Horsetraining

 

 

 

 

Horsetraining

 

 

 

Written by

 

Marie Eisersiö

 

August 2006

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Without any help or without the rider’s will, the suppled horse, straight and poised, will be capable of going and perform all the airs being assisted by no other movements than those he causes to the rider’s body which in turn reacts upon him: which much undoubtedly be considered the highest degree of perfection in the instruction of both individuals.”

 

Mottin de la Balme, 1773

(1745-1776)

Cavalry Officer 

 

 

 

 

 

The horse,

What is a horse?

 

The horse is a very powerful animal, one of the most majestic animals in the world. He is an herbivore and a prey animal.

He is a flight animal, built for running away from danger with strong hindquarters that push the body forward. The horse has a long neck to spot danger from a distance and eyes on both sides of the head to get maximum sight on the surroundings. The horse’s long slim legs make it possible to see all around his body while his head is on the ground. The ears rotate around to hear in all directions.

The horse is a traveling animal, moving from place to place to find food. What is natural to the horse is to move, to travel and to spend most of the day eating.

 

The horse lives in herds with a hierarchy. The higher ranked animals get food and water first and the best spot in shelter. Therefore horses tend to always want to climb in the hierarchy. They will constantly try to test and see if they can control or intimidate the other to gain a better rank in the herd. So will they do to us!

Horses rarely get aggressive though, they try to solve conflict and ranking by threats and if confrontation comes about there is always one, two and three warnings before the horse strikes or attacks.

 

The herd members usually take turns watching out for danger, they are constantly on the look-out for things that seem out of the ordinary, it might be a predator!

Therefore safety lies in the herd. If a horse doesn’t have someone to watch his back for him while he rests, sleeps or takes a roll on the ground, he is in danger. Being alone equals death.

 

The horse is also a social animal that yearns the attention and affection of others. A horse should never be kept in solitude.

 

Horses categorize objects, sounds and smells, feelings, and sights as things to flee from or things to ignore. When something is placed as harmless the horse will ignore it. The human can become something the horse ignores if she does not possess leadership.

 

In modern times, as we keep horses today, and as civilization is all around, the danger for a horse of getting eaten by predators is not very significant. Civilization keeps bears, packs of wolves and cougars away from the horse pastures.
In most countries and places where horses are kept it is very rare to be attacked by predators while out riding. But, the horses don't know this...
Horses know they can and have been lunch and dinner in the past times and that it can still happen today and they will act accordingly. The horse’s defense to a predator attacking is to flee. Only when the horse gets cornered will he fight.

 

 

Counter-pressure

 

Anytime a horse feels trapped he is going to fight. The horse is, as said before, a flight animal and its primary defense is to flee, if flight is not possible the horse will try to push out, fight to get out to where he can flee. They are by nature counter-pressure animals, so that if they are pushed they will try to push back to get rid of the pressure.

 

Today’s horses are also put in a living situation that they would not choose by themselves. Humans insist on shutting them in small spaces like stables, trailers and small paddocks. This is very unnatural for a horse. Horses prefer open spaces where they can see all around them and run away at any time.

The horse is always looking for a flight-path, he needs to know he can run fast and get away at any given second.

 

The human (a predator!) on his back, the bridle, the saddle, whips and so on are all things the horse’s first instinct will be to flee away from. He doesn’t know what it is so he will be very reactive until he has assured himself that it is not dangerous. So it is with all new things to a horse.

 

Lucky for us, the horse is a very friendly animal with an enormous ability to adapt. With a gentle and understanding handling, teaching the horse that he is safe with his handler, the horse can become our best friend.

 

The horse being a flight animal makes him very perceptive to what is going on around him, any changes are immediately noticed. Often the rider has not even noticed any change in the environment when the horse suddenly stops dead and stare at something in front of him. The human perception of the environment is much different from the horse. We tend to not notice changes around us. The human does not have as good hearing and sense of smell either. 

 

The response-time in a horse is very fast, the horse’s reflexes to things around him may be the difference between life and death. The horse’s reactions are 6-7 times faster than the human’s.

 

The horse’s amazing perception and his quick reflexes has endless possibilities in riding. The rider’s signals to the horse can be so slight that they are not perceived by the human eye. The horse notices any little change in the rider on horseback and on the ground; he just has to be made aware of the fact that the rider wants him to do something.

 

Horses have a great memory, they remember everything. It only takes one time to create a memory. Learning quickly what is dangerous can be the difference between life and death. That is how horses learn quickly and remember what things to run from and what things are harmless.

 

 

The survival technique for the horse is to flee, therefore the most effective way to control a horse is to control his primary defense, flight, movement, either by creating movement in him, or inhibiting movement.

