Okay, let’s just get this conversation out of the way. We have all been guilty at some point or another of saying, “My horse just won’t… (fill in the blank)”. However, when compared to other beasts, horses are overall very willing to be cooperative – with some rare exceptions of course. This is the very reason they have been so used by humans throughout history. So, for the most part, when I hear this phrase from a rider – or even running through my own head – it raises the alarm bells.
I hear a human (yup, me too) inaccurately reading the horse’s behavior to be stubborn or unwilling, when in fact there are usually at least one of two problems with what they are asking of the horse. Either the horse is lacking the prerequisite training to understand the task or is physically incapable of performing it. In either case the horse is not to blame but rather the human; for not building the horse up to the task or not recognizing the horse’s limitations.
Lacking Prerequisite Training
I find this to be the most common issue. To put this in more relatable terms, we could not expect a first-grade student who’s just mastered adding and subtracting small numbers to comprehend algebra. You would first need to teach him fractions, multiplication, and division and get him comfortable with larger numbers. All of that education takes time. Likewise, by way of example, a horse who only understands basic steering to follow the right or left path on a trail ride will not be prepared to learn to sidepass without extensive additional training to prepare him for the more advanced maneuver. Specifically, he needs to learn to move forward into rein contact, bend, yield the shoulder and hip, leg yield and then onto increasing the angle of the leg yield until the motion goes nearly straight sideways.
Let’s also remember training is not just about installing buttons and commands on your horse – like updating software on your laptop. It is also about building language and relationship with your horse. If your horse doesn’t trust your leadership, he is far less likely to do advanced, difficult or scary tasks for you. You build relationship with a horse by spending time in handling him. And you build language (or cues/riding signals if you prefer) by purposely teaching him what various pressures mean, starting from the very most basic and working your way up progressively.
Physical Issue
The other common culprit for an uncooperative horse is physical incapability. If you have been purposely working at training for something more advanced or more athletic and you just can’t seem to get the breakthrough you have been looking for, try looking for a physical reason. Reasons can range from poor saddle-fit, choice of bit and rider position, to outright lameness. Any of these issues can take away a horse’s balance enough to hinder progress. At higher levels a horse’s simple athletic ability may have a ceiling that doesn’t let them progress, but many casual riders never require their horse’s complete athletic abilities for this to be as common an issue.
Hand-in-hand with most cases of “my horse just won’t…” are attitudes which are commonly noted by riders. You may hear someone say their horse is “sour” or “lazy” or “stubborn” – or, less commonly recognized as a potential issue, “too fast”. I know if I’m repeatedly asked to do something that is confusing, painful or that I’m unfit to do I get pretty cranky and anxious too. What people are calling attitudes are commonly the symptoms of the horse’s “fight or flight” instincts to a repeatedly unpleasant situation.
For Example
A new horse comes into your barn and the first time you try to pick his feet he flies back and breaks his tie. You go get someone to hold him by hand while you try picking up his foot again. He tries to fly back but the person holding does a good job managing him. You are very tenacious, and you don’t let him pull that foot away from you so he’s hopping around on three legs and tries to bite the person holding him. After manhandling his front foot, you move onto his back leg. You barely get to touch his hind leg and he gives you a warning kick into the air. This horse has in the last five minutes earned a reputation as “won’t let you handle feet”. This horse is a perfect example of “fight or flight”.
A good horseman will by this point notice that the battle they are getting into is escalating. Rather than push forward with a fight, a good horseman finds another way around the subject and begins the long, slow process of showing the horse what he should do instead of be afraid. There are many ways to approach this particular issue – but that is a whole subject of its own.
Main Possible Outcomes:
- The handlers are not knowledgeable enough to handle the behaviors and become afraid of, or otherwise off-put by the horse’s behavior. The horse moves on about his life with a negative label and potentially escalating behavior issues making his prospects in increasingly bleak. Sadly this happens far too often.
- His behavior was due solely to a lack of handling and training. After much patience and calm, firm handling he will learn that he can in fact balance on three legs and the horse’s behaviors will subside. Over time the bad reputation will become a memory of “how he used to be”.
- He improves only marginally. Perhaps he is getting physically stronger for all the efforts with him and he realizes his people aren’t out to hurt him, but something just isn’t right. It is likely a physical issue that he really struggles to balance on three legs or that flexing a particular leg is painful. Neck and back pain can even play a role here. Therefore, the discomfort remains and the behavior remains (though usually will get less dramatic with the good handling regardless).
The most kind-natured horses get labeled “lazy” because instead of running or fighting the situation, they simply quit and choose not to participate. In the example of handling feet, this is the horse that takes tremendous prodding to lift his feet and remains unsteady when he does lift it.
Decoding The Clues
How do we decode what our horses are telling us? Start from the premise that your horse is doing the best he can at the moment. If it’s difficult to get from the horse, it’s difficult for the horse to do. I usually coach riders to stop when they find themselves in an argument with their horse, and think about how they would prevent or handle that issue the next incident. Then move on with what you were planning to do. You may not always foresee a disagreement but once we identify an issue, we can be a thinking leader and decide on a better way to handle it next time.
Final Thoughts
It might sound as though I’m completely advocating for the horse here. What I am really advocating is having two-sided conversations with our horses. As humans we all too often have one-sided conversations where the horse is not allowed any reasons or excuses and we just talk over them completely. In a correct two-sided conversation with a horse on any subject matter we must lead the conversation. This is absolutely key! We lead the conversation and listen to our horse’s response. If his response is “I don’t understand”, then we explain. If he responds “that doesn’t feel good, I can’t”, then we must investigate and try to solve what we can to help him succeed. This is how we get the most from our horses in any endeavor.
These conversations are not always slow and gentle. Sometimes our conversations will need to be quite firm, and our horse’s behavior can be quite dramatic. We should be prepared to deal with the drama, but not be the ones to create the drama. As our horses come to understand the lesson we are teaching, they become less dramatic.
So do a double-check of how you view your horse’s behavior. And next time you hear a rider saying, “My horse just won’t…”, you can imagine the horse saying, “My person just won’t listen/let me think/tell me what to do, etc…”
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