Tune Up Day 2: Clear Communication

Day 2 Tune Up:

Today O left her feed and come over to greet me with her head over the stall gate and I was able to halter her from outside the stall… I tacked and ponied her, this time working with more energy in both the trot and canter while ponied. 

This is also a good place to mention manners in the horse that is being ridden while ponying another.  In the case of Pico, if you think “little man syndrome” you might be on the right track for his sometimes ignorant behavior towards other horses.  So when he gets to be the “big man” on the totem pole when working another horse, his ego can get the better of him, as many horses do when they are working cattle.  Many times a really insecure horse can become overly aggressive towards a cow, as if taking the offense is the best defense towards another animal. 

So as I was working O on her lightness and balance while ponying, I was also working with Pico to remind him his brain should stay with ME no matter where, or what, O was doing.  Whether she spooked and jumped ahead of us, whether she got too close to him as we made a tight turn, whether we were trotting over a log, he needed to stay mentally available and participate with what I was asking of him.

O seemed happy and ready to work so I after I put up Pico I climbed aboard her.  Figure eights, serpentines, halts, backing, tear drop reverses, etc. were some of the patterns I presented.  I teach people to imagine having a sliding scale of ten different energy levels within each gait, and so I focused mostly on the trot increasing and decreasing my energy between a two and a seven as we were riding our “shapes.”  This is where things such as the “drunken sailor” arise, many young horses think that they cannot multi-task (i.e. keeping a consistent rhythm through an entire movement), so they tend to offer either “slow” and straight or “wiggly” as they increase their speed.

Working at the posting trot is a great way to help delegate the rhythm and energy you’d like from your horse, by the amount you use within your seat and the frequency at which you rise and sit.  Too many times people “follow” the horse’s movement rather than feeling like they can influence how fast or slow the horse goes without it requiring “much” of a change from them.  I find many older horses offer “one speed” within a gait, and if you ask for more or less you tend to hit an imaginary “wall” of resistance.  So from the start with youngsters, I need them to understand that all gaits must have a balanced sliding scale.

With a horse like O and her reactive personality, when she is bothered by something, she will “increase” her forward moving energy but lose the quality of her movement and balance because she can physically shorten her neck into an accordion like manner, causing her to take very fast, short and choppy “sewing machine steps.”  These steps put more effort in the up and down motion of her leg, rather than a balanced powerful movement initialed from her hind quarters propelling her forward in elongated steps.  As I’m riding her, if she does become a bit concerned, rather than letting her just build up her worry with more momentum, I need to still stay “focused on the job,” but address her increase of speed by lowering my energy in the saddle and helping her find a slower and more reasonable way to move.  Think of the phrase, “Face your fears.”   A horse that “deals” with life by fleeing (which is the most natural thing for them to do,) will become more and more reactive over time as their fears increase… But the funny thing with horses is if you tend to slow them down and help them mentally address what is bothering them, they then can usually “let go” of the initial worry and continue the ride without carrying their original stress.  This is especially so with O. 

As the ride continued I worked on varying riding her literally on the buckle (holding the very end of my reins), and then taking up a feel of the reins.  DO NOT THINK “CONTACT.”  Too many times there are many terms in the horse world that are misinterpreted and have caused a lot of issues for both humans and horses.  I won’t get off on that tangent in this blog. 

So when I say I “took up” on the rein, it means that I had a light feel of O’s mouth.  I ride with what I call “piano fingers.”  That means that as I increase or decrease pressure through my index finger, then middle, then ring finger and finally pinky, I can communicate a whole array of energies from my hand to O’s brain.  I can use my reins to have a steady feel; I can use a direct or indirect rein, etc., which all tell O something different.  Too many times for the sake of riding “pretty” people do not communicate clearly with their reins and so the horse has to decipher what the rider wants because the rider asks for several different movements but basically using the almost identical aid.  In a young horse, if the horse is having to constantly question the rider, this can be the beginning of the horse increasing his resistance and fear and decreasing his confidence the more rides he has on him.

Today I also started to define imaginary “walls” on each side of the horse between my leg and hand.  How many of you have ever tried to turn in one direction and had a horse gentle leak out the opposite way?  In some styles of teaching people are encouraged to “hold” their horse’s shoulder, hip, etc. in order to prevent it from leaking.   But for me, at 5’2”, even if I’m riding a pony, that animal is always going to be stronger than I am.  And if I watch an animal such as O, in the pasture doing amazing rollbacks, why on earth would I need to “hold” her body in order to keep her balanced when I ride?  But I also can’t expect her to just “know” that I want her to carry herself without leaning on me (literally).  So I must create boundaries of what behavior she offers that works, and that which does not, the same as what I’d done in her ground work.  So as we worked on our more specific and balanced turns, even if she was light in her physically movement, if I at all felt her leaning or dragging through the turn in her should, ribcage or hindquarters, I’d slow down and emphasize shifting her weight to her hind quarters to become balanced rather than “falling” or leaking through the turn.