 

 

What is it like to be a horse?

What is life like from a horse’s point of view?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Horse training consists of teaching the horse to yield to pressure.

 

There is a very strong connection between controlling the horse’s body and controlling his mind, which is the control of movement. In the horse world, the one who moves the other ones feet is in charge. The lower ranked horse will always move away from the higher ranked one.

So if the human steps away when the horse comes closer, the horse is the dominant one in the horse’s mind.

 

Always practicing the horse moving away from you will maintain the leadership in your hands.

It is here the communication comes in, to try to push or pull the horse one way or the other is very inefficient and just lets the horse measure our strength, instead the rider has to have signals, commands, aids that become an indication to the horse what he is expected to do. All of horse training consists of teaching the horse to yield from pressure. We can put psychological pressure or physical pressure on the horse. Physical pressure should always strive to be reduced and instead reinforced by psychological pressure. Psychological pressure can be thought of as threats. A threat can be body movement, a rapid motion with an arm or hand, or the use of the whip in the air. It is to get the horse’s attention and make him think we are stronger and more powerful than we really are. 

 

 

 

What is a horse?

 

What is a horse? How is a being defined? The horse is an animal, not so different from the human race.

 

 

People always say that horses live here and now. But what does that really mean? We all know the horse has a remarkable memory, and what is memory if not the past, thoughts about the past. The horse remembers and when he comes upon the same situation or thing again he responds according to his memory and in anticipation to what is in front of him. What is anticipation if not the future?

 

A good example is trailering the horse. The horse may have traveled well in the trailer for many years when he is driven by a reckless driver on a curvy road and gets very uneasy and unbalanced during the ride. Next time he is presented to the trailer, he remembers the scary uncomfortable situation and also anticipates it happen again.

 

Horses possess all the basic feelings any human have. Happiness, anger, sadness, irritation, rage, love, hate, fear.

 

I do not believe horses use imagination and critical thinking a lot which is what separates us and also makes it possible for us to work with the horse. If the horse had any idea how strong and powerful he really is compared to us, we would be in trouble. But that is also when real skills in horsemanship would be absolutely necessary for handling the horse. Horses are extremely peaceful animals and they are making up for our mistakes and give us a new change again and again to learn and get it right. 

 

 

 

Getting to know each other

 

How long time does it take to get to know a person? How long time does it take before you feel like you can trust that person? What is it that makes you feel trust and confidence and a connection with that person?

Sometimes getting to know a new person takes very little time, the two of you might be on the same page from the beginning, similar experiences, similar world of reference and you talk the same language with the same style and accent. You feel like you are talking to an old friend.

Another person with a different background, a humor unlike yours or that has a different rhythm or way of speaking can still become a great friend, but it might take a little longer before the two of you really understand each other and what the other one is about.

(The reasons above for why you would connect with someone or not, are completely made up, and just an example.)

 

It is the exact same thing with a horse. The horse and rider will in time learn to speak the same language, understanding each other and adapting to each other.

 

Friendship and connection between two beings has to be allowed to take time.

 

 

 

Aids

 

All the aids have to mean something. If the rider keeps thumping with the legs on the horse’s sides or keeps pulling on the outside rein again and again, it doesn’t mean anything to the horse. It is a meaningless stream of non-signals. It is a way of riding that is not engaging the horse’s mind.

 

In any handling of the horse, riding, working from the ground, grooming, etc., the rider should think about communicating to the horse’s mind and intelligence instead of just trying to manipulate his body. That is not to say that the horse doesn’t learn from his body being manipulated. Our primary way of communicating with the horse is through touch. But the touch has to be intelligently applied. An example would be asking the horse to lower his head by applying pressure on his poll. The even pressure on the poll has to stay there until the horse lowers his head, even if just so slightly. The release of the pressure is telling the horse he chosen the right thing to do. He answered correctly to the question that was asked by the handler. If the handler would have taken away the pressure before the horse had lowered his head, or not taken of the pressure as the horse did lower his head, then the horse can not be sure what the handler wanted him to do.

The release at the instant when the horse is thinking about doing what is asked of him is the element that is most significant in horse-training.

 

If the aids move into the horse, he will as his first response try to push against them. The pulling on the reins by the rider will result in a pulling on the reins by the horse. A pushing leg will result in the horse wanting to go against the leg.

The reins may never pull and the legs may never push.

The horse is taught to move away from the slightest pressure, but the pressure has to come off at the instant the horse obeys the signal.

