Showing posts with label respect. Show all posts
Showing posts with label respect. Show all posts

Riding Out- Make it Matter

The idea for this blog came about as we FINALLY had a break in our depressing rainy weather that has covered the Pacific Northwest for the past many months. I took out a young horse of mine along with another horse and of course four dogs in tow for a ride up in the mountains. As I rode along asking my horse to address the puddles, mud, bridges, water, etc. I thought about how many people could have ridden the same trail and had a really different outcome with their horse.

It was a nice break for me to get on one of my horses that was beyond the “starting” stage and I could enjoy the ride, but this did not mean that I was brainlessly sitting on him like a sack of potatoes. Somehow the words “trail ride” over the years have been interpreted as a “relaxing” form of riding for those people who are not looking to “train” their horse. The irony is that over the years some of the worst incidents and situations that I’ve witnessed or had to help “pick up the pieces afterwards” have occurred on these “relaxing” trail rides.

Many people whether they are competitive or not have finally after years of persuasion have come to realize that their horse needs more than just repetitive arena work. So mentally this can be great for variation for both horse and rider. The potential problem is if there is not intention and clarity from the rider towards the horse, it really doesn’t matter where you ride.

One of the fundamental “pieces of the puzzle” of riding that seems to be missing is the notion that just because you have bought or acquired your horse does not mean that he is currently in a place mentally, emotionally or physically that is appropriate for what you would like to do with him.

There seems to be three main categories of horse owners- and yes there are always exceptions, but generally as a professional, this is what I’ve encountered in the industry: those who are uneducated and are new owners- usually learning the hard way about the realities vs. the romanticized vision of being with the horses, the semi experienced horse owner who has enough experience to “know” better but is still hopeful that “it” (those small seemingly insignificant issues that manifest into dangerous and unwanted behavior over the long term) will all somehow work out with their horse, and then there are those people who are so focused on the final goal that their perspective and views of how their horse is behaving is limited due to their commitment that “at all costs” they are GOING to get the desired performance out of their horse.

I try to encourage people to use common sense when working with their horse- treat your horse as you would a child. You don’t just hope that a young child will figure things out in life; usually they require a lot of attention, effort and patience on your behalf in order to “educate” them with the tools to achieve independent success and confidence in life. The same goes for horses.

This brings up the second big issue. At one point in history we relied on horses as our mode of transportation, as our work animals to plow the fields to help us survive, and whatever other needs we might have living in rural America. These horses had thousands of hours of education and effort offered to them because people HAD to- as they relied on them for every aspect of life.

Today most riders in the United States are what I’d call pleasure riders, even if they compete at low levels. For the most part people do not have the time, energy or money to invest in their horses to create the “ideal” horse for their needs. So until the horse starts to become difficult or display dangerous behavior that the person realizes they need to enlist the help of a professional, (which usually becomes a long term situation because those “little issues” were let go for so long and the horse is now confirmed in how and what he thinks of people,) owners don’t seek help in advance. The irony is if the owner had initially put the time and effort into offering their horse a proper education from the start, they would have saved a lot of money and stress for both them and their horse in the long run.

Another issue is the current breeding trends (that in my opinion are reinforced by trainers, veterinarians and show judges,) we have basically taken the “horse out of the horse.” How many breedings does it take to produce that “one” ideal horse? And what happens to all of the remaining horses produced that are not up to that level of performance? Look at physical pictures of horse from 10, 20 and 40 years ago compared to those of the same breeds today and there is nothing similar within the breeds other than them having four legs, a head and tail! Never mind the physical, we never seem to realize what undesired traits mentally wise that we’ve passed on until we have a handful of horses all “suffering” from the same unwanted behavior.

As a result of our lack of standards towards looking at the entire picture of what we breed, rather than just the physical outward appearance or performance, we now have generations upon generations of horses that are mentally, emotionally and physically what I call “nut jobs.” As I tell people over and over, just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. But somehow as a society, most people have lost any level of accountability for their actions and the sad part is it winds up being the horses and their offspring that pay the long term price for people’s “instant gratification” desires. The perfect example of that is the all too often backyard breeding scenario where one person has a stud and their neighbor has a mare and so they breed “to see what happens.”

If every person who owned a horse made the initial mental, physical and financial commitment to their horse with a “long term” outlook, I truly believe the horse industry would be a different place.

So what does any of the above have to do with heading out for a trail ride? Well stop for a moment and consider how many stories you might have told or heard about of that “eventful” ride. When people ask how a ride went, my goal is to be able to reply that it was “boring.” People laugh at this comment, but I say it with all seriousness.

