It's been very hot and humid, and we haven't been riding - we don't have to and I don't see any reason why my horses and I should be any hotter and sweatier than we are already - there will be other days to ride.
Now for a bit of a detour - that's really not a detour at all. I try - and often fail - to make sure what I say to, and about, others is "right speech" - is it true? is it kind? is it necessary? This isn't easy for me - like all of us I have my opinions of how things should be, particularly with horses. And there are others at our barn who ride and work their horses using different philosophies than I do, some of which I believe to be pretty ineffective and lacking in respect for the horse. Sometimes it's hard to keep my mouth shut, especially when I see someone struggling or an unhappy horse. (I will speak up if a serious, immediate safety issue exists - say, tack not fastened properly, or a serious wreck is brewing - or in the case of obvious abuse.)
The two things I've been working on are: first, to not talk about others behind their backs - it's easy to backbite and criticize and barns can be very cliquish, and second, to not offer advice to others on working with their horses unless I'm asked. I'm a bit better generally about the second - I'm no expert and it's not the case that what I know or think I know is correct, even if it may be working for me; people are on their own horsemanship journeys and I used to do many of the same things I see these people doing now; and people who aren't asking for advice generally aren't ready to listen to it anyway - even if it would help them or their horses (at least in the opinion of the person offering the advice). The first - not criticizing or backbiting behind people's backs - is harder for me but I'm working on it and at least I'm a lot more conscious of it now when I do it. Small steps . . . There's some stuff in this post that could be characterized as criticism but I don't know how to talk about it here - in this forum - without talking about it.
Anyhow, even though I didn't ride yesterday, I got to help someone out. Mostly I just ride and handle my horses the way I do and hope some of it will rub off on others through example. There's a lady - an experienced horsewoman whose approach is generally pretty thoughtful and effective - who rides an Arabian several days a week as a shareboarder - her own horse is laid up at the moment. This little guy is often a bundle of nerves - particularly with his owner, who's a high-energy and loud person, and with the "trainer" at our barn (she's of the whack-them-until-they-do-it and saw-on-their-mouth school of "training" - oops! there I go with the criticizing thing, but it's hard to describe without describing . . .).
The Arabian is reluctant to go on the trail and often gets to a certain point in crossing the pasture to the trail gate where he starts to get nervous, his head comes up, he balks and then spins. At the trail clinic a couple of weeks ago the trainer who had come in to do the clinic gave her some advice that I thought was wrong at the time, and in fact advice you commonly hear from many who purport to do "natural horsemanship" - this trainer says that's what she is. Her advice was to "make the wrong thing hard" - you hear this a lot. (Aside - I think the term "natural horsemanship" is pretty darn useless as a descriptive, and sometimes results in folks being pretty mindless and rigid about how they approach their horses.) Her advice was, whenever the horse started to act up on the way to the trail, to bring him back to the arena and work him hard so that he'd think getting out of the arena to the trail was a good idea since it was therefore "easier". This is the same advice people get when their horses act up - to lunge or round pen them hard, so that is "hard" and the thing you're trying to do is "easier".
To be very blunt, although I like the trainer running the clinic and think her approach to horses is generally pretty good, I think this advice is bogus. I think it's ineffective for a whole variety of reasons. First, it interrupts the work you're doing and takes your and the horse's eyes off the ball. Second, I very much doubt that most horses make any association at all between the hard work/lungeing/round penning and the other thing you were asking them to do and then interrupted to "make things hard" - I myself have a lot of trouble making the logical connection and I've got much bigger frontal lobes than a horse does. (The only part that's effective perhaps is that at some point the horse just gets so tired that they just give up - is that how you want to train your horse?). Third, if the horse is already amped and worried, why would you want to add extra energy to the equation - maybe, just maybe, this could work with a laid-back, lazy type of horse who just prefers to stand still, but with a horse that's already somewhat high-energy it just adds fuel to the fire. Fourth, I think a lot of this "make the wrong thing" hard stuff just turns into a type of punishment for the horse - and why would I want the horse to think of the work we do together as something bad or punitive, particularly since they likely don't understand what it means anyway? - sort of like poisoning the well.
Anyhow, the rider and horse were out in the pasture yesterday, struggling. The horse's head was high, and he was balking, she was pushing, he was spinning and they were getting nowhere. She came back in the arena and did the "work him hard" thing, and went back out. Rinse and repeat. I was wandering back and forth through the arena doing various chores and bringing my horses in out of the heat while this was going on. Finally, as I was leading Pie through the arena, she came back in, sat on her horse and said "This isn't working and I don't know what else to do." There were a couple of other boarders on their horses standing around listening to her. She was looking for some advice, so I felt that it was OK to say something.
First I asked if she was interested in what I would do - not necessarily the only thing that was right, but just what I would do - I'm not a trainer and don't purport to be one or to be in a position to give others advice. I started by saying that, although I liked and generally respected the trainer who given her the advice she was following - and I do, I thought the approach she recommended isn't a very effective one, for the reasons I listed above. Then I told her what I do with Red, as an example - who is also a nervous, easily worried horse - in fact it's exactly what I do with him as we work our way out on longer rides in the pasture. I'd characterize this as making the right thing - the thing you want - easier for the horse. (To paraphrase Mark Rashid - if a horse is struggling with something the wrong thing is already hard enough, and why would you want to make it harder?)
