Using herd dynamics in horse training

Another guest by Virginia Slashman .

Understanding the behavior of herds of horses can help you make good training decisions rather than the ones that will make your horse run in the mountains.

There is a lot to discuss about herd behavior and how it relates to our relationship to horses, but here I focus on one thing: leadership.

Leadership is closely related to trust. We all know that horses are prey; The herd means to help them survive. Like any social organisation, members of the herd need to get along and need a leader – a horse they can trust to let them know when there is a predator nearby so they can escape to safety.

This is where we come in. If you look at the anatomy of horses you will find that they are built to survive – the eyes on the sides of their head are positioned so that they can see almost 360 degrees, and the ears can be rotated individually to look menacing; recognizing noises all around them; Strong sense of smell The bottoms of the hooves are convex to feel the vibrations of what may be approaching and so on.

Now look at how we build – for example with our eyes pointed forward. Like predators.

And this is how horses see us, that is, we have to somehow overcome them and convince them that we can be trusted and, above all, that we can be trusted as leaders.

The two most important things you should know about how to be a prey animal and how horses are in herds

1. Your horse must have a leader.
2. Your horse will not develop a relationship with you if you behave in a predatory manner.

A few words about the concept of “relationship”. There is no doubt that you can firmly control your horse in exchange for a fun “dead head” – a horse that knows you are not interested in expressing its opinion or contradicting your desires in any way. Punishment and aggression can certainly produce an obedient horse.

But that’s not the kind of horse I want. So, if you’re more interested in a partnership, read on.

how to be a leader

This is the first job for us – we need to make sure that we are the leader of the herd in our small group of two. If we don’t, our horse will find it should be the leader and you won’t do much. And you could put yourself at risk.

So how do you gain the respect of your horse, and establish yourself as a leader without being strict or aggressive?

It’s really very simple. Let’s start with two main suggestions:

1. Get to know your horse.

Hanging out with him without any intentions is a great way to build or restore a relationship when you get lost.

You can do this in a round pen, rink, stable or pasture. It doesn’t matter – it’s about sending the message that you’re not a threat, that you don’t always insist on something from him and that you respect who he is and what he wants to do.

A similar function is to massage a horse. You have to learn the safe way, of course, because you can hurt your horse if you don’t know what you’re doing. But when you put your hands on your horse in a way that is comfortable, healing, and loving, you can build a bond of trust.

I have used the durian massage on my horse to great effect. In fact, he worked through incredible trauma and was buried as a direct result of it. You can read about it here.

Look at the Masterson method. It doesn’t need any power and is very efficient (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lNF3A7fqRU&t=291s).

“T-Touch” is also a useful way to interact on the ground (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SoOfVpYXFo).

2. The working ground.

I’m going to talk about three things here, and they are completely interchangeable in terms of when you do what you do: partnering, desensitizing, and helping to choose your horse as a leader.

In what order do you do this, I cannot stress enough the importance of groundwork, before and during your interactions under the saddle.

Everything you do around your horse, with your horse or with your horse, sends him a very clear message.

Horses are incredibly intuitive. They can capture how you’re feeling, thinking, and your intentions (see https://www.d-and-me.com/post/close-calm-contact for some research on this).

This is why you always want to send two messages at the same time:

respect and expectation

1) Respect who your horse is

2) You expect her to do what she wants.

How do you check both?

Here are some questions to help answer this question.

As you lead your horse, do you stand by his shoulder and tell him to go forward, or do you walk briskly and pull him behind you?

One is a partnership, the other an attempt to control. At least that’s how a horse sees it.

When you tell him to step back, do you hit the lead rope back and forth or do you hit him on the chest with a long rope?

Or do you start with the smallest nod and only continue with the aid as needed?

When you’re teaching a new skill — for example, asking your horse to beat you — do you stop and reward every attempt he makes? I even mean first, when do you lean in your direction? Or are you pulling the lead rope to give way?

You can get the picture.

In order to build a partnership with a horse that then develops into a mutual respect that leads you as a leader, we must put aside our schedule, our timing, and our insistence that our horses do what we want them to do now.