Today it seems to be the rides that aren’t “boring” are the ones where both horse and rider are attempting to “survive the ride.” In most of these cases the foundation of clear communication, trust and respect, and educating the horse in baby steps has not been introduced. Therefore, as something unexpected (in this part of the country that could be anything from a range of encountering wild animals, to crossing rivers, bridges, severe ascending/descending of mountains, encountering off-road vehicles, traveling on very narrow trails, stepping over natural fallen obstacles, etc.)

I cannot imagine riding out without an array of established “tools” to help my horse throughout the ride for whatever may present itself along the way. But somehow many people and horses have survived many rides without clear communication and so they continue doing so. The problem is not “if,” but rather “when” something will arise that they will not be able to safely “survive” with their horse. These sort of events tend to trigger a lot of other concerns or issues that the horse has “emotionally stuffed” over a period of time, and then it all seems to “suddenly” all come out to the shock of the horse owner.

In what I do for a living I’ll admit I usually see the worst case scenarios and the “aftermath” caused by them. Which is why I’m so adamant that it is completely unnecessary to “wait and see” with horses. It’s not to scare riders into worrying about everything that could go wrong; rather it is to educate people that it is so unnecessary to “go” to those bad and scary places with a horse. Why not help you and your horse out from the start to help avoid all of the eventful riding “stories?”

By laying the proper foundation ahead of time, when things arise on the ride, which they always will, you’ll be able to expand your horse’s experience, increase his confidence and encourage his curiosity by presenting obstacles in a “fun” and quality manner with clear communication that will allow him to be able to mentally address, physically try, and emotionally relax as he encounters the “unknown.”

“Owning” a horse should not been seen as a “servant” type relationship. It requires a lot from both rider and horse. So take a moment and evaluate honestly you and your horse- you level of clear two-way communication, your levels of trust and respect, and your own efforts to help your horse through scenarios rather than challenging him to be successful. Your actions can make or break that ideal relationship with your horse!

To taking responsibility- and then the reins!
Sam

Anticipation- In both the horse and rider

As we sat around in blustery WY swapping horse stories the other night I realized there was one common theme. Anticipation. The focus happened to be about team roping, but my thoughts on this subject still apply to ALL riders and their horses.


In this day and age riders are starting to expand their equestrian activities rather than just sticking to one specific discipline. This is great for both the horses and riders and encourages them to raise their level of awareness, their horse's mental availability when presented with different tasks (rather than the same routine,) and it allows them to evaluate and use tools to offer clear communication no matter when and where they are needed.

As I listened to the group I realized I was hearing horror story after horror story about people either having had experienced themself or having had witnessed roping accidents. The most common occurrence had to do with after a rider had caught a steer.
Once the steer has been caught the rider uses their coils in their hand to "dally." A coil is the excess rope that is held in neat and organized circles in their hand. Some of these are released as the rider throws their loop at the desired steer. A dally is when the rider has caught the desired steer they then take their rope and wrap it around the horn of their saddle in order to maintain control over the steer they caught.
In this sort of roping things happen very quickly because the riders are competing for who has the fastest time in catching both the head and the heels of a steer. This can become dangerous if the rider does not keep track of their coils and has caught a three or four hundred pound steer that is showing resistance towards having been roped. After the steer is caught the coils need to be easily and quickly separated from the rest in order to dally. If there is any slack between the steer and rider, if the coils are not neatly held or are accidentally dropped while the rider is trying to dally, a rider can get their fingers and hands literally ripping off from the force of rope tightening/wrapping around their hand as the caught steer is trying to make his get away.

As with anything, the faster things "have to happen" the more pressure and intensity both the rider and horse feels. Here are a few things I see happen all too often:

• Seeing a horse feeling pretty troubled in the box (the area they wait until the steer is released form the shoot and the rider begins chasing it to catch it.) Serious accidents have happened from a horse becoming anticipative about the upcoming run and they can get pretty light on their feet. You'll see this commonly in sports that require quick bursts of speed such as race horses, barrel races, team roping, etc.

• Often the rider is more concerned with their performance and accuracy with throw of thier rope they accidentally end up ignoring areas of horsemanship that need to be addressed BEFORE they head out of the box or to a competition.
A lack of quality horsemanship and awareness seem to be the worst contributors towards how a horse and rider handle ANTICIPATION.

There are many parts of clear communication with a horse that need to be established (not just on the day of the event or competition) so that going into an event the rider and horse feel confident and clear in how they interact with one another.

