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| Friendly persuasion (Fall 2005) |
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Horse owners look to age-old herd behavior to gain more mutual respect and satisfaction from their horses
Looking to get more enjoyment and better performance from your horse? Are you frustrated by bad habits, tug-of-wars, and ornery attitudes? Well, here’s an approach that has worked for thousands of horse owners across the globe, and it may just work for you. It’s called "connecting," and it involves taking time to really understand what makes horses tick, and then using that psychological knowledge to help your steed perform at its best—in a willing way.
Growing movement
The concept of connecting with your horse isn’t a new one. Throughout the ages, there have always been people with the innate ability of getting horses to willingly perform tasks without the use of force. The public first became acquainted with this approach in the mid-1990s while viewing the movie or reading the book entitled the Horse Whisperer. Wanting to gain the same connection with their own steeds, horse owners flocked to clinics and read books on natural horsemanship given by gurus in the field, including Tom Dorrance, Ray Hunt, Pat Parelli, John Lyons, and Buck Brannaman. The movement even transcended equine behavior as people looked to similar approaches to improve relationships with their children, spouses, and office peers.
Gentle persuasion
Through the process of connecting, iron-fist disciplinarian roles fall way to a more gentle relationship. It’s a more collected, calm, sophisticated approach, one based on an attitude of mutual trust, respect, and an ultimate desire of the horse to want to please its handler. People who have honed “whisperer”-type skills are able to ask their horses to perform feats, such as jumps, with little to no external equipment, leaving behind the spurs, whips, and cruel tools so often misused to “break” horses of their habits and spirit.
Colette Bolster of Dassel, Minn., is a promoter of the connection theory. After years of training horses and studying natural horsemanship under renowned natural horseman Pat Parelli and others, Bolster now offers training clinics aimed at helping others make the connection. “The idea is to not make horses perform tasks, but to convince them that you’re someone worthy of leading them through a task,” explains Bolster. “Horses love to be followers, but they need to feel that you’re someone they can trust. They have to connect with you mentally and emotionally as if saying ‘You’re the leader, and I’m going to listen to you.’ If you make the horse do something by showing them who is boss, then you’re going to lose that trust and respect. It’s leadership versus dictatorship.”
Trustworthy leader
The first step to becoming that trustworthy leader is taking the time to understand your horse. Bonds or connections only form if you’re willing to invest time into the relationship, and that’s true whether you’re trying to better connect with a horse, a spouse, or a child, explains Bolster. “If you don’t spend the time, you don’t have the relationship. Spending time with your animal is the only sure way to understand how the horse thinks, acts, and plays. You have to understand what motivates horses, and what matters to them is safety.”
A rare few have observed horses in the wild to witness firsthand the silent body language used to communicate with each other. To see the behavior that a lead mustang uses to earn the trust and respect of its herd is the very foundation of how many natural horsemen earn the trust and respect of their horses.
However, most of us can learn a lot simply by observing and spending time with our domesticated steeds. “Sit and observe horses, and you will see them communicate with each other,” explains Bolster. “It’s like learning another language, but a nonverbal one.”
Jack Lieser is another natural horsemanship trainer and instructor in Monte Alto, Texas. He will often let his horses loose in a pen or paddock and just spend time watching the animals. “After awhile, they come up to me, and I become another herd member,” Lieser says. “You’ll be amazed at what you learn just from that experience.”
A lot of insight can be gained just by watching the dominant horse in the pen. “If you watch horses closely, you’ll notice that the dominant horse moves its feet the least,” says Lieser. “To establish yourself as a trusted leader, the key is to get your horse to willingly move its feet where you want them to move.”
To accomplish this, Lieser employs two different approaches that can be used in phases. One is called steady pressure; the other is rhythmic pressure. Both are rooted in the natural behavior of horses and are used effectively by humans to get positive results. Best of all, they can be incorporated in about anything that you do with the horse.
In essence, steady pressure begins as a light touch that slowly and steadily progresses until the moment the horse responds to it. The pressure is immediately released as a form of reward. Over time, when used consistently and fairly, the horse begins to respond to the pressure more quickly and instinctively. Eventually, a good handler will be able to use pressure of a fly to get the horse to respond.
Warning system
Rhythmic pressure is much like the pressure dominant horses use to move other horses around. It’s like a progressive warning system. A dominant horse may warn another horse to get away from its feed trough first by pinning back its ears. If that doesn’t successfully drive the intruder away, the animal is chased, followed by a nip or a kick. Horse owners can successfully use a similar rhythmic approach. Loading a hesitant horse into a trailer may begin with a stern look, followed by a small wave of a stick or rope. If that doesn’t work, the waving
motion gets more pronounced. Still, if the horse chooses not to accept your request, physical contact is made. “When you use those phases and give them warnings, the horse won’t feel bad about your reaction to him,” Lieser says. “But if you unjustly use force or lose your cool, and the punishment didn’t fit the crime, the trust is lost.”
Water crossings
There are countless ways to apply both steady and rhythmic pressure to get desired results. If you are on a trail ride, the connected way to approach a seemingly scary stream is to dismount first and show your horse the water by safely working out the horse’s fear on the ground. Then mount the horse and reward him for every step he takes in the right direction by releasing the pressure. Once he backs up or moves sideways, issue gradual rhythmic pressure by shaking the reins or squeezing your legs until the horse moves forward again, then release the pressure. The idea is to instill the notion that moving toward the water is comfortable, while balking reaps discomfort.
Finally, a lot can be accomplished by bringing in an attitude of play, rather than work, into your relationship. “Horses like to play,” explains Lieser. “If you approach everything as a job, chances are it won’t be successful. But if you approach them as if you’re saying ‘Let’s have fun!’ you’re bound to get a lot more accomplished.”
Pat Parelli blends steady and rhythmic pressure in seven organized “games” that owners can play with their horses. The games are designed to build a partnership with your horse by proving that you’re not only a friendly companion, but also the herd alpha.
Granted, connecting takes time. Instructors of natural horsemanship have spent years learning the skills, and their clinics offer a wealth of insight and information. The time spent is well worth the investment. Just imagine the fun you’ll have performing feats that you once never dreamed possible with a horse that wants to follow your lead.
“Rather than having a horse scared and uptight, I want my horse asking ‘is it alright?’” explains Lieser. “If I say it’s OK, the horse should relax. The better connected you are to your horse, the more the horse will look to you for answers, and the closer you’ll be to having that ideal relationship.”
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