Dear friends. What are your "rules" for your horse when you are riding out. Maybe: Never eat grass / eat grass only when I allow it. 100% attention to me, at least one ear listening to me / looking around is ok, attention to me only if too much distraction and I ask for it. Standing still for a moment is allowed / the horse must always move on...
...and so on.
Rudi
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Horse Behavior and Training
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Good question, Rudi! I can see a great discussion starting on this topic.
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I guess my ground rule is that I keep a 100% attention to things around me (meaning, for example, I don't use my phone for anything except emergencies) and demand as much attention from the horse as the situation demands.
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If you want a more elaborate answer this is what's works for me on my two horses:
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No eating while riding - but it's next to impossible to stop them from snacking on boughs that practically hang in front of their muzzles. LOL
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Looking at things is OK - I've found that both my horses are more relaxed when they get a chance to familiarize themselves - but I prefer them to move on and ignore. Usually they do too, the more things they have gathered experience and confidence from.
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I prefer it when "walk!" means walk on no matter what, but standing still for a moment to look at something in the distance is OK. I'm only happy to be alerted if we're close to a moose or wild boar so I can make a detour if necessary. (Never turn back home, though! That will inspire napping/bolting, and teach the horse it's a danger to run away from.)
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With the "ole gal" I only demand her full attention when it is needed. With Mr. Smartypants it's more the opposite; me having 100% attention to him. ;)
He does need to learn and build his confidence, but since he is young I want him to be aware of me at all times so I can reach him quickly if necessary so we both remain safe.
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When we meet traffic - no big roads here, but we're in a rural area so we meet our share of tractors with or without assorted farm implements like empty hay wagons (do you know how much they rattle and clang??), trucks hauling logs, gravel or manure, as well as buses - I prefer moving forward at a calm walk and keep the drama to a minimum. (And hoping the drivers are sensible people...)
If it's a tight fit, we might be forced to step aside and stop, but I don't like it since the horse might start fidgeting and end up on the road anyway.
I echo all Kicki's - heres a couple of others.
1. Stop means stop NOW, not in one more step,NOW, do not go again until I say, at road junctions for example. I once saw a beautiful set up where horse and rider stopped dead at the junction and the horse was looking left and right in time with its owner!! completely calm and relaxed - lovely to see.
2. This is for the riders: if the horse is getting upset, napping, fearful, unwilling to proceed GET OFF and lead him through the scary bits. There is no shame and it does not mean the horse has "won" (this is a common statement, it means he needs support to deal with his fears and to be show confident leadership from his rider. Obviously its a judgement call, if its a minor discomfort then pushing him on may be acceptable, lifting both front feet off the floor/wanting to run is not! :-)
3. Hi-vis equipment for horse and rider - no debate
4. Head protection for rider - no debate
5. Be nice to the horses around you if in a string/group
Im sure there are many others :-)
Hi Rudi,
I started endurance riding and it seems beneficial that the horses are allowed to pick some grass while on track to keep their gut sounds ok. This means for my horse and me that he will be allowed to eat if I give him the green light but not while we are trying to cover some ground (otherwise I personally think it becomes a bad habit, especially when some horses pull their had down and rip the reains out of your hands in an unexpected moment only to try to snatch some grass).
I agree with Kicki, if they want to look at things to familiarise themselves, it only adds to their experience and desensitizes them for the future.
As she already said, the main thing is that you stay alert and aware of your surrounding and be one step ahead to pick up on things which might be frightful for your horse before your horse notices them :)
Once you build up a trust relationship with your horse, no obstacles should become too big to overcome, sometimes it only takes time and a lot of patience -
Hi Rudi,
I started endurance riding and it seems beneficial that the horses are allowed to pick some grass while on track to keep their gut sounds ok. This means for my horse and me that he will be allowed to eat if I give him the green light but not while we are trying to cover some ground (otherwise I personally think it becomes a bad habit, especially when some horses pull their had down and rip the reains out of your hands in an unexpected moment only to try to snatch some grass).
I agree with Kicki, if they want to look at things to familiarise themselves, it only adds to their experience and desensitizes them for the future.
As she already said, the main thing is that you stay alert and aware of your surrounding and be one step ahead to pick up on things which might be frightful for your horse before your horse notices them :)
Once you build up a trust relationship with your horse, no obstacles should become too big to overcome, sometimes it only takes time and a lot of patience -
Thank you for your replies. You all behave depending on the situation (and the horse), as I also prefer to do so. If you leave the horse alone it will get experience in the intrinsic way. On the other hand we must prevent own decisions of the horse in critical situations. Vicci, I found your comment very interesting about getting off. It is exactly my experience. The only "rule" I am adding is: the horse has to be perfectly still in a position I have chosen, then I get off.
A little summary:
100 % attention of the rider
Stop means stop
No change of the direction decided by the horse
Intrinsic / extrinsic learning depending on the situation
Rudi
I echo pretty much what everyone has said. I have always had my horses stand for the traffic directly around our place though. We live near a quarry, so get a lot of fast moving, heavy vehicles, lots of rattle and clanging trucks that wont stop for anything. I'd rather handle an outburst from a standstill lol!
I only have fire trails (essentially 4 wheel/RV dirt tracks through the Aussie bush) to ride out on here and dirt bikes use them too. I have to say the moment I hear a dirt bike, I get off and we wait till they pass! They freak me out!!
After our discussion I "openened the frame" of what is allowed to try what happened. To allow the horse to stand still did not work well, it was easier to correct it before complete stopping. But I allowed more looking around. That worked pretty well, the horse remained very calm.
Rudi
It depends a lot on the horse's personality too I've found. I had a lovely old TB mare who wasn't bothered by traffic at all and would just keep ambling along. Not so for my Anglo Arab. She was way more flighty and therefore I felt we were safest stopping before the traffic came up on us. I would face her to the direction that the truck was coming and let her see it before it came flying by.
I've worked out that working with horses is like working with kids, you've got to be flexible! :)