Convincing Nervous Horses to Trust

October 29, 2007

In a barn session yesterday afternoon, I had to deal with two horses who were acting a little nervous for very different reasons.

Louie
Louie, a 7-year-old foxtrotter gelding, has pretty much been a one man horse for the past three years. He was fine with me brushing him; after all, I’m the one who feeds him when his mom (Tracie) and dad (Dave) are gone. But as soon as he spotted me carrying his saddlepad, he got jumpy and nervous and was showing me the whites of his eyes. He twitched and wanted to dance away when I set it gently on his back. This is out of character for him (at least with Dave), so I figured my best bet was to just ignore him and act like I knew what I was doing so that he’d feel more confident in me. He was still a little nervous throughout the rest of the saddling process.

Here’s where our Parelli training (Louie’s an expert and I’m just learning) came in handy. Instead of going straight to the saddle, we played some of Parelli’s groundwork “games” to get rid of nerves, build some trust and respect, and get Louie focused to work.

The first game is “the friendly game.” Using a Parelli rope halter and long, thick leadrope, I gently tossed the end of the rope over his neck, pulled it back, tossed it over his back, pulled it back, over his rump, and so on. Every time the end of the rope touched his side, he jumped a bit (not because it was hurting him but because he was thinking, “hey, this is Dave’s job. Who the heck is this girl and why is she doing this to me and not Dave?”). This game is largely for desensitizing. After a few swings, Louie settled in and realized that while I wasn’t Dave, he still knew what he was supposed to do — and did. That’s all it took to get rid of his wariness about the new girl, but we played a few more just to make sure I really had his focus.

All of the games used in Parelli’s training method are geared toward learning to talk with your horse the way horses talk with each other and establishing yourself as their “alpha” or leader. Pressure motivates and release teaches. Start with big, over-exaggerated movements and work down towards eventually directing your horse with the slightest point of your finger. It’s about getting horses to do what you want without forcing them or coercing them. It’s about getting your horse to respect and trust you enough that he’ll do anything you ask and trust that you know best and wouldn’t ask him to do anything that will hurt. And it really really works.

Marahute
Marahute, sometimes affectionately known as Tute, is a 14-year-old Appy/Arab mare, and she’s virtually mine. At least, Dave and Tracie call her mine when she misbehaves. Tute spent most of her life trail riding, so when I started working with her two and a half years ago as a hunter pony in the ring, she wasn’t too sure of herself. She had to learn how to bend and circle and collect and do it all comfortably. But she’s smart, and she learned quickly.

Last night I hopped on her bareback to go for a quick ride. She refused to move. It’s a little game she plays where she refuses to walk unless I let her decide it’s her own idea, which is usually just 30 seconds of standing before taking off in a nice brisk walk. Last night, she refused to budge. I’d get a step or two and she’d plant her front legs.

After I got really tired of her game, I convinced her it was time to go, and she did. Once we started trotting, she tossed her head and stuck her nose up and to the side and showed her general displeasure. Eventually she settled in. But it got nasty again when we started to go into a canter. Marahute has learned to do great canter transitions straight from a walk, and last night she was ready to go. But once she picked up the canter, she started kind of hopping in place and tossing her head and refusing to move out before stopping altogether. I tried again, with the same result. So we went back to trotting until she felt comfortable again, and the next time I asked for canter she went into it without hesitation.

I’m sure, and Dave agrees, that Marahute was worried about me riding bareback. She never gives me this kind of trouble when I have a saddle, and she has acted similarly when I hop on her without it and haven’t ridden bareback in a while. I spent all last winter riding her bareback and we got along fine. It’s not like she didn’t feel secure, it’s like she was worried that I wouldn’t be secure. So I had to convince her that I was. Sure, I’m not as secure as I am with a saddle, but I’ve got good balance and good leg strength and can ride almost as well without my equipment. It took lots of steadiness and calmness on my part, but she eventually settled down and realized I was ok. And then she was fine.

Tute is smart, and she’s a tester. She knows how to bend through the turns, but she’s not going to do it unless she knows that you will make her. And she knows I’ll make her and never bothers to fight me on these basics. And as last night showed, she also gets really obstinate if she feels insecure or worried or uncomfortable. It’s good to know that about her, because when I know what’s wrong I know how to deal with it.

I think all my work with horses has given me a level of discernment that transcends my work in the equine world. I can work with a horse and most-times understand how she thinks and why she reacts the way she does, which gives me the ability to work with her more easily. I do that with people too. It takes lots of listening and lots of paying attention, but it makes life a whole lot easier. I’ve always loved how lessons learned well in the barn or arena transfer so well to all areas of life. It’s one great reason to work with horses!

Posted in Horsin' Around, Riding and showing, Training