I work him - doing things that engage his mind and feet, that he knows how to do successfully with me and that lead to softness, like circles and serpentines - within his comfort zone in terms of distance from the barn. Then, while continuing to do the work, ask him to move up to the boundary of comfort. Keep working, with frequent retreats into the "safe and comfortable" territory. Work back to the boundary again, rinse and repeat. Never put yourself into a position where you're pushing - that just creates a brace that will cause the horse to brace against you and balk. If there's resistance, retreat slightly and just keep working. Lots of praise and strokes for every tiny bit of progress. Bring the horse back to the "safe zone" for some relaxation. Keep extending the boundary of comfort while working - you'll find that the boundary will continue to expand as you work without having to do anything else. Don't expect to get there quickly - it sometimes takes a lot of time - but the progress you make tends to stick.
She said that made a lot more sense to her and they went right back out and tried it. I kept doing chores and kept an eye on them. Occasionally she'd fall back into the push/balk mode, but she's a good rider with good feel and mostly she kept to the plan. It worked really, really well - before long they were several hundred yards from the barn, including going through areas where he'd been very balky before. His ears were relaxed and his head and neck were low. She was praising him a lot and he looked pretty darn pleased with himself. She came back to the arena and said that the plan was working very well and that she'd keep working on it with him next time she rode.
It felt like a good thing to me - it was a good day with horses even if I didn't ride.
Friday, August 30, 2013
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Not Proper Dressage, But Dawn Offers Something Special
I have very little training in formal dressage - just what I needed to get through Training Level eventing competitions in college. But I've read, and tried to learn - there's a lot of good in modern (classical dressage) that I try to make use of with my horses. I think if you have forward, and rhythm, and relaxation, the rest matters less, and so long as your horse is happy and not forced or over bent, things are good.
Recently, Dawn has been offering me something different, and special. We've been working on softness for a long time - since I started riding her about 4 years ago. She's much less braced and much softer laterally and vertically than when I started working with her.
But just in the past week or 10 days, she's been offering me something new - something pretty amazing. One of the things we sometimes do in our morning ride, after our warm up at trot - pretty long and relaxed - is to do short/long trot, with long trot on the diagonals and short trot on the ends of the ring - I don't ask her for true collection or extension as she's in her late teens and she's not got the conformation to be able to easily do these things at her age.
Recently, when I ask for short trot - by "thinking" myself more vertical and reducing velocity while maintaining energy - without any leg - she's offering this - she arches her neck so that her poll is higher than I've ever seen it, tucks her face - I don't want her going behind the vertical - while staying very soft in the bridle - there's hardly any pressure at all on the reins - and slows her trot way down so the cadence is half that of a regular trot. I can't see it so I don't really know, but it feels like something halfway between a collected trot and passage - it's pretty magical. Since she's offering it and interested in doing it, we're playing with it, although not too much as I suspect it's pretty strenuous for her, although she seems very proud and satisfied with it.
Wish I could video it to see what we have . . .
Recently, Dawn has been offering me something different, and special. We've been working on softness for a long time - since I started riding her about 4 years ago. She's much less braced and much softer laterally and vertically than when I started working with her.
But just in the past week or 10 days, she's been offering me something new - something pretty amazing. One of the things we sometimes do in our morning ride, after our warm up at trot - pretty long and relaxed - is to do short/long trot, with long trot on the diagonals and short trot on the ends of the ring - I don't ask her for true collection or extension as she's in her late teens and she's not got the conformation to be able to easily do these things at her age.
Recently, when I ask for short trot - by "thinking" myself more vertical and reducing velocity while maintaining energy - without any leg - she's offering this - she arches her neck so that her poll is higher than I've ever seen it, tucks her face - I don't want her going behind the vertical - while staying very soft in the bridle - there's hardly any pressure at all on the reins - and slows her trot way down so the cadence is half that of a regular trot. I can't see it so I don't really know, but it feels like something halfway between a collected trot and passage - it's pretty magical. Since she's offering it and interested in doing it, we're playing with it, although not too much as I suspect it's pretty strenuous for her, although she seems very proud and satisfied with it.
Wish I could video it to see what we have . . .
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Small Stories From Hot Days
We're having a bit of a heat wave - the heat index is over 100 today so the horses came in from turnout very early, and it was very hot yesterday as well. So no riding and much stall picking - the horses seem to appreciate being in their stalls under the fans.
One of the things I love about spending so much time with my horses is getting to see the quirks of their personalities and the "small stories" that tell who they are. They give me a lot of delight, and often make me laugh.
Yesterday, when I brought Pie and Red in, I put them for a while in a shady paddock next to the barn while we were waiting for shavings to be put in the stalls in their barn aisle. I gave them some hay, and the two of them were standing side by side, eating the hay with their noses just inches apart.
I took Pie into the barn first to put him in his stall, and ground tied him in the aisle to pick his feet. Pie ground ties very reliably. As I was picking his feet, I put one down and was just reaching for the next when he suddenly darted into the nearest stall door, which happened to be Red's. Very odd behavior . . . A second later, he stretched out and peed, and peed, and peed - it seemed like gallons. Poor fellow - I guess he just couldn't hold it any more and didn't want to pee on the concrete barn aisle - he's a bit of neatnik about things like that.
