Nippy Horses

Hey Susan! J

Well, let’s see. This a general “lesson” which can apply to virtually any behavior that is unwanted from the horse. The basis is … teach the “opposite” behavior. Bopping in the mouth teaches nothing except the horse is going to get bopped in the mouth everytime h/she tries to nip or bite. That’s well and good but it doesn’t change the thinking of the horse at all. It still thinks that its OK to use his mouth. He is probably teething and just like a human kid wants to explore with his mouth AND push the buttons. *grin* He’s doing this, too, cause he CAN! So let’s try to teach this little guy something else to do in PLACE of nipping or biting. It’s kinda like the difference between “not doing anything” and “doing nothing”. “Not doing anything” is just that … not doing anything. “Doing nothing” is an active thought, active will, active behavior. When we’re riding and we want the horse to whoa, we need to exhale and “do nothing” … the horse receives that impulse of doing nothing whereas if we were to just “not do anything” then he’d not know what to do cause there would be no active communication or cue. See the difference? OK … so, we need to replace the nipping behavior with another behavior that is a bit more acceptable and pleasant for all concerned. Teaching him ‘not to bite’ is like ‘not doing anything’. So what is he supposed to do when he gets that urge to bite? Well, think of what he could do. He could “Face” or he could “step back 3 steps” or he could “drop his head” or any number of more positive, acceptable behaviors. Anything but biting the human! What I am seeing/hearing is that he is invasive of human space without invitation … sooooooooo, let’s teach him how to stay within his own boundaries and not come into YOUR space or any other human space without invite. Big order for a little, young guy but certainly not un-attainable.

I use positive reinforcement teaching … aka “clicker training” (but without the clicker for the most part cause it always seems to travel elsewhere and I can never find the danged thing!) … very simple to start if you’re not familiar with it. Simply teach him to equate a specific marker (sound) with a treat! ONE Cheerio or ONE fruit loop or ONE piece of haycube … whatever but just one. Not a handful! “click” (use a tongue click or a specific, clear word in lieu of a clicker if you want) and give a treat. Click/treat. Click/treat. Repeat this as many times until you see him RECOGNIZE the “click” and search out the treat. Now he understands the relationship between click and treat. Simple. Doesn’t take long. Usually less than 5 times or so. Now, be prepared for him to start “mugging” you for treats. OK. Don’t want that, right? So now think of a behavior (target a specific object or drop his head or step back one step … whatever) and set him up to DO that behavior. I like the “head down”. Snap your fingers, point down to the ground and tell him “head down”. WAIT for him to lower his head, even for a fraction of a sec. IN THE INSTANT of that second, CLICK and treat. Do it again .. but WAIT for him to drop his head then click and treat. Once you see that he’s DELIBERATELY dropping his head, he’s got it! Now … if he begins to mug you, point your finger to the ground, tell him “head down” and click/treat when he drops his head. There you have it … the beginning of the alternative to nipping/biting. If you “snap” your finger and point when you see he’s getting ready to nip (yep .. ya gotta always be one step ahead and know “what happens before what happens, happens”) he’ll drop his head to be clicked and rewarded. Pretty soon he’ll come up and just drop his head! That’s offering the behavior when he wants a treat. (good way, everyone, to teach a horse NOT TO MUG FOR TREATS! It’s funny when you go out to a paddock with several horses and all of a sudden they’re all dropping their heads down!)

This little, quick exercise does several things. It teaches the horse that he cannot “mug” for treats nor put his mouth on you. It teaches him to respect your space. It teaches him to THINK and CHOOSE the appropriate behavior to get what HE wants. It allows him to think that HE’S controlling the situation with HIS choice of behaviors. This can be altered for any number of different things. It’s a great way to work with a spooky horse (they learn to “self-calm”) … it works for horses that are pushy (they learn to back up or stop before invading human space) … it teaches them to learn to think through their instinctual behaviors. You’ll see, as the exercises progress, that the horse will start thinking of things to do! They CAN problem solve and this is a really neat and fun way to help them learn how to do this.

I have an article by Casey Sugarman coming out in a brand new publication (click on it on my signature) on the 15th of this month. It’s called “The Curse of Consistency” and talks about how horses can learn to think through situations with learned behaviors where they CHOOSE how to act/react. This goes hand in hand with what I just explained to you BECAUSE … once you work with the horse and begin to teach it how to apply specific behaviors to one situation, they can learn to use those same behaviors in other situations to reap pleasant, positive results. The bopping of a horse in the mouth is negative punishment and does nothing to “teach” the horse cognitively. All it does it to teach him he’s gotta get that nip/bite in faster than you can dole out the bops! It becomes a game. So, you need to change the rules of the game .. in fact, change the game altogether!

