13/01/2025
Long read: Learned Helplessness
I have been thinking about different approaches to training over the years and the impact on the horses' mental state, the relationship that results because of this training.
My question is always: Is the horse relaxed to see me or is it stressed. Does it want to be with me if it has the option to say "no".
What is the expectation of the horse, when I approach it with a halter? Does it turn away or does it wait for me minding its own business or does it wait for me unmoving/frozen or does it turn towards me. Those are just four scenarios that tell you a lot about their mental wellbeing.
After years of suspicion and growing dislike, about 1 year ago it really hit me hard that a very common so-called horsemanship training method is abuse, hidden behind sweet words and explanations. I met a horse that made me cry for its sad previous life experiences.
It's normalised to strengthen aids if a horse does not react in a desired way. I think it was 25 years ago that I heard Grischa Ludwig, a Westernriding Star at the time, say: "I give a soft aid and if the horse doesn't listen, I give a stronger aid. If the horse still does not listen, my aid will be so strong that it wishes it would have listened on the first aid."
At the time it was absolutely solid advice. Of course, the horse is being naughty and unwilling, of course I need to show my dominance.
But is it really that simple?
If I go to Italy and ask people "Wie spät ist es?" and they don't speak German, it doesn't make sense to speak louder or even scream at them. They will not magically understand German, because I aument the volume.
So why is it absolutely normal to "scream" (as in strengthen the aid) at horses? It isn't. And if you think about it, you should agree.The trainer/rider should ask a question, the horse can understand. In my Italy-example that can also mean, I speak a different language that can be understood there: "Che ora è?" or at least similar: "Que horas são?"
A few days ago I saw a preview for a German TV show which is called something like "The Horse Professionals" or "The Horse Whisperer", something like that, which finally threw me over the edge and made me sit here and write about it. It is about a Haflinger gelding that was being "stubborn" and pulled itself free when lunged. Over and over and over... The owner ripped through gloves and had uncountable burns on her hands. Yet, she never thought to change HER behaviour. Yet, she never tried to stop forcing him to do a task that was out of his comfort zone. He is being stubborn.... not HER, as a rational human being. No, never her! Einstein said - doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome is insanity. But in this case, the animal is being stubborn... Sure...The owner called in the troops and they delivered. The female trainer said: working with horses should always be a soft interaction, but sometimes, especially in a training phase this early, we need muscle strength to reach our goal. The gelding was tacked up with a snuffle bit and a tight flash strap. The lunge was fixed on the inside ring of the bit. Then we could see the male trainer throwing himself backwards with his whole body weight, pulling on the bit. The Haflinger was in pain, terrified and in full flight mode. The male trainer mocked him: "Awwww, too bad. Someone is being sad now." I was so disgusted. The horse shows very clearly that this task, the lunging, is out of his comfort zone, he learned that he can get free by pulling really hard. His human, the person he is at the mercy of, instead of finding a more comfortable entertainment for the horse, calls strangers that proudly violate him.They teach the horse that it will only get more painful, if he doesn't yield. They teach him, no one will listen to you! They teach him, you can not trust a human. They teach him to shut down and endure. And this is called horsemanship. Teaching a horse to be helpless. What would I have done in this scenario? I would have walked him (NOT IN THE ARENA) in a Cavesson. I would have taken him out of this area that is now so closely related to the misery of being lungend. I would have found something interesting like ground poles or even cones. Lunging is such a boring practice if not done with a great variety of figures and movements. If there is no option to walk the horse anywhere else, one could still work in the arena without lunging. Long-reining, ground poles, in hand work. I would not try to force the horse on the lunge over and over again. There should be more awareness that horses don't know the answer until we ask the question in an understandable language.
Every healthy horse is ridable. Is a horse not ridable, it is not healthy.