Every afternoon, if the horses have been in, I walk Pie back out to the pasture water tank so he can have some big drinks - with episodes of tongue sucking in between - he'll drink out of his stall buckets, but he much prefers the pasture troughs, even when they're hot and not as clean.
This morning, I brought Dawn in first - all the other mares were coming in. There was a huge septic tank pumping truck in the indoor arena (there's actually a septic tank under the arena floor) - we have to lead through the arena to get to our barn - and it was roaring and making loud sucking noises and there were huge green hoses lying everywhere. The barn owner, who was bringing in the other mares, asked if I should take Dawn around the outside of the barn to the back gate to get her in, and I said no, I thought she'd be just fine. So we marched into the arena, right past the roaring, sucking truck and hoses - Dawn could have cared less and barely gave it a glance - what a good mare!
This morning, after I brought Dawn in and the septic truck had left the arena, I went out to the pasture to bring the boys in. I only took Pie's halter, and Red came right along, "helping" out by nipping Pie on the flanks as we went - he likes to herd Pie and the other horses - it was really more of a pinch than a bite but if I'd been Pie I would have let him have it - Pie didn't really mind and I told Red to cut it out. Once we got started down the hill to the barn, Pie was really wanting to get there - I think he was thirsty and the tanks are right by the gate - so I unsnapped him and he and Red rocketed off to the tanks to have big drinks. They were standing there as I came down the hill - but before I got there they rocketed back off up the hill again. I had to laugh - they looked quite sly about it and Pie was really laying it out - Red, who is faster, had to hustle to keep up. I left them to it and went to make up feed packs - when I checked they were back at the gate and ready to come in.
Some small stories for hot days - hope your weather is better and you're getting in some good horse time!
One of the things I love about spending so much time with my horses is getting to see the quirks of their personalities and the "small stories" that tell who they are. They give me a lot of delight, and often make me laugh.
Yesterday, when I brought Pie and Red in, I put them for a while in a shady paddock next to the barn while we were waiting for shavings to be put in the stalls in their barn aisle. I gave them some hay, and the two of them were standing side by side, eating the hay with their noses just inches apart.
I took Pie into the barn first to put him in his stall, and ground tied him in the aisle to pick his feet. Pie ground ties very reliably. As I was picking his feet, I put one down and was just reaching for the next when he suddenly darted into the nearest stall door, which happened to be Red's. Very odd behavior . . . A second later, he stretched out and peed, and peed, and peed - it seemed like gallons. Poor fellow - I guess he just couldn't hold it any more and didn't want to pee on the concrete barn aisle - he's a bit of neatnik about things like that.
Every afternoon, if the horses have been in, I walk Pie back out to the pasture water tank so he can have some big drinks - with episodes of tongue sucking in between - he'll drink out of his stall buckets, but he much prefers the pasture troughs, even when they're hot and not as clean.
This morning, I brought Dawn in first - all the other mares were coming in. There was a huge septic tank pumping truck in the indoor arena (there's actually a septic tank under the arena floor) - we have to lead through the arena to get to our barn - and it was roaring and making loud sucking noises and there were huge green hoses lying everywhere. The barn owner, who was bringing in the other mares, asked if I should take Dawn around the outside of the barn to the back gate to get her in, and I said no, I thought she'd be just fine. So we marched into the arena, right past the roaring, sucking truck and hoses - Dawn could have cared less and barely gave it a glance - what a good mare!
This morning, after I brought Dawn in and the septic truck had left the arena, I went out to the pasture to bring the boys in. I only took Pie's halter, and Red came right along, "helping" out by nipping Pie on the flanks as we went - he likes to herd Pie and the other horses - it was really more of a pinch than a bite but if I'd been Pie I would have let him have it - Pie didn't really mind and I told Red to cut it out. Once we got started down the hill to the barn, Pie was really wanting to get there - I think he was thirsty and the tanks are right by the gate - so I unsnapped him and he and Red rocketed off to the tanks to have big drinks. They were standing there as I came down the hill - but before I got there they rocketed back off up the hill again. I had to laugh - they looked quite sly about it and Pie was really laying it out - Red, who is faster, had to hustle to keep up. I left them to it and went to make up feed packs - when I checked they were back at the gate and ready to come in.
Some small stories for hot days - hope your weather is better and you're getting in some good horse time!
Thursday, August 22, 2013
The Confident Horse
Mona at Panic and the Pony asked some good questions on a recent post - I'm reordering and numbering them for reference:
1. Nature or nuture? Yes, and yes.
2. Have any of you had to build up a horse's confidence? Yes - Dawn was very high-strung and nervous and reactive, and braced when I started to work with her. Pie had to recover from the upset of our bad accident in the summer of 2011. Red started out very nervous, reactive and fearful.
3. How long does it take to build confidence? It depends - on the horse's basic temperament and how the horse is handled. Every ride and every interaction you, or a trainer, has with a horse, either builds or destroys confidence.
4. If you send a horse out for training with a confident trainer, will it be able to come back and handle less confident riders? Yes, and no - it depends on the horse, the trainer and the rider and what you invest in the process.