 

This means that horses don’t learn from the aids that are applied, they can not know from the beginning what the aids mean. How would they know that a slight tension on the bit they feel in their mouth would mean to halt? In the horse’s world, if something is hindering them, it is best to try to push against it and try to break free to run away from it. The horse is a counter-pressure animal as stated before. Neither does the horse know and understand that the feel of the rider’s legs on his sides would mean that he should increase his movement.

The way the horse understands that this is what we want when we apply the leg or put a slight tension in the reins, is by the immediate release of the aid as soon as the horse even thinks about the right answer. The release is saying to the horse “that’s correct”.

 

Reward by rest and/or stroking are the most evident ways to praise a horse, words can be taught that they mean good by saying, for example, “good boy” while stroking or saying it and then immediately stop the request. Tidbits are effective if used right.

 

Imagine you are a student and the teacher asks you something and you give the correct answer, but the teacher keeps asking you again and again, not telling you whether you were right or not, so you try coming up with other answers to the same question, since you assume your first answer was incorrect, the teacher keeps asking so it has to be wrong. You become anxious and stressed by the situation, or hostile and frustrated. That is exactly how the horse feels when he doesn’t get a reward or confirmation that he did the right thing.

 

The horse learns that when he finds the right answer the question stop. The question can/should just be annoying. Never forceful or hurting.

 

The horse has to gain a trusting and respectful relation to humans.

 

Individuals

 

Horses are highly individual and should be treated like individuals. Just like humans, horses act and react in accordance to previous experiences. A bad experience with something will put a negative memory in the horse’s mind and makes trust and yielding to the rider’s actions difficult, the horse reads too much into the situation and reacts with fear or resistance.

 

Horses will remember what brought them comfort and what brought them discomfort.

 

A horse may also perceive of a situation in a totally different way then the rider. It is all about what is going on inside the horse’s mind, what his body does is just a product.  

 

The beautiful Arabian mare Contessa that I have been working with for a couple of months, would in the beginning, freak out every time the whip moved in my hand. The slightest motion and she would run around me in circles in fear. It became a first pre-quest to desensitize her to the whip all over her body, stroking her and then cracking the whip. As Contessa understood that the whip wasn’t out to hurt her, that it was actually quite pleasant when being stroked by the whip and then get lots of praise for it. When she had settled to the whip I could start directing her and start a real conversation that didn’t involve sudden outbursts of stress and fear. I can now use the whip as an extension of my arm.

 

 

 

 

What is a human?

 

Humans are a predator species. (Even if some of us are vegetarians.) We have all the traits of a predator, eyes in front of face, arms that reach, showing teeth when smiling etc. We like living in enclosed spaces, houses, for warmth and shelter. We are usually traveling by car and can sit still or sleep for long periods of time.

We possess instincts and natural reactions that are counterproductive in horse handling and riding.

When things don’t work our first reaction is to do more and keep doing it until it works. That kind of behavior towards a horse will only cause a lot of resistance. The horse will push or pull back and he will always be stronger. If the horse in fact “obeys” he has a lot of resistance and negative feelings about the situation he is in.

 

Another human instinct is to curl up or lean forward to protect ourselves when we get scared. It is a combat position or to protect the insides. Leaning forward and pulling the knees up when riding is very dangerous because it is very easy to fall off the horse in that position. When riding, security lies in staying upright and even leaning slightly back, keeping the legs long so as much legs stays on the horse as possible.  

 

 

So what qualities do we need to develop to be successful horse-people?

Understanding for the horse and knowledge about the horse as a being. Calm and patience, learning to see things from the horse’s point of view and an awareness of what is going on. Confidence is also important, the horse will need a leader. The human has to continually work on his feel and communication skills with the horse. And most importantly of all he has to have a deep and profound love for the horse.

 

 

 

Leadership

 

When training a horse the first thing you need to start with is to establish a relationship with the horse. A trusting and respectful relationship, where calm is the first goal. There has to be calm in both horse and rider, but the human has to be calm first. The human has to take over the role as herd leader and lead the horse to safety and comfort. Leadership can never be taken, it can only be given.

As I mentioned before, the way horses establish leadership over each other is by moving each others feet. The one who moves the other ones feet is the leader. The weaker one always moves away.

Leadership is therefore worked on through movement, or from inhibiting movement.

 

It is wise to always start working a horse from the ground. We have to be able to move him in any direction without resistance.

When working to convey a new idea or movement to the horse the rider has to be very clear on what she wants to obtain. What is a step in the right direction? And when is the horse getting close to the desired action? This is very important because, as said before, horses learn from the release. Being clear on what one wants to achieve and reward for the slightest move towards the goal.

 

Rome was not built in one day and neither is a horse trained in one day.

