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Is your horse shy?
By Horse Guy | June 29, 2010
Today I want to discuss another fairly common problem trait shown by some horses: Shying or running away.
If the horse has been properly trained when a colt, he will never develop the habit of shying. This habit, like most others, is acquired by improper handling at some time.
In nine cases out of ten your horse has been taught to shy on the road by the improper use of the whip. Types No. 2 or No. 4 seldom develop this habit. It is more often found in type No. 3 or a horse with this type predominating.
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I have always claimed that the trainer instills this trait in the animal by getting away from the true principles of horsemanship first. In all probability, he is driving a high-spirited colt of type No, 3, and he comes to a stone, stump or some other object that it is inclined to frighten at.
The colt, obeying a natural instinct, pauses in his gait in an effort to understand the meaning of this unusual object, or he may notice the object just as he gets even with it.
In either case, the driver, instead of giving the colt an opportunity to examine the object, pulls out the whip and forces the colt past the object, and in many cases, whips him for five minutes afterwards, in an effort to convince him of the foolishness of frightening at a stone or stump.
He has now laid the foundation for a shyer, and one or two repetitions of this kind will put him in possession of a confirmed shyer, one that will rush to the side of the road, or whirl and upset the rig, or possibly, in its fright run off and break things to pieces.
See, a horse can think of only one thing at a time, and while his mind is on the object, and the driver applies the whip, it is the object that inflicts the pain, and NOT the whip.
If the horse could reason from cause to effect he would understand that the whip, and NOT the object, was responsible for the pain and when passing the same spot at another time, would know that if he paid no attention to the object he would not be hurt.
But, as I’ve said repeatedly: This reasoning process is impossible for the horse to perform, and for that reason, any time he sees the object, or one similar to it, he is reminded of the former experience, and the result is that he shies worse than ever.
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Originally posted 2008-06-07 10:16:11. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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