12/03/2025
Unpredictable? Or Overlooked?
People use the word “unpredictable” with horses all the time. But the truth is… most horses aren’t unpredictable at all.
They’re communicating long before things ever escalate — we just miss the early signs.
Horses typically don’t go from “fine” to “explosive” out of nowhere.
They go from whispering, to talking, to shouting — and by the time we notice the shout, we label them as unpredictable.
The reality is this:
🔹 Horses show discomfort.
🔹 Horses show anxiety.
🔹 Horses show confusion.
🔹 Horses show overwhelm.
🔹 Horses show pain.
But they show it in the small expressions first, many people are missing these expressions.
If a horse truly is unpredictable — there is almost always a physical or medical reason.
Unpredictable behavior can come from:
• unaddressed pain
• ulcers
• dental discomfort
• saddle fit issues
• neurological concerns
• hormonal imbalance
• magnesium deficiencies
• or another underlying health condition
No horse wants to explode “out of nowhere.”
If they can’t communicate through subtle cues, or if their body is hurting too much for them to cope, “loud” behavior becomes the only language they have left.
When we learn to read their subtle signals, their pain indicators, their patterns, and their emotional thresholds, suddenly the “unpredictable” horse becomes:
• understandable
• consistent
• honest
• and incredibly predictable
Horses don’t wake up wanting to misbehave.
They wake up wanting to feel safe and comfortable.
And when we give them:
• clear communication
• fair expectations
• a pain-free body
• and an environment where they can relax…
those “unpredictable moments” almost always disappear.
Horses aren’t unpredictable.
They’re just too often misunderstood — or quietly hurting.
