Whole Horse Power
| WHOLE HORSE POWER 63 Longbow Ln Wimberley, TX 78676 |
Why Do Horses Do That? - The Full Bucket Theory
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The other day I was talking with a student about her horse’s behavior, which she found mystifying. The
horses had been in the barn for several days, due to cold rainy weather, and today she had come to get her
horse out for exercise. “I took Isadora out to the round pen and longed her for a little while and she was very
laid back” she said. “you know, she just kind of trotted around la-de-da, so after a few minutes I went ahead
and took her to the covered arena and rode. She was ok until she saw a horse out in one of the round pens.
Then she began to act like she wanted to buck and act crazy. I tried to ride her through it, but she just kept on
acting like rodeo was on her mind, so I finally got off, took her back to the round pen and longed her.” She
went on “Well, she just exploded and bucked and bucked and cantered around. What do you think made her
do that after she was so laid back when I gave her an opportunity to play in the beginning.?”
It’s a good question isn’t it? Why do horses DO that? I think it is an accumulation of factors.
Horses, as you know, are herd animals and prey animals. They have survived as a species by responding to
stimulants and reacting according to their anxiety level, after checking in with the herd to see if every body
else thinks it’s dangerous too.
Horses have a physical and psychological need for movement. Lack of movement builds this need to an
explosion point.
These factors and how they create the horses’ need for movement can be compared to a bucket that can
overflow, causing a flood, when too much stimulus accumulates in the bucket. I define stimulants as things
which cause the horse to feel agitated, (not necessarily afraid) and therefore push it towards acting from
instinct or emotion rather than thought.
Factors that may increase the level of stimulants in the bucket are the horse’s character and breed type,
weather, the horse’s happiness in its work, poor fitting tack…. I’m sure there are more, and if you think about
it you can think of a few which affect your horse and increase the level in the bucket.
For instance, every horse’s bucket has some level of stimulants in it all the time. A horse with a nervous
character has a higher level of stimulants in his bucket to begin with, so it doesn’t take as many added
stimulants to “send him over the top”. A hot-blooded breed of horse has a higher level of stimulants in her
bucket than a cold-blooded breed. Horses stalled regularly have a higher level of “need to move” stimulant
than horses turned out all the time. Horses fed high protein or high concentrated carbohydrate diets have a
higher level of stimulants in their bucket all the time.
Add to this the environmental stimulants. The horse that is not happy in it’s work has a higher level of
agitation. Cold weather can cause agitation in the form of “need to move”. Poor fitting tack can definitely be a
stimulant, causing the horse to want to buck or “run out from under it”. Remember, to your horse, on an
instinctual level, a saddle that stabs him in the back with a predator (you) perched on it is not all that different
than a big cat. This is not to say that horses can’t tell the difference. They are incredibly more intelligent than
most of us imagine. But agitation can short circuit thought, and then your horse acts from instinct.
So back to Isadora, the perplexing horsey Queen in question. Lets see if we can add up the stimulants in her
bucket to understand the “overflow” and why such a small thing as seeing another horse in the round pen
might send her “over the edge”.
Isadora is a wamblood of the generally laid back type, so she doesn’t have as much in her bucket of
stimulants all the time as say, a typical Arabian. She is still a horse, a hunted animal in instinctual terms, so
her bucket has a certain level of “high awareness” type of stimulation in it all the time. In this case she had
been stalled for several days with minimal exercise. Add a half-bucket. She is fed a diet with a moderate
amount of concentrates. These were not eliminated during stall confinement. Add another quarter of a
bucket. The weather had been cold for several days. Add another big dollop. She originally went out to the
round pen and the arena alone. Add a some more for leaving the sameness of the stall, getting circulation
and movement going, and stimulation of sights and sounds of the area. Poor fitting tack? Don’t know—could
be a stimulation factor. We are getting close to the top of the bucket now. So here comes a herd member
moving around freely in the round pen. On another day, or even this day with fewer stimulants filling the
bucket, shouldn’t be an issue. But this day, the bucket of stimulation is already full and this last bit causes the
overflow. Once Isadora erupts, she needs to move in order to lower the level of stimulation back to the level
where she can think, rather than react.
If you learn to notice all of the stimulation or agitation factors filling your horse’s bucket, you will be more able
to predict when they will have an “overflow” situation brewing. Give them a chance to move and dispel some
of that agitation and stimulation.
If , like Isadora, you have reason to believe that they are “on the verge” you may want to add stimulation to
push them into movement mode, or you may want to do some anxiety lowering movement exercises like
TTEAM groundwork which will help them think and not react. Either of these strategies may help them be
better able to think and respond to your partnership requests in a cooperative manner. Which one you
choose depends on your horse’s character.
