Why Does My Horse?

“Why does my horse?”

This was the very first horse book I got as a child. Mainly because my second horse was quite difficult and I always fell off him!!!

And so began a lifelong pursuit of trying to figure out why horses did a particular thing and how to fix it.

And I eventually came up with the answer…

I was asking the wrong question!

 

It is near impossible to know why our horse behaves a certain way.

We often don’t have a horse for their whole life and don’t know what has happened to them with previous owners. Even if we know their life long experiences we don’t know everything that happens to them in the paddock every fall they have, every fight they get into with another horse, every bump and bruise they take. If we send them away to a trainer, we hope they are doing the right thing by them but can never be sure exactly how they were handled. Knowing why your horse is spooking can’t ever truly, thoroughly be answered but asking “how best can I support my horse?” can.

1. Rule out any good reasons your horse has for misbehaving.

Ensure saddle and bridle is professionally fitted. Get teeth checked and kept up to date. Invest in a good farrier. Work with a body worker that has an excellent reputation but then also go with your gut whether you are happy with their work. I have had horses become worse for working with a lot of different chiropractors. If in doubt get your vet to check.

2. Make sure they understand how to process stimuli correctly.

Horses learn from the release of pressure not the application and often they don’t know what to do with pressure and can over react. Ensuring you have taught your horse how to learn from pressure cues keeps them calm throughout the learning process.

3. Be a leader, not a bully boss

Ensure that you are showing up as a good leader by setting clear boundaries and following through on your asks, ESPECIALLY in stressful and difficult situations. This is when your horse needs you the most and how you show up when they are not handling the situation well is the best way a horse will decide if you are worth being the herd leader.

4. Make your horse confident

Teach them confidence through curiosity. A horses flight instinct is self preservation and to get away from what is scary. To create a bold, confident horse we want them to be curious not scared of new things.

5. Prevent them from going sour by changing their exercises and environments.

Repeating the same task every day in the same environment will set both you and your horse up to fail by making them sour on their work. If your going to work on the same task change the environment. If you are going to work in the same environment change the task so it seems like each training session you are doing something new and fresh.

6. Prevent them from going sore by ensuring you’re conditioning them for soundness.

Riding for a certain look or skill isn’t necessarily always in the best interest of their musculoskeletal health and soundness. It is important to understand why you are doing certain exercises and how to use them so they make your horse more sound rather than to achieve a certain look or skill.

You can learn how to correctly apply training techniques (steps 2-5) by following our Training Trainability Online Course - available now! (click here to learn more)

Interested in conditioning your horse correctly? Pre-register for our Green to Self Carriage Course, due for release August 2019. Click here.

Stop The Frustration of Your Riding Journey

When we set out on our adventure with our horse, we have a goal in mind.

That goal is the bright and shiny object that will believe when we achieve it we will be happy.

We don’t realise when we first start out how many things we need to learn to achieve the bright and shiny object. We think it’s gonna be a piece of cake. And when our first road block pops up we google “why is my horse…”; we get through that, then the next road block pops up we get frustrated and ask some friends, “why does my horse…”?

You go to a clinic that works on that problem and you get through that. Then the next road block pops up… cue the cry of frustration.

The next thing you know its 1 year, 2 years, 5 years later and you still feel like you’re no closer to your original goal. You feel like giving up on yourself and your horse, you’re never going to get there. Maybe you should just quit?

This is where we have to remember WHY we do this in the first place!

Your horse is your happy place and as much as they can drive you crazy they are also your sanity. You are at your happiest on the back of a horse. It makes your heart sing. If days go by and you haven’t spent time with your horse you know it… and so do the people around you!! So how do you find your happy place with them again?

You need to enjoy the journey and not make it all about the destination. Your riding isn’t about being the best but being better than the person you were yesterday.

That doesn’t mean that you need to give up on your goal. It just means that you need to let go of the result and enjoy the process. Allow you and your horse to achieve that goal when you and your horse are ready. Because let me tell you, the same day you achieve it you will say right that’s done, now whats next without even taking a second out of your day to reflect and be grateful for all that you and your horse have achieved together. 

So today’s message is let go, enjoy the process, be with your horse because your horse is what makes you happy, let the journey unfold and shape the person you will become and your horse into the horse you’ve always dreamed of.

Wish there were a way to fast track the goal? Download our free guide on the exercises that you can do the lead to a stronger bond with your horse here.

