A Horse Lover: Just Advice!

by Shirley B.
(Arizona)

I had 2 horses when I was 35 yrs. younger!
I now would like to volunteer my time and love to a horse rescue here in Arizona. I did some research for one to go to.

My question is: What kind of behavior(s) can I expect from a horse that has been traumatized from starvation and neglect? or whatever else?
The trusting & acceptance of humans?
What would be my first step toward them?
Talking to them, I shouldn't do that, right?
Basically, being there quietly? Feeding them, etc.?

This will be an experience that I have NOT done before.
I love horses so much. My heart goes out to the abused!! As I was one, myself.

Thank You for the time and your website.
Shirley B. AJ, Az.


Hi Shirley,

What a great question! And thank you for volunteering your time to help these horses.

When a horse has had a traumatic experience usually you get one of two major behaviors (similar to the human) which is either they will become withdrawn or aggressive and act out. More often though it is the withdrawn (fearful) behavior you see more of. If the horse was neglected thus their health has been compromised they are often not strong enough to act out themselves thus why they would become withdrawn from people and flat out fearful of them.

So the first order of business is restoring health, emotionally and physically. This starts with good food of course but also good company (first, of their own kind). They need to feel and experience what being a horse is like again. Freedom from anxiety and stressful situations is what they seek and need.

Trust, is the part that these particular horses wouldn’t have much of toward people. Yet horses have an amazing ability to forgive! With time and demonstrating that you are not going to harm them in any way is the gateway to their trust. I bet you will even meet a few who have bounced back quite quickly, they are a very resilient species, able to adapt quickly.


Approach them with dignity, respect and compassion. For the highly fearful ones, make yourself small and unthreatening when you approach by bending over or squatting down. For the aggressive ones, let’s leave those ones for the more experienced handlers for now. Yes, do chat up a storm! Talk to them with kindness and they will feel the positive energy you offer. But don’t allow your compassion to keep seeing them as victims. They do not feel like one, for they live in the moment. They won’t forget their experiences from the past and you may even see some unexpected behaviors jump out when you least expect them to (much like post traumatic stress disorder) but providing we offer better experiences (and lots of them) over top of the bad experiences, you can win their hearts over again.

From here the best way to help horses see people different (and fun to be with!) is the use of Clicker Training. It’s an awesome tool to create trust. Because of the honorable help you are offering these horses, I would be happy to send you a FREE copy to help you with your journey. (Just need you to send me your email address through our Contact Us form so I know where to send it)

Thanks again for offering your time to help, the world needs a few more people like you!


With much gratitude,
Elaine Polny