Natural Horsemanship, Horse Training Promises and Myths

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Natural Horsemanship, Myths and Promises
By Bob Jeffreys & Suzanne Sheppard

Bob Jeffreys, Suzanne Shepard

We need to dispel the myth that “natural” is always the best; natural for the horse can be dangerous for us

What exactly is natural horsemanship? You’d probably get as many different answers to this question as the number of people you asked. We believe that, as in much of horse training, there is no single correct answer. Having said that we shall now put forth our own opinions and explain our thoughts behind them.

First, however, we need to dispel the myth that “natural” is always the best. To allow a horse to do what comes naturally to him includes allowing him to buck when he feels good or when he’s upset; to rear or bite or kick when he feels like it, or to react with the spin, bolt and “get out of Dodge” spook response when he’s frightened. When we are riding or handling our horses there are many things that may cause them to act in a manner that is natural to horses but could be very unpleasant, scary or downright dangerous for us.

In contrast, some of the free advice you’ll get at the barn will tell you to “show them who’s boss!” Although horses are prey animals with a preference for flight rather than fight, they can retaliate if left with no other choice. Some will choose this option without prior notice. Horses on average weight 1,000 pounds are far quicker than us and at least 10 times stronger. Can such a creature truly be dominated? If we want a true partnership with our horse we can’t beat him into it. Using pain to achieve our goals is both morally and ethically unacceptable, as well as ineffective. Just a note here about free advice; it’s usually worth just what you paid for it.

Another “mythunderstanding” about keeping it natural is that the horse is the only one who should show good manners. Obviously this is not the case and most people believe they are pretty respectful with their horses. However when you see someone slap their horse instead of rubbing him to praise, or when you see them pick up a foot to clean it and then thoughtlessly drop it down instead of gently placing it on the ground, or those who pinch a horse’s ears backward to place a halter on him because they are too lazy to buckle and unbuckle it, you can begin to see that people need to examine all facets of their horse handling to see if good manners are consistent on our end, too.

And how about good equitation? Groundwork is so emphasized by many “natural horsemen” that riding well seems to be a distant afterthought. If body language is so very important in communicating with and teaching horses, then doesn’t it count when on the horse’s back, too?
We define natural horsemanship as knowing and then using the horse’s natural, God given characteristics and tendencies in order to teach him. In other words, we make it easy for him to learn with us by looking at life from his perspective, and then applying these insights as we strive to bring out the best in him and ourselves. For example, we need to condition him to respond positively to our requests rather than having him do what comes naturally. In some cases we can actually alter his natural reaction to a conditioned response action which is safer for us, and often for him as well.

The three basic natural characteristics we work with are fear, pecking order and laziness. The most important of these, of course, is fear. As prey animals this instinct is ever so dominant in our horses’ every thought. They won’t even eat if they are frightened (this is way you have difficulty trying to bribe the horse into the trailer with food). So we must help them to deal with their fear. Although we desensitize our horses to many things (and this is certainly a good thing) we must also teach them what to do when they do become afraid…and they will.

We like to teach our horses to stop their feet and look at what is scaring them. We do this in a calm, graduated and progressive way that is not intimidating, but rather builds the horse’s confidence in himself and his person. The result of successfully “spook proofing” a horse is to alter his natural reaction (spin, duck or get away) to a conditioned response of stopping his feet and looking at what scared him. We even have advanced teaching to help our horses actually ignore the scary thing; this can be achieved only after the prior lesson is solid.

We can also teach our horses, either in a round pen or on a lunge line, to move forward, stop, or change directions from right to left and visa versa at our signal. This will begin to establish us as a leader in the pecking order. In these lessons we apply our knowledge of how horses in a herd determine the leader and followers; leaders cause the followers to move, and the followers agree to do so.

But what about the natural trait of laziness – how do we use that seemingly “negative” trait to teach? The key is work, harder work, and then opportunity to cease all work and relax. We simply set it up so the horse wants to do what we want him to do. Have it become his idea. For example although we can’t physically make a horse stop (Ever ridden a bolt out on the trail? Or how about the horse that refuses to walk quietly after the first canter?), we can surely make him wish he had. So if we ask him to stop and he refuses we have him move farther and maybe even faster than he’d like to. If he tries to stop or slow down, push him on. Eventually you can offer him another chance to stop. Pretty soon he’ll catch on and his laziness will motivate him to stop. We’ll have avoided a fight and taught our horse to enjoy stopping.

Good equitation is a major focus whenever we work with people who want to learn to train horses, whether they attend a weekend clinic, or go through our Trainer Education Program/ProTrack™. Why? Because when riders are off balance, clutching at the reins and pulling on the horse’s mouth to stay on (ouch!), squeezing with their knees in a vise grip from tension or fear (which results in either the horse going faster or feeling blocked in his forward movement), leaning forward or back (throwing the horse off balance, and now making him anxious to get this unpleasant human off!) bouncing on his back over and over (making him hollow out to get away from the pain), or are so busy with their hands that the horse can’t tell when they are asking him to do something because there is so much irrelevant movement (the “static” overrides the aids and cues) we are making it difficult, if not impossible for the horse to move well and obediently. In contrast, when we ride with a secure seat, in good balance and with the ability to use our bodies and minds to communicate quietly and clearly with our horse, we are helping ourselves to help him be the very best he can be. A rider’s job is to make their every request one that improves the horse’s movement and confidence in himself and the rider, and good equitation allows us to do so.

So now that we have dispelled a few myths and defined some tenants of teaching we need to be aware that horses that horses are alive, thinking, feeling beings that are always learning. This is why it is imperative that we are consistent in our dealings with our horses. Once we decide to break a bad habit in the horse (like crowding us, or biting) through good training, we must make a commitment that from that day on that we will not tolerate the old habit again. This requires us to be aware of how we handle our horses everyday, not just when it’s easy because we have lots of time, or the weather is nice. On Thursday we must be ready to discourage the previous negative habit and praise the positive behavior we’ve taught on Monday because our horses do not know when something doesn’t count. We also have to be careful that other people who deal with our horses are also using the same methods and cues that we use or your horses could become confused.

The way we teach our horses must be clear and must make sense to the horse. This is why we try to communicate with them as other horses would, through effective use of their natural traits and body language. Anger and use of force only serve to frustrate both you and the horse. Students who are frightened cannot learn. So be patient, trustworthy and consistent in your teaching and your horse will in time regard you as his leader and “natural partner” Ride safely and enjoy your horses.
©Bob Jeffreys & Suzanne Sheppard October 2006

Contact: Bob Jeffreys and Suzanne Sheppard
168 Tamms Road
Middletown, New York 10941
Phone: 845- 692-7478
Email: bob@bobjeffreys.com
Website: www.teachingtwoasone.com

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