Feed: English Saddle Stand - AggScore: 14.0

English Saddle Stand

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Why Horses React The Way They Do Author: Robert Curtin [1] The horse as we know is a ‘flight' animal, and rarely a ‘fight' animal. Natural defence for the horse is to flee from danger. That is why your horse's first reaction is to stand off or shy. Fortunately for the horse – human relationship the horse is also a every curious animal and this curiosity is how we can gain their confidence and slowly desensitize them to the ‘flight' and gain their trust. Think about the foal who is at day one is stand offish and hides behind mum when you approach; this is the natural instinct, use mum for protection from anything unusual. Now for a foal almost anything new is unusual, and its reactions are purely instinctive. However in order to learn the foal begins to explore, first through stretching its legs and running, gaining strength. However, if you enter the paddock/stable and just sit minding your own business it is not long before the foal approaches and begins to poke its nose at you trying to sense any danger. If you move he foal initially senses danger and runs off. Curiosity brings it back and eventually you are able to touch and stroke the foal as it learns there is no danger from you. So from birth horses are able to learn and overcome their instinctive reaction to flight if given the environment and handling in an appropriate manner. Care needs to be taken not to over-desensitize the foal as this can only create training issues in the future. A horse with no fear is potentially dangerous not only to itself but also to the humans that need to handle it. Training in any aspects requires patience and a firm hand, as the horse looks t you to lead. Using the horse's natural instinct to follow a leader is the best and safest manner in which to train them. The cross country horse definitely needs to have confidence and trust in the rider in order to take blind jumps at pace. The western horse needs trust in the rider in order to perform at speed in reining, cutting and barrel racing. How is this trust earned? To answer this we need to look at how a herd operates and how horses learn in general. Mares discipline their foals and have an inherent hierarchy amongst themselves, we have all heard of the cranky mare that hunts others away. In order to gain the trust of our horse we need to become the lead mare of our own particular herd, and apply suitable discipline as required, set the standard of what is acceptable. If we lack confidence then that will relay to our horse who will in turn show uncertainty. We can do this through exercises that require the horse to move in certain patterns and formations; lunging, side passing on the ground, backing up, horses that respect their handlers tend to perform these requests with minimum encouragement. Further patterns can be seen in a number of natural horsemanship philosophies and training techniques. Learn more click http://everythingbutthehorse.net/training-your-horse/ [2] Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/equestrian-articles/why-horses-react-the-way-they-do-1989102.html [3] About the Author I have trained and bred Arabian horses for over twenty years and have developed my skills through the guidance and philosophies of some of the greatest 'natural horseman' of their day. I have been influenced by such greats as Monty Roberts, Tom Dorrance and Ray Hunt. I only endorse techniques in horse training that comply with the philosophy that 'violence is never the answer'. http://everythingbutthehorse.nethttp://horselibrary.blogspot.com/ [1] http://www.articlesbase.com/authors/'robert-curtin/397441 [2] http://everythingbutthehorse.net/training-your-horse/ [3] http://www.articlesbase.com/equestrian-articles/why-horses-react-the-way-they-do-1989102.html