Warning long post- BUT well worth your time to read I hope :D
I see SO often people asking for help on various FB Equine help groups or posting comments on their wall. In a lot of ways this is great, if you are over faced with horses, it is important to seek help. Unfortunately so many of these comments are soaked in peoples' frustration and anger about their horses. These people all appear to be trying to fix the ‘problem’, not the source. For example a person who complains (yes I said complains…. because that is what it is…. it is a complaint about the behaviour of their horse) that their horse goes nutty when it gets to shows. Well #1 the horse is just doing what it needs to do to survive! Many will think- oh that is a bit dramatic, without realising that a horses primal instinct is to survive. If they feel threatened at shows (problem), which let’s face it is a fair call on their part, they obviously do not think they are safe (cause). It is at this point people need to stop and think………...
A common pattern that emerges in these comments is that people only mention the errors of the horse in their comments and that they want their horses to do things 'they' (the person) perceive as easy, but to the horse very challenging.
Now do not take this post as a 'Natural Horsemanship rant', as that is not at all what I am about. Good horsemanship is good horsemanship, regardless of the 'title' or 'label' it is given. Regardless of the 'method', 'style of riding' or experience of the horse, ALL people who own and associate with horses SHOULD know the basic psychology of the animal and their responsibilities in being with them.
Yes people can learn this psychology through so called, 'Natural Horsemanship' ways, ..... OR NOT.... because they believe that is is voodoo and give it a wide swerve. But the fact is that a person who deeply understands the psyche of the horse, will never feel need to whinge and moan on Facebook about their so called beloved equine partner. This is because they will know what is ACTUALLY important to the horse, meaning that most of the time you need to sit your own ego and goal related notions to the side, to be there for your horse. Trust me I know, I do this every day! I cannot wait for the day that I compete my horse at high levels of dressage, but there is NO way I am going to force the horse to do this at the speed I desire, because let's face it, I would be doing it tomorrow. Instead I know this information and I keep it in the forefront of my mind at all times. It is this information that ensures EVERY day I am with my horses is a good one and I am on the road to my goal. It ensures that I NEVER feel anger and frustration toward or about horses, it ensures that I do the best I can every day, to be GOOD enough for my horses and the horses of other people I work with.
The things above, and what I am about to share below, are the key things that will get me to my goal of becoming a top dressage rider; with my horses mental, physical and emotional health in check. We will get there in a way that is ‘together', in a way that the horse does not feel I make unreasonable demands of it, nor have preconceived and conceited expectations.
1- The relationship I have with my horses ALWAYS comes first. What this means is that I take the time to get them used to things, exposed to things. I ensure that I properly prepare them by teaching them things in logical, manageable steps. I am constantly reflecting on ALL of this from the horses point of view. I equip myself with the knowledge I need to make informed decisions about what manageable steps even are (most of the time this involves some ground skill teaching first).
2- I know that horses cannot learn positively if they do not feel safe, if they do not trust people and if their point of view is not acknowledged. One way I do this is that I take the time to allow them to be caught, to catch me. I NEVER walk into my horses paddock assuming they will be ‘caught and worked’ that day. I take my time, after all their paddock is their home, it is only polite to knock……. I look into their faces and ask them how they are doing, I ask them what they wanna do that day if we were to ‘do work’, or play as I like to call it. During saddling and bridling, I ask for permission, after all it is their body that has to have the equipment on them, I would hate to be forced to wear a straight jacket.
3- I am well aware of the complexity of the tasks I want my horses to do. I try to never over face them; they always come out feeling like a winner. I encourage this sense of pride in my horses, I want them to want to please, but I cannot make this happen. It can only come about through taking the time it takes, understanding what is important to them on any given day and never putting my horses in a place where there are no answers.
4- I know how much better I need to be, to even come close to being good enough for them. I know that my riding at times makes movements difficult for my horses and that I am forever in their way. What I mean by this is that every movement we request for our horses to make, has a perfect point of balance and to find this is to be in complete harmony in the move. Realistically though, haunches in at the trot for example, is a challenging movement for both horse and rider. It is my job to set the horse up to do movements with ease, as a rider I challenge myself every day to be in a perfect point of balance. If the horse does not execute a movement perfectly, I know that they are not well-prepared enough, either through my own inadequacies as a rider or my failure to put in place a logical teaching sequence to allow them to do it!
5- My horses NEVER take the blame, they are NEVER at fault. The horse that kicked me in the back of the head and fractured my skull, during my time in Australia was a lovely horse, I have no ill feelings towards her. I only hold them against myself, for putting her in the position where she felt that she needed to defend herself and unfortunately I was in the way!
