"What should I focus on next with my horse?"

I frequently hear this question or am asked by students or other equine enthusiasts struggling with having a goal, direction, or unsure of what to focus on during their horse time... the answer is always the same, "Refinement." Irrelevant of if you ride for pleasure or are competitive (or if you only work with your horse from the ground,) every interaction is Opportunity for improving your and the horse's skills.

Why? Every single task- from catching, leading, grooming, working at liberty, tying, tacking, mounting, trailer loading, riding out, navigating obstacles, moving livestock, roping, packing in the the mountains, ponying, jumping, riding long distance, etc. ALL rely on a having the hundreds of adaptable skills to effectively communicate with the horse in a manner that does not trigger his defensiveness.

I have had so many behind-the-scenes discussions with equine professionals as we all struggle to "motivate" the public in understanding the importance of refinement. To address ALL current horse problems or challenges, and to achieve future goals, it is crucial to develop and refine the foundation in both the human and horse's education.

It isn't the "quick fix" answer, nor is it an "easy" solution that is sales pitched across many platforms selling horse gimmicks. There are no short cuts. You can learn theory for years, but you need the reality of in-person, hands-on experience. The more you have intentional horse interactions, your awareness will increase, the better you can learn to understand the horse's communication, refine your aids, and improve your timing, all of which directly influence the horse's "success" in what you're asking of him.

So, where do you start?

Refining Your Horsemanship: Building the Foundation

Irrelevant to the chosen discipline, the ideal goal with each ride is to refine your horsemanship with your equine partner. This can be achieved by first creating a willing, responsive, and reasonable equine partner. If riders learn how to prioritize their mental focus they can accurately assess and address their horse in his current state.

Below is an initial checklist to reference before, during, and after the interaction with the horse. The answers can help clarify missing pieces in the communication. Equine enthusiasts need to learn how to assess what, who, when, where, and why scenarios with the horse to delve into aspects that need refinement.

What: This is a combination of evaluating, considering, and attempting to gauge the horse's mental and physical availability from the beginning to end of the interactions, whether from feeding time to after a ride. The assessment can reflect triggers, anticipation, behavioral patterns, etc., and what root cause(s) need to be addressed while helping humans adapt their expectations of the horse.

Who:
The Human- Before starting with the horse, the rider needs to assess their attitude, emotional, and physical state. If distracted, stressed, or have time constraints, it will affect their focus. If they are not 100% mentally present, it is unfair to expect 100% of the horse. Equines are hyper-aware, including their sensitivity to a person's mental, emotional, and physical energy, which they often mirror in their behaviors.

The Horse - Where is his mind? Is his brain with his buddies? How does he look physically? Is he stiff or sore from age, health, or earlier exertion? Has he recently had farrier care, vaccinations, on medications, chiropractic adjustments, tack changes, or anything else that would affect him physically? Has his diet changed, or is he bothered by gut health issues? Do you see him lie down to sleep? Is he constantly moving chaotically, emotionally stressed, fixated, or fearful? Does he offer a patterned response every time he sees you?

When: The assessment should begin before the horse is being caught. Did he willingly offer to do so (without treats)? Did he flee, walk away several times and stop, let you approach him but turns his head away and tolerates being caught? After haltering, is he anticipative, pushy, hurried in his energy, or hanging on the lead?

Where: Passing through the gate or stall door is he triggered? When it is being closed, did his attention stay present, or was he distracted looking for food? While he is led, does he walk slow/fast, or is he heavy on the lead rope? In the grooming area, is he distracted by the other horses or activities? If you groom or tack up in a different location is he triggered? Does he hover in one's personal space? Did he softly versus obediently stand (with tension) when tacked up? Does his anxiety and fidgeting increase as the tacking progresses?

Why: Each aspect of the human/horse interaction affects the next. By the time he is ready to mount, the horse will have communicated his mindset. If displaying distracted, bothered, fixated, defensive, tension-filled, anticipative, etc., behavior while handled on the ground, this will transfer over and affect the ride quality.

When handled from the ground, the horse's initial mental concerns will not diminish by demanding more physical exercise or imposing patterned interactions when riding. Instead, this human response teaches the horse to become defensive towards the rider, and/or he will learn to shut down mentally or potentially become increasingly physically resistant.

The assessment continues when riding to improve addressing what the horse needs support with on that particular day. Here are the foundational elements necessary to accomplish any equine-related goal with quality:

The Horse

Softness- the horse's mental and physical willingness to follow or yield to physical pressure communicated via the rider's aids (hands, seat, legs, and energy).

Suppleness- relaxation throughout the horse's body allowing him to independently move body parts without losing his softness.

Relaxation- the horse's ability to focus on the physical task without retaining tension in his body.

Engagement- the lifting of the horse's back to enable his hindquarters to step underneath his spine with a majority of his weight on his hind end. This allows soft and independent movement in his head, neck, shoulders, rib cage, and hocks.

Balance- the horse's ability to carry his weight consistently by engaging his hindquarters without leaning on the rider's hands.

Responsiveness- the brief reaction time to mentally and physically respond to the human.

Effectiveness- how quickly and softly the horse's response is towards minimal aid from the rider.

Adaptability- the willingness of the horse to let go of one thought and focus on another followed by a soft physical response.

Awareness- the horse's ability to stay present in his surroundings but prioritize his focus on the human.

The Rider

Evaluation- real-time recognition of what the initial intent was, what aids were used to communicate, how the horse responded, and if follow-through was necessary to help him achieve a softer, more willing response.

Feeling- not relying solely on what they are seeing, but re-sensitizing what one is feeling in the horse's movement and energy to improve the timing of their aids.

Adaptability- the human's ability to offer a varying degree of energy in their aids and communication with the horse. Also, their ability to adapt the moment's goal to best support the horse.

“Taking” the horse for the ride- proactively communicating specifics of the desired response versus re-actively critiquing the horse due to lack of initial guidance from the human.

The above may seem like "a lot" for many folks. The reality is most people are asking unreasonable things of their horse with minimal to no consideration as to just how limited the animal's education is. The "holes" usually don't become apparent until the day something changes in one's world, there is a emergency, someone new has to handle the horse, etc. The kindest thing someone can do is educate themselves and their horse.

Think of sending a seven or eight year old child off to navigate city life on their own. You'd laugh, and think it was obvious that they would have difficulty doing so for numerous reasons. Yet with horses, many people have similar unrealistic expectations, without recognizing how unclear much of the human interactions are (mostly because the person sees it as an inconvenience to put in the effort), leaving the horse in a continuous "lost" state, and then potentially overwhelming them every time something more or new is asked of him.