The handler started to ask him to back up some more but took off the pressure anytime he started to explore the thin air behind him. Sometime during this process he realized that the handler wanted him to explore. He used one of his hind feet similar to how a blind person uses his arm and hand to explore his surroundings. He kept searching until he found out there was another narrow ledge just below the upper trailer edge and also there was some rubber below the narrower ledge. In the process of finally backing out of the trailer he used the narrow ledge to rest the toe of one hind foot while he explored some more of the thin air with the other hind foot. Sometimes he also used the rubber edge to balance his hind foot on and did some more exploring which brought him much closer to the ground below the thin air. He finally started to find the solid ground which he felt and recognized right away and then he started to really get serious about finding a way out to that solid ground since his handler wasn’t going to let him turn around or stay in the trailer. He still had to learn about softening and flexing the joints of one back leg in order to squat enough to get the other leg on the ground but he finally did it and knew how he had accomplished it. From that point on he came out of the trailer without sticking his feet. I could see the confidence and understanding he had gained by his attitude and calmness.

Because of these kinds of experiences when I run into a horse that doesn’t move or respond well to his rider, I know (for whatever reason) he has decided to stick his feet to the ground. The issue of the feet being stuck to the ground starts in the mind because it’s the horse’s mind which is telling his feet to stay planted. I can give you a very good example from my own life. There is a piece of me that would love to experience the thrill of jumping off a high diving board or rocky cliff into the water below. I have actually gone to the edge of a diving board and to an edge of a cliff but my feet seem to always stay firmly planted. Why? Because my mind won’t turn loose of my fear that I won’t come back to the surface before I need another breathe of air. Because I know how panicked I would get if someone tried to push me in, I can empathize with horses. I don’t like to be on top of any horse that sticks his feet into the ground and doesn’t want to go forward. I believe I am at the mercy of the horse’s mind when I am in the saddle but on the ground I feel safer. I realize I still need to take whatever time it takes until I get the horse’s mind to start moving his feet. And I have noticed as the horse gains confidence that he can do something, his feet start loosening up and he starts exploring and finding a way thru the obstacle he thought was impossible. All the rearing, bucking, spinning, pushing sideways or balking ends the moment the horse’s mind sees a light at the end of the tunnel and has enough confidence that he can get there.

Sticky feet should be a signal to all of us that our horse is getting mentally unsure and we need to become more willing to help him to learn and understand the situation instead of trying to push him through it. It should be a red flag that our horse’s mind is shutting down. I encourage riders to find creative ways to loosen up their horse’s mind before his feet become stuck solid!