In addition to bringing my daughter for the first time, I was also able to bring Twister, a beautiful Mustang gelding who belongs to my friend at the stables. I have been working with Twister, riding him more and trying to find my seat on his back while adapting to his movement, which is so different from Chanty. He has long, slow strides that cover a lot of ground. He has a well conformed body with a strong back and powerful movement. And, without batting a horsey eyelash, he traveled two hours to a completely strange place and with barely a swish of his tail in protest or anxiousness, he adapted to new surroundings on the first night. While several horses were struggling with physical ailments or the anxiety of being separated from their barn mate during riding sessions, Twister took it all in stride. He has the horse personality that we all desire and which was bred into many of the working horses of the cowboy era. He can get the job done and not stress the owner/rider with any unexpected behavior. He is the "poster child" for gentle, natural horsemanship training. But he wasn't always quiet and tolerant. He had to work through the pressures of living with humans. He's been asked to put up with varying amounts of struggle with his owner and other people who've handled him. But, struggle can be a good thing because if we only experience things that are easy, we never discover how to deal with the more difficult aspects of life. This is true of horse AND human!
Just before I left for the clinic, I received a copy of Mark Rashid's new book, Nature in Horsemanship-Discovering Harmony through Principles of Aikido. I've always enjoyed reading Mark's books because he tells the story of his real life experiences from the time he was a young boy working with "the old man", right up to the present day. His current book is filled with stories of his time spent training to be a black belt in Aikido while continuing his life's work doing horsemanship clinics around the world. When owners bring their horses to him with problems, he is able to offer them sound advice based on the understanding he has about horse behavior. One chapter in particular peaked my interest: the use of pressure with horses.
It just so happened that in addition to Centered Riding instruction at the clinic at Barb's, she offered participants a chance to work on exercises done at liberty, using techniques she had recently learned at a Robin Gates clinic. Robin is a certified trainer in the Carolyn Resnick method of liberty training, based on Carolyn's book, Naked Liberty and her videos Panadero's Journey and Part 2: The Seven Waterhole Rituals. During the morning sessions, Barb would explain how to use treats to shape the behavior of the horse as you "share territory" with them. Using a tangible reward, like a treat or scratch, speeds up this shaping behavior and creates a connection between horse and human. When a horse begins to acknowledge the human as the source of the reward, it is possible to take the horse through more complex behaviors.
It occurred to me that I had been shaping the behavior of my horses and the horses I work with through a more recognizable method of training. I will put pressure on the horse, usually in the form of movement until the horse acknowledges me-in which case I would immediately release the pressure and allow the horse to stop moving. In this way, the horse looks to the human for the reward-release of pressure. But, what I've found out recently with my horse Image is that I must take her through varying stages of pressure-sometimes more extreme than I'm used to and then step back to evaluate the effect it has had on her over all. She came to me with what I see as a total lack of confidence due to her inexperience with the daily demands of a domestic horse. She may have been treated very kindly, but in keeping her isolated from the pressures of horse/human existence, she is unable to handle the stress that comes with any change in her environment or the demands put on her by her owner-me!
As Mark points out, horses in nature know just how much pressure to use and when to release it. They are masters at conserving energy and must practice this skill from an early age. This allows them to handle difficult situations and acquire the necessary skills to become emotionally, mentally and physically fit throughout their life. But, we as humans place them in confined spaces with limited mobility, sometimes never taking them out of their 'stable environment', always careful not to upset them or ask them to do anything that might put stress on them emotionally, mentally or physically.
Pressure is a natural part of life and is a necessary part of life with horses. Learning to use just enough pressure is a matter of experience. We must practice it with many horses, if possible. We owe it to our horses to not fear the use of pressure, even if means overdoing it once in a while. It will benefit the horse and human and give them the skills necessary to find harmony and to allow both to travel outside their "comfort zone" to greater awareness. It gives us the experience we need to handle the stress of daily life. It makes for a happy horse and owner. As Helen Keller once said, "Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired and success achieved."
WATCH A VIDEO OF TWISTER AT HIS FIRST CENTERED RIDING/COMBO CLINIC
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P16ek8jZRuo
