Showing posts with label training horses. Show all posts
Showing posts with label training horses. Show all posts

Three Mares in a pasture: Curious Horse Video


This was an unexpected moment I captured in the pasture with a client's three horses. One is a rescue paint mare, another is a filly brought in from the wild, and the last is an endurance Morab mare. Each horse has their own confidence and curiosity levels that they offer in their human interaction.

Trailer Loading Trauma- Horses



Today I worked with three different horses that had all issues with trailer loading... the most important message I could convey was the conversation with the horse should initially focus on refining the tools needed in order to present the trailer loading itself.

Holes in our Horsemanship

Dogs from years past gearing up for a ride out!
Filling in the Holes in our Horsemanship


Dogs from years past gearing up for a ride out!

Filling in the Holes in our Horsemanship


I’ve had a new horse come in for training fitting in sessions with him in between this crazy ongoing bizarre "summer" weather. He is a four-year-old that has had a lot of handling, though his owner’s experience is limited, she has gone “slow” with him…


It is my job when a horse first comes in to evaluate “where the horse is at,” mentally, physically, emotionally, and experience-wise. So I thought I’d share with you some of the more common “holes” I tend to find in working with horses of all ages… I believe a majority of the time the holes are present because owners and horses learn to get comfortable with how or what they present in a scenario. The horse learns what is expected of them and then can comply. The problem occurs when the “rules” or expectations change.




One of the most basic and common initial scenarios is a horse that is total “light” on the lead rope when you are walking him in the “normal” position (standing somewhere near his head and drawing him forward with the lead rope.) The problem appears when you attempt to stand ahead, or off to the side and are about a lead rope length away. When attempting to “draw” the horse forward without physically walking off. “All of a sudden” there is a brace (meaning the horse stands rigid and leaning back against the rope). The horse has no concept to “follow the feel” of the pressure the lead is creating, instead, it is a game of “tug of war.” This basic resistance towards pressure affects all “tools” the person from the ground and while riding must-have. Many horses that have issues with “brakes” while ridden are completely resistant to any pressure with the lead rope.


Another leading “issue” is the horse is walking at a reasonable pace next to you, and you ask him to increase or decrease his energy in time with you increasing or decreasing your physical movement and using the lead rope to encourage him to walk faster or slower. Perhaps as you walk faster, the horse just stretches his nose and neck as far forward as he can and gets “heavy” leaning on the lead rope because he has made no change in his walk speed; or as you slow down, he plows on past you because he has “only one walk speed.” Again, while sitting in the saddle I ask my horses to have ten different energy levels within each gait, so why not establish that standard from the ground first.


In their attempt to desensitize their horse many people have offered to “touch” their horses all over their bodies, etc. to get them used to stuff rubbing on them such as a saddle pad. The problem arises when “movement” occurs, rather than when the human “quietly” presents something to a horse.


In the case of the saddle pad, many people walk up as close to the horse as possible, take their pad, and gently place it on the horse’s back. No problem, the horse stands quietly. But when someone approaches and from about a foot away “swings” the saddle pad up towards the horse’s back, a lot of times the horse may elevate his posture or even jump forward, sideways, or brace up with anxiety.


Why is he okay one way and not the other? Is it about the pad? No. It is about pressure and how the horse feels about unexpected movement. You can translate this into future events, such as when you are in the middle of mounting (and if you are wearing something different, such as a raincoat) and suddenly when mounting you create unintentional “excess” movement. Or think of if you were riding through the woods and having an unexpected movement such as a branch swing against/towards/away from the rider or horse's body can trigger a flight reaction in the horse. Or if the rider leans over to pass something to someone standing on the ground or another horse, the movement from the horse's blind spot into view can trigger flee. These are just a few of the many scenarios that can occur. Why not address your horse’s concerns about unexpected movement beyond his vision while your feet are still firmly planted on the ground? Rather than desensitizing a horse to an object or creating a conditioned response, learn how to teach the horse to look at, think through, and check-in with you, when he is unsure.


