All of a Sudden, For No Reason… | RES 059

Ride Every Stride | Horsemanship and Personal Growth with Van Hargis

We travel around a lot to different expos and shows, and what I love most about traveling around is hearing stories from everyone I meet. Sometimes their stories are touching, sometimes they leave me laughing, and sometimes they leave me scratching my head. One kind of story I hear a lot starts with, “Well all of a sudden, and for no reason…” and at that point my red flags are all shot up into the wind. There’s always a reason. So we’re diving into how our horses communicate with us and how we can better listen so it doesn’t seem like they’re acting out of nowhere.

Key Takeaways

Horses are incredibly honest, truly. They let us know when something is bothering them in most cases well in advance of acting “all of a sudden”. If we learn to pay attention to what they are telling us then we can address their issues before you end up hanging on for dear life as you’re drug across a pasture.

Now don’t get me wrong. Things do happen all of a sudden, like a tree branch cracking and falling out of nowhere. Deer can be hidden in tall grass and bound away as you creep up on them. But it is in a horse’s nature to stay keenly aware. If you pay attention, you can feel a horse’s stride change just a little bit if they sense that something is off in their environment. Maybe they speed up, slow down, or tense up. When this happens just be alert, don’t cause the horse anymore stress. Keep a look out.

Be aware of where you’re riding. Know what the possible scenarios that could lead your horse to be spooked or run off. For instance, if you’re driving through a neighborhood and see a “Kids at Play” sign, and then see children playing with a ball up ahead – you shouldn’t be surprised if that ball rolls out in front of your car as you drive by. You don’t have to stress about what could happen as you ride, but staying aware and knowing the risks can help you prevent scenarios where your horse bolts out of the blue.

We also have to be aware of what we’re doing. It’s easy to blame an all of a sudden moment on the animals, but the fault can easily rest with us humans as well. Make sure you take the time to really analyze these moments if they occur and see if you did anything to prevent your horse from being set up for success.

Have an “All of a sudden, for no reason…” story? Feel free to share! You can email Van at [e-mail] and throw some more stories his way.