Do you communicate in a way your horse understands?
In horse riding, the bond between horse and rider is incredibly important. This connection is built on mutual respect and, most importantly, good communication.
Understanding how to communicate with your horse can greatly improve your riding experience and help your horse progress under saddle. Let's explore how horses communicate and how you can use this knowledge to ride more harmoniously.
Horses are very perceptive animals and rely a lot on body language to express themselves. They communicate through their posture, facial expressions, and small movements. Paying attention to these signals can tell you a lot about how your horse feels and help you respond appropriately.
A horse’s body language speaks volumes. For example, a relaxed horse will have a soft posture, with their head lower than their whither, their ears relaxed, maybe a leg rested and a gentle lift and swish through their tail with muscles loose. In contrast, a tense or anxious horse will hold their head high, clamp their tail down between their legs, lock their neck into their periscope posture, ears and eyes attentive to their environment and have tight muscles. Being able to see just these 2 basic postures ‘alert to environment’ and ‘safe to relax’ we can start to tease apart what our horse is communicating with their nonverbal language.
Facial expressions are another way horses communicate. Their eyes, ears, and mouth can tell you what they’re feeling. Each horse has its unique signature, quirks and behaviours and some body language patterns are universal. Recognizing these signs or even just subtle changes can help you address any problems as they arise before they become significant issues whether that be behavioural or soundness.
When riding, effective communication involves a two-way dialogue between you and your horse. It’s not just about giving commands; it’s also about listening to your horse’s responses and adjusting accordingly. Your body position and weight distribution can significantly influence your horse’s movement. Shifting your weight slightly forward or backward can tell your horse to move faster or slow down. Adjusting your seat can help with turning and balance. Being aware of how your body affects your horse is crucial for clear communication.
Reins are not just for steering; they are essential for communicating with your horse. Just pulling on your horse's head doesn’t get them to turn. In fact it does the opposite, it gets them to brace and resist because they don’t want to feel like we’re pulling them off balance. The more we can refine our hands into what I call butterfly kisses, and encourage our horses into self carriage, using our legs and seat more than our hands, the easier it is for the horses to carry us and respond to our cues.
One of the most important lessons we cover in our school of Holistic Horse Riding is how will you call your horse's attention to you? How will you direct them? How will you motivate them to do it again?
When we break it down like this we resolve a lot of the issues of resistance we see in the horse. Has your horse tuned or blocked you out and stopped listening to you, or have their focus on their environment? Does your horse know how to give you the answer you’re looking for? Have you taught them how to respond to that ask? Why would your horse want to listen to you, carry you, work for you and just generally spend their efforting resources?
When you can start answering these questions you can start to see what a willing, congruent team based partnership looks like. Where reciprocity is, what a fair exchange looks like and we can start to unlike that magical key to connection in the saddle.