Some people go by the “horse whispering” theory for horse training and behavior correction.
Well, we tried whispering and my little Grunnion wouldn’t exactly listen.
Grunnion has been adapting to life boarding at a barn after spending the rest of his life being the king of his own domain at my parent’s house. It’s been a big adjustment and his latest thing has been pushing his pasture mate and people around with his nose.
Not violently, per se, but the horse is strong. Really strong. And he’s an Arabian, which means that neck is fairly long and stretchable.
Not the safest or best scenario.
My husband, who is genuinely amazing with almost every animal I’ve seen him with, tried some gentle correction (I need his coaching because I tend to get short-tempered with dearest Grunnion after normal horse corrections fail.)
The gentle corrections didn’t stick.
I read that sometimes sharp cries can startle a horse enough to cease a behavior, because their ears are sensitive, and they usually avoid such noises…
I told John this as Grunnion tried to push him with his nose, and my mischievous husband decided to scream at the top of his lungs.
Grunion’s eyes widened; his head jerked up.
After a second, Grunnion went to push John again.
John screamed… something akin to a rebel yell I imagine.
By the third go-round with these two, Grunnion was hesitant to move his nose at all.
By golly. It worked. Two days later I go out to ride and my nosy man is nosy-no-more. Hmm. A week later, still no pushing.
John and I were both amazed it actually worked. He, of course, lifted his chin and said proudly, “Just call me the Horse Screamer.”
Well… step aside horse whisperers… there’s a new theory in town…
PS – I in no way condone harsh disciplines or violent behavior towards horses or any animal or even any human. Be smart. But this was a non-traumatic solution that I definitely wanted to share. Time will tell if it truly holds out. But I’m optimistic.
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