Think How Your Horse Thinks

 

Today's horses no longer have to worry about being dinner for a big cat or a pack of canines, but their brains have never fully accepted that.  Their instinct still recalls the tine eohippus, who was food for all kinds of predators.  That's why the ewuine reaction, when faced with uncertainty or any kind of perceived danger, is flight or fight.  Basically, they "shoot first and ask questions later" because that's how they survived until mankind domesticated them.

 

That instinct is why they spook at certain types of movement, noises, shapes, colors or shadows.  It's why they kick if you suprise them from behind or bite or strike if they feel trapped. 

 

And the fact that they are always holding a gun, which could go off at any time, has to be at the center of anything we do with horses, whether we're on the ground or on their backs.  But that doesn't mean we should be afraid of them, in fact, it means exactly the opposite.  It means we must deal with our horses with confidence, respect them for their size and strength, attempt to anticipate their reactions, be ready to reassure them when they are anxious, and reprimand them for their unwated behavior - and sometimes we must be willing to just laught at them to break the tension.

 

BE THE HERD LEADER

 

So for most of todyas horses, the herd is the group of horses and the people around them.  And the key is that each of those people must be the herd leader, someone from whom the horse takes direction and, thus, derives confidence.  That means that, if you keep your horses at home, you must be in charge of them.  You determine when and where they eat and get turned out, and they must go there calmly and quietly under your direction; they must stand reasonable quietly for you to groom or take care of them; and they must work when and where you tell them to work.

 

Make your horse feel safe in his heard by being the leader, by being confident, purposeful and by being as predictable as possible in your actions toward your horse. Consistency is key. If he behaves correctly, praise him.  If he behaves incorrectly, reprimand him, immediately and at the correct level.  It is our responsibility as their owners to try to understand our horses and try to provide them with a beneficial environment so that they can be confident, useful partners, for us or for someone else.