Continuation of Barging and Rearing in Hand

>>>Interesting theory but the human/horse emotions don't seem to be the way round you say. My mares tell their foals off when they are naughty, they don't ignore them. There are definately 'bosses' in the different fields and their leader is not neccassarily the boss. All my herd follow my old mare about when grazing or going to the water trough and she is the least bossy one but the boss is the youngest mare and they all 'respect' her space.<<<
Well, as you said further on down, horses are different - some will "tell off their foals" and some will tolerate. It depends, doesn't it?
Your old mare is definitely the leader as you've described but the youngest mare sounds like she is the "boss". Let me ask you a question - do the horses respect and listen to the old mare? Can she and does she make them move their feet? And yes, the boss is the youngest mare and they all "respect" her space but do they hang out with her? Do they scritch withers with her? Are they best buddies with her?

>>>I do agree with some aspects of the natural way as it has recently been termed but I think there are the two extremes.....one extreme that thinks a horse has always has a physical and mental problem to why it doesn't do something and the other extreme of thinking there is no other way than by beating it. I think if you get the happy balance of the two and can see whether a horse is afraid/in pain OR if it is taking the P*ss. (can only use the human words as equines don't have a voicebox)If you can get a horse to trust and respect you it is the key and you need to be able to read the signs!<<<

Absolutely! It is essential to be able to read the differences and to act accordingly. That's precisely why I said that it sounded as if this particular mare in question is acting out of fear. She's the new horse in the barn. She's obviously a sensitive horse. She doesn't "know" the other horses or the humans. The environment around is not her space yet. This all equates to feelings of uncertainly and fear. The horse is a critter of habit. They also are critters of prey. Anything that causes discomfort to them instinctively triggers the flight/fight response. When we "train" horses, we teach them to think through this flight/fight response. This mare is "on alert" in her new environment and her flight instinct is kicked in but she can't move her hooves cause there's a human hangin' on to them! More discomfort = more fear = no place to run = reactive behavior. In this case, rearing up and barging forward into flight.

>>>Horses are horses but they are not all the same (just like people) some horses are very kind and some are nasty... it not always what a human has done to them! You can see it in their eyes and I have seen many horses come and go over the years and can tell if it's their true nature or if it's happened from bad handling. Same as not all murders have had a bad upbringing as a child .. some are just evil!<<<

Yes, not all are the same. Each horse is an individual BUT each one is also created upon a blueprint of survival. I probably have you beat in the "years" department .. been working and living with horses for almost 40 years so I, too, have seen many come and go. Once I fully embraced the behavioral base of Equus caballus I was able to understand and thus enter into a much deeper "relationship" with each horse I meet. I am an Equine Professional so meet alot of horses. The "behavioral base" of which I've written here doesn't change from horse to horse to horse BUT, the individual sensitivities and reactives do change with each horse. As you said, Leigh, "you need to be able to read the signs". ... of each individual.
And yes, I, too, have seen the two extremes from beatings to pleadings and neither one works because the human is reacting according to human behaviors and not from the viewpoint of the horse. There are always REASONS for a horse's behavior ... horses's do not waste either physical nor mental energy. Humans do alot of both. ;) But we also have to realize even more deeply that we are NOT horses, we are outpowered and outsized tremendously and even though our little "beatings" such as kicking or punching or hitting may not physically harm the horse, the harm it does to the psyche of the animal is far worse. This type of human behavior is also based on "fear" ... fear of being out of control. RARELY, if the human is understanding of true equine behavior, will a human be attacked by a horse in a life threatening situation in which case one needs to do WHATEVER to remain safe! In my years I've only met 3 horses who I had to physically counter attack and all I can say is I damned lucky I'm still alive. *MY* survival instinct kicked in and I thought of nothing else BUT surviving! Did I physically damage the horse? Not a chance. Did I change the horses' thinking ... nope; not while MY thinking was in survival. Was I able to go back and work with and teach the horses with a different mind set than that of 'survival'? With two, yes and they are wonderful horses now. The third is almost at the point of being irredeemable with its present owners and will probably end up being put down, fairly. The horse is not a healthy animal mentally. 3 in the course of almost 40 years. I will state again that there is no good or bad behavior in equine terms. The judgement of what's good or bad is a human one. Young horses are young horses and the older ones will ***fairly and justly*** teach the youngsters (notice the word "teach", too, please) what is acceptable behavior and what is not. To us, that may mean good or bad but to the horse it may mean the difference between survival or death. That is the driving instinct of a prey animal. Any horse that is "evil" IS either driven that way by humans or genetically altered pyschologically in some manner either through poor breeding practices or organic diseases. And I do mean 'E-V-I-L' ... those horses that are horrifically out of sync with themselves, with their environment and will unprovokeably attack other horses and humans. If its not an organic reason then it is a human-made reason (for the domestic horse). The attacks are always based in fear, originally. Always unless there is an organic short somewhere in the brain. These animals are truly dangerous and need to be put down.

