A better
understanding of a horse's mind can lead to more effective training
methods. If everybody knew that horses learn by association, no horse
would ever be whipped again; and if every rider understood that herd
instinct of the horse, more time and patience would be given to timid
horses. Fortunately, a global awareness of equine psychology is on the
increase and in this article you will find ten of the most important facts
of the horse's mind - and heart!
FACT #1: The horse
is a 'flight' animal.
In the
wild, the horse is a prey animal. He is hunted rather than being the
hunter. Nature has equipped the horse with powerful senses to help him
protect himself. When a horse is faced with potential danger, he does not
stand up to it and fight. Instead, he pivots and takes off in the opposite
direction. This supports the famous theory that the horse is a 'flight'
animal not a 'fight' animal.
Horses
don't often wait until a threat is at a close distance from them. If one
horse in the herd senses the slightest possibility of a predator nearby,
you will find the whole herd galloping in the opposite direction, not
stopping until they have far outrun the predator. Some horses will
occasionally take off with their riders in that manner, galloping and
bucking across fields. Although this sort of behavior is dangerous and
should not be tolerable by the rider, it is quite difficult to gain
control over a horse which believes he is running for his life.
In training
a horse, it is not reasonable to demand him not to be frightened of
something he is unfamiliar with. He might also be familiar with the
object, but perhaps he was never taught that it is no cause of alarm.
Remember that in hitting a horse to walk past a frightening object, you
are convincing him that he has every right to be scared of it.
* * * *
FACT #2: Horses
learn by association.
As
mentioned above, if you whip a horse to get him past a scary object, you
have just taught him that was right to be scared. The way it works in the
horse's mind is as follows: he saw the object and was frightened of it,
then he was smacked. This experience gets stored in his mind as 'being
near the object is a source of pain'. The horse has associated the object
with the pain, and has learned that he should avoid crossing near it at
all costs.
On the
other hand, if the object was associated with something pleasant, the
horse will learn that being near the object is actually pleasant. For
example, if the horse shies away at some flags, and was given plenty of
reassurance from the rider - perhaps even a treat - he will associate the
flags with the praise that had received. The next day, you gently reassure
the horse past the object, then reward him with a treat, he will store the
event in his mind as a pleasant experience.
Humans also
learn many things by association. If you smell a perfume or cologne that
an old friend of yours used in the past, your mind may instantly recall
visions of your friend. Or if you played a song in your car once and had
an accident (God forbid), playing it again in the same car will remind
you of that incident. You have learned to associate sense (listening to
the song) to situation (car accident). The horse's mind works in the same
way.
By keeping
this fact in mind, you should be able to teach a horse a great deal of
things, provided of course that both you and the horse are calm and
content.
* * * *
FACT #3: Horses have
excellent memories.
People with
phobias and certain psychological disorders often find the root of the
problem originating during childhood. Similarly, horses with behavioral
problems have often developed them during their early years. A horse can
store an unpleasant incident in his memory for the rest of his life,
making retraining a complicated, and time consuming process - just as in
psychotherapy sessions provided for humans.
The good
news is that horses store happy and pleasant memories as well. If a horse
was ridden by a skillful and empathetic rider in the past which he has
grown to like, then years later was ridden by the same rider once again,
he will remember the pleasant, smooth rides with that rider and will be
eager to please him/her.
Do not
underestimate the horse's capacity to store and recall events from his
past. The horse is an intelligent, sensitive creature, and he uses his
memory to avoid the repetition of upsetting situations.
* * * *
FACT #4: Horses'
emotions are highly developed.
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Contrary to traditional beliefs, the horse is highly emotional. Horses
can feel happiness, sorrow, fear, love, trust and distrust,
excitement, boredom, stress, frustration, curiosity, and even
jealousy. Anyone who watches horses intently will understand how a
horse feels through the subtle signs the horse sends through body
language.
