09/02/2024
Anyone can train a horse đ´
If you handle a horse in any capacity congratulations youâre now a horse trainer đ
Horses are learning all of the time, every time you interact with a horse you are training something whether youâre aware of it or not. Training is not confined to the arena. When you catch your horse, how he leads, how he behaves at the gate and how you move around each other, none of this is set in stone. Maybe your horse gets a fright coming through the gate one day, then the next day he rushes a little, a bit more the day after that until you have an issue with gates because you didnât address it when it started and now it has become a conditioned response to coming through the gate.
People often talk about horses in a very rigid way, as if once theyâre trained a certain way that is just how they will stay forever. Maybe you can send them to your trainer to restore the factory settings đ
. Unfortunately horses donât work this way and any training needs to be consistent from the people who are interacting with the horse daily. I have seen things slide so quickly even with very quiet, well trained horses when they are handled in an inconsistent way.
Take a minute every day to just ask your horse to stand and wait quietly while you do things, being consistent pays off in the long run. We all see people flying their horses like a kite just to get from a to b on daily turnout, the answer always seems to be bits and pressure halters and never actually addressing the fact the horse doesnât understand how to lead properly. Horses with good foundations donât drag you around even when theyâre feeling flighty. This sort of behaviour isnât just stressful for you, itâs stressful for the horse too.
The most important thing for me (and Iâm sure the horses) is how you make them feel when theyâre around you. Do you make them feel safe and calm? Do they understand what you are asking and feel relaxed about the work? Or do they feel worried and afraid to make a mistake? Perhaps youâre inadvertently confusing them because you are feeling stressed and are being unclear. Anyone can bully a horse into compliance with âimpressive resultsâ, but how do you think a horse really feels about someone who yanked on their face or ran them in circles until they gave up? Your horse following you around isnât the connection you think it is when his only other option is being chased around, but thatâs a whole other topic for a different post đĽ˛.
Learning is messy and everybody learns differently. Anybody can learn to train with good timing and feel but so many people are put off because itâs difficult at first or maybe the trainer doesnât match their style of learning. So many of my clients are constantly saying sorry every time they make a mistake, I do it in my lessons too and Iâm trying to stop đ¤Śđźââď¸. Training horses is a huge skill, youâve got to figure out what your limbs are doing independently of each other, figure out where you are positioned, watch the horse, watch where youâre going, ask enough but not too much đŤ itâs hard! Give yourself a break.
I think so much of the industry makes people feel inferior, as if thereâs some mystical âthingâ you either have or you donât or that you need to know all of the technical jargon. I watch a lot of lessons with a lot of trainers and the amount of times Iâve seen the trainer explain something in a way that made no sense, I can see the rider doesnât understand, but theyâre too scared to speak up and ask because they feel like they âshouldâ know what they meant. Some people very confidently talk about a lot of nothing, âhe needs to work more from behindâ, okay cool, how? What exactly do you mean by that? Can you break it down for me? Donât be afraid to ask questions, you are paying to be taught. Letâs just say ribbons won does not equal good horsemanship or good training.
So many of us feel that weâre not âgood enoughâ and need someone else to do all the training not realising we are capable of training that horse every day by ourselves. Your lessons are a place to learn the skills to take away and implement. You donât need to do anything ambitious, start small, ask your trainer for exercises you feel comfortable doing alone and make sure you really understand them. All of us can be more mindful around our horses and keep on top of those small things. Donât walk out of the arena and forget every boundary you just set with your horse, you must be consistent.
If you want a calm, willing horse you must be a calm and consistent person to be around. This starts on the ground in their daily life.đ´
Photo of my non-horsey dad doing some training around standing still with Teddy đ
www.lshorsemanship.co.uk
