The theme of this horse friendly tip is “Listen”.  Listen to your horse.  I am deeply saddened when I hear of a horse or horses that have been euthanized because they were so called “problem” horses and therefore not useful to the business.  These “problem” horses are healthy and in the prime of life, but because they have become intolerant of mixed messages coming from handlers and owners, their fate is death.  Horses labelled as dangerous are blatantly trying to tell their handlers that they are not using horse friendly body language and it is really stressing them out!  The horses who act out the most, such as bucking, rearing, biting, kicking, and so on are screaming for someone to listen.  Please listen!   And if you do not know what to do, find someone who can help you to listen and learn how to speak horse.