Decoder Rings and The Future

Wouldn't it be nice to have a way of knowing the future, even if only by a couple of minutes? You'd have the ability to foresee what your horse is thinking, feeling, wanting, not wanting; and ideally, you'd have the ability to carry on a conversation where you explain your point of view and listen to his....ahh, that'd be good now, wouldn't it?

Horses are talking to us all the time, some may be a bit easier to understand and others maybe not so much, but if you are a horse owner, you have most certainly heard people talk about a horse that "can't," or "won't," or "doesn't," or "isn't." The person talking about this particular horse usually follows up with a statement about how if only they knew how to talk to their horse, they could tell him what they want and all would be good.This same person may also ask how to better understand what their horse wants them to know. 

Communication is the crux of this issue and it goes both way--between horse and rider--just as a regular conversation between humans does. There is a message given by the sender, a translation that occurs by the receiver and processed, and finally, a response from the receiver goes back to the sender. If there is a breakdown--and there often is--the answer will not be in line with what the sender asked or said. 

The desire to connect  and communicate with a horse is fundamental to being a good horse owner or handler, and how can you understand each other if you don't know what that animal is needing? Wouldn't it be nice to have a decoder ring that would tell you what your horse is thinking, feeling, wanting, not liking, wishing you'd do, or whatever? 

Rider cues horse to walk forward (sends message).
Horse twitches an ear (receives message) but doesn't move until he processes the meaning of the cue.
Horse walks forward (answers the cue or message).
Rider stops cueing. (messages are no longer exchanged). 

Of all the things I ask clients about what they want with their horses, their answers usually have something to do with wanting to do better with their horse if only they knew what that horse was thinking, so they'd be able to know with certainty that every ride would be a good one. Most owners think they can accurately decipher their horse's mood or body language and so, it is from that premise that they go on with each session spent in the company of said horse.

Because we are human, we innately have some semblance of understanding of humans. We can figure out by looking at how someone holds their face to determine their mood. But with horses, the facial expressions are different and the body stance telling their emotional state is not much  like ours most of the time. Two things do cross over though; one is fear and the other is not-fear. Fear is any emotion not based in solid relaxation. I'm trying not to use the words Fear Vs Love, or Fear Vs Trust, but those work and are, technically, what I'm talking about. We can all pretty much agree on what trust, love and happiness look like, so it goes to the point that any emotion not resembling trust, love, happiness, steady, calm; those are all fear-based emotions and include anger, deceit, sadness and aggression. 

When people say their horse is angry, they are saying he is not trusting, but they most likely don't see the mistrust their horse is showing them. Instead, the person may interpret it as the horse being bad, or trying to be belligerent or that he is intent on pulling some well-thought out trick to get their way.  People will oftentimes tell me their horse is one who will "test" everyone to see what they can get away with. These folks see their horses as beings who stand around thinking of ways to outsmart, outwit and outlast their owner.

Take the following scenario: 
A woman has a horse that consistently pulls a round circle oblong when he gets near the arena gate and when she pulls him around, he shakes his head, pins his ears, and crow hops. Woman has no real idea on how to fix this problem, so she pulls him back onto what was once a circle, kicks him with her outside heel and with gritted teeth and held breath, tells him he's bad and naughty. She repeats riding the circle and when she hits that same spot, she feels the horse tracking closer to the gate. She is Angry that he won't listen and is Afraid that these crow hops will one day toss her onto her backside. Her next move is to go to a Facebook Horse Training Group she belongs to and ask how to make the horse not drift on a circle or pull toward a gate. She is convinced he is doing this because he's trying to get out of work. People advise to work him harder near the gate, get a harsher bit, wear spurs, carry a whip and use it, do ground work, and a myriad of other so-called "solutions."

Let's break it down from the horse's point of view and look at the situation differently:
The gate is the last place the horse ever is when leaving the arena. It signifies the end of "work" and the beginning of grooming, grazing or downtime. It is desired by the horse because he knows it's the way out and back to his regular life of simply being a horse, which is quite relaxing. Pulling the circle toward the exit is his way of telling the woman that he'd like to get to the good part of the day where there are no demands, a good brushing, treats and his dinner with friends. 

Foremost though, the horse knows that at a certain point in the circle, he can drift because no one has told him he can't. Since, in his mind, he's quite clearly expressed his intentions of going to the gate and there was no correction, he does what he "said" he was going to do.  Heck, he's already halfway to the gate and this reprimanding by his rider makes him Angry and puts him in a state of Fear since he was clear on his intentions and she didn't do anything to tell him he could not go to the gate. This breakdown in communication confuses him and he expresses his distress by pinning his ears, tossing his head, and crow hopping.  

Both horse and rider in the above example are trying to tell the other something and yet, the message is scrambled. In order to open the conversation without the emotions, the human must take command of the situation by asking How and Why the horse is acting as he does. First, she would look for any physical limitations or injuries and once cleared, she'd ask herself these questions:

1. Why does he (fill in the blank here) pull toward the gate?
2. What is the rider doing to encourage the behavior? 
3. How do both get back to amicable and pleasant works together? 
4. Is this the horse's fault or the rider's?
5. Will fighting with each other really truly fix the issue?
~Bonus question: What is my energy level before, during and after the 'event' with my horse? 

Think outside of the box for a minute once you've asked yourself how and why the horse seems to pick fights with you that make you believe he doesn't want to work. (Substitute whatever issue or problem you are currently having with your own horse. Grass grabbing on the trail? Not wanting to be saddled? Won't pick up his feet when asked? Anything can be addressed by answering the above five or six questions.

Or, if you want the Short Cut Version, skip ahead and ask if your direction during every minute of your time together has been consistent and clear. Horses like things to be in black and white. They are not keen on grey areas that involve us humans and what we want from them. This doesn't mean be harsh or drastic in your training or cues. Rather, it means be clear as glass in your conversations with your horse. If you want a circle to be round, ride a round circle and don't let him decide where you are going. You will be proactive every minute you are with him, but in a friendly, calm leadership manner. He won't drift off that circle because you will correct him as soon as he thinks about drifting. Soon, he will not even try to do anything except the circle because your gentle guidance will assure him that there is no point to his feeble attempts to do anything except what you are asking. Plus, you'll reward him extravagantly for being so good!

Whatever your discipline, ride with your mind first, your eyes second and your body third. Stay with him in the moment, or even better about two seconds in the future. Bring him along with you to that envisioned perfect future and don't day dream, lolly-gag or worry about anything else. 

You want a good, happy ride? Create it through your intent and presence of being in the moment, or better yet, a little bit ahead!
​
Happy Riding!
~Tanya

---