Speaking of saddling many people initially try to “sneak” the saddle on the first few times without enough preparation to physical pressure before strapping the saddle to him, and then "leave" the horse to sort out how he feels about it (i.e. fleeing around the pen, bucking for five minutes, etc.) creating an avoidable fear-inducing experience and the potential for long term bother in the horse. I cannot tell you how many "broke" horses are tolerating being saddled, but fearful and stressed the entire time. When given the choice to be saddled loose, they will run as far away as possible. This is a clear indicator of how they feel towards saddling. And if they are that concerned with the saddle, how do you think about you mounting up?


For me, I’d rather initially have “tools” or options established in how I communicate with the horse, that way when he shows concern, insecurity, fear, etc. as I expand his experiences in the world, I have a “safe” and previously established common language to help support and influence his brain and emotions as he sorts out and learns how to accept the saddle, and still be able to let go of potential emotional stress…


The amazing thing with horses, is they are such a clear reflection of oneself… And they are honest about when they “get it”. If they make an emotional/mental change in how they feel about something, it sticks. So when I hear people tell me, “Every time I present __________, it just feels like we are starting over each time.” That translates to me that the horse may be “tolerating” the stressful scenario, such as passing/walking on the ________(tarp, water, loading into the trailer, etc.) but he has never changed how he FELT about doing such activity, therefore every time the scenario is presented, it is still an “issue.” Change how he feels about the issue, and the task at hand will be “easy” for the horse to accomplish with quality and confidence.


Another common mentality in working with young horses is the “no distractions” theory. Meaning that while working with a young horse often people want to be “away” from any activity, possible distractions, etc. To me, this is just “sneaking” by asking the horse to mentally be with you. I often joke young horses have ADD and their ability to focus is for very short periods as they can often and easily be distracted by anything. I once had an OTTB that would get distracted by small 2-4 seater planes flying overhead (you couldn’t even hear them.)


Honestly, that ADD is a survival tool for the horse, it isn't to irritate the rider. The horse is feeling the need to be aware or perhaps hyper-alert for the sole sake of self-preservation. But humans don't tend to interpret behavior that way. (This came up at a recent clinic and someone post clinic shared an article that extensively considered the ADD factor- you can read it here-http://bit.ly/32Rfps3 )


BUT if you’ve ever had the opportunity to watch a young horse in the herd, as much as he may “mess around” and cause havoc, when the leader of the herd communicates with that young horse, he is at total attention because that leader offers support, guidance, and safety.


So in my mind, the same standard should apply when I’m working with a youngster. When he is with me, my interaction and conversation need to support him to mentally commit to addressing me, and then physically respond.


I find it is easier to set the quality of the conversation from the start, rather than to wait and see what the horse decides to do, and then attempt to ask for just “some of his focus”. If you’ve ever heard the phrase, “Let’s see how he does,” this usually comes from the horse’s brain not addressing what is being presented and the rider just “sneaking” through the scenario without effective tools in communication to influence the horse's thought or behavior. It is safer and easier, to establish from the ground the standard and clear communication before you get in the saddle.


Speaking of the “real world,” I find many times horses learn the “pattern” of focusing while in a training scenario, such as being worked in the round pen, but in the time of being handled between the pasture and the pen, all “quality” in regards to respect, communication, etc. towards the human disappears… It is the human’s responsibility to mentally participate if they expect their horse to participate.


All too often the human is distracted, and during the catching, leading, (grooming, tacking, etc.) are brainless and do not ask their horse to participate (so you see behaviors in the horse such as hard to catch, the horse “leading” the human, fussiness/fidgeting while being groomed tacked, etc.) As the person and horse enter the “magic gates” of the arena or round pen, the human “suddenly” expects their horse to be attentive, focused, participative, and up to par. As with most things in life, but certainly with horses, the phrase, “Expect the unexpected,” is all too true. So why would someone “only” have a standard for what they would like of their horse in one scenario but not another? You never know what unforeseen scenario may arise as you are working with your horse, why not always have the same standard for his brain and body when you are around him?


“Whew… the session is over!” I can’t tell you how many times I’ve witnessed a “great” training session, and as soon as the “magic gate” swings open, the human and the horse’s brain is gone. I’ve heard about so many accidents that have occurred when least expected after a ride that had gone “so well…” At all times, whether from the ground or the saddle, humans, and horses need to participate and remain present. People are quick to blame their horses for the inattentiveness, but as an instructor, I find the horses focus way easier than most people do. It is the person’s job to constantly assess what/how/why they are communicating with their horse before they critique the horse; in 90% of the scenarios I see, once the person makes a change within themselves, you can see the immediate change in the horse.


