Good behavior
Sometimes what seems like resistance is actually a horse’s attempt to work with you. Watch for these 6 easy-to-misinterpret signs that your horse is thinking like a partner.
Sometimes what seems like resistance is actually a horse’s attempt to work with you. Watch for these 6 easy-tomisinterpret signs that your horse is thinking like a partner.
Horses want to be partners, not obedient servants.
Partners think for themselves. This means they do not always do exactly what you ask (or think you’re asking).
Or they sometimes do things you have not asked for.
This can be a sign that they are thinking like a partner, trying to communicate with you, keep you safe or show signs of trust and attachment .
These actions can be misconstrued as disobedience. They might even
be punished. It is like being with someone who ignores what we say, and negatively interprets everything we do. When we do this to our horses, we overlook important information, and become a source of anxiety instead of security for them. But you can avoid that by recognizing equine behaviors that indicate a horse is acting like a partner.
1. INITIATING COMMUNICATION WITH YOU
For many years I thought of equine behavior mainly in terms of a horse’s responses to what I wanted him to do. I overlooked the fact that horses do not just react to what we do. They also initiate communication with a goal in mind, a strategy to achieve that goal, and the ability to come up with a new strategy if the initial one fails.
In one study, a bucket of delectable goodies (apples, carrots, or oats) was placed beyond each horse’s reach. The horses experimented with different methods of getting the attention of a human standing nearby, and directing her attention to the bucket. When the human was facing them, horses tended to seek eye contact, then look at the bucket. When that didn’t work, horses
tried more creative strategies to get the person’s attention and direct it toward the goody-bucket. Some were subtle; others used whole body motions.
Sometimes my horses’ meanings are clear to me. Brandy gazes longingly at the grass on the other side of the gate. “Please open the gate.” Shiloh tips over the water tank. “Empty. Need a refill.” Sapphire once met me at the pasture gate and stuck her forehead right in front of my eyes so I could not miss the burdocks that completely snarled her forelock. “See this mess? Fix it!” Bronzz limped up to me and held his lame foreleg out to me. “It hurts.”
Other times I am really slow. Shiloh often lifted a hind leg while we were grooming her. Assuming this was a disrespectful gesture, I scolded her sternly. One day, I noticed that her ears were not pinned, and her leg was waving under her belly, not at me. When she put her foot down, I very cautiously reached under her belly and worked my way back. When I reached her udder, great gobs of crusty goop came off in my hand. Shiloh sighed with relief. This is a perfect example of misinterpreting Shiloh’s meaning because I was focused on her waving leg without noticing that the rest of her body language was not threatening. And because I was too busy assuming she was being disrespectful to notice that she was desperately asking for help!
So, why didn’t she find a more polite way to call attention to her plight? She had tried. She had danced around in her stall, lifting her leg and swinging her face at her flank. She’d rubbed her tailbone bald. To my embarrassment, I never connected those actions to her udder. When she lifted her leg, all but pointing at her udder, I had scolded her. Many horses give up trying to communicate with people. To Shiloh’s credit, not mine, she persevered until I finally caught on.
Now, if Shiloh needs to remind me to take care of her udder, she shifts so a hip is in front of me. This could look
like a threatening gesture to someone who does not know her, but I know she is just “showing” me the body part that needs attention. If I don’t “listen,” then she lifts her leg.
Horses have a concept of what we know, and this influences their communication. This is a sign of the social intelligence that makes for sophisticated communication in horse herds.
In another study, food was hidden in a bucket that only the horse’s caretaker could reach. Each horse saw the item being hidden, but in some instances the caretaker was not present when a second person hid the food, so presumably the caretaker did not know about it. When the caretaker apparently did not know about the hidden goody, horses worked harder to get her attention and direct it to the bucket.
This means horses understand that they might have information that we do not. This is especially relevant when horses spook or act suspicious of a situation. If we act like nothing’s there, as I was taught long ago, we suggest that we haven’t noticed a potential problem. In this case, a horse might escalate the behavior in an attempt to direct our attention to it. We have more credibility as a leader if we let the horse know we do notice the situation. I look ostentatiously at whatever the horse is worried about and announce with great authority, “Yup, I see that. It’s a whatever. No problem.” Assuming, of course, that I know for a fact there is no danger. When the horse is still not satisfied, further investigation might be needed.
Sapphire once gave a dramatic demonstration of pointing out a danger that proved to be real. She and my husband Jerry were in the lead on a lazy summer trail ride when she suddenly took a flying leap, whirled around, and stood snorting and glaring at the trail. Since Sapphire was typically the last horse to spook, we all searched until we found the cause: a groundhog hole nearly hidden in the weeds at the edge of the trail.
One way to interpret the meaning of a horse’s behavior is to notice what it accomplishes. As a result of Sapphire’s warning, which the other horses probably deciphered before we humans did, no one stepped in the hole.
How often is this sort of behavior misunderstood when the cause is not obvious to people? “Stupid horse, he spooked at nothing.” Yet it is nearly impossible to know that a horse has spooked at “nothing.” They hear and smell things we do not. Their vision is specially adapted so that, in addition to splendid peripheral vision, they are not deceived by color camouflage as we are.
2. TAKING TIME TO FIGURE OUT WHAT YOU WANT
When horses first encounter a new cue, or a rider who gives cues differently, they need to decipher what is wanted. This process might involve trial and error. Or it might start with a pause as the horse, apparently doing nothing, is considering the options.
The first time I asked Shiloh to side-pass under saddle, she was confused because the cues were different from when I was on the ground. She tried going forward then back, moving her haunches then her shoulders. I waited, gently holding the cue, until she tried moving shoulders and hips at the same time. Although ragged, it was the right idea, so I instantly praised her lavishly.
Experimenting is a compliment: It means our horses trust us not to punish them for honest mistakes. Shiloh would not experiment when she first came to us. It took her a long time to learn that she was safe making mistakes.
Unlike Shiloh, Brandy often does nothing at first when presented with an unfamiliar cue. Initially I found this disconcerting, because it felt like she was ignoring me. I was used to receiving an instant response, even if it was a wrong one, so even 10 seconds felt like a long time. Apparently Brandy actually thinks through her options. If I just wait, her first try is usually close to what I want. With practice and confidence, her responses get quicker.
3. ANTICIPATING WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO ASK
When I want to ride through a gate, I do not need to maneuver Bronzz into position to open it. He automatically lines himself up so my right hand is at the gate latch. I did not plan this; it evolved because we opened a gate on every ride, either to go into the arena or out of the paddock to the woods. I praised him when he first lined up on his own, and he generalized it to any gate we encounter.
Bronzz also learned the maneuvers