Misconceptions - Signals in Join Up

Misconception - "My horse doesn't show all four signals no matter how much I send him away"

In my experience many horses will initially only show 1 or 2 of the signals, usually the 'ear locked on' and 'making the circles smaller'. A few will 'lick and chew' and some of these are barely noticeable, and very few will 'bounce their head'. While practicing your technique it is always a good idea to have an observer outside the pen, more often than not the observer will notice details you have missed and can advise accordingly, also they can point out if your timing is appropriate.

Although Monty Roberts can so easily demonstrate all four signals with a horse, please remember he has had years of practice and experience.

It is far more important to achieve a reasonable 'Join Up' with a relaxed horse than it is to constantly push for all four signals.

'Join up' is based on watching how horses communicate with each other on a daily basis, one of which is eyes on eyes and body square, meaning go away. When humans communicate with each other it is considered impolite not to face the other person and look them directly in the eye, unfortunately we carry this rule over to our horses. Over the years many horses will become deadened to our ways and then when we attempt to communicate to them in their own language we become frustrated that they don't seem to be listening or 'communicating' to us.

Please remember in all cases a horse acts and behaves just like a horse for a reason. Horses do not have a sense of humour as we do, contrary to the often heard comment "give him a good crack with the whip, he's taking the mickey out of you". They kick, buck and bite for a reason and it is our job to get to the cause of that reason, sometimes the answer is that we have inadvertantly taught our horse to react in that way. However, more often than not our horse is telling us that he is in pain or dicomfort.

Listen to your Horse

As a species we humans are so good at talking, but how often do we really listen to each other let alone our horses. We all know someone who has said "my partner never listens to me" or "so and so doesn't understand me".

You would not believe how many times I've heard the phrase "my horse ??????? for no reason at all". When ever I hear this I have to stop my self from laughing out loud or rolling my eyes, neither of which are good for business.

Horses are 're-actionary', they react to events around them, generally by running away (spooking), fighting us (kicking, biting etc) or in our eyes misbehaving (bucking, spinning etc), they don't process a thought with all it's variables and consequences as we humans can.

If a horse spooks it's because it's instincts have kicked in and gone into survival mode. If a horse fights (as described above) it is generally either in pain or discomfort and gone into survival mode. If a horse 'misbehaves' (as described above) it is again generally in pain or discomfort and gone into survival mode.

If a horse spooks he/she is saying to you in the only way they can "I'm not a hundred percent confident in your ability to see me through this situation".

If a horse fights you he/she is saying to you in the only way they can "that is uncomfortable or painful please stop it now". Be aware that horses often react to 'remembered' pain or discomfort. The cause of pain or discomfort might have been taken away but the horse has now learned to expect pain or discomfort in a similar situation.

If a horse misbehaves he/she is saying to you in the only way they can "now look, I've been telling you for weeks I'm not happy about ????? and you haven't listened, maybe you'll listen to me now".

I cringe whenever I see a horse tacked up and fitted with a flash or restrictive gadget because I know at some point in the future there is going to be an issue. If I ask the owner/rider why the flash I'm usually told their mouth is open, or tongue over the bit etc. More often than not I get a blank look when I ask why their horse is doing that. If a horse has his/her mouth open they are saying "I'm uncomfortable in some way", by fitting a flash or gadget of some sort all this does is take that line of communication away from the horse and he/she will need to find another way of expressing themselves, usually by napping. A better course of action would be to eliminate the cause rather than the symptom.

As horse owners we have taken on the responsibility for their welfare and well being, we should learn to listen when they speak to us and not wait for them to shout.

Misconceptions - Join up

Misconception - “Oh ‘Join Up’ - that’s that thing where you chase a horse around a round pen until it’s exhausted and gives up isn’t it?”

Within this post I am only talking about 'Join Up' as practiced and taught by Monty Roberts and Kelly Marks. I am well aware of the numerous derivative's i.e the Parelli 'catching game', Pony Boy and others, but do not feel inclined to comment on these at this point.

Anyone who knows what they are doing in a ‘Join Up’ will ask the horse to trot for about one quarter of a mile (approx 402 metres/15 laps) in a 50mtr round pen unrestricted. This is the horses natural ‘flight distance’, the point at which if they were in the wild they might pause and re-assess the threat.

Now lets take a look at a standard schooling arena 20 x 40mtrs, if we subtract say 15mtrs for cutting corners and keeping away from the fence, then to go around the arena once the horse travels 105mtrs.

So, in only 4 laps of the arena the horse has covered 420mtrs, I have yet to see a single rider do only 4 laps at a trot. Generally the horse is lunged for 10 mins “to get the beans out of him” and then ridden for half an hour covering walk, trot and canter. In that time the horse may have covered 20 laps = 2,100mtrs (approx 1.25 miles), in comparison to the 402mtrs (approx .25 of a mile) asked in a ‘Join Up’.

