Okay, so in my travels I have learned some habits-some people will say they are bad, but honestly, I just do them because that is how I was originally trained. Thoroughbreds are born to run, and as fast as they can. Not much else is taught to us-most of us don't know good manners, or how to slow down. My owner has had the good fortune of working with a gentleman who dubs himself the "Horse Helper." A kind and knowledgeable man, and smart enough to know how not to make someone feel bad about their decisions to get the kind of horse they did, he is helping my owner change some of these learned behaviours.
The lady who owns me does not have an extensive background with thoroughbreds; she tells everyone her decision to get me was based strictly on emotion; "it was love at first sight," she admits. My beauty does have that effect on people. I'm not surprised it played a big part in her choice to own me. What she didn't realize about me (but will freely admit) is just how smart, sensitive and insightful I am, Yes, I do protest when I don't want to do something, but its mainly because I don't understand what is being asked of me. Through lots of patience and work sessions, I am learning to slow down and in turn I get rewarded. I am not being lazy or obstinant. I am just doing what I have learned over time.
People forget that horses don't have the same emotions as humans-this is something they have projected on horses for their own benefit of explaining and understanding certain behaviors. Horses have become "humanized." We are not human;we are herd animals. We think differently, and reason differently and it all comes down to our survival instincts. We do not want to be eaten and we want to feel safe, so we react in a way that helps us to avoid any upleasantness. Try to understand when we act up, it's 9 times out of ten because we don't know what you are asking. In our world, there is this thing called a pecking order. We are just trying to figure out how humans fit in to this alot of the time. Some will put fear in us to get us to pay attention, and others will treat us like a dog. Yes, we can be loyal and will give you our heart, but you have to understand how we think.
In addition, the thoroughbred breed in particular gets bored easily and appreciates it when the humans "mix it up." While we often appreciate repetition to learn things, we don't like too much redundancy or prolonged periods of instruction. Because we are so smart we often start to anticipate what is being asked of us-this is actually another avoidance tactic we pick up to try to get out of things. For instance, in longeing, if I am working on transitions, I will try to figure out what is being asked of me before it is asked. My owner observed this early on and knows how to anticipate it and trys lots of different things with me so I can't pull this stunt too much. She knows my favorite past time is eating and my goal is to finish my work as quickly and precisely as possible so I can start chowing down.
Together, over the years, my owner and I have explored Parelli, Clinton Anderson, Linda Tellington-Jones and numerous others;we've ridden english and tried our hand at jumping as well as a few dressage moves-we've tried our hand at the western thing and trail riding and learning how to barrel race. It's my opinion that if you listen and watch and have an open mind, most trainers usually have some very valuable information to offer in helping you achieve your goals, it's just a matter of sorting through it all and deciding what is pertinent in your particular situation and applying it. Try to remember not to try to do too much at one time, as this can confuse and frustrate any horse-this applies to most every animal or human anyway. Also, know that every minute you are with your horse is a learning opportunity. Did you know it only takes three times of repetitive action to create a habit? The reverse is also true; work on something with your equine partner three times when learning a concept, and he or she should pick it up and it will be imprinted in their mind for the future. But it can't be rushed-it takes unlimited patience and there is no room for frustration. I have taught my owner to practice loads of patience. I have also taught her to stand her ground and learn how to say the word "no." I think I am worth my weight in gold for all the pyschotherapy sessions I have saved her from. I don't judge her, I accept her for who she is, and I don't care if her boots are made by Dubarry.
I can't stress enough that since horses are herd animals, their very lives depend on being able to size up any animal (or human) in a matter of nano-seconds and decide how they are going to interact with it. My owner likes this guy Buck Brannaman, and he once said,"You’ll have to get them (horses) exposed to a lot of things that seem perfectly normal to you, but it doesn’t seem normal to the horse. You walk up to them, smelling like a Big Mac [for which an animal just like a horse was killed] or something. Your diet can make you smell different to the horse. And then you are going to tell the horse: “Don’t worry, I want to crawl on you,” in a similar posture to how a Lion would attack and kill a horse. They jump right up in the middle of them, and they reach their front claws around, and as they’re biting down on their spine, they’re cutting their throat with their claws. You’re asking the horse to let you be in that posture and crawl on him. And then about the time he says “all right, maybe”. And then you say: “Oh, one more thing: I want to strap some hides of other dead animals around you, before I crawl on you.” You damn sure have to have some trust. He's got to believe in you to let you do that. And amazingly enough, they’ll let you do it."
Horses are more about emotions than about intelligence. There is a lineage of people teaching a gentler way of dealing with horses: Tom Dorrance started it, Ray Hunt continued it and inspired Buck Brennaman to become a teacher, too.
If you, the human, are in a bad mood, or angry, they sense this immediately. You are, in essence presenting a mirror of your emotional self to them when you approach. Try to leave the bad day at the door when you spend time with your mount, and remember there is an art to knowing when to step back and when to move forward; it's okay if things don't go the way you planned-go to Plan B. Try hand grazing or walking around the arena and matching strides. The goal is to always end things on a good, positive note-build up the horse's confidence, (which in turn will build up yours) Reward your horse with lots of rubs for something they did right.
My owner likens me most to a small child. Like humans, horses don't always want to do what is asked of them. We figure out ways to get out of things. We also have good days and bad days,just like humans, so it's important to be able to decide when it's best to call it quits and end a session on the upswing. Just grooming and standing in our stall during feeding time can be as good as groundwork and riding. It reassures us as horses that we are not always going to be asked to do something, and it helps us to relax and build a relationship with our handler. On a similar note, horses do need to understand that we are expected to do what we are asked without resistance. Again, quoting Buck, "Gentle in what you do, firm in how you do it." He encourages predictability and respect, but also taking control. He compares handling horses to raising children – as a parent, you cannot always be their best friend.
This can be defined as instilling early on in the relationship that there must be respect,as well as good manners. It takes lots of patience and hard work on both the part of the human and the equine to meet these goals, but the sooner the better in the horse and human relationship.
So, getting back to the Horse Helper-we've been working on slowing down at the canter and understanding it's not always about going as fast as I can. Others have said I do this because I am acting up. The Horse Helper explained that I am doing this because this is the only thing I know; this is what I have been taught. As soon as I slow a bit instead of building to a frenzied gallop and obviously not focusing at all, I am rewarded by being asked to stop. As I stand there, huffing and puffing, the Man comes up and gives me a rub on my face and tells me I did a good job. I am very tired tonight, but I am starting to understand what my owner wants.
I'm ready for my treat now!
