As you’ve probably gathered from the first article, a lot of emphasis has been placed on teaching. There are lots of different methods or ways to teach, but what is vital is our attitude (our approach and how we get our point across). It’s not necessarily what you do; it’s how you do it.

Therefore, "Scared Horses Don’t Learn!"

When they’re scared, they mostly think about leaving. So we don’t want our horses to be afraid of us, we want them to want to be with us. I’m not saying you can’t be firm, but you can be firm and still be kind.

• Rule 1 - We are the leader
• Rule 2 - We are good leaders

Horses aren’t afraid of the herd leader; they respect them and want to be part of the herd. They depend on the leader to feel safe and secure. We don’t want to always be yelling or smacking them, instead we can show (teach) them what we want and let them figure things out, and that’s what I’ll be getting into shortly. I’ve been to barns where the manager or handler yells at one horse and they all jump. I don’t think that’s a good thing. This is fear, not respect. When that person comes around, they all think of escape, not learning. Actually, they are learning to avoid that person.

If I were to ask you to train a Grizzly Bear, would you try to intimidate the Grizz, or, would you choose a different approach. I’m not saying you will never yell or give them a smack, but there are appropriate times to do it.

Horses like to be around me (ask a lot of my students, they have a tough time keeping their horses away from me during a lesson, and its not always because they just get to stop working). They know what to expect from me. My behaviour is like my rule (C.P.P) I’m consistent, persistent and patient. I am also calm and that gives them comfort, they feel safe and relaxed, with a willingness to be with me. Horses like calmness and consistency (structure). They are just like us. Who likes to be around people that are unpredictable in their behaviour?

So with all this in mind, a few things that are important are:

Look for some effort on their part, some call it “try” and reward it. Remember C.P.P (Consistent, Persistent, and Patient) once we start something, it’s important not to change it. It only confuses them. The only thing you might change is the pressure or duration, but the request stays the same.

Last month we talked about putting structure back into our horse, with that we will also put in place respect, trust, and manners plus a horse that is a thinking partner. We talked about a number of rules:

1. I am the leader
2. I will be a good leader
3. Do what I ask until I ask you something different, and I shall correct you if needed
4. K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple...
5. C.P.P. - Consistent, Persistent, Patient

We talked about a structured society, where there is no equality, so we naturally have to take the role of leader. How do we do that, well, one-way is to get the horse to move their feet. If we do that we are smarter, and if we can do that, we must be stronger, and if we can get somewhere first we must be faster. So let’s get to work.

Let’s start with a common problem in the field. Catching our horse in the pasture, which is a whole other lesson, however we can avoid problems by changing up the routine.

Common Scenario: Go to field, get horse, work horse, and turn horse back out. Then repeat and repeat etc. What does the horse think of this? What’s in it for them? Why would they want to be caught? It’s like a person you only see when they want something. You see them and say, “Oh no”, and then you look for an exit. So I vary things up when I go to the field. I almost always take my halter and lead. Sometimes if they are eating, I will hook them up and continue to let them eat for a few minutes. I may bring them in and tack and ride, or I might just groom them and send them back out. Sometimes we longe and sometimes I just go into the field, give them a treat, and walk away or I just go into the field and sit and watch. This makes them think! So vary it up and your horse won’t always associate you with work. They will start to associate you with pleasure, as someone they won’t mind spending time with. Your horse will get a, “what are we going to do today” attitude. Avoid the problem and you won’t have to fix it.

Avoid taking a grain bucket into a paddock where there is more than one horse, you may get mugged!

Let’s go back to getting their feet moving. A round pen is the best way to do that, however, we have to get them there first, so we need to do some work before that and I’ll touch on that in a minute.

We would all like a round pen. We can get them to move, then, in a specific direction, change directions (inside and outside turns) stop and come to us. We obviously show them we are the leader by using all the criteria mentioned earlier, and we have a fantastic start to our relationship. However, most of us don’t have a round pen and assuming that, I will continue on how we can show our horses that we are still in control by working with them in their stall and getting them to move their feet, calmly and quietly and still teaching them all the while.

I will assume that our horses don’t have behaviour problems except for a lack of structure or manners. (Aggressive horses need special attention, and you can contact me for that.)

