Have you ever seen a horse go from calm to terrified to calm again all in just a few seconds? Being an animal that uses flight as a means of escape and survival, their only thought is to keep fuelled up and ready to go at a moments notice. Safety and comfort are their primary motivations in life.
How then does this affect the way we communicate with horses? What does a dog do when you give him a bone? Often he’ll chew on it for a bit, then bury it for safe keeping until later on. In other words, he is thinking about coming back at a later time to retrieve the bone. Horses on the other hand, will eat what they need as they need it, in order to be ready for flight at anytime. Dogs, being fellow predators, respond to our tone of voice and recognize when we praise them or growl at them. If you tell your dog he’s a good boy and give him a pat or a bone, he understands the reward for good behaviour. Conversely, he recognizes being told off and knows it was for getting into the rubbish bin half an hour ago!
To a horse, when we growl or raise our voice, we just sound like what we are - a predator. Living for the moment, they do not understand punishment, only that we are acting in a predatory fashion. Hitting a horse for a certain behaviour will not be recognised as a reprimand, only that they are being hit or attacked by the predator.
On the other hand they do recognize comfort and discomfort. If you are patting your horse for being good, does your horse feel comfortable or uncomfortable? Ask your horse what he thinks about it. Try taking the halter and lead rope off and then pat him and see what he does. Most horses will move away from this kind of stimulus, so save your pats for the dog and try rubbing your horse.
Comfort / discomfort is a valuable tool when understood and used with excellent timing. For example, if your horse treads on your toe and you hit him for it afterward, he won’t understand why you hit him, he’ll just think that you are being a predator. Now try this; you are aware that your horse is getting too close to you, so you start to rhythmically flap your arms. He keeps coming toward you until he runs into your hand and then he backs off. When he does so, the discomfort automatically stops. In both situations the horse became uncomfortable, however one has phases and is fair and consistent and done without any malice or ill feeling. The other is done as punishment and with some amount of aggression – a predatory trait.
At this level of horsemanship, if we are to get our phases lighter and our communication clearer, our timing becomes very important. If you are attempting to teach your horse something and you are 2 seconds too slow in giving release and comfort, that equates to 8 moments. This could mean all the difference in your horse either getting it … or not!
It is particularly important to be aware of what it was you and your horse where doing when he got comfort. Was he calm, light and left-brained, or was he scared, reacting and right-brained. Practise your timing, be aware of looking for softness and reward the slightest try. You and your horse will learn and progress more quickly with lightness your reward.
Read More Road To Horsemanship articles.
- By Meredith Ransley, Quantum Savvy.