01/13/2025
Something new for you all this Monday morning!
I don’t usually make posts like these, preferring instead to entertain everyone with fun photos and videos of our busy horse life, but sometimes I get the urge to write about a big topic from my experience, and equine stress is one of those topics.
I have worked with hundreds of horses of various breeds and backgrounds over the years. I am, of course, still learning, as I believe everyone should be and every new horse I put my hands on teaches me something new. One skill I think is often overlooked or taken for granted, is the ability to ‘feel’ and ‘listen to’ a horse while you’re working with them or riding them. This includes attributes such as relaxation or lack thereof, their willingness to move forward etc. It’s a hard skill to teach, but one that only comes with hours and hours and hours with many different horses. If I am a master of anything in my chosen profession, it is this skill, for better or for worse. I am not perfect, nor do I claim to be; people make mistakes, but if we are open to learning then we are on a positive track. It is from this position that I write this post about equine stress and how to mitigate it. If it helps even one horse or human, I will be happy.
Now, I am a horse trainer, but training alone can’t fix everything and I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve heard people say ‘the horse rode well at the trainers’ or some such other complaint. There are so many factors and pieces that encompass good training and equine management, but understanding equine stress; where it comes from and how to mitigate it, should be priority number one.
There are two major types of stress, environmental and pain-related.
But, what are signs of stress? If you only get this far in this lengthy post, READ THIS. Some are quite obvious: bucking, rearing, bolting (beyond the fresh horse these things are NOT normal and should never be considered as such) and before we jump to the conclusion that the horse has behavioral issues, we should first rule out environmental or painful stressors.
Other horses are much more subtle in their signs of physical or mental discomfort; they may swish their tail, grind their teeth, pin their ears, get tense, go too fast, be unwilling to go forward or unwilling to track straight…etc etc. Unfortunately, some of these small, often misunderstood, behaviors have become ‘normalized’, especially in regard to the overly forward or anxious horse.
Once we know a horse is stressed, it is our job to figure out WHY. It is only when the horse is calm and comfortable and RELAXED while working that we can move to the next step, whether it is trail riding or competing or anything in between. Once we know why a horse is stressed, we can do what we can to mitigate it, whether that be changing their living situation, slowing down the training, pursuing pain management, changing tack and equipment etc.
Before I get into the different types of stress, it is important to note that some horses are just naturally more alert (I hesitate to use the word ‘anxious’) than others, and true stress can be different than physical exertion, so it’s not always a red flag. For those of you that know me, you’ve likely heard me talk about different equine personality types, and so if we know what personality type our horse is, we can tailor their needs and training. For the sake of this post, I won’t delve too far into the different personality types, but keep that in mind.
Environmental stress is the most common in horses and it is multifaceted. I will first talk about training as a source of stress. I am a huge believer in ‘slow is best’ and taking our time when training, especially with young horses. I never try to have a timeline and more often than not, I do short sessions with babies and give them as much prep work as possible. I like to ask myself, ‘have I prepared this horse as best as I possibly could for the next step?’ If I’m not sure, then I should not move to that next step.
I strive for my horses to stay as relaxed as possible in every step of their training. Don’t get me wrong, I know sh** happens, horses buck, spook and bolt; I’m no stranger to ‘riding it out’ or pushing a horse forward through bucks or rears (you don’t become trainer and an Eventer without some guts) and, sure, it can be exciting to watch a horse buck around during its first saddling or ride, or hold on to the bolting Mustang, but TRUE horsemanship is learning how to prevent these behaviors while also managing to competently and patiently teach a horse the skills it needs to make it in this world.
It pays off, and horses that are given the time and taught how to ACCEPT new things, instead of just tolerating them or shutting down because they’ve been pushed too far, end up better for it in the long run. Acceptance versus tolerating is a big distinction, and I can usually tell pretty quickly how a horse was trained if I didn’t start it. That’s not to say some can’t handle more pressure than others, every horse is different, but if we teach our young people and aspiring trainers to ‘listen’ and ‘feel’, while also having the guts and riding ability to push a horse when it needs to be pushed, I can almost guarantee we’ll have a much happier equine population (and maybe even less horses in rescues 🧐).
