Lessons from the Herd:
Applicable Language Skills
By Christa Miremadi
Bojangles was a stunning buckskin gelding. He’d been bred, born and raised to be a Western Performance Horse. He was both athletic and attractive, a perfect combination for succeeding as a competitive horse (which he did).
This is another performance horse I was working with who was being asked to do something outside of her "programming." This is the kind of response that is typical when first trying to interrupt the patterning and when inspiring new thought pathways and stimulating conversational interactions with a highly "programmed" performance horse.
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That’s where I came into their story. I was initially hired to help chip ike so many performance horses, he was started young, trained through repetition, patterning and drilling and ridden in such a way the rust off Bojangles after a winter of standing around the feeder but as to produce submission and predictability. Unwanted behaviours as we chatted about goals, challenges and expectations, it became clear were met with discomfort and consequence while desired responses that they were in need of more than just a leg-up. It didn’t take long for me to crack through the patterned responses and trigger some honest were met with release, creating a reliable performance horse. Over time, Bojangles learned to become more of a flesh and blood feedback from Bojangles and, just like in so many of these cases, when robot than a partner and after years of ‘performance’ it became clear that the routine that he had become so reliant on was disrupted, he came to his physical body wouldn’t be able to keep up with this level of training life, in all directions! It was fascinating to watch his eyes, body language and posture forever. His owner, Carla, decided they needed a change. She began looking for an alternative discipline, another way of being with her horse. as he’d come in and out of programmed responses, and to see the simultaneous looks of both relief and anxiety as he realized he didn’t She wanted him to last a long time and to enjoy his experiences and know what he was supposed to do next. At first he became she wanted to find something they could enjoy together. anxious and flighty, running around the round pen with She searched a long time for something that felt no thought of me as a possible source of help. It wasn’t right, before finally discovering the art of the bridled It’s not easy to too long though (after working with him the way I have stock horse and the incredible partnership that could “un-program” with so many others), before he began to look to and be developed through the old Californio Bridle Horse a horse once for me, seeking guidance, suggestions and feedback. system. This was just what she was looking for. They At least from the ground. began to attend clinics and changed their old ways but they’ve been THIS is what I need from any horse that I can consider Carla quickly realized how difficult it would be. You see, “programmed.” a partner. If I’m going to expect situationally versatile it was next to impossible for her to know if Bojangles was cooperation from my horse I’m going to need to develop actually listening, feeling and responding to her or if he a language with which we can communicate. Without this, was just repeating programmed behaviours. Without a point without an open line of communication, a back and forth, a checking of reference, Carla wasn’t even aware that there was a difference. In fact, it wasn’t until they began leaving the arena to practice their new in and a way to give and receive feedback, how can a human or a horse feel safe with one another when faced with an unpredictable experience? skills out in the pasture that she became aware of this phenomenon. Unless you can predict and reproduce the outcome of a situation You see, up until now, it was easy for Bojangles to get the answers right, they were all pre-programmed into his automatic responses. But 100% it is impossible to use a “programming” style of training to develop outside the arena, when the herd began to move or there were hills a partnership. In fact, I’m quite confident in saying that you can’t use to navigate or the wind picked up or a calf did something he wasn’t “programming” to develop partnership. Period. In my opinion, any expecting, Bojangles not only had no pre-programmed answers for training style that uses “programming” to produce results is developing the unpredictable stimulus but he had no working understanding of “performance.” For some, this may actually be the desired result but not for me. checking in with his rider, no applicable “language skills” with which to communicate with her. Carla was equally as surprised and anxious to find I’m looking for a working partner. A horse I can rely on when things go herself aboard a horse who had suddenly come to life and didn’t seem to sideways. A horse who can recognize that if they’re lost, confused or worried, they can look for me, ask for guidance and trust my ability to be responsive to the aids that she was using to attempt to guide him. As you can imagine, this was not a comfortable experience for either keep us both safe and a horse who if I find myself in a sticky situation Carla or Bojangles so she began to search for an understanding of where with, I can ask for their help and rely on their ability to think their way the breakdown in their communication was happening and how to through things, wait for me and use their problem solving skills to help us both. rebuild their relationship through developing communication and feel.
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10 • JULY 2021
SADDLEUP.CA
