What Your Horse Wants

When the holidays came around, did you get your horse a special gift? A cozy winter blanket perhaps? The latest treat-on-a-rope? No horse would refuse such thoughtful and enjoyable gifts, but what might your horse need and want during the days in the year when the occasion isn’t so special?

The best gift you can give to your horse is one that every horse would be grateful for: physical comfort and emotional well-being. Isn’t that what all creatures want, even us?

At the heart of my “Performance Through Partnership”™ program are what I call the 4 C’s of horsemanship: Calmness, Communication, Confidence, and Comfort.

Calmness creates a relaxed and receptive state-of-mind. On the contrary, a horse that is stressed will generate nervous energy and be much more reactive. Anxiety triggers the fight or flight response, a signal to the brain that there is danger. Recognize when your horse is feeling nervous. High-headedness, snorting, pawing, bellowing, and restlessness are signs of stress. Return your horse to a calm state by redirecting his energy. There is a close relationship between your horse’s mental and physical state. Riding at a forward gait, such as the trot, as well as lunging or round penning will give your horse a chance to release nervous energy. Also, asking your horse to bend his body from his poll to his tail, as he should be whenever he’s traveling on an arc, will soften his body as well as his mind. Backing your horse up until he relaxes his body and lowers his head is another way you can redirect his energy in a positive way, or ask him to just lower his head. Apply downward pressure on your lead and wait until your horse releases the pressure. Make sure he releases the pressure and you aren’t forcing his head down, and reward even the tiniest try.

Communication, both good and bad, sets the stage for his relationship with you under saddle and on the ground. How well your horse understands what you are asking him to do depends on how clearly you “speak” to him, as well as how well you listen. You have many tools with which to talk to your horse such as body language, voice, and touch. Horses respond well to smooth movements and a gentle yet deliberate touch. Quick or jerky motions make your horse think you’re attacking him, because predators are fast movers. While teaching your horse to respond to voice commands is useful, pay close attention to your tone. Horses can pick up whether you’re feeling stressed, angry, or confident by the listening to the sound of your voice. Use calm low tones to create relaxation. For example, when you say, “Whoa,” say it softly to keep both yourself and your horse relaxed from the beginning to the end of the stop. If you yell, “Whoa!” both you and he will enter the stop more stiffly, because a sharp high pitched sound will increase your horse’s stress level and yours.

Confidence makes your horse better equipped to cope with his environment and better handle the stressful moments that he’ll certainly encounter. A confident horse is also safer to be around, because he’s more thoughtful way and far less reactive. The secret for instilling confidence in your horse is to provide him with capable leadership. That means that you need to remain calm and confident yourself. Horses respect quiet self-assurance. A respectful horse will willingly move away from you when asked. He will also follow where you lead without getting ahead of you, stopping, or lagging behind. If your horse does any of these things when you’re leading him, stop him and back him up to reinforce that you are the one who moves him, and he is the one who follows. You also need to be a leader that your horse trusts. Respect without trust is nothing more than fear or intimidation.

Comfort, both emotional and physical, are necessary for keeping your horse in a willing state-of-mind. A horse in physical discomfort can’t tell you about his problem, but he will certainly not be shy about expressing it! A sore back, tender feet, dental issues, etc. can put the most stoic and tractable horse off his game. I see many behavioral and performance problems that are caused by underlying issues is a physical one or that’s he’s confused or feeling insecure. Many problems can be avoided by being an educated horse owner and knowing if your horse’s tack fits him properly, how to communicate with gentle hands and effective legs, and how to assess and manage your horse’s physical and mental state. fitting tack. Also make sure your training program is appropriate for your horse’s age, condition and experience. Gentle hands and appropriate leg cues will keep your horse in a good mood, as well.

So, give your horse the gifts of emotional calmness, clear communication, confidence in your leadership, and physical comfort so that you can both enjoy the rewards.

-Dale Rudin

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