If we take on the notion (just for grins, in case you think it’s too weird to swallow) that our horses pick us in life to mirror us…what do I see in my mirror? [punch to solar plexus] Unh-can’t breathe—An easily distracted toe dragger. Seriously?
Yes, I will admit I have Shiny Object Syndrome which prevents me from walking a straight line through any store or accomplishing a single task when there are so many others that look more fun. Do I want to shut this down in myself? Not really—at least not yet. So perhaps allowing some distracted weaving across the arena from Dodger is fair to mix in with his training as its own reward. But the toe dragger part really bugs me. It’s way more embarrassing to admit. But, I will say that based on results, neither one of us has any problem doing the Arab floaty trot (rising to the occasion) when the reward is obvious to us, but if repeated high stepping is required without the rewards? Well, we’re lucky to get clearance over some ground level cavalettis [get to the To Do list].
[lightbulb flickers] Okay, so this might be why multiple musical instrument and gym teachers gave up on me. I’m incorrigibly independent, know what I’m good at, not likely to suffer in order to get good at something that doesn’t come naturally, and I’ll never make it past January 3 on a New Year’s Resolution to work out. I’ll sweat for short-term reasons and big rewards.
Now that I have a half-ton mirror to show me what that looks like, I can either fight it (why?) or make the best of it. We’ll mix it up while learning new stuff, do more of what we’re naturally good at and enjoy, and be clear on what we value as rewards.
Well, I’ve been holding back the news about my part in helping an author in the UK—who I believe will hugely benefit horses and their humans around the world—get his book and message out. We’re still working on his new web site, but I can’t wait any longer to tell people. The book is discounted until everything’s in place. It’s called Revealing Your Hidden Horse: A Revolutionary Approach to Understanding Your Horse. The author, Mark Hanson, grew up as the son of a veterinarian, exposed daily to countless examples of complex human-animal interactions. He noticed that the vast majority of our relationships with our animals are defined by—and strongly biased in favor of—the humans. This awareness started him on a journey that has culminated in defining a revolutionary new approach for training and keeping horses which promotes and maintains equal benefits for both horse and human. As soon as I came across his blog and then had the opportunity to read his manuscript, there was no doubt in my mind I had to help this man.
While reading the book my thoughts went from interesting… to really? to no-way! to ok, embarrassed to wow, I gotta do this! And now, looking back on how he flipped a really comfortable switch in my thinking, he did it by taking me step-by-step through a bit of history (a little goes a long way with me), a few stories, a lot of horse behavior, just enough biology, and a whole mess of common sense. Remember when “breaking horses” changed to “gentling horses”? Well, this book will evolve the “gentling horses” paradigm just as much. It’s got that much influence potential for the industry.
I can’t wait for the web site to be done, but meanwhile, get the “>book on sale if this has piqued your interest even a little bit!
I just found this photo of me which could very possibly be my first time on a horse, and the horse’s color pattern is so strikingly similar to Dodger’s that I’m thinking there must’ve been a subliminal need for me to recreate my happy first moments on a horse when I saw Dodger for the first time!
When I started this journey with Dodger, I read lots of books and articles that began by saying, “If you’re green, don’t get a green horse!” but they never went into the details why, so I went blithely along, thinking that whatever made them say that might not apply to me. Wrong. It applies to everyone. No, I haven’t had a change of heart about Dodger or about continuing our journey together. I just thought that it might be helpful to be more specific about why “green on green” isn’t recommended if you are thinking about owning a green horse or rescuing an unstarted (or emotional basket case) horse as your first horse.
I’ve had four years of finding out what I wished I’d read. If I had read that it would take me years, not months, to learn what I’ve learned and feel as comfortable as I feel around my horse, I might’ve considered someone more horse savvy to gift Dodger to rather than think I was Dodger’s dream come true. Oh well. Live and learn. I have learned and I keep learning. Here’s a bit of it:
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1. The degree of success with a horse is directly proportionate to the degree one understands and recognizes very subtle horse body language.
2. A horse’s feet is where his mind is. If his mind’s not with you, expect his feet to surprise you. And not in a good way.
3. Training a horse requires physical dexterity and a heightened coordination between your hands, arms, legs and eyes, all while trying to recognize the very subtle signals given by a horse.
4. What humans often interpret as affection and tend to encourage, are the very things a lead mare would see as domination attempts and wouldn’t allow in order to keep her leadership position in the “offender’s” mind.
5. The secret to training is in the timing and understanding of the animal’s signals and responses. It’s very difficult for a newbie to notice what she doesn’t even know she’s looking for, and not keep asking the horse for something while missing multiple cues the horse already tried and should be rewarded for that. Newbies don’t know how to judge how many steps to break a request into for each horse’s temperament.