This is also where I’d like to mention a lot of horses increase their speed because of a lack of balance.  If any of you have ever watched a jump course where the ride starts off at one speed and with each jump the speed increases, it is usually because the horse is not moving and/or jumping in a balanced manner.

Another thing I’d like to mention is stay present in what I call “real time riding.”  This means that although I may have a goal, I need to address EVERY single thing O is trying, if I don’t she will keep trying something getting physically bigger and stronger in doing so.  The following are some of the things that I focused on:

1) When I made a correction, if O responded defensively then I needed to stop and help her learn that a correction is not an attack and that she does not need to get defensive, tight, hurried, etc. If she doesn’t initially understand what I want, and then gets defensive about the correction, it can create a whole array of issues and we’ll never continue a trusting relationship as her education continues.

2) The standard I present initially must stay consistent; I can’t sometimes “really mean it” and other times let certain things slide.  If I do, she’ll start to question if I “really mean it” and then I’ll have to constantly be having to convince her.  Not fun.

3.) Even if O doesn’t quite get “it” right, if she is trying, I need to acknowledge her effort, I personally do this with some sort of “quiet” moment so that her brain can process that her effort was a good thing.  Too many people continue to hammer away at a horse, and never allow the horse to process what is happening, which of course causes resentful, burnt out, shut down horses.

As the ride progressed, O continued to relax more and more, her effort increased and movement became rhythmic.  This to me was a good place to “call it a day.”

After the ride, I left her standing tacked up while I cleaned two stalls.  Again, changing the “routine” of what she might expect even after a ride helps her to stay mentally present and participative the ENTIRE time I’m around her.

Sam

Tune Up Day 1: Revisiting the basics…

The young mare I will be working with, let’s call her “O”, is definitely a light-switch sort of horse.  When she feels good about life, it is super clear with her puppy dog relaxed demeanor, and when she is concerned about something, she wears her emotions on the surface, so you cannot ignore her stress, fear, worry, etc.  She is an incredibly athletic horse who is still literally growing into her body, with super long gangly legs, and yet her flying changes, sliding stops and roll backs in the pasture are graceful…

When I started her last winter I treated her as if she knew nothing because although she had experiences with humans, had traveled across the country, etc. she had no real trust or respect towards people…

When I initially worked wither her, she thought the goal was to try and tolerate or “get by” with what I presented and then focus on everything except what we were doing, which physically looks like a horse that has to constantly, move, flee, spook, “act big”, and so forth.  As you would watch her move, her body looked like it was trying to go in four different directions at once.

Instead of trying to micromanage her body, I instead focused on her brain with the goal being to slow down and mentally address what I was presenting, AND THEN physically respond to it…  I spent a long time on the ground with her as I didn’t want to “sneak by” with anything I offered or asked of her… By the time she left she’d ground tie, drag logs, ponied, line up (at liberty) at the mounting block so I could get on, walk on tarps, be bathed, trailer load, etc., all things that had originally been mind-blowing concepts when I’d started working with her.

I found I had to be really careful with what I presented as she is very smart and could quickly learn a routine or pattern, even just the time of day of working her, where I saddled her, etc.  So I’d constantly change things up so that she had to stay mentally present and participate every moment of every session, rather than go through the motions because she knew what to expect.

So this time in working with her, you could see that the six months had helped her brain slightly settle… Overall she acted a bit more confident, and did a lot more thinking rather than reacting when on her in the pasture.  I saddled up Pico excited to give him a “job” and saddled up O and then I ponied her. 

I’d like to take a moment to explain that ponying a horse is NOT brainlessly dragging a second horse around as you are riding a different one, (though that may have been most examples of ponying that you have seen.)  I always say whatever I’d ask of a horse from their back I should be able to first achieve from the ground, the same goes for ponying.  When I pony a horse it is a mental exercise; can they literally look at a designated spot without having to move their entire body, can they shift their weight lightly and softly forward, backwards, sideways, etc.  When the ridden horse increases or decreases his energy, so too should the ponied horse.  I should be able to pony the horse off of either side of the ridden horse.  I should be able to “send away” or “draw back” the ponied horse.  I should be able to line up the horses parallel, but nose to tail, and touch the ponied horse from above and all over her body.  As I ride my horse towards or away from the ponied horse she should be able to maintain a spatially respectful distance without ever rushing ahead of or dragging behind the ridden horse.  So I worked on all of these things with O, assessing how light I could get her response to my subtle aids through use of the horse I was riding and the lead rope I held.  (NEVER tie a ponied horse off to your saddle.)

I had made huge puddles in the ridding area and after I reviewed her mental and physical participation ponying, I asked O to follow (but stay spatially respectful) Pico and I through the puddles, and then eventually I sent her back and forth through them on her own.

Then I tied her (still tacked up) and let her stand for about 20 minutes while I finished working Pico.  As another opportunity and “job” for Pico, I tied O while I was still mounted on Pico’s back, so each horse had to accept getting into each other’s space, and then line up basically touching shoulder to shoulder to be close enough so that I could reach the hitching post and tie a knot.

