Over the centuries, humans have
shared a very complicated relationship with horses. On the one hand, these
animals have served us as beasts of burden, mechanisms of war and even sources
of food. On the other, horses are revered as symbols of freedom, excitement and
nobility. Some people make their living working with and on the back of a
horse; others say that just having horses in their lives makes life that much
better. Many equestrians consider their horse(s) to be their equine partners,
but this metaphor works only when people understand that our horses first
perceive us as the predator that sits on and directs their movement. Whenever
we handle horses on the ground or on their back, it doesn’t matter how much we love them if they don’t respect us; but we need to respect them,
too.
I discussed the components of a
successful relationship in my February 14, 2014 blog, “Keys to a Successful
Relationship.” You will have noticed that “love” is not on that list, at all; but “respect” is. We can show our respect to someone in various ways, from listening
without interruption to what the other person is saying, to deferring to the
advice of someone who has more experience than we do. We show respect by
celebrating the ways a person is similar and different to ourselves without
trying to force that individual to change or adopt our beliefs or opinions when
we disagree. We are suggestible to our partner’s beliefs, attitudes and
behaviors; but that partner is also suggestible to us. So, what does all that
mean when your partner weighs 1,000 pounds and can run 25 to 40 miles per hour?
It should mean: a lot.
Horses have survived through the
millennia because they know how to adapt to their environment and make their
circumstances work for them. They rely on their herd-mates to help defend from
danger, especially, the horse in the leadership or “alpha” role. Horses know
that a good alpha is one that not only protects the herd from outside threats
but also treats each member with fairness. The alpha tells the rest of the herd
where and when to go or stop. The other horses will follow this animal, but
only so long as that lead horse continues to deserve their respect. They treat
their human leader the same way.
Following are some practical
techniques to help you earn and reinforce a respectful relationship with your
horse. Before you use or practice these
suggestions, please consult with a professional horse trainer and/or your
riding instructor to ensure that they will be effective and safe for you to do.
·
Protect your personal space. Clinton Anderson of
Downunder Horsemanship® advises his students to imagine that they are standing
in the middle of a hula hoop, and their horse cannot get any closer to them
than the perimeter of that hoop. If the horse tries to move in on you, correct
this intrusion right away by sending
him or her further away again. Remember that when you are leading your horse, the
safest position for you is beside
your horse, with his head/nose at your shoulder. Horses cannot see what is
directly in front or behind them, and you are at risk of being run over if your
horse is following directly behind you.
·
Be in charge. Clinton Anderson warns, “Whoever
moves his feet first, loses.” If your horse is dancing around on the cross-ties
and you have to constantly adjust your position to avoid him stepping on you,
he is in control. Practice groundwork exercises to keep your horse moving when
and in the direction you want him or her to go. Work your horse on a lunge-line
and make the animal practice up and down transitions through each of the gaits.
The purpose of these exercises is to teach your horse that you are in control
of where, when and how fast his feet are going to move.
·
Be consistent. Reward good behavior and correct
misbehavior every time it happens. Rewards
don’t have to be treats; they can be a pat on the neck or shoulder with copious
verbal praise, releasing tension in the reins so the horse can drop its head
and stretch, etc. A correction for misbehavior might be a verbal reprimand and making
the training session last longer and/or more intensive. Repeat these actions every time your horse does what you ask to
create an association in the animal’s mind that you say what you mean and mean
what you say (physical suggestibility). The more times you consistently
reinforce this association, the more your horse will trust you because it will
know what kind of reaction to expect from you in response to his or her
behavior.
·
Be fair. If your horse seems to be having a
tough time understanding what you want and/or are asking him or her to do, do a
quick mental check to make sure you
are correctly asking for what you want. It is too easy to blame our horse when
something goes wrong in our training, but the mistake is often “pilot” (rider)
error. You may discover that your equine partner is actually doing exactly what
you are asking for, but you are not asking what you wanted to know. If your
horse is having trouble understanding or doing what you are asking, consider
asking for that movement in a different way. Work on another technique that
your horse already knows how to do and practice that to increase his or her
confidence and then try the movement again. You will probably find that you and your horse will benefit from doing
something else for a little while and the new work will make more sense to both
of you.
·
Be generous. Horseman Chris Cox regularly gives
his horses a few minutes to stand still and “soak in” or think about a lesson
or instruction that they had just been working on. In so doing, the horse gets
a short break from its work (a reward) and can associate the release in
pressure from the reins and legs with doing a good job. When your horse has
performed a movement well or you have had a good schooling session, reward him
with praise, a walk break or even stopping the day’s training session a little
earlier than you planned.
I am not a riding instructor,
and I encourage everyone to consult with a trainer or instructor to resolve
riding and horse-related issues. For more information about my hypnotherapy
work with equestrians, please contact me via my website at www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com.
Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a
certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with
honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more
information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy®, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.
© 2014
