Greetings to all you horse lovers! By the time you read this, four whole months of the year 2008 will be gone. It is amazing how fast time goes by! Spring is such an exciting time with all the possibilities of the summer ahead. It is filled with anticipation as we attend clinics, get ready for shows and once again go for rides along our old familiar trails. I love the promise of spring after the barrenness of winter. It is like getting a fresh start every year. And that is what I want to talk about this month; a fresh start with our horses.

I am often asked how to solve this problem or that problem concerning riding or handling a horse. But often the “problem” is only a symptom pointing to a violation of the teacher/student relationship during training. There are two aspects of the horse that must be taken into consideration every time you enter its space. One is the prey animal instinct and the other is the herd animal dynamic. Either one is a recipe for disaster if they are ignored. We often get in too big a hurry to go enjoy the trails (or the rails) and try to push the “student” to accept things on our time schedule. This usually leads to behaviors that are natural to the horse but can be quite scary to us. They don’t plan on being “bad” or “disrespectful”. These concepts do not even exist in horse language. They are just reacting to the pressure like a horse. This sometimes takes the form of rearing or biting or kicking. Or maybe less obvious forms such as barn sourness or hard to catch or shying on the trail. Whatever their attempt to communicate, it is important not to ignore their “voice”. It pays to take time to evaluate the source of their resistance.

It bears repeating that terms such as “right” or “wrong”, “good” or “bad,” “respect” or “disrespectful”...do not exist for a horse. Horses are governed by instincts programmed into their being by the Creator. They don’t think in terms of “good” or “bad”, but in terms of what works and what doesn’t. If I begin working with my horse with the thought that he is being disrespectful, I can get a mindset that I have to show him who’s boss. This often leads to being too aggressive which in turn puts the horse on the defensive, thinking it’s trying to save its life. The first priority of any horse is to be safe. If he feels threatened or attacked, he is wired to try to escape first and fight to the finish second. I have gotten into far too many power struggles with horses when I have forgotten this and even if I win, I lose. If a horse is scared or defensive, I may be able to force him but I can not teach him. I always have to go back and reestablish trust before I can proceed with teaching the horse what I want him to learn.

Does this mean that I have to be super gentle all the time and seek to never raise the emotional level of my horse? No! Quite the opposite! Raising the emotional level is essential to having a calm, trusting horse. Pressure is not bad if you understand what you are looking for and how to get it. Being persistent is a must because most horses’ first reaction to pressure of any kind is to resist. This is in their DNA. If they wait to see if it’s dangerous, they could be dead. That’s how they think. So the pressure must be persistent enough to get them to look for the right answer but passive enough that it does not produce a panic which will shut down their ability to think it through. Then, as you begin to get more and more right answers, you can combine them to make a great performance horse that becomes like a dance partner. Only when he trusts you, can you direct him where you want him to go.

So never disregard the prey animal instinct in your horse. All your dealings with him must take it into consideration. When you encounter a “problem” area, give him the benefit of the doubt and believe that fear is making him act out in an inappropriate way. If you are wrong and the behavior comes from the pecking order dynamic (which we will talk about next month), you will find that the same lessons still apply for solving the dilemma. Though most of you may not want to be horse trainers, if you own a horse, you are training him. Taking the time to learn how you can condition the desired response in a way that is none threatening and clear, is essential to your safety and enjoyment of your horse.

Consider your horse as a kindergarten or 1st grade student and you are the teacher. You want to be consistently advancing but in small enough steps that the “child” can learn the lesson. Remember, the lesson is always clearer to the teacher than it is to the student and the teacher cannot tell the student when the student has learned the lesson. A good teacher never “beats” or scolds the student for not understanding a lesson or for being afraid for the teacher knows that it is his responsibility to explain the lesson in a clear enough manner that the student can get the right answer. I cannot expect my “student” to spell or read until he knows the individual letters so I must teach the separate pieces before I can put them together for control. I can’t expect to enforce what I haven’t taken time to teach.

So, with all that said, take time to enjoy your horse. Challenge yourself to get better acquainted with his behavior patterns and seek to make a connection that is not linked to the demands of riding. Work on anything that needs improving on his ground manners and it will carry over to more respect and trust when you get on his back. Hope this is helpful to someone and I will look forward to hearing from anyone who has a question that I might help with

Be sure to take in Ride the West this month. You will see the reality of what we talked about in this article addressed in many ways. Next month, we will talk about the herd animal dynamic and how understanding it can make us safer around our horses. Be sure to stop by my booth or my demos and introduce yourselves to me because I love to meet horsepeople. Bye till next month....Ann

For more information on Ann Kirk and her Sensible Horsemanship Program, go to www.annkirk.com. Ann will be a presenter again this year at Ride the West. Also, check out her upcoming Sensible Advancement Clinic, May 2, 3 and 4 at the Four Mounds Bison Ranch, in Nine Mile, Wash. Ann Kirk welcomes questions and will take the time to answer them personally.