You have been thinking about the evening walk with your horse all day long at work. What if you come across a car? Once again you can't let your mare get away with it. You feel pressured by the expectations of others. Even googling couldn't give you the answers you wanted. One of your stable colleagues advised you to put a sharper set of teeth in, to go out with a whip and to assert yourself. You don't want to harm your mare, "after all, the horses take measures among themselves", so at least talk nicely. In addition to dissatisfaction, there is also the fear that something might happen. Actually, you don't feel like going to the horse anymore. After all, you are there and you go out feeling bad. Today is particularly bad, your horse is frightened at every corner, neighs and is restless. When a car comes you get louder, you are desperate and can no longer hold the panicking animal, the mare leaves and runs back to the stable. You are disappointed, angry, and feeling bad, part of you even blame the horse. When you get back to the stable, your buddy says you have a real problem horse.

You telephoned the mare's former owner, who had you from a foal. However, the mare's behavior in this situation is alien to him and he cannot infer any trigger. Ultimately, you decide to look for a trainer. Because the behavior must have some trigger or deeper reason. You have already let the vet look over the mare as part of your care in order to rule out problems with the visual and hearing apparatus or tension. The trainer will talk to you about your fears and expectations that have built up, and you will soon notice that you have a solid base of trust with your mare on the ground. You are all the more likely to ask the trainer why your mare panics in these situations. He explains that the mare has probably had a negative experience in the past, that fears have built up in her and that she associates the situation with something negative. Together with the trainer, you will now work out noises that come from behind and simulate situations. You work with plans, voices and noises in the familiar and safe environment of the stable. When this works and the mare relaxes, simulate the situations with the car on the large square at the farm. Your mare feels safe and knows her way around here. You look at the car with her, a friend turns it on and off, drives a little way in front of her and you praise her for only giving her a brief shock. After a few weeks, the car is driving along from behind again for the first time at a greater distance. It is important to your trainer that this works in the safety of the courtyard before you are confronted with it outside. You both feel safe here. And it actually works out better every time. The time has finally come and you are going for a walk outside. You asked your friend to park the car at a place away from the yard, same game here. When you go out for a walk again after a month and a car passes you, you stay calm, you have become safer, you talk to your horse and you have learned to behave positively in a dangerous situation. In the evening the former owner calls you, he remembered that the mare, then still a foal, was out with her mother on the way to the paddock when a car sped by at a faster pace. Both animals were frightened, the mother had torn away and only came to a stop after a few meters with the foal. You become thoughtful and you realize that you almost did your mare wrong just because she couldn't tell you in words why she was scared. One more reason to learn to understand the language of horses better. They smile.

The possibilities described above are extremes, but are based on a true story.