09/03/2022
The difference between a reactive horse and non-reactive horse and how to work with both. This is based on my opinion of my farrier and training experience. My definition of a reactive horse is when you apply a correction they respond negatively. They react in a way that is defensive. A non-reactive horse is when you apply a correction they listen and don't try again.
Let's first talk about a non-reactive horse. When you have a horse that tries to kick out when you pick up their foot or refuse to go forward on a lunge line you apply pressure whether it's with a small smack on the bum or a crack of a whip. They take that as a wake up call and rethink their actions. Now I'm not talking about scaring a horse into being obedient, but we all know when they do something threatening towards us we correct it. This is about correcting something before they decide to become a more reactive horse.
A reactive horse can be made on several different occasions. Too many of the wrong corrections or pain related but either way they are super sensitive and reactive. This can become dangerous in some situations especially if the owner/trainer/farrier doesn't approach it correctly. To give an example of a reactive horse; I’m a farrier so when there is a horse that tries to kick out or come towards me in a defensive way it's best to find out sooner than later if they are a reactive horse. If I decide to correct this horse by pushing it away from me or giving it a small corrective smack and the horse responds negatively, that is a reactive horse. Proceeding to push with more corrections is a bad idea and you won’t get anything done. When a horse becomes more reactive after getting a correction it can lead into a dangerous situation because they will get severly defensive. You can notice these signs by body language, pinned ears, flared nose, swish of the tail and the lift of the leg to kick out. When you have a reactive horse, you need to as a owner/trainer/farrier become a non-reactive person. I know what you're thinking, why? Well when you have a reactive horse they are trying to get out of whatever it is that you are asking of them therefore they are trying to scare you off. And that's one of the main reasons they become reactive horses because they end up scaring people off or get too dangerous to work with and getting away with it. Owners /trainers/farriers back off and try another day but you're teaching your horse that they can get away with these reactions. And it just becomes more dangerous and frustrating.
My best piece of advice is to have patience and don't act on your emotions. Stay quiet and watch their body movements. Don't scream or cuss your horse out, don't even baby them. Just be quiet. Make your actions quiet and don't give up. The leg that keeps kicking out, keep asking for them to pick it up and when they do back off and do it over and over. Show them that you're not afraid of their actions. They end up realizing that their actions are not affecting you and they are causing more work for themselves. Repetition is key in these situations. You're teaching them that you're not going to give into their tricks. Also learning when to end on a good note and not push anymore is a big achievement. Remember horses learn from the release of pressure.
Let's put this in a human perspective to better understand what I'm explaining. If you start yelling at someone to correct what they are doing there are 2 different types of responses. Non-reactive people will take a step back and realize what they did was wrong and fix it. Reactive people will yell back and resent what you are trying to teach them. For the people that are reactive you have to change your teaching habit of yelling because it's escalating the problem not fixing it. You have to quiet down and repeat what you are trying to teach them until they are willing to listen.
I hope this information is helpful towards success with your horse. And if you have any questions or need help, reach out. I will always make time to help anyone willing to learn.
-Kyla Barger
Trigger Farrier Services
