What Should I Focus on Next with My Horse? Refinement.
"What should I focus on next with my horse?" I frequently hear this question from students and other equine enthusiasts who are struggling to find a goal, a direction, or are simply unsure of what to focus on during their horse time. The answer is always the same: Refinement.
Irrelevant of whether you ride for pleasure or compete, or if you only work with your horse from the ground, every interaction is an opportunity to improve your and the horse's skills.
Why? Every single task — catching, leading, grooming, working at liberty, tying, tacking, mounting, trailer loading, riding out, navigating obstacles, moving livestock, roping, packing in the mountains, ponying, jumping, riding long distance — all rely on having the hundreds of adaptable skills needed to effectively communicate with the horse in a manner that does not trigger his defensiveness.
I have had so many behind-the-scenes discussions with equine professionals as we all struggle to "motivate" the public in understanding the importance of refinement. To address all current horse problems or challenges, and to achieve future goals, it is crucial to develop and refine the foundation in both the human's and the horse's education.
It isn't the "quick fix" answer, nor is it an "easy" solution sold across so many platforms peddling horse gimmicks. There are no shortcuts.
You can study theory for years, but you need the reality of in-person, hands-on experience. The more intentional your horse interactions, the more your awareness increases — and the better you can learn to understand the horse's communication, refine your aids, and improve your timing. All of this directly influences the horse's "success" in what you're asking of him.
So, where do you start?
Refining Your Horsemanship: Building the Foundation
Irrelevant of your chosen discipline, the ideal goal with each ride is to refine your horsemanship with your equine partner. This begins with creating a willing, responsive, and reasonable equine partner. If riders learn to prioritize their mental focus, they can accurately assess and address their horse in his current state.
Below is an initial checklist to reference before, during, and after an interaction with the horse. The answers can help clarify the missing pieces in your communication. Equine enthusiasts need to learn how to assess the what, who, when, where, and why of each scenario with the horse in order to identify what needs refinement.
What
This is a combination of evaluating, considering, and attempting to gauge the horse's mental and physical availability from the beginning to the end of an interaction — whether from feeding time to after a ride. The assessment can reflect triggers, anticipation, and behavioral patterns, and what root cause(s) need to be addressed while helping humans adapt their expectations of the horse.
Who
The Human — Before starting with the horse, assess your own attitude, emotional state, and physical state. If you're distracted, stressed, or working under time constraints, it will affect your focus. If you are not 100% mentally present, it is unfair to expect 100% from the horse. Equines are hyper-aware, including of a person's mental, emotional, and physical energy — which they often mirror back in their behavior.
The Horse — Where is his mind? Is his brain with his buddies? How does he look physically? Is he stiff or sore from age, health, or earlier exertion? Has he recently had farrier care, vaccinations, medication changes, chiropractic adjustments, or tack changes? Has his diet changed, or is he bothered by gut health issues? Do you see him lie down to sleep? Is he constantly moving chaotically, emotionally stressed, fixated, or fearful? Does he offer a patterned response every time he sees you?
When
The assessment should begin before the horse is even caught. Did he willingly offer to be caught, without treats? Did he flee, walk away several times and stop, or let you approach while turning his head away and merely tolerating being caught? After haltering, is he anticipative, pushy, hurried in his energy, or heavy on the lead?
Where
Passing through the gate or stall door, is he triggered? When it closes, does his attention stay present, or does he look for food? While being led, does he walk too slow, too fast, or hang heavy on the lead rope? In the grooming area, is he distracted by other horses or activity? Does he hover in your personal space? Does he stand softly, or with tension, while being tacked up — and does his anxiety or fidgeting increase as tacking progresses?
Why
Each aspect of the human/horse interaction affects the next. By the time he is ready to be mounted, the horse will already have communicated his mindset. If he displayed distracted, bothered, fixated, defensive, tension-filled, or anticipative behavior on the ground, this will transfer into the ride and affect its quality.
When handled from the ground, a horse's initial mental concerns will not diminish by demanding more physical exercise or imposing patterned interactions once mounted. Instead, this teaches the horse to become defensive toward the rider, and/or he learns to shut down mentally or become increasingly physically resistant.
The assessment continues while riding, so you can address what the horse needs support with on that particular day. Below are the foundational elements necessary to accomplish any equine-related goal with quality.
The Horse
- Softness — the horse's mental and physical willingness to follow or yield to pressure communicated through the rider's hands, seat, legs, and energy.
- Suppleness — relaxation throughout the horse's body, allowing him to independently move body parts without losing his softness.
- Relaxation — the horse's ability to focus on the physical task without retaining tension in his body.
- Engagement — the lifting of the horse's back so his hindquarters can step underneath his spine, carrying the majority of his weight behind. This allows soft, independent movement through his head, neck, shoulders, rib cage, and hocks.
- Balance — the horse's ability to carry his weight consistently by engaging his hindquarters, rather than leaning on the rider's hands.
- Responsiveness — the brief reaction time it takes him to mentally and physically respond to the human.
- Effectiveness — how quickly and softly the horse responds to a minimal aid from the rider.
- Adaptability — the horse's willingness to let go of one thought and focus on another, followed by a soft physical response.
- Awareness — the horse's ability to stay present in his surroundings while prioritizing his focus on the human.
The Rider
- Evaluation — real-time recognition of what the initial intent was, what aids were used to communicate it, how the horse responded, and whether follow-through was needed to help him find a softer, more willing response.
- Feeling — not relying solely on what you see, but re-sensitizing what you feel in the horse's movement and energy, to improve the timing of your aids.
- Adaptability — the human's ability to offer a varying degree of energy in their aids and communication, and to adapt the moment's goal to best support the horse.
- "Taking" the horse for the ride — proactively communicating the specifics of the desired response, rather than reactively critiquing the horse for a lack of initial guidance from the human.
Most people are asking unreasonable things of their horse with minimal to no consideration for just how limited the animal's education is.
The above may seem like "a lot" for many folks. The reality is that most people are asking unreasonable things of their horse, with minimal to no consideration for just how limited the animal's education is. The "holes" usually don't become apparent until the day something changes — an emergency, or someone new has to handle the horse — and then the human is left wondering why things fell apart. The kindest thing anyone can do is educate themselves and their horse.
Think of sending a seven- or eight-year-old child off to navigate city life alone. You'd laugh, and you'd think it obvious they would struggle, for numerous reasons. Yet with horses, many people carry similarly unrealistic expectations — without recognizing how unclear much of their communication actually is, mostly because addressing it feels like an inconvenience. This leaves the horse in a continuous "lost" state, potentially overwhelmed every time something more, or something new, is asked of him.
— Samantha Harvey, Alternative Horsemanship™
The Remote Horse Coach
Curious about a professional perspective?
Join me for an Intro Consult as an opportunity to discuss where you are with your horse, ask questions, and pinpoint what aspects of your equine partnership need refining to create positive, long-term change.