In this case, if a rider is solely focused on the actual roping of the steer- how are they ever going to GET from the box to the steer with any accuracy, speed and control if they're horse is worried, anxious, insecure, etc. Too many times because of patternized (click link for blog definition) practices (i.e. practicing by riding the horse numerous times out of the box trying to attempt a catch rather than focusing on doing it a few times with a calm, confident and quality ride.)
Instead if the rider took the time to create clear communication through the use of their aids rather than reactively riding (click link for blog definition) or responding after the fact, they can "tell" their horse while the ride or run is happening what they need their horse to do. If a rider winds up being hopeful (see blog definition) that their horse will do what he's supposed to do they have no clue as to what and how their horse will respond as they come out of the box.
Because the horse gets used to not being told by his rider, he winds up taking over and starts getting anticipative because it does not make him feel good to come out of that box "on his own." Just as with people, they like to know what the "plan" is.
The next element in this particular discipline is the steer itself. The rider and horse have no idea what the steer is going to do as he comes out of the shoot. So they have to be ready for whatever may need to get done in order to rope the steer. If the horse has only previously been taught that "he's on his own" then he will tend to anticipate (many times causing a time fault for leaving the box early, also known as "breaking the barrier.")
Once a horse reaches a certain degree of stress they typically reach an "unreasonable" state. This is where the horse takes over and the rider winds up "going for the ride." Again this is another undesirable and potentionally dangerous situation. Once he takes over, especially in an event like team roping, if you need your horse to quickly turn, slow or speed up, you have less of a chance that you horse is going to perform as you need him to when "you've got to get the job done." This lack of responsiveness, mental availability from your horse and unclear communication is the largest contributor to an accident waiting to happen that my have been preventable by taking the time to address the quality of horsemanship with your horse ahead of time.
So whether you are a roper or a Dressage rider, a trail rider or a barrel racer, the next time you head out to ride start to assess if you horse may have a degree of anticipation in him. If so, start to break down into little steps how and what you ask of him and then how he responds. He'll tell you if your communication is clear, and he'll certainly show you if it's not.
It's more "work" to be a safe rider, but in the long run it decreases the level of stress you carry with you as you step into the saddle and in turn the more relaxed and confident you are, so will your horse be.

Being HOPEFUL: The missing link in communication

Hopefulness. Waiting and Seeing. Reactive Riding. Taking the "try" and willingness out of your horse.
What do all of the above have in common? They are a domino effect that occurs in the riding world far too often. Let me explain.
Each of the following three scenarios is acts of "Hopefulness" by riders:
Have you ever experienced or witnessed someone riding down the trail and seen something "scary" before your horse did? What did you do? A common response is the rider will hold their breath as their horse gets closer to the scary item, sitting very still in the saddle, and perhaps asking their horse to look the opposite way from the item as they "snuck by." Then they waited, and were silently hoping their horse didn't have a melt down as they passed by. Afterwards they let out a "sigh of relief" that nothing dramatic had happened.
Or how about the horse who was inconsistent about his willingness to load in the trailer. After he was caught as he was walked to the trailer the handler is chanting in hushed tones under their breath a message of hope "that today the horse would load willingly and not have it turn into the 5 hour fiasco like it had last time."
What about as you watched (or experienced) someone approaching a jump, half way through their barrel pattern or was building a loop while waiting in the box, what was going through your head (or what appeared theirs based on their facial expression) before the horse was asked to perform? And then what was the reaction from the rider AFTER the round? "I wasn't sure what he was gonna do..." "Whew, glad that's over with..." "Well THAT was a little scary..." "I hope that doesn't happen again..."
Many equine enthusiasts talk about communication between horses and their owners. This in itself is a whole other topic for another entry. What I want to mention is what about the LACK of communication between the rider/handler and the horse. All too often I see horses that have been deemed a "bad" or "ill behaved" horse. When I actually watch the interaction between the rider/handler and the horse often I find myself staring at a horse with a totally blank expression or confused look on his face due to "silence" from his rider/handler.
Then when the horse starts showing signs of worry, concern, stress, or other dramatic behavior, because he doesn't know what is gong on, he is punished or reprimanded for it. Instead the rider/handler ought to be having a CONVERSATION with the horse. The horse needs to be told AHEAD of time what is going to be asked of him. All too often the person winds up being "hopeful" and then after the horse offers a physical action does the person address him. By now, it's too late. The rider is REACTING after the event. This is what I call REACTIVE RIDING.
When people sit down in that saddle their brain tends to focus solely on themself. Instead if they treated their horse like they were "on the same team" and told the horse what the PLAN was ahead of time, the horse would have a better chance of offering the desired response to the handler or rider. BUT in order to have a plan, one must be THINKING (again, another blog topic) AHEAD of time of what, how and when they will ask something of the horse.
People tend to HOPE their horse will figure out what is going to be asked of them without ever offering any physical, spatial or verbal communication. Then when the horse doesn't respond as the handler/rider had wanted, the horse is reprimanded but never shown what the desired response had been. So the horse continues to stumble mentally and emotional, therefore physically, due to his continual existence in the "gray" area when interacting with a human. Eventually the feeling that he "just can't get it right" overwhelms him and he mentally checks out. Once he's mentally gone, there's no chance he'll physically comply.
When a horse reaches this point, people term them as being "naughty," lazy," "disrespectful, 'bad," etc., when in fact this is not the case at all. After trying all of his "options" if there is no communication from the handler/rider, the horse eventually gives up trying to figure out what it is that the person is asking of them. This is how people take the "try" and CURIOSITY (again, another blog topic) out of their horse.
In summary, by being HOPEFUL you will end up WAITING AND SEEING how your horse is going to respond in the future. This means you are now RIDING REACTIVLY which causes your horse to be operating in the "gray" area which will eventually TAKE THE TRY out of him and cause much stress to both of you.
So the next time you head out to visit with your four legged friend, please keep this in mind:

