A large proportion of my clients contact me because they’re having behavioural problems under saddle. More often than not the problem people think they have is just a symptom of a horse that is struggling and the earlier signs have been missed or seen as irrelevant. I always send out a booking form that includes questions about how the horse is to tack up and mount, and every time there is something of note.
Maybe its “he goes to the back of the box when I come in with his tack” or “I can only get the bridle on if I leave his head collar on underneath otherwise he throws his head too high” or “he swings his quarters out at the mounting block unless he’s against the wall”. We have been taught that as long as we can get on the horse then he is fine to ride, I used to think this too and think things like this were just issues to be trained out of the horse. We talk about partnership but only when its convenient to us, when the horse is saying no the thought of not riding doesn’t even enter our heads. All of these scenarios are pretty clear nos.
These days I see all of these issues as loud communication that the horse is not okay with being ridden. If the horse isn’t okay with being tacked up then we don’t tack up the horse that day, if the horse isn’t okay with being mounted then we don’t ride the horse that day. I am not saying we simply stop and never ride the horse again, but I am saying we don’t just ignore this behaviour because we can get away with it and its inconvenient for us not to ride. We need to find out why the horse is saying no and figure out how we can make them feel better about the situation. There are usually elements of both discomfort/pain within the body and negative associations with being ridden to address.
If we ignore these behaviours or try to train them out of the horse by hassling them until they comply, backing horses up, chasing them with flags, driving them in circles until they stand still etc. We are just shutting down their only line of communication and letting them know we will not listen. That is no partnership.
If you’re reading this thinking pfft my horse is fine he’s just trying to get out of work, maybe think about why he finds working with you so unpleasant. Horses are very amicable creatures, if he’s saying no he has good reason to.
There is so much talk around listening to your horse, but its not listening if you hear his no and then carry on anyway. As always it comes back around to “just because we can doesn’t mean we should”. 🐴
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