Again, as I left O standing, I kept an eye on her… If she’d started pacing, pawing, etc. I’d come back and “interrupt” her.  To me, standing quietly tied should not be a “brainless” exercise, but a relaxed moment.  Too many times I find insecure horses can completely psych themselves out when left alone tied and can work themselves into a fit rather than learn to be okay when tied.

After I put up Pico, I took O to the round pen to review quality transitions within and between each gait.  She was happy, light, quick in her response and respectful of my space, so our session lasted about 2 ½ minutes.  Yeah, really.  I find all too often people can round pen their horses until the horse gets driven nuts by going round and round.  The pen should be a tool, not a crutch. 

The next few things I presented were an assessment and foresight into what O’s current response to physical pressure.  If a horse is “heavy” or leaning on the bit, trying to push through it, or otherwise resistant when worked from the ground, they will only get heavier and more resistant when asked the same thing from a rider in the saddle. 

I asked O using one rein to either follow my “feel” or yield to pressure and to move a specific number of steps forwards, backwards, to shift her weight, step right or left with either her front or hind end.  I flapped my stirrup leathers against the saddle to make a “popping” sound, etc.  Then I climbed up the mounting block and O lined herself up.  I fussed and fidgeted being “busy” (without holding her still) to make sure she was committed to standing quietly and relaxed.  Then I grabbed the saddle with one hand at the front and one on the rear and slowly pushed away from me and then “dragged” the saddle back towards me.  This often will help a horse shift their weight so that they are standing balanced before you mount, which helps prevent them from having to “walk off” to maintain balance as you get on.

So by the time I mounted O was on the verge of being unimpressed!  We sat for a minute, and then again I asked her to look left and right (don’t think “flexing”) and then I asked her to look and move.  Rarely do I ride a young horse “straight” as it allows time for their brain to get ahead of their body, so we did lots of turns, circles, increase and decreasing of the energy, standing, etc.  Then I dismounted.  Again, a lot of the frequent dismounting and re-mounting is to keep her brain flexible.  Too many horses “head home” or think that once the rider dismounts the ride is over…They need to stay flexible and reasonable no matter what we present.

I walked out to the open infield and again climbed on the mounting block but stopped to pick weeds (another great opportunities to do chores and allow the horse to “be with me” without having to direct her, then I asked her to line up and I climbed on.  We did a little of what we’d done in the round pen, this time using the distraction of the nearby stalled horses as a positive opportunity to keep O’s brain with me.  It was also a great way to keep her energy with mine; of course as you’re leaving the stalled horses the ridden horse usually wants to slow and as you ride towards the barn your horse will want to speed up.  It was also when you feel that “drunken sailor” with a horse wiggling because of a mental indecisiveness as to “where” they are being ridden to.

My goal was that O’s brain stayed with me, she was reasonable when corrected if she didn’t respond exactly as I’d asked, and that she was able to stay relaxed as the ride progressed.  Too many times a horse can start out “okay” but lose confidence as a ride continues.  Even though we weren’t “going” anywhere, I had to ride with intention.  If I didn’t present a clear, ever changing plan to the horse, her brain would have checked out in 30 seconds or less.

To finish the ride I presented the water puddles, with a clear visual in my mind of exactly where I wanted O to place her feet.  By being definitive ahead of time, the timing of my response in addressing what she offered was fast (such as gently trying to leak out one direction or the other) and therefor she could quickly narrow down here options of what “path” would work, until she too soon “saw” the path I wanted her to take.  We splashed around a bit, every time she’d offer a quiet try and walk nicely through the puddles, I’d let her take a “break” on dry ground.  Again, this was not about the act of crossing water, but rather O’s mental availability to address what I presented and to participate in a reasonable manner.

Throughout the session O relaxed more and more, licking, chewing, blowing her nose, with her neck stretched out nicely (but not dragging her nose in the dirt as if she were avoiding “life.”)  When I was finished I ground tied her as I untacked and then ran a hose over her.  She is still defensive about “kicking” at the water splashing on her hind legs, so I would keep the water spraying on them until she’d quit kicking; as soon as she stood quietly I’d removed the “pressure” of the water to acknowledge her effort of stand still. 

It is these sorts of experiences that “make it all worth it” when working with youngsters… I look forward to tomorrow…

Sam

Preface: A week's "tune-up" with young horse in training

I was emailed a notice that another “Road to the Horse” has finished although I didn’t have a chance to watch any of it yet, then I read an article in Western Horseman about the final phase in a colt starting series, and within the last few weeks have noticed the general discussions on the social media sites I visit has everyone excited to get “going” with their young horse as spring gentle peaks out from behind the gray and cold weather in most parts of the northern hemisphere! 

