This is War

At the 2013 Road to the Horse, the winner and poet, Guy McLean delivered a poem about the relationship between a horse and a human.  It gave words to how a horse feels when they meet a human for the first time and what the human must do to win the horse over as a partner in the battle of life.  This is the poem.

 

'This is War'

Man and horse have many differences
Yet they're drawn like moths to light
Once as two, then two as one
Such a wonder to delight

Many firsts have to occur
Before these gifts are given
That first encounter, something special
Where the horse is instinct driven

To gaze into their eye, first time
Is something to explore
There's fear and thoughts of doubt
Their look is saying, 'This is War'

'I will run till I am free
I will plunge and strive and fight
To give to pressure is to die
So I will struggle for my plight

You do not understand me
How my natural instincts burn
You want my trust, want my respect?
These won't be given, must be earned'

As a Horseman, it's my mission
To alleviate their fears
To prove I understand them
From my craft of many years

So I teach them what is needed
To keep them calm and safe
Show them all I know of this scary world
Show them how a champion behaves

And as these sessions grow and roll
I see a difference from before
For now within their eyes
They still are saying 'This is War'

'I see you different now before me
You have earned my true respect
I feel as though you have my back
So my actions now reflect

You have shown me I can trust you
Now a partnership's unfurled
I will follow you to battle
You and I against the world

For I see you as a leader now
Worthy of my follow
Today we'll share the sunset
And live to fight one more tomorrow'

Once as two, now two as one
Our mate ship shining like the sun
Let the war of life begin
For now together, We can Win.

Written by Guy McLean for all the horses of the world and especially his new World Champ 'My Mates Cat'

The Orange Tarp

This is just a short story about one of our early experiences with horses.

When we got our first horse, Bob, we had planned on keeping him at the boarding stable where we purchased him.  Within two months Val and I decided that it would be better if we brought him home.  At the time we had no paddock, no shelter and no hay or hay storage  etc. 

Three months later after a lot of work with a chainsaw, axe and post driver we had a paddock and a pile of hay covered with a tarp, but no shelter.  We were also told that horses don`t do well on their own and we needed a buddy horse.  So we acquired Wyatt, the buddy horse.  Since it was mid March and quite mild we brought them home before we built the shelter.

After about two weeks all was going quite well.  The horses were busy destroying most of the trees in the paddock and I had managed to convert the temporary/permanent plastic garage for hay storage.  Then the weather turned cold and it started to rain.  After twelve hours of steady rain it was obvious the horses were pretty uncomfortable and were getting chilled. 

We had a blanket for Bob but nothing for Wyatt.  I did however have a 6 x 8 orange, plastic utility tarp.  It seemed to me that it would not be difficult to install some ties and fit it out as a rain coat for Wyatt.  So after fixing Bob up I proceeded to go to work on Wyatt.  This was all done with complete confidence and total ignorance of the nature of horses.  Within 15 minutes I had Wyatt completely tarped up and he looked liked an orange Halloween Horse.

The next day the rain stopped and it warmed up.  The blanket and the tarp were removed and everyone was happy. 

It wasn`t until a week later that we spoke to another horse person and told them what we had done.  They told me that horses were afraid of tarps and that it was dangerous to have one around a horse unless they had been taught not to fear them.  I asked Wyatt`s former owner about it and was told he wouldn`t go near a tarp.

It was a year before we started finding really good information about the nature of horses and natural training methods.  It was then that I realized that the ignorance was the secret ingredient.  I didn`t sneak around the horse, and I was confident that he would be fine with it.  Because I was confident,  he was confident and in this case it worked for both of us.  Now that I know a bit more about horses I know why we got away with tarping a horse, but I also know that we were lucky we had the right horse.

I wish I had a picture of Wyatt wearing his orange tarp.  He probably wouldn`t like that image published.

Road to the Horse 2013

It is just a couple of weeks to the 10^th annual Road to the Horse Competition in Lexington, Kentucky.