Having done the maths, it seems more likely that a horse which is being traditionally schooled is more likely to be “exhausted and give up” than a horse asked to do ‘Join Up’. I believe that from the horse’s point of view, the benefit of ‘Join Up’ as opposed to schooling is that (assuming the handler is experienced) they will understand what is being asked, because all we are asking them to do is behave like a horse!

Stuck in the dark ages

I once visited a yard to help someone with a horse who lacked manners, individually a lovely person and a fabulous horse, together a nightmare. As usual during the session I explained things from the horse’s point of view while showing the owner how to lead and progressing through various issues they were having.

At the end of the session I gratefully accepted the offer of a cup of tea and during our conversation I could see that the owner was gradually getting more and more bitter and angry. Thinking I had somehow inadvertently offended her, I apologised and made ready to leave. For the next 5 minutes I received an embarrassing string of compliments, including what a breath of fresh air my methods were and her amazement that within such a short space of time she felt capable of having a relationship with her horse rather than a fight etc etc.

It turned out that once our session with her horse had finished and the owner had had time to relax, she began to resent the wasted years and expense of hiring various highly qualified BHS instructors who taught her from the human point of view and never the horses. She had believed from the outset that such a large organisation would do the right thing for both parties, horse and human, so she had never thought to question anything. Basic things had never been explained to her such as to why she was taught to lead from the horses shoulder or mount on the near side and numerous other things.

In the days of knights in shining armour (the dark ages) it was unacceptable to be left handed so they all wore their swords on their left side ready to be drawn with their right hand. Having the sword on the left side of their body meant they could only mount from the horses near side. Time progressed and Knights became cavalry with the same fixed ideas. Military horses were kept in lines and the army likes its soldiers to look the same and behave in the same manner so everyone led and mounted from the near side, held their reins in the same way etc.

Owning a horse for pleasure only became popular in the Victorian era and it was cavalry officers who taught the public, knowing no alternatives they used the methods taught to them. To this day novices are still being taught using these methods. If the reason for this is a “if it aint broke don’t fix it” mentality and we all lived by that rule we would still believe that the earth was flat, that women can’t do physical work etc etc. During their time these were common beliefs and they worked fine but have since been proven to be far from accurate.

Believe me, it is harder to un-teach than it is to teach. The novices of today are going to be tomorrows instructors, competitors, happy hackers and parents. If we can teach them now to lead correctly from both sides and to mount from both sides, and to think things through from a horse’s point of view it would be a great start. They will have a much better relationship with their equine partner and the horses will certainly be a lot more comfortable.

Instinctive behaviour

I'm sure many of you will be able to relate to this. You are in the stable happily grooming your horse when he/she inadvertently steps on your foot. Instinctively you place your hands on their shoulder and attempt to push them off your now throbbing foot, only to find that your horse is now adding even more weight on to your dainty tootsies.
Believe it or not but there is a very good reason for this and no, it's not out of vindictiveness on your horses part I can assure you, your horse is merely acting on instinct by moving into the pressure of your pushing hands.
Horses have learnt to move 'into' pressure over the 55 million years they have roamed the earth in order to survive, and it is only through regular training that we can get them to respond to leg aids etc. This instinctive response to move 'into' the pressure came when a horse was attacked by a predator. If say a wolf grabbed a horse by the belly and the horse ran off it's belly would rip open and the horse would die. Horses soon learned that if they step 'into' the pressure of the bite the wolf would think "ooop's, I could get stepped on and end up with a broken leg and then I might die", the wolf would let go and the horse could then run away to live another day.
If ever you get a chance to handle a foal, place your hand on it's shoulder and you will see that the foal instinctively pushes back into your hand.
Now take a moment and think about your own instincts and how hard it is to counteract an instinctive response, and remember, we humans have only been around for approximately 60,000 years compared to the horses 55 million years.

Be aware also that pressure is not only physical it is also spacial. I have seen so many handlers taught to lead a horse with their hand on the lead rope clip and struggle because the horse is too forward going, why, because the fact that their arm is extended out to the horses head and the horse see this as pressure and so moves forward 'into' it. Horses lead so much better if the handler keeps his/her hand close to their own body rather than the horses.

Carrots and Horse Behaviour

Over the years I have advised many clients who feed their horse carrots to try an experiment and stop feeding carrots for a week to see if there was any change in their behaviour.

On average 9 out of 10 horse owners would report back that they had indeed noted a change in their horse. Sometimes it would be a small change and with others it would show a definite improvement in their behaviour. An experience from a few years back highlights the above.

