Calming Tips

Calmness and safety go hand in hand.

Calming for Confidence - keeping happy horses and riders safe this summer.

 

Humans and horses share the instincts of fright and flight when trying to keep calm. But riding a horse who has hit his flight mode is slightly more scary than being around a worrying human!  

 

Horses take their lead from their rider so keeping your calm and control at all times whilst being under the stresses of a changing environment can often need, a little extra support. 

 

Some of the training tips we discuss with riders on a daily basis include:

• Keep your horses routine the same - so there are less things for him to worry about.
• Create a calm atmosphere on your yard, plan a  daily routine so that your horse remains settled.
• Use an instant calmer prior to the event that makes your horse feel stressed. This could be hacking, farrier, competition, traveling.
• Distract your horse from worrying, by asking them to perform some easy lateral work.
• Turn your  horse towards the oncoming vehicle so they can see it as well as hear it. 
• Ask the driver of a stationary vehicle  to talk to you so that your horse associates a human voice with the very scary lorry or trailer, this will help allay his fears
• Praise your horse every time they over come their fear, this will build their confidence and enables you to keep over coming worries together, developing your trust in each other over time.
• Horses do not need to repeat an action as many times as a human for it to become a habit, this can work against you so work on your horse's confidence on a daily basis.
• A horse's sense of smell is stronger than a dogs so they can sense things before you can see them, so remember if your horse is feeling tense he may well be smelling something ahead of him- reassure them at all times. 

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 Every horse is different so adapting the ingredients to help settle the horse and reduce the flight instinct is proving to have far reaching benefit for 1,000’s horses all over the UK. This is what sets bespoke supplements apart.