5. Are there specific exercises you can do to build a horse's confidence? Yes, for any horse, from the least confident on up.
Here's what I believe makes for a confident horse:
How the horse is handled and trained makes a huge difference to a horse's confidence - and it's even more important for a horse that is naturally less confident. A horse that is naturally more confident has more margin for error. The more experiences a horse is exposed to, the better, so long as it is done in a positive way, where the horse is rewarded for trying, without coercion or punishment. Punishing a horse that is already worried or scared or confused is a recipe for disaster - there's no faster way to destroy confidence, particularly with a sensitive horse. There are cases of horses that have been coerced and overwhelmed (coercive "desensitization") who become shut down and potentially explosively dangerous. Consistency and reliability are key - and they must be delivered without emotions, other than the positive emotions of encouragement.
Red is a good example of a horse that lacked self-confidence. He's a very intelligent, very emotionally sensitive fellow, and we expect he experienced some mishandling in his past. He was always worried - that something bad/scary would happen, or that, if he tried to do something new/different when asked, he would be punished for getting the wrong answer - he was defensive, and shut down and even afraid at times. He also didn't trust people to provide him leadership that would keep him secure. Sometimes this manifested as "misbehavior" or even "defiance" or "aggression" - all these terms would impute an intent that he just didn't have - he was just confused/worried. His lack of self-confidence was so great that he struggled initially even with a confident rider - my trainer Heather.
To build self-confidence in the horse/human interaction, a horse that is lacking in self-confidence has to start by borrowing confidence from the rider. A confident rider isn't a rider who's aggressive, or dominant, or demanding or controlling - a confident rider calmly and consistent provides guidance and direction to the horse, and is considerate of the horse and its feelings, careful to listen to the horse and its tries and asks, and fundamentally reliable - the horse can count on the rider's support and guidance. A good trainer can help a horse a long way down the road on this, whereas a bad one can wreak a horse's confidence, sometimes for good.
If you're not a confident rider (this has nothing to do with equitation skills or being able to coerce a horse into doing things), you're best off on a supremely confident horse and one with a low-key, basically relaxed personality. If you're having confidence problems, take a good hard look at where you are with your horse - trainers make good money on overhorsing their clients - if your horse has to be lunged half to death before you can ride it or the trainer's constantly getting on it to "ride it for you", something's wrong. And trust your gut . . . if you think you are getting bad advice from your trainer or don't like the way you or your horse are being treated, do something about it. Don't turn your brain or your conscience over to your trainer along with your wallet.
If you've got a horse that's more naturally high-strung and reactive, and are up to this - your riding skills are good enough and you've got the right mindset - don't just have the horse trained by someone else, since it won't necessarily transfer over to you - have the horse get some training and then work together with the trainer to get the two of you on the same page. A more high-strung and reactive horse can be confident, but just getting some training done and then having the horse go back to a rider who's not equipped to provide the horse the leadership it needs will result in things pretty quickly reverting to where they were.
A young, green horse with a basically calm temperament who's never been messed up (Pie) will come along on the confidence scale much more quickly than one who's more high-strung and reactive (Dawn and Red) or one who's been mishandled (Red) - either over-pressured or mistreated or from a situation where the owner didn't set appropriate boundaries and expectations (Red had both circumstances, which made him particularly challenging). For example, when I sent Pie and Red out for training in the spring of 2012 - I also was up there to ride both of them while being coached by my trainer twice a week in addition to the 4 days a week she worked with them - Pie was back home in a month (not finished but well on the road), whereas Red was there for 90 days and occasionally he still has moments where his confidence evaporates, although they're much rarer now - he's come a very long way.
There are definitely exercises that build self-confidence in the horse:
Leading - having a horse that is confident of what your spatial boundaries are, and knows how to lead, builds self-confidence in general. There are lots of different leading exercises to do - see the sidebar Working Towards Softness.
Patience and self-calming - exercises like just standing around and ground tying help the horse learn to relax into stillness. A key to this is that you need to provide the horse with a quiet, calm place to be - with you. Again, look at the sidebar under Working Towards Softness.
Grooming - this is why full service is a very bad idea (in my opinion) - building connection through daily grooming and hoof handling is very powerful.
Scary object training - this needs to be about working together with the horse to help them learn to trust you - it isn't really about desensitization, it's about building confidence. I've found clicker training to be quite helpful in this area with a worried horse, to encourage them to try. The best desensitizing is exposing horses to lots of things in a way that builds their confidence in human leadership (in general - some of this will generalize from one person to another) and your leadership (in particular).
Any and all of the softness exercises on the sidebar. Softness is really an internal thing - it's a physical and mental relaxation that expresses itself in the work. It's all about providing the horse a mental and physical "soft space" to exist in together with you - it's a huge confidence builder and also provides a place for you to ask the horse to go together with you when things become stressful.
Gradually exposing the horse to new experiences - without overwhelming them or forcing them - particularly in the company of calmer, more experienced horses.