So on that note, I thought it might be fun for you as the reader to learn about a mare I started last winter, she is an Arab/Warmblood cross and will be four this year and is in for a week “tune up.”  I thought it would be interesting if I kept a bit of a daily journal as an example of things I present, address, etc. when working with a young horse…  Before I get into that (Day 1 will begin in tomorrow’s blog) I want to give you a bit of a preface to keep in mind so that as you read my daily entries perhaps it is with a slightly better understanding of my approach when working with a young horse.

Many times I start young horses and help their owners participate in understanding how to work with the horse, but as I watch the trailer lights disappear I rarely get to see that horse again… So it is always nice when I do get to hear about a young horse I’ve worked with and how they are coming along. 

In this mare’s particular case the good news for me was that there has been no other professional “influencing” the horse since I last saw her.  Weather here in the desert plays a huge factor with the scorching summer heat limiting time people spend outdoors, and although the owner was able to work with the mare mostly building confidence in their own relationship and focusing on ground work for the first few months after I left, for the most part the horse was left alone.  (Again, with youngsters, many times I prefer this scenario as it allows the horse time to mentally and physically start to mature.) 

In my opinion I know you “can” start a horse in two days and do “amazing” things with it, but that is an in-the-moment goal, without much foresight into the horse’s future. I truly believe every scenario with a horse needs to stay “appropriate” for that particular horse.  The problem is that “horse time” and “human time” are motivated by really different factors. 

The horse is focused on survival prioritizing eating to do so.  He spends hours and hours (if given the choice) slowly meandering about foraging.  Humans on the other hand mostly operate in a “time is money” sort of fashion and all too often hurry their way through life, including the time spent with their horse.  This can be especially so when someone has bred, raised and “waited” for several years to start their youngster, they are really ready to “get going” with their horse by the time is two or three years old. 

As a side not, about 50% of all Ask the Trainer questions submitted to me are in regards to issues with young horses between two and five years old.  I feel this happens because people forget to maintain an appropriate perspective in their goals for their particular horse.  Again, just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. 

Not all horses are created equal; starting from birth there are some horses that are naturally more confident, physically capable and mentally interested in life, and others that are not.  I don’t want to be breed specific, but there are some horses of certain breeds whose young minds can be overwhelmed by “too much information” too quickly causing stress, insecurity, fear and defensiveness.  Then there are other horses that all too often are considered “dull” or “slow” and can “go through the motions of training” but are too mentally immature to process or understand what has been presented to them, and so they learn to just “tolerate” the training as oppose to participating in it.  And then of course there are others that you show something to once, they get it, and it seems as if they ask, “What’s next?”  Of course we all dream our youngster is going to be one of those!

If you take a moment to think about how you personally learn, or maybe how your kids learn, you’ll know that everyone has a different learning “style” and that everyone responds to different teachers and how they communicate.  If we grouped our kids together and said, “You will understand this,” and present a learning situation in only one manner, and if we had no willingness to consider working with each child in a manner that they could understand, many of the kids would probably “miss” the lesson.  But if we were able to help them learn in a way that allowed them to mentally process and then physically do what we asked of them, rather than challenging them “get it right” the child would not only learn but would gain confidence rather than confusion as he did so. 

Take for example the subject of math.  How many kids nowadays are weak at basic addition, subtraction, arithmetic, and division?  If a teacher ignores the fact that the child lack a basic understanding of math, how can we expect that child to be successful in future more advanced math topics such as algebra, geometry, etc.  And looking farther down the road, how would we expect that same child to later in life as an adult work competently at job if it required the usage of those initial math skills, let's say such as a job in construction?

Imagine a futuristic scenario with the child who never learned or mastered basic math; let’s pretend that he was writing to an “Ask the Construction Consultant” Q&A in regards to framing a house.  The person may write in saying that no matter what they do, they just can seem to get the frame of the house “square.”  But if instead of the consultant answering by suggesting or focusing on tools as ways to layout the lumber itself to get a square frame (with horses think equipment solution or exercises to  practice), what if he suggested reviewing the construction worker’s basic math skills.  If those skills were reviewed and it was found that the problem with framer's lack of understanding of basic math then affected his ability to cut the proper length of wood in order to design a square frame because his layout and design calculation would always be inaccurate due to faulty math.  (Think in horse terms problems someone who complains about difficulty with getting clean flying lead changes without addressing the ability to have quality, balanced and light transitions between and within each gait first.)

So you get my point.  Too many times horses much to my own disbelief can figure out how to “manage” with their riders, for years without even really understanding, AND are somewhat successful in their chosen discipline.  As an instructor, when you take someone who has ridden for twenty years and ask them to ride a round circle, or to vocalize how they physically communicate a specific aid to their horse, or if they have ever wondered why over the years it takes more “activity” to get less response from their horse, and they are unable or have not considered any of the above, this is an indication that there are holes in their own awareness, understanding and communication with their horse.