Routines, or what I call “patterned” behavior… As people, in general, become more open-minded to working with their horses from the ground first to assess where their horse is “at” mentally, emotionally, and physically, before climbing into the saddle, they need to “keep it fresh” in what and how they ask something of their horse. (As a side note I’d like to mention in my definition, working from the ground can occur during something as simple as leading your horse from the pasture to the grooming area, it doesn’t have to involve a “40-minute session in the round pen.”)


Sometimes depending on the facility, the person’s schedule, etc., people get into the habit of always presenting the same thing in the same place at the same time. Same time of day rides, the same area to groom and tack, same spot you mount your horse, same direction you start off riding in the arena, etc. these all create “patterned behavior.”


When a pattern has been established, the horse appears to “be listening” and “respectful.” The problem is, as mentioned at the beginning of this blog, horses easily learn routines or patterns, and therefore can often “offer” something before the person has asked. Often people will say, “Look how good he is by doing that, and I didn’t even ask.” Well, it might seem like “good behavior,” but the problem is if a horse learns to “take over” and make decisions before asked by the person handling/riding him, what happens in an unforeseen scenario? The most natural defense a horse has is to run. So if the horse has learned to “take over”, and something that bothers, scares, etc. him, will he really stop and ask his rider, “How would you like me to respond?” or will he most likely make the decision on his own in how he reacts with a “Flee the scene,” mentality? Again, the standards you establish during the calm, quiet moments solidify the quality of the relationship (which will affect both you and your horse’s safety) during the “eventful” moments. The time to “fix” or set a standard in your relationship is not in the moment of panic or emergency.


There are many other “holes”, but the above are the most “common” ones I initially come across. So the next time you head out to work with your horse, take a few minutes to assess your standards, communication, possible routines, or other “he just always does” scenarios to clarify just how quality is the foundation of you and your horse’s relationship.

Supporting vs Challenging the Horse

People often ask "what kind of horse training do you do?" I say I work with people and horses.

In the traditional world of horses, not categorizing yourself meant that you didn't really know a whole lot about anything. Nowadays I find it quite ironic how many students I have that come from "specialized" trainers but are having major issues on fundamental basics with their horses and the specialized trainers are unable to help them through the situations other than forcing the horses into submission through fearful and aggressive tactics.

On any given day I'm working with Colts, rehabilitating the older horse, refining the trained cutting or roping horse, mellowing the endurance horse, improving confidence in the ranch horse, slowing down the jumping horse who rushes at fences, improving the dressage horse's self carriage, and so much more.... And the thing that I keep repeating is, " At the core, all horses are all the same."

First we need to treat, interact, and have partnerships with these animals as Horses, then the specialized focused can come into play.

But there are so many people who are so fixated on accomplishing "stuff" that in the end, whether it's through ego, bragging rights, unintentionally overfaced with goals or otherwise, the human doesn't realize that they are setting up the horse to fail in what they ask of them because they don't have the fundamental Basics nor effective tools to communicate with the horse in order to support him through the scenarios they present.

Nine out of 10 new horses I meet have no concept or good feeling about pressure, whether it's physical or spatial, and are often defensive towards the human. People often want to rush through the motions constantly putting the horse in a position of having to tolerate very stressful scenarios and then afterwards act surprised when the horse no longer can handle it emotionally or physically.

My goal is to teach people how to communicate without relying on the instructor and learn to recognize the horses mental and physical resistance and influence a change in his thoughts and physical Behavior so that the ideal outcome is accomplished without a fight or a tantrum or an emotional meltdown from the horse.

But that takes time, that takes effort, that takes Clarity and intention from the human, and it takes an openness that you may not accomplish what you set out to accomplish in that particular day.

If we spent more time supporting our horses through their troubled moments rather than challenging them through them, in the long run we would accomplish so much more without the drama and stress for either horse or human.

Would you and horse benefit from an individualized Remote Coaching session with Sam?  Click HERE to find out more.

A few glaring differences in the horses south of the equator...

