"You can fix him, right?"

This, or some variation on it is a common phrase heard by trainers everywhere. And basically, there seems to be a generalized understanding by the public (and often promoted by some types of trainers) that if the trainer "fixes" the horse, it will be as if the horses never did it in the first place.

Well, that's not how it works at all. Trainers don't have delete buttons that magically erase things that horses know. In fact, even with computers, deleting a file doesn't make it unrecoverable. It is still there if you go looking for it.

So, what actually happens when you take a horse that has a behavior problem (hopefully physical causes have been at least somewhat explored before you take him to the trainer.) to a trainer?

First, we have to understand that the behavior we find problematic is two things; it is a choice that got the horse something or he thought "saved" him, and by the time it gets to me it is also a habit/pattern. (Provided he isn't pain now, though pain in the past can form a habitual response.)

So, a horse shows up to me with a problem, and I am asked to fix it. First, I have to try and asses why this horse decided to make this choice in the first place. Then I need to try and change the scenario so perhaps he can be open to making a different choice, raise choices I wish he would make to the top of the pile, and then I need to make the new situation the habit.

The behavior problem is not erased, however. If I am any good at my job the choice to execute the problem (like an .exe file) is no longer at the top of the pile for choices, better choices are more accessible, and the way the horse is handled doesn't motivate him to need to behave that way, then that idea becomes a distant memory. But make no mistake; I can't make your horse forget he ever knew how to do that.

Where it gets really messy, is when the trainer works on helping the horse make better choices, but the owner doesn't. They think the horse is fixed, and they continue to handle the horse the same way they did before. Once the horse goes back to making the same old choices, it becomes that much harder to convince the horse that he doesn't need to make that choice. Each time the problem behavior becomes the top choice, the horse is more difficult to convince that he needs to give it up.

The basic take home message here is: if something crops up, and you can't get it turned around in a few tries, get help. Don't let behaviors become habits. Don't let them fester. And go take lessons when you send him for training, so you can see what things are different about how they handle the horse overall that helps the horse make a better choice.

So, what are some things we can do instead? Part two