Learning to be good with horses?

Learning to be good with horses

A complex pursuit involving human emotional fitness, physical fitness, knowledge as a rider, ability to read and understand the horse’s emotional needs and what is needed for the physical development of the horse—all the while forming a partnership between 2 very different species. If the prerequisite to riding is calm, connected and responsive—that requires the understanding of helping the horse to be relaxed, mentally connected with the human and desiring to follow the suggestions/desires of the human. Setting priorities is important as it is impossible to do it all.

ME

1.      Emotional fitness requires physical relaxation and positive thinking as prerequisites to the magic of communication in great times and trying times. This is homework that can be done before going to the barn and requires conscious awareness at the barn. Also homework for identifying and changing unhealthy states such as fear of injury.

2.      Physical fitness for riding to me requires homework of strength training with weights and abdominal work and flexibility conditioning is huge to prevent injuries. I am relying on riding for aerobic conditioning.

3.      Mentally homework is study. Study of written/video/audio coursework in the areas of natural horsemanship, rider bio-mechanics and dressage for the physical development of the horse. The amount of material available to study through internet and home study, clinics, lessons is vast to say the least. Study includes planning priorities for sessions at the barn and assessment of those sessions afterward.

TRY

1.      Emotional fitness: Try is calm and brave and not particularly motivated to move her feet unless she becomes emotional. She is especially safe to ride and be with, even when emotional--she does not lose sight of relating to humans. She fears pressure in learning situations and fears losing control. She is very expressive of how she is feeling. She and I are hugely emotionally connected. She reads my mind.

2.      Physical fitness: the dressage training is being fantastic for Try with positive changes in muscular development occurring at her age of 23. She is not getting the aerobic training she was getting from hunter riding and this could be added although carefully as laps bore her greatly.

3.      Mentally: Try enjoys the accomplishment of learning, nickers when she gets it, as well as licking and chewing easily. Mental challenge is important for her as she gets bored easily and will not desire to be “responsive” if so. She does a lot of stuff for me just because she knows I want it—not because of any genuine ambition on her part. However, she seems to enjoy having human audiences and perhaps is competitive with other horses in showing what a great learner she is. She has been a student of western pleasure, gaming, reining, natural horsemanship, English hunter riding on the flat, dressage, and responds to the beat of music, energy levels and subtle cueing.

SEPHIRA

1.      Emotional fitness: Sephira is calm, brave but not quite as much as Try. She is more introverted than Try. She does not have Try’s emotional swings, staying, at least on the surface, calm and sweet. She gets emotional over rough handling in grooming—more offended than fearful. While having a reputation for sweetness, especially in riding, she also has a big ego and knows she is gorgeous, special and an advanced dressage horse. She is tolerant of two kinds of riders: intermediate but kind and not asking too much of her and also advanced riders who are very clear and fair and also do not push her too far or fast. She is confused about relating to a human on a deeper level though we make strides--though consistency is lacking on my part. We are sometimes very connected and other times there is no connection. She draws easily to humans but will crowd their space if allowed. She is curious.

2.      Physical fitness: this is increasing at a good pace after years of inattention. Hunter hacks and dressage lateral and vertical flexion 3-4 times per week.

3.      Mentally: Sephira is a good learner under saddle. She is pretty clueless about learning tasks on the ground and tunes out mentally. She is enormously smart and enjoys testing humans, especially with ground manners issues. She has not found satisfaction or enjoyment in learning on the ground but does enjoy dwell time and liberty. She has learned dressage to at least FEI Intermediate level and although she burned out--that learning and accomplishment says a lot.