IF YOU DON'T TELL YOUR HORSE CLEARLY AHEAD OF TIME DON'T EXPECT HIM TO BE ABLE TO READ YOUR MIND AND PERFORM AS DESIRED.
Until Next Time...Sam

Patternized Behavior... Thought for the day

Have you ever been in the shower thinking about stuff you'll need to get done that day and suddenly stopped and asked yourself, "Did I already put conditioner in my hair?" I know it sounds silly but I bet a lot of you have. This is what I call Patternized Behavior which I define as after having done a specific task numerous times it starts to become part of your "routine" where you no longer have to think in detail or focus completely in order to get the task done.
So how does this term Patternized Behavior apply to horses and their owners? I find most horses that are mentally unavailable are resistant to change. That means they "know what they know" and will be what I categorize as tolerant or obedient to what is asked of them. That is, until you ask them something different from the "norm." Then they come completely unglued mentally, emotionally and physically. Kinda like when the babysitter tries to do something with your kids and the kids respond "that's not how my mom does it."
The topic for this blog came to me this morning as I went to feed. While at my winter location we have stalls where we overnight the horses in, then usually around 11am we turn them out into the pasture for six or seven hours of grazing. This morning because of my schedule, I decided to turn them out in the morning and bring them in the afternoon. I like to do things as "simple" as possible, so when I turn horses out I swing open their gate and they know to go and look for the opening in the hotwire.
So this morning I opened each of their stall gates and all five horses (except one) stood with an absolute blank look on their face. Total shock had overwhelmed them that they were not being fed breakfast. I shooed them out towards the pasture where they reluctantly trotted off to. Then they promptly turned around and stood at the pasture gate with a look on their face saying "This is NOT how we do it."
People and horses can get VERY comfortable with routine and patterns. They catch their horse the same way, tack up at the same time of day in the same spot, mount from the same side, start their warm up in the same direction, ride for the same length of time, etc. So the horses start to learn what to "expect" from their riders and figure out how to "comply" within the demands of their rider. This seems like a quality relationship until the day the rider comes up with something new. Then "ALL OF A SUDDEN" (one of the terms I dislike most when people attempt to explain a negative occurrence with their horse) their horse does something "he's never done before..."
Hmmmm. Most "issues" are not the issue at all; in fact they are the SYMPTOM of an issue, not the issue itself. So how do we know what the real issue is? Well this is where we need to assess if both our horses and ourselves are suffering from patternized routines or behaviors. The next time you're with your horse try an experiment. Take a few minutes and interact with him in a way that you have not done before. Below are some ideas:
Catch him, let him go and catch him again.

Carry your tack to a different place than the norm and tack him up in his stall, pasture, at a trailer, etc.

Mount him from the "off" side.

Mount him then dismount immediately and start picking rocks out of the arena.
While you are offering this new way of presenting things to your horse you should be assessing his mental availability and be asking yourself some of these questions:
Does he appear to get stressed (swishing his tail, pawing, chewing on the lead rope or fence, excessive movement as you work around him, etc.)?

Does he get a blank (literally) look on his face trying to figure out what you are doing?

Does he try to resort to "the old way" when you are asking him to do something new or different?

Does his breathing rate increase?

