Restrictive Practices with Horses

Wide acceptance of restrictive practices with horses does not make them right.

When we talk about restrictive practices in human care settings, we’re referring to actions that limit a person’s movement, choices, comfort, or ability to communicate. They’re used as a last resort to manage risks when a person's behaviour poses a danger to themselves or others. They are meant to be short-term, proportional to the risk, and used only after less restrictive alternatives have been tried. These practices are heavily regulated. So how does this apply to horses?

Recently I was catching and tying up a group of horses. Suddenly I imagined being the horse I was with. I imagined how it would be for me if someone put a restraint on my head and then tied my head to something to restrict my movement. I realised this would feel very scary for me. Yet here I was doing this to these horses, with a full expectation that they would be fine with it and that it was my right to do this. In fact it’s a pre-requisite for many things we as horse people do. 

Immediately I found my hand softening on the rope, my asking the horse to move closer to the fence had a totally new feel to it. I was so appreciative that he was ok with me doing this. I filled with gratitude and respect for his willingness. And in response he softened. It was instant. We connected and he flowed toward the fence and waited while I tied him. It was subtle but powerful. To a bystander nothing different happened, but for me my world did yet another flip.

Horses are routinely expected to accept handling, riding, veterinary procedures, and training sessions regardless of how they feel that day. Resistance may be labelled as “naughty,” “dangerous,” or “disrespectful”. With horses, we usually don’t accept when a no is being offered.

We can also be unaware of learned helplessness. When a horse learns that their signals are ignored or punished, they may stop offering them altogether. A quiet, compliant horse is often praised, but silence does not necessarily mean comfort or understanding. In people, learned helplessness is associated with trauma, depression, and a loss of agency. It’s worth asking what it looks like in horses, and how often we mistake it for “good behaviour.”

Some common restrictive practices with horses include stabling, isolation from other horses, forced equipment such as bits in mouths, tight nosebands, restrictive saddles, martingales, draw reins, spurs - all designed to control movement or suppress unwanted behaviour. With a person these would clearly fall under physical restraint. With horses, we see these tools as “necessary,” without fully examining whose needs they primarily serve, and how it may be for the horse.

So what does it mean to look at horses through this lens? It doesn’t mean we never set boundaries or manage risk. Care always involves some level of restriction. But we can question if a practice is truly necessary, or simply traditional. It means asking whose comfort, safety, or convenience is being prioritised. It means becoming curious about alternatives that offer horses more choice, voice, and agency within the realities of domestic life.

Exploring restrictive practices with horses isn’t about doing everything perfectly. It’s about staying willing to reflect, to learn, and to soften our approach when we realise there may be another way. It involves an understanding that horses are sentient beings. When we begin to see horses not as objects to be managed, but as individuals navigating a world largely designed by us, the conversation shifts - and so does the relationship.

Suzy Maloney B.Eq.Sc.Dip.Couns.

Happy Horses Bitless

Considerate Horsemanship

Ph: 0401 249 263

Email: suzy@happyhorsesbitless.com

Web: www.happyhorsesbitless.com

Facebook: Happy Horses Bitless Bridles

Lismore, NSW, 2480.