The OP has a trainer and a vet both involved. Trainer is the only one handling the horse besides the OP.
@staciemac13, I agree that the iron noseband or a proper longing halter with the ring attachment on the top of the nose is your best bet. Good luck!
There are some trainers who are better suited for helping with ground issues. I know too many people who have been hurt on the ground by horses that learned they could get away with bad behavior. If pain is not causing the problem, then you need someone who specializes in groundwork.
Some people want to know the history ā as much as possible ā because that is how they process information. When that information is available. Having the history may not change what they decide to do. It just helps people who like an overview. They are always going to ask those questions, and get feedback from others on the effects of the history.
Other people are more specifically focused, because that is their own analysis process. They wouldnāt pay attention to the history if they knew it. They zero in on the here and now.
Both are perfectly good and valid attempts to thinking through a problem. They often come to equally effective answers.
The real problem is when one side, or both sides, of looking at a problem wants to discard every analysis that doesnāt track the same as their own. When people refuse to recognize that there is more than one way to think about, approach and solve a problem. When people insist on their way alone, that becomes a problem ā with communicating with other people.
It can be isolating, because the only real solution for the other side is to just tune out the person insisting on their own way, and dismissing everything else. No matter how equally effective other methods may be.
Thinking through this problem a bit. I agree completely with a couple of points that various people in this thread are discussing.
Thread consensus, as I read it: It is not what the horse is reacting to. It is how the horse is reacting. Regardless of the root cause is fearfulness, or wilfulness, by the horse.
Some of us might want to understand the trigger. But there seems to be agreement that we work on the horseās response to the trigger, to any trigger.
But, imo ā how to work on the response is different for fearfulness vs wilfulness.
Fear is uncomfortable, so in the horse mind, calm is a better deal, helping the training along.
But wilful behavior is self-rewarding, like the counter-surfing dog mentioned above. Changing a horseās wilful self-rewarding behavior will likely need mean a) blocking/preventing the self-rewarding behavior, and b) a more tangible reward, to get the best possible outcome for behavior change. Or at least behavior modification to reduce the necessary tools over the horseās lifetime, depending on the success level.
I do think the nature of the reward for wanted behavior may need to be altered between fearful and wilful horse behaviors.
For the fearful horse, fear feels bad, calm feels good. Calm is a self-reward for avoiding fear.
Wilful behavior is the opposite of the fear-reaction, because self-rewarding wilful behavior feels good.
The self-rewarding wilful behavior needs to be blocked, taking away the self-reward ā every single time, with the necessary tools depending on the trainer and situation.
And the reward for a new behavior has to feel very good to give the horse the incentive not to fight for the old self-reward (which some will do). But instead to more willingly change its behavior pattern.
The horse perceives that the self-rewarding wilful behavior is now closed off, but instead of fighting for it, go with the new rewarding behavior instead. Thatās the strategy, imo.
I think OP is pinpointing this, having determined that her horse is wilful, not fearful. A crucial starting point and I applaud her attention to detailed observation to determine this. An observation skill that will always be needed with this horse.
Unfortunately there isnāt much room for failure with a wilful behavior. Failure will again create a self-reward, and therefore a remembered incentive to try the self-rewarding behavior yet again at some unknown future point. The more failure, the more the wilful behavior will return in the future. This is proven in animal learning studies.
That said, the nature of the control tactics and tools can be key, because the horse has to learn not only that it is not possible to bolt, and it is uncomfortable to try. As a result of the horseās own action in bolting, not because of anything the horse perceives the handler to be doing.
Bringing the head around to prevent the bolt is likely to be enough to prevent the self-reward, and make it uncomfortable, without much pain. No reward. Not comfortable. Horse brain can process that simplicity.
With both wilful and fearful horses, a calm horse brain is necessary to allow a horse to mentally process a change of reaction. To delay the old reaction for even a second or two to allow the process. So, a smart, calm, observant, assured trainer is essential. And yet another reason punishment doesnāt work because it agitates the horse and interferes with learning. As well as creating a whole additional set of reactions to the punishment, as various posters illustrated above.
Horses powered by adrenaline ā due to fearfulness or wilfulness ā tend to be less controllable and predictable. But as we see in racehorses and cross-country horses, horses can learn consistent cues to guide their adrenalized behavior, and not just default to random scatty prey-avoidance behavior.
Yes, I have a pony that does this and always escapes from the right side. I was warned he did it when I rescued him. He only did it once the first year I owned him but the he started up again this winter (3 years later). I donāt yet know what causes it yet but here are some things Iām looking into
These are things that changed when it picked up again and all things that have made him jumpy in the past.
He is an anxious guy. I have had him in full training for years and his improvement is slow. He has amazing ground work training but he is just so scared. We did a complete work up on him. Passed his flexions with flying colors, X-rays good, bloodwork good. The only thing is he has a varicose vein in his throat and I wonder if it gives him some kind of headache.
I donāt think we know for sure where it is coming from. If he has neck stuff, that can make them super reactive to what an outside observer would call no reason. But he probably had this behavior already for some reason, maybe the same reason, maybe not. But I donāt think that matters. Iām not saying to ignore his history, but you have to look at who he is today. He needs help with self-management. And he needs to stop getting away so that behavior is rewarded. Even if it is coming from a fear place, if he calms down or feels safer following a bolt where he gets away, it is still rewarding. Itās all intertwined.
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