Does he become physically resistant to where you are asking him to move?
Now both your fellow riders and your horse may think you've gone off the deep end when they see you doing these "silly" little things with your horse, but by doing so you'll be able to evaluate how much MENTAL availability your horse has towards what ask or present something, new or different. If he appears to respond by "shutting down" you may need to go back to the basics and review what tools you are using to communicate with your horse, how and when you use them, how effective they are in offering "black and white" communication and increasing your standard as to what behaviors your horse offers that are acceptable and those that are not...
Your goal is for your horse to offer in any situation, whether he has experienced it before or not, "How can I make this work?" If you horse is mentally availability he will be physically willing to do what you are asking.
Stay tuned!  Sam

Ask the Trainer: Bad Attitude at Feeding Time

Question:

My 3 year old gelding has developed a habit of dipping his neck down, then shaking his head at me at feeding time. He didn't do this over summer, of the two youngsters he was the most respectful. I assume his attitude says he is more important than I am, and wonder how to correct him. He is second to the mare in herd status, she is just 4 but very dominant over him, but accepts me as lead mare. Why has my lovely Chinook taken such a turn? Had him since he was a baby, and the only difference is, its Alaska and its winter so I don't spend as much time with them.

Samantha Harvey & TEC Answer:
Thanks for writing. There could always be a million reasons why a horse "suddenly" starts to behave in a certain manner. I would guess he did not start this over night, but perhaps he did more subtle mannerisms that you may have not noticed. As for his attitude towards you, take a look at another Ask the Trainer article I have posted about young horse behavior. Trust

Instead of being distracted by his head tossing (which is a symptom and not the issue itself) you may have to investigate and "break down" the big picture to understand why your horse is doing what he is. Head tossing is typically a mixed sign of frustration and a bit of a challenge. The challenge masks the insecurity he is feeling (if he is more offensive rather than defensive he may be able to protect himself better.)

If he is second man on the totem pole, perhaps he sees you as lower than he, and takes out any frustration he is feeling towards the lead mare on you. If there is any worry as to accessibility to feed he may be impatient at feeding time to get as much as he can before he gets run off by the lead mare. You may ask yourself a few simple questions- any change in diet, feeding times, feeding locations, herd setup (pasture vs. stall) that may be attributing to the change in his behavior.

Many people work with their horses in a challenging manner, "Let's see if they can get this right or tolerate this." Rather than with a "Let me see how I can HELP my horse get this right," type of attitude. The time to address his head shaking, worry and/or anxiety is not when he is feeling it at it's peak (currently at feeding time,) rather to start to communicate and interact with him during a less stressful time. If you have access to a round pen or small and safe area to work with him at liberty (because a lot of times horses "keep in" bad feelings when they are on a line as this is what they have been taught to do.)

When he is loose in the pen does he acknowledge you, seek your help for leadership, look for guidance, show the same aggressive or frustrated signs towards you as at feeding time, etc.? You will need to find a mental availability (do not get distracted by what he is physically doing- this is only a reflection of what he is feeling on the inside) for him to learn to ask you for help when he is having a problem (even if it is during feeding time.) The more he trusts and has confidence in you, the more his aggressive behavior will dissipate. Horses act aggressively because they are feeling BAD on the inside, not because they enjoy acting out towards people.
While at liberty we do not just want your horse physically near you, rather we would like him to feel relaxed (in posture, stance, breathing, thoughts, etc.) and have "warm and fuzzy" feelings in being "with" you mentally rather than physically "tolerating" your presence. There are many ways you can play with him in the pen and you may need to seek the guidance of local trainer who prioritizes working with the horse's brain rather than his movements. Many times when working at liberty people get distracted by setting their sights on having their horse accomplish a specific task, rather than remaining clear and focused on HOW the horse feels when addressing a task. If he is having a problem, the task is no longer important, rather changing how he feels about what he is being asked to do is. If he can start to see you addressing his feelings and worries, he will start to trust you and change how he outwardly is acting towards you and the other horses.
He is also young and just as with people, he is exploring the boundaries of what works and what does not both in how he addresses horses and people. He needs to understand that just because you like or care for you horse, does not mean that he gets to delegate how the two of you interact with one another.

Feedback from Horse Owner
I had written to your website regarding my young Chinook and his aggressive behavior. Made some changes in feeding arrangements, and in less than a week, he was no longer challenging me. Until I can permanently separate him from the mare, in spring, he now eats shut in his stall, where she cannot get at him or his feed. I use that time to groom him, handle his feet etc. and he is his old sweet self again. Such a simple solution, and it worked wonders.
E.