Our Safety is the most important thing. Always when working with your horse, think of Safety!

When you approach your horse in the stall, hopefully, they are facing you at the door with ears pricked forward and happy to see you. When you open the door and start to move in, they should back up. If not, we will teach them that they need to respect our space, by moving backwards, and I will get to that in a second.

If on the other hand, their butt is facing the door, and you, that is not a good thing. They are telling you that YOU better look out. They are not in the mood for us. This is unacceptable behaviour for someone who is below us in the herd. So, we will start to teach our horse that we are in charge, by one of the things I touched on earlier. We will get them to move their feet.

Our Safety is paramount, so DO NOT enter the stall, instead open the stall door about 12-18 inches (not enough for the horse to come through) and with a lead shank, (hold the metal clip in hand) flick (toss gently) towards their hind end. What we want to do is get them to turn and face us or turn sideways. By doing that we have gotten them to move their feet (cool eh?), plus, we have changed their mood and their thought process. Turning sideways is a prone position for them so that helps to establish us as leader and for them to give up their thoughts of telling us off. If they completely turn and face us, even better.

When you toss the lead in the direction of their butt, they may very well get more nervous and start to dance a bit, not knowing what we want or what they should do, they may even kick out at the lead (aren’t you glad you didn’t go in the stall). Always be careful, and don’t get over aggressive. Keep calm, toss the lead end towards them (every 2-5 seconds) and give them a chance to ANSWER. (Be patient) This is important, and we will do this over and over in our lessons

Let them give us an answer.

Eventually, they will turn sideways or face us. When they do that, immediately stop flicking the lead and praise with a calm voice. Wait a few seconds and then enter. If they turn their butt back, re-do the exercise until they stand and you can enter safely. Now you can put the halter on.

If your horse was facing you and didn’t back, don’t worry, we will teach him that.

So, we’re in the stall with the halter on and attached to a long lead shank. I like a lead at least 9-12’ long. This works with all halters (no special equipment needed).

This next lesson is one of the most important lessons we will teach our horse.

I touched on our body position before and what it means to us and to them, and now we’ll continue.

I can’t stress enough the importance of these lessons. Groundwork is where you can teach and safely solve most problems. So, don’t underestimate these basic lessons and give them more attention than you think they deserve.

I start every horse with this lesson plan. Young or old, I make sure that this lesson is the first one that I teach them.

IT IS THE FOUNDATION LESSON!

This is the lesson I mentioned in the first article that will give you something so basic and easy for your horse to do for you. It doesn’t get any simpler than this. They will be able to give the yes answer, which makes all involved happy, and your horse feel good about themselves, and make them relax. When everything is going wrong, you can ask your horse this, and they will be able to give the correct answer. That way, you get them focused back on you, they can calm down, and they will know something that enables them to be able to give you what you want.

What is it that we will teach them? It’s a signal (or cue if you like), to come to us. Yup, it’s that simple. When you’re trying to teach them something, and they are getting stressed, you can go back to this and ask them to come to you, and you will be amazed how that calms them, and how they refocus on us. They are relieved when they can give a correct answer. They really want to please us and they try very hard. With this you will also be able to teach your horse to trailer load, go over water, tarps, etc. You need something to ask your horse for movement. There are lots of methods, the “go forward cue by tapping on the hip” or “tickling the hocks” or getting them to “move their hind end with a lead”, and many others, but I like this way because it keeps them calm and relaxed AND thinking.

In the stall, halter on, lead attached, our body position will be, us facing them (our chest and hips square to them) on a 90 degree angle, or off to one side (start on horses left) never directly in front. You want to always be to one side or the other, that way you won’t get run over, and if they get nervous, they can run past us. I know, I know, you’re probably saying, isn’t that an aggressive body posture, (us square to them) to assume? No. But it is a confident posture. When you stand facing a horse, it’s also important on HOW we stand. If I stand facing them (relaxed) with my arms to my side or folded slightly to the inside, that is a non-aggressive posture. Now, if I crouch down and bring my hands and arms up (and even scowl), that is aggressive. Think of Lions and Zebras in the bush. Zebras will graze close to a lion if the lion is laying down with its paws folded inward with a relaxed (content or full) demeanor, however, when the lion is on the prowl, it’s body slinks down in a low crouch, and their paws are threatening and their whole body position changes, then zebras run, and run fast. My body position will be relaxed and therefore is non threatening and actually will invite the horse to come to me.

