Training the "Untrainable"

The horse who "explodes out of nowhere"...

Through my work at the Great Escape Mustang Sanctuary, I would hear this story over and over... it would always go something like this: 

"I’m looking for a Sanctuary to take in my Mustang. I love her and have tried everything to make it work, but she is reserved, doesn’t want anything to do with me, and bolts/bucks/bites/reacts out of nowhere. She is unpredictable and just doesn't like people so I really think she would be happiest running loose somewhere."

The horses that we were able to take in who have been deemed “untrainable”… “unpredictable”…”better off wild”… ALL were able to be rehabilitated. They became horses who would meet us at the gate, look forward to training sessions and LOVE human interaction. They became willing partners that I could find loving homes for.

So what's the secret? 

Every single one of these “unpredictable”, “untrainable” horses had been ignored and pushed past their comfort levels. Every. Single. One. This doesn’t mean that their owners and previous trainers were bad or cruel... these were well-intentioned people who simply didn't know. They didn’t know that when their horse stood still in this way, it was NOT the horse accepting the training, it was the horse shutting down and becoming more and more withdrawn. They didn’t know that when they were told to just keep doing this and the horse would become more comfortable, they were really ignoring the horse’s subtle messages that they were not OK.

There is no such thing as a counterfeit horse. There is no such thing as a horse who reacts “out of nowhere”. There is only a human who isn’t able to recognize the subtle language of their horse, so the horse must resort to louder actions to get us to listen. The horse didn’t react “out of nowhere”, they told us to stop some time ago...we just didn’t listen. The tension in their body, holding their breath, a nervous eye, a change of energy...we misread that for compliance because they were standing still and “accepting” it. So we kept going. We kept pushing further and asking for more and all of a sudden... WHAM! See! The horse kicked me with NO WARNING! ... or did he?

If this story sounds familiar... know that you're not alone and that this doesn't have to be the end of your journey with this horse. This is not just how your horse is and will always be. Reading your horse and developing a clear two-way communication is learnable! 

I would love to share my experience and help you realize your dreams with your horse...