Horses don't do wrong things: horses are never wrong

By Patricia Reszetylo

A lot of people think that their horses do things wrong, or incorrectly.

From an interview with Marv Walker, AwarenessHorsemanship.com:

“It’s not wrong in my mind, either. Basically what that horse is doing is he’s telling me that there is a problem in something I have done. Then I analyze and say to myself, Okay, I probably need to try something different or watch for something.”

It gives me the information on what to do. It does me no good to go and grab that horse, work the living daylights out of it and say, “Now, do you think you’ve seen the wisdom of your ways because you’re all worm out and tired?” That is going to be counter-productive.

The real question is this: who is doing things wrong – the horse or the human? Let’s look at this a little more closely.

Humans are full of expectations, and most equestrians are very unskilled, both in the art of riding, and in the understanding of the beast with which they are working. They don’t understand it on either a mechanical or mental level.

1. It is important to understand a horse on a mechanical level – a physiological level – because you need to know what movements it can and cannot perform. First off, the motion you may be asking it to perform (intentions aside) may be physically impossible, if not impractical for it to perform – just as a regular, sound horse. Secondly, it may actually have soundness issues. A bruise anywhere can impede or obstruct the motion. It may be out-and-out lame. Your saddle may be obstructing its motion. There are many factors in this area. Thirdly, different species of horses are bred for different uses. Warmbloods are bred for specific conformational characteristics that allow them to naturally achieve deep collection. They don’t need to train for it, it happens naturally. Quarter Horses are bred for quick speed and sharp turns. They can of course do dressage – but those that are specifically bred for speed events don’t do it as well as the Warmbloods. Their conformation is very different, and inhibits that deep collection required for upper level work. A Warmblood can run barrels – but it’s never going to be as quick or agile as the Quarter Horse.

2. It is also very important to understand how the horse functions mentally. Horses do not, generally speaking, act like humans. They are just what they are – they do not pretend, like humans do, to be anything else. They do not deny what they feel. When we train them, the first thing we must do is to become the leader. If we are a leader, the horse will follow. It’s just like in a group of people – there is always somebody who is the leader. If you watch a group of horses, you will eventually see that there are leaders and there are followers.

How do you tell the difference between a lead horse and a follower horse? It’s simple: take a horse out of the pasture. Keep him out for a while. If the other horses hang around, waiting for its return, you have a leader. If the other horses go out to pasture, leaving your horse behind, he’s a follower.

You don’t have to be a horse to be its leader. You don’t have to be a horse to be its follower. Very few people are leaders with their horses – but they are fairly easy to pick out. They are the ones with the horse that behaves in nearly all situations. They are the ones to whom other people turn when they are having problems with their horses. They are the ones who don’t complain that the Judge was biased for whatever reason, that the ring was too whatever, or that something frightened their horse. They are the ones to whom the horse looks for leadership, especially when they encounter something potentially frightening.

Followers, on the other hand, blame everything but their own lack of leadership. “There was a plastic bag by the fence, and my horse spooked.” “That judge hates Arabs/Quarters/Apps/ what have you.” “This dumb horse – he knows better!”

Horse’s basic instinct is to LEAVE if in doubt. If they are cornered, yes they will fight. Their hard, sharp hooves and strong teeth make lethal weapons – a horse can take off a man’s arm with its teeth if provoked. A single blow from a foot can maim or even kill a human. But its first instinct is to move, to go away, and to leave.

So a horse is just being a horse. We ask it to do something it doesn’t understand or simply CAN’T do, it doesn’t do – as it doesn’t understand or can’t comply, and what do we do?

We punish it.

How fair is that?

Now we have a horse that a) still can’t do what we asked, and b) is hurt, confused – or pissed off. Have we gained anything? Have we taught it anything?

What would it cost us to assess the situation and consider the following factors?

• Is the horse physically capable of what we are asking – does his conformation and soundness allow it?
• Is the horse strong enough to do what we are asking?
• Is he in pain somewhere – a tooth, a hoof angle that’s off, a poorly fitted saddle, a bit that pinches or that doesn’t work for his mouth width/depth?
• Does the horse really understand what we are asking of it – is there any way that we can break down what we are asking into smaller bits, so that it can learn what we want? Have we possibly gone too fast, skipped something it needed to understand?
• Do WE really understand what we are asking of the horse? Do we understand the aids – not cues – that will properly assist the horse? Are we clear and precise, or muddled and confusing? Do we clearly understand what outcome we desire, or is it vague in our mind? Are we fixated on the goal, instead of willing to break it down into steps that the horse can understand?

In virtually every case, if we lead with compassion, understanding and fairness, our horses will comply with our wishes – and often, even before we ask.

About the Author:

Patricia Reszetylo has been a horse-addict ever since she first met horses in 1978. Her mother thought it was “just a phase” – but it seems to be a rather long-lived phase. Patricia is happiest when her life revolves around horses, and has had several businesses that are horse-oriented. She is the author of the horse business ebook, “Hor$e Cent$: Infiltrate and Dominate Your Local Equestrian Market Using Pre-Equestrian Classes,” and hosts teleseminars on various equine-related topics.

Patricia Reszetylo may be contacted at NoHorsingAround.com or email patricia@nohorsingaround.com.