Actually at this time I will touch on 3 of our body positions and how horses perceive them;

1. Square to them -  It can mean 2 things (mostly). It can be a confident, strong, and “trusting and willing to follow” position. We will definitely have their attention and they will be saying, ”Hmmmmm, what do they want?” (Cool! Thinking and focused!). It can be an aggressive position. By standing taller, waving or raising our arms, crouching position, running towards them etc. Definitely aggressive. Both ways we have their attention. One, they are thinking about what we might like them to do and the other they know.
    
2. Sideways – As by standing beside your horse in between their head and shoulder, while we’re walking with them. That posture is a more relaxed position, not submissive, but not looking to work hard or totally have their attention. It’s a more relaxed posture, where everything is good in the world and calm. Attention is still needed, but no worries, mate.
    
3. Our back to them - This can also mean a few things, depending on the type (dominant or submissive horse). If my horse is of a dominant inclination, when I turn my back to them, I’m showing them that I have turned and left because I gave in to their authority. Many times when I have turned my back on a dominant type horse, they have tried to bite me (to finish off the sequence of actions that a horse in a herd goes through). I turned, they bit at me to make sure I got the message and left quickly, because that’s what they want. Leave, not at my leisure but as fast as they say to. (That’s, an important fact for us to remember, because we will do the same things to them in future lessons) except we won’t bite. To a submissive horse, when we turn our back, it is a release. The pressure is off and I have released them from all requests. Nice and calm, you will then see them lick and chew, face you and look at you like saying “can I come over to you,” and they usually will, if I don’t do anything to discourage them (that is the behaviour you’ve seen in a round pen).

Now back to work. It’s better as a visual but I will do my best to try and explain this.

Stand approx. 3-5’ away on a 90 degree angle on the left side, squared to the horse (facing your horse’s shoulder). Take the slack out of the line (important, no slack) and then bump gently – not jiggle, not jerk, more like a check. Bump 3 times, pause, bump 3 times, pause and continue repeating. The pause is the horse’s opportunity to give an answer and respond. Use a verbal aid (definitely a click) plus a word (walk, or come on, etc). Whatever you do, once you use one word or phrase, don’t change it. (I use the click for attention). If the horse comes to you, back away, so you keep the 3-5’ distance you started with, and back away keeping square (facing the horse’s shoulder) to the horse. That invites the horse to come to you and you won’t inadvertently block the horse with your body. Lead them around the stall with your leading hand. You want to always use two hands. One hand to lead direction, the other holds the excess line and you may need to use that excess for a correction later on. If the horse doesn’t respond at first, don’t worry, we are teaching them that when we bump on the rope and say a verbal aid they are to come to us. So repeat. Always ask (bump 3x) and pause. It’s important to have a pause. It’s usually 1-2 seconds, but you can increase the pause to 3-5 seconds depending on your horse. Some need to think about it longer and if their attitude is more of a stubborn type, I usually only wait 1-2 seconds. Continue bumping 3x then pause. It’s a learning experience and their “do nothing” reaction is normal. They are not sure what we are asking of them, so we continue to “bother” them until we get a yes answer. They may try to pull away, but just continue to ask (3x) until we get the desired answer and that is to come to us. It may take 1 attempt or 20, but it usually doesn’t take very long. Remember CPP, consistent, persistent, and patient. When they come to us, we stop bumping (a release) and just continue to invite them into our space.

Now that we have got them moving, we have to teach them how to stop. This will be easy. We stop moving. Our body language will stop inviting them to come to us and at the same time we stop, we’ll say whoa, raise our hand (palm) in front of their face (approx. 18 inches) so that they have an extra visible barrier. (All this with keeping our body square to them). They will start to associate the word whoa with planting their 4 feet where they land and with the visual aid of our hand. Now it’s quite possible that when you stop, say whoa, and put your hand up, they don’t stop. That’s natural. They don’t know that all those things meant whoa. They also may bump into us (and probably will) and that brings us to a new rule. They are not allowed to bump us. After all, we are the herd leader and they should respect our space. So we will also now teach them to back up so that the next time they bump us, we can ask them to back up as a repercussion for bumping the leader (us).

