How to Help Your Horse Settle in to a New Home- Calming an Anxious Horse.

When you buy your new horse, he/she will feel anxious and fearful in the new surroundings at first. Help your horse feel safe in their new home by being a good leader to them. Use these techniques to calm your horses anxiety and help them settle in to their new home. Calming an anxious horse can be done by earning your horses' respect and trust.

[@PetitePalateBaby]

The dog in the background, so cute

[@breneliaz4585]

In the San Marcos area! Just got a young Arabian and have been having trouble bonding with him. His life long owner was a man and I’m a woman… he definitely seems to get along better with my dad, my boyfriend, my sister’s boyfriend, and so on. He avoids me in the pasture and is hard to catch. I’ll try some of these things.

[@katiek.8808]

You nailed it with the ending monologue. Being a leader is everything.

[@roseault6335]

Great video, that was very helpful! Beautiful horse :)

[@leealexander3507]

I had to give up my last horse for health reasons. He actually enjoyed thel long trip to his new home and settled right in. During the years he was with me he developed a great deal of self confidence as well having learned his manners. He will be one of the three breeding stallion's with preservation breeder. His new owner didn't have to do a thing to help him make himself at home and behave like the gentleman he is. As much as I miss him I'm so happy that he's with someone who understands his value and fell right in love with him.

[@nikkiandrews3094]

Yesss!!! Love all of this!

[@hillbillymojo1277]

This helped my new horse acclimate. Thanks for the info!

[@DoubleSpurRanch]

I'm happy to hear that! Please share the information with others!

[@apendragon4057]

Excellent Video. Clear and concise and exactly what I was looking for THANK YOU

[@DoubleSpurRanch]

Glad it was helpful!

[@wajdiamayreh930]

Great lessons and advices

[@DoubleSpurRanch]

Thank you so much! See more at our website, www.DoubleSpurRanch.com

[@jessjones8592]

Hi Steve, well he got hurt 3rd day at new place... Been on meds for 10 days... Not sure if he got kicked or what.. Getting better but he bites, he kicked a girl last week. Both feet!.. Tried saddle last night for first time.. Bucking the entire time... Now I'm kinda afraid of him... We are doing ground work only (twice a day....) Have not gotten on him yet.. Taking it slow... Farrier is coming to check feet as well... I'm so confused.. Lol 16 yr old appy/morgan gelding

[@DoubleSpurRanch]

It is possible that he is in pain. It is also possible that he is developing unacceptable habits during this time of trouble. I would talk to the vet and see if he has other injuries or if the vet can discover softness. Let's talk about his groundwork. Are you seeing any limping or head bobbing? If you can, do stretches on him (see kzbin.info/www/bejne/aIuchYeliLmYi5o) and then move him in the round pen at a trot or canter if possible. Look for lameness or head bobs after the stretches. Also, have someone walk him away from you and watch to see if his tail moves to one side while walking away. There is a reason that he is acting out. Usually, bad behavior is caused by fear, anxiety, or pain. Regarding the biting and kicking: What are/were the circumstances surrounding the bite? Is there a certain spot that he tends to react to when that area is approached? Normally, when a horse bites or kicks, it's the same thing as a person punching someone in the face and is an act of high aggression. If we are talking about backing the ears and taking a posture of warning, that is a less aggressive act and requires a lesser response. If a horse tries to bite me or kick me, they generally only do it once. We have to speak horse to our horses. If one horse bit at a more alpha horse, the more alpha horse would light him up! YOU must be your horse's alpha and leader. When a horse senses a void in leadership, they will fill it. Horses aren't drawn to sweetness for leadership, they are drawn to strength. They respect, trust and follow those (four-legged or two-legged) who demonstrate dominant strength. When one of my horses bit at me, I lit him up with high aggression. I happened to be holding a training flag. I wacked him in the neck and head with the flag as I advanced into his space, backing him up as he tried to get away from me. Wacking a horse with a flag is about like spanking someone with a feather, not painful at all. However, to a horse, it is frightening. If it would have been a horse instead of me getting after him, it would have been very painful for him, so he was lucky. That horse looked at me with amazement and surprise. He has NEVER bit at me again. However, he trusts and respects me completely. He can't wait to be near me. Why? because I am his trusted leader who is strong enough to protect him and keep him safe, just like the alpha horse of the herd. We are dealing with survival instincts here and meeting a horse's need for an alpha leader who makes them feel safe. Strength draws a horse to you. If he bites or kicks, light him up for his own good and for the sake of your relationship. Spend some quality, mild pressure time making his feet move and showing him that you are the alpha and a good companion. See kzbin.info/www/bejne/fKnJnmeJjcyHras for ideas on what to do. Focus on discovering why he is acting out and do what you can to help him.

