Something you can do when your horse is stuck looking at something (hyperfixated)

So true, mutual respect is key. Not to mention when trail riding, horse's senses are so much keener than ours... Sometimes I think my mare might, at some point, save ME from something dangerous that I wasn't even aware of! Never hurts to let her "take a moment"

His lips are loose, so no 'snake' panic. A good looking mare perhaps

Common sense, something many horse owners are lacking. Give the horse time to process whatever they are focused on, then proceed.

There's human time. And there's horse time. They are not the same! Thanks for respecting your horse. I love the sharing of senses with them - two lots of ears and eyes. I sometimes cup my hand on their ears so they can hear more. The look of surprise is so worth it. Instant super power!

Loved the in the saddle shots!!!

Great vid, thank you!

I do this too! Just see what they’re looking at and give them a moment until they figure out what it is, then they usually see it’s no big deal and move on calmly.

staring, staring, staring oh wait grass! over it , moving on ....

Ha! Just yesterday I was bringing in my mustangs and some snowmobiles road by. They both stopped, had flared nostrils, heads high, eyes big, ears forward and frozen for about 15 seconds. I stopped and watched them until they relaxed, then we proceed going. No panics, bolts, or blow-ups. Love, love, love their communication and their trust that I’m not going to put them in a dangerous situation.

If my horse stops in the field and fixes his attention on something, I do it too. Then when I snort and relax, it is ready to listen to me again without me having to wait until it is ready on its own. How do you see it?

Thank you for this video. I literally had this happen with my horse yesterday!

I’m a bit sceptical of this advice. When my horse gets hyperfixated, I’m a few seconds from a bolt. I prefer asking for lateral flexion, gentle rein bumps to get it if required, then moving the feet. Make the wrong thing difficult, and the right thing easy.

Love this!

If more people would learn to read their horses and their dogs there would be a lot more happy and well adjusted horses and dogs.

Very interesting ! My horse loves to stop and look and I have always felt like I should let him stop and look around but my trainers are always telling me to keep him moving. I will give this a go and see how he responds . Very good timing with this video !

But what if u r waiting with him- but he takes it to the next level? Backing , spinning ect… What is your next move ?

What if they are snorting. I have mules and snorting is a big thing.even if we just get past the thing.....they will continue to throw out a few more snorts as we go. Haaaa. I don't want to wait for the snorting to stop.😂

When I go outside I stop,immediately after closing the door behind me. I want to know if there’s bear or whatever around. And I dont have a horse. So I just listen and watch a few seconds to know what’s going on.

Aussie here. Always find your videos informative. I am not a rider but love horses and watch in memory of my late dad who was a horse whisperer, master saddler and loved all animals except snakes and spiders..I'm with you, Dad on that last one. Thanks Warwick.

Bang on! I do same both at ranch as well on trail. I agree with the benefits and consider it professional and personal courtesy to horse. Gets paid back.

if you are so busy you cannot spare a few seconds for your horse's benefit..............yeah

This got me into trouble more than once. Letting your horse decide when to stop and stay fixated is basically telling the horse „you have a better idea about dangers, so you please lead me. I‘m waiting for you to tell me we can keep moving“ rather than working on confidence in your decisions as a leader. Whenever my horse is fixated I keep him moving, that‘s me telling him „trust me, there‘s nothing that‘s going to harm you if you keep following me“. Over time the horse learns that he‘s doesn‘t have to be concerned about anything if he just follows you. His leader, his human has always led him to safety, so he can rely on him.

The snake in the car analogy doesn‘t really work as it is a valid reason for the person to be fixated and he might get bitten. So of course you validate that person‘s fear and saying „yes, there is a snake between your legs. It might kill you.“ Is that a statement you should communicate to your horse?

Think about it: horses in the wild won‘t stop and stay fixated for very long if their herd leader keeps moving. They‘ll quickly catch up.

Thank you! 👏👏👏Asking a horse to follow you is an agreement that should always have room for an objection. It’s only a partnership if both are listening. 💜

a really pretty horse!

I have learned so much from you and your horses in the last years Warwick. Big thank you from Argentina.

Thank you for continuing to teach relationship with our Horses . I believe you are spot on , . Laura 💜Bear 🐴💜

this vibes with me. i hate the "horse should obey everything i command" approach that many people have.

Sorry Warwick but I disagree. You are usually right on the money but this is going to get someone hurt. By staring at the object you are reaffirming to the horse that it may be something dangerous. If they are thinking this they are about ready to blow up. You should be the leader of the herd, not just another frightened member of the herd. You should glance at the object to see what it is then distract your horses attention to something positive. I think you know this.

Interesting range of Comments. I do both. Who I'm riding matters. 'Fixation' can be aware attention or trail neuroses, but 'leader' means be prepared to respect & respond. Before we leave barn, I correct my own awareness. I sort things out before I go---including (or maybe especially) me. I used to drive city buses--60' steel, 55 passengers. Great driving teacher drilled in us: There is no past, no future--at the wheel, you're at the wheel. Every passenger stop is a new moment. Every intersection, same. Stay alive: be alert & respond, not react.

