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Horses can become desensitised to constant pressure and a lack of release. This can show up with horses that have become dull to the leg aids or dull to the reins. Horses that have become dull can become more sensitive if you understand how applying pressure and releasing pressure affects desensitising and sensitising.
Knowing that pressure can motivate but it’s the release that teaches can help to prevent horses getting dull, or help them to become more sensitive again.
Constant gripping or nagging with the legs will desensitise a horse – instead develop an independent balanced seat and release & quit leg aids when you get the desired response from your horse. Wearing spurs can improve sensitivity, but horse’s can easily become dull to these too if understanding and skill are not taken in the application and release of pressure.
Applying your leg with the timing of the horse’s leg as it leaves the ground will help even more as the horse is in the best position and balance to be able to respond. For more tips on feeling for the feet, see previous post www.facebook.com/everydayhorsemanship/posts/1755091284705616
Continual, firm pressure on the reins will also desensitise the horse to the feel of the bit. Ensure the reins are not being used for balance – instead develop an independent balanced seat, and release/soften fingers on reins when you get the desired response from your horse. If riding with a connection/contact with both reins, be aware of whether your connection is neutral (so horse can differentiate when you activate a rein for communication) or constantly active (which could cause horse to become desensitised to the reins). There is value to being able to ride on a loose rein as well as with connection with the reins.
Getting your hands in time with your horse’s feet will help even more as the horse is in the best position and balance to be able to respond.
Developing your horse’s impulsion so that your horse can maintain walk, trot and canter without constantly being pushed with the legs, or held back with the reins is also a consideration.
A useful quote to consider; “Absentmindedly holding the reins too tightly – pressure without purpose dulls the aids.” - Melanie Smith-Taylor from her book ‘Riding with Life’ a helpful and practical horsemanship publication I can thoroughly recommend.
**Shropshire based Horsemanship coach Sally Brett - available to teach lessons & workshops throughout the Midlands & Wales. Find out more about Sally here;
www.everydayhorsemanship.co.uk/instructors/
Everyday Horsemanship added 2 new photos.
Knowing where your horse’s feet are underneath you when you are riding can be very useful but is sometimes not given much consideration by riders. Knowing this information, feeling it, and developing timing to complement this, is a great horsemanship skill to learn and develop.
Examples of uses are: being able to rise on the correct diagonal in trot without looking down and putting weight on the forehand; being able to ask for canter at the best time to achieve the canter lead you want; being able to set the horse up to halt squarely; and asking for a lateral manoeuvre when the particular leg you want to yield is leaving the ground…..
“Knowing the horse’s foot falls can help you become a better rider. Feeling the horse’s foot falls can help you become a better horseman.” - Unknown
Learning the footfalls can be done by watching horses move (ideally on slow motion video) to gain the knowledge of the number of beats and the order of the feet in each gait.
Developing feel for the feet within each gait does require riding, but can be tricky to get to grips with as while we feel everything that happens underneath us when we ride a horse, sometimes it can be tricky to know exactly what you are feeling……
Learning the feel of the front feet can be easier to get feed back as a quick glace down can confirm if what we think we are feeling, is what we are actually feeling.
The hind feet can be trickier, but can be felt by the swing of the ribs and/or the dip of the back from side to side. This is best felt in walk – as the horse walks their barrel (ribs) swing and back dips slightly – as the right hind lifts the barrel swings away to the left and the right side of the back dips down slightly (NB as right hind lifts, right side of back dips down – not up as you might expect to feel). Then the reverse happens as the left hind leaves the ground. You may feel the barrel swing with your legs, and the back dipping with your seat. As you develop this feel you may only feel one of these things – some horses have more pronounced or subtle movement than others.
To check you have the feel correlated with what is actually happening check in an arena mirror or a friend on the ground to confirm whether you are correct or not as you call out when a particular leg is leaving the ground (or use a video camera for feedback later) .
Once you get the feeling, feel for the start of the barrel swing, or the start of the back dipping. The start of this phase is when the foot is leaving the ground.
Once you can feel the hind legs in walk, try in trot.
You can rise with the correct diagonal by doing sitting trot and feeling for the inside hind. Once you can feel when it is leaving the ground, rise with it (and sit again as it returns to the ground). You can check you are correct by glancing at the outside front leg and if you are rising and sitting in time with that, you are correct - trot is a diagonal gait – the inside hind and outside fore move together as a pair.
