Understanding Your Horse: Barn Sour Training Tips

Dreamy was a gentle-natured Chincoteague pony that we'd taken on as a boarder and eventually began training. A little bit stubborn and fairly lazy, he was generally a laid-back little horse. That is, until you turned around to ride home. As soon as he realized he was heading back towards the barn, it became an equine case of Jekyll and Hyde. Taking the bit in his teeth, Dreamy would bolt and attempt to run away with his rider, swerving and careening wildly in an attempt to throw the person from his back. After a couple of incidents of this, it became obvious - we had a severely barn soured horse on our hands.

Have you ever encountered a situation where a horse misbehaved as soon as they were led away from the barn? They may have reared up, spun around or began calling frantically back to their stable mates while attempting to turn and run back the way they came. If you have, never fear - you're not the only person to have encountered this behavior. This is a habit in horses, known as "barn sour." Over time, dealing with a barn sour horse is not only emotionally and physically taxing, it also has the potential to be a very dangerous situation.

Fortunately, barn sour horses can be reformed and retrained. According to noted horse trainer John Lyons, the solution is fairly simple and can be done simply by using a horse's own emotions. This is a popular sentiment echoed by many horse trainers who engage in and promote what is known as "natural horsemanship." If you're curious about natural horsemanship, this is a system in which the trainer uses a horse's natural body language and herd mentality to communicate with them. This technique dates back to ancient times, but gained popularity during the late '80s and early '90s when it was made popular under the term "horse whispering."

If you're interested in learning more about barn sour horses and effective methods of training them, hop on up on the mounting block and get your foot in the stirrup. We'll give you the information, straight from the horse's mouth.

Is My Horse Barn Sour?

There are many different behaviorisms that a horse may exhibit, any of which could indicate he may be barn sour. The first and most obvious is a general reluctance, or balking, when it's time to leave the barn. Other horses may be alright for a short distance before showing signs of stress and anxiety, such as excitability, excessive sweating or lathering, head tossing, tail wringing, or bucking and rearing. In extreme cases, barn sour horses may "take the bit" or fail to respond to the reins as they turn and bolt for home. This behavior can be unsettling to even an experienced horseman but, for the novice or beginning rider, this kind of behavior can be extremely dangerous.

Similar to the barn-sour condition, some horses become what is known as "buddy sour," where they begin to call frantically for a stable mate and will do anything to return to their side. There are slight variations in training techniques that should be used but, overall, these two behavior obstacles are the same. It takes time and patience to overcome these anxieties and bad habits but, rest assured, it can be done.

Before Beginning Treatment

Before you take matters into your own hands, it's always a good idea to have your veterinarian come out and give your horse a full examination. Why? Because many of the behaviors that a barn sour horse might exhibit could, potentially, be due to pain or illness. Because a change in your horse's normal behavior is the best means he has of telling you something is wrong, having a physical examination performed on your horse should be your first step in diagnosing behavior problems in horses. Only once the veterinarian has given your horse a sound bill of health, then you'll be free to continue.

Before starting work on your horse's barn sour habit, also take the time to take in the things that are triggering this behavior. For instance, some horses will begin to act up as soon as they move 10 feet away from the barn, while other horses are fine until you turn them around to come home once again. Does your horse exhibit any clues or warning signals, building up to the event or is it a sudden, unexpected occurrence? What is his attitude like, prior to leaving the barn area or property? Do you have any clues to what might have helped this behavior to develop or have they always behaved in such a manner for you? Every detail is a clue to help you decipher what your horse is attempting to tell you.

Also take a mental step back and consider how you react to your horse's behavior. Sometimes, we subconsciously stiffen or give the horse some kind of signal when we are anticipating his reaction. The subconscious signal then excites the horse, adding to his anxiety and triggering the unwanted behavior. After all, horses often look to us as friends and protectors - if something is making us nervous and afraid, it's only reasonable that our four-legged friend should be wary as well. Always remember that, while a good horseman can direct his horse with silent requests and subtle body movements, he can also communicate negative things to his horse if he's not careful.

Finding the Comfort Zone

"Ride where you can, not where you can't," is an important quote to remember from respected horse trainer John Lyons. What this means is to restrict your training area to where your horse feels comfortable. If he begins to fuss and fret when he moves 20 feet away from the barn, don't drag him 25 feet away from his safe haven and expect him to cooperate. On the other hand, you don't want to turn around and put him back in his stall. Instead, be sure to keep working him within the boundaries and teach him to trust your cues.

