Happy Hiccups Equestrian LLC

  • Home
  • Happy Hiccups Equestrian LLC

Happy Hiccups Equestrian LLC Sometimes when working with horses, hiccups happen! Don't let it limit you or your horse's progress. Check out our instagram

Central Maryland private riding instruction, equine management, and training.

Since some of y’all were asking me “it’s so hot, can’t we take the horses swimming??” Here ya go!
21/06/2025

Since some of y’all were asking me “it’s so hot, can’t we take the horses swimming??” Here ya go!

29/01/2025

This is a cool simple way to see why we DON’T pull the inside rein to turn the horse in, but instead keep them straight and engage a liiiiittle extra on that outside rein! 😊

A good example of why we need to release the pressure/cue at the first good try (or, as my students are used to hearing ...
19/12/2024

A good example of why we need to release the pressure/cue at the first good try (or, as my students are used to hearing me say it, ‘and be friiieeennnddds’😂)

Trainer - What day is it?
Student - Monday
Trainer - What day is it?
Student - The 16th
Trainer - What day is it?
Student - 😡
Trainer - I kept asking you the same question and you gave me the right answer, but I didn’t accept it, so you changed your answer, got frustrated and confused.
This is exactly how your horse can feel if you miss the release…
(Author unknown)

Happy Halloween! The horses had a beautiful spooky morning at the farm today 👻
31/10/2024

Happy Halloween! The horses had a beautiful spooky morning at the farm today 👻

18/10/2024

Every perfect movement you watch in dressage is the result of hundreds of imperfect tries, of riders who never gave up, and horses who slowly learned to trust. Celebrate every crooked halt, every almost-there half-pass, because they are the real victories. The path to excellence is paved with mistakes, but also with perseverance and love.

A happy Sunday to all from Skipper, who says she’d quite like to lay in the softest corner of the arena for a nice nap j...
16/09/2024

A happy Sunday to all from Skipper, who says she’d quite like to lay in the softest corner of the arena for a nice nap just now instead of being part of this “work” thing we keep asking her about, thank you very much! 😂

This is true for every horse that comes into our barn - it is why we are so strict about giving them plenty of time to “...
13/07/2024

This is true for every horse that comes into our barn - it is why we are so strict about giving them plenty of time to “settle in” with no work until they get used to the routine of just EXISTING here. Then, we can start working on our training/lesson routine! 😊

"New Home Syndrome"🤓

I am coining this term to bring recognition, respect, and understanding to what happens to horses when they move homes. This situation involves removing them from an environment and set of routines they have become familiar with, and placing them somewhere completely different with new people and different ways of doing things.

Why call it a syndrome?

Well, really it is! A syndrome is a term used to describe a set of symptoms that consistently occur together and can be tied to certain factors such as infections, genetic predispositions, conditions, or environmental influences. It is also used when the exact cause of the symptoms is not fully understood or when it is not connected with a well-defined disease. In this case, "New Home Syndrome" is connected to a horse being placed in a new home where its entire world changes, leading to psychological and physiological impacts. While it might be transient, the ramifications can be significant for both the horse and anyone handling or riding it.

Let me explain...

Think about how good it feels to get home after a busy day. How comfortable your favourite clothes are, how well you sleep in your own bed compared to a strange bed, and how you can really relax at home. This is because home is safe and familiar. At home, the part of you that keeps an eye out for potential danger turns down to a low setting. It does this because home is your safe place (and if it is not, this blog will also explain why a lack of a safe place is detrimental).

Therefore, the first symptom of horses experiencing "New Home Syndrome" is being unsettled, prone to anxiety, or difficult behaviour. If you have owned them before you moved them, you struggle to recognise your horse, feeling as if your horse has been replaced by a frustrating version. If the horse is new to you, you might wonder if you were conned, if the horse was drugged when you rode it, or if you were lied to about the horse's true nature.

A horse with "New Home Syndrome" will be a stressed version of itself, on high alert, with a drastically reduced ability to cope. Horses don't handle change like humans do. If you appreciate the comfort of your own home and how you can relax there, you should be able to understand what the horse is experiencing.

Respecting that horses interpret and process their environments differently from us helps in understanding why your horse is being frustrating and recognising that there is a good chance you were not lied to or that the horse was not drugged.

Horses have survived through evolution by being highly aware of their environments. Change is a significant challenge for them because they notice the slightest differences, not just visually but also through sound, smell, feel, and other senses. Humans generalise and categorise, making it easy for us to navigate familiar environments like shopping centres. Horses do not generalise in the same way; everything new is different to them, and they need proof of safety before they can habituate and feel secure. When their entire world changes, it is deeply stressful.

They struggle to sleep until they feel safe, leading to sleep deprivation and increased difficulty.

But there is more...

Not only do you find comfort in your home environment and your nervous system downregulates, but you also find comfort in routines. Routines are habits, and habits are easy. When a routine changes or something has to be navigated differently, things get difficult. For example, my local supermarket is undergoing renovations. After four years of shopping there, it is extremely frustrating to have to work out where everything is now. Every day it gets moved due to the store being refitted section by section. This annoyance is shared by other shoppers and even the staff.

So, consider the horse. Not only are they confronted with the challenge of figuring out whether they are safe in all aspects of their new home while being sleep deprived, but every single routine and encounter is different. Then, their owner or new owner starts getting critical and concerned because the horse suddenly seems untrained or difficult. The horse they thought they owned or bought is not meeting their expectations, leading to conflict, resistance, explosiveness, hypersensitivity, and frustration.

The horse acts as if it knows little because it is stressed and because the routines and habits it has learned have disappeared. If you are a new human for the horse, you feel, move, and communicate differently from what it is used to. The way you hold the reins, your body movements in the saddle, the position of your leg – every single routine of communication between horse and person is now different. I explain to people that when you get a new horse, you have to imprint yourself and your way of communicating onto the horse. You have to introduce yourself and take the time to spell out your cues so that they get to know you.

Therefore, when you move a horse to a new home or get a new horse, your horse will go through a phase called "New Home Syndrome," and it will be significant for them. Appreciating this helps them get through it because they are incredible and can succeed. The more you understand and help the horse learn it is safe in its new environment and navigate the new routines and habits you introduce, the faster "New Home Syndrome" will pass.
"New Home Syndrome" will be prevalent in a horse’s life until they have learned to trust the safety of the environment (and all that entails) and the humans they meet and interact with. With strategic and understanding approaches, this may take weeks, and their nervous systems will start downgrading their high alert status. However, for some horses, it can take a couple of years to fully feel at ease in their new home.

So, next time you move your horse or acquire a new horse and it starts behaving erratically or being difficult, it is not being "stupid", you might not have been lied to or the horse "drugged" - your horse is just experiencing an episode of understandable "New Home Syndrome." And you can help this.❤

I would be grateful if you could please share, this reality for horses needs to be better appreciated ❤
‼️When I say SHARE that does not mean plagiarise my work…it is seriously not cool to copy and paste these words and make out you have written it yourself‼️

Address


Opening Hours

Monday 09:00 - 20:00
Tuesday 09:00 - 20:00
Wednesday 09:00 - 20:00
Friday 09:00 - 20:00
Saturday 09:00 - 19:00
Sunday 09:00 - 19:00

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Happy Hiccups Equestrian LLC posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Happy Hiccups Equestrian LLC:

Shortcuts

  • Address
  • Opening Hours
  • Alerts
  • Contact The Business
  • Claim ownership or report listing
  • Want your business to be the top-listed Pet Store/pet Service?

Share