0607 Training Article -- Learning to HorseThink

Learning to HorseThink

As all of you know, this outfit is called HorseThink. The name was designed to compliment what we do, how we do it, and to get people to think about their horse and how they think and learn. So how does someone learn to HorseThink?

One way to start is to ask yourself this question: If you were in a foreign country and couldn’t understand the language, the body gestures, or the reasons for doing something, how would you like to be taught what was right and what was wrong?

You might also ask yourself this: If you had to learn with those limitations and in that way, how long would it take you to master something?

I think horses are incredibly fast learners. Have you ever thought about this? All horses know how to walk, trot, canter, gallop, do flying lead changes, skid to a stop, spin, leave at a gallop, rear, leap into the air and kick out (airs above the ground), roll back, dance sideways, turn on the fore, turn on the hind, collect themselves, prance, dance and pirouette ALL before they’re six months old.

What they don’t understand is why we ask for all of those things by kicking, poking, prodding, slapping, smacking, clucking, kissing, and any manner of other cues. HorseThink-ing involves asking yourself what can you do to make it easier for your horse to understand what it is you’re asking of them.

For instance, have you ever paid attention to how soft and easy a horse can move another horse out of his space? Most people don’t notice this subtle behavior. Many times another horse moves because the first horse simply moved its head a certain way. The second horse leaves or gives more room because of the gesture. If that doesn’t work, then the first horse will try a little harder and maybe make the gesture more pronounced. And if that doesn’t work, then they’ll step it up and pin their ears (which is where most humans first realize that horse number one has actually done something). HorseThink-ing involves recognizing those first gestures and understanding the implications of them – and learning how to be as subtle with our own signals to our horses.

Horses have a tendency to do things in an escalating progression. Most humans do, too, if you think about it. For instance, the horse makes a slight nod, shifts his weight, tosses his head, stamps his foot, swishes his tail, cocks a hind leg, and maybe pins his the ears. A human does the same thing when they ask politely at first, speaks a little louder if necessary, or looks directly at someone while forming an expressive face which signals an emphasis to their words (think of the way your father or mother had “the look” that signaled that what was coming next was not going to be good). Did you notice that in all those signals neither the horse nor the human touched the other horse/human involved?

However, when most people work with their horse, the first thing they do is make some type of physical contact. If you find that you always have to touch your horse to make him back up, use the halter to make him stop moving forward, twirl your rope to get him to move forward, use your spurs to keep him moving while riding or to make him behave, then perhaps you want to HorseThink your way to better signals and communication.

While on the ground I can generally stop one of my horses from moving forward by simply holding up my hand or using my voice – or simply stopping my own feet. They will usually back up by a soft hand signal –I don’t have to push on their chest to make it happen.

It seems to me that horses have some very specific signals to get things done in the herd, and I’ve tried to HorseThink my way to some specific signals for getting the horse to do things, as well. A pointing finger, a raised arm, rhythmic motion from a hand, or my body position can mean the world to a horse. In my clinics, many of you have witnessed me take a horse that an owner was having trouble leading, and in a few minutes that horse would be leading better and in fact would walk very fast when I walked fast and creep along when I changed my body position from upright to slightly bent over at the waist. We call it the sneak, and horses will pick up on it very quickly. The key to making it easier for the horse to understand was my ability to HorseThink the problem and realize that when horses walked slowly they, too, had a bent over posture. When horses walk very slowly, they are usually “surfing” the ground with their noses, and in effect they’re bent over from the withers forward. I noticed that when the horses’ heads were held high they weren’t “creeping” along one step at a time, they were walking somewhere.

I then did some more HorseThink-ing with my riding signals and realized that I could use my legs in a very specific manner to clearly signal forward or backwards. I also reversed the common practice of leaning backwards while backing and in fact lightened my seat and leaned slightly forward -- and my horse backed up easier than ever. At clinics, many people have been surprised how easily their horse backs up when signals are changed. Horses that were difficult to back up and required a lot of “rein” suddenly required almost no contact on their mouth.

The key to HorseThink-ing is to think about the common method of working with our horses and ask if there’s a better way to accomplish it. For some things, there’s an easier way -- and for many there is not. I’m not suggesting that all methods are wrong -- not at all. I’m not suggesting that I invented a new way to ride. But in many cases I found a way to refine it and make it easier for the horse, taking into account how they think and learn and act.

In the process, I also often found a way to explain the lessons to make it easier for the riders to understand. There’s always room to make things better, easier and more effective. It’s called progress. Ironically, in the horse world, much of what people did a thousand years ago to train their horses is still effective today. But there isn’t one single way to train a horse. If there was, then we’d all be doing it. Just like there isn’t one bit for all things either, otherwise there wouldn’t be a hundred or more styles and discussions on what works the best.

So what does work the best? Try to HorseThink your way through some different situations, and see if you can make your horse understand what you want with less effort. Perhaps you can think of ways that you could make a signal clearer to the horse. Perhaps you could ask more like a horse, with less physical contact and more gestures that your horse can figure out.

When people ride in my clinics, there’s almost always a point during them when I tell people to experiment with their body position and language and see what the horse does. In other words, I try to let them ride as if they could only direct with their body and not their reins (which is the correct and ideal way of riding). As they let their horses wander, they might put more weight into one stirrup, or might weight a seat bone differently, change their shoulders slightly, look up higher than usual, sit up straighter than usual… And as they try new things, they simply notice how it affects their horse’s movement, direction, and demeanor. Suddenly they’re HorseThink-ing, trying different things so that they can see what naturally affects their horse.

HorseThink your way through some problems and issues and see what happens. You’ll be glad you did. And so will your horse!