When I have a few minutes I’ll sit down and write an in depth account of the fantastic seven weeks I spent at the southern tip of South America… But from the equine related aspects here are a few of the glaring differences I saw in the time I spent around the horses south of the equator.

1.) Treated Like Horses
The animals are bred in natural settings, born in nature without human assistance and raised in a herd.   Because the seasons are reversed, I was present to see several births (from a distance) and then watch within a few days the colts climbing sheer 6,000-10,000 foot cliffs.  They learned how to find wind blocks from the consistent 50-70mph winds.  They learned how to find the snowmelt and fresh water.  They learned how to forage and find the freshest grasses.  And when the “unknown” approached, they were alert with a sensibility, rather than reactivity.

2.) Exposure
Although for the most part horses are kept in open range scenarios, there was also the reality that basically horse trailers don’t exist.  The roads are bad at best, and it is often easier and faster to ride to where you need to go.  So as you rode down the road you’d pass a variety of cars, mini semi’s, barking dogs, piles of equipment waiting to be used, the hides of various animals hanging on fence lines (as all parts of a butchered animal is used, not just the meat), etc.  Keep in mind the wind is a constant, so any discarded trash, flapping tin roofs, etc. were continually flying about, making obnoxious noises, never mind the never ending barrage of random barking dogs that would appear out of nowhere.

3.  Get with the program
Once you arrived, there was nothing to tie to.  So it was totally normal to have a horse standing fully tacked, with the bridle on, ground tied in three feet deep lush grass, in the middle of nowhere, and wait.  This could be for five minutes or five hours. During this time other horses may come or go, but if you dropped the reins, the horse realized his “job” was to watch and wait.  When moving livestock on foot, the ground tied horses would move themselves to watch the working dogs and humans sort animals.

4.)  Thoughtfulness vs. fleeing
I witnessed on more than one occasion if gauchos were passing through the area, they would appear and randomly let three or four of their horses loose on the side of the road to graze.  FOR SEVERAL DAYS.  The horses would stay put only meandering a ¼ mile or so during that time.  Then the gauchos would easily catch them and ride on.

5.)  “Ride or die” kind of partnership
Most people don’t realize the hidden ecosystem and phenomenal landscape that awaits at the “ends of the earth.”  I’ve traveled to most continents and have been to many, many beautiful places in the world, but what I witnessed on this trip was jaw dropping.  Often with amazing scenery it is gorgeous to look at from a distance, but impassible.
Unless of course you have the 4x4 version of South American horsepower. For those of you who have seen the movie, The Man From Snowy River, and know the classic “off the cliff scene,” well, that had nothing on some of the places I rode.
And I can honestly say I’ve only ridden maybe two horses in my life that I would have trusted in that extreme environment, but down south there was this confidence in the animal that truly renewed my faith that there were still some horses that had maintained what “horses used to be”- mentally, emotionally and physically.
Oh yeah, and remember whatever goes straight up, must ride straight down, and yet I never felt worry, a misstep, or concern from the horses, even when asking them to do something they hadn’t planned to do…

6.) The horses that had issues
Ironically were the ones whose “training” was based on western society’s police/classical programs.  They were not the typical 14.3-15.1H local rough stock but rather imported Thoroughbred types.  They were tacked in standing martingales, double bridles, with officers holding crops and wearing spurs. The horses (and I saw this in several cities) displayed frazzled nerves as they “paroled” (or my guess would be probably “survived” in the horse’s mind) the streets of a town.  Agitated, fussy, worried, and insecure and stressed out. Hmmm…
I'll be adding more about the trip when I have a few minutes!
Sam

DeCluttering and simplifying our Horsemanship

I believe there are various ways to approach teaching people and horses; my personal theory is to keep things as simple and straightforward as possible. By offering a clear, intentional thought process in how, what and why we “do” something with our horses, a student can learn to “think through” scenarios to help their horse while eliminating a reliance upon an instructor. The less complicated the communication offered the easier it is for the horse to trust, believe and try.

I remind people that a horse’s skin twitches when a fly lands on it. So why does a horse tend to “lose” that level of sensitivity the more he is handled by humans? People frequently send unintentional or mixed signals and accidentally desensitize their horses when not meaning to do so. As time progresses it sometimes seems to take increased effort and energy from a person while getting less participation from their horse. If it is taking a “lot” of energy from you to get a response from your horse, something isn’t clear.
 
