SEPTEMBER/ OCTOBER 2021 THE RIDER /27 ^Between The Ears^


here. You ride up to it, your horse stops and refuses to step into it but may also at- tempt to evade it entirely. If you resort to punishment, it results in the horse now thinking that every time there is a water box, he will be punished. Anxiety builds and confidence wanes. If you are afraid of snakes and I whip you to get you to touch one, what impact does that have on our relationship and how much worse is your anxiety now ,when I tell you to touch a snake? You need to change


By Ellie Ross One of the most com-


mon challenges with horses is when the horse refuses to do an obstacle. The most common response to the horse’s objection is the


whipped etc. so he decides its better to go forward. This method leads to what is re- ferred to as ‘learned help- lessness’, which is the lowest state of mind your horse could be in. Sadly, this


how your horse perceives the water box. Rather than build fear as an association with it and a horse that sim- ply does it out of an aver- sion of punishment, why not create an association where the horse looks forward to the water box? In order to build trust, you must not force your horse and the most essential consideration given is to allow your horse the choice to leave. If you don’t allow your horse this choice, you could be faced with a horse that rears and flips over, runs you over or suffers mental anguish. Every horse is different but regardless, why use a method of force that only in- creases anxiety and de- creases trust in you? Here is a step by step


rider’s attempt to force the horse to it by way of pulling, spurring, whipping etc. be it in hand or in the saddle. Let’s examine this process and consider the equine thought process to deter- mine what success is. Your horse may simply


choose to go forward out of an aversion of punishment. Simply put, your horse does not want to be spurred,


is the most common ap- proach and viewed as ‘ef- fective’. At Circle 8 Ranch,


where there is a variety of obstacles to train on, we see the same tactics being used when folks trailer in. What does your horse


associate with that obstacle that he is being forced to- wards? We shall use the water box as the example


guide to successfully edu- cate your horse to willingly and confidently go through obstacles such as a water box. You can do this ridden or in hand. I prefer to use a barrel between me and my horse as an added safety precaution, work in hand to start and I highly recom- mend you work with a qual- ified trainer. 1. Find the threshold point. Meaning, what proximity to the water box can you get before the objection begins. 2. Quietly take your horse to just before the threshold point and pause. Allow your horse to the time to look at it vs. Look for an escape. This in itself may be enough for your horse to choose to do the water box. 3. When you see your horse do any of the following like take a deep breath, lick, chew etc. then he is men- tally ready so it is time to quietly ask him to move for- ward. I do use a driving length whip as an extension of my arm. I ask my horse to move forward, if no re-


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10 Steps to Your Horse saying YES to water, obstacles, bridges and more


sponse, I tell my horse with the whip by waving it and if no response then I tap him with it. At no time do I lash out with the whip. Small steps forward is success here so allow the rest, wait for the physical signs above and repeat. Ask incremen- tally , baby steps… Person- ally I’d be using food rewards and focus more on shaping behaviour but we will leave that discussion to


another time. You can achieve this without food re- wards. 4. If/when your horse de- cides to leave, allow your horse to leave without any resistance from you. This is critical. 5. Life gets hard now. This doesn’t mean you get mad, it just means its time for hard work everywhere else except at the water box! Small circles, go canter


some circles etc but the work must be physically de- manding. The ONLY place your horse gets to break from that work is at the water box. Pause, wait for the physical cues that let you know your horse is mentally ready to move for- ward, and repeat. Each time allowing your horse the choice to leave. ***Always remember to allow your horse the time to


look at it, think about it and give the choice to leave. 6. Your horse is beginning to change the way he thinks about the water box. He starts to view it as a place of peace vs. Punishment. Now you are on the road to suc- cess. 7. Once your horse has made it his choice to cross the water box, then you can repeat it and make it reward- ing for him. Don’t immedi- ately turn him around and ask him to go back in. Just turn him to the water box and rest for a few minutes. 8. Ask him to do the obsta- cle again, repeat steps as needed. Trust will increase while his confidence grows as well. 9. Be sure to repeat entry from all possible sides. 10. When riding, try to in- corporate the stop and rest times on the obstacles your horse resisted the most. Be sure to also incorporate rest periods that equate to riding time. Ride 5 mins, rest 5 minutes. You will soon have a


horse trying to take you there on his own!


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