Develop your bond
Discover how horse agility will help build a better partnership with your horse
THE PAST 12 MONTHS have seen enormous changes for all of us. We have had to adapt to changes in routine, structure and socialisation, while maintaining that all important emotional and physical wellness in ways we never thought we would ever need to. With the cancellation of many equestrian events and local shows, it has left us to become that little more creative in how we spend time outdoors with our horses.
Horse agility is a great solution (see box, p40). I use a ‘triple L’ framework to break down the phases involved: line, lead and loose. Just as with the sport of agility with dogs, the ultimate goal of horse agility is to work around a series of obstacles within a course, with your horse at liberty — that means free from halter and line. With no riding involved, this sport is perfect for non-ridden equines and young horses as well.
Obstacle ideas
The benefits that horse agility has to offer for both horse and handler are easy to reap whether you choose to involve yourself competitively or not. The equipment you already have is the equipment you need: a well fitted halter, a lead rope and a few various obstacles of your choice.
Obstacles to use vary from gym balls and bunting, to traffic cones, poles and hula hoops, creating a variety of things for your horse to go over, through or under. The beauty of agility is that you can really get creative with the obstacles and exercises that you do, allowing you to truly think outside of the box. Over time, you will improve
your own fitness and handling, as well as your horse’s proprioceptive footwork and fitness. You’ll both have fun, be engaging in something new and working on how you communicate with each other.
Lines of communication
Understandably, you might shy away from the idea of allowing your horse the freedom to work through an obstacle course because of the carnage that may ensue. This is why a steady introduction is made through line and leading first. As horses are only one half of the partnership, development is also required from the second half of the party — you!
When we spend time on the ground with our horse we are in a constant repertoire of communication. Whether we are aware of it or not, we are always conversing, interacting and learning. When we partake in obstacle training, it builds not only our own hand-eye coordination skills, but also the relationship we have with our horse.
“When we spend time on the ground with our horse we are in a constant repertoire of communication; we are always conversing, interacting and learning”
It highlights both our strengths and areas for improvement. We must be open to learning about our horse’s true nature, paying more attention to the subtleties of horse communication and the way in which we ask things of them.
Spooking for survival
Equines are prey animals, and depend on their evolutionary response of fight or flight to keep them safe. A heightened level of reactivity to a perceived threat or danger is what riders refer to as spooking. This is when the horse responds to a noise or sudden movement by jumping, spinning or running a few strides before stopping. React first, think later.
People don’t like spooking. It’s unnerving; it causes a loss of balance in the saddle and, if we don’t understand and accept what’s happening and why, it leaves the horse vulnerable to restrictive methods being used for fear of the horse becoming ‘uncontrollable’. Yet for a horse, the one that spooks is the one that survives. How do we meet in the middle?
Densitising
Desensitisation is an approach used to cause a horse to be non-reactive to specific stimuli, with the aim of instilling a lesser or no response should the horse
be presented with something unfamiliar.
However, the concept of desensitising is interpreted by many as meaning that the horse should not react to anything around them, almost stand idling robotically. It is this incorrect interpretation that leads to its misuse, resulting in a horse becoming either hypersensitive and more fearful of an object, or flooded.
Flooding is where a horse has been repeatedly exposed to a stimulus with no means of escape until the object is seemingly accepted, or the horse ‘submits’. The horse does not accept the object, only enters a state of helplessness, essentially giving in as a survival strategy. If you see a horse that remains frozen with a glazed facial expression in response to something that should warrant acknowledgement, this could be the training the horse has experienced.
Systematic approach
Horses live and breathe. They need cadence in their step and a sparkle in their eyes. You can’t train the equine out of the horse, and why would you want to? We always want the horse to be aware of their surroundings and to show acknowledgement, which is why the approach you take to positively encourage a regulated response is important.
When working with any unfamiliar obstacle around a horse, they are naturally going to find it a little unnerving. To successfully build
“Obstacle training builds the relationship we have with our horse. It highlights both our strengths and areas for improvement”
confidence around an obstacle, it is important that the training is approached with a step-by-step programme using systematic desensitisation.
This refers to the gradual exposure to a stimuli by the handler in a controlled environment at the horse’s pace. By working below the threshold that causes a fear response, the horse’s curiosity will take over, and he will begin to make positive associations and develop renewed trust in the handler.
This is where horse agility plays a big role in finding a way for horse and owner to work together. Whether your horse needs a little help to grow in confidence, or you wish to explore new and exciting challenges, you can work through the exercises at a pace that suits both of you.