​Why Is My Calm Horse Nuts In Large Groups

By Gaye DeRusso
 
Many horses do not do well in large groups. Some don't even do well in groups larger then 2. Horses do well at things they do often, so if you ride with just one person all the time but then go on a ride with more than one person your horse may have a meltdown. Why?
 
Horses get use to routines. They know what to expect. But when you all of a sudden increase the group size they don't know where they are socially. Are they the lead horse, the follower, or the back and so they act up trying to find where they are supposed to be in this new herd. And sometimes they don't want to share their friend with the new horse. 
 
They may rear up because they want to go in front, or they may balk because they don’t want to be in front. They are trying to figure out their new placement because now there are more horses to deal with. They may kick to defend their position in the group or to tell the new horse stay away from my friend. If the new horse is antsy or misbehaving your horse may feed off of this bad energy, because it is already upset having an extra horse to deal with. 
 
When riding in groups it is best to slowly introduce new horses, one a time, if possible, to start. That means you go from riding with one person to riding with 2 persons, not riding with one, to riding with 10 or 20. You want to slowly build up your horse’s confidence and let him know, no matter  how many horses there are you are the leader, so he will listen to you. 
 
But what usually happens is you ride with one horse and a group is going out, so you join in with 5 or more  horses and the chaos begins. Your horse starts acting up, by rearing, bucking, kicking, prancing around, because it is uncomfortable with the situation because it was too many too soon and he got overwhelmed.
 
If your horse is used to riding with lots of horses in an arena, like a show horse, then it maybe use to horses passing it and use to being in groups. But if you have your  horse at home and ride alone in the arena and don't expose it to large groups and this is the first-time riding in a large group, you are most likely not going to have a good ride.
 
Some horses have been ridden in large groups before you bought them, and some are so layed back they just don't care who shows up. But others, just one more horse can blow their mind. So how do you fix it.
 
First prepare your horse longer when you know more people will be riding with you. Say you lunge your horse usually 10 minutes or maybe not at all when you ride with your one friend. But now you’re going out with more people, so to help your horse listen and stay focused, you need to lunge longer. So, if it was 10 minutes for one person now do it for 20 minutes. If you’re going with a large group like 5 or more, you may need to lunge your horse half an hour or more. But remember tired is better, they are less likely to act up. So, wear that extra energy off. I would lunge before you meet them and if while everyone is getting ready your horse is acting up, well then lunge it some more in the parking lot, do the sending exercise and really move its feet, so you can get its mind back.
 
Also, a great idea that most people do not want to do, is to trailer to group events but then do not go on the trail ride. Just tie your horse to the trailer and let it get exposed to all the chaos without you on it. Once it can do that comfortably, which may take 3-10 times of just trailering to group events, then start riding it around in the parking area by all the other horses and once it can do that calmly, then start going on the trail with the groups. 
 
Once you go on the ride if a horse is acting up, try and get away from that horse and also give your horse jobs to do to keep its mind focused on you. If you do not have those options then try and move out, go forward, and work that energy off. If you just walk and there is chaos going on, the horse is just going to get worse, but if you move out and gait or canter for a while, your horse will feel calmer because it can move its feet and better able to handle the group.
 
What some do not realize is that when you add more horses you are creating a herd. In the herd each horse has its natural position, but they work that out, by moving other horses, biting, and kicking and fighting. Of course, you don’t want your horse to do that with you on their back. So, you have to put them in a position and get them to accept it. If everyone is calm and stays in position you might be ok even if your horse is antsy, but if people are passing each other and some are slow, and others take off running your horse may lose its mind. It has not been exposed to this before and it doesn't know what to do. It will think it should run if others take off because who wants to stay and get eaten. It will think the other horses passing are taking its position and it may fight for it. 
 
So, prepare as best as you can. You want to have your horse as well trained as you can, so when you go on these events you can control it. And you may have to have some not so fun rides before it gets better. It is something that you will have to work on over and over until your horse gets use to it. If you are only doing this once a year,  and your horse is not good at it, I would recommend not going, it’s safer. You cannot expect your horse to do well if it’s not prepared for the task at hand. 
 
When I use to show in Hunter/Jumper Events, we use to get up at 5 am, lunge our horses, then trailer to the event, then lunge again and then ride the  horses around, then tie them to the trailer, then if acting up, ride or lunge them some more. Before the class, I would get  on and ride some  more, so by the time our classes came up they were well  behaved. We rode thoroughbreds, so they were not very calm horses. Over years of doing this, we would have to do less with those same  horses as they got use to going to the shows and what to expect. 
 
The only way to get  your horse better, is to expose it to these situations, but try to make it easier for your horse, not harder, by preparing better and exposing it slowly over time.