Dealing with unwanted behaviors

So, your horse is being “bad”, what do you do?
First check their health. Anytime a horse changes their behavior we want to make sure there’s not a health reason. Don’t overlook this step! Take the time to check, especially if the behavior is new.

If a behavior maintains or increases in frequency (if it keeps happening!) it’s being reinforced by something. It’s usually something we didn’t notice we were doing or something we do to get them to stop - like feeding them faster so they stop kicking the door. We might think we’re punishing the behavior but if the behavior continues, what we’re doing might actually be reinforcing. Maybe the horse likes the attention even if we think it should be punishing. But it could also be intrinsically reinforced (the horse finds it fun), which makes it a little tougher.

Take a peek at the ABCs of the behavior in it’s natural setting. What’s triggering the behavior, what’s reinforcing the behavior, and can you change anything in the environment to prevent it?

Sometimes it’s as simple as making sure their environment is appropriate for them, with access to forage, enrichment, and socialization. Then the unwanted behaviors go away because they aren’t being triggered or reinforced. But we can also arrange the set up to block the unwanted behavior, like closing the door.

If you’ve done everything you can but the solution isn’t possible, maybe you can’t relieve the pain or fix the environment, or prevent what’s reinforcing it. Training a replacement behavior can make it safer and more appropriate for both of you. Teach the horse a behavior that is safe and fits the situation well, when you see them about to start doing the unwanted behavior, ask for the desired behavior instead and reinforce it in a way that’s similar to what they’re looking for. So, if they kick their door at feed time, teach them to station at a target or mat for feed time instead. If you horse invades your space when you have food, teach them to stand calmly or even tip their head a little away from you. Teach what you WANT, so what you don’t want disappears.