Respect – Respect is earned not demanded!

Although sometimes, when working with “damaged goods” authority has to be asserted, even at times, quite firmly. Authority and respect are not quite the same things, establishing authority, fairly, when needed, opens the door for respect –  authority is asserted, respect is given, they are not synonymous.

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As training becomes a more serious affair, so increases the need for tact; tact that not only inspires respect and willing compliance from the horse yet also builds his confidence in both himself and his trainer. Equestrian tact is possibly the most elusive of the trainer’s skills and the most difficult to describe or teach.

The individual horse’s personality clearly has great bearing on his training, yet there are generally three main categories or raw material which affect one’s approach – one,  unspoilt horses and two with a less than ideal past.

We are presented with variations or degree of either:

·       A blank page as in the unspoilt youngster or previously well trained animal.

·       The fearful horse who has experienced trauma or abusive treatment – often coupled with an inherently sensitive disposition.

·       Or the non-receptive, dominant, disrespectful, bull-headed, rebellious or aggressive animal.

One asserts authority.

In the tactful assertion of authority and by proving ourselves reliable and consistent - we gain respect. This is how the equine intellect is wired. If we try to beg for friendship, to ingratiate ourselves into the horse’s confidence – he clearly recognises we are offering him the dominant role, giving him all the choices. This he will seize – and gladly! This comes with great difficulty to many people who so desperately 'want to be loved' by their equine companions and in so behaving, end up bullied or terrorised by them. In fact actually teaching them, very effectively, to be agressive bullies.

Above all, in our dealings with horses we must exude confidence in our manner at all times, for it is when we let this slip, that things go wrong. Although we must be carefully considerate in what we ask of the horse, it must be approached with the air of: “Now we are going to,,,,,” and there must be no doubt about it whatsoever!

The art comes in, in knowing just what is attainable under the circumstances and not attempting what the horse, at the time, is not ready for – this only comes with knowledge and experience. One’s surroundings have great bearing on this too – much more can be achieved in a quiet stable or enclosed area than out in the middle of a busy yard or field where evasion, distractions or opportunity to escape will be uppermost in the horse’s mind. It is in calmly and quietly displaying this confidence in ourselves as being in total control, coupled with intelligent use of facilities that will usually be sufficient to make it a reality. It is also to be remembered that with consistent repetition, any behaviour very rapidly becomes habitual in the horse – good or bad. 

Horses, particularly younger ones, love to play. Horse-play, as we have become accustomed to using the term, always ends up far to rough for us humans. It is a non-aggressive means, within the herd, of testing, creating and maintaining relative status and relationships – and thus is NOT something we can afford to be drawn into. This goes particularly for such things as the nipping game, which we can so easily and unwittingly be drawn into – sneaky nip met with rebuke and slap back – harder nip and avoidance of slap – great fun, and will soon escalate! This is exactly how two horses play to establish dominance, and how a horse is, in effect, trained to bite.

One of the first things we must establish is respect for our space at all times. This is done through always insisting it is the horse that moves out of our way when directed – barging or pushing us can simply not be an option – the horse must always give way to us. This must be achieved through quiet, calm dominance since we also must foster the understanding that whilst under our hand, he is not to move away until given leave to. It can take time to establish good ground manners, yet they are essential to all our dealings with horses, neglect of them in the early stages will pave the way for all sorts of problems later.

With the last of the three categories listed above the situation is infinitely more complex and can be extremely dangerous for anyone lacking a great deal of knowledge and not thoroughly experienced with handling such horses. Such damaged animals, unfortunately, have so often learnt that for the sake of self preservation or a lack of discipline: “might is right,” and they have discovered that they indeed possess the might – in great measure. Since the remedial training of such animals is such a specialist affair, I refrain from elaborating here since what I might say could be open to misinterpretation and result in the further abuse these sad animals whose training can, on occasion, require somewhat extreme measures  which must yet be applied with great compassion, restraint and understanding in their execution.

Making rules, insisting on good manners, pursuing perfection and showing that any form of subordination is simply not acceptable constitute the route to asserting authority. They must however be carefully balanced with pleasurable, positive and encouraging training if the horse is to look forward to human company and shared activity.

The provision of overall physical comfort, contentment, a full belly, a feeling of safety and overall wellbeing along with a clearly defined code of conduct are the essential qualities for a herd leader,,,,

 a being truly worthy of respect.