Environment training - building security and trust

Hello! A good approach is to have a system in your training that the horse knows well, one built on communication and grounded in learning signals and aids. A horse that feels secure about what is coming is a horse that is less likely to become frightened.

I teach all my horses the system from the ground, starting with signals to go forward, rein back, move the forehand and move the hindquarters, plus an exercise where the horse learns to follow the rein softly and bend its neck to the side (no more than 90 degrees, and always through its own muscle power, never forced). These signals and aids then carry over into lungeing work in both a rope headcollar and a cavesson, before moving on to work in hand in a bridle and reins, and to ridden work.

For the horse, things like a change of person or place add to the stress. If it builds too high the cup overflows and the horse "takes fright". Using the system you have schooled keeps the horse calm and focused, because the work stays the same even when the person or place is new. Horses want predictability in the world around them. The more tools you teach through your system, the more you can do together without pushing the stress to a level that blocks the horse instead.