uncomfortable. Actions like that could mean it has soreness in its back or belly or something to do with ulcers and is worth checking out. If your horse gets grumpy or refuses to go forward while riding, jumping, or other, that could be caused by an issue with their feet or legs.
It can be confusing to determine if it is physical or mental because, in some cases, horses can be lazy or not super motivated to keep doing the task at hand. This is why I like to work with horses and find them a job that they are naturally well suited to and enjoy doing or use positive reinforcement to keep them motivated. We have to pay attention to why our horse is showing up for us. Is it because of the rewards we’re giving them, or simply do they enjoy the tasks?
If your horse has something physical going on, they usually are not going to be very tolerant of what you’re asking them to do that’s hurting them. If the horse is compensating, you may notice the horse limping or favoring one side, so rewards may not work in this case either. Often, the physical issues are back, belly, or feet, and out of those three, the feet tend to be the main issue. You may notice some lameness, limping, or unevenness in the stride. If you pick up their legs, they might have a different range of motion from one leg to the other, and this is where it’s crucial to get your vet involved and farrier involved.
When the horse is experiencing pain in their belly, they will be sensitive to touch, being groomed and tacked up, or become sour if you have your legs on too tightly. Ulcers are prevalent in horses. A great way to help prevent them is to feed alfalfa pellets of alfalfa hay cubes; the alfalfa and calcium help to act as a buffer for the stomach acid. Also, helping 24hr access to pasture or hay keep the belly full and help with stomach acid as well.
To assess the horse for back pain, you can run your hand down your horse’s back along either side of the spine and feel as you go down and watch if your horse winches away or flinches in a particular area. This can tell us something is wrong. They could have injured themselves in some way or could be caused by you or your saddle. It’s super important to make sure that we take care of ourselves because if we’re riding crooked or putting weight in one stirrup more than the other, all of these things will affect the horse. Getting your vet and farrier and or massage therapist involved can make a big difference.
Horses can be struggling with physical or mental issues, and it’s our job to help figure out what it is and what is causing the problem. This way, by giving them all the tools they need to thrive they can be the best partner for us.
Remember, you can always check out more great free resources and other information at https://harmonyhorsemanship.com/, On YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtS_PHq7uPa_q1z95X2vNYg or check me out on my personal website https://www.lindseypartridge.com/.
