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Horse Behavior Consultations

Good Horsemanship's Philosophy About Behavioral Issues

Horses are a gestural animal - they communicate and express how they feel through body language. Behavioral problems are often an outward expression of an underlying issue or feeling that the horse has. Bucking, rearing, biting, kicking, spooking, cribbing, bolting, pulling back, refusing to trailer load etc. can be caused by a myriad of things, for example: pain, fear, lack of training, confusion, or miscommunication between horse and handler.

A Holistic Approach To Resolving Behavior Problems 


Rather than simply addressing the symptom - the problem behavior - Lauren takes a holistic approach to resolving the issue by determining what caused the horse's behavior in the first place. This involves a thorough history taking, coupled with an in-depth assessment of your horse. Once the root cause of the behavior has been determined, management changes, retraining, and/or a behavioral modification training program will be created for you and your horse to participate in under Lauren’s guidance. This approach of including you maintains the relationship-based approach to training that is a cornerstone of Lauren’s philosophy. Lauren also maintains an excellent working relationship with several equine veterinarians, and will refer you to the appropriate professional if the behavior issue is medical, or outside of the scope of her training or knowledge. She is happy to accept referrals from new veterinarians.


Better Understand Your Horse, His Behavior, And His Training

Why not just use your coach, instructor, or trainer to help you with your horse's behavior problems? Behavior modification is a specialty. In the same way your coach, trainer, or instructor specialized their training to help you compete at a specific discipline, Lauren has focused her training specifically to gain the skills and knowledge to help you and your horse overcome behavior problems. Different specialists within the equine industry can offer you and your horse specific areas of expertise - Lauren's expertise is behavior. She has formally studied equine behavior, the science of training and learning theory, and behavior modification.  

Although by law certification is not required in Canada to call one's self an expert in behavioral issues, Lauren chose to prove her knowledge by completing the rigorous screening to become an Associate Certified Horse Behavior Consultant with the IAABC. She uses techniques that are proven by both scientific research and practical application in real-life situations. She also believes in sharing that knowledge with you, so that you may better understand your horse and his behavior. This approach sets you both up to succeed, and empowers you to prevent future problems.

To Read More About Good Horsemanship's Training Philosophy See Our Blog Post here.

Lauren travels to the following areas for horse behavior consultations: Fraser Valley, Richmond, Delta, Surrey, Vancouver, Squamish, Pemberton and points in between. For more information, contact us.

 

Horse Behavior Problems

Lauren has experience working with
the following problem behaviors:

  • anxious, fearful, spooky, cinchy
  • bucking, bolting, rearing
  • biting, kicking, cribbing, needle-shy
  • can't trailer load, won't cross water
  • hard to bridle, hard to catch
  • herd-bound, pulls back...and many more

Individual Approach

One size does not fit all!

Techniques used are tailored to your horse.
He is a product of both nature and nurture -
his innate personality, hereditary traits,
life experiences and environmental factors all 
determine who he is, and how he responds.
He deserves to have all of these things taken
into account when addressing his issues.

Training Plan

Knowledge, skills and tools for success

A big part of successfully resolving behavioral problems
includes providing owners with the knowledge, skills
and tools to address the horse's problem behavior.  
Training plans include these three keys to help you and
your horse succeed, together.