Dear Jessica:
As with your other readers, I love HORSE SENSE. I got your addresss from another Pony Club parent, and now pass on all your answers to my PC daughter, who hopes to become a C-3 in the near future.
My horse, a 10-yr-old Anglo-Arab, never seems to have learned the "proper" relationship between horse and person. He didn't go under saddle until he was 6, and was leased to several riders before I bought him about a year ago. Since I am a beginning (and old!) rider, I started working him slowly, but now I wonder if I should have gone even more slowly, and spent more time on the ground with him. If so, the damage is done (I try to be gentle and steady with him, but firm at the same time). After a couple of months, he learned to trust me, and will come to the front of the stall when I arrive at the barn, but he still won't come to me in the pasture, and sometimes he still invades my space. Is it too late to go back and do some natural horsemanship stuff with him? Will he ever learn to come to me in the pasture?) I'm hoping that since it wasn't too late for this old broad to learn to ride, maybe it won't be too late for her steed to learn to trust and like her!
Thanks for your contribution to the horse world!
Hi Susan! Your horse is only ten -- that's not very old. I'd give you the same answer if he were five or fifteen or twenty-five: if he has a pulse, he can learn. If he has a pulse, it's not too late. ;-)
If you skipped over the basics, go back and begin again from the ground up.
It's something that many, many people need to do; you're one of the rare ones who notice and acknowledge the need. ;-)
The damage is NOT done -- not permanently. Begin again, and treat him as if he were a new horse that had just been brought in and dropped off at your barn. If it helps, remind yourself to treat him as if he were a young stallion -- you wouldn't hurry things or skip ANY steps with a young stallion, because you'd be thinking about safety and the importance of a complete education.
Riders who keep the same horses for many years often find themselves needing to start over -- sometimes many times with the same horse! The more you learn and the more you know, the more aware you will be of the gaps in your horse's education and your own. As you learn more, and wish that you'd taught your horse this or that or the other thing, go back, begin again, and TEACH the horse. Each time you start over, everything will go a little more easily and a little more smoothly and a little more quickly. And each time, you'll be building a better relationship with the horse.
You know that this horse has had several years of inconsistent handling, and you know that you, as a beginner, were probably just another inconsistent human in the horse's life. Now that you know more, you're in a perfect position to take the horse back to the very beginning, and teach him every single thing you want him to know. After all, you're actually teaching him every time you handle him anyway -- it's just that now you'll be aware of that, because you'll be doing the teaching deliberately. This is the time to make your horse into the horse you want. Does he put his head down so that you can halter him easily? If not, begin with that. Does he lead on a slack rope, staying at your shoulder whether you speed up, slow down, turn right, turn left, or stop? If not, teach him. Does he stand, go forward, stop, and back on voice cue? Does he step sideways in his box when you tap him gently on the side and say "over"? Does he tie and cross-tie easily? Does he pick up his feet for you to clean? Does he lower his head for the bridle and open his mouth for the bit? Does he stand quietly for mounting and wait for you to signal him to move off? If not, teach him. These are very basic skills that every horse should know.
As for how to do it: a little at a time. Be clear, be consistent, be kind.
Ask for a very little at a time, give the horse a chance to respond, praise him for EFFORT, even if the effort is almost imperceptible. Don't make the sessions too long, but make them frequent, and keep them pleasant. Your horse will learn to trust you and respect you and view you as a source of friendly entertainment, and after a few months of this, getting him to come to you in pasture will no longer be an issue, because he'll probably appear as soon as he sees you.
If you spend a month or two doing sessions on the ground before you ride and whenever you aren't riding, and if you're consistent in your verbal cues and praise, you'll see good carryover to his under-saddle work. Just don't be afraid to take your time. Hurrying won't get you where you want to go, but going slowly WILL get you there.
Jessica
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