Frustration and fear can go hand-in-hand when we are talking about control issues with an animal who weighs half a ton. Unfortunately, neither emotion contributes to the calm leadership that horses both need and want.
Ol' Molasses: "My buddies are back at the barn. You say we have to go for a ride, but I can walk really, really slow."
His Rider: Thump. Thump. Thump. "#$%^&*!"
Ol' Molasses: "Great! We're heading back!"
His Rider: "Whoa! Whoa!!! @#$%^&*!"
Shezapartygirl: "Oh, Boy! There go my buddies! Wheee!"
Her Rider: Pull. Pull. Pull. "Ohmigosh! Omigosh!"
For both these horses, "go" and "whoa" have very little meaning. They're taking their cues from outside stimuli or their own emotions, not from their riders. And neither rider is making things better by the way they're handling the situation. Whether hauling on the reins or thumping on the horse's sides, they are, in fact, making things worse by burning up the cues they thought they had.
Shezapartygirl's rider has quit thinking and has gone straight to self-preservation mode. While understandable, grabbing for the brakes (although she might call it "taking a firm hold of the reins") while clamping her legs to the horse's sides in a death grip are contradictory cues. They tell the horse, "Don't move, but go fast!" Chances are the mare is going to pick one-and if she's the energetic sort with a strong desire to stay with her buddies, it's not likely to be "Don't move."
In contrast, Ol' Molasses is going to ignore the side-thumping because, to him, it's just background noise. He's generally not in a hurry anyway.
Oddly enough, both the tortoise (Ol' Molasses) and the hare (Shezapartygirl) share the same problem: speed control. Both horses need to be taught how to stop and go, how to speed up and slow down-as well as how to turn so they can go straight. Most important, they must learn that when their riders give simple cues, they need to obey, no matter what is going on around them.
Fortunately, horses are astoundingly adaptable creatures, and people who read training articles obviously want to learn how to help their horses adapt. So let's learn some straightforward exercises that can help us do that.
Set the Speed Dial
- Use starting and stopping exercises to instill a reliable go-forward cue.
- Squeeze, bump, and kiss to your horse until you get a noticeable increase in speed, then go completely still with your legs.
- Ask your horse to slow down before he thinks of decreasing his speed on his own.
- Never ride the brakes. Use serpentine exercises to decrease forward momentum.
- Apply a one-rein cue to get a large hips-over move to stop your horse
- completely if he ignores your rein signal.
- Make sure you're not giving go-and-whoa cues at the same time.
Establish the Basics
We are going to teach the horse that when we touch the rein, it counts. It tells him to change the direction he's going or the speed of his feet. The second we get that response, however, the rein must be released totally. We will also teach him that the "go forward" cue, whether it is a "kiss" sound from the ground or a bump of the legs from the saddle, really does mean go forward. And we are going to teach him to turn by using the rein to put his tail in the direction we don't want to go. (Hey, fun is important and it works.)
Safety Issues
Start in an enclosed area where you feel safe and use a simple snaffle bit. Remember that you should never get hurt, your horse should never get hurt, and your horse should end up calmer than when he started.
Keep in mind that a nervous rider might not give the quiet and controlled cues necessary for these exercises. Many of these can be started from the ground if you are at all uncertain about control when you are in the saddle. The rein cues are the same.