The point of the above examples is to remind you that “colt starting” has become almost a buzz phrase that everyone gets excited about.  Honestly after you watch a hundred horses started, you start to realize many times it is a bigger “deal” to the person than the horse.  I have no idea why horses accept us strapping a foreign object onto them and then allowing us to climb on, but they do!  But what most people forget about is the quality of their horsemanship AFTER they are able to physically get on their horse.  Too many times, the first few rides are “great” (i.e. uneventful) and then “all of a sudden” the horse starts doing things the rider doesn’t want, (again translate the horse’s unwanted behavior as a lack of his understanding rather than him trying to be “naughty”.)

So instead of focusing on the “excitement of the first few rides” if we focused more on offering quality and clear communication after those initial sessions, both humans and horses would probably benefit a lot more in the long run.

So with that said look for the next blog this will be about “Day 1” after not riding the young mare for six months. 

Stay tuned,

Sam

Horse trailer heading north AZ-ID Spring 2012

Reminder that I will have several spots available in our private eight horse trailer.  If you have a horse you need shipped part or all of the journey please contact us ASAP. 

Departing: Yuma, AZ
Estimated departure: late April or early May 2012

Please email or call 866-904-0111 for details and quotes

Trail Ride Encounters- Thoughts from a recent ride

This past week we had several days that really made one question living 20 miles east of North America’s largest sand dunes… Somehow it never occurred to me that what creates the sand dunes will also affect the surrounding areas; i.e. WIND!  We had one day with 20mph consistent blowing and up to 45mph gusts.  Yeah, really. 

Most of us who have spent any time around the “old school” barns will tell you wind is NOT your horse’s friend.  Just think of all the opportunities for “stuff” to go wrong; out of control blowing plastic bags, tumbleweeds the size of a medium dog carelessly barreling towards you and your horse (no matter where you move, the tumbleweed is guaranteed to hound you,) the local wildlife “aflutter” only adding to your horse’s current state of near panic, the barn door “flapping” on its frame causing an echo like “demon” to antagonize your horse, and so on.  You get the idea. 

Needless to say, for those of us that have been in a situation where you had a job to do, you could not use weather as an excuse to delay.  So as a side note I’d like to mention a huge “bravo” to those horsemen who brave the winds, whether in sub-zero temperatures searching for new born calves on the Kansas snow covered prairies, to those in northern Colorado where wind can take 1,000lb hay bales and toss them like bowling balls.  And those here in the Arizona desert, although severe temperatures aren’t usually the issue, the “sandblasting effect” in trying to function can be beyond frustrating and its aftermath of finding sand in every conceivable (and sometimes not so conceivable) place is exhausting! 

Anyways, needless to say the wind settled down to a slight breeze and although we had a 20+ temperature drop in the last day, the spring warmth once again found its way to our desert.  So I grabbed Pico (who was not too impressed with being taken away from his grazing time) and a few dogs and headed out for the normal “loop” around the block. 

For those who don’t know, where I winter is the lettuce capital of the USA in the winter months.  Although have some of the most barren stretches of desert in Arizona with summer temperatures hitting 120 degrees on a “regular” basis in July and August, we DO have agriculture due to the implementation of flood irrigating crops with water provided by the Colorado River.  One never is quite prepared to see thousands of acres of green as they come across acres of lettuce, broccoli, cabbage, onions, hay, citrus and many other crops.  The shock is especially so when you remember that all of the growth occurs in the same desert that the military designates as their “final” training ground for officers about to be deployed to fight in our current war because of similarities in terrain, weather, etc.

It occurred to me that humans and horses have a habit of “getting comfortable” with their current surroundings.  I started noting the number of “obstacles” that appeared as we made our 1 ½ mile ride through the orange groves.  What seemed normal to us could have easily blown another horse’s mind.  Here is some of what we came across: discarded car and tractor tires (at five different places,) wood pallets stacked in random spots, four white tarps billowing in the breeze (used to help prevent leakage through the water gates when irrigating,) an array of trash and broken bottles, four foot wide circles of ashes and other left over burned debris from burn piles, piles of broken limbs the size of cars stacked to be burned in the future, a tractor dragging dead branches to a burn pile, another tractor with arms that swivel above it with sharp blades on the end used to “top” the citrus trees (think “Edward scissor hands” tractor,) the main irrigation canal (15 feet wide by 15 feet deep cemented canal, was only about half full today, but enough water to entice the dogs to endlessly jump in, splash around and then “pop” out – great desensitizing tool for young horses,) jackrabbits being chased out of the groves and inevitably aiming straight for your horse as they flee the dogs,  overgrown dead brush that has stickers so when you walk through it the stalks tend to “grab” your horse- usually the tail- and get drug along as you walk, our railroad tie bridge and chain-link gate we have to pass through to leave the property – it is over the small irrigation canal about four feet deep by five feet wide, etc. 

So you get the idea… up north encountering wild animals (deer, bear, moose, elk, coyotes, fowl, etc.,) water (creeks, rivers, bogs, mud,) woods (from new to old growth,) serious climbs in altitude, extreme footing from shale to dirt and extreme weather can also be the “norm” on a ride out.

I have found over the years the “flat lander” horses are shocked by the mountains, just as much the mountain bred horses are fearful of seeing for vast distances.

