Will not, or cannot?

I want to be clear about where I stand before any of the rest of it. I am a coach, not a vet. I cannot tell you what is wrong with your horse and I will never try. What I can do, after a long time watching horses go, is notice when something does not look like a schooling problem, and say so early enough to be useful.

That is the whole of this piece. One question, asked honestly.

The question

When a horse does not do what you have asked, there are two quite different explanations, and they look almost identical from the saddle.

He will not. He does not understand the question, or he has learned he can decline it, or he is worried about it. This is a training conversation, and it is mine.

He cannot. Something hurts, or his body will not currently do what you are asking. This is a veterinary conversation, and it is not mine.

Nearly every rider I meet has been taught to assume the first. It is the more comfortable assumption, because it comes with something to do about it. The second one is the more expensive thought, and it is the one people arrive at last rather than first.

The strongest signal is change

If you take one thing from this, take this.

A horse who has changed is telling you something. Not a horse who has always been sticky on the right rein, or who has never much liked poles. Those are old patterns and they are usually training or conformation. I mean the horse who was willing last month and is arguing this month. The horse who was forward and has gone flat. The horse who has always stood to be groomed and is now shifting and pinning his ears.

Consistent difficulty is a schooling question. Recent change is a health question until proven otherwise, and the sooner it is asked the better, because horses are extremely good at coping right up until they are not.

Things worth taking seriously

None of these prove anything on their own. All of them are worth noticing, and worth mentioning to your vet if they persist or arrive suddenly.

• Objecting to being saddled or girthed when he did not used to
• Ears back or tension the moment your weight lands in the saddle
• A tail that clamps or swishes hard through work, rather than swinging
• Going flat in a horse who is normally willing off the leg
• Head tossing that appears with contact specifically
• Stumbling, or a footfall that has stopped sounding regular
• A canter lead he suddenly cannot pick up, or bending that has got worse one way
• Bucking, rearing or bolting that is out of character for him

That last one matters most and is the one most likely to be met with a firmer hand. A horse who has never done it and suddenly does is not being naughty. He is saying something in the loudest way he has.

The rule I actually use

None of the above is answered with a stronger aid.

If the response to resistance is more leg, more rein, or a sharper correction, and the cause is pain, you have taught a horse in pain that telling you did not work. Horses learn that lesson quickly and it is a genuinely hard one to undo. It also means the next signal is bigger, because the quiet one got him nowhere.

So when something changes, the answer is to get curious rather than firmer. Stop, have a look, and if it does not resolve, ring somebody who can actually examine him.

Two minutes before you get on

The most useful habit I can give you, and it costs almost nothing.

Before you tack up, run your hand firmly along his back on both sides and watch his reaction. Feel down his legs for heat or filling. Then walk him a few steps in hand and watch him move.

That is it. Do it every ride and you build a picture of what normal looks like for your horse, which is the only baseline that matters. Somebody who does this for a month will spot a change weeks before somebody who does not, and weeks is often the difference between a small problem and a long lay-up.

The same applies to his outline before you start. A horse who is tight through his back and neck before any work has begun is worth a second look.

What I do about it in a lesson

I will tell you what I see, plainly, and I will not dress it up.

If something looks off to me we stop, or we change what we were going to do, and I will say that I think it is worth a vet's opinion. I would far rather be wrong about that in front of you than say nothing and be right. It is your horse and your money, and the decision is entirely yours, but you are entitled to my honest read of what I am watching.

Sometimes it is nothing. Often enough it is not, and the person who mentioned it first did the horse a real favour.

Frequently asked questions

How do I tell pain from bad behaviour? Ask what has changed and when. A long-standing difficulty is usually training. A recent change in a horse who was fine before is worth a veterinary opinion first. You are not expected to diagnose it, only to notice it.

My horse is only difficult when I ride, not on the ground. Does that rule out pain? No, it makes it more interesting. A problem that appears only under saddle points at the saddle, your position, or something that only hurts under weight. All three are worth checking, and saddle fit is the one people leave longest.

Should I stop riding if I suspect something? Stop asking for whatever produces the reaction, and get advice before carrying on. You do not necessarily need to stop everything, but working through it is the one option I would rule out.

He passed a vet check and is still doing it. Now what? Then it may well be training, and that is where I come in. It is also worth revisiting saddle fit and teeth if those were not part of the check. A clear examination is useful information, not the end of the conversation.

Is this not just being over-cautious? Being wrong costs you a call-out fee. Not asking can cost a horse months. I know which way I would rather be wrong.