Setting horses up to fail

I remember taking a pony to a gridwork lesson when I was a teenager, the pony came into the arena eyes on stalks and very anxious. I was told to trot him down a line of poles that was going to be built into the grid. He tentatively wobbled through with absolutely no rhythm while spooking at everything. I was told to use more leg. We came round once more and he did the same, then they immediately put a jump up at the end.

I remember my shy, anxious self expressing my concern that the pony wasn’t settled enough to do that yet and could we just do the poles a few more times. I was told no and that I just needed to kick on and make him go. The pony slammed the breaks on a few feet before the first pole and became more and more stressed while I was pressured into “making him go” while I kept asking if they could just put the poles back on the floor so I could walk him through. Eventually I got off and the instructor got on and smacked the pony until he went over.

I was left feeling embarrassed, ashamed and not good enough while also feeling really uncomfortable with how the pony was treated. I remember feeling so conflicted as it didn’t feel right in my gut but I was being told I was the problem by these people everyone told me knew best.

If I had just been allowed to walk/trot the pony down the poles as many times as necessary until he was comfortable and then built up to jumping, we’d both have had a confidence building and positive experience. I see horses (and people) set up to fail like this all the time and we are left feeling like we’re the problem.

You do not need to be brave or harsh to train horses, if you need to be brave or harsh then that training is not going to be a positive experience for the horse.

If your horse is doesn’t like hacking alone, instead of kicking and fighting while he tries to spin and rear, you could build up from short in hand walks to build confidence and be prepared to get off and lead when he needs you to.

If your horse doesn’t like one corner of the arena, instead of trying to force him into it while he resists, you could allow him to go as close as he is comfortable and let him slowly build confidence without making a big deal out of it.

If your horse doesn’t like the hose pipe, instead of keeping the water on him while he tries to get away and only stopping when he stops, we can use positive reinforcement and small, incremental steps to get him used to it without sending him into a panic.

The best training means you don’t have to “get into it” with your horse at all. Training should never feel like a battle if we want to have horses who feel safe around us. 🐴