Cure for the Cinchy Horse

If your horse bites or threatens to bite or even swings his head around in a threatening manner when you tighten his cinch strap, you’ve got a problem. Today you learn a simple fix that requires no equipment and works every time.

How to start. Stand in the usual position, facing the near side of the horse, right hand on the latigo strap, left arm crooked slightly so your elbow is pointing in the direction of the horse’s head. Tighten the cinch a little at a time, always while the horse is exhaling (Parelli style).

What to do. If your swings his head around, the first part of your body he’ll encounter is the point of your elbow, the hardest part of your body. If that alone doesn’t deter him, you can flap your arm like you were having a muscle spasm.  Practice this right now. It’s amazing how quickly you can move your elbow, far more quickly than you could jump out of the way or raise your hand to the horse. Before long, you will instinctively flap your arm when you pick up head movement in your peripheral vision.

Your attitude. Other than flapping your elbow, don’t react at all to what your horse has done. Remain relaxed and focused on the cinching as if nothing happened. If he comes around again, flap your arm again. If he’s persistent, you may have to adopt an animated style of cinching where your left arm is flapping almost continually. Once the problem goes away, you can go back to being calm and quiet during cinching, occasionally reassuring your horse with a touch or soft word.

Why it works. Your horse experiences an unpleasant (but not painful) consequence to the action that he chose to take. In a scientific sense this is called punishment, but don’t get hung up on the word. It’s unpleasant to him because 1) it surprises him, 2) if he makes contact with your elbow, it is a bit uncomfortable, and 3) he finds himself moving into commotion or energy. It also gains him nothing because you kept right on with what you were doing as if nothing happened. He will try again but it will be with less enthusiasm. Finally, he’ll just give up.

Where I got it. I saw a video clip once in which Tom Dorrance was demonstrating this technique using a dowel rod tucked under his arm. I found I could accomplishment the same thing with my elbow. However, if you don’t feel safe using your elbow, use a dowel rod or training stick or anything else that’s handy. The important thing is that you have something sturdy between you and the horse’s head.

Why it’s good. The big advantage of this technique is that the horse doesn’t realize that the punishment has come from you. He believes he did it to himself. Some of the best old-time training techniques were like this. I like this sort of technique because it cures a dangerous behavior without putting the relationship at risk.

Before you start. There’s always a chance that the horse has a medical issue that is causing him pain when you tighten the cinch. Examine the girth area and call your vet if you see or feel anything unusual.

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Three Tricks for Better Behavior at Feeding Time

Horses love food. I can relate! But too often a horse’s behavior becomes annoying or even dangerous when he’s obsessed about eating. Here are three tricks I’ve found that transform a horse’s behavior at feeding time. I call them tricks because they work like magic. By the way, these aren’t all that advanced but they’re not for beginners, either.

Back before eating. Backing isn’t natural for a horse. Psychologically and physiologically, he’s a forward animal. But you’re going to teach him to back away from food upon your command. Teach this with your horse in a rope halter and lead rope so you have some control. Bring him to his feed and make sure he sees it. Now ask him to back up. You’ll need to use the standard natural horsemanship techniques of pressure and release, rewarding the slightest try and progressively raising your expectations. When you get something you can reward, you will not only stop asking but also invite him forward to eat. Yippee. Some horses catch on to this game so quickly they will start anticipating your cue and backing away from the food before you’ve asked. If that happens, do nothing until he stops backing. Then ask him to back some more and reward with feeding. Our Icelandic Horse, Fidla, would start backing when she saw us coming toward the barn. It was like she was saying, “See? See? Can I eat now, already?”

Pretend you don’t want it. This is a little game I’ve taught several horses. But I need to reiterate that this is not for beginners. Hand-feeding treats is a good way to get hurt if you haven’t established boundaries of space and behavior with your horse. So don’t attempt this unless you are absolutely certain you can do it safely. Start with your horse in a halter and lead rope. Stand a few feet in front of him. Make sure he knows you have a treat and is looking directly at you. Then say, “pretend you don’t want it.” At first, he won’t know what you mean, so you may have to say it again, and again. At some point, however, he will move his head slightly to one side or the other. It’s just a random movement. Instantly praise him and give him the treat. Try it again. He may get worse before he gets better, but eventually he will respond by turning completely away from you, just like he’s saying, “Take it away; I’m not interested.” Again, he is showing a willingness to put responding to your request above his primal desire to eat. By the way, don’t repeat this trick too many times. A rookie mistake is to keep repeating something until the horse fails or refuses. Don’t be that guy. Look for a good place to end as soon as he gets the hang of it. When you stop on a good note, your horse will likely be better next time.

Vary feeding time. What happens when a horse gets used to being fed at precisely the same times each day? Right! He freaks out if you’re even a few minutes late. So don’t be so predictable! Vary the time by up to two hours. If you normally feed at 6 am, make it 6:45 or 7:58 some days. He’ll get used to it, I promise. And remember, multiple small feedings throughout the day are healthier than two big feedings. There’s a bonus to this strategy, by the way. You have more flexibility in your own schedule. You can actually finish dessert before leaving the restaurant with that apologetic, “Sorry, I have to feed!”

Final thought. Food is a powerful motivator for horses. Yes, a horse can be taught without the use of food rewards. No, you can’t always get a treat to a horse at the right moment to reinforce his behavior. But food is still useful in training because it is completely unambiguous to the horse. He doesn’t have to wonder if you’re really happy with him. If you give him food, life is good.

Extremes of Horse Behavior

Casting the horse as the ultimate prey animal and the human as the ultimate predator is a useful teaching device to drive home the important differences between our two species. However, it’s also important to remember that both horses and humans move up and down the behavior continuum, demonstrating the capacity for everything from tenderness to savagery. Equestrian explorer, author, and Long Riders’ Guild founder, CuChullaine O’Reilly, examines the dark end of the spectrum in his new book, Deadly Equines: The shocking true story of meat-eating & murderous horses.

Listen to my interview with CuChullaine here.