To earn their respect, we must first give them our respect.

And if you try it, you will find that your horse is choosing to act the way you want rather than mindlessly torturing itself through the task.

This is the “respect” part. The other side of this coin is the “expected” portion. You’re not really going to deal with your horse if you let it get away with what I call “pretending to try.”

In other words, if you want your horse to back off, yes, by all means start with the least assertive gesture (along with your internal expectation that it will do what you say) but if it refuses to back off, don’t. Don’t pretend and let him get away with it.

This is the art of training horses – knowing when to reward and be patient, and when to assert authority and support. If you teach him that you respect him, he will interpret this as guidance rather than predatory aggression.

So the question on your mind is probably, “Yeah, but they’re big animals, so how can we make sure we’re both safe with them?”

Desensitization is of course a necessity. Many things can startle horses, and their “runaway” response can be dangerous when on your way.

Of course, you can’t control everything, but you can get rid of them by fearing your gadgets. And by helping them see that, for example, they don’t have to be afraid of a long line swirling around them, you can also help them trust you.

However, in my opinion, this is only possible after building at least a respectable initial partnership.

There are many things that people do to reduce horse allergies. Flapping flags or plastic bags tied to the end of a long rope. The lead line was looping around the hind legs, front legs, and back. There are so many things you can do, all with respect and some with more power.

What approach do you think will be most productive in the long run?

My suggestion for what you want to do here is – again – get to know your horse. My durian, for example, can’t tolerate a flag flapping at the end of a stick. He is a former racehorse and is very sensitive so it is not a productive way to train him.

But because I took my time to desensitize him and took very small steps, I can now wrap a rope in a circle over his head, flash a plastic bag in front of or over him, throw a lead rope in the dirt around him, loop gently over his legs and back with a rope, and a lot of other exercises that don’t turn a blind eye .

In addition, he now loves to discover new things on the tracks or in the obstacle course.

So see how sensitive your horse is. What works for one may not necessarily work for the other.

And again I received so many compliments that even the smallest moment of carrying AIDS at first works wonders and speeds up the whole process.

After building a respectful partnership and maybe desensitizing it a bit, you’ve come a long way to becoming a leader.

The bulk of your horse’s decision to be with you and your choice as a leader can be accomplished in many ways, and I’ve mentioned a few of them already. Pirelli toys are another thing to look at if your horse is intelligent and gets bored easily.

To do this with a round pen, basically stand quietly in the middle and, with your mental intent and use of aids, lead your horse around the enclosure, turn it over and make it move until it stops and turns to you.

Then you turn away from him a shoulder (not predatory) and wait.

In the end, he must decide that you as a leader are worthy of trust and stand respectfully on your back or shoulder. This is basically what exercise looks like. Monty Rogers has plenty of videos on it if it appeals to you.

Remember that in the wild, horses use their speed to flee from predators. In the circular pen, the horse usually has about a quarter of a mile of “escape route” before stopping (the Dorian route is longer because it is thoroughbred, and other breeds have other ways of escape as well).

Allowing him to run in the circular pen allows you to mimic this escape response rather than the normal herd behavior in which the leader moves the horses to follow. At least that’s my opinion on this exercise.

You want to be the leader of the herd, not the predator, so I want to assure that you are truly aware of the message you are sending when you guide your horse.

For example, do not incriminate him if he does not comply with your request. Don’t hit him in the butt with a whip rush.

Instead, send a serious mental intent as you may see a long queue behind you. Push it forward as the main mare would, sign and insist that it fits – but don’t pretend you’re eating it alive.

It’s true that what I’ve outlined here takes a lot more time, a lot more ingenuity, and a lot more patience than other means of using herd dynamics to build leadership. But I found it incredibly rewarding to partner with Dorian and the other horses I’ve worked with rather than build an aggressive dominance that leaves little room for a real horse individual to show through.

But this is only my cent.

Whatever you decide on, the most important thing about herd behavior is that horses have a completely different psyche than ours because they are prey animals. They want a leader, they need a leader, and they will choose you to lead them.

But only if you deserve it.