Another facet of environmental stress is a horse’s living situation. This is a BIG one and I guarantee most don’t think about it, or at least don’t give it the importance it deserves. If a horse is stressed in its daily life, it will be stressed in its training. If a horse is calm and comfortable with its daily life, it will be more likely to find that same relaxation in its training. And, little things can cause unnecessary stress, the set up of the facility, the feeding regimen (ideally they’re able to have forage available all the time), the routine of turn in/turn out, the lack of other horse friends, or even if your horse is the top horse in the hierarchy vs the bottom…
Having been to and worked at multiple horse facilities, another thing I’ve noticed that has become ‘normalized’ is stressed out horses in their daily life. It should not be considered normal for a horse to pace, at all, even when their ‘friends’ have gone for a ride or if they’ve been turned out in a different pen. Sure, there might be a period of adjustment for new horses, but eventually that should go away and it should not resurface if all the above needs have been met. If it’s happening on a regular basis, something needs to change, because even that stress will cause issues in health and training.
Without getting too far into this (I could write a book!) another thing to consider is ‘herdbound’ horses and their living situation. So many horses termed ‘buddy sour’ or ‘herdbound’ are horses that are dominant in the herd and stressed out about taking care of their herd. Add to that, they’re usually inexperienced or green and made even more so by their stress. Add a more dominant/more practiced horse into the herd and the problem horse relaxes because it’s no longer ‘their job’ to take care of the group.
Environmental stress can have other causes and fixes, but the above are some big ones we’ve seen and dealt with a lot.
The second big category we come to Is stress caused by pain. This is a sensitive subject, but no less important, and though I’ve had a lot of practice recognizing the differences between the types of stress, I still think with a little knowledge, most should be able to as well. To be clear, what I’m describing is barring any physical lameness. A horse can be ‘sound’ while also exhibiting extreme signs of stress, and on the flip side, a horse can look ‘lame’ while doing its job with a calm and happy expression and zero signs of stress.
A horse in physical pain or discomfort (saddle fit is a big one here) will always exhibit at least one of the above mentioned behaviors, and usually many, but some may be more subtle than most. Again, it is our job to figure out WHY and once we’ve ruled out environmental stressors, we can move on to possible pain issues. The horse in pain will never seem relaxed, even in a pen; they will carry tension in their expression and tension in their bodies, they will pin their ears, switch their tails, kick out, buck, rear, bolt, chew wood, grind their teeth; any and all of the above. So often, I hear a horse described as a b****y mare or a horse that has anxiety or they won’t stand still when tied, won’t stand still for grooming or tacking up etc and when I get my hands on these horses, I spend a lot of time trying to figure out the WHY before doing any real training.
I’ve had horses that have failed PPE’s, had the infamous kissing spines or other seemingly bad histories and yet they rode and worked calmly and comfortably without any signs of stress. And, I’ve also had horses that have passed PPE’s and been deemed ‘fit for work’ and yet they exhibit all of the signs of stress I’ve mentioned above. The upshot is perhaps we should use more ‘feel’ rather than blindly following what the x rays say… Or, find yourself a god vet that looks at the whole picture, not just the imaging.
Last year, I had three different horses come to me for training. Two had been with other trainers previously, but all three had ‘anxiety’ and other minor issues under saddle. Two were pretty subtle in their signs of discomfort while working and that can be common enough, horses are prey animals and speed is its own sort of comfort (especially to certain breeds) and they are taught to go and as long as they’re going, they’ll push through a certain amount of discomfort (though, I can guarantee you there ARE signs), and so those two had been ridden fairly extensively before coming to me. These two were also never quite comfortable or relaxed in their daily life, even with us doing all the right things for them. The third had been through some failed attempts at training and was pretty clear in its discomfort. Though all made some progress, with slow work and trying to learn the WHY by ruling out environmental stress while not pushing their bodies, it was soon clear that all was not right.
The answers we found on vet exams and imaging were pretty shocking, and I am still amazed to this day that those horses did what they did for people. I am also eternally grateful for the owners that brought them to me and were willing to listen when I said something was not right.
Horses are amazing and stoic and full of try, but they are also just horses. We’ve chosen to use them for companions, riding partners and serious competitive mounts and also as teachers for the next generation, so it is our job to make sure they are listened to and FULLY prepared for their tasks, but also as comfortable as possible. A happy horse is a healthy horse, and a happy, healthy horse is a fun horse to partner with 😊
Now, because it is the nature of social media, there are, inevitably, going to be people who disagree with all of this and make a fuss. I’m not posting this for them, I’m posting for the few that are open minded and committed to learning for the sake of their horses. This is all just one personal opinion based on my own personal (though vast) experience and I hope it helps some, or at least causes you to think about it!
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*pic of a very peaceful, completely tackless ride on the best Mustang mare 😊
Eventing and Mustang Trainer in Wellington, CO. 4 time competitor in the Extreme Mustang Makeover
