Horses are animals (prey animals, at that) and their instincts overpower any decision they make. It doesn't always make them bad or scary, but good horse sense is necessary in order to avoid unnecessary incidents. Horses also have this skill of having certain tics- while you may fix one, another one unwittingly appears. How a person approaches these small challenges really shows their character, as the horse will respond or not respond to the technique.
For example, my mare came to me broke but understood that she had one job. A male would come out, work her, and be done. There were no treats, no affection, no small steps or ground work. She wasn't good at being caught, being petted, having her face touched, being mounted on with a block, or eating treats. Each day, I discovered a little more about her. Some things we did have to push through, while other tasks were simply too overwhelming to throw at her without putting her two steps back. She was a dream to ride, but those small things were throwing a kink in immediately jumping on bareback. I had to take a step back and realize I was just as new to her as she was to me.
It is three weeks later, and after a lot of patience on her end and perseverance on mine, Honey is inviting herself to be caught, approaches me when I come to her stall, loves her apple treats, takes her bridle, accepts her head being touched, and is shying less at bath time. After battling the mounting block, I went to the drawing board to evaluate what was going wrong. Why is it that certain things she was so willing to pick up on, and this one thing she seemed to feel so uncomfortable with? I knew she had never needed anyone to use a mounting block with her before because of how small she is, but she is low-key enough to not care about other things.
For a few days straight, she would back up as soon as she saw the block. She would spin to the side. She would walk forward as soon as I tried to get on. I was beyond frustrated and smacked her assuming she was trying to walk all over me. Then a few mornings ago, I tried to adapt my technique to her. I took her in the round pen, left her halter lead tied to the panel, and put the mounting block to the side of her. There was still some movement but she couldn't go very far as she was tied. Gently and slowly, I stepped on and leaned over her as if I was about to get on. Instead, I petted her gently and praised her, then moved onto the side with the block and repeated. I did this for about twenty or thirty minutes, until she did not move backwards or to the side when I put the block down. I then put the reins over her head with the lead still attached to the panel and began again, teaching her that I would have control over the reins once that lead was unattached. When she understood what was being asked of her, I finally unhooked her lead and hopped on without any trouble at all. It was unbelievable. There was no fight, and no manipulation on her part, helping me to understand she was just nervous in the first place and my negative reinforcement was wrong. It has been a few rides since then and I continue the same routine, but it is getting quicker and quicker each day. She doesn't even perk up at the block anymore, and hasn't moved at all when I am stepping up on it. With all the self-realization and humbling, I'm sure this could teach me something even broader spectrum in real life.
Three weeks in...
Win for Honey: Bucking me off. I totally deserved it.
Win for me: Somehow the rein snap was hooked on Honey's lip for a split second and I wouldn't have ever known except for the fact that I checked to see if the bridle was on well. What a good girl! So patient with me.
Looking back, I see that it often always comes back on the rider. I believe there are very few ill-willed horses out there, and if you understand that you have to be responsible for breaking down concepts for you horse, the relationship will fare much better. While you don't want your horse to walk all over you, there has to be a mutual respect between horse and man.
Her awesome tattoo.
Getting used to treats is fun.
Working on halting.
Bashful baby.
So tiny she is smaller than the fence.
Kicking major ass at bath time!
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