The Follow Through with the Horse

I was recently asked a great follow up question and thought I'd share my response here. Paraphrasing here, I was asked what happens if you try to be aware and support your horse 99% of the time, but "miss" the 1 % when a horse's behavior catches you off guard. Is it just horses being horses or? So I thought I'd share my answer in today's post.

My goal when working with horses, which took years to "undo" the original way I was taught and how I perceived horses and their behavior, is to stay mentally present, no matter the situation. The horse is always offering feedback, it is a matter of if I'm listening. Which takes practice. So many times the human gets fixated on their intentions that they forget to "hear" and acknowledge the horse before, DURING and after the moment they are presenting something. I call it a lack of follow-through.

If a horse I'm handling does offer a response that was unexpected, I play detective in replaying his behaviors leading up to the moment, to best learn what I didn't follow through on or address enough, that contributed to defensiveness or concern that caused the horse to take over or offer unwanted reactions.

But I do this immediately as soon as the unwanted behavior appears- and then I follow-through in addressing the horse until I help the horse get a mental and emotional change and then he can physically drain any tension or stress.

And this is where most folks will bail in the middle of an uncomfortable moment with their horse. Rather than dealing with it, they tend to want to come back "later" for their own sake, but not realizing the state they are leaving their horse in by not addressing him. So, what are they teaching their horse for future unknowns?

What I have found over the years is the more I practice "hearing, believing and addressing the horse," the less reactive and dramatic they are in unexpected moments. This also comes from teaching them to think through situations, rather than act obediently. To me, this is a crucial factor in building reasonable horses.

There is more willingness on their end, even if I'm not offering all of the support they may need in a particular moment. They have learned that "staying with me"- mentally, emotionally and physically- will get them to a safe spot, so they tend to try and make it work even when I'm not as supportive as what they needed. It also allows them to show their concern in a reasonable manner, rather than over the top dangerous behaviors. 

If on the other hand, the horse has only been taught tolerance and to offer conditioned responses, what if he is unable to practice something? How will he know how to handle the unfamiliar if he is unavailable to mentally hear the human's opinion and direction? These often lead to situations where the person is trying to "contain" the horse through an uncomfortable moment, which builds up future anticipation in the horse every time something new is presented.

Every horse has something to teach us, even the same horse we've worked with for years. The faster we become aware and available to learn how, where or when conversations with the horse may have or start to deteriorate, the more we improve what we offer in the partnership.