Improving Horse Skills- the Check-In

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

In trying to help people become more aware and considerate of what the horse was experiencing during human interactions, I came up with the idea of the "check-in."

Pain in horses- an unaddressed common denominator

Let me preface this post by saying I am NOT any of the following: veterinarian, equine nutritionist, equine dentist, farrier, equine chiropractor, equine naturopath or any other medical-related equine professional.

What I am is an equine professional who sees/handles hundreds of horses a year of varying ages and breeds, with differing degrees of training and exposure/experience in both competitive and pleasure disciplines.

Developing the Horse's Confidence

Confidence- just because a horse is going through the motions of "doing things" and is "learning" does not mean that he is gaining confidence and feeling secure from his experiences.

The horse may "quietly" tolerate a situation a few or even many times before he starts to show more obvious signs of stress, insecurity, or fear about what is being presented if he is being coerced to physically comply.

A great example is the famous "wet saddle blankets" theory. Does a horse learn better though numerous physical repetition? If the person is solely focused on the physical movement/tolerance of the horse, without assessing the quality of his mental availability- or willingness- and the softness of his movement, they may not realize that repeating something is actually making things worse for the horse and teaching him to be defensive in the future.

Reading Horse Behavior- What do you see?

 Do you assess the horse's behavior after the session? 

This horse whose past is not completely clear has experienced enough aggressive training that he is highly defensive toward people. He would appear very "sweet" (as long as you had a treat) and come over and impose to be caught... But once he realized there was no food, he'd leave and avoid all human interaction.  If he was troubled on the lead rope, he'd either stop and lock up or bolt off. This is after the second session out in the field. I find a lot of folks want to "see" the immediate warm-and-fuzzy moments with the horse, without seeing the horse learn to work through their anticipation and old coping/default behavioral patterns. This is a good opportunity to practice reading the horse's behavior.

If you're curious about in-depth horse behavior (which is the foundation to every quality equine partnership) please visit The Remote Horse Coach video catalog and click the "Horse Behavior" category at the top of the page.

Pain in Horses- Unwanted Equine Behaviors

 

Pain - the Unacknowledged Frequent Contributor to Unwanted Equine Behaviors

 

 

Many horses and humans live with pain to varying degrees on a daily basis. If you've ever been injured or have ongoing pain, think about the all-consuming feeling and emotional state the pain triggered in you.

Horses don't "just" pin their ears when you saddle, get tight or twitch their skin when you touch them, and move away every time you go to mount. If the horse is showing concern, tension, or defensive, please, BEFORE you focus on the "training" first start with your horse's behavior, and assess it for potential pain or discomfort.

Learning Horse Skills or Tasks Dear Sam: Horse Help

 Are you having problems with your horse's behavior? Trying to learn horse skills but getting unwanted equine responses?

Watch this horse learning video in the Dear Sam: Horse Help Horsemanship Series by Alternative Horsemanship™ The Remote Horse Coach that addresses commonly misunderstood and overlooked aspects of learning the horse skills needed to help create long-term changes in the horse's behavior leading to reasonable and safe interactions.

 Watch HERE

4 Tips to Improve your Horse Skills

 

Are you breathing?

When people focus, they tend to hold their breath. Talk. Tell your horse what you are doing (literally, it also helps you keep track.) Sing to him or whistle. Anything!

Horse Skills, Equine Behavior, and the Problems with Patterns

 

Patterns

What's your pattern? 

 As folks beginning the new year, it is a great time to revisit assessing one's self-awareness to recognize where perhaps unintentional interactions negatively contribute to the horse's behavior and responses.