Is Your Horse On Edge?
Here’s Andy Curry talking about the school bully and horse training:
Has this ever happened to you?
In my younger days, about…ohhh.. 35 years ago…
I remember the proverbial bully picking on people.
As bullies do, he singled out one person in particular.
The victim (who is now a very prominent citizen of our town)
was a bit different from all the other kids.
His mannerisms were silly – but it turns out that’s part of
personality and one reason why people like him so much.
He’s got a great sense of humor – and
did back then.
He loved to have fun and joke around.
But…he has a funny name. At least,
at the time it seemed funny.
It seemed funny because no one else had a name like his.
Combine his funny name with his mannerisms and you have
the perfect victim for a bully.
His name, by the way, is Staffon.
Anyway, I remember the school bully picking on him
in the hallways.
Poor ol’ Staffon couldn’t go to his locker without
wondering whether or not the school bully was lurking
about…waiting to pounce and embarrass and humiliate.
I’m quite sure Staffon rarely had the confidence that
he wasn’t going to be picked on.
He got to where he’d hurriedly get his stuff from his
locker and head out.
Why?
His locker was just a couple lockers away from
the school bully.
When I think about that, my heart hurts because I
do not believe the school bully had a clue as to how
terrorized Staffon felt.
It makes me angry thinkin’ about it.
Ain’t no one got a right to screw with
someone else’s life!
Yet, it happened.
Today I wonder if the school bully has any remorse
about that.
Looking back, does he realize the terror he struck
in his victim?
Does he know how he made Stafforn miserable?
Does he know how humiliated Staffon felt as the bully’s
friends nervously laughed as he pushed Staffon around?
What the bully didn’t realize is how he created a disdain
for himself from a lot of people – people he never picked
on yet they hated his antics.
The bully was a bully for whatever reason.
At the time, I don’t think he knew how badly he
hurt people.
That’s the thing – he didn’t “know” he hurt people
to the extent he did. (That’s my guess, anyway)
And the moral here is this.
Horses have to have the confidence they aren’t going to
be terrorized either.
That’s why you stop applying pressure once they move.
Keep applying pressure and they’ll never know what you
want. If the pressure never lets up, they’ll get confused
and soon feel terrorized.
But there’s more.
Heavy hands are a biggee.
Many a horse are not cooperative when flexing because
they’ve been yanked on, jerked, kicked, or whatever.
They’ve likely felt terrorized.
Would you be cooperative if YOU felt terrorized?
You may or may not.
At some point, you may fight back because you just
couldn’t take it anymore.
Horses fight back too.
They do it in their own way that may not seem like they’re
fightin’ back…but they fight back nonetheless.
Now I’m NOT trying to suggest you are intentionally
(or even unintentionally) mean with your horse.
I’m just reminding you to look at this from your horse’s
point of view.
The more confidence your horse has that nothing bad is
going to happen with him when you’re around…the better
the relationship and willingness he offers and the safer
you will therefore be.
The more he learns.
The easier he’ll be to catch.
The less he will crowd your space.
The less dangerous he will be to you.
Yada, yada, yada.
But that doesn’t mean you have to be a “wus”
with him either.
If you’re not sure how firm you need to be with a horse
then use this model – It’s like being a loving parent
to a 6 year old.
You have to be firm but you can’t be a dictator.
Believe it or not, if you’re not firm and you’re too soft
then he gets the confidence of runnin’ you over.
That’s the wrong kind of confidence.
All this confidence talk is one of the greatest things
J.J. Rydberg reveals in his DVD when we filmed him.
If you want to read about him, click on the following:
Get Your Copy of the JJ Rydberg DVD
Here’s another thing to think about.
It is VITAL you know whether or not the horse is bein’
rude to you.
Because if you think he is when he’s really not and then
you discipline him…that isn’t fair. Plus, he then will
lose confidence in you.
For instance, if you’re riding him and he shakes his
head a lot.
Maybe you don’t like it when he does that.
Maybe you think he’s trying to tell you he doesn’t want
you on his back.
But you say, “Look here Mister…you’re not gonna do that.”
So you boot him in the ribs and make him go.
But if you were lacking the knowledge, perhaps he has
wolf teeth and you didn’t know it.
When the bit hits those teeth it hurts like you chewin’
on tin foil with cavities.
When the bit touches the wolf teeth, it sends an electrical
shock to his brain.
It’s painful!
So he has to shake his head to shake off the pain and move
the bit away from the wolf teeth.
Yet…he got booted in the ribs and got in trouble.
Can’t you imagine him thinking, “Why did he get mad at me?
My mouth hurts…especially when he pulls on the rein.”
And just think what happens next time you ride.
Will he have confidence that nothing bad is going to happen?
Might your safety be in jeopardy?
That, my friend, is the value of learning all you can about horses.
Get Your Copy of the JJ Rydberg DVD
———————
Ok… good words and understanding. Be safe around your horses!
Charlie
P.S. Thanks to all of you for the words of encouragement
about the emails we send out. We appreciate the feedback.
It’s always good to know folks are not only reading the emails
but are also learning and using the information we share.
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