Working With Horses That Are
Shut Down

Almost all of us have met a horse stuck in shut down. That horse that most write off as “bomb proof” and "lazy”. The horse where the lights are barely on and nobody is home…

I’ve worked with hundreds of these horses over the last 20+ years, and they are often some of the most rewarding. Watching them come back into their bodies and back into life. To find their personality and their spark again.

I’ll admit though, it’s not always easy. Some got there simply through a long history of humans being deaf to their language, but others found themselves there are a survival mechanism of severe trauma.

And there are parts we don’t always recognise about both of these paths.

1. That the first path is actually the most common. It is easily 80% of the horses I work with in this state. They didn’t get there by cruelty and abuse, in fact, they have been mostly treated with intended kindness. The well-meaning owner or trainer who never lays a cruel hand upon their horse but unknowingly shuts down all communication their horse has until they find themselves in this shut down space.

2. The horses who entered this space through trauma are some of the most dangerous horses I have ever and likely will ever work with. Because the problem is that when they entered this space via trauma, it means they entered it via the freeze response… and beings do not simply come out of freeze and back to regulation. They come out via whatever state they went in - and in these horses that looks like extreme, explosive, fight or flight. And it is a new owner bringing them out, they have no idea what sort of horses they are going to meet when that horse “thaws”.

So what do you do then if you have a horse in shut down?

Well it’s hard, because still to this day, the vast majority of trainers knowingly or unknowingly train for this state. They desensitize the horse into unresponsiveness. They give them “exposure” and “wet saddle cloths” until the problematic behaviour goes. So if you go to most trainers and say “my horse is shut down and I want to bring them back”, you’ll get told you’re the one with the problem if you're complaining about a perfectly relaxed horse. Yep, it’s almost like I said that to a trainer once many years ago…

So what then? What if you don’t have a trainer nearby to help you?

You’re left with yourself. And, if you are keen, my help.

In October I am running two live online trainings on exactly this topic. One is on how we can train in a way that prevents rather than creates shut down, and the other is how to bring horses out of shut down safely and effectively. You’ll also get lifetime access the recordings along with a PDF workbook that you can take out into the paddock with you with exercises and techniques to work though.

So if this sounds like something you’re wanting to learn, there are two ways you can join. One, you can just join this programme outright (click the bottom button below), or secondly you can have it for free as part of the Holistic Horse Membership (first button). If you choose the latter, you can literally just join for the month and then opt out - I don’t mind - but you’ll get not only this programme but every other programme, live call and guest speaker we’ve had on.. but if you just want this programme, that makes it yours at a 75% discount!

Regardless of which you choose, I can’t wait for you to join with me, and other like-minded and like-hearted horse people who know that horses can, and deserve to be, fully in life for their whole life.