Patternized human behavior... Breaking the habit!

People and horses easily fall into habits out of convenience, laziness, lack of intention or focus and most usually out of not wanting to "rock the boat" in how they interact with their horse.

For those in the habits of patternized behavior, the illusion that all is "well," is frequently shattered the day the pattern or routine has to change due to unforeseen circumstances.

So rather than "waiting to see what will happen," first by focusing on yourselves, you can start to make subtle changes in how and what you present, noticing your habits, and improving your awareness.

Here are FOUR easy ways to start noticing and changing your own brainless, habitual patterns. By noticing these things, it can work as an opportunity for you to "mentally check-in" so that you can be more focused. This will allow you to be clearer and more specific with your communication towards your horse!


1) Lead your horse from the off side (the horse's right.) For some of you, this might evolve from a "good idea" into an entire session or two if you discover your horse is defensive from you walking on that side. Is it about your being on his right? Not at all. It is about changing how things have always been done and getting honest feedback from the horse as to how he feels about it. He may want to move away from you, flee ahead of you with his energy or just lock up and standstill.
You may feel discombobulated having to use your left hand to direct the horse's thought and movement.

2) Notice when grooming if you switch hands when you are holding the brush as you change the side you are grooming on? Or do you always hold the brushes in your dominant hand? This is an easy way to learn to become ambidextrous so that you can communicate equally with your left and right hand.

3) Practice mounting and dismounting in different locations. Again a great way to hear feedback from the horse as you change up what he may have come to expect. Notice where the imaginary spatial boundaries are of his comfort zone when doing this. This isn't about surviving getting on in a new location, this is about having a conversation that wherever and however you mount, he needs to feel confident and feel quiet mentally, emotionally and physically. Again, this "good idea" may evolve into an entire session of helping the horse work through any defensiveness he might show when you've changed the pattern. It isn't about you getting on. It is about the horse's mental availability to try when presented with something different. The mounting block just gives you, the human, something you can be clear and specific on when you mount.
By the way, my personal standard is for me to climb on the object- block, post, rail, trailer fender, back of the four-wheeler, etc.- and to be able to ask the horse one step at a time to line himself up. NOT that he either auto-pilot parks himself but isn't adaptable, OR that I have to lead him from the ground and then I have to scramble onto to block and jump on before he leaves.

4) Notice after you mount where is your focus? If you are mounting from the traditional or right side of the horse, do you immediately fixate or rush to get your right foot in the stirrup? OR after your seat is in the saddle, do you pause, breathe, enjoy the view, and then casually pick up your stirrup?
So many times folks mentally do not stay with their own body, and I find the chaos in scrambling for a stirrup, can create a bunch of mixed signals, energies and general discomfort to the horse. It also diverts the rider's attention from noticing how the horse felt about the mounting because they're looking for their stirrup.