THE NATURE OF HORSES

MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL CONSIDERATIONS

Our horses are made up of the same materials as we are-¬blood and bones, tissues and skin--yet mentally and emotionally, they are very unlike us. The evolutionary processes that have shaped the horse (the hunted herd animal) are very different from those that have produced the human (the cave-dwelling hunter). To successfully communicate with our horses, we must always keep these differences in mind.

Our domesticated horses are very close to their ancestors and even closer to their present-day feral cousins. Horses are far better equipped to live in the wild than in our enclosures and buildings, yet they do manage to live with us, and even thrive, in relative harmony.

We seldom make it easy for them, however. The same abilities and instincts that make it possible for horses to survive in the wild are those that often seem to cause what we think of as problems in our domesticated horses. To the horse, however, it is we who create the trouble with our unnatural demands.

Our horses' mental abilities and natural behavior patterns can work either in our favor or against us: it all depends on how well we understand their needs and instincts, and how skillfully we adapt these traits to our own training goals.

The horse's basic nature dictates both the things he will easily learn and the things he will never learn. In your day-to-day relationship with your horse, you are his teacher (whether you want to be or not); for him to succeed as your willing partner, he must also acknowledge you as his superior. If you don't understand his social nature and his physical capabilities, you will never be a good trainer.

The horse is not a piece of sports equipment, and he has not been put into this world simply to be our slave and servant. To gain his cooperation and trust, we must learn as much as possible about him.

First and most important--especially from the horse's point of view--the horse is a herd animal, accustomed to living in a social hierarchy. In the herd, every animal has its place. That place is determined by heredity (dominant mares tend to produce dominant foals), character (active animals are generally more dominant than placid animals), and strength. A herd member is usually very content in his place in the pecking order, as long as he feels that the dominant partner or partners are clearly in charge. However, as soon as he senses weakness in his superior, the horse will challenge the relationship and perhaps fight for a new position.

This trait is vital in herd life. Each herd member must understand and accept the hierarchy, but each must also challenge any sign of weakness. For the herd to survive, the strongest and most attentive animals must always be in charge, to guide and protect the group.

Although the horse has been domesticated for thousands of years, this instinct remains strong. Every horse needs to understand his place in the herd, even when some of the herd members are human. In his relationship with people, your horse will create a hierarchy, whether or not you realize (or appreciate) the implications of this.

We can use this trait to our advantage, of course, since the horse that fully accepts his trainer as his superior will be quite willing to learn and obey. The horse that does not respect his teacher will constantly challenge the relationship. If you do not know enough about reading your horse's likes, dislikes and intentions, he will have no inclination to learn anything from you, and will (literally) walk all over you.

As a herd animal, the horse is also very aware of the general mood of the herd. Fear is quickly transferred from one to every other member of the herd, even when the individual herd members do not know what the cause of the trouble might be. In a relationship with humans, this means that a horse very quickly picks up the emotions of the handler--and he often acts accordingly. A good trainer always practices self-control and always understands how he truly feels. It is nearly impossible for a trainer to mask fear or indecision from his horse. On the other hand, a calm, unhurried partner (horse or human) can help to instill calmness and confidence in a young or worried animal.With any horse, we must remember that these are built-in behavior patterns. These instinctual reflexes stem from the horse's success at survival through many thousands of years; although much of our training involves adapting the horse's behavior for our own purposes, we will never entirely eliminate the patterns.

The horse, after all, is an animal of prey, programmed to run away at the slightest sign of danger. Any wild horse that ignores a rustling in the bushes can become a predator's lunch. In his natural environment, the horse who survives is the one who pays attention to danger signals and is always ready to flee.

The horse is superbly constructed for running away. He has survived because he has managed to avoid being eaten. Keen hearing and a sharp sense of smell; eyes that can scan a wide area and work together or separately; and powerful hind legs for running are all important adaptations keyed to survival through flight. The herd members help, also, by giving every horse many extra pairs of eyes and ears to locate danger.

Many people do not realize that mares are really more dominant, by nature, than stallions. The lead mare of a herd is the group's social director and protector, determining when and where to travel, eat, or rest. Mares are accustomed to bossing their own foals and everyone else who is lower in the pecking order.

The stallion's role in a herd is also that of a protector, but for different purposes. The herd is his harem, and he is always alert to any threats to his role as dominant male. When there are no threats to his sexual dominance, he is quite willing to be told what to do by the mares. This is why mares can give us more trouble than stallions in training.

Mares have earned the reputation for being stubborn, sulky, grouchy, and strong-willed. This behavior is the product of hormones and protective instincts, not merely bad temperament or nastiness. The mare, after all, must always be ready to protect her foal, detect approaching danger, guarantee the food supply, and maintain the pecking order. Like a human mother, the mare must worry about several things at a time--and paying attention to her trainer isn't always going to be at the top of her list of "things to do." Although a mare is usually quite placid during her receptive cycle, many mares become extremely balky. It can be very difficult to convince a mare of a trainer's superiority. Mares are more subtle than stallions in their resistances, but far more persistent.