**Shropshire based Horsemanship coach Sally Brett - available to teach lessons & workshops throughout the Midlands & Wales. Find out more about Sally here;
www.everydayhorsemanship.co.uk/instructors/
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Debs SearleThanks Sally for your posts, always helpful pointers to keep in mind.
3 months ago · 1
Gill LangridgeRiding with your eyes shut is useful too, as is a lesson on a simulator. Something every rider needs to know, a great post.
2 months ago · 1Everyday Horsemanship added 6 new photos.
Having a horse that will lower its head on request is very useful for grooming, vet checks, bridling, plaiting etc…..but all these tasks can become challenging if a horse holds its head high or has learnt to move their head to avoid being handled.
Teaching a horse to lower its head is a useful education that many horses have not been taught. It can feel like a vulnerable position for many horses so it is important that confidence is put first, before trying to get the procedure done. If the horse is not confident with any of these stages (having their head and ears handled / lowering their head / the procedure or task that is required) they may try to escape or become defensive in their behaviour which can be difficult and dangerous to handle.
To be able to do a task with their head lowered requires the horse to;
1) be confident with their head & ears being handled and with motion over and around their head.
2) understand to lower their head on request and be confident in this position
3) be confident to keep their head lowered for the required period of time.
4) Once all the above stages are in place individually, they can be combined – lower head, able to confidently keep head lowered without holding it there whilst handling head & ears.
5) Once stage 4 is in place, it will be easier to ask the horse to lower their head and keep it lowered whilst completing the required task/procedure (eg. grooming / plaiting / fly repellent etc).
To gain confidence (for lowering the head, keeping head lowered for increasing periods of time, and for handling the head, ears and motion over and around their head), ask in small achievable stages, retreat if unconfident and re-approach, quit on confidence/the behaviour you want.
To teach a horse to yield to pressure, remember that pressure motivates but the release teaches.
When introducing a procedure (eg grooming, bridling, plaiting, checking ears, applying fly repellent etc) - have the horse’s confidence be more important than the task.
Ask in small stages, retreat if unconfident, quit on confidence/the behaviour you want and then build on their confidence over as many sessions as the horse needs.
Once you have communication & confidence with lowering their head, and confidence having their head & ears handled in this position, achieving the chosen task with your horse's head lowered should be easy.
**Shropshire based Horsemanship coach Sally Brett - available to teach ground work and ridden lessons & workshops throughout the Midlands & Wales. Find out more about Sally here; www.everydayhorsemanship.co.uk/instructors/
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While tools are not the ‘be all and end all’, certain tools and equipment can help us be more specific with communication. Here I am considering the type of halter or headcollar to choose.
Horses can be motivated by pressure and can learn by seeking comfort and release.
Apply pressure in a considered way when teaching a response; direct pressure in a way most likely to create the direction of response required, start with light pressure, and increase pressure slowly to give the horse time to think about their response. Remember also that it is the timing of the release that teaches the desired response. This knowledge can be key for choosing and using particular tools.
A common challenge with leading horses is those that lean into the halter, either pulling the handler along, or not following a light feel to walk forwards.
Considering surface area and pressure – the thinner a surface, the less comfortable it is to push into. A simple rope halter for example is light and comfortable to wear, but is less comfortable should a horse choose to lean on it.
A thick wide headcollar, especially one with padded nose and poll may actually encourage a horse to push against the pressure as it feels very comfortable to do so.
Headcollars and halters with parts that tighten or add leverage are often used with horses that are pushy and strong. Whilst they can aid adding pressure to gain control, care needs to taken for several reasons;
• Large amounts of pressure can be put on very quickly and frighten a horse and cause them to panic or try to escape rather than think about how to respond appropriately to the pressure.
• With leverage it can be difficult to know exactly how much pressure the horse is feeling, compared to a non-leverage halter or head collar where the horse feels the exact amount of feel you choose to put down the lead rope.
• Horses learn when we release, and so it is ideal that the moment you soften your fingers or open your hand that the horse would be able to feel that. With some leverage headcollars and halters the leverage part does not release instantly, so the horse may not feel a release at the opportune moment, or indeed at all, and therefore may muddle communication and learning.
If choosing a rope halter, tying the correct knot is important – it is a simple sheet bend that should be tied around the halter loop, rather than back around itself. Tying it correctly ensures that it is less likely to both loosen, or over tighten.
With any horse I would think twice about turning them loose in a field or stable wearing any type of headcollar or halter, in case they get it caught on something. A horse’s natural reaction is to panic if they feel restricted and injury is likely. For the same reason I am also very particular about where I would tie a horse up to ensure there are no hooks, door bolts, catches or other protrusions they could get caught up on.