Leigh, you sound like an intelligent young woman. One who can go far with the horse. There are many experts out there who have lots to share from their own studies and experiences. One person who stands out in my mind as one of the top animal behavioral experts is Temple Grandin. Her last book, entitled, "Animals in Translation" is an excellent resource on animal behavior. On the more ethereal side is "Tao of Equus" by Linda Kohanov and also her sequel, "Riding Between Two Worlds". Linda's books are not scientific by any means and depending on where the reader is can be a bit overwhelming or too "deep". The insights, however, are pretty thought inspiring. There are many others, far too many to list. Learning from both the scientific experts and the "training" experts will lend a smooth balance if the information is tucked in your own heart and gut to use as you, personally, find what works for you and what doesn't. As you say, too, never stop learning ... Education is a gift that can never be stolen from you and can only cause growth. Also "seek out wisdom" so you know what to do with all that knowledge! ;)

Barging and Rearing In Hand

Q: One of the new mares well both but one is worse have a problem with throwing their heads up and just running right over the top of the person on the end of the lead rope.
Normally this is not a problem that I have had issues fixing horses usually catch on fast to being in my space equals being uncomfortable as in working and staying outta my space means they can relax. However this one mare just doesnt seem to get it the more you try to make her move away even just move over while being brushed she wants to run over the top of you. If you ask her to back up she rears and jumps forward at you.
Im pretty sure the whole problem steems from the fact that she has never been taught any ground manners but it seems if you try to teach her any even something as simple as walking with you on a lead upsets her and she just wants to run you over crowd you and just be in your face. At first we thought it was cause she didnt wanna be seperated from her buddy but she really could care less about her buddy it just seems she doesnt know what you want so she gets upset.
So Im just curious how everyone else would work with this problem. We have been working on it and its helped alittle but Im wondering if there are others ways that might help it along alittle better.


A: Understanding WHY this girl is doing what she's doing will help you to deal with the behavior in a positive manner. First of all, the fact that when she rears when asks to back up tells me 2 things: 1. she doesn't trust you as a leader and 2. she feels trapped with nowhere else to go but ... up. (the photo above depicts a SCARED horse who has nowhere to go from the pressure that is being forced onto it with whip and flag.)

A horse HAS to move its hooves when its afraid. That is hardwired into them. So, all the shanking and pulling and yanking one does to try to hold the horse still just exacerbates the situation. Allow the horse to move then start to direct the horse's movement. As Old Grey Mare states, the horse won't back up due to hock pain or fear of not knowing what's behind PLUS ... not trusting the handler. Secondly, a horse will NOT back up except for a horse that is higher up on the social ranking.

what I've found to work, 100% of the time with all horses is to start establishing leadership (NOT dominance or "boss" or "alpha" but most definitely "leader" or "leadership" ... think about the differences between the implications of the words) is to ask the horse to yield its head to both sides of his body for you and then to turn on its haunches in a disengagement of the hindquarters. This doesn't mean simply turning around in circle but actual pivoting around its forehand by crossing the inside leg OVER the outside and shifting the hips around. Again, a horse will NOT do this for any other horse unless the other horse is higher ranking. But, in order to get the horse to do this you have to get the head to yield and then, because the head is around and you're applying pressure to the hip (be sure your energy, your belly button, is pointed towards teh hip and not some other part of the body - this means you have to position yourself accordinly while requesting and asking him to yieal his head around to you), the horse's body HAS to "come around" ... the hips HAVE to disengage. Do this from both sides. Use the LEAST amount of pressure you can to get a response but as much as you need to get a response. Even if the horse just STARTS to respond, release the pressure instantly and praise the horse. Repeat your request again starting with the least amt. of pressure and only increasing to what you need to get a response. You'll find the horse will respond favorably pretty quickly AND, in doing this, you'll notice your horse becomes softer and less resistant to your request. The eyes will begin to blink .. a blinking horse is a thinking horse ... and you'll notice that it begins to get a bit lighter in hand. The disengaging of the hips also disengages the mind ... so the horse will begin to feel MORE trusting of you simply because you are asking him to move his hindquarters and he knows you CAN do this! So now he begins to see you as his "leader".