Stallions often seem far more concerned about preserving their male egos, but once they accept the trainer as the dominant partner, they are usually quite easy to deal with. They may test you occasionally, but are generally less intense and far more open than mares in their resistances.

Logically enough, geldings are the easiest to train. With very few exceptions, they make the most reliable riding or driving horses because the trainer does not have to contend with fluctuating hormones, maternal instincts, or "herd sire" egos.

Although each animal is different, every horse deserves to be treated according to his equine nature. Among other things, this means that we should give him living conditions as close to his natural state as possible.

From the horse's point of view, the best possible living conditions include a run-in stall or shed, in a herd situation, with hay or grass and water available more or less all the time This is the way nature created him, and this is what he is best equipped for. His herd instincts call for a social life; his need to move around demands access to a large paddock or pasture; and health requirements dictate that his intestines should have a fairly steady flow of low-protein fodder.You may not like the way he looks, but your horse loves the feel of mud on his coat. He may truly enjoy standing out in the rain and snow sometimes, especially if his coat has been left as nature intended it.

Why is the horse's social life so important? Aside from the sense of security he receives from a herd (no matter how small it is), the horse needs physical contact with his own kind, just as we do. When horses are bored, they often play together or groom each other. If a horse is kept alone (and in a stall for most of his life), he is unhappy, bored, and probably well on his way to developing what we call "behavior problems" and "stable vices."

Horses that are accustomed to living according to their nature--choosing to go in or stay out in the rain, roll in the mud, eat frequently, and be with their friends--are usually an absolute pleasure to work with. They live a contented life without exhibiting any stall-bound anxieties or an overabundance of pent-up energy. As much as possible, try to make his life comfortable for him. In return you will enjoy an animal who is mentally and physically healthy and balanced, ready to work with a calm mind.

You may not be able to give him his version of the ideal life, but please don't lock him in just because it rains. Don't clip him and cover him with endless layers of blankets just so he'll look prettier, and don't decide that a heated stall is the place your horse wants to live simply because you don't like working in the cold.

To convince a horse to stay with us instead of running away, we must instill in him a large measure of confidence in us. We need his great trust and obedience. We must patiently but firmly convince him that certain things are not a danger to him, that he can rely on us, and that we will always help him. This trust cannot be based on rough handling, ignorant treatment or fear. Fear will always cause the opposite reaction: the horse will always try to run away from it.

Human reasoning won't always help you to understand your horse. (Humans are hunters, and horses were hunted by us for food long before we thought to harness their energy.) Attempting to communicate with a horse on purely human terms just won't work. You must try to meet him on his terms, using your body language and knowledge of equine logic to teach him and let him know that you are the dominant herd member. (For this, please read the articles on this web site)

How is this dominance established without destroying trust? When corrections and control are necessary, think of what people do to a horse, and think of the horse's reaction. Beating the horse with a whip or yanking on his head with a chain over his nose will more likely confuse, frighten or anger him than get his attention and submission. He does not understand this language. If a horse truly oversteps his bounds, a threatening gesture of your body, combined with a firm command and a quick slap on his neck with your hand or a push with your fist into his ribs will quickly get his attention and respect. (Does this sound "brutal?" Think of how another horse would communicate dominance when challenged. This is language he understands, and can immediately accept.) The best way is to teach the horse basic communication and acceptable behavior through the basic principles of Natural Horsemanship. That way, dangerous situations can most always be avoided.

The trainer's first goal in communication, then, is to instill both trust and respect. There are horses who seem to have been born with an eagerness to please and a willing disposition; others will challenge you constantly. There are also horses whose trust may be won only with great patience and understanding. And there are horses who, because of a history of bad experiences with people, will never quite lower their guard and place their faith in their handlers.

Sometimes a horse seems to cease listening to his trainer; this may happen because the trainer is saying nothing important or comprehensible to the horse. When the trainer asks a horse to perform a specific task, he must be very clear about what it is he wants from the horse, and he must also convey a conviction of purpose to the horse. The driver or rider cannot say, "Well, maybe we'll just drop down to a walk somewhere around here," and let the forward momentum disappear until the horse has fallen into some sort of walk. Clarity and consistency are vital in all stages of training and handling horses.

Horses come in as many different personalities as there are horses. They will always have the same basic needs and instincts, but every horse is an individual and must be understood as such. Training techniques that work with one will not work with another. Some horses can't stand a loud word, while others don't seem to notice you until you yell at them. Some are very spooky by nature, and some don't seem to be bothered by anything. Many horses need a very sensitive approach from their trainer, while others don't seem to care what approach the trainer uses. The methods and approaches that work with your particular horse may be very different from those preferred by another driver or trainer. You must let your horse teach you what works, and be prepared to learn as well from every other horse you work with.

