Tolerance

For as long as I’ve been a horse owner, since 1990, I’ve been noticing that horse people are quite an intolerant lot. Regardless of whether you’re a regular rider or a horse owner. Whether your horse lives at a country stable or at the finest riding manège of the town. Whether your horse has a full-time or part-time turnout. Whether it has free access to hay or not. Whether it is shod or unshod. Whether you compete or not. Whether you ride with or without a bit. On a field or cross-country… sigh… the list is truly endless.

When discussion turns to the well-being of horses, the argumentation mainly focuses on whether the horse is being treated well or badly, and whether it can cope with the conditions the human has placed it in. Would it just be best if horses were let free, or does the opposite of this mean total oppression and exploitation of the horse?

So that all of us could learn from each other we need openness, and also acceptance of things that might be difficult to understand when you’re looking at them based on your own experiences. I’ll give a few examples here.

One very common problem seems to be that the horse might have its “rev counter stall”. A horse like this might be called hot, or just otherwise goofy. People who have gotten to know the horse as an animal understand that the horse doesn’t want to be hot or goofy, but that it’s characteristic to horses as a species to move their feet when their stress level goes up. To put it simply, a hot horse is stressed, and the situation isn’t likely to be very pleasant for the horse, especially if it happens e.g. every time the horse is ridden. In their mighty wisdom, humans come up with different aids and ways to keep the horse under control. Even if this isn’t unpleasant to the humans, it may cause many kinds of problems for the horse in the long run. Including physical ones.

Another example is a horse, whose owner wants to satisfy their horse’s every need to their last breath. When the human starts to realize the things a horse can display with its behavior and gestures, there’s a risk that the human will want to protect the horse, and to avoid further discomfort they stop doing anything with the horse but the things that are pleasant and suit the horse.

These extremes are most likely easy to identify and can be found in everyone’s circle of acquaintances. If one wants to look at these situations past all the humanity and wishes to consider what similarities they share, it helps to look at the horse.

In the first example the human might not acknowledge which of the horse’s resources remain unavailable to him or her, as the horse’s “mouth has been shut”. For the horse, as a prey animal, situations where the opportunity to flee has been removed have a great effect on its stress level. Sometimes it’s enough that the horse simply KNOWS it’s not being forced to do anything. On the other hand, a horse that has been forced for a long time might not be able to relax. It burns out, in a way.

When the horse is then listened to, and observed, and even the smallest of its wishes and needs fulfilled, it often happens that the horse will default to telling that it doesn’t like anything the human wants to do with it. This is the horror scenario that nobody wants to face, and because of that it’s easier to just close your eyes. I believe, however, that in their heart people know, despite all the defenses and justifications, that they may not be giving the horse everything it needs to be well.

So when, for one reason or another, you end up in a situation where  the horse has had the chance to tell its opinion, which generally is no, a new opportunity emerges to teach the same things to the horse in a way that lets it see them in a positive light too.

I’ve met thousands of people during all these years, and most of them don’t give a hoot about the idea that horses have rights, and needless to say they haven’t realized how much more they could get out of their horse and their hobby if they stopped to listen sometime. At the same time those who have given their horse a chance have rarely regretted it. There’s always people who are too busy or cannot give their expectations time, and much less the chance to come true.

It’s amazing, then, that while most “problems” take a few practice sessions and a few thousand repeats after that to solve, there’s still time to do things wrong week after week, month after month, and to be displeased and unhappy.

Nobody can be taught against their will, and for my part I hope that the rift between horsemanship people, horse trainers, moral mongers and the rest of the horse world would narrow. Everyone could have something to learn from each other, after all. Nobody’s skills or experience should be belittled or underestimated, especially if there’s concrete backup, and above all if this skill and knowledge can be observed in the horse. You don’t have to understand everything, but until you can objectively evaluate others based on your own experience, it’s important to be tolerant. Without tolerance your own message doesn’t go out as it’s intended and therefore won’t be likely to reach its recipient.

This week’s guideline could be: nothing is right or wrong by default. It depends on the observer how you look at the situation.

Pressure and comfort zones

During the last few months I’ve been thinking about pressure from the viewpoint of humans and horses. For this to make any sense, it might be useful to define what pressure is. Is it a symbol that stays constant or does it increase, and if it does, then why, at what rate etc?

I remember learning myself, years ago, that the basic definition of pressure is that everything that affects the horse is pressure. Either making it move or stay still. Thinking like this, even everything unrelated to humans is pressure. An example of this could be a situation where the horse is startled by a passing car or a dog running through the corral, and as result of being startled the horse flees. On the other hand, horses are taught to yield to the leg and to the whip, and then to face the pressure by staying put. Hmmm…..

When pressure is used in training a horse or communicating with a horse, many other things besides the signal itself affect how it is received and responded to. I’ve noted that many methods teach that the human should rev up and get worked up if the horse doesn’t “obey” a slight pressure. This certainly does work, since the horse is constantly learning, but at the same time it has given something new to think about.

My own preferred way of thinking and working is that the best thing that the human can do is to create the best possible circumstances for the horse to learn in. An essential part of this is that the horse won’t need to learn through mistakes, to do things wrong first in order to succeed or to be punished. A well executed learning situation doesn’t stress or scare the horse, but rather creates an optimal situation for the horse, so it can always respond correctly.

So what does responding mean? The way I see it, training a horse is, to a great extent, basically like playing the age old warmer-colder guessing game. The horse gets a hint from the human, and with correct timing the human rewards the horse for a reaction that resembles the correct one, little by little. This requires that the human has an understanding of the chain of events that leads to performing a single task or an entire series of movements.