Years
ago, horses were often thought of as plain, dumb animals. Thankfully,
more and more people are beginning to really listen to horses, making
an effort to read their minds. There are now excellent new books on
the market today which illustrate a better understanding of the horse.
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So how can
one tell how a horse is feeling? Anger and frustration may seem the
easiest emotion to predict in the horse. A frustrated horse may express
himself by resisting the rider, pawing the ground with his front feet,
shaking his head, and various other performances. These actions can also
indicate that the horse is excited or anxious.
My horse,
Gerry, has a particularly cheeky character. I love him to death and he is
well aware of that. I suspect he loves me too because he is always pleased
to see me when I show up at his stable door every day. He whinnies,
hanging one front leg in the air, and gives me an angled look as if
saying, "I'm cute and cuddly and I'm happy to see you."
When we're
finished exercising, he becomes particularly pleased with himself. He puts
his ears back and wrinkles up his nose, revealing his teeth. Normally,
this would be a sign of aggression, but with Gerry, I have come to
understand what he means exactly. He only does this a few minutes before
he is put in his stable; and since he knows he is done for the day, he
tries to tease me by giving me these faces and trying to bite me while I
put on his rug. He reveals those big teeth and lunges at me. Quite often
he grabs my clothes with his lips, but he has never actually nipped with
his teeth. I know that this is Gerry's way of expressing his sense of
humor, and I have never been bothered by it. I could see in his eyes that
he was having a laugh at my expense!
At other
times when I lunge him, specially at the beginning of the exercise, Gerry
clearly expresses how he feels put-off by lunging. He completes half a
circle in walk then drops his head and makes a turn towards me with his
ears flopping. I send him back to the circle and before I know it, he
makes another turn and comes to me. He knows how much of a spoilt horse he
is and this is his way of trying to talk me out of the lunging idea. He is
in no way resisting or misbehaving, he is simply telling me that he's in
no mood for lunging today.
Always
watch your horse for signs, and you will be able to predict how he is
feeling. A sad horse drops his ears and shows no interest in his
surroundings, yet a bored horse could behave the same way. Horses mourn
the loss of their friends, whether human, equine, or other, and may take
months to recover. They could form close bonds with each other and will
feel very lonely if that bond is broken. Your horse can love you the way
he could love an equine buddy if you show him that you truly love and care
for him.
* * * *
FACT #5: Horses are
creatures of habit.
We hear of
horses with bad habits all the time. At a certain point in their lives,
something triggers the early development of a bad habit in horses. The
repetition of the circumstance at which the horse showed early signs of a
bad habit will enforce his behavior and will eventually become too
difficult to overcome. If nothing breaks the chain of events that are
suspected to lead to the development of a bad habit, the horse will keep
it stored in his mind and will refer to it accordingly.
For a
practical understanding of this issue, imagine a horse who has once bucked
when the rider asked him to canter. The rider ignored this action because
the horse soon cantered anyway. The next time the rider asked the horse to
canter, he bucked again, and then cantered. In a short time, the horse has
learned to express his excitement every time he is asked to canter and
developed it into a habit. It would have been easier if the rider had
stopped the horse the first time he bucked, gained control, then quietly
asked him to canter and praised the horse only when he made a clean
transition. Once a horse develops a habit, it usually stays with him for
life unless retraining takes place. Breaking the pattern while the habit
is in its early stages is always the best way to overcome it.
* * * *
FACT #6: Horses will
only learn if they are calm.
Whipping,
kicking, or screaming at a horse may get him to do what you want, but will
never teach him more than to be afraid of you. Violence makes a horse
tense and frightened, and may submit to you due to this fear, but once the
source of fear is absent, the horse will go back to square one, plus a
growth of distrust and suspicion towards whatever was requested of him.
In order
for a horse to learn something, he must be calm and relaxed to focus on
achieving the objective. Again, the relaxation will register in his mind
the training session as a positive experience, helping him to look forward
to it next time. The repetition of this positive experience will finally
teach the horse what you wanted him to learn. It takes patience, but the
results will be worthwhile.
