09/12/2025
“She looks happier.”
Someone recently made this comment about a horse I have that tends to carry some anxiety and tension. We’ve incorporated a lot of exercises to help her regulate her emotions, find confidence in herself and in her problem solving abilities, and to effectively navigate scary things and situations. While we still have some work to do, she is in a much more relaxed and peaceful mind frame.
I’ve been thinking about this comment and I’ve realized particularly with these horses that are more anxious and sensitive, it’s easy for us to get caught up in what we want out of them. We sometimes want to push them beyond what they can successfully handle so they can meet our own personal goals. But at the end of the day, I think the ultimate and most important thing is giving these horses a better quality of life. No horse deserves to go through life stressed and scared and we owe it to them to teach them healthy coping skills and help them find true relaxation and understanding. By giving a horse a good foundation, you provide them peace and a happier life.
So if you have a sensitive/feely type horse and are concerned about their future success, remember to take the time it takes and you’ll have a happy horse that enjoys working with you and finds joy in its job.
Pictured is Rhett, a c**t start that worked through some anxiety issues and is now successfully showing with a youth rider ❤️