 

This year promises to be a landmark event with two female clinicians competing.  This will double the number of female competitors (Stacy Westfall appeared in 2006(winner) and 2007).  Obbie Schlom and Sarah Winters will compete against the two down under fellas Guy McLean and Dan James.

 

Tootie Bland and her crew have done a great service for all horse lovers by establishing this event that will celebrate its 10^th anniversary in Kentucky.  Thanks to the DVD`s they have produced I have watched every event several times.  I learn something new every time from all of the clinicians who have competed and shared their knowledge and skills of horsemanship.  The outstanding judges, who have also given their views of the qualities of horsemanship they look for, provide horse people great insight to the horse.  Together they have all given a wealth of information for horse people all over the world.  They have improved the lives of millions of horses.

 

I urge you to go to the event if you can.  If that is not possible get the DVD package.  Especially support the clinicians.  Go to their clinics and take advantage of the information they publish.  Soak in the knowledge they share. 

 

All of the information about the event is available at www.roadtothehorse.com .

 

Congratulations Tootie Bland and all of the crew from Road to the Horse for these ten years of excellence.

My horse is my therapist

Animals have been engaged in therapeutic sessions with children in hospitals and with seniors in nursing homes for many years.  Usually dogs are the animals involved.  It has been shown that they have a calming effect on both old and young people.  In the past few years I have read accounts of patients, diagnosed as autistic, who have experienced positive responses when they were with horses.

Because I have been around animals of all kinds since I was young, I never really paid a lot of attention to the effects that the humans and animals have on each other.  As I have studied the practice of horsemanship I have come to appreciate how each species can have a profound affect on each other.  Humans have the ability to analyze and communicate concepts whereas the animal  has the very strong connection to nature and and its own senses.  The closer they live to the natural world the stronger the connection and the more refined the senses.

Humans on the other handle are quickly losing their connection with nature.  Unfortunately they are also losing the ability and desire to use their senses.  From an early age we art taught things like,  `Don`t judge a book by its cover.`  and, `Always make a good first impression.`  These are contradictory and deny the use of senses.

My horse doesn`t take my temperature or test my blood pressure, my horse teaches  me how to be aware of the world around me and how to use my senses  to be aware of that world.  He also teaches me how to refine my senses to be more aware of my body and my emotions.  To communicate effectively with horses you must use your body.  To do it effectively you have to be aware of the smallest movements and position changes of your limbs and your muscles.  By practicing this you learn how to be a part of the natural world and you understand yourself and your feelings.   As  I have said before, a horse begins their assessment of you the moment they see you.  The more you understand horsemanship the more you become aware of everything in your environment.  This awareness has a wonderfully calming effect on your emotional state.  It quiets your mind and and frees the flow of information from your senses to your brain.  This is the reverse of what we are usually taught; to use the mind to block and override your senses.

My horse has led me back to a closer connection to with nature and a refinement of all my senses and this is a healing condition.

A Herd of Two – Herd Bonding

When we first became involved with horses we knew very little about them.  We did know that horses were herd animals but we had no idea how important this is to them.

By the time we decided to bring Bob home from the boarding stable we knew that we needed a buddy horse for him and so we got Wyatt.  Bobby was a sociable, but dominant horse.  Wyatt on the other hand didn`t much like people but he had little interest in being the herd leader. 

Wyatt was my horse.  I did know that he had run his former owner out of the paddock; that he would bite at the first opportunity; that if you put a saddle on him and rode there was a good chance he would lie down and roll to get you off his back.  There is a saying, that before you can be a horse person you have to be bitten, kicked and thrown.  Wyatt had those things covered for me in the first 6 months.

We also learned very quickly that Bob and Wyatt did not like to be separated even for a short time.  We became familiar with the term herd bound.  We also started to learn a lot about how to deal with this issue.  It took us over 3 years to find the real key.  We had to become a herd of two with our horse.

