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| Central Illinois Equestrian Center Training |
| Horse training tips, much like general opinions, are something horsemen have no shortage of. So many different techniques and schools of thought exist that it can almost be maddening for those who wish to pick up sound advice for training their own horse. Which technique is correct? Which school of thought is the one I should follow? The answer is none! While you can become proficient with a particular training technique, you will really blossom if you remain receptive to a variety of techniques and incorporate those elements of the different schools that blend well with your own personal skills or preferences. Although we do not advocate following horse training tips or techniques belonging exclusively to one school of thought, we do strongly believe in keeping your focus within one theme: natural horsemanship. If a particular technique goes against our philosophy of gentle horsemanship and creating a bond rather than an adversarial relationship, it will not be included here (at least not in a complimentary fashion) |
| Two schools of thought exist within the extremes of the horse training world: domination via force and cooperation via appeasement. One side firmly believes that a trainer must possess the strength of a lion so that a horse dares not question them while the opposition is equally passionate about rejecting any form of force or intimidation. Neither side is entirely correct when taken to the above extremes; as with most everything the truth lies somewhere in between. A proper horse trainer should possess the strength of a lion AND the gentleness of a lamb! I firmly believe in natural horsemanship and carry an extreme disdain for those who would attempt to dominate a horse through force and/or mistreatment. Most of us who truly love horses no doubt carry the same view, and I have seen great strides taken away from domination and towards natural horsemanship over the last decade. That being said, it is important not to allow your disgust for domination to jade your views towards necessary force. The two are not the same! If you observe a herd of horses in a pasture for an extended time you will notice subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) challenges amongst the leaders in the pecking order. Even established herd leaders will regularly remind their herd who is in control, usually with little to no force. Two lessons can be learned from observing horses in their natural habitat: 1.Each herd has a firm leader that the other herd members respect and often look towards for guidance. This is the natural state for horses. 2.A successful leader is not afraid to use force to maintain his/her position in the pecking order, but even more importantly he/she can usually remind all but the most rebellious herd members of their authority with subtle gestures and warnings rather than blunt force. When you develop a relationship with your horse you must take the role of the "leader" during your interactions with each other, but remember that a successful leader is born through earning a horse's respect, not by striking fear into his soul. There is a significant difference between respect and fear. If a horse respects you he will:
If a horse fears you he will:
Once you have established yourself as the leader the horse will understand that you possess the strength in the relationship and therefore defer to your wishes. You will not often have to display or call forth your strength – possessing it will be enough. I cannot emphasize this enough! Except for extreme cases, you should rarely need to rely on strength to guide your horse towards accomplishing your desired results. It is also important to keep in mind that strength is not defined solely by force, but rather by technique and confidence. Do not let your gender, build or age convince you that a horse will not respect your authority because the fact of the matter is if leadership were determined by physical force we would all lose! Luckily since a horse's first instinct is to flee or avoid danger or conflict, he isn't often tempted to test his (or our) limits. Horses are very perceptive when it comes to detecting potential threats or moods. In fact as good as we would like to think we all are at detecting deception or emotions, we are rank amateurs compared to many animals. Therefore it is important that you approach an untrained horse with confidence because if you are not a fountain of assurance during the unfamiliar rigors of training the horse cannot draw strength from you. He will be much more prone to testing your limits, spooking or simply ignoring your requests to do as he wishes. By the same token you must approach a horse with a genuine respect and sincerity because a herd leader is not just a bully that dominates the herd with his/her strength. A leader also cares for the herd and protects it from foreign threats. With time the herd looks to its leader to determine whether a foreign occurrence or object is an actual threat to flee from or something inconsequential that can be ignored. The leader's reaction will largely determine the herd's subsequent behavior. Can you now see the importance of developing a genuine bond of respect with your horse? If you use fear as a weapon the horse will have no trust in you and therefore be far more prone to spook or flee something foreign. On the other hand if you are a trusted leader the horse will look to you for strength and you'll have a much easier time reassuring your horse to overcome his fear. One mistake some horse owners make is becoming a little too accommodating towards poor behavior or rude behaviors once they have trained a horse or formed a bond of trust. Many horses (particularly colts and stallions) will subtly challenge their leaders over time to see if they can get away with more or even take over the leadership role. This is why although a horse trainer and/or owner should be as gentle as a lamb they should also possess the strength of a lion – there is a time to stand up and maintain your leadership role. When watching an alpha mare or herd leader interact with members of his/her herd you will inevitably see the leader exhibit aggressive behavior, whether