We will now put more structure into their lives by giving them rules and having repercussions for their actions. Remember, they can’t do what we haven’t taught them.

To teach them to back, we will first move into their space. Again, not directly in front of them, rather just to their left side. We will be facing their hind end (like we’re picking their feet) and we will lean towards their shoulder. If they don’t back when we move into their space they are showing us that they don’t respect us. We will make a fist, and on the point of the shoulder, we will gently pulsate pressure. Never try to push or muscle a 1200 lb horse. With that give and release pressure on the point of shoulder, they have nothing to lean on, so it starts to bother them and they start to think, “What do they want?” When they back, even one step, (or even lean backwards, for a stubborn horse) we stop the pulsating pressure and that’s the reward for a correct answer (a release).

It is important to remember, the repercussion matches the infraction.

What that means is, if the horse bumps you gently, then just back them up one step, if they bump you harder, back them more steps.

You can only do this once they understand the concept of Back Up. Till then, be prepared to be bumped occasionally.

That’s it, the first important lesson. This is a lot of information and it’s like information overload for this first lesson but I will review to try to simplify.

We need to teach them 3 things, to come to us, to whoa and to back up.

To come to us, we want to stand facing their shoulder (square), take the slack out of the lead, and bump gently 3x, pause wait for a response, if none, repeat. When you bump, don’t jiggle, shake or jerk the line (never shank a horse). If you need to bump over and over, you can increase the pressure of the bump (never jerk) but increase the intensity, and slow down the quickness of the bumping.

Use your verbal aids and when they start to come to you give them space to come into, until you’re ready to stop them.

To stop, our body stops moving (we build a wall) and say whoa and at same time put your hand up 18 “in front of their face.

If they bump us or don’t stop, we can back them up.

To back, move into their space (not directly in front) standing 180 degrees to them (facing rear). If they don’t back, hand on point of shoulder, press and release action, continue till they move, then stop bumping action. Eventually they will continue to back away as long as your body is moving into their space. When you are finished and exit the stall, remember to ALWAYS back out of the stall.

How long should we do these exercises? With babies, I usually don’t do more than 5-10 minutes, that’s usually the limit (in the beginning) for their attention span. Older horses usually figure this out quickly (2-5 minutes) and I don’t overdue it. If they do it well 3 or 4 times in a row. That’s where I stop. Always end on a good note. It doesn’t take long for a horse to figure these 3 exercises out (I told you they were the easiest things you can teach your horse). Then you go on the right side and teach it on that side.

I always start in the stall, practice all 3 things on both sides of the horse (it’s the most comfortable and safest for the horse). Always remember to be careful in the stall. After we get good in the stall I then take the horse into the aisle and once I get good responses from my horse in the aisle we then work in the arena, or paddock, again working on both sides.

Problems that may arise:

If you are on the left side, make sure you stay on the left side, and the same goes if you are on their right side. They will sometimes try to put you on one side or the other. What they are doing, is telling you that they are choosing, therefore they are in charge. You see it all the time when they play. They will try to get the upper hand on their playmate, a dominant position of control. Position is a big thing for them, we may not think of it that way, but to them it’s a leadership issue. So be aware, don’t over react, just make sure you are paying attention because they are!

Make sure that when you back your horse you are a full 180 degrees to them, fully turned so that you are facing their butt. Remember when I talked about the 3 body positions. We always want to have a confident body position. Keep calm, relax and have fun. Let them learn and you will see the difference in their expressions. They actually enjoy this stuff.

What we are doing is establishing a method of communication that both of us can understand. We are teaching them something so simple it is easy to understand and to give a “yes, I understand what you want “answer. We are teaching them the basics of a language that we can both build on and progressively move into more complex maneuvers. We are talking to them in their language, as much as is possible for us. We are using our body language, pressure and release, our voice and some basic word recognition. We are getting them to think and we are putting rules into place and that we are worthy leaders, by communicating our requests to them in a gentle, yet firm and understandable method.

Enjoy, Walter

If you have any questions or would like to contact me, please do at, eternaldreamshorse@hotmail.com

Read Walter's article on Better Communication Through Understanding