Why does my usually well-behaved horse suddenly buck or rear for apparently no reason?
This may be caused by an old fear memory being triggered. Often the problem occurs when the horse transitions from one gait to another. When the horse was first trained, too many new things may have been forced onto the horse too quickly. This may have caused him to get very frightened. This is especially a problem in more hot-blooded horses. Memories in animals are sensory based and they would be stored in the brain like pictures, audiotapes or specific tactile touch feelings. When a horse changes gait, a saddle feels different. The weird feeling of cantering with the saddle for the first time may have frightened the horse. A horse with a calm disposition can be more quickly introduced to new things than an animal with a flighty, excitable disposition. Fear memories are very specific. I observed a horse that was afraid of black cowboy hats and white hats had no effect. The horse’s fear was due to being abused by a man wearing a black cowboy hat. If the object the horse fears can be re
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