Mean to Your Horse

A couple of weeks ago I was mounting up and heading out to ride Chanty over at the river. The weather was gorgeous and it was my favorite time of day, just after 5 o 'clock. One of the other horse owners saw me throw my foot over her back and step into the stirrups and said "You're mean!". I knew what he meant and said, "you mean because I'm riding her again" and he said "yes."  I had just finished an afternoon of riding lessons, using Chanty for two of the three sessions. She has so much patience with the students and has lately been helping them understand just how little contact with the bit it takes to slow and stop a horse. The students have been working on using their center and the scoop at the end of the engagement of their psoas. In addition, I've been encouraging riders to avoid bracing in their feet and ankles by lifting their knees slightly. The less pull that comes from hands and forearms, the less resistance and subsequent push from the horses front end students will feel. It's more comfortable for the horse and less effort for riders. We are also working at opening up the front of the upper body through the joints at the collarbone where they connect at the breast bone or sternum. Riders can feel their arms moving  back where they hang naturally from their shoulders with elbow bent, creating a buttress that is much stronger than any direct pull on the reins. This is being kind to your horse and using correct aids to cue your horse.

Taking Chanty on a casual ride and continually exposing her to many different experiences has given her the ability to think more instead of react, remaining calm even when I take her to a completely new environment, as I did last Sunday, when I took her to my riding lesson with Karen in Tumwater. Because Chanty has gone to the park, the fairgrounds, to clinics, horse shows, ridden in pastures and arenas alike, she is a calm, confident horse who can cope with many different situations. This is the beauty of the nature of the horse-they are very adaptive and can learn to live with humans. In taking her on so many adventures, I've created a calm, confident, happy horse who trusts me in many different situations. Does that sound mean to you?

To me, being "mean" to a horse is expecting them to react differently than what nature tells them or using the same techniques to work with a horse, even though they are causing distress and resistance in the horse, putting you and/or the horse in danger of injury, and expecting a different response. Being mean isn't just inflicting physical pain on a horse, as has been used frequently, in a recently highly publicized practice of "soring" Tennessee Walkers. Being mean can be subtle and is usually the result of not understanding the horse's nature. Horses are very perceptive animals, especially to changes in their environment. It is what has kept them alive for millions of years. When you begin to expose a horse to various stimulus in their environment that initially frightens them, they will react or overreact, depending on their personality. Humans who find this behavior unacceptable because it may seem extreme or unwarranted for the situation-"oh just deal with it, will you", tend to become frustrated and use heavy handed measures to stop the behavior. While it's never acceptable for a horse to run over the top of you or push into you, the time to train a horse to move away from you and keep a safe distance, is not when horse and owner are squeezing into a tight space, in which a scary object sits just to the left of the horse's shoulder as the owner walks at the right shoulder. Of course an insecure, flightly horse will run into you or try to charge passed you-fear is what dictates the behavior. The time to deal with this fear is in a controlled environment in which the horse can learn to accept narrow spaces while on the end of a lead rope, with owner place safely at a distance, directing the horse's feet until he slows and follows the lead of his very calm, confident owner.

I've noticed recently that hormones in my two mares can change a calm, confident horse into a more reactive, less thinking horse. It is more of a challenge to continue working with a horse who last week took everything in stride and yet this week finds the mere thought of being asked to step sideways in an aisle way as a threat to their existence. The same techniques used to give the horse confidence are appropriate and especially important when the behavior seems over the top. It's human to try and deal with horse behavior with a direct response-unacceptable behavior means bad horse, means time to punish the horse. My friend who saw me leave on Chanty at the end of the long day would not find that "mean", but considers it just punishment for a  misbehaving horse. I have caught myself recently falling into the old habit of blaming the horse for reacting or overreacting to what to us humans seems like a harmless situation. Sometimes we see ourselves doing it and know it is wrong for the situation and still, we can't help ourselves. Thank goodness the horse is so forgiving because, although it doesn't happen as often as it used to, I know it will happen again-it's OUR NATURE and in order to change, we too will  have to adapt, so we can live with the horse.

Plans for Spring

Spring is now showing it's beautifully sun soaked head. There was apparently a 'super moon' last night, but to me any moon is super if the sky is clear enough to see it. Spring means that we can let the horses out of their stalls more and that grazing muzzles will be coming out of mothballs for my easy keepers who gorge themselves on spring grass before their little guts are used to the high calorie meal.

And it means it's time to hit the road with Chanty for some riding lessons, trail rides and Centered Riding clinics here in Washington state, through May and June. Then in July, I'm planning a road trip to Chase, British Columbia to see French classical rider and master dressage clinician, Philippe Karl. I've watched his 4 DVD riding series over and over through the years as my knowledge has expanded. I can now say that when I listen to him explain lateral exercises,  I truly understand how they work, why they're important and how to actually execute them correctly, if not perfectly. Then in August I am planning to go to a clinic with Robin Gates who trained with Carolyn Resnick on the "Seven Waterhole Rituals" and who does all of her work at liberty. It is still one of my favorite activities-work at liberty-not only with my students but with my own horses. I have recently been working with Image at liberty, including waterhole ritual 6 and 7, called "companion walking (magnetic connection)" and "come up and go, trot". They are the most difficult because your horse has to feel comfortable moving with you at close range as their energy and therefore their excitement level increases. This can worry some horses, while others feel imposed upon to move. Either way, they are very apt to turn and leave you. Image has responded beautifully by trotting close to my shoulder on a circle and then when heading straight down the arena will come with me until I lean back to signal an upcoming stop and back up. Beautiful! A real show of confidence and trust in my leadership. She is a bright energetic and engaging horse.

I was able to spend a few days watching a new instructor's clinic recently with my favorite Level 4 CR instructor, Karen, and decided I would take in every bit of information that she was offering so that I could apply it to my now expanding body of students. I remembered how proud I was three years ago, as I completed the new instructor clinic and was handed my certification and it was a great pleasure to meet a new group of bright, enthusiastic and energetic women willing to bring Sally Swift's teachings to a future generation of riders.

Thanks to Karen, my new favorite question to ask students is "What did you discover?" after each session of practicing new concepts in riding. It gives students a chance to recall what they were thinking while they rode and how their awareness was enhanced each time they allowed themselves to "find it, feel it, let it go." It's so easy to throw huge amounts of information at students as they ride past, thinking that as an instructor, you need to share everything you know with them in less than 30 minutes. Instead it makes more sense to "teach with a spoon, not a shovel."

The wisdom that comes with experience is not unique to riding instructors and not everything you learn from your instructor has to be about riding. Advice about taking care of yourself and listening to your body could apply to everyday living. Riding, like many things in life, is a collaborative effort and involves interacting with others. With continued practice and actively engaging in all aspects of your life you will become your "best self". Horses teach us to leave our weekly planners behind, live in the moment and enjoy the time spent in the warm sunshine of spring. That is my plan and I'm sticking to it. Enjoy your horse this spring.