Years ago I spent a lot of time traveling to “non-Westernized” locations around the planet.  When you travel in those sorts of locations, you learn to expect the unexpected, and your “standard” of what you would consider normal becomes relatively less defined the further away from modernized culture you travel.  With that in mind take a moment to think about what things your horse considers as “normal” and perhaps certain circumstances that might cause a bit of concern for him.  Too many times we learn how to operate within the “safe” boundaries of our horse’s comfort zone, and then unexpectedly the day comes where we “change it up” and our “fun horse” “suddenly” becomes a fire breathing dragon.

I was recently watching old clips from the Extreme Cowboy competition and had also read an article on exposing a young horse to many situations to help him gain confidence from quality experiences.  I think now a days people have become more open minded to having a bit more versatility in their horse, rather than focusing on just “one” discipline.  Mentally, physically and emotionally I think this does wonders for our horses, but it is also great for us riders to “mix it up” a bit too!

Happy Trails,

Sam & Pico

Raising the Bar and Becoming the Leader our Horse Needs and Wants

Focusing on the human aspect of what we expect and hold as our own standard directly affects the quality of what we offer our horses.

This week of lessons taught seemed to maintain a theme with me encouraging students to “raise the bar” in all aspects that they interacted with their horse.  I understand that our horsemanship is an ongoing experience, but even if someone is a “student” themselves, they still must be a leader to their horse.  I find that the pendulum seems to swing to extremes from over-confident and undereducated horse people, to those who are learning and realize in the process how much they were unaware of “before” their real learning began, and have therefor become hypersensitive or over analytical in regards to all aspects of their horsemanship. 

In my own teachings I have found some of the top reasons for a delay or lack of clarity in human communication offered to the horse seem to include (but are not limited to)

a.) Hopefulness- where the person makes a compromise within themselves physically in order to “fix” what their horse is NOT doing.

b.)Distraction by the “end” goal rather than the current event.

c.) The person is unclear within themselves of what exactly they want from their horse and yet have already presented a scenario to the horse.

d.) The person is self-absorbed into OVER thinking a situation and “missing” the moment(s) when their horse has attempted to communicate with them asking for direction, help, etc.

e.)When dealing with either a hypersensitive or “mentally shut down” horse and not wanting things to “get ugly, big or dramatic”, etc.

We humans tend to want to continually measure “how much progress” we have made with our horses.  The standard for which you hold yourself and your horse to should not be compared with what your “friend and their horse” can do, nor what you saw someone on a training DVD do, nor with what you used to be able to do with a different horse you used to own.  Instead you need to evaluate where you and your horse are “at” on the particular day of the current session.  The past is the past and the future is unknown.  This allows you the opportunity and “freedom” for forward progression.

“How can I help my horse?”  The most valuable thing you can do is to become a clear LEADER.  Remember horses are herd animals, when you and your horse are together, you create a herd.  There is only ONE leader in a herd.  If you do not make the decisions, your horse will.  Being a leader does not mean you have to be aggressive, micro-managing, an egomaniac or “driving” your horse every step of the ride.  Being the leader also means that you cannot be “hopeful” that your horse will “figure out what you want.”  Being the leader does not mean expecting the “correct response” to something you haven’t presented clearly, or riding in an “after the fact” manner- i.e. not communicating clearly and then correcting the horse after he didn’t do what you wanted, rather than presenting what you wanted fairly in the first place.

Being the leader means that you make clear decisions in what and how you want to do something with your horse, and then you use clear communication whether it is physically or spatially to convey what you would like to your horse do.  It also means that you follow through as your horse is trying; if he doesn’t initially offer or understand what you would like, you are not there to just tell him “NO”, but rather to find a way to help and support him in order  to “get it right.” 

As a leader it is your responsibility to SUPPORT your horse whether he is insecure, worried, unclear, stressed or experiencing any other emotional stress.  It is your job to make the decision in how to take an overwhelming scenario and perhaps present it to your horse in “pieces” or baby steps, so that the end goal becomes realistically attainable rather than overwhelming.  

As a leader your brain must be participative 110% of the time; life, job, family and other personal stress, distractions or issues must be “left at home.”  If you show up at the barn only partially mentally and emotionally committed your horse will sense it in less than ten seconds.  He will also get defensive if you pressure him to offer 100% when you are not completely “present” during the session.

We’ve all heard the saying, “You are your own worst enemy.”  This definitely holds true in the sense of how we can “sucker” our brains into overthinking, and then psyching ourselves out.  I had comments this week from students ranging from national level competitors to “back yard riders” who all realized they have at times psyched themselves out of things that had never bothered them before. 

We’ve also heard the cliché, “Knowledge is power,” but I find many times with students that they can get in “trouble” trying to process too much knowledge in theory, without putting in enough “time in the saddle” to improve their eye, timing, clarity, etc.  So sometimes as much as people can be enthusiastic students and what to “sponge up” all the information they can, it can become too much and then can actually handicap a person from “experimenting” with their horse to find out what works and what does not for their particular abilities and partnership.

