Turn your horse out as much as possible with a stable group of other horses.
Introduce your horse to a new herd gradually. Start by turning him out in an adjacent paddock and introduce a friendly horse when he is calm and relaxed. In about a week to two weeks they can join the rest of the herd.
Stable your horse next to others from his herd. If your horse has a special friend, put them next door to each other.
Horses prefer to spend around 16 hours a day eating. When your horse is stabled, replace some of his hay with a short chopped hay replacer or meal extender so he has less time with nothing to do.
If your horse crib bites, avoid feeds that have been molassed and give him an antacid to reduce the amount of time he spends cribbing. This is kinder than using a crib-collar.
If he weaves, a window to next door’s stable or a stable mirror can reduce the amount of time he does this. But would not be suitable for an unsociable horse.
Have your horse’s saddle fitted by a Master Saddler. Badly fitting saddles cause pain so doing this can prevent physical injury and problem behaviour.
Spend time with your horse to find out what he likes. You can use these activities to break up training sessions or just to relax with your horse.
When training your horse, keep the sessions short. Only working on two or three tasks at a time will help your horse remember what he’s been taught.
Allow plenty of time for situations your horse may find frightening, such as loading into a horsebox. This way you won’t have to hurry and end up forcing your horse to behave dangerously.
