Don’t Desensitize your Horse!

Howdy Friends,
 

We’ve all seen it, owners, trainers or friends working in round pens or rings, with a worried, sometimes terrified horse, waving a bag, a towel or some other object at the horse to “Desensitize the horse.” I understand some reading this think I’ve described an exaggerated scene, others will think it’s got to be done, and still others think they would never do that. I’m in that last camp—I would never do that or anything close. Nor could I recommend it.

“But they need to be taught a bag can’t hurt them,” some say. Or a pile of other explanations why “desensitization” is an important part of “training.” Training, another word I’m not real fond of. I don’t want to be “trained,” or “desensitized.” Do you? I’d rather be educated, or coached. Semantics, you think? No. Words should mean things, and they do. Take just a second here and truly ponder the difference you feel when you think, “train” ... or “educate.” They make you feel different inside don’t they?

So how do you help a horse understand flying bags and blankets, falling branches, loud noises and a mountain of other scary things won’t harm her? Easy. Education and confidence building. When a horse has confidence not much will frighten her. When she’s confident in herself, and her person, the scary things are simply, things—not life threatening monsters.

Confidence building is a long term strategy, and we can make it happen by being confident ourselves, and consistent in our manners, actions and support. Yes it takes longer than a weekend clinic on desensitization—which will surely get a horse less worried about the bag, flag, bucket or bang the weekend was designed to make unscary ... But in most cases it will not build confidence. What it most often builds is a worried compliance. I must point out that many horses are skilled in hiding their worry with compliance. But worry and fear can resurface in the blink of an eye, in a most dangerous way, when the next “scary thing” that had not been used to desensitize, suddenly appears out of nowhere. The weak link is the lack of confidence building.

It is totally impossible to desensitize a horse to every scary or worrisome object a horse and rider might ever encounter. And that is the flaw. And it is a big flaw, for when the desensitized horse has an incident after training, and the rider momentarily gets scared themselves and disciplines the horse for what is a natural reaction, the bond between horse and human suffers a strain, a little damage. That’s not a good thing. Not for the person, not for the horse.

Building self confidence within the horse is the answer. Conducting one’s self in a manner steeped in confidence, support and I might say mentorship, builds confidence in the horse.

Take time to understand the horse, as much time as she needs. When riding, doing groundwork, playing games, never push beyond what the horse is comfortable, confident with. Ever. In everything you do make sure the horse is ready to go to the next level. Revisit often things she has mastered, and enjoys doing. This will create layers, upon layers of confidence. Those layers of confidence will build a suit of armor ever present for any scary, unexpected or surprising thing that suddenly appears. And she’ll handle all the never-before-seens with inner strength of self-confidence—not suppressed fear.

Don’t desensitize your horse ... Empower her!

Gitty Up, Dutch Henry

 To have a look at my latest book, "It's For The Horses, An advocate's musings about their needs, gifts, spirit and care," CLICK HERE.

"A Few Polite Touches For A Pushy Horse"

Howdy Friends,

 

We've all seen horses crowd, drag, or push their person when being led. I chuckle sometimes when I see folks follow the pace set by their horse as they are dragged along. I frown when I see them yank on the lead and yell at their horse. I feel sorry for them when they get stepped on, because neither of them knows where they are supposed to do, or their job. It simply does not need to be.

We are responsible for setting boundaries. Not by discipline or heavy handedness, but by simple politeness, consistency and thoughtfulness. Horses do not violate boundaries because they want to be bad, unruly or "pushy." The violate boundaries because their caregiver never set them, politely.

If you think about it pushy horses follow exactly the boundaries set by their person. If each time a horse is haltered and led it drags their person, dances, steps on their feet and pushes them through the gate, well, when the halter goes on and they set out the horse has to think, "Okay time to drag, push, dance, and I gotta be sure to try for her feet." It's never the horse's fault, they are well within the boundaries set by their person.

Kessy demonstrating the polite way to halter.

I once asked a friend, "Do you know why your horse holds her head so high when you try to halter her?" She replied, "No, tell me, I hate this." I said, "That's how high you can reach." – Think about it seriously, any horse can lift their head higher than we can reach. If they can learn to hold their head at our highest limit, as they've been taught, does it not make sense they can also learn to hold their head waist high for halter and bridle? Sure it does. Our horses happily learn everything we teach them. They also learn from us to be rude, and pushy, just like us.

Now let's talk about the pushy horse on lead. Easy to fix, politely, in one lesson. I like to work on the off-side whenever I'm fixing anything, or introducing something new. It heightens a horse's attention. Remember, we can never control any horse by the halter and lead rope. Ever. So forget about that. The halter is simply a gentle guide. I don't like the word control, anyway, so let's talk about guiding the horse, into their space, into our pace, and into softness and politeness.