A horse arriving for an assessment I approach having no assumptions irrelevant of his age, experience or past training. People are surprised at how many “finished” horses still have some major holes in their basic education.
 
My goal is to see a horse think BEFORE he moves. I want to see his eyes and ears focus towards where I direct them, to see a relaxed emotional and physical state and consistent breathing. Once he offers these things, a horse is usually mentally available to “hear” what I am asking of him physically.
 
I suggest folks evaluate the clarity and effectiveness of their communication with their horse through both spatial and/or physical pressure using something practical to communicate with, such as a lead rope.
 
The initial “conversation” with the horse should include (not necessarily in this order) yielding to light pressure, a willingness to following pressure, the ability to think (without moving) towards the left, right, forward and backward. Assess if the horse offers to softly step on or towards something and shift his weight when asked? Is he respectful of “personal space?” Does the horse’s curiosity increase when something new is presented? (Sadly sometimes the more education/experience a horse has the less curious and interested in “life” he becomes.) Does the horse happily “search” for what is being asked, or does he try one or two options and then mentally check out and physically shut down if he didn’t figure out what was being presented?
 
Excessive/unwanted movement from the horse usually develops from too much chaos created by a person who may be doing things such as “driving” with the lead rope, micromanaging, endless repetition, patternized routines, etc. I’d like for a student to move less casually and more intentionally. This will help their horse’s brain to focus on something specific, and then offer how much “energy” they want their horse to move with through increasing their own energy.
 
Whether lining up with the mounting block, crossing water, standing on a tarp or loading into a horse trailer, the focus should not be on accomplishing the final “task” at hand, but rather for the horse to be mentally present and available, offering a “What would you like?” mentality as oppose to the more typical and defensive “Why should I?”
 
A new client recently attempted to load her horse into her trailer the “old” way by pressuring the horse’s hindquarters. She never noticed that her horse was not looking at the horse trailer. I suggested through using the now effective “tool” the lead rope had become, she could narrow the horse’s thoughts from looking at everything EXCEPT the trailer to directing them to thinking solely into the trailer. Once the horse finally acknowledged the trailer, the horse quietly and reasonably offered to place one foot in the trailer, paused, then offered the second front foot. He stood halfway in the trailer and took a deep breath.
 
They stood, they breathed and they relaxed. He backed out when asked. She asked him to “think in the trailer” and again he gently loaded his front end and paused. When she asked him to think “further” into the trailer, he loaded all four feet, quietly waited for her to ask him to move up to the front and stood nicely while tied.
 
The owner was shocked by how little effort it took when compared to past experiences. I explained adding “gas” or “driving” the horse with pressure to get him to load, without having a “steering wheel” was going to add chaos to the horse’s already distracted brain and add to his insecurity. Instead slow down his thoughts until he focused on one simple, attainable task, such as “Think straight.” Then add, “Think straight, take one step.” We just happen to be thinking “into” the horse trailer.
 
Mental and physical “baby steps” can decrease overwhelming feelings that stress humans and horses in new or unfamiliar scenarios. Slowing down allows the opportunity to mentally digest what is happening and it gives the person time to offer their horse specific and clear direction. Learning to help SUPPORT the horse will increase his confidence every time he tries something new.
 
I smile as I remember various scenarios where I’ve casually taken away numerous quick-fix training gadgets that people truly believed would help improve their horsemanship and help their horse “overcome” a problem but really were Band-Aid “solutions” for a short while.
 
Teaching people and horses to think first, then physically act, and by using simple tools to communicate effectively and clearly, will allow both to achieve a calmer, safer and satisfying partnership.
Here is to keeping it simple…
Sam
Would you like to find out how I can help you and your horse? Learn more about a Remote Coaching session me. Click HERE

Breaking the Arena Boundaries… Creating Adaptability in the horse

Over the years of teaching, I have had to get very, very creative at times with lesson “formats.”  Whether it was due to weather conditions, arena footing problems/access, and so forth while working with one or sometimes as many as 12 or 13 students, I’ve learned to “roll with” whatever a scenario presented and make the best learning situation out of it.  I call it Real World Riding.