Horses gain confidence in riders who set consistent expectations for desired behavior - inconsistency only confuses the horse and eventually leads the horse to discount you as a reliable leader (leadership has nothing to do with being your horse's "alpha" or dominating the horse). One of the most fundamental aspects of this is setting personal space boundaries into which the horse may not move. When people say their horse doesn't "respect them", they either mean that their horse doesn't do what they want (which 99% of the time means that the horse doesn't understand what is wanted, can't physically do what is wanted or has no confidence in the particular situation or with the particular rider - none of this has anything to do with "respect"), or that the horse is "pushy" (think about the attribution of intent in that language - words matter) or walks all over them. A horse that walks all over someone isn't a horse that lacks "respect", it's a horse that doesn't know where the person's boundaries are because the person has failed to set them, consistently - and this means every single time. Consistency leads to relaxation - the horse doesn't have to worry about what the rules are or that they are going to vary from moment to moment. Consistency in personal space, handling - leading, grooming, hoof picking, etc. - consistency in standing when ground tied or mounting, all these things build in relaxation and confidence.
There's another type of consistency that's very important - in your offering softness to the horse at all times - the horse needs to know that you will offer a soft spot that the horse can always find and relax into. This has nothing to do with "being nice" or going goo goo over your horse or feeding them treats or kissing them on the nose - it's about providing the horse calm leadership and mental and physical softness that the horse can find and relax into. If you need to upgrade your riding skills to be able to do this, then do it - I did this in the spring 2012 when my bad accident with Pie exposed some deficiencies in my riding skills and attitudes.
To build confidence, the horse need you to help them through - provide active, soft leadership in - situations that might otherwise be scary or worrisome. If your horse is concerned or alarmed, do something, don't just sit there, and do something right away - don't even wait a second - give the horse a task you can do together that the horse can successfully do and be rewarded for by finding the soft spot. Don't force the horse to do the thing that is the problem or "face the object" - that typically results in reinforcing the horse's concern - ignore the problem and work right along back towards it as the horse is able and pretty soon you'll likely find the problem has just evaporated. And don't punish a horse for spooking - "he's just doing it to get me" - no, he isn't - he's either learned that there's something scary there - usually from his rider's expectations and reactions - "my horse always spooks in the corner" - or there is something scary there - at least scary for the horse. Just keep on riding and ignore it. One of the saddest things I see pretty frequently is someone punishing the horse for spooking after the spook is over and the horse has taken a calm step or two - they've just punished the horse for calming down. Unless your timing is just about perfect - this is so rare as to be almost non-existent - using punishment is pretty darn ineffective, except perhaps for making a more worried horse.
Find ways to help your horse be successful, and make sure they know that you share their delight when they are - this builds confidence and connection.
That's it - that's what I've learned - what do you think?
1. Nature or nurture?
2. Have any of you had to build up a horses confidence?
3. How long does it take to build confidence?
4. If you send a horse out for training with a confident trainer, will it be able to come back and handle less confident riders?
5. Are there specific exercises you can do to build a horses confidence?First, briefly:
1. Nature or nuture? Yes, and yes.
2. Have any of you had to build up a horse's confidence? Yes - Dawn was very high-strung and nervous and reactive, and braced when I started to work with her. Pie had to recover from the upset of our bad accident in the summer of 2011. Red started out very nervous, reactive and fearful.
3. How long does it take to build confidence? It depends - on the horse's basic temperament and how the horse is handled. Every ride and every interaction you, or a trainer, has with a horse, either builds or destroys confidence.
4. If you send a horse out for training with a confident trainer, will it be able to come back and handle less confident riders? Yes, and no - it depends on the horse, the trainer and the rider and what you invest in the process.
5. Are there specific exercises you can do to build a horse's confidence? Yes, for any horse, from the least confident on up.
Here's what I believe makes for a confident horse:
Basic temperament.
Handling, training and experience.
The rider - consistency, reliability and connection.
Internal softness - the inside of the horse expressed in relaxation, willingness and confidence. This is where training of the rider, and exercises to do with the horse, all with an objective of softness, come in.Temperament is just one variable, but it's not the only one nor is it determinative. And it isn't breed-specific - I've seen calm and confident TBs and Arabians, and worried and scared QHs. Horses come - are born - with varying degrees of natural confidence, just like people. But the least naturally confident horse - the most reactive and nervous - can learn through positive experiences to become much more confident, and the most confident horse can have its confidence damaged or even destroyed. There's a balance here - it's easier to damage the confidence of a less naturally confident horse and it's harder to do so with a much more naturally confident horse.
How the horse is handled and trained makes a huge difference to a horse's confidence - and it's even more important for a horse that is naturally less confident. A horse that is naturally more confident has more margin for error. The more experiences a horse is exposed to, the better, so long as it is done in a positive way, where the horse is rewarded for trying, without coercion or punishment. Punishing a horse that is already worried or scared or confused is a recipe for disaster - there's no faster way to destroy confidence, particularly with a sensitive horse. There are cases of horses that have been coerced and overwhelmed (coercive "desensitization") who become shut down and potentially explosively dangerous. Consistency and reliability are key - and they must be delivered without emotions, other than the positive emotions of encouragement.