For this exercise, which will become an all the time exercise for a really long time, you'll need a light dressage wand, or the new popular light bamboo wand. Not a crop, which is too short and stiff, or a lunge whip which is too long. I don't recommend the carrot stick, which is great for a lot of things, but for this they are too long and too heavy – the heaviness will tighten your arm and shoulder and alter your body language.

 

Kessy and Saturday help demonstrate leading. The wand sets the boundaries, the halter is just a gentle guide.

Stand on the off-side, between her ears and shoulder; hold the lead rope in your left hand, your hand just about a foot or less from the halter. Hold the wand in your right hand, across your middle to a few inches in front of your horse's chest. It is important to stand square, shoulders and eyes looking where you are going, not at the horse. It is sometimes helpful to practice this stance, position and walk alone with the rope and wand, just to master the feel of it before trying it with a horse.

Ask your horse to, "walk on," and start walking, holding the wand a few inches in front of her chest. Eyes straight ahead. Your left hand is light on the rope, no pulling, or constraining, the wand and your thoughts send the directions ... You may need to, ever so slightly, tap her chest, not hit it, until she figures it out. Stay soft. In time, usually not much time at all, you'll need only to hold wand the in front of her chest and never touch her. The pushy, rude horse will never again be seen. As long as you clearly, gently and respectively set the boundaries. And remain consistent.

One last thing, most horses become pushy because they are heavy on their forehand. Leading this way, every time, all the time, helps fix that. I suggest you also master the, "Rock Back," and add it to your daily routine ... Stand beside your ground tied horse, facing her, and very gently touch her chest and ask her to, "rock back." Not to take a step back but to simply shift her weight to her hind end, where it belongs. If she steps back, she'll stay on her forehand. Be soft, look for only a tiny movement at first. After a few days she'll get it and you'll wonder where this polite, light footed, soft and confident horse came from.

Kessy loves the "rock back" - just a gentle touch on the chest to shift her weight off her forehand. It creates proper body carriage, sure and light footedness, and promotes overall sound health.

So there you go an easy way to help your horse understand boundaries, and correct body carriage, politely. Kessy and I hope you have fun with it. Remember consistency works like magic.

Giddy Up ~ Dutch Henry

Feature Friday – LaRue Sprouse Dowd – Sharing The Love Of Horses

Howdy Folks,

It is LaRue Sprouse Dowd's mission to help children embrace and understand the goodness that comes from the spirit of the horse, and the lessons young folks can learn while around horses. 

Her story will be my June, 2014 Heartbeat column in Trailblazer magazine. I love featuring the folks I'm writing about here in our Coffee Clutch blog so our friends can get to know them, and look forward to the whole story in my column.

LaRue's smile and encouragement are always present

LaRue's nature is one of kindness, support, positive attitude and optimism. Her students, their parents, the volunteers, boarders and horses all benefit from her ability to help others believe in themselves, try harder and find the joy in the moment. Whether that moment is mastering a new horsemanship skill, understanding the importance of patience, or caring for the horses. LaRue is always able to offer upbeat advice and guidance, helping others to see the world through positive eyes. 

There is a depth to LaRue's teachings and understanding, given her by a lifetime of loving and learning from horses, and talented people. She started riding at the age of four. Before finishing high school, LaRue owned ten horses, had trained other people's horses, had begun giving riding lessons, and was positive horses would be her life. She'd even done her share of, "catch riding," for other trainers.

She holds two Bachelor Degrees, one Vet Tech, the other in Equine Therapy. So skilled was LaRue at understanding horses and riding that, in her senior year at Morehead State University, she was asked to teach the, "Advanced Saddle Seat Course." She's worked with, and helped heal horses in some of the most prestigious show barns in the country. She held licenses to work on the tracks of, Saratoga, Keeneland, Belmont, and Palm Springs. She studied under Mimi Porter, who was one of the first to introduce rehabilitative therapy to performance horses, and Marvin Cain, the man responsible for first bringing acupuncture to horses in the United States.

From the start LaRue had a clear vision of what she would do when returning home. She knew how much horses had meant to her in her down times. She also knew there were simply too many children in her hometown who needed something good and solid to hang onto. She knew too, she and the horses could offer that solid something. Her name honors her two grandmothers', Lucille and Ruth. Respect for those who came before, and commitment to community are important to LaRue and her family. In 2008 she opened Sprouse'sCorner Ranch offering riding lessons, coaching, boarding, training, trail riding, summer camps, and shows, with the mission to, through horses, help kids.