* * * *
FACT #7: Horses do
not consider food reward a trophy.
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Carnivores hunt to survive. They may or may not catch a prey,
therefore, food is not always available. Horses do not view food the
way that carnivores do - no grass has ever ran away from a horse! When
training dogs or other carnivores, food can be used as an effective
reward. However, with horses, food can only be used as a general
pleasant association - not as reward. For instance, if a horse
performs as you wanted, you may give him some Polos. He will link the
situation with being fed the Polos and will store the event in his
mind as a positive experience. |
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You cannot
bribe the horse with food in order to achieve something as this may work
once but may not necessarily work the next. Eventually, the horse will
ignore the food offered and the handler's request. Think of it as bribing
a wealthy person with money to do you a favor - he does not need the money
because he has got plenty of it.
* * * *
FACT #8: Horses can
learn overnight.
Time and
time again, people have been surprised by their horses suddenly learning
something they have found difficult in the past. In training sessions,
some people find it frustrating that their horse is simply not
cooperating. By finishing the session on a good note, i.e. a stroke and a
walk on a long rein, you may be giving the horse a chance to register the
last few moments in his mind. The next day, the horse may perform very
willingly what you have been trying so hard to teach him. This type of
learning is called latent learning.
Kelly
Marks, Monty Roberts' protégée in the UK, recalls her first incident with
latent learning when she couldn't get her ex-racehorse over a water ditch.
After two hours of effort - and no violence against the horse whatsoever -
she jumped off the horse and took him back, thinking that he will never
jump a water ditch. However, the next day she jumped him over a small
fence, then, with no particular optimism, she headed him towards the water
ditch. The horse hopped over the ditch without the slightest form of
hesitation. He never had a problem with ditches afterwards.
Giving the
horse the time to asses a situation will help him learn quicker. Violence,
such as kicking or hitting with a whip may bring results, but it will
leave the horse tense and unhappy, and will not guarantee that the horse
will respond the next time. Horses are intelligent, so allow them to
learn. Never force them.
* * * *
FACT #9: Not all
horses are created equal.
Everybody
knows that horses are not created equal physically, but they are not
created equal mentally either. Every rider, trainer, and person must be
aware that some horses are better suited for certain disciplines than
others. Bold, brave horses may enjoy the challenge of jumping
cross-country, but pressuring a shy or timid horse who does not find cross
country very appealing is somewhat a form of cruelty to the horse. Think
of yourself rather doing one thing, but someone pressures you into doing
something else you dislike.
Yes, horses
can learn. And even a timid horse can learn to jump cross-country. I
advice everyone to use their judgment in this matter. You should
definitely not give up too early if you find that your horse does not
accept what you want from him. Keep trying until you are positive that the
horse is seriously unhappy. Remember that a horse may fail in one
discipline, but may very well excel in another. It is always worth the
effort to discover what your horse enjoys most.
* * * *
FACT#10: Horses
mimic each other.
Many horse
trainers take advantage of this fact nowadays. One must be careful though,
because horses can pick up good habits as well as bad habits from other
horses! This is why horses with stable vices are not preferred to be kept
close to horses with no vices - there's a good chance other horses will
mimic those horses and develop vices as well.
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On the
positive side, you can speed up the learning process of a young horse
by having him watch an advanced horse in action. If your intention is
to showjump your youngster, take him to watch a jumping schoolmaster
in training. Your youngster may not miraculously sail over 5ft fences
the next day, but his attitude will have improved tremendously. |
Sylvia
Loch, a classical dressage trainer and author of many books, trains her
horses to a high level of dressage. She had one horse in her yard who had
never performed the passage despite her efforts to teach him. One day, the
horse had a chance to watch her ride another advanced schoolmaster into
passage. The next day, Sylvia was amazed when this horse eagerly performed
the passage with the slightest effort from her!
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