05/14/2019
Patience and persistence.
For this week’s tip I’d like to share with you a concept that has been developed to describe dynamics within a team, and give you some perpective on how it applies to developing the relationship with our horse.
Whether we just purchased or started to ride a horse with the intention of showing or not, most of us go through the following 4 phases...
The Forming Phase:
Usually this phase is all rainbows and daisies, this is when you went to try a horse and you could do all the movements perfectly, you loved the contact and the connection, the horse was not spooky. You just found your unicorn.
Until a few weeks (sometimes days) after you bring your new equine partner home, and then starts...
The Storming Phase:
The quiet gelding you thought you had bought just tried to buck you off, spooks at each corner of the arena, the connection is difficult, and you can’t even pick up the canter while you could do half passes when you tried him a few weeks ago!
The reason why this happens is because in most cases when you ride a horse that is established into a routine, used to the same rider, where everything is under control, one ride from you won’t offset this too much. When you take a horse to a new environment, change his routine (feeding, turnout, mates, etc.) and also change the routine that he has under saddle, it will for a while decrease your performance as a team. Horses are very insecure animals, and are creatures of habits.
Most riders at this stage will start to blame external circumstances (the seller lied to me! Maybe the horse was drugged when I tried it? He is not happy at my barn I need to move him to another stall, change his diet and turnout schedule! He needs a new saddle and a new bit!) for the disappointment they are feeling about having bought the wrong horse, or the perception of it.
Therefore, you will have to be patient, and put in place a new program under saddle that will create a new routine and habits.
I’ve had a horse in training with which it took almost a year for me to gain his trust and for him to gain confidence, it is hard to keep faith and not get frustrated when dealing over and over with spookiness, naughtiness, difficulty to make efforts, but eventually like any of other horse we entered...
The Norming Phase:
Many people will never reach this phase unfortunately because they are not patient enough. The perception of having spent a significant amount of money for a horse that doesn’t provide an instant result that is expected will make them quit. Quitting can take several forms, from giving the horse away to starting to panic and change everything from trainer to diet to equipment, creating even more stress and discomfort within the relationship. However, quitting sometimes can be the best decision for someone who doesn’t have the availability of good help or the financial means to support it, and the situation gets either unsafe or indefinitely worse.
This is also why the large majority of riders dislike mares, or opinionated horses in general, and don’t do very well with them because their nature is not to be patient and to earn the horse’s trust. During this phase horse and rider start to understand how each other functions, and start creating new habits together and mutual understanding. It requires to develop the capacity to have a long term vision and basically faith in the fact that consistency, following through, sticking to the right training program will get you out of the woods and into...
The Performing Phase:
Whether I refer to performance as in competitions or just making progress in the dressage training of the horse, this phase is the direct result of all the small things we have done to make the relationship work over time, such as showing up and riding the horse consistently, investing time and money in training and being patient. If these actions have not been taken, then there won’t be any performing phase ever, you will get stalled in the norming phase. The saying that a mare will go through fire for you when you gain her trust is absolutely true, although this is true for any partnership with a horse. The lows of the storming phase can be very low with some horses, but if you’re patient the very highs are also waiting for you down the road. Have faith in your horse and the power of consistent positive actions you take every day with him, and don’t quit too early in the process!
On the picture my mare Southern Belle SWF, with which I had a wild Storming Phase, mainly due to her change of lifestyle from being a broodmare to a dressage horse, but I always knew the performing phase would be that amazing 😉
Photo Credit: Shawn Tinkham
Vincent Flores
USDF Gold, Gold Bar, Silver & Bronze Medalist
Vincent Flores Dressage, LLC