 

Children love their time at Sprouse's Corner Ranch

In 2009 LaRue welcomed a local therapeutic riding program,Heartland Horse Heroes, to Sprouse's Corner Ranch. Under her stewardship Heartland Horse Heroes has grown to offer not only private therapeutic riding lessons for children, but also a program for the local county elementary special education school children. And this spring Heartland Horse Heroes will be offering a new program for at-risk youths through Inner City Slickers, a national program founded by Michael McMeel, that has had over 10,000 youths through the program.

Group Equine Assisted Therapy In Heartland Horse Heroes Arena

Her commitment to helping horses remains strong. Part of what she does so well is lead by example. Her lesson horses work once per day, for 3-5 days per week. The horses in the therapeutic riding program only perform therapeutic lesson duties once a week. All therapy and lesson horses are also taken on trail rides by the students so they can stretch their legs and clear their minds. Her volunteers and students are taught release and relax exercises for the horses, and they are part of the program. The horses have large fields to romp in and healthy herd environments. Some of her lesson horses are rescues. 

LaRue works closely with Beauty Haven's Farm and Equine Rescue, based in Florida, through a farm near Sprouse's Corner Ranch. LaRue not only adopts and gives homes and jobs to those rescue horses, but she helps find homes for many others; fifteen last year. She has recently launched a new program for adoption where adoptees can take on a horse, board with LaRue and take lessons for two months; just to be sure the match is perfect.

Wisdom, born of years working with horses and people in many different environments and situations is what LaRue offers to children, parents and horses. Kindness and understanding is her secret recipe that makes it work so well, for the people, and the horses.

You can visit Sprouse's Corner Ranch on Facebook Here-

Gitty Up ~ Dutch Henry

"Horse Communication"

Howdy Folks,

 

Horse communication. There are a lot of folks who truly understand it. There are a lot of folks who wish they did. There are plenty of folks who disregard it, even consider those who believe in communicating with horses, or any animal, silly, or worse.

Kessy and me sharing thoughts

The first step to communicating with your horse, is simply to believe. Believe it is possible, and believe what you hear. As children we were all deeper in tune to receiving voices from animals, and our intuition, but as we grow and are encouraged to disregard those thoughts as foolishness, some of us follow that wrongheaded advice. Others question it, and some, like me, found that animals are the most honest friends of all. And continued to listen.

One of the most common objections I've heard over the years is, "If you can talk to your horse, why can't you make her, 'do whatever.'" … My standard reply is, "You can talk to your spouse, child, friend, why don't you always see eye to eye?"

One big reason I keep promoting what I call my, "Therapy For Therapy Horses," exercises, and all that Peggy Cummings and Linda Tellington-Jones teach is by doing those exercises you will learn to hear your horse, as you wait, watch and listen for your horses release, and response.

Horse communication is not about, "getting your horse to do something." When approached with a selfish or demanding type attitude, desire, or intent, you'll simply get static.

Communication is about hearing what is important to the horse, so you can love more deeply, help more richly and understand more fully. That's it. It's that simple, and anyone can do it. In fact, even an inflexible non-believer is communicating with their horse. But sadly, those individuals are broadcasting, they don't care, so why would their horse talk to them?

Horse communication is all about listening, trusting and believing. Start by simply believing the thoughts you feel. Doubt builds walls. Believing builds conduits. Will you always get it right? Nope. But then again, do you always understand people? I reckon not. However, by accepting what you hear and feel, your intuition will strengthen. The thoughts, feelings and pictures will become more and more clear. It takes practice, as does learning any new language or skill. If someone wants to learn to play the guitar, they won't get very far without practice.

Back to the therapy exercises. Begin by doing them, and listening. You'll be amazed at what you hear. Your horse will guide your hands, really. Listen for the instruction. I like to suggest this, because it combines physical exercises and mental exercises. Add to this, the thought of listening to your horse in everything you do together, riding, groundwork, feeding, whatever. As you interact allow your mind to wonder into your horse's thoughts. Hear what is important to your horse. The louder you listen, the louder they'll talk. Set aside your wants, and listen.

Another nifty exercise to increase your hearing is simply sitting with your horse, and asking what is important to her. As you hear/feel what she is saying, see the picture. Let the scene build; softly focus on the center of the picture. Trust it, see where it takes you. This one is fun, it only requires you allow the time for the scene to build. Be patient.

Trust in yourself, believe, and continue to learn. How far will it go? It's different for everyone. It's also wonderful for everyone. Kessy and I encourage you to explore horse communication. It'll change your life.

Gitty Up ~ Dutch Henry