[@Conny226]

What can I do if he absolutely does not want to back up?

[@DoubleSpurRanch]

Start over. 1st, look at yourself. When I fail to get a result from a horse, 99% of the time it is I who have failed, not the horse. Sometimes a horse doesn't believe you. Sometimes they just don't understand. I'd start with leading exercises, rebuild the trust/respect relationship and try again with a different type of pressure.

[@Conny226]

@@DoubleSpurRanch thank you for the answer 👍🏻

[@Conny226]

I can get my new 17 year old horse to free lunge ,but not on the lead line he does not let me get beside his shoulder 😅 what can I do ?

[@DoubleSpurRanch]

Usually, if they won't move out for you for the short lounge on a lead line, it is about confusion. I offer direction by leading the horse off to one direction and apply supporting pressure to the shoulder and/or cheek to push them off and release when they do. I sometimes focus on nothing but moving the shoulder away from me, rather than moving in circles. I'll try to post a video breaking it down.

[@Conny226]

@@DoubleSpurRanch thank you that would be very helpful 👍🏻

[@trishaenger4156]

What about OTTB that have just finished racing a month ago? We were walking fence line with them to show them and my husband couldn’t hold the Gelding so he let him go and he went right through the fence now he is back on stall rest for a week to heal and we will try to turn them out again. Any tips?

[@DoubleSpurRanch]

I don't know your horse or all the factors, but generally, when you meet a horses emotional needs of feeling safe because he truly believes that you have his back and that you are an able and dependable leader, alpha protector, you end up with a generally calm non spooky horse. That said, you can help a horse improve and make better choices, but you can't always change who they are. Warwick Schiller talks abut helping horses deal with things that spook them and managing their anxiety called "Don't Go to Bed Angry" .

[@stovepipe9er]

Should I do this right away with a young horse that a misguided person pushed too much when I bring him to my pasture? I’m brand new to horses and am bringing my 2 y/o gelding home as soon as the fence is done. I took bad advice from an acquaintance and let her begin breaking which has gone badly. After talking to others with experience I realized she doesn’t know what she’s doing and put a stop to it. Should I let him settle in before I do these excercizes?

[@DoubleSpurRanch]

Thanks for the question! The horse needs your connection and leadership now. Also, see our How to Calm a Horses' Anxiety video as these two videos go together. Spend time with the new horse. Using calm and light pressure/release, you can help your horse see a confident leader and companion in YOU. Spend time with him just being together. Mirror his actions. When he is concerned about something help him see that you see his concern. If he is looking at something, you look at it too. When he relaxes, reward him. Look at his ears and when one flickers back after being focused on something, reward him. Spend a day like this and slowly begin moving him a shown in the video. He will be drawn to your strength, not your sweetness. He needs a confident and calm leader. Once he has settled a little, start moving his feet. See our Trust and respect episode 2 video. The join-up will be a VERY important exercise for you. After he is more confident in his new surroundings, turn up the pressure in your training. See more at www.DoubleSpurRanch.com on the Learning Center page.

[@paulapolmanteer3451]

Im confused I've always been told u don't want a horse behind u leading?

[@DoubleSpurRanch]

Great comment. It is not an exercise in how to lead your horse, the point is developing respect and helping the horse to stay focused on you. It's a common training practice that works well.