Is my Horse Lazy or Shutdown? How to Assess

In this video I assess one of my staff’s horses, Dash. Dash is a 9-year-old Quarter Horse mare who began her barrel racing career at the age of 3. Sabrina, her owner, bought her at the age of 4 and has been slowly re-starting her ever since. Sabrina asked me to assess Dash so she could better understand her mare and learn how to work with her mental, emotional, and physical proclivity.
In this process we discover that Dash is both lazy and shutdown as well as naturally easy-going, shy, timid, sweet, and soft. She is all of these things and more and when she is triggered or stuck (same for any horse), she shows us certain sides of her learned behavior and self-preservation modes, such as: shutting down, going on auto pilot, checking out, disengaging mentally and spooking.
Too often horses are misunderstood, mislabeled, and judged because of their behavior. Because of this we end up spending valuable time working with the wrong thing, trying to change a learned behavior that has become a defense (coping) mechanism developed for emotional, mental, and physical survival. Until the horse stops being defensive nothing will change. And because horses are so smart, they will learn how to get by and do what you ask without being emotionally or mentally invested.
It really angers me that so many of our leading equine professionals misdiagnose horse behavior as “fact” or they identify it as the horse’s true personality, temperament, or nature. When they do this, they are teaching you the wrong way to read, diagnose and understand horses.
An example would be calling or labeling a horse highly reactive or spooky and/or a lazy or dominant. We identify these traits and characteristics because the horse acts this way. But do we ask ourselves “why this horse acts this way?”
See, if we begin asking the question “why” we will find the answer and cause of the horse’s behavior. And most of behavior is learned. We need to become better educated about the true nature of horses - the real psychology of horses that NO ONE is teaching you.
What needs to change is us and before we try and change the horse. We need to learn how to read our horse’s true nature and differentiate between who they are (nature) and what they have learned (behavior).
This is what my assessments are all about: testing the horse’s emotional, mental, and physical proclivity and agility. How they “show up” under pressure tells me everything I need to know and through specific “testing” exercises I can see how they really feel about people, pressure, learning and so much more.
When we learn how to read, and work with, our horse’s extraordinarily complex personality and character we will find that working together - learning and teaching, becomes effortless, enjoyable, and successful beyond our imagination. The key to this begins by learning about our horse’s emotional and social intelligence. In the end, emotions are complex and control the way we feel, think and act.
Click here to learn more about "how-to" develop you and your horse: www.taoofhorse...

[@malcolmhimes4681]

Beautifully executed and explained. I’ve got to have this way deeply ingrained into my being.

[@TaoofHorsemanship]

Hi Malcolm and Welcome! Thank you!

[@marylynnblack9258]

It is So good to evaluate your horse and not make them be something they are not. I am 77 years young and still learning. I am working at being better at reading my horse . I also try to put myself in the horse's place and being more empathetic. I am firm , but gentle with him. He is a hot little Arabian and I feel my job has been to help him be less fearful and more self confident. He has come a LONG way from where we first began. He is a LOT calmer in most situations and I can usually help him calm down when he gets hyper. Relationship is VERY important with a horse. He really tries to do what I ask and I reward his try. He was abused and very thin before I got him. Now he is very healthy and happy even though he is alone. I spend a lot of time with my horse and it has done wonders. I ride him bitless and bareback.

[@TaoofHorsemanship]

Hi Mary Lynn and Welcome! Yes, and thanks for sharing your journey with all of us!

[@SarahWRah]

I object to competitive barrel racing -- very abusive to the horse's legs, hips, etc. Is it normal to start barrel racing as young as "2 or 3", when the horse is still maturing? Has the horse been checked by a chiropractor? I see an odd line in her flesh below the withers, especially on her left side. Why try to make this horse do something that's not in its nature?

[@TaoofHorsemanship]

Hi Sarah and Welcome! I agree. I've never seen a happy barrel racer. It's been my professional experience that barrel racing is the worst sport for horses and for so many reasons. And, yes, you are correct about the age too. Horses can begin their training, education as weanlings and their education needs to be parallel to three areas: age, maturity level and nature. When we don't consider these things, we harm the horse by putting them in a situation that they are not ready for. Not to mention, a horses spine doesn't fully mature until the age of 7, this means that if we are riding them hard at 2 and 3, we will compromise them mentally, emotionally and physically.

[@gerrycoleman7290]

It is not the horse. It is you.

[@TaoofHorsemanship]

Seriously? I'm the problem? How so? Horses never lie. She is relaxed with me, attentive, affectionate and choosing to join me. When her owner walks in she is different and wants to follow me. That's because she trusts me as a leader.

[@gerrycoleman7290]

When one calls a horse names ('lazy')...........It is not the horse. A horse is a reflection of the person handling it.

[@TaoofHorsemanship]

Hi Gerry, thanks for your reply. When I called her lazy, I was referring to how she is being perceived or talked about by either her owner or others. It's a common stereotype that doesn't make it right but we need to address it none-the-less as it's the horse's reality living in the human world.

[@gerrycoleman7290]

@@TaoofHorsemanship It is still not the horses fault. It all falls back on the person handling the horse.

[@TaoofHorsemanship]

I agree and that's not the point. You and I are on the same team here, we both want to do right by the horse. The problem is people and how they view the horse and judge them. This horse's owner did not call her horse lazy either. She shares the same mindset as us. She was looking for help in understanding her horse and motivating her in a positive way. I chose the word lazy because that's how much people view a horse like this. That's all. In the end, we are all on the same page, in agreement with how the horse should be revered, respected and loved.