Big Ginge JJ is a 16 year old warmblood gelding who I've known for many years and have been teaching with his owner Rachel for just over a year
We'd planned to have our usual monthly ridden lesson but it was apparent JJ was "not on this planet" and pretty distressed
In the space of a week, a new mare was in season that he'd become VERY pally with and to make things even more interesting, The Three Little Pigs had turned up in a stable next door!
He hadn't been able to see them but could clearly smell and hear them
🐷🐴🐷🐴🐷🐴🐷🐴🐷🐴
A combination of these stimuli in particular had pushed JJ over the edge so we decided to change up our plans and do some lunging and Groundwork instead.
He could let of some steam if he wanted to (as it happened he relaxed significantly when he was tied up outside rather than in his stable) and we could ask him to concentrate and focus on something different
We incorporated some pole work which he did really well with... then... the piggies escaped their confines to ransack the flower pots 🤦♀️👍
JJ noticed them but didn't seem overly concerned as they were at a distance so we continued with some pole work
Afterwards, we then took him to have a proper look at them (See photo);
🐷 handler between the horse and the pigs to provide a comforting mental "barrier"
🐷 lunge line loose and relaxed so the horse doesn't feel restricted and can implement their flight instinct SAFELY if he chose to
🐷 POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT in the form of (helpfully placed) hay
As you can see, he was interested in them... but far more interested in hay eventually 🤣
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Horses will only eat when they feel calm and safe.
From a behavioural point of view, having your head down on the ground is compromising when keeping an eye out for predators, having a full stomach/GI tract is going to house extra weight (not helpful for running away) AND when actually in flight, blood is directed
to the large muscles of the body and away from the digestive system which can induce colic as the material isn't being broken down properly.
I've also found in some cases, horses become "mouthy" when feeling stressed. Think of cribbing for example. Mastication (chewing) stimulates saliva production and helps physically release tension - think of us getting a stiff jaw when gritting our teeth or clenching our jaw - it makes sense horses would take comfort from the chewing motion as they're happiest when eating!!!
JJ was very "licky" before our session all over my hands but hadn't been eating his hay at all in the stable.
Once he'd had a few minutes to look at them, taken comfort (and R+) from eating some hay, took a deep breath with a big sigh and generally realised life wasn't as hard as he'd thought for the last week, we took him back to his stable where he finally put his head down and started eating again
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TAKE HOME MESSAGES:
1. Allowing your horse to reach a place of relaxation is of upmost importance in strengthening your bond and forming that trusting connection. Help them out where you can from a herd/behavioural perspective (see handler placement etc above)
2. Forcing a horse to experience a stimuli that is TOO MUCH FOR THEM because YOU think it will desensitise them is known as FLOODING (and IMO unethical). You must build up in stages.
Side note: There is ABSOLUTELY NO NEED for a horse to have to touch whatever is scary to have "accomplished" desensitisation 🙄🙄🙄
3. Let's face it, pigs 🐖 are pretty novel in the grand scheme of horse life so it's completely understandable that any horse might have concerns. ACCEPT your horses behavioural responses to novel stimuli - just because you may know better or think it's nothing does not mean your horse has the same view.
4. Don't be afraid to change your plans to accommodate your horses CURRENT mental state. It's really not about you, your goals or intentions. It's about your horses well-being
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Has your horse met pigs before?
How would they have reacted?
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