APRIL 2007

We Are All Trainers©

    Horses communicate through body language. The way we move around our horse tells it what we expect. We are constantly giving signals. l Many of these signals are given without us being aware of what we are saying. wouldn't it be a good idea to put this training time to use? simply paying attention to our movements is a good place to begin. 

    One of my favorite techniques is telling the horse what we are doing and why. The very act of including the horse into the activity brings focus to you about what you are doing. Here a connection between our differing modes of communication can be made. Humans organize thoughts to be able to speak, and the horse has a telepathic way of picking up the intent of our words.

    If we are working on and around our horse when it is in cross ties or tied to a hitching rail, hearing our soothing words will tend to settle the horse. A tap on the butt that comes from "nowhere" can initiate a wreck. Even people have been known to jump out of their own skin when startled; imagine the impact on a creature that is designed to be a predator's dinner.

    Consistent behavior around your horse can be a great assist while training. The only caution is that we want our horses to be flexible. If we never vary our procedure, then any change could be disturbing. So can we be consistent in the way we present change?

    Our training really goes into high gear when we head out onto the trail. There is such a temptation to simply follow along with the other riders. When they walk, you walk, when they gait, you gait and so forth. When the other horses go right at a trail junction, you follow. If you find yourself falling into this habit, just imagine how this "training" affects your horse. It learns that the rider is simply a passenger.   It learns to follow the horse in front. It becomes numb to any requests you might make, because it is out of the habit of listening to you.

    What do you suppose will happen if there is an emergency, and you and your horse must go for aide? How will it leave the herd and respond to the now unfamiliar requests of its rider?

    Clearly we must integrate our "conscious" training into our everyday riding and horse handling. When you are in the saddle, pay attention to what your horse is doing. Don't let it simply react to what the other horses are doing. Allow gait when you request it and not just whenever it feels like gaiting.  don't accept poor quality in gait, or you will be training your horse to perform poorly. When I hear folks tell me that their horse gaits well sometimes, I have to ask them why not all the time? If the horse is not gaiting properly, go back immediately to the perfect 4-beat gait - the walk. Every incorrect step the horse is allowed to take is training the horse to gait  incorrectly.

    On the trail, take your horse away from the other horses - if only for a brief time. Perhaps take the right fork when the other horses are taking the left at a place where the trail separates for only a short while. Once your horse is comfortable with following your requests instead of following the herd's expand the time away. Take your horse out of sight of the other horses. It may take a while to do this, depending on the degree of independence your horse can exhibit. Be careful not to make these changes in your horse's expectations too quickly.  It takes a while for a horse to become herd bound, so don't expect it to easily take off on its own. l Be patient, and most of all, be safe. No training is worth putting the rider at risk. But it is truly worth your future safety, and the pleasure of your relationship with your horse, to take it out of "automatic" and back to responding to your requests.

    A professional trainer can't do this for you. A professional could probably ride your horse all over the side of a mountain alone.  What is important is how the horse works for its owner/rider.  The rider has to give the horse the courage to trust in the rider. Without that trust, the horse will be frightened to pull away from the herd. 

    The key words are: gradual, patience, consistency. Visualize what you expect and work to that outcome. Make training a conscious ingredient of your "pleasure riding." Make consciousness a part of all your activities around your horse. And then, Enjoy!