Mindful vs Mind Full Horse Interactions

 

Anticipation...in the human

 

A common challenge many equine enthusiasts face is struggling with the anticipation of "what will happen" when with their horse.

 

There is a fine line of being aware of your surroundings, and things that are occurring at the moment, but to also not fixate on these and the potential outcome.

 

I suggest to folks to notice their own thought patterns. Whether it is occurring before they are with their horse or in a moment with the equine, learn to notice when the mind gets "stuck on a thought."

The first question is, "Why are they stuck on the thought?" I find this happens because folks tend to be reacting- or waiting to see- in a moment, rather than assessing the horse's feedback to offer real-time, relevant, and proactive communication to address and help him.

 

Let's say the horse has a history of rushing out the gate. This can cause stress to the human if they are concerned about their safety, how the horse may move as he passes through the gate, and his behavior afterward, such as diving for the grass on the other side.

 

The increased anticipation in the human, the more passive and contained they tend to behave around their horse. Such as not wanting to interfere too much with what the horse is offering, in order to not create a bigger reaction in the horse. So the more quiet or sneaking around the horse the human offers, the less specificity they have in regards to what they do want from the horse. This quickly creates an unwanted vicious cycle of defensiveness in the human and the horse.

 

So instead of thinking of the gate (or any other scenario) as the "task," I suggest changing the focus to addressing if the horse can be directed to look somewhere specific first, without movement. Then when his brain is directable, asking a step or two towards the direction he is looking, then a pause or halt for a mental check-in with the person. Then the ability to ask for perhaps a soft step back or forward, assessing his response to the physical pressure of following the feel of the lead rope or yielding to it, then another pause. Then look in a new direction, a few steps, etc.

 

This is not about a specific order of doing things, rather breaking things down into segments allows TIME to assess what is occurring. It offers the human the opportunity to recognize where the horse's brain is, what his energy is, and his willingness to adapt his physical movement.

 

With these tools when communicating with the horse, the movement approaching, at, and after the gate is the Conversation. If you don't "ask" you often will miss what is going on with the horse, despite perhaps a seemingly calm outward appearance.

 

Such as asking the horse to pause while opening the gate, then directing his focus to look away and toward it, stepping front end or hindquarters away softly, then looking towards the open gate. If there is a concern, helping redirect his focus on something opposite the gate until he no longer anticipates it.

 

What is the horse's responses toward your communication? Is he defensive toward lead rope pressure? Braced in his hindquarters, heavy when asked to step? Does he have counteroffers of pushing against the rope with his muzzle, rooting the ground, or angling his head and shoulder at you? If asked to halt does he immediately fixate elsewhere? Do you have to move your feet to get a change in the horse? What happens when you address his counteroffers? Can he let it go or does he get defensive?

 

Then perhaps assessing taking a step or two towards it (pressure on), and noticing if there is a rush in the horse's movement or assumption that he will go out it, then drawing the thought away (pressure off) from the gate, offering a pause until he mentally digests and perhaps sighs, chews, blows his nose and physically softens. Then heading back towards the gate and noticing for an availability to move slowly, and if the horse is "asking" the human what they'd like, rather than "telling" them by getting heavy on the lead rope and pulling them towards the gate. 

 

None of this is about the gate itself. The gate just happens to be an opportunity for assessment and feedback from the horse, is a place to refine the tools in communication with the horse, and can be a great Conversation starter for whatever else may be asked of the horse further along in the session.

This is not about creating a "pattern" of going out the gate either. If the horse is thoughtful and available from the start, then there is no need to "practice" not going out. But I find many "regular" interactions with the horse have unclear communication because there is not enough value (seen by the human) to have quality everyday interactions when presenting a familiar, seemingly basic scenario with the horse.

By prioritizing getting his mind from the start- before going out the gate, affects the quality of leading him to the grooming area, the quietness of tacking, etc. It has a positive trickle-down effect.

 

It also gives clarity to the human to recognize where the horse's brain and emotions are on that day, ask for a change in them if necessary, follow through helping the horse work through his counteroffers, so that the horse is directable and willing, and then by the time the gate or anything else is presented, the person feels like they are in the "driver's seat" rather than being a "passenger" to whatever the horse offers. 

 

This increases the human's confidence that they can proactively influence what is about to happen, rather than defensively react and attempt to contain the horse. It is what allows the person to not fixate or worry about the "What if scenarios..." with the horse.