6. It’s very easy to confuse a horse. Once you’ve accomplished that, you’re at the mercy of how their specific personality deals with confusion. That can range from getting bored and ignoring you, hoping you’ll go away, to doing whatever it takes to make you go away. Quickly.
7. While you’re working on coordinating your act of holding onto and moving crops and loops of long lead rope in precise ways without wrapping them around each other and making your requests clear, giving rewards at the proper time, you’ve got a 1,000+ pound 2-year old mentality waiting for something you do to make it worth their while to stick around and will either A) get confused (see above), B) get bored and try to skedaddle, C) take over this stupid game because you and all your tools make a really fun toy. I got C.
8. Green horses need lots of help when being ridden to know where to put their feet. No, believe it or not, it doesn’t come naturally to them to move beautifully while packing a person around on their back. They may look like grace in motion when running free around a pasture, but stick a body on their back that doesn’t know how to sit without being a hindrance and you’ve got sack of potatoes riding a klutz. Some horses get quite upset when they feel klutzy. And, they’re not like bicycles—you’re not supposed to lean into the turn. Most everything that comes naturally to a green rider’s body astride a horse defeats what she’s asking the horse to do. As the horse goes faster, we tend to pull our feet up toward the fetal position for balance. Not good. We tend to look at their head or the ground rather than where we want to go. Not helpful; they can feel this and operate as if we don’t have a clue where we’re going. We use the reins for balance without knowing it. Bad on their mouths. We lean forward when we should sit straight and sit straight when we should lean back. Bad for balance and confusing (see #4). We tense up and forget to breathe when we should relax and move with their motion. They tense up and forget to breathe, too.
9. Green riders learn faster on schooling horses that have become immune to bad cues or at least better at guessing what they mean.
10. Green horses deserve and do best when they have accomplished riders on them, staying out of their way as they learn to pack around the unpredictable weight. If you’re in a hurry for that to happen, have deep pockets to pay someone else to do it.
Now, all this said, if you still want to be the one to save your rescue horse from a terrible life, I would start with the Carolyn Resnick method and her Waterhole Rituals to learn the horse’s language. Read her book, Naked Liberty and you’ll be amazed at what she knows about horse language. Simultaneously to working on a connection with your horse through her method (a year’s time would not be too much), I would take riding lessons on a very forgiving, bombproof horse. Then once I had established a solid heart connection with my own horse on the ground, I would study positive training methods only and the training philosophy of Josh Nichols (Canada) or Harry Whitney (Arizona). Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling, aka KFH, has written a couple of wonderfully photographed/illustrated books, Dancing with Horses and The Horse Seeks Me.
Lastly, before you get involved in some of the most popular training methods in the US today (Parelli, Clinton Anderson, John Lyons, etc.), I want to share something that KFH writes in The Horse Seeks Me about the three methods in training horses. His belief about them is controversial and food for thought yet is based on his own disheartening experience—especially in recent years—of having to bring back the life and spirit in horses that have gone through the “natural horsemanship” set of methods despite their owners being nothing but well-meaning. I used those methods myself on Dodger, totally unaware of the problems round pens and negative-reinforcement can cause some horses down the road. This is how KFH categorizes the three methods:
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1. methods that view horses only as tools for human agendas, using the fastest route to control/domination through the use of restrictive tack and painful bits, etc.;
2. methods that use a formulaic approach designed for the masses to train horses to “choose” to be with their humans not because the horse feels a two-way respect and free heart connection, but because they learn to submit to the fact that it is more peaceful than the alternative. These methods are creating robotic horses with lost spirits. He goes on to describe how the use of round pens, with no possible escape, causes many horses to feel as if they are, quite literally, doomed prey. Their act of coming into the center is not out of respect or wanting to “join up” with the human, but out of giving up and submitting to a predator. So as the human feels success at this sign of submission, the horse’s spirit is departing. Add training that makes all choices but the human’s too difficult and the path of free will too unpleasant, and KFH says, “The terrible paradox is that proximity to the oppressor is, in the end, the most peaceful place for the spiritually lifeless horse.” As problem behaviors form out of resentments along the way, they are addressed with negative consequences. The perfect partner is taught to be a robot.
3. methods that put the emphasis of training the human and empowering the horse first; on the human becoming aware of what it takes to become a horse’s exemplary leader—one a horse would choose, not because all the other choices had to be spoiled for him, but because “the horse wants to follow this person because he believes and genuinely trusts in him…because the horse thinks there can be no danger where this worthy and graceful person is…Everything revolves around the inner qualities of the person.” Needless to say, this is the most difficult path because it requires the human to change the most and take responsibility for all training outcomes rather than blame anything on the horse (or make excuses because of its past). It starts with ditching an agenda and learning what motivates your horse.