Red is a good example of a horse that lacked self-confidence. He's a very intelligent, very emotionally sensitive fellow, and we expect he experienced some mishandling in his past. He was always worried - that something bad/scary would happen, or that, if he tried to do something new/different when asked, he would be punished for getting the wrong answer - he was defensive, and shut down and even afraid at times. He also didn't trust people to provide him leadership that would keep him secure. Sometimes this manifested as "misbehavior" or even "defiance" or "aggression" - all these terms would impute an intent that he just didn't have - he was just confused/worried. His lack of self-confidence was so great that he struggled initially even with a confident rider - my trainer Heather.
To build self-confidence in the horse/human interaction, a horse that is lacking in self-confidence has to start by borrowing confidence from the rider. A confident rider isn't a rider who's aggressive, or dominant, or demanding or controlling - a confident rider calmly and consistent provides guidance and direction to the horse, and is considerate of the horse and its feelings, careful to listen to the horse and its tries and asks, and fundamentally reliable - the horse can count on the rider's support and guidance. A good trainer can help a horse a long way down the road on this, whereas a bad one can wreak a horse's confidence, sometimes for good.
If you're not a confident rider (this has nothing to do with equitation skills or being able to coerce a horse into doing things), you're best off on a supremely confident horse and one with a low-key, basically relaxed personality. If you're having confidence problems, take a good hard look at where you are with your horse - trainers make good money on overhorsing their clients - if your horse has to be lunged half to death before you can ride it or the trainer's constantly getting on it to "ride it for you", something's wrong. And trust your gut . . . if you think you are getting bad advice from your trainer or don't like the way you or your horse are being treated, do something about it. Don't turn your brain or your conscience over to your trainer along with your wallet.
If you've got a horse that's more naturally high-strung and reactive, and are up to this - your riding skills are good enough and you've got the right mindset - don't just have the horse trained by someone else, since it won't necessarily transfer over to you - have the horse get some training and then work together with the trainer to get the two of you on the same page. A more high-strung and reactive horse can be confident, but just getting some training done and then having the horse go back to a rider who's not equipped to provide the horse the leadership it needs will result in things pretty quickly reverting to where they were.
A young, green horse with a basically calm temperament who's never been messed up (Pie) will come along on the confidence scale much more quickly than one who's more high-strung and reactive (Dawn and Red) or one who's been mishandled (Red) - either over-pressured or mistreated or from a situation where the owner didn't set appropriate boundaries and expectations (Red had both circumstances, which made him particularly challenging). For example, when I sent Pie and Red out for training in the spring of 2012 - I also was up there to ride both of them while being coached by my trainer twice a week in addition to the 4 days a week she worked with them - Pie was back home in a month (not finished but well on the road), whereas Red was there for 90 days and occasionally he still has moments where his confidence evaporates, although they're much rarer now - he's come a very long way.
There are definitely exercises that build self-confidence in the horse:
Leading - having a horse that is confident of what your spatial boundaries are, and knows how to lead, builds self-confidence in general. There are lots of different leading exercises to do - see the sidebar Working Towards Softness.
Patience and self-calming - exercises like just standing around and ground tying help the horse learn to relax into stillness. A key to this is that you need to provide the horse with a quiet, calm place to be - with you. Again, look at the sidebar under Working Towards Softness.
Grooming - this is why full service is a very bad idea (in my opinion) - building connection through daily grooming and hoof handling is very powerful.
Scary object training - this needs to be about working together with the horse to help them learn to trust you - it isn't really about desensitization, it's about building confidence. I've found clicker training to be quite helpful in this area with a worried horse, to encourage them to try. The best desensitizing is exposing horses to lots of things in a way that builds their confidence in human leadership (in general - some of this will generalize from one person to another) and your leadership (in particular).
Any and all of the softness exercises on the sidebar. Softness is really an internal thing - it's a physical and mental relaxation that expresses itself in the work. It's all about providing the horse a mental and physical "soft space" to exist in together with you - it's a huge confidence builder and also provides a place for you to ask the horse to go together with you when things become stressful.
Gradually exposing the horse to new experiences - without overwhelming them or forcing them - particularly in the company of calmer, more experienced horses.
Horses gain confidence in riders who set consistent expectations for desired behavior - inconsistency only confuses the horse and eventually leads the horse to discount you as a reliable leader (leadership has nothing to do with being your horse's "alpha" or dominating the horse). One of the most fundamental aspects of this is setting personal space boundaries into which the horse may not move. When people say their horse doesn't "respect them", they either mean that their horse doesn't do what they want (which 99% of the time means that the horse doesn't understand what is wanted, can't physically do what is wanted or has no confidence in the particular situation or with the particular rider - none of this has anything to do with "respect"), or that the horse is "pushy" (think about the attribution of intent in that language - words matter) or walks all over them. A horse that walks all over someone isn't a horse that lacks "respect", it's a horse that doesn't know where the person's boundaries are because the person has failed to set them, consistently - and this means every single time. Consistency leads to relaxation - the horse doesn't have to worry about what the rules are or that they are going to vary from moment to moment. Consistency in personal space, handling - leading, grooming, hoof picking, etc. - consistency in standing when ground tied or mounting, all these things build in relaxation and confidence.
