Is there a lack of understanding between you and your horse? Is your horse not responding to you the way you think it should? Are you in need of assistance in your relationship with your horse? Do you need answers to questions that have never been answered? Are you just feeling lost and don't know where to turn? Then keep reading because we just might be able to clear up some of those questions.
We have all experienced the same problems when trying to find answers to questions that we could not answer about working with horses. Many times we have heard questions that seemed to have no answers, or at least answers that seemed to make no sense. What are needed are answers to questions, not answers that create more questions. That is why we have to search for direct answers, the ones that did not leave more questions in our minds. Believe it or not, these very answers are rather simple if you take them step-by-step.
In addition, we have all have found programs that want to take us to an end result that we are not searching for, like the programs that have you learn to be a horse trainer - but, you do not want to learn to be a horse trainer. You want something much simpler, you are not looking for a program to mold you into what other thinks you should be... you are already who you are and in most cases who you want to be. Just as you are who you are, I am a horseman that does not need to re-invent myself; what I do or even how I do it. After all, if your search has been anything like mine, all you are searching for is simple information that is easy to understand, allowing you to work safely and enjoy the time with your horse.
People that have horses today have lost sight of the number one goal of horse ownership and that is learning to become a "Horseman".
A "horseman" is a person that believes that the horse has a communication style and social structure that, if respected, can be understood. In addition the horseman is a compassionate individual that is willing to open themselves up to what the horse and the herd can teach them about their language, culture and behavior. Once that a human being begins to respect the animal by communicating with them, on their own terms, they are then accepted in to the equine social structure. This is the very first step in becoming a horseman. By the way the term "horseman" is not gender specific, either a man or a woman can become a "horseman".
All information has to be built on a foundation that is very solid and creates interaction that will allow the horse and handler to start and progress through the areas of understanding, development, trust and shared experiences at a very astounding rate of progression.
Earning Respect Builds Relationships
The horse has to accept you into their world; you cannot break down the door and demand to be let in. Fear may get compliance, but it will never earn respect. Respect will earn trust, which is also called friendship, and this leads to solid foundations that then create great partnerships. One of the weakest points that I and other horsemen have seen is that most people who are working with horses today are not willing, or do not know how, to start at the very beginning of the education ladder. These same people are starting further up the line of progression and in doing so have overlooked many of the basics that are so important to the relationship between the horse and the handler. You have to be ready and willing to invest the necessary time to obtain the results that you are looking for.
This comes from our own lifestyle of wanting to make things happen at a faster rate so that we can get what we want and in many cases this includes cutting some of the corners that we feel may not be that necessary. The main point that is overlooked with this thought is that the mind of the horse does not think that way. Believe me, it is a problem that most people have, even I had to re-learn and re-program my own method of thought to be more like that of the horse. It has been my experience that many people involved with horses today have a hard time accepting that the building a relationship with a horse is a process, remember we live in a society that wants it all "NOW"... it revolves around instant gratification. We may live in a "quicker-faster" world, but the horse does not.
A Clash of Cultures
Develop a basic goal that is to help yourself understand that there is a process to be able to understand the relationship that you are creating with the horse.
The learning of the fundamental steps creates a relationship between you and your horse that leads to mental soundness as well as physical soundness. You cannot separate physical well-being from mental well-being. There have been countless incidents where horses were punished for behavioral problems that were really problems of lameness, ill-fitting equipment and poor communication on the part of the rider or handler that could lead to a failure to understand the horse's attempt to communicate their problem.
It it also a known fact, among horseman, that any problem that a rider has comes from not having a solid relationship or an understanding of the horse when that rider is on the ground for once that a rider becomes a great horse handler on the ground then and only then can they move onto being a great rider.
A "Building Block" Process Evolved
People have been witnessed over the years trying to work with their horses ~ and not being able to understand that they were creating many problems that they had and that they were making those same problems worse. These same people wanted to do what was right but did not know where to start. They had gone to trainers to learn what to do ~ but in the process they weren't allowed to start at square one, instead they were starting at about step 12 or 14 and had no solid foundation to build upon.
What these people needed to do is to be able to start at the very beginning and build the relationship that comes from the solid foundation of mutual understanding.
Until next time "Ride for the Brand".
My work with horses and owners is dedicated to the thousands of horses that I have had the distinct pleasure to meet, learn from and allowed into their lives. That acceptance has given me the insight that is necessary for the understanding of their world and how I had to alter my thoughts and actions to become the same as theirs. These horses started out as my clients, became my friends, then my teachers and finally my mentors. For that I am forever grateful.
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