Problems in Passing Other Horses in the Arena
- Posted by Sue McDonnell, PhD, Certified AAB

—Sydney, Ballston Spa, New York
A.While in my experience it doesn’t seem to be an especially common complaint, this is not the first time I have heard of or seen this problem in a racehorse or other horses. It might develop just from a lack of experience with ridden horses approaching as they do in shows. Some intensively managed racehorses that have been on the track since they were young might have never had horses approach them from the opposite direction.
With this problem, I first like to know how the horse reacts to something besides another horse approaching, such as a dog, a person, or a vehicle. If he shows a hint of worry about that, I would suggest having your veterinarian evaluate him for any potential sensory problems—particularly visual—that might make an approaching horse difficult to perceive or scary. If he seems to check out fine, specifically with no detectable perceptual deficits, I would recommend proceeding with a systematic desensitization plan to help him get over his worries. The concept is to expose him to gradations of the threatening situation in a controlled environment
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Written by:
Sue McDonnell, PhD, Certified AAB
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One Response
I’ve been working on a similar problem with my OTTB for 4 years. She is dangerously afraid of/excited by new horses, even if they are two pastures away. While she’s settled a lot since I’ve had her and she’s wonderful most of the time, it can take an incredibly long time to really help them, and triggers may always remain. I searched a long time for confirmation that fear of conspecifics was a recognized problem, and finally found it with Andrew McLean and Paul McGreevey. Good luck.