Patience, gentleness, encouragement and confidence will go a along way ... ignore any "bad behaviors" as there is no such thing to a horse. That's strictly a human judgement. A horse is just a horse.

Again, think of the words associated with a good, trustworthy LEADER ... vs. a "boss" or "alpha". You want to be a good LEADER. Here's another little known fact - horses are also hardwired to NEED A LEADER and if the other horse/human does not exhibit correct leadership attitude and qualities then the horse WILL take that position. It's a survival mechanism that is instinctual.

Remember its never about the horse ... a horse is a horse is a horse. It's ALWAYS about the human and his/her attitude and manner of communicating his/her requests to the horse.

Try it out and let us know!

:) -- caballus

A Hug a Day

A HUG A DAY !

Science has discovered that touching releases a hormone in both human and animal bodies called oxytocin. Oxytocin is a chemical that is able to erase FEAR from the amygdale of the brain. It also produces feelings of trust and bonding … enhancing the levels of (dopamine?) in the brain.

So this means that me and my horses oughta be really bonding for all the hugs and scritches we get every day, right?

Here's pony hugs and slobbers to you, too! :)

References: TIME MAGAZINE, Science Daily.com

My thoughts this morning are simple. They revolve around health, mainly. Total health meaning free from dis-ease of any sort. How many of us are truly healthy? How many of our HORSES are truly healthy? It is said that when we are honestly balanced and centered within ourselves then we can be healthy. Such a task sometimes. The horses makes it seem so simple as they graze, contentedly among themselves with seldom a bicker. But then the humans appear. The horses scatter to the 4 corners of their spaces. Except - those who really *are* fully balanced quietly amble up to the human to give a snout greeting all the while chewing on the hay left in their cheeks. A gentle exchange of breath and the world of the human melts away. What a gift when melding into a herd of dozens of friendly nostrils. There are no corners in their world. Only freedom to be healthy ... freedom to be whole and, simply, to be. We could learn so much from these grand animals if only we'd heed what they have to say. They truly must have special honor in God's heart and heaven. I believe His love is given through His beloved animals as much as it is through humans; His Wisdom whom He shares so willingly to those ready to receive. If we'd only listen. Then we could be whole, healthy, and truly balanced.

Mind Dance

Dear C,

As for questions on Glory ... I don't remember asking specific questions about him. The "changing beliefs" is still in my brain - haven't lost it. It does evoke different thinking patterns on the behalf of the teacher! Requires more subtle "blending" of intent and well, "beliefs", when working with horses. Certainly a different "feel". As I'm thinking about it I'm feeling the difference. There was a Friesian I worked with last summer. Big, beautiful, obstinate gal!! But, then, I know she was obstinate since she didn't know *me* and didn't believe she needed to listen to me. *My* feeling/belief was closer to the yeehaws than I chose to remember. ExCUSE me!?!!? And just WHO do you really THINK that I am? I AM ... your TRAINER. You WILL do what I'm asking. I WILL direct your feet. You WILL change your mind. yadi, yadi, yadi. Not aggressive at all but *very* strong and authoritative. You know ... strong leadership and all that. But as I think on changing beliefs and blending ... I realize that this, even, is too demanding; too strong; too domineering. Never mind the alpha/boss mare thang!!! *grin*. Need to grasp onto the "blending of energies/beliefs" thing ... MUCH more subtle but, yet, MUCH more strong even than the "leadership" thing. Hmmmmmmm ... changes in the ole brain cells. Again, changes in the human thoughts ... it ain't about the horse. *grin* am I gettin' it? Huh? Huh? I'm FEELING it this morning. So, I must be on the right path here. Blending, blending, blending. Discussions. 2-way conversations. *Melding* of intents between horse and human. Horse has one intent; human has the opposite; must blend into one, cohesive belief. *I* know the horse can learn to think this way or that way or do this or do that but I need to gently/effectively help the horse to believe it, himself. Yes? Do I got it right? *grin* Or, am I getting it? I'm feeling more of a spiritual type of dance between horse and human. A dancing of thoughts and intents. A maturing of beliefs into a dance of minds. Unity. Harmony, for sure. A dance that can change tempos at the drop of a note effortlessly, seamlessly and without hesitations. Ooooooooo. I like this! A dance of the minds. Ahhhhhhh, the thoughts are creative this morning, yes? I do think you just became my morning journal! hahahaha. Will tuck this note away for future (near) essay collection. OK, dance is over. Gotta git going. Geeeezzzz I HATE when I'm pulled back into the here and now. *grin*

Good Intentions

Good Intentions

The road we travel is paved with our good intentions. Then, we hit a pothole. Where did it come from? Potholes arise from changing temperatures. Thaw to freeze to thaw to freeze. Inconsistency. After repeated stressors the road begins to tear. Then, the tear magnifies into that pothole that can become gargantuan in no time at all. The good intentions that paved the road are shredded into nothing but gravel and sand. A million grains of sand. We're stuck in the pothole and sinking fast. ...

