June/July 2013 expended energy were less robust - less
is unclear they become confused. Some
into account a particular horse’s past his-
evolutionarily successful.
spend more time trying to figure out what
tory, maturity, intelligence, confidence,
Association in combination with ha-
is being asked than attempting a response.
dominance, physical abilities and toler-
bituation makes horses highly teachable.
Others nervously run so fast through their
ance for physical and mental strain may
Our ability to perceive and control very
whole repertoire of trained responses that
be more humane and ultimately more suc-
specific stimuli is more limited than that of
people say the horse is being evasive.
cessful.
the horse. We are less focused. Our minds
When fear accompanies a learning experi-
tend to wander or attempt to multi-task.
ence, equines hesitate, shutdown or dem-
RESOURCES
While we work with a horse our attention
onstrate what McLean calls “Conflict Be-
Budiansky, The Nature of Horses: Exploring
is often diverted to internal thoughts or
haviors”. We often call conflict behaviors
Equine Evolution, Intelligence, & Behavior
external observations. While our minds
“evasions, disobedience or disrespect”.
Dorrances, True Unity; True Horsemanship
are busy we miss the questions horses
Some horse’s flight or conflict behaviors
Through Feel
pose: May I walk a bit faster while being
are subtle: loss of attention, dullness to
May, “Crossing the Species Divide” Idyl-
led? Can I take a bite of grass? The horse
aids, “zoning out”. They may express their
wildFarm.com, Articles Section
experiences our lack of response to the
confusion with tension, shying, difficulty
McLean, The Truth About Horses; Equitation
question as permission. After the horse
with steering or speed. Others panic,
Science, “Articles” at www.aebc.au.com
has interpreted our inaction by walking
showing that they are overloaded or short-
Rashid, Horses Never Lie; Horsemanship
ahead of us or stopping to graze we notice
circuiting through dramatic flight respons-
Through Life; Whole Heart Whole Horse
the change, often labeling it disrespect or
es like bucking, bolting or rearing. All organisms need a predictable world.
As athletes on horseback we can use our
When we correct the mistake after the
The less predictable, the more stress they
own anatomy to communicate to the horse
fact, we create confusion for horses: We
show. By unintentionally making the envi-
a streamlined framework for movement.
unintentionally agreed to the speed or the
ronment unpredictable, our human incon-
Find out more about these strategies for us-
intent to graze when we missed the subtle
sistency can trigger horses’ flight instincts.
ing the brain to communicate with horses
questions? Horses struggle to figure out
Innovative horsemen and behavioral scien-
through behavioral science and biome-
what part of the subsequent action we did
tists have found that rewarding the horse’s
chanics! There’s a wealth of information at
not want since we did accept the faster
approximation of correct responses and
www.Mary-Wanless.com including coaches
walk and the thought to graze. Riding ex-
ignoring - rather than punishing - a mis-
worldwide - with five in the USA at www.
amples:
take more effectively reaches the equine
RideWithYourMindUSA.com.
1) The continuous pressure of strong
brain. As Mark Rashid says, “Reward the
Working with Wanless since 1997, Lisa
hands or the nagging pressure of hands
try”, and, “Focus on what you do want. Not
May is the first US accredited RWYM coach
that don’t distinguish clearly between a
on what you don’t want. Whatever you fo-
& a horsemanship student of Mark Rashid
desired or an undesired response lead to
cus on you’ll get more of. Focus on what
since 2000. Also a Professional Association
habituation.
you want.” Human action makes sense to
of Therapeutic Horsemanship International
horses when it helps them.
instructor, she travels for clinics from her
disobedience.
2) Lower legs that continuously cling, kick, or don’t release when the horse
All energy expended on behavior is
makes small changes lead to habituation.
communication. By understanding what he
Becoming habituated is becoming desen-
is communicating we begin to work with
sitized.
the horse rather than against him. Strate-
Humans tend to perceive a desensi-
gies for working with rather than against
tized horse as resistant, hard mouthed or
horses’ natural behaviors can be found in
evasive. Yet, it is our own hand contact or
Mark Rashid’s many books. In a very enter-
leg use that has trained / habituated the
taining style, he helps us understand our
horse in a way that we don’t want. When
world through the mind of the horse, “If we
we get a response we don’t want, we typi-
are only students of technique our knowl-
cally use an even stronger aid or punish
edge has limits - If we are students of the
the horse, which furthers the vicious cy-
horse learning is unlimited”. The research indicates that while train-
cle. Reward and punishment both rein-
ing methods that claim effectiveness with
force behavior. When horses get punished
all horses may eventually work with most
for a mistake or when the correct choice
horses, individualized training that takes
home in Maryland www.IdylwildFarm.com.
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