From working while riding down 15’ wide canals next to huge irrigation ditches, to working on literally the side of a hill with fallen timbers, to meandering through woods or orange groves, to lessons on the beach (tough I know,) to having a lesson evolve in the “in-between area” when trying to just get from point A to point B and something unexpected comes up.
I wince when I arrive at a facility and see grooves around the rail of the arena.  I try to remind and ask my human students about how quickly they can get bored if they are “brainlessly” repeating an exercise over, and over and over again, how quickly do they think their horse will get bored? 
In my own initial riding lessons as a student, there were the traditional “rules,” which do have value, but I find they often hinder people’s creativity and a horse’s enthusiasm the  more often the similar lessons are taught.
People and horses easily fall into patterned routines, such as tacking up in the same spot, mounting in the same place, initially always riding off in the same direction, without even realizing what they are doing.  And often, as long as they keep asking a task of their horse in the same pattern, the horse will offer what seems to be a complacent response, but what really is a conditioned response, which then can lead to a lot of problems.
Horses have their brain and emotions.  So learning how to work with the horse’s brain, creating a mental availability within him so that he can then be influenced will then increase his confidence when the unknown or unexpected is presented.
One of the factors that contribute to this is keeping the horse's mind focused, rather than just addressing his physical movement. The more creative sessions are, often the better a horse responds.  
How many times have you been in the shower thinking about something and suddenly stopped and asked yourself, “Did I already put conditioner in my hair?”  You can quickly get used to a routine, and you can physically accomplish the task at hand, but often be mentally somewhere else. This is often the case with horses. 
Stories regarding a horse’s undesired behavior frequently start with, “All of a sudden, he just…” Unfortunately, this is the human's perception, but not usually an accurate assessment.  More often than not, the initial, minor resistance or defensiveness from the horse has been ignored because it was still "manageable," or the person was able to contain the symptom, but did not address the source of distress. Therefore when something unexpected arises that finally causes the horse's proverbial emotional cup to "overflow," the horse reacts in a "suddenly" more drastic and dramatic manner, which is his only defense in a scenario that reflects his level of insecurity.
Because horses can get comfortable with routine, they can seem very willing when they have repeatedly been shown what will be asked of them.  This gives the human the false illusion that everything is fine with the horse. And then comes the day when there is a change in the routine, and the saint of a horse turns into a fire breathing dragon.  Frequently it isn’t until the day of a sudden emergency, or unplanned change, when the person really needs their horse to comply, that they find out how little adaptability, or mental availability the horse has towards trying something different.  
So the next time you head out to work with your four-legged friend, take some time to experiment with how, what, and the why’s of your interaction with your horse.  Slow down during the “normal” or “basics” and start to notice if you ask something different than the norm of your horse, how does he respond? It will give you a starting place as to what needs to address to help him learn how to willingly participate, rather than TOLERATE working with you.
The more clear the communication is, the more that can be accomplished with quality.  So yes, you can work on leg yields in just a 15’ wide path, or you can practice flying changes as you weave through the orange groves, you can focus on riding straight as you approach the narrow opening between the two fallen trees, and you can practice increasing and decreasing energy levels or shortening and lengthening strides as you navigate the holes in the open field. 
The physical boundaries of the fencing in an arena, are really just mental boundaries for the human and horse, and more often than not, handicap what we could really be accomplished with our horses.  Why not start the New Year by getting creative to better support your horse’s mental and emotional needs in order to improve his physical willingness to participate?
So head out and start breaking the boundaries…
Sam

You can’t teach an old dog new tricks… But you can offer an older horse an alternative way of operating…

Now first, just as a side note, I disagree with the first part of the title of this blog, but you get you my point…

So recently I had an older horse come in to learn how to change her conditioned behavior, which was to “go” no matter what.  She had no bad manners, you could see the quality in her genetics and “old lineage,” and you could tell someone had put a lot of miles on her in and out of the arena.  She wasn’t spooky, she didn’t have “issues” being caught, tacked, saddled or ridden (bitless), easily trailered, was quiet when bathed, and behaved well for the farrier and vet.  So WHY would a horse like this come to me?

