Getting to Know You
While training systems can provide a framework, Yvonne notes that riders and trainers who follow step-by-step instructions can quickly lose confidence when the training method doesn't work as it's supposed to.
"A lot of times, people will focus on the steps of training rather than getting to know their horses," says Yvonne. Instead, evaluate how your horse reacts to each step, and adapt your training methods according to his individual personality.
Social horses must be made to focus, and understand and respond to aids one at a time, notes Yvonne. Aloof horses have to tune in- if your aloof horse puts an ear on you and asks, "What is it?" carry on with your request. If he doesn't respond, intensify the aid until he does. Challenging horses need more direction than reassurance. Never rush a fearful horse; instead, introduce him to new things slowly, confidently, and methodically.
Understanding Bee
Take Bee and me as an example. During the first year of our relationship, we spent a lot of time arguing. We argued about getting in the trailer. We argued about cantering. We argued about leg yields.
I don't consider myself a passive rider or trainer, but the first horse I trained myself was tractable, playful, and social. I asked; he responded. I expected the same from Bee.
In Yvonne's methodology, I'd characterize my first horse as an aloof, social horse. I nicknamed him Ferdinand the Bull, because, like the bull in the children's story, he preferred to eat alone under the cottonwood tree than socialize with his pasture mates or go to work. Nonetheless, he liked to be fussed over and loved to gently tug on my sweatshirt hood.
Conversely, Bee immediately became the head horse in the herd. What Bee does, everyone else follows. The more demanding I got with Bee, the more he argued with me. He wasn't particularly interactive with me except at dinnertime, when he kicked the stall wall until he got fed.
Bee is an aloof, challenging horse. I couldn't put words to his personality until I read Yvonne's book. But once I'd finished it, I knew without a doubt where I'd gone wrong with Bee's training, his trailering, and his life on the farm.
Before reading Yvonne's book, I'd often characterize Bee as a "pony in a horse body," because he could be stubborn and shut down. At times, I'd apply an aid and get zero reaction. Yvonne notes that over-facing a challenging horse is a bad idea. I can think of dozens of situations where I asked my talented dressage horse to do more than he was able or ready to do.
Matching Horse with Human
Just as horses have personality types, certain human personality traits match horse traits, while others may need more help to get along and move forward in their partnership. If you've ever been through the Myers Briggs Type Indicator test, you'll have an idea how Yvonne's system works when you add people to the equation.
When I was younger, I worked in a museum's creative department. The staff had a hard time interacting. We brought in a consultant, who administered the Myers Briggs test to all of us. It turns out that the accounting and business office was made up of detail-oriented, introverted people, while the creative department was full of big-thinking extroverts. We creatives learned that our social, noisy, and at times unorganized work style drove the head-down pencil-pushers nuts. No wonder we had a hard time getting along!
The same is true of horses. If you love cuddling and want your horse to acknowledge you with a nicker every time you come to the barn, you may have to learn to draw out an aloof horse, or reassure a fearful one, since these personalities aren't naturally inclined to socialize.
Yvonne encourages riders to understand themselves and their personality types. In Ride the Right Horse, she suggests riders take the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (available online) and apply that self-knowledge, along with honest self-assessment, to your own horse training and riding style.
If you're a fearful rider with an introverted personality, a fearful, aloof horse will require that you move out of both of your comfort zones to work together. You'll need to be the leader in that relationship. To do so, you'll have to overcome both your fear and your introversion.
For myself, Bee's challenging-aloof nature doesn't completely match my own style. Although I consider myself a strong personality, I'm a bit of a softie when it comes to animals. Bee learned this quickly, and during the past three years I've had to work hard to be such a strong horse's leader.
We're making progress, as I've learned not to push him too hard, to work in much smaller steps, and to reward him profusely when he does respond. Even though he seems not to care (his aloof side), he actually responds very well to reward in the form of affection.
"We're all different," says Yvonne. "It's good to know ourselves, make a plan that works that is in reference to our system, and pay attention to personality all the time in training. For many people, understanding their horses' personalities could be the missing link."
