Alternative Horsemanship™ with The Remote Horse Coach
How Do You Stay Patient?
Understanding the horse behind the behavior
“How do you stay patient?”
I've had many comments over the years about how I seem to never lose patience with the horse during moments that, for most people, would trigger a rollercoaster of emotions.
Such as in the scenarios of when a horse:
- Resists being caught
- Is difficult to trailer load
- Bolts when led
- Won't stand quietly tied
- Is avoidant towards the farrier
- Has excessive movement when tacked or mounted
- Is sensitive about fly spray or bathing
- Is buddy or “barn” sour
Looking Beyond the Unwanted Behavior
None of the above “problems” are the horse's actual issues. Instead, they are symptomatic responses reflecting the many missed “building blocks” that go into the equine's education and create a solid foundation.
When I see these and numerous other unwanted behaviors, I translate the responses—the feedback—from the horse showing his fear, defensiveness, and anticipation due to the “holes” in, or lack of, quality education.
I see many horse training videos referring to all of the above unwanted behaviors as the issue or issues and offering quick “solutions”—without ever teaching, discussing, or educating horse owners on how to recognize and address the contributing root causes of the undesired equine responses.
Far too often, equine “answers” involve basically teaching a conditioned response through a degree of constantly imposing driving pressure or using food incentives, without ever actually addressing the horse's fear.
Learning to Read the Horse
When the human priority and value system is to learn to read the horse's subtle physical communication, “guessing” what will happen diminishes.
The ears, eyes, jaw, muzzle, neck, topline, shoulder, knees, ribcage, hindquarters, hocks, and tail are constantly changing, offering real-time reflections of the horse's ever-changing mental and emotional state.
Prioritizing the learning and refinement of one's horse skills to create mentally available and directable equines completely eliminates hopeful interactions.
Understanding how to check in with the horse to assess his feedback determines what to address and when, helping him release physical tension and decrease his mental avoidance.
Creating a Two-Way Conversation
This emotionally neutral communication is what creates a two-way conversation. It allows the human to address the horse's concerns, build his trust, and encourage his try when asked to participate.
Especially in previously triggering or unfamiliar scenarios, the quality of the communication—and whether it has any meaning or value to the horse—is what influences mental, emotional, and physical changes in the equine.
This is what leads to desired responses while building his trust.
Emotional Neutrality Changes Everything
The more emotionally neutral one is, the faster their ability is to observe, assess, and make decisions.
Believing the animal's honest communication without inserting a human emotional filter of how it makes you feel—or judging it—allows you to be more specific and supportive in helping him work through his fear and defensiveness.
The irony is that when people remove the emotionally triggered “I want” and “I want it now” demands, and address the horse in a way that has meaning to him, the equine will offer far more than the human could have ever imagined.
A Question to Reflect On
Have you struggled with emotions that cause you to become impatient?
Learning to understand the horse's communication can begin with learning to understand our own.
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Alternative Horsemanship™