To do this we had to learn to communicate in a natural way with our horses.  That is using methods that are natural for the horse.  With this fundamental tool we work on the four pillars of trust, confidence, respect and leadership.  It took me 3 years to get what I call a herd bond with my horse.  There is no doubt that an experienced and knowledgeable horseman could have achieved this in a much shorter time.

The herd bond is not the same as “hooking on”.  It is more like the “true unity” that Tom Dorrance talked about.  It is having the horse accept you as a member of their herd.  The horse recognizes you and comes to you in the paddock.  They show respect.  They understand you. They respond willingly to the most subtle cues.  When they see you, and you are not in the paddock, they will knicker or whinny.  It is a vocal invitation  to come to them.  When you are with them they are not looking for the other herd members because you are their herd of two and they see you as the leader.  For both of the horses I have had as partners the vocal response was the last thing that developed.

 

 

The Pillars of Partnership

After watching hundreds of hours of horseman clinicians and being with my horses for hundreds more hours I believe that there are four pillars to building a sound partnership.  This is not intended to be an instant formula to succeeding with horses.It is a quick way to view and support the process of developing a productive, safe partnership.

 

These are the four pillars;

Trust

Confidence

Respect

Leadership

These are listed in order.  First you need to earn trust, then build confidence, establish respect and then practice leadership.  These pillars are built on a foundation of knowledge of everything you can learn about the horse, the sport you are engaging in and the equipment you are using.

Depending on the situation the pillars take on a different level of importance.  When you are just starting a young horse the trust pillar is really important.  As you progress to a horse with more experience the other pillars become more important.  When developing a new skill with a more experienced horse the confidence pillar is a more critical pillar.  The process of building confidence is often referred to by clinicians as desensitizing and others refer to it as preparing. The result is the same really, because we want the horse to be able to handle things and situations without uncontrolled fear.  And so it goes with respect and leadership.  As you work through a program with any clinician I find it useful to see how the methods they use fit with these pillars.  For me it is a way to better understand why the methods they are using work.

Your partnership with your horse is like a building.  It rests on a foundation.  It is made up of pillars that are linked together by smaller pieces.  If everything is put together properly and it is well maintained the partnership will be strong and enduring.

 

The Ethics of Horsemanship

In 1994 the German National Equestrian Federation published a booklet, “Ethical Principles for the True Horseman”.  The following are the nine ethical principles they included:

1.     Anyone involved with a horse takes over responsibility for this living creature entrusted to him.

2.     The horse must be kept in a way that is in keeping with its natural living requirements.

3.     Highest priority must be accorded to the physical as well as psychological health of the horse, irrespective of the purpose for which it is used.

4.     Man must respect every horse alike, regardless of its breed, age and sex and its use for breeding, for recreation or in sporting competition.

5.     Knowledge of the history of the horse, its needs, and how to handle it are part of our historic-cultural heritage.  This information must be cherished and safeguarded in order to be passed on to the next generations.

6.     Contact and dealings with horses are character-building experiences and of valuable significance to the development of the human being – in particular, the young person.  This aspect must always be respected and promoted.

7.     The human who participates in equestrian sport with his horse must subject himself, as well as his horse to training.  The goal of any training is to bring about the best possible harmony between rider and horse.

8.     The use of the horse in competition as well as in general riding, driving and vaulting must be reared toward the horse`s ability, temperament and willingness to perform.  Manipulating a horse`s capacity to work by means of medication or other “horse-unfriendly” influences should be rejected by all and people engaged in such practices should be prosecuted.

9.     The responsibility a human has for the horse entrusted to him includes the end of the horse`s live.  The human must always assume this responsibility and implement any decisions in the best interest of the horse.

Understanding the nature of the horse and practicing natural horsemanship encompasses these principles.  It is our responsibility as our horse`s partner to live by these principles.