Some horses learn to cope with confusing handling by shutting down and disconnecting with their body. This can be difficult for some people to recognize. A shut down horse can be a very dangerous horse, because eventually something will happen for them to check in. And when this happens, it can be very ugly. There are different degrees of shutting down, too. One way Shea recognizes this is when a horse appears to be easygoing and mellow, yet there is a tension in his face, neck, and/or body. Another telltale sign is the lack of expression in his eye -- an unresponsiveness or dullness. An example of such a horse is one who may go around in an arena 20 times, but the 21st time he will spook at something that has been there the entire time. An example of a more extreme case is a horse who has been ridden for years and considered to be bomb proof, then one day he explodes and becomes difficult to handle.
Sometimes the trouble comes from the equipment that the horse has been ridden in. The first thing Shea checks on with every student, and every horse who comes in for training, is the fit of the saddle and the type of equipment being used. Poor saddle fit, lever bits, tie downs, side reins, draw reins, and martingales can all cause lifelong lameness issues and behavior problems in horses. When a horse is forced into a frame with something that holds his head down, irreparable damage can be done to the vertebrae in his neck. Then add a saddle on this horse that pinches his shoulders or withers so he hollows his back, and that is a recipe for disaster.
It doesn't take long for a horse to realize when a saddle feels better, but changing negative behavior caused by harsh equipment can take a little longer. Sometimes a horse will get stuck in the pattern of holding himself in a tense and braced way. He will tend to brace his neck and back when he has been forced into a carriage. Shea is also an Equine CranioSacral therapist and will incorporate this in her training program. Once the horse is physically able, Shea will re-educate him in something simple like a side pull or a snaffle.
Another common problem that Shea sees is tightness in the girth area. Cinchy horses can have all sorts of other issues that relate to this one area. Some problems that can arise with cinchyness are bucking, rearing, biting and kicking while being saddled; tail swatting and tension in their carriage while being ridden. This is all preventable in the first place by taking time and helping the horse breathe while the saddle is being tightened. But too many people get in a hurry to ride and either suck up on the cinch too hard, or force the horse to stand while being cinched, which can cause a lot of stress in the horse. There is a big difference in a horse choosing to stand while being saddled, and being forced to stand when they are not ready.
Other common riding issues that Shea works on are head tossing, chomping on the bit, horses who stick their tongue over the bit, bolting, bucking, and aggression. Shea finds that sometimes people try to fix these problems with equipment. But in the long run, this is not a real fix. There is a gadget for basically any problem out there that a horse has. There are all kinds of "interesting" bits to force a horse's mouth shut, or metal rings to keep their tongue in place, tie downs to keep their heads from tossing, stronger bits to "teach" a horse to stop…you name it, it's out there. But these are all band-aids that never address the real cause. These behaviors are all expressions of trouble or pain in the horse.
This pony is a perfect example of how good training can basically save a horse's life. He was adopted by a woman who has a small farm of rescued animals to teach children about animal rescue. This pony was first sold to an unsuspecting family as a kids horse yet he had never had any training. Once they realized that he had a deformity and was too wild to catch, they just turned him out in pasture. When they needed to geld him, they just roped him to catch him. One day he got out of the pasture and was picked up by authorities, and his owners said they did not want him back. The authorities were going to put him down because at this point the pony had become aggressive. His new owner decided to adopt him and put him in training so he would learn basic handling. He can now get his halter on, his feet trimmed, and his basic handling and he feels a lot better about being around people. This little guy got a second chance!
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