4 Reasons You Horse Evades Your Aid

Have you ever wondered why your horse isn’t listening to your aid?

It is a common occurrence, and actually easy to recognise. In fact, there are only 4 reasons a horse is not doing as you ask:

1.      It doesn’t understand what you are asking

2.      It physically can’t do what you are asking

3.      It is trying to do what you are asking but not able to perform at 100%

4.      It is actively challenging you

1.     The horse doesn’t understand what you are asking

A horse that doesn’t understand what you want will be trying lots of different things in response to your ask. They may stumble across the correct answer occasionally, but they will keep trying different things if they didn’t pick up on that that was the correct answer - for example, if you missed your timing for the release of pressure. Even if they do figure out what the “correct answer” is they will still keep trying different things. This is because they learn differently. They learn by deciding which response they like best from you. This is also how we can accidentally teach the horse the wrong behaviour. 

For example if we are trying to teach our horse to walk on from halter pressure, their initial instinct would be to lift their head. Once they realise this doesn’t result in what they want they will try other behaviours. What happens if I paw or strike out? What happens if I rear? What happens if I lower my head? What happens if I step forward? If we release the pressure (what the horse wants) for the rear we are conditioning the horse to rear when pressure is applied to the halter. If we release the pressure only for the horse stepping forward, than the horse will decide if it likes that (the release of pressure) and then it will try the other things again to see if your responses are what it likes until it decides” ok I like the response I get when I step forward”. The horse will then keep choosing to step forward to pressure because that gets it what it wants.

In a nutshell, if your horse is trying lots of different things and occasionally gets it right, it doesn’t understand what you want and you have to think outside the box of how best to communicate it.

2.     The horse can’t physically do what we ask

We see this when we start asking more of our horse. It is trying but not succeeding and they often get frustrated with themselves. This could be when we ask them to walk off for the first time under saddle, when we ask them for the first time through poles or jumps and when we introduce increased expectation and exercises of them.

Here we need to reward the horse when they attempt to do as we ask, and allow time for the proper build up of condition and understanding. The rule of three (repeat the exercise 3 times then move onto something they really understand) is essential here.

Also consider if your horse has had a spell and is being brought back into work, we have to adjust our expectations, and if they have been over worked they may need a spell.

3.     The horse can do what you want but not to the level of quality you want.

Your horse is trying and understanding what you are asking of it but you have repeated the exercise more than 3 times and it’s not as good as you wanted. We will go more into this in getting 100% from your horse. But if you have got it by the third ask your horse will slowly become more mentally and physically fatigued and go sour on the aid and stop trying. So lower your expectations and working on the conditioning exercises a step below what you are trying to get.

4.     Your horse is actively challenging you.

As we spoke about earlier your horse will always instinctively challenge you - no matter how well trained they become and how well established your relationship is. It is in their best interest to always be checking in and assuring themselves that you are still ‘the best man for the job’ when it comes to that leadership role. In fact the more confidence you instil in your horse, the more they will challenge your leadership role because you are developing the exact skills in them that they need to be a good leader. 

In a nutshell, if your horse is actively challenging you they are generally choosing to do the opposite of what you ask. You ask them to stop? They go. You ask them to go? They stop. You ask them to go right they go left. They know what you want well enough to know what they opposite is, they can do the opposite of what you are asking to be able to do what you’re asking. 

A lot of trainers will say you have to push them through it and make them do it! I find that this is not the best advice because your horse generally challenges you in an exercise that you are finding hard and not doing confidently. My advice is you have to revisit discipline by doing an exercise that you are confident in and finish your training on a win where you are back in that leadership role - even if you have to get off the horse. 

Oh my god did I just say you are allowed to get off the horse when it isn’t doing as it’s told?!? 

Yes - as an instructor for lots of beginners and green horse and riders it is far better when you lose your horses confidence in your leadership skills to finish on a good note where you can re-establish your boundaries for their behaviour and get yourself back in that leadership role than push your horse in an exercise that you are not comfortable or confident with and have to hold on to the ratty behaviour your horse will give you when challenging you. I always prefer my horses to not even think that bucking, rearing, bolting, biting or kicking is an option than riding through it. I have been that person that has ridden through but for the safety of everyone involved and for the optimal conditioning of our horses behaviour I believe discipline and good behaviour is best established in an exercise the trainer is comfortable and confident with executing. 

Are you struggling with your horse evading? Perhaps it is time to work on re-establishing your leadership.