I’ll be honest, for those of you who have ever attempted to “take on” reading my website there is a LOT of information to process.  Over the years I have specifically used the site the “sift” through potential students who just wanted a “quick fix” for them and their horse versus those that understood their journey with their horse was going to be an ongoing process.  On the other hand, if people have enjoyed the site, many have said, “Wow, I never knew how much I didn’t know.”  But sometimes this sudden new knowledge can allow a person to “corner” themselves into thinking that they now have nothing to offer their horse because of their realization that their current knowledge is limited.  If you carry feelings of insecurity inside of you, there is no way you will BE a leader to your horse.

Remember, if you’ve made it this far you have SOMETHING to offer your horse.  Perhaps advanced movements or scenarios are not appropriate for your current abilities, but there are always things you can do with your horse both from the ground and while riding that can be rewarding and confidence building scenarios for both of you.

Years ago an amazing horseman was helping me with a difficult horse, for most people the horse would have been considered a serious candidate for euthinization because of his extreme athletic and dangerous outbursts that followed his mental stress…  I had definitely made progress with him over the years, but had not realized that he gently trained ME to learn how to work around his “light switch” personality by being very “quiet” in order to avoid any level of confrontation.  The horseman was watching a scenario where this was occurring and he said, “Embrace the tantrum.”  It was such a bold statement that it took several days for my brain to process what exactly was meant by those words.  I finally realized, if I was going to always “tiptoe” around my sensitive horse, my tentativeness was actually adding to my horse’s stress, fear, and anxiety of the unknown.  But if instead, I directly addressed and HELPED my horse “face his fears,” although he may have a bit of a mental and physical melt down, if I was able to follow through in my support, I’d actually help my horse get to feeling better about life after we got through the tantrum.  So I will add to the initial statement, “Embrace the tantrum, but don’t leave your horse in it.”  This statement also does not mean to “challenge” your horse until he “blows a fuse,” which sadly is a very common scenario in things such as trailer loading, crossing water, etc.

So perhaps in time away from your horse you can begin to think back on past sessions and look for possible “holes” in your own behavior that are creating a lack of believable leadership towards your horse which in turn may have caused unwanted results.  Try and learn from the moments when you were/are clear and how fast your horse responds with an, “Aha” moment of recognition that he can offer you what you want, or when the scenario feels more like the “blind leading the blind,” and you and your horse saying, “I don’t know, what do you want to do?” to one another.

Most people can be the leader their horse needs if they start with believing in themselves.  This in turn will allow you to be the quality leader your horse needs, and you’ll be able to raise the bar and reap the rewarding results of your equine partnership.

Hoofprints & Happenings Newsletter Winter 2011/12

Enjoy our latest newsletter... http://www.learnhorses.com/newsletter/Feb%2012%20H%20&%20H.pdf

Ask the Trainer: Horse backing while attempting to mount

Hi, I just bought another quarter horse. When I went to check her out 2 different people a man and a lady got on her to ride she did back up a step are so. So when I got her home I tried to mount her and she just keep backing up. I tried for about an hour to go get on her and she keep backing up. I tried to do this in my field. She let me put the saddle on her easy and the bridle.m I tried this 2 different days. I don't have a round pen, should I try do it in the stall next just to get on and off of her a few times? Thanks for your help I might have to get rid of her.
 
Thanks Paul

Dear Paul,

I'm sorry to hear of the problem you are experiencing with your new horse.  Because I cannot be there to watch what is happening with her, I cannot offer a step by step "how to" answer.  So instead I'm going to present a few major concepts in how you mentally and physically approach and interact with your horse.

There could be many issues going on with your new horse. My first guess is that the backing up is not the issue, but rather a a symptom and defense mechanism to prevent you from riding.  A horse may not want to be ridden due to physical pain from an injury, ill fitting tack, and most commonly fear and insecurity regarding being ridden.  

In your case, since the horse is new to you and you are unfamiliar with her history, it may take a little more investigative effort, time and energy to discover the real issue causing her backing.  If all that you do is attempt to "fix" the unwanted backing without understanding what is causing it, the horse will just find another way to try and prevent you from riding.

Many times when a horse tries to tell us humans that he is having a problem, we tend to ignore them because their behavior isn't dangerous enough for us to respect or address them.  People will say, "oh he just does that." But many small unwanted responses offered by the horse are usually their way of telling the human they are having a problem; if ignored by the human, the small acting out evolves into increasingly more dangerous behavior.  This is when you hear someone say, "all of a sudden he did _________________," but in reality the warning signs started perhaps six months, six weeks or six days before the actual unwanted act.

People tend to forget that horses don't randomly do anything, so if your horse is doing something, there is a reason, even if you are still unclear on why or what the real underlying issue is.

