04/02/2025
Great explanation! Applies to other species too - very often dogs and children…and me!
I woke up this morning to a sink with dishes still in it. I never did get the dishwasher loaded last night. Ugh, that’s annoying.
I stubbed my toe on the way out of the house. I need to stop for petrol before I get too far. I hit some traffic as I got into town and I could feel my anger rising. No one had better test me today, I was running out of patience and it was barely 8am. We’ve all had these days.
A horse gets brought in from the paddock. She can’t see her herd anymore, so she calls to them. She gets scolded for fidgeting, or stomping, but what do you expect??
The wind is blowing a gale. A dog runs past, barking loudly. The horse pulls back and breaks off her tie up.
What caused it?
She’s ‘normally’ fine with the dog. She’s ‘normally’ fine in the wind. She’s ‘normally’ fine being brought in from the paddock. But all three together? It’s too much!
This is known as trigger stacking and often presents itself when a normally ‘calm’ animal does something out of character. You might hear the owner saying their horse ‘bucked out of no where’ and there were ‘no signs’. But stepping back, and taking in the full picture might help illuminate exactly where those behaviours came from
