Working with a barn sour horse can be a frustrating and unnerving experience. You're ready to embark on a ride away from your arena or property, and your horse balks, spins, or refuses to leave the barn. Just like that, a simple, pleasurable outing turns into a test of patience and resolve.
Having a barn sour horse can be maddening. It can also be scary and dangerous. Understanding why horses become barn sour and learning effective strategies to overcome this behavior is essential for any horse owner facing this common yet challenging issue.
What’s a Barn Sour Horse, Anyway?
In a 2020 article on Equimed.com, equine expert and author Heather Scott Thomas defines a barn sour horse as one “that doesn't want to leave home, presenting resistance or complete refusal if you try to ride him away from his comfort area,” she explains. “As a herd animal, the horse prefers to be with his buddies. He may be reluctant to leave them unless he is well-bonded with the human who is leading or riding him.”
Barn sour horses may attempt to return to the barn because they feel insecure and prefer the familiar, safe environment. Some horses will quicken their pace or even attempt to gallop home when the ride turns back toward the barn, focusing more on returning than on the rider's commands. In extreme cases, a horse might become dangerous, rearing, spinning, or bucking when asked to leave the barn.
What Makes Horses Barn Sour?
The causes of barn sour behavior in horses are complex and varied, but usually fall into one of the following categories:
Insecurity and anxiety. Horses are herd animals and form strong bonds with their companions. They can feel anxious, stressed, and fearful when separated, even for a short time, and feel safer in familiar environments.
Trust issues or lack of training. Insufficient training or inconsistent handling can lead to barn sour behavior. If a horse is not properly trained to respond to the rider's cues, it may not feel entirely safe with its rider and may instead look to another horse for safety. Trust takes time to develop and requires mutual respect.
Comfort and Routine: Horses, like many animals, thrive on routine. They may become barn sour if they are used to a particular schedule and become anxious or resistant when that routine is disrupted.
Lack of motivation. Horses may prefer to put in as little effort as possible and are eager to return to the barn because it often means the end of work and the start of feeding or rest. This impatience can cause them to rush back to the barn, ignoring the rider's commands.
Previous Negative Experiences: A horse who’s experienced stressful rides away from the barn, like nerve-wracking trail rides or encounters with predators – imagined or real – might develop barn sour behavior to avoid those experiences.
Step-By-Step Arena Training Techniques
In her NF course, Chelsea Canedy, an upper-level eventing rider whose horsemanship and performance training business is based in Wales, ME, shares her strategies for extinguishing—or at least diminishing—barn sour behavior.
“We have to understand that the behavior of wanting to be with other horses is natural and normal,” Chelsea says. “We can’t completely erase that instinct, but we want to help our horse feel that safety and comfort with us and the work we are doing.”
Chelsea’s philosophy is that working at home first is essential. She explains lunging, groundwork, and under-saddle exercises that will help you better understand your horse and get them on the road to better behavior.
- Lunging. The first step, Chelsea explains, is to lunge your horse on a medium-sized circle in your arena and diagnose where the horse is most comfortable and feels safe. “When you’re lunging, there’s a spot in the circle where they are subtly leaning towards you, and a spot where they are leaning away,” she points out. When the lunge line is loose, they are comfortable; when it is taut, they are uneasy. Likely the area they are leaning towards is the gate out of the arena, or the pastures where their buddies are grazing.
- Lead line. The second step is to experiment on a lead line, and put the horse to work doing side passes, leg-yielding, or flexing in that “safe space” – near the arena gate or the pasture with the other horses. The other side of the arena from the gate and pastures, where they don’t want to be, is the place where they get to rest and relax (and maybe even get a treat).
- Under saddle. When you work on this while riding, Chelsea explains, you repeat the process of making the horse work harder in the area they are drawn to and letting them relax and rest when they head away from the “safe space.” She adds that it’s wise to “reward every ‘better choice,’ no matter how small.” Gradually the horse will get better about moving towards what they previously avoided. “Don’t get discouraged if it’s not happening quickly, though.” she urges. “Stick with it.”
Success can be measured in subtle ways—your horse moves away from their safe space and doesn’t turn to face back to the gate. They lick their lips and visibly relax. These are signs that you are making progress.
Venturing Beyond the Arena
After you’ve tackled a few sessions of arena work and are seeing some success, it might be time to venture out.
Elizabeth Zarkos, PhD is the founder and president of Hanaeleh, a non-profit horse rescue in Trabuco Canyon, CA, and she has worked with numerous horses exhibiting barn sour behavior. Hanaeleh is fortunate to have O’Neill Regional Park close by, with 4,000 acres to roam on horseback. Elizabeth has had success with many of her rescues through slow, step-by-step training and desensitization. She emphasizes the importance of patience and realistic expectations.
“First, there are two rules: keep yourself safe and keep your horse safe,” emphasizes Elizabeth. “It’s also important to be patient. Getting them comfortable with leaving their herd and familiar surroundings can’t be rushed.”
Start by hand walking them short distances away, she says, gradually increasing the distance until they are more comfortable. This can take many sessions over many days or weeks, and of course you must be prepared that trail terrain will vary—there are those balloons marking someone’s picnic spot! Or there’s a downed tree that wasn’t there yesterday! Every ride can be different with new challenges.
Bringing another horse along, or “ponying,” can be effective tool; Elizabeth has often ridden her horse Tamahome on the O’Neill trails, bringing along his horse buddy, a Mustang mare named Gypsy. “He might not have been crazy about the idea of going out on the trails, but Gypsy could calm him down when he got silly about something that made him nervous,” Elizabeth says.
Obviously, riding with a group of other riders can be helpful; an anxious horse is likely to be more comfortable following the lead of others. Elizabeth also points out the importance of constant vigilance in the saddle. When the rider is a novice, or simply isn’t paying attention, “the horse will take advantage of the rider’s inattention and will turn around once he realizes that the rider isn’t focusing on him,” Elizabeth says.
Communicating with your horse and distracting with variation—side passes, leg yields, backing—can also help when their anxiety peaks. “You need to pay attention to your horse and be constantly communicating with him. You need to have enough rein so that you can gently correct him before he is able to turn around and put leg pressure on the same side,” she points out. “If he does turn around, then turn him right back around so he is facing the way you want him to face and ask him to walk forward again. Let them know you are the leader, and that you will protect them.”
Elizabeth is frank about the capricious nature of horses, emphasizing, as does Chelsea, the need for patience and realistic expectations: “Some horses are never good out on the trail alone, and are just safer with a buddy, and some are honestly better out on the trail alone,” she points out. “Horses sometimes need a buddy for a while, then are just fine going out alone. And unfortunately, some horses will never be comfortable going away from home.”
Wrapping Up: Tackling Barn Sour Behavior
Overcoming barn sour behavior in your horse requires a combination of patience, understanding, and consistent training.
By identifying the root causes and implementing effective strategies, these frustrating experiences can become opportunities for stronger bonds—and adventures—with your horse. Remember that persistence and positive reinforcement are key. With time and effort, you'll be able to enjoy your rides without the added stress and unpredictability of barn sour behavior. Check our course with Chelsea Canedy on working with barn sour horses on NOËLLE FLOYD+ today.
About the Author
Helen Townes is a writer and editor based in Portland, OR, and holds a master’s degree in journalism. She rides her Hanoverian Joey at Silver Winds Farms, a hunter-jumper barn in Banks, OR, and enjoys spending time with her family, watching soccer, and reading.
