DAVID O'CONNOR ON LEADERSHIP
Good communication and leadership will help you train your horse to overcome his fears, no matter their origin.
Whether a horse’s fear involves riding or stable management or anything else, think “small” when you’re helping him to overcome it.
When you’re working with horses, two decisions take priority. First, from the moment you begin interacting with a horse, you must use your line of direction. Second, you must decide how you get there. You can’t just wander aimlessly; you need a plan. That’s true whether you’re thinking about jumping a course or how you will train the horse.
As you go on this journey, be aware that you take on a daunting responsibility as a rider: You are the custodian of the horse’s trust, honesty, integrity and dignity. You must respect the horse and make sure he has everything he needs. History has too many examples of horses’ trust and dignity
being taken away by force. Thankfully, we live in a more enlightened age, where people are learning that you don’t force horses to do anything. Instead, you communicate what you want. And, because horses are such genuine souls, they pretty much want to do it for you.
My wife, Karen, and I enjoy helping others learn how to understand and appreciate their horses the way we do ours. When we teach camps, people are with their horses seven hours a day. Being with them so much, either sitting in the saddle or holding them at the end of the line, gives them opportunities to gain insights into the character of animals they may have owned for years.
Most people don’t spend enough time with their horses to understand them properly. Take a lesson from the Native Americans who just sit quietly in the pasture and study their horses. Try doing the same thing; watch how your horse behaves. You’ll learn about his personality and how he thinks. You’ll see his social interactions with other horses and the way he reacts to a new stimulus. All this information will be very helpful as you train him.
Studying your horse while he is in the pasture, away from your influence, will make you much more aware of his personality type. Try this experiment: If you have four horses in the field and put a bucket of feed out there with them, typically you’ll find that one horse goes right to it, two of the others run around complaining but not getting anything done, and one stands off in a corner, waiting for everyone else to be finished.