 

The time spent in developing a lovely riding horse and a cooperative partner can be significantly reduced by lots of praise and rewards on the way.

The horse will want to perform. His attitude will always be curious on what we are going to do next. He will happily try to figure out what you want him to do, when he knows he will get comfort and praise for trying.  

 

The horse may try many different ways to answer his rider’s requests. Remember, he doesn’t automatically know what is asked of him.

 

So first you need calm, the horse has to accept us humans dealing with them, accept our touch on all parts of their body. Horses are flight-animals and are scared that things may hurt them. They are always cautious about new things. They are scared of being trapped and not be able to get away. They are scared of getting caught and eaten. They think of survival.

 

 

The Andalusian mare Espada came to the barn with a reputation of being difficult and crazy. She would explode all the time for any reason.

Truth was that Espada was scared. She was scared for her life. People around her were scared of her, so her interpretation was that it certainly was something to be scared of. What Espada needed was a guiding hand, building confidence, learn to trust the environment, learn that noises, sights and touch on her body are not necessarily dangerous. Espada was worked to be desensitized to any “scary” object we could find. Umbrellas, bells, plastic bottles, whips, raincoats etc. She was also taught to just stand still and relax. To look and evaluate the situation before deciding if she had to run off. Of course the rider was there to reassure her that she certainly didn’t have to run. She learned to respond to the rider’s hand to stop. Her confidence rose and she became a lovely horse to work with. 

 

Flight can be very subtle, but still there. The horse has to not just physically yield, but mentally.  The horse may give us what we want in form of movement, but if there is not harmony between horse and rider there can never be brilliance.  The horse has to know he does the right thing, that he is safe, that he can trust his rider and only then can his real brilliance be brought out. The horse enjoying his work.

 

Training is anytime a horse is handled. The horse has to be treated in a consistent manner.

 

Every time you ride you develop your riding and every time the horse gets ridden he is trained. The question is just if it is to the better or worse. The aids of the rider and the horse’s behavior is either confirmed or altered, to the better or worse, depending on what is accomplished during the time spent with the horse.  

 

The horse is very intelligent. Use their memory and enormous perception in training. The smallest change in the rider will be noticed by the horse, question is just if the horse will choose to pay attention to it and if the rider will ask that the horse pays attention to it. The lightness and subtleness of the aids are only limited by the rider’s mind.  

 

In any work with horses, as with any other task in life, it is a good thing to toss aside all worries about outcome and just focus on the process of what one is doing. Focusing on the feeling and quality of what is going on, instead of focusing on completing a certain movement.

 

 

Consistency

 

Acting a certain way, in a consistent manner, will get the horse to act in a certain way.

If I am always asking the horse to lower his head before I put on the bridle, he will be anticipating that and perform it, because that is what is always done.

If your boss always wants a cup of coffee at his desk at 10am, you will soon know to always have that cup of coffee ready for him at that time.

 

If the riding instructor comes into the arena and always asks her students to drop and cross the stirrups, they will soon know to always do that, and will even do that before the riding instructor asks for it. Much like a horse lowers his head when the bridle is held in the rider’s hand.

If I am always asking the horse to yield to my aids, or stand still, or move at my cue, he will soon learn to always do that. The key is consistency.

 

The horse is ready to yield his body before the aid is even applied. The horse is ready to respond to the rider’s aids before they are applied. The horse is trained.

 

If the same task is always performed on the same spot, the horse will start to anticipate it and perform it without the rider asking for it. That is an easy way to teach both horses and riders a new movement.

 

 

Let the horse be the instructor, let him lead the way in the daily work, think and feel and try to create the bridge between you.

Listen more than you talk.

Listen to what the horse is saying through your eyes, through noticing body sensation, watching his body expression, hear the voice of the horse letting you know how it feels and what would feel good.

 

Be generous with praise and reward the slightest attempt, be clear and correct unwanted behavior.

 

 

 

 

 

A lot of time spent of developing a relationship, trust, calm, leadership and teaching the language is always regained later on in training as the horse learn more quickly.

 

 

 

 

The fastest way to train a horse is to do it slow. – Bill Dorrance

 

 

 

 

Widen the senses

Widen the eyes – soft eyes

Widen the feel – feel place in body and then expand with curiosity.

Widen hearing – breath in and listen, breath out with curiosity

Then focus in on specific.

 

Confusion is different ideas in mind. Explore different ideas, you don’t have to decide one right away. Don't kill off one idea. Confusion is good.

 

 

The Open Mind: Using Your Native Intelligence to Learn Faster and Communicate More Effectively - Dawna Markova

 

 

 

 

 

Mental state and language

 

The horse has to be mentally and physically able to perform. A calm and attentive attitude and a clear understanding of the aids. Then suppleness and strength has to be built up.