Penny Stone has been a horse professional for over 24 years. Her experience includes teaching, training, stable and farm
management. A graduate of Merideth Manor International School of Horsemanship, she is also certified as a Practitioner II by
Linda Tellington-Jones. She currently offers horse training, lessons, equine bodywork, low level laser therapy, and horse
property planning and management.
horses had been in the barn for several days, due to cold rainy weather, and today she had come to get her
horse out for exercise. “I took Isadora out to the round pen and longed her for a little while and she was very
laid back” she said. “you know, she just kind of trotted around la-de-da, so after a few minutes I went ahead
and took her to the covered arena and rode. She was ok until she saw a horse out in one of the round pens.
Then she began to act like she wanted to buck and act crazy. I tried to ride her through it, but she just kept on
acting like rodeo was on her mind, so I finally got off, took her back to the round pen and longed her.” She
went on “Well, she just exploded and bucked and bucked and cantered around. What do you think made her
do that after she was so laid back when I gave her an opportunity to play in the beginning.?”
It’s a good question isn’t it? Why do horses DO that? I think it is an accumulation of factors.
Horses, as you know, are herd animals and prey animals. They have survived as a species by responding to
stimulants and reacting according to their anxiety level, after checking in with the herd to see if every body
else thinks it’s dangerous too.
Horses have a physical and psychological need for movement. Lack of movement builds this need to an
explosion point.
These factors and how they create the horses’ need for movement can be compared to a bucket that can
overflow, causing a flood, when too much stimulus accumulates in the bucket. I define stimulants as things
which cause the horse to feel agitated, (not necessarily afraid) and therefore push it towards acting from
instinct or emotion rather than thought.
Factors that may increase the level of stimulants in the bucket are the horse’s character and breed type,
weather, the horse’s happiness in its work, poor fitting tack…. I’m sure there are more, and if you think about
it you can think of a few which affect your horse and increase the level in the bucket.
For instance, every horse’s bucket has some level of stimulants in it all the time. A horse with a nervous
character has a higher level of stimulants in his bucket to begin with, so it doesn’t take as many added
stimulants to “send him over the top”. A hot-blooded breed of horse has a higher level of stimulants in her
bucket than a cold-blooded breed. Horses stalled regularly have a higher level of “need to move” stimulant
than horses turned out all the time. Horses fed high protein or high concentrated carbohydrate diets have a
higher level of stimulants in their bucket all the time.
Add to this the environmental stimulants. The horse that is not happy in it’s work has a higher level of
agitation. Cold weather can cause agitation in the form of “need to move”. Poor fitting tack can definitely be a
stimulant, causing the horse to want to buck or “run out from under it”. Remember, to your horse, on an
instinctual level, a saddle that stabs him in the back with a predator (you) perched on it is not all that different
than a big cat. This is not to say that horses can’t tell the difference. They are incredibly more intelligent than
most of us imagine. But agitation can short circuit thought, and then your horse acts from instinct.
So back to Isadora, the perplexing horsey Queen in question. Lets see if we can add up the stimulants in her
bucket to understand the “overflow” and why such a small thing as seeing another horse in the round pen
might send her “over the edge”.
Isadora is a wamblood of the generally laid back type, so she doesn’t have as much in her bucket of
stimulants all the time as say, a typical Arabian. She is still a horse, a hunted animal in instinctual terms, so
her bucket has a certain level of “high awareness” type of stimulation in it all the time. In this case she had
been stalled for several days with minimal exercise. Add a half-bucket. She is fed a diet with a moderate
amount of concentrates. These were not eliminated during stall confinement. Add another quarter of a
bucket. The weather had been cold for several days. Add another big dollop. She originally went out to the
round pen and the arena alone. Add a some more for leaving the sameness of the stall, getting circulation
and movement going, and stimulation of sights and sounds of the area. Poor fitting tack? Don’t know—could
be a stimulation factor. We are getting close to the top of the bucket now. So here comes a herd member
moving around freely in the round pen. On another day, or even this day with fewer stimulants filling the
bucket, shouldn’t be an issue. But this day, the bucket of stimulation is already full and this last bit causes the
overflow. Once Isadora erupts, she needs to move in order to lower the level of stimulation back to the level
where she can think, rather than react.
If you learn to notice all of the stimulation or agitation factors filling your horse’s bucket, you will be more able
to predict when they will have an “overflow” situation brewing. Give them a chance to move and dispel some
of that agitation and stimulation.
If , like Isadora, you have reason to believe that they are “on the verge” you may want to add stimulation to
push them into movement mode, or you may want to do some anxiety lowering movement exercises like
TTEAM groundwork which will help them think and not react. Either of these strategies may help them be
better able to think and respond to your partnership requests in a cooperative manner. Which one you
choose depends on your horse’s character.
Penny Stone has been a horse professional for over 24 years. Her experience includes teaching, training, stable and farm
management. A graduate of Merideth Manor International School of Horsemanship, she is also certified as a Practitioner II by
Linda Tellington-Jones. She currently offers horse training, lessons, equine bodywork, low level laser therapy, and horse
property planning and management.
Articles by Penny Stone