There's another type of consistency that's very important - in your offering softness to the horse at all times - the horse needs to know that you will offer a soft spot that the horse can always find and relax into. This has nothing to do with "being nice" or going goo goo over your horse or feeding them treats or kissing them on the nose - it's about providing the horse calm leadership and mental and physical softness that the horse can find and relax into. If you need to upgrade your riding skills to be able to do this, then do it - I did this in the spring 2012 when my bad accident with Pie exposed some deficiencies in my riding skills and attitudes.
To build confidence, the horse need you to help them through - provide active, soft leadership in - situations that might otherwise be scary or worrisome. If your horse is concerned or alarmed, do something, don't just sit there, and do something right away - don't even wait a second - give the horse a task you can do together that the horse can successfully do and be rewarded for by finding the soft spot. Don't force the horse to do the thing that is the problem or "face the object" - that typically results in reinforcing the horse's concern - ignore the problem and work right along back towards it as the horse is able and pretty soon you'll likely find the problem has just evaporated. And don't punish a horse for spooking - "he's just doing it to get me" - no, he isn't - he's either learned that there's something scary there - usually from his rider's expectations and reactions - "my horse always spooks in the corner" - or there is something scary there - at least scary for the horse. Just keep on riding and ignore it. One of the saddest things I see pretty frequently is someone punishing the horse for spooking after the spook is over and the horse has taken a calm step or two - they've just punished the horse for calming down. Unless your timing is just about perfect - this is so rare as to be almost non-existent - using punishment is pretty darn ineffective, except perhaps for making a more worried horse.
Find ways to help your horse be successful, and make sure they know that you share their delight when they are - this builds confidence and connection.
That's it - that's what I've learned - what do you think?
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Post Coming on the Confident Horse
I'm working on a post on the confident horse. First draft was a mess . . . still working on it . . .
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Scary Stuff + Active Riding + Softness = Good Rides + Proud Horses
The boys and I had a chance to practice some good skills this afternoon. It was a beautiful sunny day, about 80 degrees - just perfect to ride outside. And there was a pool party going on . . . so a perfect training opportunity. Pool party? Let me explain.
The family that owns our barn has several houses on the property. The house immediately next to the big front pasture isn't occupied, but is used for parties as it has a pool area. One of the daughters is leaving for college next week, so there were swarms of older and younger teens. The pool is behind a slatted fence - you can see people moving around. There are umbrellas showing over the top of the fence and several large flags (that were new today). There was lots of shrieking and screaming. There were groups of teens running across the grass to and from the tennis courts, and playing tennis and waving racquets around as they ran (I was riding Red during this). There were teens riding golf carts to and fro, including one cart that had a horn like the one in the Marx brothers movies. There was a bunch of teen girls running around with a small puppy (Pie got to see this one).
The large pasture is about 5 acres, with the outdoor arena at the top of a hill about 100 yards from the barn. There's a large flattish area at the top of hill outside the outdoor (in the big pasture itself) that's particularly good for working. Red and Pie and I rode out there today during all the commotion, and both boys did exceptionally well. We weren't right up close to the people, objects and noise, but we had a good view from the hill. Both horses were nervous at first - they weren't particularly worried about the noises but were somewhat concerned about the people running around - both boys are more prone to spook at people/animals moving fast, rather than objects or noises. For both rides, we were alone out there with no other horses nearby.
But we had no spooks, and both boys worked well. When Pie's or Red's head would shoot up and they would lock eyes on something that was happening I didn't sit there like a lump and let them stare and get more worried - I've done the lump thing before and believe me it's not an effective strategy with these boys when they're worried - that's how I came off Pie back in the summer of 2011. Instead I actively rode. Now, what do I mean by that?
The moment the horse's head went up and the eyes started to lock on something - the exact moment, not moments later - delay can result in trouble - I started asking the horse to do something - actively giving them direction and a task to do with me - circles, serpentines, figures - using a soft opening hand and not a lot of leg. And I asked for softness. Any time they were distracted, I instantly asked for them to come back to me with softness - I don't care if they get distracted - it's my response to their distraction that determines how well they do and how quickly they come back to me. Both boys know exactly what I want when I ask, and were immediately able to deliver. I don't think this strategy would be as effective, although it might still help, if the horse didn't already have the ability to deliver softness without even having to think about it - all that softening work we do, every day, has made it easy and automatic for them. And since we were doing together something they knew how to do, it gave them something to focus their attention on, and more confidence since we were doing something together at my request. It's my job to set things up so the horse can be successful - this is what builds trust.
Since we were doing circles and figures, they got plenty of opportunity to look - without stopping what we were doing and without putting their heads up or bracing. As they offered softness, this helped them relax through their whole bodies. The size of the circle depended on how amped the horse was - with Red at first the circles were fairly small so he couldn't build up too much momentum. We started at the walk, and as the horses worked and began to relax a bit, the size of the circles could get bigger and we could progress to trot. Eventually, once they'd relaxed a bit and didn't feel a need to rush, both horses were doing a lot of straight line work as well. Any time a horse would get a little too amped, we'd go back to figure work - worked like a charm to settle and relax them.
Both boys did exceptionally well - I was delighted with them and told them so. Both were able to walk back to the barn on a loose rein - the commotion was still going on - and we did a bit more work in another pasture after we walked back to the barn. I expect they're pretty proud of themselves - that's how I want my horses to feel any time we work together.
