Horse Sense Thoughts

Picture
"Are You Being Fair With Your Horse?"

Question:

Have you ever been asked something
and it took you more than a moment or two to answer?

Have you always given an instant response to questions?

Probably not.

Why haven't you?

My guess is because you had to think
about what was asked.

Then your brain had to shuffle it around, compare
it to stuff you learned from the past, and then seek out an answer.


But the times you gave an instant response are the
times you were familiar with the questions,...right?

Right.

What am I getting at?

This.

There is a lag time from when you ask your horse to
do something before he does it.

It goes from the pressure point up
to his brain and back to his leg.

And here's the astonishing part...

"It Can Take
As Long As
Four Seconds
"


You may think, "Well, that's nuthin'."

True... it's not.

But when working with a horse, that is
often forgotten.

I find many a horse owner gets impatient with their
horse just because there wasn't an instant response.

They forget they didn't give instant responses to
some questions either.

Why?

Cuz they had to think about it.

Why, then, don't horses get the same leeway?

Shouldn't they?

Absolutely!

Why does this matter?

Because if you get all worked up about it,
your horse will know it. Then he'll feel the
tension and make it harder for him to learn.

Then you really got a problem.

Besides, we get the chance to work with the most
amazing animals in the world. Why should we get
all ticked off about it?

How dumb.

But...it happens. (Yes...even to me)

There's more though.

If you don't get an instant response but you're
demanding one, that'll worry the horse.

We know horses are a thousand pounds of raw
emotion so we have to remember that.

In a sense, we're the babysitter.

The mom and dad who have to be firm
yet understanding.

This is the very principle and valuable knowledge
that horse trainer Linda Braddy reveals.

There's still more to this.

The horse also has to be "ready" to
physically perform too.

In other words, if you have his head
bent to the right and you asked his hind quarters
to go to the right, it'd be hard for him to do.

It wouldn't make sense either because
his rear end would "naturally" go to the left
with his head bent to the right.

That's not to say he couldn't do it.

He would need to be ready to do it in
terms of being warmed up and knowing what to do.
 

*********************************************

In Today's Magazine Issue:

"A Tale of Two Horse Owners"


On a beautiful spring afternoon, 5 years ago, two women
bought horses at the same time. Both horses were the
same breed, same age and very similar in disposition.

Both women had a little horse experience, including some
casual trail riding, and understood enough to care for
their horses. Both women were filled with excitement
and looked forward to years of enjoyment with their
new-found loves. The hopes and visions of riding and
working with their new horses had them each beaming with joy!

Each woman had her own barn and pasture. Both had good
vets. Both provided similar feed and nutrients and
other care. Both had appropriate funds for proper
care, feeding and tack.

Five years had passed and they happened to meet at
the feed store and started talking.

They quickly found that there was a difference between
them. One had a near-perfect, well-behaved horse that
responded to all commands whether by voice, leg pressure,
reining, etc. The horse was in his owner's control, did
not buck, bite or rear and was a joy to ride. This woman
took her horse on trail rides all over the state and was
living her dream.

Unfortunately, the second woman had a horse that had
many bad behaviors and was a real problem to catch,
bridle and saddle. The horse frequently bucked and
would spook at just about anything on the trail.

The horse was completely out of control when he decided
to head back to the barn. This woman had been bucked
or thrown off multiple times and had one broken arm and
many pulled and sore muscles over the years.

The problem horse had been sent to at least 3 different
"trainers", all of whom used different methods and
successfully confused the horse even more. The horse
was a mess and hard to handle.

The woman who owned this problem horse had simply had
enough and was about ready to take him to the sale barn
and get rid of all her tack. She had experienced problem
after problem and feared riding her horse at this point.
Her dream had been shattered through the whole experience.

What Made The Difference?

Are you wondering, as I have, what made this much
difference in these two situations? It wasn't the
general intelligence of either horses or their owners.
It wasn't the environment the horses were in, what they
were fed or generally how they were cared for. It wasn't
that one woman wanted to enjoy her horse more than the other.

The difference lies in what each woman understands about
her horse; it's behavior, how horses learn, and how to
overcome the bad behaviors when they first show up.

You see, without a basic understanding of how horses
think and learn, you will not succeed in training them
to do what you want to do, when you ask them.
 
Understand that anything short of complete control of
your horse puts you in harm's way. We all know that
thousands of good-intentioned horse owners have been
hurt, maimed or killed each year - usually because they
failed to properly control their horses.
 
Knowledge Is Power
  
Both the owner and the horse enjoy and respect each
other as a result. The trust and confidence built
by both are invaluable.
 
So what made their experiences with their horses so different?

Knowledge. Useful knowledge. And its proper application.