Learning to Believe the Horse's Communication

A client's mule from a few years ago...

30+ years ago when I started out with horses I never would have thought my journey would evolve as it has... The variety of disciplines and animals I've worked with was not exactly intentional, but rather part of my evolving journey. The more exposure I had to unfamiliar experiences, the more I wanted to learn.

Whether it was 3 Day Eventing, jumpers, Dressage, racehorses, driving, ranch roping, moving cattle, cutting, reined cow horse, packing in the mountains, colt starting, Horsemanship, or rehabilitating dangerous horses, each area had something to add to my foundation of understanding. Over the years my experiences ranged in working with a variety of breeds such as Thoroughbreds, ponies, Warmbloods, Arabians, Heavy and Light Drafts, Chilean Criollos, east Asian horses, gaited horses, Mustangs, Mules, and many others. And I absorbed... experiences, opportunities, and conversations with the horses. Originally it wasn't intentional. It just happened. The more education I gained from spending time with and watching the animals, the numerous epiphanies I had based on past experiences. As I began connecting the "dots," the faster I became at recognizing how seemingly different circumstances and scenarios shared similar foundational necessities in order to accomplish quality sessions with an animal. A majority of riding students have limited interactions with a few animals. This can create a sometimes narrow perspective as to why something is occurring with their equine partner. A great way to expand one's exposure is to take advantage of every opportunity they can to watch horses. Whether it be videos or in person, even if the scenario seems outside of their current riding interest, skillset, or understanding, it can be used as a chance to learn to see the horse.

Don't worry about what tack, gear, or equipment is being used, or the riding style. Just start watching horses. Practice refining your ability to assess the animal. Begin to notice their breathing, body language, and behaviors. If you can't see all the finite details initially, use the big and obvious moments and mentally "replay" the events that led up to them. It doesn't matter if it is a jumping round, trail obstacle course, Cowboy Dressage, or trailer loading session. Recognize the horse's focus, breathing, and emotions. Then watch the physical behaviors that follow. I find folks can learn a lot when they don't have a horse in their hand or aren't sitting in the saddle, because it allows them the time to truly focus on what is occurring. The more the human can mentally process the build-up of events that leads to a particular outcome, the faster they can recognize it when their own horse offers similar behaviors. This helps diffuse the mystery of horses, behaviors, and unwanted scenarios. Most people who come to me for help with a problem or challenge with their horse, are actually noticing the obvious symptom, rather than recognizing the root cause or contributors. If riders practiced refining their awareness, which is not something that is natural to the human anymore, the greater availability they will have to hear, believe, and help the horse.