What Causes Horses To Fear Small Spaces?

The primary method for horses to defend themselves from danger is running away. The wild horses survived because they could escape quickly from the noticed danger. That means horses are inherently claustrophobic, as the lack of space means they cannot defend themselves.

They instinctively fear closed spaces and situations where they can feel suppressed or captured. We humans (as natural predators) are the opposite of horses in that respect. A closed room usually means safety and comfort for us - for horses, it can mean death.

Becoming aware of a horse's natural claustrophobia will help us understand their hesitation when walking thru narrow aliases, entering unfamiliar stables, or loading into the trailer.

How do we manage to train horses to like their small stalls, work under the saddle, in the harnesses, or travel in the trailer?

This is because horses have an amazing and unique ability to desensitize themselves to frightening but harmless situations. Horses can adapt to conditions that are entirely different from natural ones. They are fleeing animals but can learn to tolerate and like those abnormal situations if nothing bad happens.

So by applying appropriate training techniques, we have the ability to teach our horses to break the fear of confined spaces. Additionally, when the horse accepts those situations, he becomes more trusting and brave as he approves and takes our leadership.