On another safety note, horses being prey animals, however well prepared they are, can get themselves in tricky situations. Whatever type of halter, headcollar, leadrope, leather, webbing, rope, tack combinations you use, it is advisable to carry a sharpened penknife on you at all times when around your horse so that you can release them if they ever get in a bind.
Of course the knowledge, principle and skill of how a piece of equipment is used is more important than the piece of equipment itself (it is possible to teach a horse to be light in response to the feel of a thick padded head collar, or teach a horse to lean into and push against a thinner rope halter) but understanding which tools are more likely to help and why, and more importantly how to use them with feel and timing to create the best communication with our horses is useful knowledge.
As with any pieces of equipment, it is recommended to practice in a safe enclosed area to ensure basic communication is established before relying on the tool or skill for safety.
**Shropshire based Horsemanship coach Sally Brett - available to teach ground work and ridden lessons & workshops throughout the Midlands & Wales. Find out more about Sally here;
www.everydayhorsemanship.co.uk/instructors/
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Horses are claustrophobic by nature due to being prey animals that use flight (moving their feet and running away) as their primary form of defence if they get worried or fearful. Therefore anything that restricts movement, appears to close possible escape routes, or requires the feet to be placed in, on or over possible danger, can cause horses to feel claustrophobic.
Examples of everyday activities that may cause a horse to feel claustrophobic include;
•Going through doorways & gateways.
•Being next to or between walls (eg stables, wash bays, corridors).
•Next to vehicles, especially high sided ones (likely to be a heightened feeling of claustrophobia if there isn’t much space to walk past – for example squeezing between a van and a hedge when hacking out).
•Walking through a puddle/stream, stepping or jumping into water.
•Stepping onto a platform/weighbridge.
•Entering veterinary stocks.
•Putting a foot on a farrier stand or xray block.
•Going up, down or over a step.
•Going under a low doorway.
•Going under low hanging branches.
•Walking between two potentially ‘spooky’ objects on a hack eg a wheelie bin one side of the road and and a barking dog on the other side.
•Going between jump wings.
•Going over poles, jumps or ditches.
•Going through long grass or over rough ground.
•Being tied up.
•Entering a trailer or lorry.
•Being shut in a trailer or lorry.
When horses feel claustrophobic they are likely to want to move their feet, rush, paw the ground or try to escape the situation. They may refuse to go through, over or into what ever they consider to be a claustrophobic situation, or speed up to leave it. In extreme circumstances they can become so claustrophobic that they panic and exhibit behaviours that can be very dangerous to themselves and their handlers/riders.
This fear of being trapped or restricted can be naturally higher in some horses than others depending on their individual ‘personalities’ and can also relate to their education or previous experiences (both positive and less desirable experiences).
This awareness and claustrophobic nature can become heightened when on adrenalin and explains why some horses seem to get more claustrophobic after an unrelated adrenalin heightening experience eg more difficult to load into a lorry or trailer after being at a horse show, compared to loading them at home.
Horses can be educated to become more confident with claustrophobic situations. Simulating these situations and incorporating them into schooling sessions can be a great help for those that are more claustrophobic, or as preparation for training a horse to accept a claustrophobic task such as trailer or lorry loading.
Horses can be helped to gain confidence going ‘between’ and ‘next to’ by simulating with high sided moveable jump blocks or barrels, so you can start wide until they are confident (moving rhythmically and no longer rushing, and build to where they are confident to stop in the gap) and then gradually decrease the space.
Horses can be helped to gain confidence putting their feet on unfamiliar things by simulating with rubber matting, tarpaulins and pedestals. Horses are often more confident with their front feet than their hind feet.
When helping a horse with their confidence, use approach and retreat, break the task into small, easy to achieve stages and look to quit on confidence. Remember you will get more of whatever you quit on – if you quit when they are anxious they are likely to be more anxious next time. If you quit when they are relaxed and confident, they are likely to be more relaxed and confident next time. Retreat back to previous stages to help with any loss of confidence. Be patient - remember the horse holds the time line and helping a horse that is very claustrophobic may take a significant number of sessions over several weeks or months to gradually improve their confidence.
**Shropshire based Horsemanship coach Sally Brett - available to teach ground work and ridden lessons & workshops throughout the Midlands & Wales. Find out more about Sally here;
www.everydayhorsemanship.co.uk/instructors/
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