One of the challenges in offering instruction is to communicate clearly with students AND horses. As I overhear, read or watch many “horse training” sessions/clinics I find that there’s a general lack of “connection” in the student’s ability to understand how the “here and now,” especially in how the quality of their ground work is, relates to their future ride.
Often new students are able to “talk the lingo,” sounding like they’ve seen a lot, and attempt to go through the steps or concepts they've been taught, but are still experiencing problems with their horse.
After watching other riders or professionals, too many students try to imitate “how it’s supposed to look,” for a specific exercise, task, etc. with no concept as to what the point is of what they are asking their horse to do.
Unfortunately, this diminishes the student's focus on being “present” when they are working with their horse in the “here and now,” because they are fixating on the task accomplishment versus the quality of the conversation with their horse.
I find it as easy for human students to get just as distracted or “lost” as their equine partners often do.
People tend to be unclear as to how they are asking for a movement, then they wait and see what the horse is offering physically, then react with criticism when the horse does not "get it." This teaches the horse to be defensive towards human communication.
Instead, folks need to learn to stay mentally present starting on the ground and continuing throughout the ride.
When the horse is lost mentally and then searching physically, he needs to be receiving feedback from the handler/rider so that he can search for what the rider is asking of him. This means each thing he offers, needs to be addressed by the human, otherwise he is left unclear and will become fixated on avoiding the interaction.
By creating a mentally available horse, influences his thoughts and emotions, contributing to creating a reasonable and willing equine.
I believe that just like horses people learn in different manners. Even if I’m saying the words and explaining/interpreting what the student is seeing or feeling from the horse, if the student’s brain is “overloaded” or perhaps “ahead” of where they physically are at, distracted, or are unclear, (yes they share this affliction just as many horses do,) they will not be able to really HEAR what I’m saying.
So even if I think I’m being clear, I have to remember that just because I offered the information, does not mean it was received by the human student as I had intended it to.
This is EXACTLY what happens when many folks attempt to communicate with their horse and the animal does not seem to be understanding. The instinct for people is to continue repetitively asking in the same manner with "stronger" aids, rather than to assess for the "holes" in the horse's education.
The challenge for the human is to remain emotionally neutral as they search to find the balance of acknowledging and addressing the horse to help him work through his Counteroffer behaviors, without making him defensive.
A person learning to have the mental discipline to stay present creates continuous, relevant two-way, supportive communication for the horse to search, try, learn, and retain without teaching him fear.
Photo is from my time working in Cambodia a while back. Everywhere in the world I go, all horses "speak" the same universal language of horse.
Do you value the horse's feedback? Do you see the horse's behavior as insight into what may have been missed in his education? Do you prioritize addressing the horse's communication in a manner that has value to him, without triggering his fear?
Horse Training Tips
Teaching the Horse to Learn how to learn, think, search, and try while building his confidence, willingness, and adaptability.
Full video on the Alternative Horsemanship YouTube Channel
#alternativehorsemanship #horses #horsetraining #horsebehavior
Equine Emergencies & Horse Evacuations
Please comment, like & share
Emergency Evacuation YouTube Video 1
https://youtu.be/52RflMZoP4w
Emergency Evacuation YouTube Video 2
https://youtu.be/jRCmOTq9mto
Equine enthusiasts are often focused on task accomplishment without having a foundational understanding of how the quality and timing of their communication affect the horse's future willingness, adaptability, and try.
Subscribe to participate in this 2-part horse learning series in the November Livestreams.
Is your communication relevant?
Saturday, November 2nd 9am
Real-time Communication
Saturday, November 9th
Recognizing and Addressing Avoidance
If I asked what is the horse in the picture doing? Most people would say, "Standing there."
Their answer would be looking at the horse's physical lack of hoof movement.
But what if we look at the direction of his eyes, the tightness of his ears, the locked up posture of his knees, the bulge in his rib cage, blocking with his left front shoulder... He is obediently standing there, but nothing about him in this moment reflects mental presence, available, or physically softness.
How would the information from the assessment affect what you address or ask of him next?
Your evaluation would "tell" you that instead of saying "yeah he accomplished the task, let's move one," you perhaps say, "Wait a minute. I need to help him mentally participate in what we're doing, rather than physically tolerating it. I need to first engage his brain to focus on what we are doing, rather than physically standing but without an availability to my communication. I need to ...
This describes a horse who is mentality unavailable to hear the human; frequently referred to as one that is "shut down, dull, dead sided, lazy, heavy or leaning on the bit, bombproof, kid proof, husband proof, etc. Orrrrrrr one that is, "always mentally anticipative and physically chaotic."
The misnomers come from a person's misinterpretation of the outwardly slow, still, and "quiet" behavior, thinking this is a reflection of the horse being okay with life.
The overly lethargic movement, postures and responses can actually be a build of emotions brewing inside that have been contained; until the day the human unintentionally presents something unexpected, and then the horse "suddenly" gets dramatic in letting out those pent up emotions and stress.
The contained horse will offer "quiet responses" to evade confrontation and to avoid conflict or reprimand. These are often displayed physically as:
Tucking the chin towards the chest to create slack in the rein, or evade the pressure of the lead rope, rein, ...