6- I have spent HOURS and HOURS and a lot of money. I have brought MANY training DVD’s, from MANY trainers and taken the best of all of them. I invest my time looking at You Tube clips, I can even learn from the things I don’t like! I have bookshelves full of books from top horse people and people who many have never heard of. I have STUDIED Horsemanship intensively and reflect on my Horsemanship ALL the time.
7- I know a lot about horse psychology and continue to extend this learning ALL the time. I know about the predator/prey theory, I am aware of my body language (active/passive) and how this dramatically impacts my horses. I am open to the power of the mind and communicating with horses through awareness of space, visual pictures and body language. I know the importance of leaving my ego behind with horses, as to them it has no place. I am not afraid to be an open book, I do not try to hide my intent from my horses. I have studied extensively the inner workings of horse herds, observed their interactions and related this to the horses I work with to this day. I know that EVERY horse is a complete individual and so I treat them as such, to assume something will work like it did with a different horse is a naive way of thinking. I understand deeply the difference between a ‘right’ brain horse and a ‘left’ brain one and have strategies, exercises and perspectives for supporting ALL horses to learn. I consider the motivation and desire of the horse. Understanding the difference between an introverted horse and an extroverted one has also taken my interactions with horses to another level.
8- I do a balanced amount of desensitising and sensitising. If my horse is flighty I will do MORE desensitising, if my horse is dull I will do more sensitising. I consider the ins and outs of why a horse is flighty, dealing with the ‘root’ of the problem, not just the problem itself.
9- Key to all of this is that I put a good foundation on my horses (see below).
To be truly good at this you HAVE to put in the time and sometimes the money. There is no EASY way and you need to be the best you can be for your horse, EVERYDAY!
YOU need to take responsibility for your own inadequacies. This does not just mean asking questions on Facebook. This means being open to how much you suck, paying people to come to you and your horse to support you, getting help from people- good people, not some person who ‘thinks’ they know, pay the money to get good support! It means reassessing your goals and mapping out some essentials you need to get where you wanna go, if you don’t know what your essentials are GET help, buy a book, watch a video, UP-SKILL!!!!
Learn about getting a good ‘foundation/basics’ on your horse. For all the whiners out there who are not actively getting of their butts to make a positive change in the relationship they have with their horses, your biggest problem is that your horse does NOT even know the basics, how can they when you do not even know them yourself :) Pretty much every problem I support people with comes from a lack of understanding and knowledge of the person, which is then transferred to the horse.
Basics will look different to a lot of people, but for me the list is huge, a few key things are (and there are many more!):
-Horse can laterally and vertically flex
-Horse can walk, trot and canter on a loose rein
-Horse as a soft back up with little to no rein pressure
-Horse comes to be caught
-Horse stands still to get on
-Horse bridles without difficultly
-Horse picks up feet confidently
-Horse can walk/trot over, on, through and around scary things
-Horse can float load
-Horse can stop off my body
-Horse moves through upward gaits with minimal pressure
-Horse disengages hind quarters
-Horse moves front end over
-Horse can be brushed and touched all over with no flinches
-Horse leads without resistance
-Horse ties calmly
-Horse can take a few steps sideways
-Horse can lower its head on command without fear or resistance
-Horse is calm and confident during saddling
YES, these things are BASIC and can be done under saddle and on the ground (except maybe riding into the float lol, that is a bit more advanced :P ).
It is only after these things are FIRMLY in place I would ever expect my horse to do anything else, especially flying changes, half-pass, going to shows etc.
So before having a whinge about the ‘problem’, consider the ‘cause’ of the problem. By this I mean….. for example….. if a horse doesn’t tie up, that is the problem, the cause is that the horse is distrusting, potentially has a lack of respect for the lead rope and does not understand the concept of moving into pressure, not pulling away from it. It is also more than likely that the horse is difficult or lazy to lead, and drags on the end of the lead rope when being led. Another example, horse is difficult to bridle, that is the problem, the cause is probably a lack of trust, a feeling or being rushed, was not prepared properly or has had bad experiences in the past and needs to be retaught how to positively accept the bridle. Another classic example a horse goes crazy at shows, that is the problem, the cause probably lies in the lack of emotional fitness of the rider, can they get to shows and be calm themselves? Have they developed strategies and exercises at home for calming, which can then be used at shows? Has the horse had enough stress-free outings to shows prior to being expected to go out and perform? I am sure you get my point- there is always a REASON why horses behave the way they do and it ALWAYS comes back to the people being the cause (either directly or indirectly)!
I just hope this post reaches those who need it most, if you are one of those people, do not feel attacked or targeted, rather take this as a learning opportunity to be the best you can be for your horse/s. If you are on the same page as me, I encourage you to share this with people who need it. And if you are far exceeding where I am at and wish to extend my learning, please feel free to start a healthy discussion ;)
Thanks for reading if you managed to get to the bottom of this post!.