Finding the motivating reinforcers for a horse is a co-creative endeavor, allowing the horse to have a part in the process. It requires listening to your horse and learning its specific likes and dislikes. Respect must flow both ways, not just from the horse to the human. As for empowering the horse, I like the way Mary Hunter on stalecheerios.com describes it: “Part of what makes [positive] consequences into reinforcers is that the animal feels that he is in control over the outcome. Traditional trainers that rely on force, punishment and pressure usually give their animals very little choice or control over the training process. Giving the animal control over the training process helps to build the animal’s confidence by allowing them to participate in what happens. Some strategies [include] allowing them the power to escape, giving them the power to shape our behavior, and creating a plan for getting behavior we do want.” This last point is about co-creating with your horse what works for him/her rather than expecting one thing to work with all horses. This approach takes more time than the simpler negative consequence approach, but it has longer lasting value and keeps the balance in the “relationship bank” in the black. A lot of people don’t want to take the time that requires on a daily basis, but when the balance in the relationship bank is in the red, they’ll wish they had.
I hope, if you buy or rescue a green horse as your first, you will consider the third training method as the place to begin. While it asks the most of the human, and requires us to respect the horse before we ask them to respect us, it’s the path to a true connection. Carolyn Resnick’s method is the best way to enter the horse language learning process while Josh Nichol, Harry Whitney and KFH have written lots of articles and groundwork and riding exercises that are very helpful. They follow the same philosophy about the connection to the horse, and it’s exactly the connection we all want to believe is possible. Look all these trainers up on YouTube and soak it up.
Also what is very interesting is how the trainers using the third type of methods put their energies into what is working with the horse, not what is not working. “Problem behaviors” are not addressed because as the human works with what the horse will do easily (no matter how elementary), the problems resolve themselves because the resentments that created them vanish. This path, believe it or not, starts with just sitting with your horse doing absolutely nothing and expecting nothing. It’s fine to protect your space, but ask and expect nothing. Simply enjoy sharing space and time and let the connection build itself. Don’t be in a hurry. A desire for an incredible connection must outweigh the need for an agenda or a time frame. Once this type of connection is built, the horse will willingly learn and perform whatever skills it’s physically capable of doing—even dressage, which is Carolyn Resnick’s background and specialty.
Had I started out this way with Dodger, I think things would’ve gone very differently. I see now that for our first 2+ years together, I reinforced his dominant personality to ignore me and barge right over/past/through me. Combine that with his being hand-raised, and he’s amazingly desensitized to many things that would freak out another horse. He’s also very easily distracted which I allowed to go on for years because I didn’t know the importance of keeping his attention on me–or even how to do it. And much of my first 3 years with him were spent learning standard negative consequence training methods that I’m trying to revise in my delivery without losing all the good stuff that came out of that training.
I never want a robotic horse. Compliant horses with lifeless eyes going through the motions until they can go back to their stalls tear me up inside and I will not have a horse that is not having as good a time as I am so I’m determined to stay on this path. Please stay in touch here or in the Midlife Horses Facebook group if you’re interested in the same path with your horse.
Dodger gave me some friendly sniffs when I walked up to his stall yesterday. He was eating, so the nicker I’d hoped for was a bit garbled. Okay, it was non-existent. But his eyes were happy and that was good enough! I was delighted to see he’d figured out the feeder and was ripping grass out of the front of it with gusto.
After Shannon worked with him a bit, reviewing some of the things she’d been doing with him, my first exercise with him was basic yet one in which he traditionally takes advantage of me: walk five steps with him on a lead, start wiggling the lead on the last step, then turn and back him up–first just a step…then a few more after he’s good with one. It required bigger energy from me than for Shannon for most of the exercise, but he didn’t pull his old routine of the head-swinging, swagger, I’m-comin-to-get-you that he always used to play. And after a little bit of this exercise, he required less energy from me. He anticipated well. He paid attention, and when a loud blower in the barn started spooking him, we worked through it well. It was easy to get his attention back on me.
He got pretty sweaty after we had both worked with him and after getting his cooler on, he enjoyed rolling in the arena dirt and sand until he was as gritty and dirty as I’ve ever seen him. Boot camp has trashed his cleanliness record, but where there’s a large, well-lit wash rack with rubber mats, cross ties and warm water, he can have his fun. This series also shows where he camps outside every other night.
This morning Shannon and I went over her round penning video tape of Dodger from earlier in the week and I got to see the difference in her use of the round pen. I noticed a lot more invitations into the center through very simple body language that worked amazingly well (Dodger was coming right in, licking and chewing), along with inside and outside turns and sending cues. We discussed the “dance” steps she uses and although the dance metaphor is not news to me, it continues to amaze me how in tune a horse will get to a human’s body movements. Blows my mind what they pick up on. Continue reading »