Loading problem - unusual solution

A while a ago I was asked to help Jane (name changed) with her horse Reiss and his loading issues with their lorry.

Initially Reiss was like many horses who reared, spun to the side of the ramp, backed away etc to avoid loading but after a short time he was placing his front feet on the ramp. A little while longer and he had his back feet on the ramp, I noticed at this point that he was stood on his tip toes with his hind feet and never having seen this before was a little concerned. Jane agreed to stop the session there and then and get him checked over by a physio.



The physio found that Reiss had probably taken a stumble and fall in his paddock which caused him to have pain/discomfort in his pelvic area, chest and back.

A few weeks later once he had the all clear, we started again and after a short period of time I asked Jane if she would be comfortable with taking over while I made suggestions from the side lines. Both Jane and Reiss worked away for a while and then I got the shock of my life - Reiss calmly reversed in!

It turned out that Jane had learned to back Reiss through or around things he wasn't comfortable with and over time he has learnt to trust her, so when he started to back in she didn't correct him. I have seen horses load in a variety of ways over the years but never backwards before.

After letting Reiss have a look around Jane unloaded him and then asked him to load again, thankfully Reiss chose to load in the normal manner and went up the ramp forwards. With a little bit of homework Jane has now reported that she has a good loader and that they are both exploring the big wide world that is out there.

So, keep an open mind and if your horse tries something allow him/her to follow it through, you never know he/she might just get it right even if it is in a round about way.

Sympathy and your horse or pony's behaviour

I so often hear horrific stories about a horse and its past mistreatment and it's good that a new owner can tell me the history of a horse, as I need as much information as possible in order to devise a re-training programme. However, the most important information I inevitably get from the new owner is that because of the horses history, he/she has been treating the horse with extra kindness and sympathy.

This is very admirable BUT in most cases can inadvertently create behavioural issues.

Horses need EMPATHY far more than they need SYMPATHY.

Oxford Dictionary
Empathy = identifying yourself mentally with another person and understanding him or her.
Sympathy = a feeling of pity or tenderness towards someone who is hurt, sad or in trouble.

By understanding your horse and how he/she would behave within a herd we can help them overcome their past in a far better way than we can by going softly softly. In nature, softness equals weakness and your horse or pony will probably feel the need to take charge. As I'm sure we all know, when a horse or pony takes charge and behaves like our leader all sorts of issues arise (some quite painfully).

In human life isn't it much better to work for a boss who is confident, firm but fair with a smidgen of consideration? It's the same for your horse, watch a few herds and you'll see that NO herd leader is weak and watery. Some might bully their way to the top but the rest of the herd goes along with it begrudgingly, whereas a happy herd will be led by a horse that is confident, firm but fair.

Lets assume a horse has in the past had a beating with a broom (it happens). A sympathetic owner would 'make allowances' if the horse shied whenever he/she saw a broom. An empathetic owner would show understanding by carefully and gradually teaching the horse that a broom is no longer something to fear. Which approach do you think is better for the horse?