Remember that horses operate on "fear based survival" as they are the prey animal.  So every time they feel fearful or worried, and their pleas for help are ignored by a human, they are reconfirmed that the person is not there to "help" the horse through his issue.  After his pleas for help are either ignored or misinterpreted by the human, the horse will resort to "taking over" in the decision making process when his stress level gets high enough.  The time to build trust and respect with your horse is not at the pinnacle moment he is having an emotional, mental and physical melt down.

The most common problem I find between humans and horse is the lack of clear communication.  The person sees the horse's slow or resistant behavior and may misinterpret it as his being  "bad" rather than recognizing it as a sign that the horse is worried or concerned.  The horse sees the human's delayed, slow or unclear response as a lack of leadership and therefor lacks trust or respect towards the human.  So when the stress level of a situation gets high enough for the horse, the horse "takes over" in how he handles the situation, rather than allowing the human to make the decisions.  This is usually when accidents happen.

So before you reach these extremes you'll need to establish clear, quality communication with your horse.  One of the first concepts to clarify is that most people get distracted by and tend to focus on the unwanted physical movement of the horse, rather than addressing their horse's brain which will in turn affect the physical actions the horse makes.

Put this concept into people terms for a moment. If you were scared of diving, and I tried to push you off the diving board, you would probably lean pretty heavy against my physical pressure against you. The harder I pushed you, the more resistant and stressed you would become.  But if instead I tried to talk to you about your fear and what was causing, we might be able to decrease your level of fear to get you to point where you could willingly dive off of the board with me just asking you to, as oppose to physically forcing you to do so.  The same approach should be applied in how we intersect with our horses.  

Another concept to think about once your horse is mentally participative is his physical "yielding to pressure." Whether you are using the lead rope, rein, or stirrup, etc. your horse should be able to offer a stress free response to what you are asking.  First the human must have a clear intention in their mind as to what exactly it is that they would like from their horse and how they will communicate that.  By being clear ahead of time in what you want and you are asking your horse, it will help you begin to assess your ability to effectively communicate with your horse and notice if there are any "holes".  People are always surprised at how many "broke" horses have major misunderstanding and and blank spots in their education and experience, therefor creating  trust issues towards people, even after perhaps being ridden "successfully" for years.

A simple way to begin assessing your horse's respect towards you is the act of using physical pressure and asking for a specific response, (such as drawing your horse forward with the lead rope.)  This will give you the opportunity to assess your horse's mental and physical response towards the physical pressure you've created with the rope.  If there is a "heaviness" or lethargic response, if he is slow or disrespectful towards the simple act of leading him, his resistance towards you will only magnify the more you ask of him.

Another concept to think about is that anything you would ask for from your horse while you are sitting in the saddle, you would first want to ask for when you are standing on the ground.  Remember, your horse feels a fly land on him, he definitely feels you; it is a matter of if you are effective in how you communicate with your horse.  

Basic tools you should be able to ask of your horse is things such as his ability to look left or right in response to a light energy you use with either the lead rope or rein without having to move the rest of his body.  He'll need to be able to be lightly "drawn" forward, slowed, stopped or asked to shift his weight backwards without "leaning" on your hand.  I always tell people to use a sliding scale from one to ten to assess to the "lightness" of your horse when you ask something of him. If he offers an "eight" pressure in resistance as you ask him to back from the ground, imagine how much heavier he will be when you put a bit in his mouth and are sitting in the saddle asking the same thing.

Why does it matter if your horse can lightly look, slow his energy or address you? I like to use the analogy of driving a car.  How comfortable would you be to drive your car without a steering wheel? Or one that was "loose" causing you to have to constantly over correct the vehicle? And yet that is how many people ride, with hardly any steering and way too much gas.

When this happens the easy and quick "fix" is to turn to severe equipment that will give the rider the illusion that he now has more physical control of his horse. This is a incorrect thought.  The bit does not stop the horse, his brain does. So if you do not address why or what his brain initially is resisting, such as the direction and pressure of your hand on the lead rope asking him to yield, you will be confirming that he can also ignore your reins, seat and energy when you ride.

Timing is another factor.  When you ask your horse to do something, if he does not give you the desired response, you'll have to address him immediately. If you don't, then you'll be reinforcing the idea that your horse can do what he wants.  On the other hand if you ask something of your horse and he responds correctly, leave him alone for a moment, to process that he responded correctly.

I hope these ideas can perhaps open your mind to a slightly larger perspective on things that may be occurring between you and your new horse.  Even though your priority is to "get on and go for a ride" your horse may need you to step back and review some of her basic understanding in order to create a trusting relationship.  When I start colts I teach them how to line up to the mounting block.  By the time I get on them for the first time, they will be tacked up but loose in the round pen, and I will climb up on the mounting block.  I'll ask them to come over and line the self up without me touching them.  When they are ready for you to get on, they'll present themselves at the block and stand quietly.  Those that are not ready will fuss and move and swing their body around.  This tells me I need to perhaps further prepare them for their first ride, since both the horse and I will be participating in it, rather than having my horse tolerate me getting on him.

Good luck,

Samantha Harvey 
www.learnhorses.com
866-904-0111