Buckaroo Texan Blog

My 4 year old Quarter Horse gelding, Rojo, is a nervous type of personality.   He is the youngest in his herd of geldings and does not have a lot of confidence around other horses moving at fast paces while riding.
Our training times are generally just him and me.   I
generally have to haul him somewhere to be able to ride with other horses around. By using the buckaroo way I have developed ways to help the nervousness in horses.

1. Building confidence in a young horse starts with total respect of his handler.  He needs to be able to see me as more important than any distraction going on.   This can be something that you think is perfect until you take your horse somewhere.  You can’t believe how your horse is
acting!  He never does this at home!    That is a sign that your relationship is not as strong as you thought.   Whether leading on the ground or in the saddle you must have full respect of your horse at all times and any place.   Clinics are a good place to work this out.  Mostly this will involve  you learning how to get that respect.   Most of us need help on how to get this respect so we can fully enjoy our horses.

2.  Before you saddle up, do a pre-flight check on your horse with acupressure.    The following points are generally beneficial for horses that are overly reactive, high energy, easily spooked or fearful.     GV 24, Bl 15, Ht 7, Pe6 and Pe 7.    These points are described further in several books
on horse acupressure.  My favorite is “Equine
Acupressure” by Nancy Zidonis, Amy Snow and Marie Soderberg.    Have you ever watched a good horseman rub a
horse or even just touch a horse in the area on their forehead just below the poll?   Notice how the horse seems to let down, relax, and then focus on the person doing the rubbing or touching.  This is GV24.   Bl 15 is located 4
inches off the spine behind the withers, and also, has a calming effect.   Pe6 and Pe7 are located on the inside of the foreleg just above the knee joint.   Pe 7 is closest to the knee and Pe6 is above it 2 to 3 inches.  Ht 7 is located
on the lateral side of the foreleg, at the rear side of the knee and slightly above it.  Playing with these points a little before saddling and starting your lesson can help to settle your horses mind and balance his energy.
3.  On a horse that is having   difficultly  daily with being overly reactive, I will give 1 to 3 capsules of Eleviv before saddling.   This is a natural supplement to just let his body relax and let his mind think instead of react.   I have had some good results with Rojo by having him on a
program of 1 capsule of Eleviv before every ride for a month, then just giving him the supplement every few days, then giving him the supplement when I put him in a new stressful situation.  I am not a young rider and I don’t always react in advance to be there for these high energy youngsters, so I take a few extra of the Eleviv for me too.  Nothing turns fun into disaster faster than nervous rider on a nervous horse.   The experience is funny later as long as you don’t have a big wreck.
4.  Once you have determined you have a fearful, overly reactive horse in some situations, be sure to look at your horse’s nutrition program.  For Rojo he gets probiotics, algae and enzymes with his feed several times a week and
daily, if I have hauled him to a new place to ride that has lots of activity going on.   Also, I have found these stressful situations will cause  inflammation in horses.  To counter the inflammation causes  I will give them mangosteen juice several times a week and plenty for me too.  Rojo does well on 1 to 2 ounces.   On days that are nonstop for me I will drink 6 to 8 a day straight out of my own bottle.    It  relieves me of soreness the next day and helps me really sleep well.
These steps I have described are ways to support you and your horse so that nervousness and anxiety can be controlled, so you and your horse can think and learn together.   Happy Trails-   Jeannie

My training is in the Buckaroo Way and I offer consultation services to those who believe in partnership of horse and rider.