While you are training your horse, you must constantly watch the subtle cues that he shares with you. This could be as subtle as a flick of the ear or a twitch of the skin, or it may involve head-tossing and a general antsy behavior. Whatever the sign, pay attention to it and, when your horse shows signs of discomfort, don't push further. Instead, work him within the comfort zone you've established and keep doing so until he's relaxed once again.

Engaging the Mind

Now that you've established where your horse feels comfortable, you want to engage his mind and keep him busy, thinking about things. Unlike humans on computers, horses aren't the best when it comes to multi-tasking. When you ask him to do something, he either listens to you or he doesn't. They don't do things half-heartedly.

If you've encountered a barn-sour or buddy-sour horse, you have probably experienced how determined and set in his way, that a horse can be. No matter what you do, once they get worked up, most horses won't voluntarily stop until they've gotten what they want. The trick is to anticipate it, reading your horse's warning signs, and then cut him off at the path. When he begins to show even the faintest signs of a wandering mind, you want to bring him back to you. The best way to accomplish this is not by punishing him - but by making him think.

One of the first things that we learn, as horse owners, is that we can use certain subtle cues to show our horse what we expect of him. This training begins on the ground, when we first teach our horse how to lead or when we teach him cues like how a light push on the shoulder or hip means for him to move over as we enter the stall. It's the same as when you ride. A horse that is properly trained learns these cues and reacts accordingly.

Taking your barn-sour horse out into his safe zone, start by simply working him in that area. Walk him around, being careful not to stress him, but ask different things of him. Direct him to walk a little in one direction and then stop, turn, and move in a different direction. Walk him half the distance back and then have him pivot around and change direction again. Just move him quietly and easily, asking a variety of simple and easy tasks of him, but do it without allowing him to get worked up or anxious. If he starts showing signs of nervousness, turn him back and move until he's reassured that he's in his comfort zone and continue to work him with these easy, yet thought-provoking tasks. Remember that you want to remain gentle and patient, and that you want his focus to remain upon you. Only when he will perform the tasks quietly and without a fuss are you ready to move on.

Baby Steps Away From the Barn

When working with a horse that's barn sour, the last thing you want to do is rush. If your horse starts to act up and show signs of being nervous when he's 10 feet away from the barn, then you want to work him within that 10 foot perimeter until he's comfortable and relaxed, and until you're sure his focus is on you. Only when you know he's listening to you and responding to your cues, do you move to take him 11 feet away from the barn. Then, before he has a chance to argue or react, turn him back towards the barn and continue working within that safety perimeter. When he's relaxed, take him back out to 11 feet again and then ride him back towards the barn. Ask him to move in a figure 8 pattern or stop, back up and pivot back the way you came. Keep him wondering what you're going to ask next of him and keep his focus on you as you gradually move him short distances away from the barn.

As you work with your horse, be quiet and firm, careful not to lose your temper or become excited when you think your horse may act up. You want him working back and forth within the area, keeping his mind on you, rather than the distance he is away from the barn. This is a slow and often tedious process, but it will help your horse to realize that it's just too much of a fuss to act up. If you keep his focus on you, with time, he will not focus as much on the distance he is from his barn and, as you work him, he will start to relax.

Practice Makes Perfect

Work with your horse on a daily basis, maintaining this positive-yet-firm attitude and keeping your equine friend on his toes. Another important thing to remember is that, no matter how rough a day seems, always end a training session on a positive note. Do not allow him to head back to the barn with an anxious air - only return him when you feel the lesson has progressed enough for one day and he is relaxed and calm, quietly listening to you. Should he begin to prance or show signs of nervousness, resume the lesson until he relaxes once more. Then ask him to stop and end the session for the day.

It takes time, patience and love but, with these 3 things, you can retrain your horse and teach him that there is a wide and wonderful world beyond the barn. Before you know it, the two of you will be exploring it together - much the same way Dreamy and I learned to explore the open roads!

Sources:

Personal experience as a horse trainer

http://www.myhorse.com/training-buddy-sour-or-barn-sour-horse-john-lyons.html - Information on natural horsemanship and trainer, John Lyons