When Your Horse Talks Do You Listen
|
|
Who hasn't heard of a horse whisper? They’re those mystical trainers who can lift an eyebrow, shake a finger or twirl a rope and transform a horse from unruly and wild to docile and willing. However, the fact is, when we’re solving training problems, it’s often more important to start out as a horse listener, than a horse whisperer. Here’s one example of why we need to start listening when our horse is talking.
It’s not uncommon for horses to chew the bit. However, this isn't acceptable to most riders and certainly isn't going to win any points in the show ring. So, an easy fix is to put a flash or dropped noseband on the bridle. Problem solved, right? However, now, for some reason, the horse starts tossing its head. So, we put on a standing martingale, and all goes well for a while. But, the horse seems to insist on being inverted, and it’s getting a bit cold backed and inclined to buck every so often. So our hands get more demanding, we smack it with a crop, and soon we have a sour horse that we don’t know what to do with. It’s a bad horse, and we curse our luck for having so many problems to contend with.
Where did this host of problems start? We went from a horse that chewed the bit, to a horse that resents having a rider on its back. But, right from the beginning our horse was talking to us. We, however, didn't do a good job of listening. What if, instead of just putting that flash noseband on, we tried to find out what our horse was saying when it chewed the bit. Was it saying, I have a loose, impacted or sharp tooth that’s making it hard to carry this bit? Or was it saying, this big thick eggbutt snaffle you’re making me carry because you thought it was a mild bit is just too much of a mouthful in my small mouth? Or was it telling you that it didn't understand the lesson you were teaching it, and expressing its frustration by chewing the bit?
It sometimes takes time to ferret out the reason for training problems. It’s certainly easier and cheaper to strap on a flash nose band, then pay to have an equine dentist check your horse’s teeth. But, imagine having your mouth strapped down on a bad tooth, or a bit that is hard to hold or is poking your palate. And what if you didn't understand how to do something? Would punishment make it easier to learn?
So very often, our horses talk to us this way. They tell us they are in pain, uncomfortable, confused and sometimes scared. And we respond by punishing and restricting them. We don’t listen. We don’t ask why. And we compound our problems by simply masking them with more gear and harsher training methods. But, what if, instead of wishing we were horse whisperers, we focused on being horse listeners? What could we gain if we stopped whispering, talking and demanding and actually started listening? |
|
|
IggyPogo
Oh, I love this so much. For so long Pogo kept his mouth open and chewed the bit, so my instructor threw on the Flash. We both hated it and I quickly 'lost' it. Then everyone insisted on a martingale that I knew was the source of his head tossing. After he started seriously acting up (bolting, rearing) we finally got a dentist in. Poor baby had wolf teeth. Now I can gallop him on a loose rein and I haven't seen him buck in a long time, even in the pasture. :)
Oh, I love this so much. For so long Pogo kept his mouth open and chewed the bit, so my instructor threw on the Flash. We both hated it and I quickly 'lost' it. Then everyone insisted on a martingale that I knew was the source of his head tossing. After he started seriously acting up (bolting, rearing) we finally got a dentist in. Poor baby had wolf teeth. Now I can gallop him on a loose rein and I haven't seen him buck in a long time, even in the pasture. :)
|
May 29, 2013
• 4,703 views
|
|
|
|
GoodMorning
Ooh, nice article.
Would anyone have a clue why my mare is always tossing her head, mostly when she stops? She always does it, in our western saddle, english saddle, and bareback, as well as in her english and western bridles and even in a halter. Her english bit is an single-jointed eggbutt snaffle, maybe 1/2 or an inch around. Her western bit is also a single-jointed snaffle of similar diameter, though it is a loose-ring instead. Both the saddles fit pretty well. The western might be a tad narrow, but we don't use it often, and use a thick pad when we do. And like I said, it wasn't only in that. We don't use anything else, except sometimes a breatplate, but not that often. So, any ideas? She tosses her head out in the pasture a lot, so could it just be a habit? How would I fix that?
Ooh, nice article.
