Problem Solving... Part II

Horses play in order to establish dominance in the herd and to learn skills to protect themselves from predators. They are extremely good at outsmarting predators. That’s how they’ve survived for millions of years. Some horses have a stronger survival mode than others. Those who don’t display much in the way of prey behavior are called “kids horses.” Those who are over-the-top with their survival mode are called “problem horses.”

Let’s say our fictional horse is somewhere in the middle. He’s not so concerned about us that we can’t catch him (obviously we’ve done that much in order to bring him into the barn and tie him up) but he’s not so quiet that he’ll stand there and take a nap either.

This is when groundwork becomes crucial. People generally think of groundwork as something that is only done to train young horses, that it consists almost entirely of lunging the horse in circles, and that it has almost nothing to do with riding. If we look at it in that way, then it becomes a matter of “why bother!?! if I’m not starting a green horse then there’s no reason for it.”

Groundwork is NOT lunging.

Groundwork is everything you do with your horse from the moment he notices you. Before you even get to the gate of his pasture, he’s already sized you up and determined whether or not you are a friend or a predator. Every action you make in your body will determine how your horse feels about you, and consequently, how he responds to you.

This seems like a daunting and overwhelming idea. If every time I move, he’s interpreting my actions as either friendly, or threatening, how could we ever get along? How can anyone be so aware of their body so as to consistently reinforce their horse’s view of them as “friend”? It’s not something you master in an hour, day, week, month, year, or decade, and it’s debatable if anyone ever truly can “master” it. If you love horses and want to be successful with them, you need to be continually working on yourself first, and on them second.

Back to our fictional horse: What’s the answer to this problem? This lack of confidence? We need to be aware of how we approach him in the pasture first. When does he notice us, and what does he do about it? Does he look at us, then walk away, does he turn an ear our direction and then pretend we’re not there (“if I can’t see you, you can’t see me”), or does he nicker and come running?

When there is nothing physically connecting you to your horse, you’re left with one thing… the truth.

If your horse walks or runs away when he sees you, he's very clearly telling you that he doesn’t want to be with you, and that’s feedback. If you chase him for it, that’s punishment and it’ll only prove his point; that you’re a predator that can’t be trusted. If he calls out to you and meets you at the gate, you’ve got a good thing going on.

This is where your problems start and where you need to start fixing them. On the ground. If your horse is less than thrilled to see you, then how’s he going to behave when you try to lead him someplace, try to trailer load him, try to ride him? It will carry over to everything you do together.

So start on the ground. But don’t start by lunging him in circles. Lunging has it’s place in training, but most people use it for the wrong reason. The single reason why most people lunge their horse is to tire them out before they get on to ride. This in my opinion, just doesn’t make any sense. You’re not asking the horse to think or understand that you’re the leader in this herd of two, you’re letting him run mindlessly in circles. To the horse, you’re appearing more and more like a predator because you’re chasing him. You’ve also “trapped” him so he can’t get away, and in an emotional horse you’re simply heightening his anxiety. The more you run him around, the stronger he’ll get over time, and the longer it’ll take to wear him out. I’m not sure about you but I’d rather ride a thinking horse than a tired horse any day. A tired horse may still run off, but a thinking horse will have no reason to.

A good rider can ride a bucking horse, but a great rider’s horse never needs to buck.

Start by spending undemanding time with him. Start hanging out in his pasture. If it’s safe to do so, take a good book, and a stool and just hang out. Let him come to you, let him see that not every time you’re around him are you going to be demanding something from him. When you bring him in the barn, spend time brushing him, and rubbing on him just for the sake of making him feel good. Don’t feed him extra treats! Remember, horses aren’t food motivated and he may actually start disrespecting you even more. You want to be the leader, and not just the giant cookie dispenser. Food rewards can have a place in horse training as well, but should be used sparingly, and only once the horse has a high level of respect for you.

Another important thing to do is to see if there is anywhere on his body that he doesn’t want you to touch him.

Be safe! If you can’t safely touch him with your hand, use a tool like a lunge whip, or carrot stick. There’s no reason why you should get hurt doing this.