OK. Now you're wondering why the heck I'm writing about potholes on a Natural Horsemanship site, right?

Think of the analogies I've just laid out. The road is paved with good intentions. We all have good intentions, right? Especially when it comes to our horses. We want that blue ribbon. We want that ethereal, magical connection with our 1200 pound animal with flying mane and tail. ... with hooves pounding out a rhythmical song on the earth while we float and melt into the body beneath us. Whoa! Wait a minute. There's a pothole up ahead! Our song on the earth just turned to sour notes - a disharmony that raises the hairs on the back of our necks. Our good intentions just went south into the pothole. Maybe all the way down to China! Now what the heck am I talking about? Hang on ... and read on.

Horses are animals of prey that depend on their senses to survive. One of the strongest senses is the ability to read the frequencies around them. The air is filled with frequencies; with energy that moves wildly about in the wind. One hundred feet of gut inside the horse senses and reads every cell of energy that surrounds them. It receives the frequencies and translates them into that which the horse can understand perfectly. This is their survival system. Once they receive these frequencies, they register it all in their primal cortex; in their amygdala where the flight or fight messaging system begins. The messaging system is so efficient that it flash starts messages to the rest of the body in less than a split second. Flee? Fight? Relax, everything's cool? In a split second the horse knows.

Our intentions and thoughts cause our cells to vibrate with frequencies. Frequencies that, yup, you guessed it ... that the horse senses and can understand. Frequencies that let the horse know whether we're friend or foe. Frequencies that illuminate our INTENT! So now, we begin to pave the road. Every second we're with a horse we're paving that road of good intentions. Are they always good? Hopefully. What happens, though, when our intentions are intermingled with frustrations and angers and hurts from the day? Can the horse separate the good from the not-so-good? If we allow him to do so. If we allow ourselves to separate them. If not, the horse senses interminglings that cause incongruencies which, in turn, cause confusions to the horse. The natural horse's world is a world of order and predictability. Horses naturally are very uncomfortable with things that are new or out of place or changed. In light of that, our own confusing incongruencies causes apprehension in the horse who is receiving our frequencies. What happens next is a spiral downward. The more the horse senses confusion the more fearful it becomes. The more fearful it becomes, the more it begins to move its feet and body around. Horses are designed to MOVE when they're feeling threatened.

So now, we're feeling confused and hurt that the horse is not listening; the horse is getting more and more confused by the second and moving its feet while we're trying to keep him still and now you see ... the beginnings of a humungous pothole. A pothole that threatens to swallow us whole. So, what can we do about this?

Take a deep breath, center ourselves and purposely LET GO!!! No, I don't mean let go of the horse although we do want to allow him to move his feet. I mean let go of our emotions. Let the frustrations, angers, hurts and other negative frequencies go to the wind and center ourselves on being one grounded with the horse, through the horse, into the universe. Realize that the horse is just a horse and can only sense what he receives from the environment and that we're part of that environment. Get ahold of our INTENT for the moment and direct that intention to the horse. Is our intent to walk forward then LOOK forward, FEEL forward and THINK forward. That gives the horse direction. Is our intent for the horse to stop moving? Then, stop. Just simply stop and do ... nothing. No, I didn't say don't do anything. I said, do nothing. Purposely doing nothing is an act of intent. "Not doing anything" is just that ... we're not doing anything. No intent, no feel, no direction. If we want the horse to canter, EXPECT that the horse is going to canter when you ask him to! Intend and direct the horse to canter. Think, feel and LOOK FORWARD in the canter. Your horse will know exactly what you want with no incongruencies.

Wishy-washiness is confusing, non-intentional and non-directive. Change your wishy-washiness to intent, direction and non-confusing messaging to your horse. Center yourself, breath, focus, and ground yourself into the horse.

Now ... pave the road with good INTENTIONS and fill in those potholes. Your horse will be able to respond much better when he's not having to worry about falling all the way down to China.

Articles on The Horse ... naturally!

I will be posting articles here that I wrote either "on the run" or in answer to the many questions about horses that I receive or read regularly. I hope maybe one or two might help you in your quest for your perfect horse! Please feel free to write to me with any of your own questions and I'll do my best to answer you. Write to:
caballus@charter.net

Thanks and ENJOY!