WHAT HORSES NEED

To bring out the best in a horse, we have to make sure their primary needs are met – mentally, emotionally, and physically.

Obviously, they need water, shelter, proper feeding, and exercise; but what of their mental and emotional needs? This is where the biggest hurdles to ensure a horse’s “happiness” exist. Until you know what is important to them, it is almost impossible to provide for their mental and emotional wellbeing

Horses need safety, comfort, and play, pretty much in that order and, it is our responsibility to provide that for them

Safety

Being flight animals, horses tend to avoid traps such as canyons, forests, mud, and corners, anything that compromises their ability to run to safety

Horses are plains animals that live in herds of about three to twenty Their survival is based on synchronizing with the herd, water, food, reproduction, not to mention the perception of danger Lightning-fast reactions and the ability to outrun a predator is what keeps them alive at the moment and even though many horses living in domestication are not in danger of being attacked by wolves and lions, they are still wired that way Horses react to us the same way as those predators, even if we are vegan! It’s not so much about what we eat, as to how we approach them. Our conscious or unconscious tendency to trap and control triggers the horse’s innate fear of being attacked, trapped, and eaten

A major part of your success with horses depends on the way you approach a horse – whether he’s loose or tied, and in your everyday handling, riding, and training It involves a more heightened awareness of your personal energy and intent

Match The Energy

Relationships are tricky with horses, partly because they are a different species, but also because we don’t recognize their individual characteristics concerning energy and confidence As with people, the more alike you are the easier it is to gain rapport and quickly form and maintain positive relationships. The more different you are, the more likely you are to disturb each other

The key to success here, is learning how to match your horse's energy - mentally, emotionally and physically

Physical Energy: This is the easiest one to match Watch how quickly or slowly your horse moves and adjust your movements to match that

Mental Energy: This is not so easy because you have to be able to read how quickly a horse is thinking, no matter how fast or slow it is moving You can detect how quickly a horse thinks in two ways – its curiosity and speed as a learner and how it reacts to stimuli, from resistance or fear (spooking)

Emotional Energy: These tend to present as more negative - tension, fear, frustration, and aggression An emotional horse is one that feels threatened in some way and therefore not able to think, let alone learn or perform When emotional, the horse is at risk of it exploding, rearing, bolting, bucking, kicking, striking, biting, or attacking, is very high To stay safe and have a productive training relationship you need to learn to detect the subtle signs and use the appropriate techniques to quell the emotion This can involve everything from giving the horse something simple to focus on (Touch This – with nose or feet) or standing still and doing nothing (Parking Spot) Obviously, you do not need to match the emotional energy!