My 3/4 Arab and 1/4 Quarter horse, three years old, stopped suddenly staring at a mailbox on a post along the road. I guess it looked like a head. I let him stand there for a few seconds. He flexed his neck and looked back at me, like for assurance. I told him it's okay, let's go and he did.
Another time were passing under a hillside with oak branches overhead. We do have Mountain Lions here. He halted and snorted. We crossed to the other side, but he was on full alert.
Yet, I freaked out when a Tarantula was crossing our path. With my fingers crossed, we kept going straight and he just stepped over it like it wasn't even there.

Yep I have done this all my life and I have never had a problem to let them stop and think about it. I rode with someone that would not let there horse have a moment and she has no relationship with her horse and always has “problems”.
Let them stop and look. I promise they are not going to turn around and bolt.

Hello, could i ask, what if they start to escalate and try to run instead of reacting as your horse did? Thanks

Listening to your horse is a good idea. I was once caught in an abondoned quarry not knowing which way to go after i heard a gun shot. I was as frozen as my horse was. A few seconds later, a deer flew past us. But my horse just took off in a different direction. I just hung on and was thankful he knew which way to flee.

A very good video. My horse, Justice spooked at a cabin he's never seen before. I just let him get the spookiness out. I talked to Justice to calm him down even though he was fixated. Eventually Justice settled down. He realized the cabin wasn't as spooky as he thought it was. I just let Justice move on his own. Once we started off l told Justice that he did very well and gave him a big pat on his neck. We had passed that cabin many times and Justice never gave it a thought. That one particular day Justice just spooked. I didn't see anything that would make Justice spook. After that, every day we'd go out and nothing bothered Justice ever again.

Question. My mare will freeze, look at the scary thing and then she will calm down OR explode, when I follow-up Warwicks instructions.This is only on trails, not in the arena. What to do when she is about to explode? My other mare does the same and often suddenly explosion, also in the arena with groundwok. Both are extrovert right brainers. I have no issues with my 2 left extravert brainers. I have got 4 horses in total. I do a lot of horsemanship and try to read my horses.
Has anyone advice?

I am doing this, it works 99% of the time. It works always close to the barn.
The 1% is my issue when my mustang mare decides it is too dangerous.
This only happens lead walking alone.
I am currently exposing her calmly to a lot of different situations, but the question is what to do when she fights and the runs home?
She will fight!

Brilliant, so few get this...

We have coyotes and mountain lions around the ranch property where we board. I know that my horse can smell and hear things better than I can, and when he alerts, I pay attention. I also give him time to adjust his vision when going into or out of the barn.
Partners look out for and appreciate one another.
❤🦄❤️

How does one go about letting them look and stay relaxed next to them, like you are doing here, when a horse starts to become so stressed out, about what they are seeing, that the start rearing (both on the ground or in the saddle) and start turning in circles around. When they truly no longer even recognize you being there.

Hyperfixation is the main problem for me & my horse. Thank you for this video, I'll keep this in mind. I always give her some time to watch whatever she's fixated on, but after a minute or two I say "come on" so I can get her back to me. Otherwise she will stare at it forever and sometimes she tenses up because of what she is looking at. Makes walking down the street an impossible job!

Also when riding in the outdoor arena, she gets hyperfixated on every biker or runner passing by. So I ask her to do an exercise, I do not want her to look at every moving thing. Truly a horse that keeps her surroundings in check. But it can get quite annoying sometimes...

And here I thought I needed to direct his attentions back to me and what we were doing. Definitely need to try this instead.

This was key for me. Thank you! I will do this tomorrow when I take my baby Shire out and she gets high headed on the way to the arena.

I think this is an example of horse behaviour that can be scary for the rider, esp if you've ever had the stop and stare, pounding heart you can feel through the ribcage, and then the spin and bolt happen to you. I know I've been guilty of trying to distract my horse from staring at things because I'm anticipating a spook but it helps to realise that distraction in that case is not necessarily going to prevent a spook. If he can work out on his own that its not scary, and I caj allow him to do so, it builds trust, and then he will be less likely to spook because he won't go into self preservation mode, he'll see that I'm not worried and follow my lead.

Yes, good advice 👍

Thanks Warwick, whats your advice if they are fixated looking at an object moving towards them when riding? - like a tractor or truck or animal
?

My OTTB has a past with freeze behaviour. Over the years, he is much, much better but there are incidents when the freeze turns to explosive bolt. I can read and measure his threshhold and have a good sense of whether or not he self-regulate, can lick-chew, flick an ear, blink his way through and process and when (which is much more rare now) a bolt is coming. Unexpected objects showing up on the trail (a pack of unibikes) was way over threshhold for him recently, heart-rate and the adrenaline pumping. I get off and walk him at this point. Takes about 15 to 20 minutes for the adrenaline to ramp down and clear, then I can get back on and move forward with better regulation, confidence and security.

I remembered this video today when my horse froze up on the trail. He was really worried about a spot we needed to ride through. I let him look and waited. I combined this with keeping him busy if he went the other way and getting really quiet when he got up close to the tight spot. Then after just a few minutes he just let go and decided to walk through. So cool, and safe too.

All about working with the current nervous system in front of you. Woks on humans, too! Thank you for addressing this

I never get how people ignore a horse that is staring at something. If you're with other people and you're chatting and someone hears or sees something and starts looking over there, EVERYONE in the group usually checks the exact same spot and looks over there as well. So why ignore your horse?

I haven’t seen Warwick Schiller in couple of years and I was shock how he age and change his appearance