Carpe Diem Farm

03/03/2025

"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 If you have owned them before you moved them, you struggle to recognise your horse, feeling as if your horse has been replaced by a frustrating version.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‼️

22/01/2025

So interesting! A subject that I've never been really aware of. Now I'm going to check all of my bridles. The more I learn, the less I realize I know!

👀 buckles matter!
Does your bridle have buckles which cover the TMJ? Are they stacked on top of each other?

It is extremely important that your bridle fits as well as your saddle!
Just look at all the nerves that exist in the horses head! All those pressure points!

It's important the buckles don't stack, don't cover the TMJ.

Does your horse rub its head during or after the bridle is on?
It's trying to tell you it has pins and needles and so the bridle is pressing on any of these nerves and is trying to rub feeling back into the area.

Discomfort around the head can lead to
- head staking
- head tossing
- tilting head
- avoiding flexing
- avoiding relaxing
- tension in jaw, neck, poll, shoulder
- poking nose
- high head carriage
- over bent head carriage
Avoiding work!

Get your bit and bridle checked! It's very important to your horses comfort and relaxation!
Let's stop anxiety and promote welfare!

16/01/2025

forwarded from another group.
I totally agree with what the writer observed. Having been a trail guide I'm always worried about the safety of everyone on my ride. Having gone on group rides, I'm always worried about situations I have no control over. Iknow my horses. Some are those bomb proof horses, and some are not. It all depends upon your comfort level and your personal riding skills. I put myself into situations I'm not 100% comfortable in, but I challenge myself to improve myself. The horse relies on us for direction, but if we don't remain the leader 100% of the time, we let the horse down, and chaos can happen. There are alot of really great horses out there, but even a bomb proof horse can have bad days thru poor leadership of their riders. This whole subject, also applies to our driving horses. Enjoy your time with your horses, as it ends all too soon.

Aging Horsewomen Intl. ™
Kelly Williams ·

·
Being Horse Fit-Admin Approved
The Dangerous Mindset That Puts Trail Riders at Risk
Let me tell you: in all my years working with older, first-time riders, the single most dangerous mindset I’ve come across is this one: “If I have a good, broke, bomb-proof horse, I’ll have endless trail-riding adventures with no problems.”
WRONG.
Let me clear this up right now—there is no such thing as a completely bomb-proof horse. They’re not robots. They’re living, breathing, thinking creatures with instincts, fears, and personalities. And relying on that “bomb-proof” label alone? That’s a recipe for disaster.
The Reality of Trail Riding
Trail riding can be a magical experience—exploring the great outdoors with friends, enjoying the scenery, and bonding with your horse. But here’s the catch: it’s also the most uncontrolled environment you can put yourself in.
On the trail, you’re at the mercy of:
Wild animals that can spook your horse.
Other riders and their horses (and their skills—or lack thereof).
Random, unpredictable emergencies.
And if you don’t know how to ride confidently, hold your reins correctly, dismount in an emergency, or understand your horse’s behavior, you’re walking into a situation you’re not prepared to handle.
A Lesson in What Not to Do
I’ll never forget the first clinic I rode in with my stubborn, alpha male horse. By the end of the weekend, we’d made a lot of progress, and the grand finale was a group trail ride. Sounds great, right?
Here’s the problem: while I had experience with trail riding and understood proper etiquette, most of the other riders didn’t.
The trail boss made one mistake after another. First, we rode through an open field filled with loose, turned-out horses—big mistake. They charged at us, and my alpha male horse? Oh, he was ready to throw down. Prancing, bucking, head tossing—you name it.
Then came the bottleneck. We had to squeeze through a narrow gate with barbed wire on one side and a steep drop-off on the other. The trail boss didn’t keep the line moving, and people weren’t paying attention. My horse and I were stuck at the back, unable to move forward while loose horses ran wild around us.
It was pure chaos. I managed to get through it, but only by the grace of God—and my horse’s instincts to protect himself and me.
Stack the Odds in Your Favor
That experience taught me a valuable lesson: you can’t rely on luck or someone else’s judgment to keep you safe. You have to stack the odds in your favor. That means learning:
The fundamentals of riding: Proper rein handling, balance, and control aren’t optional.
Trail etiquette: Understanding how to handle bottlenecks, gates, and group dynamics is crucial.
How to handle emergencies: Whether it’s a spook, a bolting horse, or a difficult trail situation, you need to be prepared to act quickly and calmly.
It’s Not Just About the Skills—It’s About Your Mindset
Even if you know the basics, there’s one more piece of the puzzle: your mindset. If you’re saddling up with fear or anxiety (like I was after that experience), your horse is going to feel it. And that fear can quickly spiral into a situation you can’t control.
This is where my course, Breaking the Fear Loop, comes in. It’s designed to help you take control of your mindset, build confidence, and ride with calm and clarity—even in unpredictable situations.
I teach you proven, research-backed techniques that help you retrain your brain to respond differently to fear. These are the same strategies I’ve used myself to stay calm and focused, no matter what’s happening around me.
Don’t Wait for a Wreck to Learn the Hard Way
I’ve seen wrecks happen to even the most experienced riders, but I can tell you this: the majority of accidents I’ve witnessed happen to riders who are underprepared.
So why not stack the deck in your favor? Learn about your horse. Build your skills as a rider. Understand trail dynamics and what to do in dangerous situations. And don’t forget to work on the mental game—because your horse will feel what you’re feeling.
Ready to break free from fear and ride with confidence? My course, Breaking the Fear Loop, is your step-by-step guide to shifting your mindset and becoming the rider your horse needs.
You and your horse deserve nothing less than confidence, trust, and joy on every ride. Let’s make that happen together. 🌟
Happy Trails! Kelly

26/11/2024

26/11/2024

Really take a look at the turnouts. You can learn alot.

06/11/2024

22/10/2024

Understanding our sport is key

Over the years, our relationship with horses has transformed from needing them as workhorses to appreciating them as competition partners.
Throughout this evolution, animal welfare has been regularly evaluated and consistently enhanced.
British Carriagedriving is dedicated to fostering ongoing improvements in welfare and promoting a positive image of our sport by educating drivers, officials, and the wider public.

30/09/2024

isn't DNA science fascinating?! Learning tons of new things yearly!!

Scientists now understand why some gray horses turn completely white as they age, while others remain an eye-catching “dappled” gray color — it's determined by whether a horse has two or three copies of a small DNA sequence within the gray coat gene.

Learn more: https://vetmed.tamu.edu/news/press-releases/genes-behind-horse-graying/