We humans often assume that horses are stupid animals, because their reactions to certain situations don't seem to make any sense to us. We think, for example, that a horse is acting "dumb" when he is afraid of an object that he's seen every day in the same place, but has now been moved to a new location. That's not dumb, it's smart and alert. Every change in a horse's surroundings could mean danger to this prey animal, and he's acting purely out of instinctual self-preservation.

Have you ever thought about how quickly horses can figure us out, and how long it takes us to understand them (assuming we ever do)? Don't most problems occur because of our failure to understand the horse, and not the other way around? A horse can learn the verbal commands for "walk," "trot," and "whoa" in just a few training sessions. How many of us understand their language when they nicker to us or each other?

What does it feel like to be this animal of flight, who must submit to carrying a rider or being strapped to a carriage and controlled through a piece of metal in his mouth, doing things and going places he would never dream of doing on his own?An incredible learning and adaptation process must occur as we train our horses. They must possess an amazing willingness to please for us to achieve all this.

We often say horses "can't reason." They cannot reason in the abstract as we can, but any sensitive, experienced horseperson can tell you about the horse's superb ability to remember and to learn when information is presented clearly and logically. It is this logic--based on the horse's ability to connect a stimulus with a desired response--that makes it possible for us to train horses. They also exhibit a genuine sense of humor and an ability to play--which can either entertain or frustrate us, depending on the circumstances.

Horses learn through positive and negative reinforcement, and very quickly adapt to the situation in which they are placed. This means that a trainer must be ready to react quickly also, to be sure that the response the horse gives is the correct one. Any challenge to your dominance--no matter how subtle--must be corrected immediately. Proper behavior must be rewarded equally as quickly.

If the first correction is simultaneously applied physically (with a slap of the lead rope and a threatening body gesture) and vocally (with a loud command), soon the verbal command plus the gesture, and eventually only the verbal command by itself will be sufficient. Thus, the focus of the discipline is shifted from actual physical punishment (slaps) to a form of mental discipline (gestures and words).

You should always try to dominate your horse mentally rather than physically, for two reasons. First, this is the way herd members assert their dominance (threats and gestures seldom lead to actual violence); secondly, you know the horse is physically stronger than you are, but you don't ever want the horse to realize this, or you will lose your superior status--especially if you are working with a stallion. (A mare will often assume that you are inferior to her--and you may never be able to convince her otherwise--but the consequences probably won't be as severe as if a stallion gets the upper hand.)

It is very important in training that the first correction make a big impression, and that the horse does not feel you back down at any time. This doesn't mean that we shouldn't be nice to our horses, because they do deserve our friendship and trust. However, we must make very clear decisions about what behavior is desirable and what is not--and we must never weaken the borders between the two.

On the other side of the coin, positive response must be generously rewarded. Every time the horse comes close to doing what you want, make a big fuss over him, tell him what a smart and good guy he is, pat him and scratch him in his favorite place. Some people will give food rewards also. Personally, we don't like food rewards, as some horses get to expect them and can become quite obnoxious about it. It is better to reward a horse with rubs and pats and kind words. Then they look to please the trainer, and are pleased when the trainer is pleased.On the other hand, clicker training in conjunction with food rewards can produce excellent results, but it must be done correctly.

Matter of fact, there are lots and lots of ways to teach/train a horse. If it works, it was a good way, if it does not work, no matter what name you give it, it was either done incorrectly or was the wrong approach for that particular horse.Your goal must be to establish a partnership, mutual trust and love with the horse looking up to his trainer as his master but also as his friend. This is really all that matters in the end.

One of the most difficult things for a trainer to learn is when not to punish. You must never punish a horse when he is afraid, does not understand your request, or is incapable of performing the task. If the horse is disobedient because he is being obstinate or is challenging your authority, he must be corrected, and quickly--but if you are not sure of the cause of the problem, you must give the horse the benefit of the doubt.You may have asked for something unreasonable. Perhaps what you have asked for is impossible for the horse to do, at his present level or at any level or training. The horse may be in physical discomfort, because of sharp teeth or poorly fitting tack.Some horses--like some children--have a very short attention span, and after a while they simply stop listening to the teacher. Forcing them to pay attention and comply with your demands will only produce stubbornness and fear.

It is apparent that training a horse is a very complex task, similar to teaching a child. The teachers that instruct our children must go through an expert educational process, and are tested for their knowledge and teaching abilities. People that train horses are not required to go through any similar qualifications.

Our horses are living beings also, and we must give due respect to their very complex emotions and alien intelligence if we hope to have them as our partners. We must always try (and succeed) to deal with them with understanding and as much justice as possible.