She didn’t think.  Literally.  The only thing this mare knew was to react by “going,” and I believe she was rewarded for “going” because her movement was so fluid and easy to ride, her past owners probably loved it as she galloped through the fields, perhaps unaware that as fun as it was for them, the horse may not be galloping for the same reasons.

The problem was this horse now had a new novice owner.  As the owner was trying to learn about being around and with horses, this mare would lead her owner out the gate.  The mare would walk about two feet in front of the owner on the lead rope, the mare would walk off as the owner was half way into mounting, the mare would move out with more speed, though rideable, than what the novice rider was comfortable with.  The mare would fuss when asked to stand still and wait.  The mare would hover and be spatially disrespectful when being fed.  So even though none of the mare’s intentions were aggressive, dangerous, etc. every interaction was making her new owner very uncomfortable.  Every time the owner would ask her horse to “wait” a minute, the horse would at first comply, and then come up with ten different alternative ways of moving.

So the mare came to me for a two week tune up.  A week into the re-education, the new owners came to my facility to watch a session.  The horse could now walk slowly while loose.  She would drop her head and follow me around the pen as I picked weeds (literally.)  She learned to first look where she was going, then move, AND had learned to ask me “how fast” I wanted to go.  She learned she really could have ten different energies within the walk, and that I really meant “whoa” when I asked, which did not mean taking an extra two or three forward steps or trying to leak one way or the other as to avoid standing.   She learned she could quietly line up for the mounting block, have me mount with the reins loose, and then just stand there for a few minutes after I’d placed myself in the saddle.  She learned she could look towards a new direction and softly offer to turn, without me having to “do a lot” with my legs or seat.  She learned that even though she could easily increase her energy, she needed to quickly and softly decrease her energy when I decreased mine.  She learned how to wait, and ask to go through an obstacle (gate, over a pole, step in a tire) one step at a time.  After establishing “boundaries” she learned I would totally ride on the buckle (huge loop in my reins) and that just wiggling my index finger was enough to redirect her thought.  She learned that she could move with her topline relaxed and stretched out.

And her biggest accomplishment was that she also learned to breathe.  I’m not kidding.  Every time she’d offer a try, I ask her to stop for a moment, because initially the horse couldn’t move, think and breathe at the same time.  So I’d break everything I asked of her into small attainable “baby steps” so that she could mentally process, physically offer quality and emotionally relax as she was being ridden.  Her normal way of operating was she’d become a  “shrinking” accordion in her physical stature as a ride progressed due to her stress levels increasing, which in turn would cause her rushing and chaotic movement.

At the end of my rides, every time I dismounted, she’d literally turn and look at me with a, “Is that all?” expression upon her face.  It was as if she was totally shocked that I didn’t try to physically wear her out to get her to slow down.

Of course for me, the real “reward” was at the end of the ride when I went to turn her out in the big infield to graze, and she didn’t want to leave my side to go graze.  The point of my working with horses is to try and help a horse feel better about life, and although each horse I work with has varying levels of improvement, my guess was after a lifetime of “complying” with people, this mare was for the first time feeling better about being around them.

So, as we all know hind sight is 20/20, but I wish more people would put their own agendas (and usually egos) aside, and just as this novice owner realized there was a problem, although she initially couldn’t explain what exactly the problem was, other than she was becoming more uncomfortable being around her horse, I believe because she hadn’t had years of “brain washing” from the horse world, where she most likely would have been taught to ignore what her horse was trying to communicate, she was able instead to recognize she needed help before things escalated even more.

All too often clients with the most “horse experience” tend to bring me the worst “problem horses,” and I think because of all the “horse experts” out there, people often get  persuaded into trying to change their horses, even if they person knows they don’t have the knowledge, capability or understanding to do so.  Only when the horse’s behavior becomes extreme, do they tend to ask for help.

I think if more people trusted that little voice in their head, and asked for help sooner than later, often accidents and traumatic events for both human and horse could be preventable.  So even if you don’t think you have a specific problem, maybe assess the quality of what you are getting from your horse.  If it seems like there is resistance, stress, distraction, hurried behavior, anticipation, please don’t ignore what your horse is trying to convey.  They only have so many ways of trying to “reasonably” show you that they need help. 

And no, in most cases, it is not too late to ever start helping your horse find an alternative way of operating.

To happier horses,

Sam