Hi Susan, >>>Yes, that would be nice, Robyn. It is easy to correct her when she gives warnings such as her pinning ears and ugly faces, but she does these "sneak" attacks that give no warning, then once the dust has settled, it is too late to give a correction.
Ahhh, but to me it is not about making corrections but actually dealing with WHY she is concerned. Yes you need to be vigilante about management of the situation so no one gets hurt but here is something to consider. If she is reacting out of concern about the other horses and you punish her (and I don't mean you are being really harsh) - but if you get after her when she is concerned isn't that actually validating that she was right to be concerned because look how upset you are?? Would you be able to say - just redirect her but in a neutral way rather than with a harsh voice or emotion? If we can take the 'charge' out of our response it generally helps reduce the reactions. I was interested in what you said some time ago about the heart rate monitor. Do you use it regularly and know her normal working, resting heart rate? You also said that her heart rate didn't change and that is why she was not actually afraid - I'm not trying to challenge or attack you on this - I am just interested because heart rate monitors are certainly useful in giving indication what a horse is physically stressed. Can you write me a bit more about this - can be privately if you are worried about starting something. It would just be interesting if you can think back and if there is any kind of predictability about if it is the size of the group, horses she doesn't know, when she is at the start or end of the ride or anything that you can think about. This is not intended to try and excuse anything about her behavior but if we can better understand it then I think we can help her more. Do you have a photo of her face - front and side and a side body shot? I would look at it from a personality tendency point of view and ask Linda as well if there are any insights that could be helpful. Linda's book Getting in TTouch with your Horse - helps people assess personality tendencies and ways to work with it. Even Temple Grandin has used the ideas for looking at cattle. (Hey Karen I am ready for the engineer in you to see red!! : ))) - I was going to let you know what I see in Angie but thought it might not be appreciated. :D ) Robyn Icelandic Horse Farm Robyn Hood & Phil Pretty Vernon BC Canada www.icefarm.com
