Dealing With The Shying Horse

A horse that gets into the habit of shying at every perceived danger can be both irritating and dangerous. Fortunately, there are ways of teaching it to become more confident.

- Kim Dyson

Riding an unschooled horse is always risky. Ideally, therefore, a horse should be handled from a very young age and schooled for years to make it a safe ride. This practice is invariably followed in Europe, but less so in South Africa. Here, all too often, horses are rushed through the crucial steps required to make them safe.

Working with a green horse requires patience and consistency, as it needs to fully understand what is being taught. With the average horse weighing around 500kg, it’s essential that it knows what is allowed and what is not.

When a horse is in a situation that it perceives as dangerous, it will respond either by instinct, or according to what it has been taught. A properly trained horse that trusts you will likely react with learnt behaviour, but there is an exception to this rule!

SHYING