An owner came to see me saying his horse would nap dangerously if they ever hacked a route they had done before; he couldn’t even hack out of the yard. He would have to transport the horse to a totally new destination in order to ride. I was fully booked for the next two weeks and made an arrangement for a visit sometime after. During our conversation I asked what he was feeding the horse and he mentioned carrots to which I suggested he cut out the carrots for a week. I made no other recommendation as I felt I would need to witness the horse’s behaviour. Four days later I received I phone call cancelling our appointment as he could now hack out of the yard.

So, if you have a problem horse or he/she shows a certain behaviour pattern, try cutting out the carrots. It’s free, does no harm and you never know - it could well make a difference to you and your horse.

Memory Ride 2009

A couple of months ago I received a phone call from Sam telling me of her plans to do a charity ride from Edinburgh in Scotland, to Swansea in Wales in aid of the Alzheimer’s Society. Sam gave me all the background information and then hit me with the big one . . . would I donate my time and experience to prepare her and her horse for a three week ride encountering who knows what problems on the way?
Sam’s enthusiasm drew me in and before I knew it I’d said yes. We made plans for me to visit and that was that, deal done. Over the next few days, I have to admit I was wondering what I was letting myself for. Well, the day arrived and I met Sam and her friend Laura who was going to accompany Sam on the ride with another horse. With my mind put at rest that it was only the one horse I would be working* with, we set off to make introductions to Naz the horse.
*(Point of note)
In future rather than saying ‘work’ with horses I will use the term ‘play’ with horses. I much prefer the word play; it immediately implies fun, freedom and an opportunity to learn. In contrast I feel the word ‘work’ implies tediousness, repetition and the feeling of it being a chore, and lets face it horses are far from any of those.
Naz, I had been told was not too happy about clippers, cows, and plastic bags. I decided we would play with the plastic bags and clippers and Sam could do some research with Naz as to whether it was the sight, sound, smell of cows or all three which worried him. I suggested she collect a cow pat and allow Naz to smell it and observe his reaction at a later date.
I started with some basic leading exercises as an opportunity for Naz and I to get to know each other and to form our relationship right from get go. Then it was onto the dreaded plastic bags, using that great Horse Whisperer Monty Roberts system of advance and retreat Naz’s behaviour quickly changed and he accepted a number of bags being rubbed all over him.
If a horse is known to be worried by clippers then it is unwise to start a training session using mains powered equipment. A rechargeable electric toothbrush is the best thing I’ve found so far to change a horse’s behaviour because It can be switched off instantly and dropped if need be, without too much expense.
Again using advance and retreat it wasn’t long before I could hold the switched on toothbrush against Naz’s body, he wasn’t best pleased but he was being very brave and accepting it. Naz had now accepted two scary items and rather than push his training too far we called it quits for the day. I left Sam with a list of continuation homework and a big smile on her face.
Updates on Sam and Naz’s progress to follow.

“Take up the contact!”

Some time ago I had the privilege of being invited to watch a friend of mine who was a ‘qualified’ Riding Instructor give a lesson to a beginner. The rider arrived suitably attired, carrying the obligatory crop and leading her precious little pony. The rider looked excited and eager to learn, that is until things started to go wrong.
The Instructor told the rider to “take up the contact and squeeze with your legs to get him to move off”. After a number of attempts to get the pony to move off the Instructor then said “take up some more contact and squeeze harder, if he doesn’t move off give him a smack with your crop”. At this point I was starting to feel very uncomfortable and thinking of making excuses to go, the pony however was obviously feeling even more uncomfortable.
He started to move backwards, sideways, spin around in fact everything he could think of except go forward. Needless to say the lesson was a disaster with all three participants feeling very frustrated.
When the rider was out of earshot I suggested to the Riding Instructor that maybe the pony was a tad confused and was trying to do his best with the contradictory signals being given to him, to which I received a blank but brooding glare. I pointed out that ‘maybe’ the pony thought . . . . . . . pulling back on the metal in my mouth means slow down or stop BUT squeezing legs means go forward or speed up so my human must want me to do something different, ok I’ll try backing up etc. At this point I was told “what do you know anyway, have you done all the exams I’ve done to become a QUALIFIED RIDING INSTRUCTOR, I DON’T THINK SO”. I was then left with an image of my friend’s back as she stomped off muttering something under her breath. Unfortunately she has chosen to have no further contact with me since.
Why is it that there are so many people in the horsey world who wear blinkers? Why are so many of them fixed and rigid in their beliefs and ideas? If the rider had been told to give the pony the reins and not use them as a balancing aid and then squeeze with legs surely the pony would have known that it was ok to move forward?
Until people learn to think about their actions, question what they have been taught and try to think things through from a horse’s point of view I’ll certainly never be out of a job!