Horse Skills Tips - Misconceptions of a Circle

One of the most misused "techniques" I have found is how people present asking the horse to move around a circle.

Horse Behavior- After the session assessment

How often does your focus "leave" as you are nearing the end of a session with the horse? Mentally moving on to something else?

Horse Skills: The Check- In Learning to Acknowledge the Equine to stop Guessing

The Check-In

I often encounter people who are surprised or overwhelmed by their horse's responses. There tends to be a major gap in the human's perception of when/what/how things have occurred rather than an understanding of all the ongoing, continuous equine communication that was ignored, overlooked, or criticized and how the animal's feedback would "tell" the person what behaviors were coming next. 

Honesty of Horse Conversations by Alternative Horsemanship the Remote Horse Coach

One of the things that keeps me “motivated” in working with horses is their honesty. The interaction is not about whether I "like" what their behavior is telling me, but rather recognizing they are offering real-time feedback as to what they are mentally, emotionally, and physically experiencing.

Pressure and Horses

Pressure & Horses 

I’ve never had an “English” language conversation with a horse, but over the years I feel that I’ve found some degree of a “common language” with which I use to communicate with them. I explain to students there is no “one” way to do things, and I always tell people “take what you like, leave what you don’t” from any learning situation. I finished reading a horse blog the other day and realized that in this day and age, I don’t think you can participate in any aspect of the horse world without hearing the word “pressure” about communicating with the horse.
I was thinking about what “pressure” might mean to others; ideas and questions started to pop into my head.

Horse Skills - Refining Understanding of Pressure

Horses, Humans, and Pressure

When we work with a horse we primarily use two forms of pressure to communicate, physical (the lead rope attached to the halter, the rein, the leg, the seat, etc.) or spatial (not touching the horse but being able to influence his brain and movement.) Vocal commands are a third, less common form of pressure.
A horse’s natural response to human pressure is to flee from it, become defensive towards it, or physically “challenge” it, which causes him to be unable to “hear” the person. The horse needs to learn that pressure offered by a person can be similar to feedback he'd receive from interacting with other horses.

Author Quote: Unknown

Horsemanship Skills : Following a Feel

 "Following a Feel"

Those words had no value to me in my initial years of riding (groundwork was nonexistent.) I interacted with the horse offering unintentional, continuous tension- on the lead rope, on the rein, in my leg, etc.  There was never a pause, time for mental processing, recognizing separating directing the thought from movement, adaptability in my aids or any conscious release of pressure towards the horse (other than during a jump.)

Horses "Following a Feel"

 "Following a Feel"

Those words had no value to me in my initial years of riding (groundwork was nonexistent.) I interacted with the horse offering unintentional, continuous tension- on the lead rope, on the rein, in my leg, etc. There was never a pause, time for mental processing, recognizing separating directing the thought from movement, adaptability in my aids or any conscious release of pressure towards the horse (other than during a jump.)

Horse Interactions : Human Goals vs Quality Partnerships

Goals vs Quality
It is very easy to fall into a pattern of setting goals and getting fixated on accomplishing them to feel successful with the horse.
In more scenarios than not, the goal is frequently prioritized over assessing if there's quality during the interaction with the horse.

I will often hear people excitedly telling me about how much they have accomplished with the horse.
Then as I watch their equine's behavior and see things like: chomping on the bit
pinned ears
tails swishing
fidgeting or excessive movement
"grumpy" faces
physical tension
rigid nostrils
wide eyes
inability to stand still (mentally and physically)
avoidance at being caught/ led/ tacked/ loaded into the trailer loading or mounted
or if every time the halter is removed the horse goes running off

Behaviors Sabotaging the Human and Horse Partnership

What is the most common issue I see sabotaging the human & horse partnership?
Containment

I define it as:

When a person is physically trying to "stop" an unwanted equine behavior, which is usually the symptom and not the underlying "issue," without acknowledging and addressing all the constant equine communication reflecting holes in the horse's education or understanding.

Adaptability, Humans, and Horses

 Adaptability

People and horses get stuck in mental and physical patterns during daily interactions. There is often a lack of clarity or specific communication offered during many familiar scenarios.

Patience, Horses, and Humans

 Patience, Humans & Horses

I've had many comments over the years about how I seem to never lose patience with the horse during moments that for most people would trigger a rollercoaster of emotions... such as in the scenarios of when a horse:

Resists being caught

Difficult to Trailer Load

Bolts when Led

Won't stand quietly tied

Avoidant towards the farrier

Has excessive movement when tacked or mounted

Is sensitive about fly spray or bathing

Is buddy or "barn" sour

Horse Questions, Beahviors, and Interactions

Horse Interaction, Communication, Training, and Behavior Questions to assess the quality of the equine interaction. This BLM Mustang was Untouchable because of human "training" trauma when I met her.

Alternative Horsemanship the Remote Horse Coach shares a glimpse into what groundwork with the horse could look like when the horse's mind is engaged, without fear or flee.

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Pressure & Horses- Refining Human Awareness

 Pressure & Horses

I’ve never had an “English” language conversation with a horse, but over the years I feel that I’ve found some degree of a “common language” with which I use to communicate with them. I explain to students there is no “one” way to do things, and I always tell people “Take what you like, leave what you don’t” from any learning situation. I finished reading a horse blog the other day and realized that in this day and age, I don’t think you can participate in any aspect of the horse world without hearing the word “pressure” in reference to communicating with the horse.

Horse Training Discussing Pressure & Force Free

Dear Sam: Horse Help Horsemanship Series Horse Training & Pressure

Discussing horses, human communication using pressure and thoughts on force free approaches.

Does your horse understand your communication?

Dear Sam: Horse Help Horsemanship Series Does your horse understand your communication?

Alternative Horsemanship the Remote Horse Coach trainer discusses how your horse may not understand your communication creating unwanted equine behaviors.

Horse Help- Problems with Mindless Horse Training Methods

 I am the first to admit that I’m quite resistant to “step by step” methods of training.

I find that although what/how you ask something of your horse may “seem initially clear” with a one, two, or three type of instruction, due to the focus on the end goal, it also limits a person’s perspective in seeing what is ACTUALLY happening in what I call “real-time.”

Horse Help Concepts- The Box an Alternative Horsemanship tool

 The "Box"

I developed the concept of "the Box" because I was finding too many people wanting to be polite and kind in their communication with their horses, but were lacking specificity, boundaries, or spatial awareness.

The concept of the Box was to give the humans a mental image of where they needed their horse to be to communicate clearly without being distracted by the horse's counteroffers of often leaking, fleeing, drifting, or pushing into them movement.

Horse Help- Improving your Equine Communication- Eliminating the Brace

Have you ever felt the horse:

Heavy on the lead rope- "dragging" the horse around?

Loading or unloading a horse from the trailer/lorry that you couldn’t “stop” or “move him” to a different place from what he was offering?

The horse would not move out of your personal space when working from the ground?

The horse was resistant to transitions whether being worked from the ground or in the saddle?

The horse is pushing, leaning, heavy, or dragging on the bit/bridle?

When trying to turn in one direction the horse slowly “leaks” the opposite way?

When trying to ride a straight line the horse is constantly “throwing” or “locking up” his shoulder or hip towards the opposite way from which you are traveling?

Picking up the reins and feeling a general “lethargic” response from your horse?

Are you overwhelming your horse?

 

Dear Sam: Horse Help Horsemanship Series

Is your horse overwhelmed?

Watch the full video and hundreds of others on the Alternative Horsemanship YouTube Channel.

New videos are posted every Friday.

What topics would you like discussed?