Teaching the excited horse to practice impulse control

Often times horses are prone to being excitable. In this video I start teaching Bendi to settle. I am using positive reinforcement which can add to excitement. However, food is an VERY powerful reinforcer and can help the horses learn how to settle, both inside and out. I know that we can use equipment to minimize physical activity but that doesn't change their emotional state. By building a good reinforcement history with their choice to settle, they will elect to do this in all sorts of situations, even when adrenalin is high. They learn to enjoy practicing self regulation. I actually focus on the horse's choice to physically settle by watching for the physical signs(eyes, jaw, ears, neck tension, head position, tail swishing, etc.) Pretty soon, their emotional state matches the physical state. By building a strong, desirable relationship with slowing, stopping, standing, resting they will choose these well-reinforced behaviors. These behaviors end up bringing comfort once they have a well established positive reinforcement history. My goal, as always, is to teach this as their default behavior. Many horses learn that positive reinforcement training is all about activity. However, this tends to create busy horses. Instead, I set out to teach horses to be relaxed, and calm yet enthusiastic and engaged. In this video I demonstrate the earliest steps of this process. These are the 3 beginning training sessions(within 24 hours) with a very active and enthusiastic horse. This method also works well for horses with food issues. It provides some satiation which can help to desensitize the value of the food while also addressing the over arousal. Heck, this works with everything from yearlings, OTTB's, rescues, feral horses, athletes and stall-bound horses on recovery…you name it!