The subtleties of horse communication

The subtlety of horse communication has been forgotten, or it has never been understood. It depends on who taught you. The biggest problem we have, is when a horse communicates, the instant reaction is to increase pressure, fear and dominance on the horse, forcing them to give riders the results they want. What is wrong with listening to your horse and stopping your usual routine to get them the help they need?

Subtle but serious. The subtle signs that horses aren’t ok are being missed. This is causing layer upon layer of issues. Think about it this way, if your horse continuously tells you they aren’t ok, but you do nothing to help them, do you think they are going to want to work with you and give you their best? When you ignore the signs, your horse will either shutdown or become more reactive. When you push them when they are shutdown, they will become depressed and disconnect from themselves – this is absolutely devastating to the horse. If they are pushed when they are reactive, they will become angry and have resentment. With both of these situations, neither you or your horse are safe. When they aren’t connected with themselves they can’t think straight and they don’t know what they’re doing. When they are reactive, their nervous system is in overdrive, they will be highly stressed and running on adrenaline to avoid their pain – this is when accidents happen.

Negative horse behaviours need to stop being normalised. Spooking, rearing, biting, cribbing, bolting and so on are not normal. Before these reactions happened, there will have been far more subtle cues from your horse, telling you they are not ok.

Your horse’s eyes should be bright and present

Think about the moment when you caught your horse, did they approach you or move away from you? Even if they approached you, were they pleased to see you? Did they approach you softly with their ears forward? What were they telling you with their facial expressions and eyes?

If they were in the stable, did they come towards you in an open way wanting to connect? Did they come towards you but in a defensive way? Did they go to the back of the stable to avoid you? The most common reaction which is always overlooked is your horse coming towards you but with their ears back. This is not normal and your horse has a big problem.

Think about what your horse was doing whilst tacking them up. Were they happy about it, standing patiently with bright eyes? Were they standing still but look deflated? Or were they fidgety? Did they put their ears back when you brought the saddle over to them? Did they move away from it? All of this is your horse communicating and it’s time to listen.

Their needs to be a mindset shift. I think some riders are aware, but they’re embarrassed about it and cover their horse’s reactions up with excuses. What should happen, is riders realising there’s a problem and do something about it. If you do nothing, nothing will change and your horse’s situation will get worse, with your relationship breaking down even more.

I will never judge you for not getting help sooner. The horse world isn’t a kind place when you have problems with your horse and you don’t know where to turn. Instructors and educators may have helped you so far, but your horse is your best teacher. They are teaching you a new way. My role is to help you understand your horse better. I can release their trauma, emotional problems, physical issues and heal their spiritual connection. Wouldn’t it be great to release your horse’s issues in a holistic and natural way? Through doing this, your connection together will dramatically improve, because you have given your horse the help they need. Your horse will respect you if you listen to them. Once they have been helped,

their problems will be resolved so you don’t have to feel stressed anymore.

Every horse deserves holistic care everyday ❤️

Hannah xx

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