But to get back to pressure, it would appear that humans do not perceive the side effects of increasing pressure very well. The horse will certainly become obedient,but at the same time it gets more cautious, and at worst the feelings it goes through in the learning situation become fixed, and the result might be that when too much pressure (in the horse’s opinion) is used, it learns that the human’s own emotions are a part of the learning situation.

So how could signals or pressure be used kindly at all, or in a way that doesn’t transmit the human’s emotions into the horse? In all its simplicity and ease, if you actually need to increase pressure, you can do it without getting angry, worked up or frustrated. How to increase pressure in a way that doesn’t affect the human him- or herself?

When humans end up in a situation where, for instance, the horse doesn’t understand what is required from it, they can easily get frustrated. When this happens, they can easily get taken away from their comfort zone. However, when we feel success it’s like a drug, we want to experience it again and again. One more time… if we turn this on its head and consider how the horse feels like outside of its comfort zone and how success feels to it, it cannot be hard to imagine that the horse would prefer to spend most of the time over at the better side of success.

Learning new things often involves a certain amount of stress and discomfort. Then again, discomfort can motivate us in our pursuit to reach a better state. When we’re justifying the discomfort caused to a horse, it might be a good idea to stop for a moment and to think how we would feel if someone else was in control of the situation….

The essential part, in the end, is motivation. What motivates us to learn new things? If motivation is born out of fear or pain, the learning situation is bound to be more uncomfortable than a situation where the reward is clear and easily understandable. And most importantly, learning is constructed logically so that new things are taught on top of the old and already learned.

 

Everything is relative – even understanding

My friend told me she’s not interested in horse related things anymore, and based it on how she can no longer bear to watch the unwell people and horses around her. I do understand this, but once again it gave me something to think about regarding my own mission, which, surprise surprise, is of course about the well-being of horses.

Deep down all of us humans are equally good or bad. Each of us base our choices on our own experiences, and an understanding of what’s right. I think I’ve come to the 

realization that this is the heart of the problem.

When talking about a horse’s well-being, for instance, some people think it means good food, water and shelter, not to mention a good setting. Yeah, sure, but those are the basic necessities and requirements of living. And when they have been satisfied, you can start talking about well-being, which I think is a much wider concept. My own humble but loud opinion is that defining a horse’s well-being is not very hard at all, if you have the will for it.

It includes getting a horse that’s suitable for the task it is used for, that the horse is trained right and also coached so that nothing that it has been taught will cause a problem, for example in a competition situation. Or well, that’s what you might imagine.

So is it acceptable to hit or kick a horse? And if it is, in what situation? When you’re crossing a road and the horse stops? Could it be justifiable to hit the horse in order to make it move on, so the fear of being hit by a car will pass? Hm… first of all it should probably be considered whether the horse has been taught that hitting with a whip or kicking with spurs means something. Whether the horse has a signal registered in its brain that says: aha, that kick means “carry on” or that the day after tomorrow it means “don’t hesitate, jump”, etc….

I don’t think it’s important to consider whether the horse is being hurt or not. Of course it is. I’d rather approach the matter from the viewpoint that if a rider is, for example in a competition “forced” into a situation where the pressure builds up and he has to hurt the horse, what will the horse learn from it? A new signal? That when humans are tense, they get frustrated and kick or hit? Or what? Answers and comments are gladly accepted =)

On the path of horsemanship

Our entire life is a road, and the destination is shrouded by a veil. Many of us have a picture in their mind of how they wish their life could be. Some may even know how to make it reality.

For me, the most difficult part is facing and accepting all the side effects and events that I have to come across on the way, and the possible obstacles that I have to overcome.

Life with a horse is at least equally difficult. My love for horses constantly sets challenges for me, and as result my own self comes under scrutiny time and time again. All these feelings from hope to disappointment and from joy to failure are a part of life. Without experiences and letdowns I wouldn’t know how success feels after desperation.

A few weeks ago I was taking part on a course, and as always before I participated without any expectations. I prefer being pleasantly surprised to being disappointed when my plans don’t quite work out. My biggest realization, however, had to do with how much my patience has improved. It is a virtue - I know - something I have not had before. When I see an objective or a goal in my mind, I focus all my energy into getting there. This doesn’t mean I’ll resort to any means possible, but rather that I’m ready to give it all I have when I believe in the cause.

I’ve found now that half is enough, or sometimes even just a fourth. When you learn to control yourself, you can save your strength and energy for many other things. There could, after all, be many different projects going on at the same time. But what does all this have to do with horses?

I have been quite disconcerted as I’ve followed people’s reactions to a note that I published a week ago. The text, which was about the well-being of race horses and the image of the sport, has inspired people in the social media to furiously mock and belittle my merits. I must admit I may have been too naïve when I believed that everyone who works with horses would sincerely love their horse. Childishly, I really imagined that the well-being of the horse and treating it without violence, even during competitions, would be a question of honor for anyone. But no, I must admit I was wrong.

I understand people’s expectations and feelings in this competitive world perfectly well. Still, there’s a small, cautious flame inside me, still believing and keeping up a slight hope that this world is not that evil, self-centered and calculating.

I hope that the day will come when even the most exacting of equestrians and the roughest of riders would look their horse deep in the eye and feel the sincerity with which the horse is ready to work with the human. Then maybe you could gently stroke the horse and tell it how important and precious it is.