When it comes to young horses—or any horse, for that matter—there’s one thing that will always be a part of the journey: fear.

Horses are prey animals, and their natural instinct is survival. So, when they’re faced with something new, something unfamiliar, or something that pushes them out of their comfort zone, their first response is often fear. Our job as horsemen isn’t to eliminate that fear—it’s to help them work through it, to face it and come out more confident on the other side.

Fear Triggers the Self-Defense Mechanism

I was reminded of this recently with a colt I’ve been working. He’s a running-bred colt from one of my customers, and on the first day, he was extremely reactive. Just catching him in his run was a challenge. He didn’t have a mean bone in his body, but he was nervous and unsure. And here’s something every horseman needs to understand—fear triggers the self-defense mechanism.

That’s when accidents happen. That’s when horses paw, bolt, kick, or even strike—not out of aggression, but out of fear. And it happens faster than we can react. I’ve been on the receiving end of that before—once, a horse pawed me in the face, broke my nose, and turned me into a bloodbath before I even knew what hit me. That’s how quickly fear can turn into a reaction.

That’s why when I start a colt, my number one focus is helping them feel secure. I don’t want to force them into a situation where they have no choice but to react—I want to guide them through it so they can learn and build confidence.

Building Confidence Through Challenges

A big part of facing fear is exposure. That’s why I like to introduce obstacles early on in training. Yesterday, I rode this colt through our obstacle course—over tarps, across wooden platforms, through the hanging tarp strips, and between pool noodles. These challenges help a horse learn how to think through a situation instead of just reacting.

The more times a horse faces something uncomfortable and comes through it successfully, the more confidence they build. And that confidence doesn’t just apply to obstacles—it carries over into every part of their training.

Now, this colt has been particularly sensitive about his head. He doesn’t like his muzzle touched, and he hasn’t had his teeth done yet. Normally, I’d have that taken care of before I ever started working with him, but at Road to the Horse, the colts won’t have had their teeth done either. So, I’ve been riding him in a halter instead of a snaffle bit, making sure I can communicate clearly without relying on bit pressure.

A horse’s mouth tells you a lot about their mental state. When a horse licks and chews, that’s a sign they’re processing information—it’s like a mental release. But when a horse grinds their teeth, that’s a sign of stress or anxiety. And sure enough, during one of our sessions, this colt went from doing really well to suddenly grinding his teeth. That told me he had reached a point where the pressure was too much—he wasn’t thinking anymore, he was just tolerating the pressure.

Recognizing When Fear Turns Into Resistance

This came to a head when I asked for a lateral movement to the right. Instead of responding, he pinned me up against the round pen—not aggressively, but just enough to block the movement. He wasn’t looking for the answer anymore; he was shutting down.

At that moment, I had to make an adjustment. When a horse is fearful, they have three options:

Find the answer – Respond correctly and get the release.
Wear the pressure – Tolerate it but not truly understand.
Get resentful – Push back, resist, and refuse.

And he was sitting between the second and third options. He was tolerating the pressure, but he was on the edge of resenting it. That’s a dangerous place to be because that’s when a horse can go from ignoring pressure to fighting it.

Instead of continuing to ask for the movement from his back, I stepped off, looped my lead rope around my saddle horn, and created the same lateral signal from the ground. Because I was no longer on his back, he wasn’t distracted by me, and he could focus on the signal. Sure enough, he softened, disengaged his hindquarters, and found the answer. That was a big moment because he realized that even when he felt stuck, there was always a way to find the release.

Turning Fear Into Trust

At the end of the session, I made sure to end on a good note. After unsaddling him, I spent a couple of minutes reinforcing the idea that I am the release. I put my hands on him, stepped away, let him come to me, and repeated that a few times.

Why? Because when I walk into his pen tomorrow, I want him to want to come to me. That’s not something I can force—it’s something I have to earn.

What We Can Learn from Horses

This whole experience reminded me of something important—facing fears isn’t just something horses deal with. We all have fears we need to face.

Just like that colt, we all have things that make us uncomfortable. And just like that colt, we have three choices:

Face it and find the answer.
Tolerate it but never really move forward.
Resist it and let it hold us back.

Fear isn’t something we eliminate—it’s something we learn to work through. That’s true for horses, and it’s true for people, too.

Don’t Let Fear Hold You Back

I heard a great quote this week:

"Don’t talk yourself out of the destiny God has planned for you."

That one stuck with me because it’s so easy to let fear—or doubt, or insecurity—hold us back from what we’re meant to do. But just like a horse, the only way we grow is by working through those uncomfortable moments, not avoiding them.

So, whether it’s a horse facing a tarp for the first time or you stepping into a challenge that scares you—lean into it. Help your horse through it, and help yourself through it, too.

Hope you all have a great week—stay warm, God bless, and as always, today and every day, let’s be our best.