Don’t punish him if he objects to your touch. Take it as feedback. He’s defensive for a reason and it will only make it worse if you try to punish him for it. Remember, prey animals don’t understand punishment. If he objects, move away from that spot. Approach it, and try to retreat before he responds. That's the key to desensitizing him. He'll learn that every time you touch him, you won't keep bothering him, but that the unwelcome feeling will go away quickly. Eventually he won't react at all because he'll have confidence that you mean him no harm.

Then see if you can push on his body, starting very gently, asking him to move his feet. Will he yield his hindquarters, forehand, will he back up when you press on his nose/chest? How little or how much pressure does it take? Start by pressing on the hair, then his skin, then his muscle, then his bone, until he takes a single step. Then stop and rub him.

If your horse will not yield to you with gentle pressure, you have a problem. How exactly will he respond to riding cues if he does not yield to pressure?

Horses are programmed to fight against pressure. If a cougar jumps on their back they can’t just collapse under the pressure, they fight against it to get it off. If your horse does not respect you, he will not yield to your touch.

Respect is not something you demand but something you earn.

Our unconfident horse needs to learn to respect us. We need to show him first that we are friendly; second, that we can move his body and he cannot move ours. The biggest game horses play is to see who can move who’s feet. If I can move your feet, I’m the dominant horse. If you move my feet, you’re boss. Simple as that. We need to move his feet in an assertive, non-aggressive way. Then thirdly we need to expose him to situations that will bring up his feelings of anxiety, and then thru our leadership skills, show him that no matter where we take him, or what we ask him to do, that we are not going to compromise his safety, his dignity, or use force to make him do something he’s truly upset about. We will lead him thru his fears and he will gain confidence in both himself and in us.

Once our horse is confident in himself, and in us, nervous behaviors like pawing will disappear. Once our horse respects us as his leader, then disrespectful behaviors like biting, and pushing into our space, will disappear.

If you are having a problem with your horse and were hoping I’d list off a bunch of them and a bunch of solutions, you’ve come to the wrong place. What I would most recommend is for you to find someone who understands horses well, who uses natural horsemanship techniques, and ask their advice.

You can even email me (sarah@naturalhorsemanship.ca) your questions if you like, and I’ll do what I can to make suggestions, however unless I can see the horse and see your interactions with them, it is almost impossible to give advice. Find someone that can come out to spend time with you and your horse, and who can then help you work thru the problems you’re facing.

To evaluate whether or not someone really knows horses, I would first ask to see their horses. Watch them interact and see if you notice any behaviors in their horse that says they’re missing something. If their horse is barging into their space, or pawing, or spooks a lot, maybe they haven’t got the information you need. Horses won’t lie, but many people will. So evaluate the horse in order to evaluate the trainer.

In most cases the solution to problems with horses is very simple. Even the most out of control horses will respond to kindness, understanding, and patience. If you lose your temper, get frustrated, angry, or break down into tears, your horse will know you’re not a good leader. True problem solving means being mentally and emotionally fit. If you’re getting to the point of fear or frustration, you need to be mentally and emotionally capable of admitting you don’t know what to do, and seek out someone who does. Don’t blame the horse for acting like a horse, and make sure you don’t start acting like a predator. It takes time and experience to understand horses and be successful with them. It takes time for each horse you meet to decide to trust you, but when he does, there is no place you can’t go together.

Here are some helpful links related to Natural Horsemanship:

www.parelli.com – Parelli USA

www.chrisirwin.com – Chris Irwin, horseman and clinician from Canada

www.joshnichol.com – Josh Nichol, horseman and clinician from Canada

www.jonathanfield.com – Jonathan Field, horseman and clinician who was a Parelli instructor and is now on his own.

www.brannaman.com – Buck Brannaman; one of my favorite horsemen.

www.naturalhorsemanship.ca (my site)

www.todayshorse.com – Some interesting articles

www.westfallhorsemanship.com (Reiner trainers – Stacy Westfall’s most notable –and impressive- accomplishments are: 2003 and 2005 NRHA Open Freestyle Reining Champion-Bridleless, 2006 Tulsa Reining Classic Champion--without a bridle or saddle)

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