Positioning the horse and then ask for action.

The horse can then be taken to the physical edge of what he can perform.

 

 

There are a few reasons why the horse would not respond to our demands. He is not relaxed, he may not understand the aids fully, or he is not physically able. Relaxed also means the horse is relaxed in listening to what we are saying, he has submitted to our leadership and has no mental block in doing what is asked of him.

Relaxation can never be forced, yielding can never be forced, if it is forced, the horse has not mentally yielded and the release is really of no use.

 

Imagine trying to learn something when you are all stressed out and even scared for your life. But which teachers in school did you learn the most from? It was most likely the ones that got your attention, whom you had respect for and that were actually communicating with the class as he/she was teaching.

There is nothing more boring than a teacher that just goes on and on in the same voice and tone about something that you really couldn’t care less about. The teacher is not engaging your mind, he/she is simply trying to shove some information into your brain. You have to force yourself to learn it.

 

You need a calm mind for any information to stick. In a state of anxiety and frustration there are too many emotions going on for the horse to comprehend.

Horses are always seeking comfort. Comfort means feeling safe and relaxed.

 

Horse picks the most comfortable thing to do. What is right should be made easy and nice for the horse and what is wrong should be made uncomfortable and difficult for the horse.

There has to be a distinct reward for doing the right thing. The horse will remember what made the aid or action stop.

The horse has to clearly know what we want, they can’t read our mind.

 

How loud do you have to scream if someone understands what you are saying? Neither is screaming going to solve anything if the other individual does not understand what is being said?

 

 

Language

 

Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary’s definition of a language: (2) a systematic means of communicating ideas or feelings by the use of conventionalized signs, sounds, gestures, or marks having understood meanings

 

 

The rider needs to establish the language he wishes to use. The same aid have to mean the same thing every time. Consistency is a big part of effective horse-training.

The simplest things, the most basic aids have to be well established. If the basic work with the horse works really well, the rest gets easy.

The rule is to always stick to the simplest way to teach things. Keep the aids as uncomplicated as possible. The basics are that horse will be taught to move away from pressure, that we can create a wall with our aids to prevent the horse from going that way, and release and have another direction which is free to go through.

Opposition of the aids will lead to tension and confusion in the horse, and a constant over-correcting by the rider when doing too much.

 

Create a language that means the same to both individuals.

 

Explain clearly to the horse what you want done. Just like you would to a human.

 

Coming to a shared idea of what the aids mean, would be like speak the same language with the same accent.

 

Communication is always done through language. Language can be voice, words, body movements, gestures, facial expressions or mind connection. The most enjoyable conversation is when both parts are equally involved and communicate with understanding of each other. Even if the two parties don’t agree, they should understand each others point of view. It is important to be attentive to the other individual’s needs and thoughts. They may be trying to tell you something very important, you just have to see their side of the story. Ex with the horse would be a horse communicating his fear, discomfort, pain, or awkwardness. It is very important to listen to the other and see why they express a certain idea, or why they resist your point of view or suggestion. There has to be understanding.

 

 

 

See the horse.

 

All horses are individual, they are thinking, feeling, loving animals. They are all different. They will need time, understanding, and peace of mind.

What have the horse understood of what I have taught him so far?

How does he feel about the work?

What is difficult for this horse? What is easy?

What is missing in his training? In our relationship?

Physical issues?

Mental issues?

What previous experiences does the horse have?

 

 

 

Horse training consists of communicating ideas to the horse. The aids for communication have to be simple and never contradict or oppose each other. The hands, seat and legs have to all say the same thing to the horse, just in different ways.

A well schooled horse should be able to be ridden by only the hands, only seat or only legs or all together. The rider’s body should be all connected together; everything comes from the rider’s cord.

 

Exercises in riding and groundwork are not the goal. The exercises are only means to perform and teach the aids. When the horse knows the aids, when communication between horse and rider works at the highest level, then all you need is suppleness and some strength.  

 

The aids have to always be light; the rider has to be slow and weak in his actions.

 

Get the horse’s mind involved. Keep the horse asking “what are we doing next?”

Let the horse have input in what is to be done. Look for reactions in horse.

Focus on what the horse needs and wants, not just what you need and want.

 

Horses and the art of riding can be studied in eternity and there will always be new things to learn. I encourage everyone to always keep studying the horse. Dare to look at things differently. Play and have fun with your horse!

 

Make the time spent with the horse fun! Make it something you both look forward as much!

 

Stimulate the horse’s mind!