Would anyone have a clue why my mare is always tossing her head, mostly when she stops? She always does it, in our western saddle, english saddle, and bareback, as well as in her english and western bridles and even in a halter. Her english bit is an single-jointed eggbutt snaffle, maybe 1/2 or an inch around. Her western bit is also a single-jointed snaffle of similar diameter, though it is a loose-ring instead. Both the saddles fit pretty well. The western might be a tad narrow, but we don't use it often, and use a thick pad when we do. And like I said, it wasn't only in that. We don't use anything else, except sometimes a breatplate, but not that often. So, any ideas? She tosses her head out in the pasture a lot, so could it just be a habit? How would I fix that?
|
May 29, 2013
• 5,420 views
|
|
|
|
Emmurr
When my young mare Bella was sent away for breaking in, the bloke who broke her put her in a pelham (Does it with all of them, using soft hands, just so if the horse takes off he's got a chance of stopping them- although I didn't entirely agree with it), we got her back and she couldn't stand the bit, she was always trying to get her tongue over the top of it (He had ended up using a tongue grid to counter-act this). So for a while we put her in a bitless, mum didn't want to go down the the road of a tongue grid (Which is understandable) so we never got one. I checked her mouth one day and noticed bruising, I realised her mouth obviously hadn't had time to toughen up to a bit. So our work started here. I rode her in a bosal (A bitless noseband) and she had a french link in without the reins attached, so she could mouth and get used to it. Eventually I changed the French link to a straightbar happy mouth and due to some rebellious disagreements we ended up doing lots of lunging in a pes
When my young mare Bella was sent away for breaking in, the bloke who broke her put her in a pelham (Does it with all of them, using soft hands, just so if the horse takes off he's got a chance of stopping them- although I didn't entirely agree with it), we got her back and she couldn't stand the bit, she was always trying to get her tongue over the top of it (He had ended up using a tongue grid to counter-act this). So for a while we put her in a bitless, mum didn't want to go down the the road of a tongue grid (Which is understandable) so we never got one. I checked her mouth one day and noticed bruising, I realised her mouth obviously hadn't had time to toughen up to a bit. So our work started here. I rode her in a bosal (A bitless noseband) and she had a french link in without the reins attached, so she could mouth and get used to it. Eventually I changed the French link to a straightbar happy mouth and due to some rebellious disagreements we ended up doing lots of lunging in a pessoa, which gave a slight contact on the bit. Huzzah! She was beginning to accept it! Although, she was very mouthy and was opening her mouth a lot (Old habits die hard) so I did put a flash on loosely just to show her the correct way a have a bit in. Before long I was riding her with a bit in, and now she's going beautifully in a French link snaffle.
Listening to your horse is always the best route, I love this article.
|
May 30, 2013
• 4,745 views
|
|
|
|
Copper711
Oh Wow! Great Article!! I loved the way you explained the part where the horse was chewing on the bit and Then you put all those accessories on the horse to prevent him from supposedly being naughty when all he was doing was talking to you. Thanks Heaps!
Oh Wow! Great Article!! I loved the way you explained the part where the horse was chewing on the bit and Then you put all those accessories on the horse to prevent him from supposedly being naughty when all he was doing was talking to you. Thanks Heaps!
|
Jun 4, 2013
• 4,512 views
|
|
|
|
ponybox01
great article. this could really help the rider become more connected with the horse
great article. this could really help the rider become more connected with the horse
|
Jul 6, 2013
• 4,504 views
|
|
|
|
|
More News by Winniefield Park
|
|
3P *Starring Ruth* has captured two spots on the leaderboard joining * Queen Of Hearts. Starring Ruth is a 17.1 hand Friesian mare out of the PythonPonyPalaces stable and was foaled September 7, 2023. She not only was #1 ranked ho ...
|
|
DNA testing can tell you a number of things about a horse’s risk of developing a hereditary disease, coat color, genetic markers for speed, temperament and gait and can give some insight into a horse’s breed. In this video, The Cl ...
|
|
Here is a story of how a passion for horses led one woman to a life of secrecy and dishonesty. Over twenty years she built a life of glamor and competitive success. But many people asked how she funded her extravagant lifestyle th ...
|
|
One of the world’s rarest breeds is the Suffolk Punch. Native to Britain, these stocky draft horses once had pride of place in agricultural work, hauling artillery, pulling public transportation vehicles like busses and towing bar ...
|
|
*V For Victory* is entrenched on the leaderboard and still holds the Best Streak with an 18,792 run and a jumpoff record of 29,444 - 19. But two mares have taken over the Top Rank and Highest Jump records. At 16, the 17-hand Crown ...
|
|
Get your daily dose of nature with this 49-minute video of wild horses travelling to a water hole in Sand Wash Basin, a BLM managed area in Colorado. The small herd drinks, grazes and swish's flies in the semi-arid desert environm ...
|
|
Halloween is just around the corner and it's time to consider costumes for you and your four-legged friends. A recent viral trend is dressing your pet as a ghost. Some sheets and paint are the basis of this costume, and you can se ...
|
|
Good riders do what they can to make their horse’s job easier. Especially when jumping, your position can help or hinder your horse as it adjusts its strides and balance between and over obstacles. Here’s a video with good suggest ...
|
|
|