Preparation and Confidence Building in Horses

Working on Understanding Foundational Skills Always Reaps Rewards

There's a wonderful old saying 'Give the horse the answer before you ask the question'. I am in total agreement with this. A confident human is one who feels solid in the world; they have a good idea of where they are and what’s coming up, within a flexible framework. The same goes for a horse, in order to feel confident they need to understand and accept what is currently happening and be fully prepared for upcoming events.

Sometimes when I’m out working with horses and their humans, I witness situations where the horse has not been prepared for what their person is asking for. The horse can become frightened or resistant and develop a negative headspace about the task as a result. This can all be avoided by preparing the horse, both on the micro and the macro scale.

For example, on the micro scale, if we are riding and we ask our horse to turn and they are slow to respond, or they do a poor turn. Our options are to get stronger with the rein aid, or prepare the horse for what is coming. We could start preparing the horse 4 or 5 metres before the turn by applying half halts with the inside rein (small squeezes), and turn our head and body slightly in the new direction of travel. This notifies the horse that something is coming, in this case a turn. The horse can then prepare mentally and physically for what's coming. They can start changing their balance slightly so that when we give the actual turning aids, we get a smooth confident turn with minimal rein aids.

The same goes for upward and downward transitions, letting our horse know what’s coming next helps them to prepare their minds and bodies plus results in a much better connection between horse and rider. And the best thing is that if we ride this way, preparing our horse before asking anything from them, our aids can be reduced significantly. This is the goal of all good horse riders, to use as little pressure as possible while getting the biggest response possible from the horse. Less is more. The less aids we apply, the more our horse will give us. As we become an almost invisible rider, the smallest movement by us becomes a cue for our horse.

Macro situations also require preparation. Recently someone told me a story of a girl who took out a horse that hadn’t been ridden for many months away from his herd, through scrubby lantana and into an open paddock where she cantered him. He promptly bolted resulting in her coming off. She sold the horse because he was too ‘difficult’. The horse could have been better prepared for this experience. This is an extreme case but unfortunately not that uncommon. Here are some ideas on how this horse could have been better prepared.

A horse is good at what a horse is doing, so if a horse is eating grass that’s what they’re good at. If the horse has been spelling, preparing them for riding is necessary for the horses’ confidence and for rider safety. Doing groundwork exercises rebuilds the connection between horse and human. Then the first few rides should be at home and in a small enclosed area before going into a large area. Then the horse needs to feel confident with the human to leave the herd and if ‘herd-bound’ needs to be slowly introduced to the idea of going out into the world alone. Gradually stretching how far we leave the herd prepares the horse for being away from the herd and builds confidence in us too. It’s also a good idea to go slow the first few rides, gradually introducing the faster gaits when your horse is mentally and physically prepared.

Preparation and confidence building in horses means taking the time to prepare our horse for what we are going to ask, and actually results in us getting there faster. Trying to rush things with horses never works. Preparing our horse for everything we results in a happy, self-confident and willing partner. It also increases safety and pleasure for us, as our relationship with our horse is built on solid ground.

Suzy Maloney B.Eq.Sc.

Happy Horses Bitless

Considerate Horsemanship

Lismore, NSW, Australia

Ph: 0401 249 263

Email: suzy@happyhorsesbitless.com

Web: www.happyhorsesbitless.com

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