With many riders, it’s not uncommon to see them mechanically directing their horses left and right, achieving basic control but missing an opportunity for a deeper connection. The horse complies, but only just enough to fulfill the command. This minimal-effort approach is a missed opportunity in both competitive and recreational riding. The goal should be to cultivate a relationship where the horse is not just a participant but an enthusiastic partner. You should also reference the article, Avoiding Common Owner-Created Issues with Your Horse.
1) Identifying and Addressing Core Issues
When issues arise, it’s crucial to determine whether it is the actual problem or just a symptom of a deeper issue. Common behavioral challenges like aggression at feeding time, reluctance to stand still, or bucking, often point to underlying problems. These typically fall into three categories: pain, lack of respect, or insufficient training. You have to be able to see beyond the surface-level symptoms to the actual deeper problem and then identify the cause of that problem. The cause is always going to come down to one of these 3, pain, lack of respect, or lack of training.
Pain
If a horse is in discomfort, it may exhibit various symptoms, including resistance to certain movements or changes in behavior. It’s essential to first rule out pain as a cause. It may be necessary to call in an expert if you suspect pain but a good horseman should be able to rule out most pain issues. If you need an expert to assess and rule out pain then you have several inner issues that you need to work on such as your understanding of things that cause pain and how that pain can reflect. A good horseman can interact with their horse and understand what the horse is trying to tell them, not what they want to hear. My video, Western Saddle Fit, shows you how to check your saddle fit to make sure it is not causing pain.
Lack of Respect
Respect is a two-way street with a horse. If a horse doesn’t respect its rider, it may display dominant or aggressive behaviors, sometimes even behaviors like spookiness and hard to catch. Building respect involves consistent, fair training and establishing clear boundaries where the handler clearly establishes themself as the leader and proves their leadership skills to the horse. If a handler or rider wants a horse to obey their direction they they have to prove to the horse that they can make good decisions on the horse’s behalf. My video, Groundwork for Respect, shows how to work a horse that doesn’t respect your space.
Lack of Training
A horse may not understand what is being asked of it due to gaps in training. This lack of understanding can manifest as reluctance or disobedience. Proper training requires patience, consistency, and a clear communication of expectations. A good horseman can identify if a horse is not doing something because it does not know how or refuses because of a lack of respect for the handler or rider’s leadership. It is imperative to be able to determine the difference because how that is handled is vastly different.
2) Establishing Mental Engagement
The first step in training is to assess the horse’s mental engagement. This involves observing indicators like ear position to gauge where the horse’s attention lies. The goal is to have the horse’s mind attuned to the rider during training. When I first step on any horse I always walk a couple of small circles. That is to get the horse mentally engaged on my directions. Horse training is as much mental as it is physical and many people don’t engage the mental aspect.
3) Steering and Impulsion
When asking a horse to move in a specific direction, the response should be more than mere compliance; it should be enthusiastic. If the response is lackluster, adding impulsion from the outside can encourage a more spirited response. This approach is about engaging the horse’s mind to put more effort into its tasks. Many of the people who say they want a better connection with their horse, I also see this lack of enthusiasm from the horse. This comes from how they are interacting with their horse. To be enthusiastic, a horse must be mentally and physically fit and engaged in the activity.
4) Rein and Leg Signals
Effective use of reins and leg signals is crucial. The outside rein is used for direction and impulsion, the inside rein determines bend and the legs aid in these movements, but riding is much more than that. Riding is a closely connected dance between the horse and rider where the two move in unison with grace and fluidity. The communication should be a subtle but clear, soft but firm, quiet conversation between you and your horse. My video, Using Reins and Legs, shows how your reins and legs should be used to communicate with your horse.
5) Cultivating Effort and Willingness
In training, the focus is on the horse performing tasks with effort and willingness, whether in transitions between gaits or more complex maneuvers. It’s not about dramatic actions but about the horse’s eagerness and effort in every response. The article, An In-Depth Guide to Understanding Your Horse’s Language, gives great insight into what your horse is thinking and correctly interpreting your horse’s communication.
Conclusion
Effective horse training transcends physical control. It involves understanding and addressing the root causes of behavioral issues, whether due to pain, lack of respect, or training gaps. Then by focusing on the horse’s mental engagement and encouraging effortful responses, a more profound and respectful partnership can be developed. Only then can you achieve that clear, quiet conversation that we all strive for. Remember, it’s not just about getting the horse to do what we ask, but how they do it that truly counts in the art of horsemanship. This approach leads to a more fulfilling and harmonious relationship, where both horse and rider are engaged, responsive, and working together as a cohesive unit. You can read more about horsemanship in the article, The Essence of Great Horsemanship. There I discuss the difference between good horsemanship and great horsemanship.
Often breed characteristics effect our connection with our horse. The article, Adapting Training for Different Horse Breeds, discusses different breed characteristics and how they effect each horse.
My horse training journey has brought me from winning world titles to now trying to make every horse the best they can be and to help you improve your equestrian knowledge.
I like it all…except the remarks, “A good horseman should be able to discern….” What about those of us who are not-yet-good horsemen, and still on our way to becoming good horsemen? Our efforts to develop into good horsemen are what bring us to this site, and we need clear explanations and demonstrations so we can learn to “figure it out.” This is a small complaint, I know, but I want to learn about how to connect with my horses and discern which behaviors are caused by pain, lack of respect or lack of training.
I am sure you are working hard to improve your horsemanship to become a good horseman. Without knowing the qualities of a good horseman and good horsemanship how would you ever attain it? There is a saying, you don’t know what you don’t know. You are at the point where you are learning what you don’t know and I have produced over 700 videos and articles for you to use to answer your questions. They are all individual pieces to the big puzzle and you will gradually fit all of those pieces together to develop your horsemanship.
Although new to true horsemanship I have learned so much watching your videos. Thank you.
I absolutely love watching your training videos. I rode as a child but we rode bareback with just the bridle or sometimes just binder twine on the halter. But the statement “I didn’t know what I didn’t know” definitely was so very true. Of course my old horse was no way near the caliber of the ones in your videos. But he gave me the happiest times in my childhood.