Trigger stacking

Trigger stacking is the build of multiple stressors that cause a horse to go over their stress threshold and react. While the horse might be able to cope with each one of these stressors alone, if his cup is already full, something he’d normally be able to cope with will cause him to bubble over.

Every horse has a different threshold and will have different things they find more stressful than others. We can also do a lot to improve their stress threshold through training. We often call this emotional regulation or stress tolerance.

When we talk about trigger stacking we tend to think mainly of obvious external stressors such as a pheasant jumping out of a bush, high winds or spooky, flapping objects. I want to give you some other things to think about which can all be significant stressors.

🐴 Loading and travelling to new places. It is so common to have behavioural issues in the ring that you don’t have at home, or for a horse not to load to come home. Lots of things can be at play here. Travelling in and of itself is mentally and physically taxing on a horse, if we add in the musculoskeletal issues most horses have, it makes sense that after travelling they’re probably going to feel more uncomfortable. We can then also consider the stress of a new, unfamiliar environment, with lots going on and lots of strange things to look at.

🐴 A change in routine. If your horse goes out every morning but you then keep him in one morning to ride, he could find this difficult to cope with, especially if all of his friends go out. The same goes for changing stables, changing fields, changing herd members etc. All of these things happening in your horse’s personal life can affect how he is feeling in training.

🐴 Environmental factors. I think we all know strong winds can make horses feel edgy. But what about other things? I know horses who are sent absolutely demented by flies and also horses who are very sensitive to rain hitting their skin. While yes horses are designed to live outdoors, mooching around eating in these conditions is very different to being asked to focus and perform well. Sudden temperature drops and cold weather conditions can also be really triggering for horses with arthritis etc, which can again show as stress behaviour if they’re feeling sore.

🐴 Us. If your horse is feeling stressed, we can be the pressure that sends them over threshold. If your horse is struggling with something and doesn’t seem like himself, instead of pushing on think of backing off and reassessing your plan for the day. The more we create relaxed, positive training environments for our horses the less likely they are to find any of it a stressor.

What kinds of things are a stressor for your horse? 🐴