First Impressions are Forever

Bronzz loves creeks

First impressions are forever. Science confirms what most of us have learned the hard way. Horses have fantastic memories, and first experiences create the most powerful memories. Brandy’s first trailer rides involved being loaded by a trainer who made himself scarier than the trailer. She loads now because she trusts me, but it took months to help her discover it might be OK to get in, and there will always be some anxiety. Shiloh clearly had traumatic saddling and riding experiences before landing with us. 20 years later her anxiety can still shoot up, sometimes for no apparent reason. Sadly, the most frequent comments on this post were those describing horses who were sent to trainers and came back traumatized. There are several reasons for this. First, anyone can call himself a trainer; no credentials are required. Second, common training techniques, especially involving round pens, rely on pressure that triggers the horse's flight reflex. Most trainers are watching the feet, not the emotions, so anxiety goes unnoticed until the horse "misbehaves". Then he is labeled "disrespectful", and more pressure is applied. As anxiety turns to fear, horses become defensive. Thus a perfectly nice horse is made "dangerous". This was the case with Brandy.

Brandy is no longer "dangerous"

Making those big firsts positive events sets a horse up for lifelong confidence. Example 1: When a horse is first saddled, don’t jump on and make him move. Do something he likes! Stroking, scratching, a massage, a walk, hand graze, games – anything that will help him associate being saddled with good things happening. Example 2: Three-year-old Bronzz was very anxious around ditches and water, so I planned a long, positive introduction to creek crossing. He quickly decided that creeks and mud puddles are so much fun he likes to pause and play in them. See top photo.

Tiger inspecting a trailer

Example 3: Six month old Tiger’s first trailer ride was an easy 20 minute trip with his mother to visit my farm. He had already been allowed to inspect the trailer. Mama was a confident traveler, and had been here before, so she modeled calm, confidence. A positive first for Tiger. If you have a horse who’s had negative first experiences, you can’t train away anxiety, but you can replace it (at least mostly) with positive feelings by engaging curiosity, play, and your trusting bond with your horse.

References:
Research Sheds Light on Equine Long-Term Memory
https://thehorse.com/124191/research-sheds-light-on-equine-long-term-memory/
What Horses Really Want by Lynn Acton, Chapter 14.