The family that owns our barn has several houses on the property. The house immediately next to the big front pasture isn't occupied, but is used for parties as it has a pool area. One of the daughters is leaving for college next week, so there were swarms of older and younger teens. The pool is behind a slatted fence - you can see people moving around. There are umbrellas showing over the top of the fence and several large flags (that were new today). There was lots of shrieking and screaming. There were groups of teens running across the grass to and from the tennis courts, and playing tennis and waving racquets around as they ran (I was riding Red during this). There were teens riding golf carts to and fro, including one cart that had a horn like the one in the Marx brothers movies. There was a bunch of teen girls running around with a small puppy (Pie got to see this one).
The large pasture is about 5 acres, with the outdoor arena at the top of a hill about 100 yards from the barn. There's a large flattish area at the top of hill outside the outdoor (in the big pasture itself) that's particularly good for working. Red and Pie and I rode out there today during all the commotion, and both boys did exceptionally well. We weren't right up close to the people, objects and noise, but we had a good view from the hill. Both horses were nervous at first - they weren't particularly worried about the noises but were somewhat concerned about the people running around - both boys are more prone to spook at people/animals moving fast, rather than objects or noises. For both rides, we were alone out there with no other horses nearby.
But we had no spooks, and both boys worked well. When Pie's or Red's head would shoot up and they would lock eyes on something that was happening I didn't sit there like a lump and let them stare and get more worried - I've done the lump thing before and believe me it's not an effective strategy with these boys when they're worried - that's how I came off Pie back in the summer of 2011. Instead I actively rode. Now, what do I mean by that?
The moment the horse's head went up and the eyes started to lock on something - the exact moment, not moments later - delay can result in trouble - I started asking the horse to do something - actively giving them direction and a task to do with me - circles, serpentines, figures - using a soft opening hand and not a lot of leg. And I asked for softness. Any time they were distracted, I instantly asked for them to come back to me with softness - I don't care if they get distracted - it's my response to their distraction that determines how well they do and how quickly they come back to me. Both boys know exactly what I want when I ask, and were immediately able to deliver. I don't think this strategy would be as effective, although it might still help, if the horse didn't already have the ability to deliver softness without even having to think about it - all that softening work we do, every day, has made it easy and automatic for them. And since we were doing together something they knew how to do, it gave them something to focus their attention on, and more confidence since we were doing something together at my request. It's my job to set things up so the horse can be successful - this is what builds trust.
Since we were doing circles and figures, they got plenty of opportunity to look - without stopping what we were doing and without putting their heads up or bracing. As they offered softness, this helped them relax through their whole bodies. The size of the circle depended on how amped the horse was - with Red at first the circles were fairly small so he couldn't build up too much momentum. We started at the walk, and as the horses worked and began to relax a bit, the size of the circles could get bigger and we could progress to trot. Eventually, once they'd relaxed a bit and didn't feel a need to rush, both horses were doing a lot of straight line work as well. Any time a horse would get a little too amped, we'd go back to figure work - worked like a charm to settle and relax them.
Both boys did exceptionally well - I was delighted with them and told them so. Both were able to walk back to the barn on a loose rein - the commotion was still going on - and we did a bit more work in another pasture after we walked back to the barn. I expect they're pretty proud of themselves - that's how I want my horses to feel any time we work together.
Thursday, August 15, 2013
New Trailer Photos
Here are some photos of the new horse trailer, which Pie and Red and I were using in the last two posts.
Front view - the windows open from the bottom, letting air into the tack room and then through the windows between the tack room and trailer, into the trailer. The trim is actually dark blue, although it looks black in most of the photos.
Side view - the tack room door is in front, the escape door (same on the other side) is next (with a drop down window), and a window for the horse area - all windows have screens and the drop down windows on the escape door have bars as well.
Tack room - already a mess! You can just see the window between the horse area and the tack room - this window can be open or shut.
A view of the escape door area looking across the trailer - chest bars to the left and a head screen in the middle.
Rear of the trailer, with the ramp covering the bottom of the back doors.
View of interior with the escape doors closed and divider pushed to one side - it's a dark day but the interior is pretty inviting. When the trailer is hitched up, there are interior load lights that can be turned on.
Opening one escape door makes things brighter inside - this is how we had the trailer set up for our loading practice:
Front view - the windows open from the bottom, letting air into the tack room and then through the windows between the tack room and trailer, into the trailer. The trim is actually dark blue, although it looks black in most of the photos.
Side view - the tack room door is in front, the escape door (same on the other side) is next (with a drop down window), and a window for the horse area - all windows have screens and the drop down windows on the escape door have bars as well.
Tack room - already a mess! You can just see the window between the horse area and the tack room - this window can be open or shut.
A view of the escape door area looking across the trailer - chest bars to the left and a head screen in the middle.
Rear of the trailer, with the ramp covering the bottom of the back doors.
View of interior with the escape doors closed and divider pushed to one side - it's a dark day but the interior is pretty inviting. When the trailer is hitched up, there are interior load lights that can be turned on.
Opening one escape door makes things brighter inside - this is how we had the trailer set up for our loading practice:
This shows how shallow the ramp angle is, and the small lip between the ramp and the trailer floor:
A very satisfactory trailer, I think.
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