Dec/Jan 2017/18 -What is your horse thinking?
People and horses definitely think differently, but it doesn’t mean horses aren’t intelligent. They are possibly much more intelligent than most people give them credit for, its just that their way of thinking and their logic that are different, and the way that they express themselves isn’t always obvious to an untrained eye. But by understanding the way that they think and watching for their cues, it enables you to work with them and therefore get the best results, in every aspect.
Horses are creatures of habit, they learn and understand best through repetition. This way of understanding doesn’t pick things up immediately when first introduced to something new, but they will grasp the concept and hold on to it through repetition of the same act in the same manner. If we step back from training and look at the horse in its general daily life, without people, you will find more often than not they will have their own routines around the barn and in the paddock. Horses being habitual animals are in general happiest, most comfortable and confident with repetition.
The best approach to take when working with any horse, is to take the first step slowly and explain what you need in a clear calm way, then repeat the request and reward the desired outcome to start building the good habit. Knowing horses learn best through repetition, you must be aware they will learn the wrong thing just as fast as they will the right thing. Often its seems they have learnt the wrong thing quicker but that is generally because the horse has been heading in the wrong direction building the bad habit longer than the person has been aware of it. It is very important to be sure in yourself of what result you are after, with a clear path and simple way to explain the process to the horse. Being concise, calm, soft but firm and confident builds the best habits giving superior results and responses. The younger the horse the more pliable they are to such requests, due to having less experience of the ‘wrong thing.’
Attitude and temperament from a rider is key to achieving the fastest most consistent results in your habit building process. When riders are loud, rough and short-tempered horses get confused and requests from rider to horse get lost and mixed up leading to bad habit’s forming. When a person losses their temper with a horse, it simply shows the lack of knowledge they have to deal with that certain issue or horse. A better horseman understands how a horse thinks and they can think through the process to work out a different way to explain what is required to get the horses doing what is being requested.
To create the best environment for a horse to progress though its training or improve its schooling and playing is as basic as making the wrong thing difficult and the right thing easy. The difference between good and great horseman is their ability to make the right thing easy and reward for it at the perfect time, and the wrong thing difficult and therefore uncomfortable for the horse at the same time, without frightening the horse or loosing their concentration. Another way to describe this is a good horseman puts a horse in the position where the easiest outcome for the horse is the desired result. The better horsemen in polo work this way. The old-school mentality of jerking and whipping a horse into submission and hoping for a good result is dying out slowly. Those that work this way sometimes get lucky with a very tolerant lazy horse, but good results are few and far between and a nice soft sensitive animal will almost certainly be destroyed or become so defensive it only gives a small percentage of its full ability. Good horsemen that run into a problem stop, think and then act on a strategic plan they put in place to reach the desired outcome using a different method or route. A good horseman may use a lot of mental or physical pressure in a specific situation, but it is used very carefully in a controlled non-aggressive manner. That form of pressure is used to show the only way away from the pressure is the way they want them to go, therefore the horse is rewarded with relived pressure and the horseman has gotten the response he asked for.
The best way to learn how horses think and respond in various situations is to just watch them closely, they are the best teachers. At the pony lines, in the barn or paddock you will get a first hand lesson on their body language and what it means, while they are interacting with people and other horses. They are happy to give you plenty of warning of what they are about to do; you just have to look for the signs in the form of the body language they display.
The first place to look to read a horse is the head. The horse’s eyes, ears and nose make up facial expressions that are very telling of its thoughts and mood. Probably the most well known, is the ears pined back. An obvious indicator of the horse being unhappy, and that they may be about to act on their unhappiness in a number of ways.
In training and schooling, reading your horse’s expressions can save you a lot of time and ongoing issues. A common ‘unsure expression’ of a green horse, is they will drop an ear on the polo ball, which is turn progresses to tipping the nose away, before it will actually start moving off the ball or being scared of it. It is generally the first indicator the rider is moving too fast along the “getting comfortable with the stick and ball program” and the horse is getting unhappy with the situation. It often unfolds that when a horse starts dropping an ear on the ball, within 4 or 5 sessions stick and balling, the green horse is running off the ball in fear of what’s coming when it gets along side it.
Eyes are another obvious and great indicator, looking soft and relaxed saying they are calm and happy with what’s going on or if they are intense and wide eyed they may be about to act out in fright or at the very least be worried about what’s going to happen next.
The body language and facial expressions give you great insight into the thoughts of the horses. With this tool of being able the read the animal we can avoid any fighting and foresee any problems that may become issues, we just have to read the signs early. Most people aren’t aware of the signs and then run directly into the problems even though the horse gave them plenty of warning. By knowing your horse and reading their signs, it also enables you to know the exact moment to reward your horse for its efforts and responsiveness, the quicker and more often you reward them when they are responding well, the quicker and more easily they will understand what you are asking, and what you want will become what they do. When both horse and rider understand each other, everything becomes easier, as you both work together in sync, and understand the way the other works.
