Horse afraid of oncoming horses when ridden

Question
My 5 year old jumper is afraid of oncoming horses at a horse show.  When we warm up for a class and the warm up ring is busy she is a nervous wreck.  If other horses are coming toward her she will spin to go the other way.  As soon as she gets into the show ring she is wonderful.  Any advice on making her feel more comfortable in the warm up ring?

Answer
Hi Candice!

This is a common issue...horses have a desire top be *with* other horses.  They rarely want to stand still as another horse leaves them or they do not want to be the horse that leaves the group...unless they are trained to do so.

What to do?  Simply train your horse to not be nervous with other horses do all kinds of things around her.  She has a mind that is "outcome based".  Once she learns the "outcome" of an action will not hurt or upset her, she will be comfortable to repeat the action whenever, wherever.

You must train her to understand the action of horses coming directly towards her, passing her or jumping near to her is none of her business and not part of her reality.  She must trust you to make solid decisions that will keep he safe and comfortable.

Start in your arena with her very favorite treat.  Withhold the treat unless it is training time.  Have a friend with a real Steady Eddy of a horse to help you.  This helper horse must be calm, calm, calm so it's calmness about the training spills over onto your horse.

Saddle up and your helper too and start around the arena.  Your horse first and then start a game of Leapfrog.  First, stop your horse in a spot wide enough for the helper to safely pass you.  Lean forward and give her a treat (it's best to pick something she can eat easily with the bit in) just as your helper is loudly saying "Passing" and then S-L-O-W-L-Y the helper walks past you as you give your mare treats, verbal praise and pats.  Why start with simple passing when her issue is headlong passing?  To make her comfortable and to give yourself a basis for the training.  You ask her to do something, she gets a treat and nothing bad happens...the "outcome" is she remains safe and is actually kinda bored.  Good.  That's where you want her.

That's all for the first day.  Just non-threatening work so you can build a true foundation of inner confidence for her.  A horse passes her and nothing bad happens.

After Leapfrog for a training session or two and she is just fine, ask her to pass the other horse.  No issues?  Stop for the day,. praise her and make a plan for the next training session.  It is best to do short, productive daily sessions than once a week long one.

Next, she will be at on end of the arena, you stop her, start with the treats and calming words, ask the helper to say "Passing" and trot by her...no issues?  Good.  Have the helper stop 20 feet away, turn towards her and now have the helper walk to her as you give treats and reassure her safety.  You must pay close attention to your mare and see when exactly she starts to get nervous. At that point, calm her back down, stop the training, more treats and praise and end for the day.

Next session, try to get the helper to walk a few feet closer towards her without your mare getting nervous...and so on and so on.  After awhile, you will be able to have the helper cantering towards her and she will just ignore them.  She will understand the "outcome" of the action of the approaching horse will not hurt her and you are going to keep her safe.

This will take as long as it takes for you mare to figure this out and become comfortable.  Rushing the training will not help you.  So, be firm, be consistent and above all be patient.  She will catch on.

Lastly, I would avoid warm-up rings with horses going in all directions until she has successfully completed her training and you are 99% sure she will behave calmly in that situation.  It would jeopardize her thought process and derail your training if you were to throw her back into her unhappy place.  She needs to cement her calm reactions before you expose her again to the warm up ring and conditions you cannot control.

On a side note, once she has begun to understand the outcome of your requests of her, you can start phasing out the treats and replace them with simple verbal praise and pats.  Give her a treat only every 3rd or 4th time she is good and then only once in awhile.  This is called Intermittent Reinforcement.  It works on animals as well as people.  Think of Las Vegas.  No on ever wins at gambling every single time, just once in awhile.  But, the keep repeating the action hoping that this will be the time they win...or get a treat :)


Good luck and remember to always wear an ASTM/SEI approved helmet!

Solange