( HINT: The Horse Is Never Wrong!!! )
by Michael Gonalez
So many times we hear people categorizing horses as buckers, rearers, runners, kickers, biters, balkers, etc., etc.. Too may times we have fallen to the bad advice given by well meaning others as to how to control our horses. Each and every time there are two main themes in their advice: get some sort of mechanical device to correct the problem and/or show them who is boss. This incorrect thinking stems from lack of knowledge and a lack of desire to spend the TIME (training principle #1) to find the cause or root of the problem. These well- meaning people are looking at the symptoms and not the cause of the problem at hand.
Utilizing the “ Less IS More” approach, we should strive to set aside all mechanical means of correcting the horse, and begin to study each horse as an individual. We should stop what we are doing and begin asking questions to ourselves concerning what may be the real underlying meaning for the horse's problem. By taking two steps back we sometimes find the answer we seek rather quickly. The answer unfolds before us clear as day. It is a classic case of not being able to see the forest through the trees.
Let me give you an example of how I learned to look for the not so obvious when dealing with a horse's problems… I remember this big boned palomino mare that I was starting. While out in the pasture, she received a kick in the chest close to her right leg. I gave her a week off because she was sore and hurting a bit. After about a week and a half, I noticed that she didn't seem to be getting any better. I talked it over with her owner and we decided to give her a few more days off. One day, I was in the round pen riding another horse when I saw the palomino get run off of the hay by another horse in the herd. The big pally slipped in the mud in her haste to get away. Well sure enough she began limping as she trotted away. We gave her another few days and then began to work her again thinking that she was just sore in her chest from the original kick. While doing groundwork I didn't notice anything to speak of, but when I asked her to trot, she would throw her right front leg very stiff and would land it just as hard. When we mounted her she would lay her ears back and swish and wring her tail constantly. I stayed with her working her twice more. The ‘soreness' never did seem to go away. After further examination by an equine chiropractor we found that her right hip was out. Apparently, this occurred when she slipped in the mud and aggravated her original condition. I erroneously thought it was due to the original injury. Since horse's feet move in diagonal pairs at the trot, I kept thinking it was the right front instead of the left hind that was causing her problems. To make a long story short…. I kept dealing with the symptom and not the cause.
When someone tells me of trouble they are having with their horse, I usually do two things. First, I ask more questions. The majority of the time the questions deal more with the rider than the horse. I look for simple basic causes for the problems. Saddle fit, feet trimmed and/or shod properly, something out of alignment in their bone structure, change of tack, wolf teeth/molars getting in the way, change of diet, change of pasture conditions, etc., etc.. If that doesn't satisfy my search, then I ask to see the horse and to watch the owner go through their regular paces with their horse. At times, this is where I find the cause of the problem.
All horse / human problems fall into one of four categories . Sometimes it may not be just one but rather a combination of two or three categorical problems. One category belongs to the horse. The responsibility of the other three lay on the human. These categories are as follows:
Notice that I put Self Preservation above all else and in bold block letters. That is because nature put it above all else in the horse's DNA. There is nothing that we can do to change that fact. When a horse becomes confused, frightened, excited, threatened, etc., he automatically switches from being left brained to right brained and Self Preservation kicks in. The need for fight or flight comes from his right brain. Logic goes right out the window when the switching of brain sides occurs. This is who he is as a prey animal and his very existence relies on Self Preservation being the number one thing in his life.
The first responsibility that falls on the human is Trust . It is the essential building block that all horse/human relationships, and partnerships, are built upon. Before anything else, a horse must first have to trust you to truly give of himself and ignore his instinctual Self Preservation .
The second responsibility that a human has to shoulder is earning Respec t. Now there are a lot of similarities between Trust and Respect when dealing with a horse. The two almost have to go hand in hand. If you stop and think about it, you really can't have Trust without having Respect . They each are byproducts of one another. First a horse has to learn to Trust you. You earn the Trust by teaching him that, as his leader, you will not lead him into harm nor abuse him. His best care is in your hands. With this, he learns to Respect you. The more he Respects you, the more he will Trust you…and the more he Trusts you, the more he will Respect you. It takes TIME (training principle #1) to earn and create a relationship built on Trust and Respect…however...it literally only takes about 2 seconds to completely destroy the Trust and Respect and thereby destroying the relationship.
The last responsibility that humans must shoulder is Communication . I find that in most cases, problems occur when there is a break down in Communication between horse and human. I will tell you in plain English right now that when it comes to miscommunication it is always the human's fault. We tend to be rather ego-centric and almost demand that every being understand our spoken language, intent, body language, thoughts, emotions, etc. Somehow we expect all to conform to human way of understanding. But horses don't think like we do. It is we humans who need to change our thought processes in order to better Communicate with horses.
I have people tell me that their horses are tossing their heads, or being cinchy when they have always acted normal during saddling. They will explain how their horses are now playing hard to catch in the pasture and are constantly wringing their tails and pinning their ears. They immediately revert to using force or mechanical devices to correct problem. Again, they are attempting to stop the symptoms instead of curing the cause. All these little signals that the horse is giving us are signals. It is his way of talking. This is what his language is based on and we just sit back and simply ignore the conversations. Or we want to ask our horse to slow down so we pull back on both reins. Then later we want a transition of gait or leads and we pull back with both reins. When we want the horse to back, we pull back with both reins. If we feel we are losing our balance we tend to pull back with both reins and use them to balance ourselves. Through all of this we expect the horse to understand our intent yet the signal that we are giving them is exactly the same and very confusing. Once again, it is the human at fault in the miscommunication.
Should we run into a problem during training instead of saying “My horse is doing ___! “ we should instead be asking ourselves “WHY is my horse doing this?” . If it stems from a communication problem, then we should ask ourselves these questions, “Is there anything that I can do to better prepare my horse for this training?” , or “Have I broken down this lesson to its smallest degree so that my horse can understand what it is I am asking?” . (training principle #5)
Looking back to the story of the palomino mare, there was a lot of communication going on but it as all one-sided. She was talking but I didn't stop long enough to truly listen. Proof in point that it was a communication problem and it was all my (the human's) fault.
When there is gap in Trust ….when there is a lack of Respect …where there is no Communication … Self Preservation will take over. Our job is to consistently be there for our partner and to guide them through situations so that we can keep Self Preservation from taking us into trouble. Being a leader that our horse Trust s and Respect s, he will naturally look to us in times of need. If, let's say, in the moment that he looks to us we are not ready to support him and lead him through, then Self Preservation will kick in and we will be forced to become ‘reactive' riders instead of ‘proactive' riding partners. There is a big difference. We must earn both the Trust AND Respect while being fair and equal in our Communication . ..and that Communication needs to be clear and concise
I have heard Ray Hunt state over and over that the horse is never wrong. He is just doing what he thinks he is supposed to be doing, or what he thinks we want, by the way we are communicating at that particular point in time. He is just trying to get along the best way he knows how.
So next time you find yourself in a battle of wills against your horse, stop for a moment and listen to what the horse is telling you. Apply the theory that the horse is never wrong and try to find exactly where the trouble stems from…
Trust … Respect … Communication
As I grow in my horsemanship, I am learning that Mr. Hunt is absolutely correct. The horse is never wrong!