29/07/2026
Something to think about!
'Stop it!'
In the horse world, it often seems that our first instinct is to stop horses doing things.
Flashes and nosebands are tightened to stop horses opening their mouths.
Gadgets are used to stop horses lifting their heads. Horses are told off for touching and mouthing us. Behaviours are shut down altogether.
But what if they're just trying to communicate?
Imagine this...
You go to a foreign country where nobody speaks your language. You're given a pair of shoes that are two sizes too small and you're forced to walk in them for an hour. You're not allowed to take them off. You must keep walking.
You'd probably cope for a while. Then you'd likely start complaining, stopping, walking differently, trying anything to relieve the pressure. You might lean on somebody. You may even become 'lame'. You'd probably become a bit snappy with the people around you.
Then you're allowed to take the shoes off and get on with your day.
The next day, you're made to do exactly the same thing again.
How do you react?
What if you were made to do that every day.
People calling you lazy, naughty, aggressive.
Just think about that.
This isn't a post about horseshoes, although sometimes they can be too small or too tight. It's about saddles, tack, equipment, rider balance and weight, management, environment, physical discomfort, emotional wellbeing... everything.
Your horse has a voice. They speak through their actions.
Not every behaviour means pain, and not every behaviour should simply be accepted. But before we ask, "How do I stop this?" perhaps we should ask, "Why is this happening and what is my horse trying to tell me?"
So many of the behaviours we dislike are the very ways horses try to communicate that something isn't right.
If you were silenced in that situation, eventually you would either explode or you'd stop trying to communicate altogether.
Maybe, before we focus on changing the behaviour, we should first make sure we've listened to what it's trying to tell us.