The beauty of these tools and skills is that they are free, all it takes is time to watch and study our trusty steeds and if you see the signs you can stop, back off and approach the anticipated problem in a different manor or slower fashion reading the signs along the way, resulting in better trained horses who respond faster and with more productive results.
Horses are creatures of habit, they learn and understand best through repetition. This way of understanding doesn’t pick things up immediately when first introduced to something new, but they will grasp the concept and hold on to it through repetition of the same act in the same manner. If we step back from training and look at the horse in its general daily life, without people, you will find more often than not they will have their own routines around the barn and in the paddock. Horses being habitual animals are in general happiest, most comfortable and confident with repetition.
The best approach to take when working with any horse, is to take the first step slowly and explain what you need in a clear calm way, then repeat the request and reward the desired outcome to start building the good habit. Knowing horses learn best through repetition, you must be aware they will learn the wrong thing just as fast as they will the right thing. Often its seems they have learnt the wrong thing quicker but that is generally because the horse has been heading in the wrong direction building the bad habit longer than the person has been aware of it. It is very important to be sure in yourself of what result you are after, with a clear path and simple way to explain the process to the horse. Being concise, calm, soft but firm and confident builds the best habits giving superior results and responses. The younger the horse the more pliable they are to such requests, due to having less experience of the ‘wrong thing.’
Attitude and temperament from a rider is key to achieving the fastest most consistent results in your habit building process. When riders are loud, rough and short-tempered horses get confused and requests from rider to horse get lost and mixed up leading to bad habit’s forming. When a person losses their temper with a horse, it simply shows the lack of knowledge they have to deal with that certain issue or horse. A better horseman understands how a horse thinks and they can think through the process to work out a different way to explain what is required to get the horses doing what is being requested.
To create the best environment for a horse to progress though its training or improve its schooling and playing is as basic as making the wrong thing difficult and the right thing easy. The difference between good and great horseman is their ability to make the right thing easy and reward for it at the perfect time, and the wrong thing difficult and therefore uncomfortable for the horse at the same time, without frightening the horse or loosing their concentration. Another way to describe this is a good horseman puts a horse in the position where the easiest outcome for the horse is the desired result. The better horsemen in polo work this way. The old-school mentality of jerking and whipping a horse into submission and hoping for a good result is dying out slowly. Those that work this way sometimes get lucky with a very tolerant lazy horse, but good results are few and far between and a nice soft sensitive animal will almost certainly be destroyed or become so defensive it only gives a small percentage of its full ability. Good horsemen that run into a problem stop, think and then act on a strategic plan they put in place to reach the desired outcome using a different method or route. A good horseman may use a lot of mental or physical pressure in a specific situation, but it is used very carefully in a controlled non-aggressive manner. That form of pressure is used to show the only way away from the pressure is the way they want them to go, therefore the horse is rewarded with relived pressure and the horseman has gotten the response he asked for.
The best way to learn how horses think and respond in various situations is to just watch them closely, they are the best teachers. At the pony lines, in the barn or paddock you will get a first hand lesson on their body language and what it means, while they are interacting with people and other horses. They are happy to give you plenty of warning of what they are about to do; you just have to look for the signs in the form of the body language they display.
The first place to look to read a horse is the head. The horse’s eyes, ears and nose make up facial expressions that are very telling of its thoughts and mood. Probably the most well known, is the ears pined back. An obvious indicator of the horse being unhappy, and that they may be about to act on their unhappiness in a number of ways.
In training and schooling, reading your horse’s expressions can save you a lot of time and ongoing issues. A common ‘unsure expression’ of a green horse, is they will drop an ear on the polo ball, which is turn progresses to tipping the nose away, before it will actually start moving off the ball or being scared of it. It is generally the first indicator the rider is moving too fast along the “getting comfortable with the stick and ball program” and the horse is getting unhappy with the situation. It often unfolds that when a horse starts dropping an ear on the ball, within 4 or 5 sessions stick and balling, the green horse is running off the ball in fear of what’s coming when it gets along side it.
Eyes are another obvious and great indicator, looking soft and relaxed saying they are calm and happy with what’s going on or if they are intense and wide eyed they may be about to act out in fright or at the very least be worried about what’s going to happen next.
The body language and facial expressions give you great insight into the thoughts of the horses. With this tool of being able the read the animal we can avoid any fighting and foresee any problems that may become issues, we just have to read the signs early. Most people aren’t aware of the signs and then run directly into the problems even though the horse gave them plenty of warning. By knowing your horse and reading their signs, it also enables you to know the exact moment to reward your horse for its efforts and responsiveness, the quicker and more often you reward them when they are responding well, the quicker and more easily they will understand what you are asking, and what you want will become what they do. When both horse and rider understand each other, everything becomes easier, as you both work together in sync, and understand the way the other works.
The beauty of these tools and skills is that they are free, all it takes is time to watch and study our trusty steeds and if you see the signs you can stop, back off and approach the anticipated problem in a different manor or slower fashion reading the signs along the way, resulting in better trained horses who respond faster and with more productive results.