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
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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