A thought for the day - if my horse were a dog would I be doing this?
I had an email this morning, asking me about how to get a horse to hack out on his own. I'm not specifically pin pointing this person, I see this all the time, perhaps even you yourself have used it. "my horse won't hack out on his own. He gets to the end of the street and then refuses to walk and spins in circles. I've tried lots of leg and big kicks to encourage him forwards and a whip but he just rears and gets worked up. Any ideas?" Read that again. But change the word horse for dog. People then seem to magically find the answers all by themselves. I'm in no way saying that the psychology of canines is the same as that of an equine, by far. However when it comes to dogs, we choose a soft, kind approach instead of automatically assuming they're "taking the piss" First we need to address why won't the horse hack out alone? Scared? Nervous? Do they know the area very well? Have you recently moved yards and not hacked out much? If the horse is scared punishment will not solve your issues. You're not losing any battle by dismounting, comforting your horse and walking them in hand a few times so they know they can feel safe alone with you. Horses are herd animals. Of course they feel a bit uneasy without other horses, and punishment wont change that, but it will possibly worsen the situation especially if it happens regularly to the point where they've forgotten why they were originally scared of going past that certain point alone but they know each time they reach that point they get shouted at and whipped and come to associate that land mark with a bad experience. It's up to you to break that habit and learned behaviour. They aren't being naughty by refusing to go forward. They're trying to tell you something, but you didn't listen, so they used a different, bigger way of communicating, until it got to the point where rearing and spinning was the only way to get their point heard. If you can remove that element and reassure them that everything is ok you haven't lost a battle, you haven't won it either. You've simply defused it completely. Horses have no interest in spat for spat with humans. They look for reassurance and safety. They completely lack the mental capacity to want to ruin your day. They have no idea you had the worst day at work, an argument with your colleague, that your car needs servicing and that you're running low on cash. They honestly did not set out to make your day worse. And we need to remember that they are very innocent in their wants and very primal. If you find yourself wanting to punish a horse for something, please first ask yourself why is my horse doing this and treat the problem not the symptoms. Ask yourself "if my horse were a dog would I find it acceptable to punish them for being afraid?