#understanding horses

[theclassicalhorse]

Theres a Draft cross at my barn thats been having bolting/barging/general anxiety issues to the point where he would just spook at absolutely nothing... and you could NOT hold onto him.  After months of slow, positive ground work, lyme treatment, increased turn out, feed changes, etc, without much change in his dangerous behavior, my trainer and his owner took the initiative to have him scoped for ulcers.  

He went in today and it turns out that he has severe stomach ulcers!

Please guys, I know this had been said a lot on here, but ALWAYS, always, look for an underlying cause of any “bad behavior” your horse displays.  This situation could have gone so many different ways.  Some people may have hired a “cowboy” to come and work with him, some may have tied him to a truck and dragged him in an attempt to teach him that he can't get away if he pulls, etc. 

Horses always have reasons for the behavior they display, and its our responsibility to get to the root cause of behavior before trying to bully it out of them.

[cerisepoolman]

We need to be asking more questions and learning more about our  horses and their behaviour. The moment we think we have the answer for something and refuse to ask more questions is the moment we do our horses the greatest disservice. There is much we can learn from them, and from each other. Never stop learning, be a student always – this is  the path that will take you to true mastery.

[theclassicalhorse]

“So you know the joke - Q: “How do you get someone who doesn't speak your language the understand what you're saying?” A: “Say it louder.” This was one of my greatest training mistakes , the idea that if a horse is didn't respond to and signal/aid/cue, that the horse was being “disobedient” to the light aid, and I needed to “up the volume” by repeating the stimulus harder to get him to “obey”. Example: Say I wanted the horse to move away from my left leg and move his haunches to the right, so id apply leg pressure.  If the horse didn't move, id kick a little harder.  if he still didn't respond, id kick even harder, perhaps you know the drill, until eventually just out of worry and discomfort the horse would move away from the kicking leg. And you can repeat that misinformed technique for about every aid you can think of, leg aids, hand aids, the use of increasing force to obtain compliance, even to the point of using stronger bits, draw reins, or other leverage devices. I just didn't get it.  A horse can feel a fly land on his body.  he doesn't need stronger pressure, he needs to understand what specific pressure from his rider is asking for.”

~ Denny Emerson - 1972 USEA's Rider of the Year, Eventing gold medalist and 2006 USEA Hall of Fame Inductee

(This is just 3 minutes of short clips from the entire video: Clinton Anderson: Intermediate Testing, Riding Part 1 - Downunder Horsemanship)

[theclassicalhorse]

[theclassicalhorse]

Your horse could stand still the very day he was born.  He didn't need you to teach him how to do it.  However, if you want him to stand still WHEN you ask, EVERY TIME you ask, you need to go through a teaching process with him. People get in trouble when when they assume their horse knows more than he does.  With a young horse it's easy to be patient.  You expect things to be new to him.  You know you have to be the teacher.  But many times with older horses, we make assumptions.  The horse has been ridden for years, he should know how to stand still, or pick up the canter, or stop, or move off from your leg.  Perhaps he does, but if YOU haven't gone through a teaching process with this horse, you can't assume he knows everything he should.

Alexandra Kurland ~ The Click That Teaches- Riding With the Clicker

[theclassicalhorse]

Some people buy expensive competition horses and plan a detailed training schedule to achieve their desired aim.  When the horse does not fulfill their expectations, it is not because he's stupid, but because the training plan doesn't suit him.  In this case, it is best to find another way, but all too often, the horse's character is blamed and so it is that brilliant horses appear on the competition scene and then disappear equally as fast, all because the rider has not been prepared to adapt his methods.  It is often better to lower the bar of expectation for a time.  I find if I press forward too quickly, the horse will not reach his potential.  The only solution is to go back a few steps and repeat those that have been rushed or missed out.

Frédéric Pignon ~  Building a Life Together: you and your horse

[theclassicalhorse]

When your horse is your partner, that changes your perceptions both of him and his training.  He’s no longer out to get you.  He may have his jaw locked on a rein and be pulling like a freight train, but he’s not doing in to spite you.  He’s not “stubborn”, and he’s not “stupid”.  As his partner and his teacher, you don’t have to take his actions personally.  That locked jaw may simply be telling you that you haven’t explained yourself clearly enough.  Resistance is just your horses way of communicating that he’s afraid, or he doesn’t understand something, or he physically can’t do it.

Alexandra Kurland ~ The Click That Teaches- Riding With the Clicker

[theclassicalhorse]

Go to people for opinions, but ask your horse for the answers.

Unknown - from The Click That Teaches- Riding With the Clicker