You are in relationship with your horse whether you believe in it or not
With horse training, there's a deeper understanding that goes beyond discipline, manners, obedience and showing your horse who’s boss. It's about connecting with these magnificent animals and prioritising the quality of the relationship first.
Whether we believe it or not, we are in relationship to everything around us, including our four-legged companions. Our body reacts to our environment, as do the horses and as such they are reacting to who we are in the moment.
Are you being someone your horse wants to look after or someone they want to evade?
Traditional horse training often focuses only on actions: Did the horse do what we asked or not? While this can work, it misses a vital part of the horse-human relationship. It ignores the fact that horses, like us, have emotions, thoughts, and a desire for connection beyond just following orders. We can’t treat horses mechanically and expect them to follow instructions each and every time as we can’t expect it of children.
The Holistic Horse Handling Methodology aims to bridge this gap.
It acknowledges that our horses are living beings with complex inner lives. It's about understanding and respecting their emotions and thoughts, not just making them perform tasks.
Does your horse understand what is being asked of them?
Can they do it?
Can they do it today?
Do they have confidence in the response?
Are they in pain when they do it?
How long does it take them to process and understand the instruction?
Is it a full-body yes or are they experiencing some fear and hesitancy?
Connection through the Holistic Horse Handling Methodology can lead to better teamwork and a more fulfilling partnership between horse and rider.
Imagine training a young horse to carry a rider. The usual method might involve repetitive commands to get them used to a saddle and bridle. In contrast, the Holistic Horse Handling Methodology starts by understanding the horse's emotions. Is the horse anxious, curious, or unsure? By empathising with their feelings, the trainer can adjust the training process. Do they understand how to seek the answer? Do they enjoy working with you? Does it feel right or are you uncomfortable?
When it comes to “working a problem” first, the horse needs a felt sense of safety which incorporates one of our compassionate leadership values “psychological safety”. This is why we have a fully fleshed out conversation around consent before introducing the horse to tack and backing.
Downside for us at Equestrian Movement though: when the horse is consenting and relaxed it should make for an incredibly boring youtube video that no one is interested in.
The Holistic Horse Handling Methodology also values the horse's intelligence. Horses can learn and solve problems. Instead of just giving orders, this approach encourages trainers to engage their minds.
For instance, a trainer might introduce new challenges or puzzles that require the horse to think and respond creatively. Allowing the horse to develop the psychological safety for the problem solving process also speeds up training down the track. When you think only escalating pressure to shape a behaviour you end up with having to start from scratch every time you introduce a new word or a new ask. When you give them a shaping plan and consistent process to learn new words, behaviours and cues your horse learns new things quicker because it understands and gets excited to find the answer.
But it's not just about the horse adapting to us; it's a two-way street.
As we acknowledge their emotions and thoughts, we must also be aware of our own feelings and intentions.
Horses are perceptive and can sense our moods, confidence, and doubts through our body language and how we hold ourselves. This awareness of the emotional connection between human and horse is a key aspect of the Holistic Horse Handling Methodology. Body language is the horse's primary language before we start creating our own through cues;
they are far better at body language than us;
they really struggle to block that language out and only take instruction from the cues;
This is how we can end up dulling them to us and our aids, if we don’t take responsibility for the conversations being had through our body language.
Moreover, the Holistic Horse Handling Methodology emphasises a learning environment that encourages questions, confidence to communicate personal boundaries and building trust between horse and rider.
Instead of punishing unwanted behaviour, trainers are encouraged to say not like that, be more gentle, etc to lead by example how they would like the horse to communicate their needs or engage in conversation. If you can imagine punishing a horse for a behaviour we don’t like, say biting, we are giving them the example of setting boundaries through physical punishment.
However, when we can work through the social engagement system of the horse genuinely wanting to participate in training, we can just set expectations by engaging and rewarding the behaviour we want and setting expectations around the behaviours we don’t want. This creates a positive and cooperative environment where the horse willingly participates in training because they actually want to play an active role in their learning and they look for cues as to how to engage and communicate with us that don’t escalate to biting, kicking etc.
The Holistic Horse Handling Methodology can feel radical and profound compared to what we see a lot in the industry but in reality it looks very similar to how would work with our heart horses intuitively AND is backed by emerging sciences in relational theory, somatic therapy, nervous system and hormone healing modalities and leadership study.
It recognizes that our relationship with horses goes beyond actions. By embracing the emotional and intellectual aspects of this partnership, we can form a deeper connection with our equine friends. It's about coexisting harmoniously, respecting their unique qualities, and nurturing a bond built on empathy and trust.
So, the next time you work with your horse, remember that you share a connection with everything around you, and your equine friend is no exception. Let’s build a connection where the horse can feel safe in relationship to us, enjoy learning, movement feels good and they ask to be ridden.