Sometimes people are afraid to do their homework with their horses, as they are concerned that they might get it wrong and confuse their horse! However, your horse doesn’t know if you get it right or wrong, he just does what you ask him to do. Given that horses respond directly to our cues, they cannot do something ‘wrong’, they can only do as we ask. So if your horse is giving you a different answer to the one you want, maybe you need to ask the question a little differently!
Your horse can be your mirror in a couple of ways. One way in which he is just like you, like a mirror image. A bit like some dogs are just like their owners. Have you ever come across a horse that is fast, flighty and nervous? The horse tells the story. Is the owner also fast, flighty and nervous?
In another way, your horse can be a direct reflection of you. That is, a direct result of your leadership and horsemanship skills. Take the same flighty, nervous horse and now put him in the hands of someone who is calm, laid -back and easy going. If this person has good horsemanship skills, the horse will soon take on these characteristics himself. This kind of easy assurance is picked up on very quickly by the horse and is a trait of a good horseman. It is one of the intangibles that we must develop in order to become good with horses. Do horses become excited and nervous around you; pushy and dominant, or do they become calm, relaxed and respectful?
Now, there is no need to panic if you have the horse from hell! Maybe you’ve only just bought him; maybe someone else has been riding him; maybe the two of you are a mismatch (not every horse will suit every human partner) or maybe you have just begun your journey toward horsemanship naturally.
As you progress through the levels, you will notice changes in not only your horse but also yourself. Particularly if you have been savvy enough to recognize that in order for our horses to change and for us to have success, first we have to make some changes ourselves. How your horse is going, mentally, emotionally and physically can be your guide or measure to how you are going and how much progress you have made. Think back to what he was like a year ago, a month, a week. Keep a diary so you can keep track of your improvements. Go and play with a pre-level one horse again and see if you can notice the difference.
There is one thing your horse was born doing brilliantly and that is being a horse. If we want success with horses, the first steps must come from us.
Read More Road To Horsemanship articles.
- By Meredith Ransley, Quantum Savvy.