How to teach a trusting horse to listen to you?
In this article we will focus on simple things, so simple, that when we get carried away with technical performance of exercises with the horse, we often forget about those, very simple things.
We know very well that when we want cooperation, acceptance and obedience from our horses, they have to trust us first. The horse has to trust in our choice, in our actions and of course, to trust in our calm state of mind, in our confidence in all situations.
However, sometimes when we begin to work on trust and then achieving success in the exercises we find ourselves cornered in a situation where the horse became “still”. The horse that used to respond to human movements so nicely before, becomes “slow”, and “hard to get moving”. So why is that? Did we overworked on trust? Why such a controversy? How to teach a horse to actually listen to us if we so persistently were building the skills of “friendly confidence” in our horse?
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The Horse is not the one to be blamed! You too, did everything right and did a great job in training your horse to trust you and respond calmly to all your “trust exercises”(Being challenged with different large and noisy objects, working with a tarp, flags, trash bags, etc.).
Though, when the time comes to lounge your horse to go into a circle or change direction, or pick up a trot or canter – the horse won’t go, or would slowly drag her feet.. So what did we forget? The Energy!!
The formula for the successful completion of the” trust exercises” is your projection of the low and calm energy. Horses are prey animals and are very sensitive and responsive to the changes in the projected energy. By projecting a low energy and staying calm you are invisibly teaching your horse to mirror your energy and to stay calm no matter what “scary things” you are bringing up next.
But when it comes to the movements – it you don’t boost your energy level – the horse would still read it as a “trust exercise” and would remain still and calm, because you continue to walk around and doing some kind of action, so horse is thinking that her main task is not to get scared and run away. The horse would even stand still proudly! Like a Rock!
Therefore, it is your job now to bring a movement idea to your horse by projecting a certain level of energy. You should be sure yourself what is that you want your horse to do. So the key to the successful dynamic exercise - is the increase in your own energy that applies a mental pressure on your horse +applying visual clues.
My horse and I went through such times. He did not realize that I was trying to send him away. I would be increasing the pressure with a whip and he would be staying calm and would sometimes begin to fall asleep thinking that this is still a game of the trust.
So, there are several important things to remember:
Firstly: the sequence of our actions. When you are sending the horse you should clearly understand what you are trying to accomplish and insist on it, even if you need to apply some physical clues, such as pull by the main (if the horse is at liberty) or wiggle a lead rope to the right direction and creating an appropriate energy level to support the request, saying Yes, yes, I do want you to move now!
The purpose of the “trust exercise” - is to prove to the horse that you're a friend, that you would never hurt a horse, would never hit her, even if you're holding a whip. But don’t forget that you are the leader and there are situations when you have the right to strike. From horse’s the point of view, there is no controversy, if you are true and clear in your intentions. Therefore, the horse should not be afraid of the whip in your hand, but must respect your right to use your right to strike or physical pressure if necessary. Note (!!!) - This is not about a punishment, but about the influence of the leader.
This way when working with the horse that trusts us, by correctly applying the sequential pressure technique we won’t miss any links in a horse’s logic chain. We then will be able to teach her to listen to us and reach a mutual understanding with our four-legged student.