in the form of brute force or (more commonly) in the form of body language. If a subordinate grazes too closely to the leader without the leader's consent the follower finds out the error of his way in short time. Whereas this continual "bullying" behavior may seem excessive to us, it's important to realize it's a fact of life for a horse. It is their way, and to enjoy a healthy relationship with a horse it's better that you understand their customs and language (even if you instinctually disagree). What does this have to do with you? You learned that you must take the leadership position in your relationship, and most horse owners luckily understand that fact. The problem is many owners fail to follow through. Leadership is not earned once and forever remembered – with horses leadership must be constantly maintained. Horses will test their boundaries from time to time to see whether your leadership is faltering or whether they may possess the upper hand. Like the alpha mare in the field, you must suppress such "rebellions" and make sure they realize you still are, and always will be, the leader. When I was a teenager I owned a gorgeous thoroughbred mare and we both worked very well together. She was quite simply a great horse. I want to emphasize this point before going on because even the best horse can pick up a bad habit or make a mistake if permitted to. My philosophy is every horse kicks and every horse bites. I tell this to my students adimately. Like most horses, this mare thoroughly enjoyed her sweet grain every evening, and with each evening as the months went by she would become a little more demanding. It would start with invading my personal space… but since I trusted her I didn't feel she needed to keep her distance. We were partners, right? She meant me no harm. Soon she would begin nudging the bucket, forcing me to keep a tight grip lest the grain within spill on the floor before making it to her feeding dish. But I justified this poor behavior by rationalizing that she was just understandably anxious for something she enjoys, and I could hold onto the bucket and play a game of "dodge" with her. No real harm in it, just a small nuisance. Finally one day as my back was partially towards her she kicked me. Nothing that left more than a black and blue, and not a kick that had bad blood or mean intent behind it. Just a little strike with her front leg to let me know she was impatient and wanted her grain now. So did she get it? No! With that act she crossed the line from poor manners to an action that was outright disrespectful and could have hurt me. As much as I hated it, at that point I gave her a couple strong cracks with my hand, shouted my disappointment with her and sent her running. And I brought the grain back with me to the barn – she had to be happy with hay for that evening. I never had a problem with her again. Come the next day she completely respected my personal space and waited until she had my consent to indulge. She wasn't my first horse, but she was my first young mare and possessed a stronger will than my previous gelding, so combined with my relative inexperience a situation developed that never should have. From that day I learned the following: Do not allow any poor manners, no matter how seemingly innocent they are. A horse will rarely test their boundaries in blatant ways – they do so little by little, seeing just how far they can go until they hit a wall or take over the leadership position. When a horse challenges your authority, make sure your reaction is as strong as a lion's. You must let your horse know that you are the leader and always will be the leader. And understand that sometimes a reaction need not include physical force – it's something I rarely use. If you are a fair leader, when you do exert your authority the horse will not hold it against you. Although my mare learned rather quickly that she overstepped the line, we always had a great relationship previously and thus the incident only improved our relationship as she discovered I was indeed the alpha. For someone who understood nothing about the horse "language" at the time, I assumed small actions like walking too close to me (without permission, mind you – I'll still to this day cozy up to my horses on my terms) or nudging the feed bucket weren't worth fighting over. As humans we are taught to choose our battles, after all. It wasn't until it progressed to the "breaking point" that I learned… In the horse world, every battle must be faced with conviction lest the other party lose his or her respect for your authority. Whereas some would blame the horse for the inevitable result, the fault actually rested on my shoulders. I did not understand horses well enough at that time to realize I was failing her as a leader. Once you have established your leadership ensure that your horse is reminded of your authority anytime he starts behaving even the slightest bit out of line. I've found for me a good 90% of the time I can remind my horses who is the "boss" with a subtle gesture, shift of my body or voice inflection – subtleties that many humans wouldn't even detect. When you and your horse work together daily and understand each other's body language, you both will become a fluid machine that can respond to even the slightest gestures or clues. This is why it's so important for horse owners to truly learn a horse's body language. We expect a horse to learn our language yet many of us don't even put forth a half-hearted effort to understand them. But such folly is outside the scope of this article. Instead my point was that if you and your horse understand each other, physical force would probably never enter the equation. Being as strong as a lion does not mean being violent or abusive! It does mean that you are always observant of potential red flags and that you address each of them no matter how petty. What humans perceive to be petty incidents are considered significant strides to horses. Don't make the mistake of applying our rules to the horse world as I did with the above mentioned mare. Think and react as an alpha horse would, and that means… Always be as strong as a lion, but also as gentle as a lamb. |
| Monthly or Hourly $30 per hour or $750 per month (Monthly Includes Board) |