Emotional, Mental and Physical Preparation

It's now been about 3 weeks since I began working with the 20 year old Palomino and already I've noticed a difference in her emotionally when we begin our groundwork. All of the years of learning to do the groundwork through repetition of "technical skills" (I can swing the rope, the stick and string and get my horse to move forward, backwards, sideways) did not prepare or explain the need to prepare the horse EMOTIONALLY. Unless the horse is calm and feels safe, she will not be able to mentally process what is asked (an absolute necessity for learning) of her physically. Even then, she may find that she is out of shape physically and finds it uncomfortable to perform physically, which makes her nervous, throwing her emotional state out of whack. It really is all interconnected. Now that I understand that, my work with horses has improved tremendously.

Imagine your first day at work on a new job. You've only been in your office or work environment once before for the interview, or maybe you were never there and this is your first experience away from a more familiar venue. All at once, you are being asked to do tasks that you've never done before and the person supervising you is impatient and frustrated that he/she has to repeat the instructions or ask you to perform the task, over and over and so becomes more aggressive, speaking even louder to you. If you weren't nervous to begin with, you are now. Your heart is racing and your mind is running faster than you can process what is being asked of you. Emotionally and mentally, you are out of your league, even though physically you are perfectly capable of completing the task at hand. It can be something as simple as filling out a form or running a piece of equipment.

Or how about when you first learned to drive? I have recently begun taking my son out to practice on quiet streets and large parking lots with his permit, in preparation for driving school, which begins next week. He is generally a quiet guy, but he keeps his emotions inside until the pressure builds and he can't think. He then begins making mistakes and quickly apologizes, but is unable to process what is being asked of him. He doesn't get angry or shout, instead he almost freezes physically, when he feels overwhelmed.

It reminds me of the horse I am currently working with. She is introverted, skeptical of anything new and tends to keep her cards close to her chest, so to speak, until she feels completely overwhelmed, freezes for a few moments and then her feet start moving. For horses, it can go either way, depending on their personality. My extroverted mare starts moving her feet immediately when she is nervous. This new horse gives a bit of a warning, raises her head, her eyes get big and she begins to tighten every muscle, right before she races off. Being a horse, their feet are their escape most of the time. I'm sure if my son was a prey animal, he'd run first and think later too.

It turns out that my experience with the horses has helped me to understand human behavior and with the recent driving experiences with my son, I know how important it is to remain quiet and calm with him, allowing him to process things before I move on to the next task. I know when he's calm-he lowers his head, licks his lips, blows out.....OOPS, that's what my horse does when she's calm. See how easy is to confuse the two??

So, next time you think about teaching your horse something new or even work on something old, but in a new environment, check to see if your horse (or human) is emotionally ready to accept and process new information or perform familiar tasks while being exposed to potentially scary surroundings. Repetition or simulation of the exercises or tasks helps to prepare your horse to respond appropriately, even when she is somewhere new. As long as you remain calm and accept that your horse may react nervously and learn to take as much pressure off at the right moment, you'll see your horse gain confidence in herself and you.

Now that the mare feels more emotionally ready, she has been able to learn more quickly and takes less time to change from one exercise to another. Her muscles are beginning to tone and strengthen, preparing her to physically perform the groundwork and under saddle patterns that I have asked of her. With time she will adapt to even more new things. It's wonderful to see, in a 20 years old horse-it's as if a whole new world has opened up for her!

I've already begun taking the mare out on the trails near the stables and she made it further this last trip than ever before, calmly, slowly and relaxed. And my son is now able to turn both directions and brake slowly while talking (a sure sign that he is relaxed). Horses aren't so different than us. They want to learn and they want to do it without worrying that their teacher will provoke feelings of inadequacy and fear, undermining their confidence.

It's all in the preparation and understanding your horse (or human)!