Buddy sour horses, especially on the trail, can be a challenge. This issue can come up if other horses go a different direction than you or if you’re in a spot on the trail where you’d prefer to stay at the walk while other riders canter off. This problem can also present at the facility if all other horses are turned in and you take your horse out to work in the arena. Sometimes circling and one-rein stops are simply not enough to help your horse focus on you, especially when anxiety is taking over for you both. This, if compounded with going from a state of neutrality in your riding as you follow your friends down the trail to suddenly applying a surprising cue, can be a recipe for failure.
Buddy sourness can range from threatening to rear, to refusing to walk away from the other horses, and sometimes it can even manifest as your horse refusing to go out on the trail with you and leave his buddies at the barn behind.
Horses that present with this challenge often lack mileage. It’s not uncommon to have these problems with young, inexperienced, or green horses. Without a solid foundation, your horse won’t know the difference between proper behavior and “poor” behavior, often reverting back to herd instinct. Horses build a level of obedience as they build trust in their rider. Despite lots of us focus on being the leader and authority figure, it’s also important to ask yourself if your horse sees you as a trustworthy partner. When a horse lacking foundational trust is brought away from the herd, they may not feel safe. When we implement training solutions such as disengaging the hindquarters, backing, circling, or frequent changes of direction with a horse who is presenting with fear, it’s possible that the situation will escalate. In addition, we’re limited in our options when we continuously apply these techniques. They might be a life saver in the moment, but repeated one-rein stops without looking beyond this quick fix solution can become a sticky cycle of undesirable behavior and one rein stops, repeating itself over and over again. Flight instinct may quickly change to fight, causing behavior that’s increasingly dangerous. In turn, this could cause the rider to dismount, rewarding the behavior if not properly addressed on the ground followed by remounting.
Does Your Horse Understand “Comfortable Transportation?”
Many of us get caught up in training our horses all the time, during every ride. This often causes the horse to look to the rider for every single answer, and may get to a point where your horse loses the ability to provide comfortable transportation. What I mean by that is your horse has a sense of autopilot, or sense of responsibility that doesn’t need constant micromanagement from us. If you point your horse in the direction you want to ride, will she go willingly? Will she maintain the speed you’d prefer? Will she continue straight along without trying to turn around? Will she continue along this path until you give the next cue? Does she walk with just as much energy away from the barn or do you find her to be more sluggish?
Trail rides increase herd mentality in your horse. Usually, you aren’t the one encouraging them along, but they might move along willingly and happily, giving the rider a false sense of control. This is why commercial trail riding is possible with beginner riders, often without any experience at all. However, it’s important to keep in mind that since they’re simply following another horse instinctively, this is not the definition of autopilot either. The challenge often presents itself when the rider asks something different of the horse, taking him out of the herd mentality and asking for horse-human partnership. At this point, a horse who isn’t trusting their rider often will show signs of disrespect.
Establishing independent control and a horse who respects partnership starts with hacking around the facility. Start by riding around the grounds of the facility. Work on things like transitions, crossing puddles, turns, and maintaining the gait you’d like. Pay attention to how your horse is responding to your cues. Make a note of what needs more work, and work on those things until you feel confident your horse is tuned-in to you and your aids around this space. Over time, you can increase the distance of how far you ride out. If you have trails at your facility, take your horse out for a short ride, and slowly build distance. Riding out alone is a great way to check in with your horse to make sure she’s still respecting your partnership and staying obedient to your cues. Remember, you want to be a partner, not a passenger.
Overreaction from the rider can often result in situations where a horse becomes the leader, unbeknownst to the rider. Repeatedly stopping when your horse is lacking confidence helps to reinforce that they will be rewarded with a break when this occurs. Though this does help you regain control in some cases, it’s time to start looking beyond this action and looking at how to support your horse in what you’re asking of him. Building a stronger foundation breaks this cycle. Implement patterns and ride with a plan each time. Also, keep your attention on the details. Small evasions build on themselves, which can result in disrespectful behavior and a loss of partnership.
Once you’ve followed these steps and you’re ready to ride out with other horses, be mindful of the distance between your horse and the next. Try a few transitions, ride a few circles, and trot ahead of the others (after asking permission) to test your homework. If other horses trot or canter ahead, be sure you are the one asking for these transitions instead of the horse simply following along. If you find you’re losing control, try going back to some of the exercises you’ve been working on at home. With time and mileage, your horse will grow more confident in your leadership role, helping to eliminate these issues while out with other horses.
Thanks for reading!! I hope your next ride is happy, confident, and partnership based. Oh, and most of all – FUN!
–Kimberly