| Horse training can be a relatively mysterious subject to | | | | "D-d-d-did you see that?" Seconds later the other kid |
| people who have not studied it. Even more mysterious | | | | hears something and cries, "D-d-did you h-h-hear that?" |
| is a behavioral problem a horse has that causes his | | | | Together they intensify each other's fears and their |
| owner stress and frustration. | | | | anxiety grows leaps and bounds. |
| What many horse owners don't understand is often | | | | So it is with the rider and horse. Maybe not to that |
| the handler, not the horse, is causing the problem. | | | | extent, but still it happens. |
| That being said, that is the first consideration in | | | | And since the rider is human and capable of reasoning, |
| unscrambling the horse's ill behavior. | | | | then he or she must be the one to interrupt the pattern |
| For instance, a common problem riders have is a | | | | of behavior. The rider must loosen up while in the |
| horse being spooky. In layman's terms, that means a | | | | saddle. Relax. Have fun. Learn to watch the horse's |
| horse is nervous and afraid something is going to "get | | | | signals that he has spotted something - and then talk |
| him". Thus, whenever the horse and owner go for a | | | | to the horse and start giving him confidence. |
| ride it's not usually a relaxing moment. | | | | Soon, the horse's demeanor will change and the result |
| As a matter of fact, both horse and rider are on edge. | | | | will be a more relaxed, fun to ride horse. |
| So if we take the premise that the rider is causing the | | | | Whether the rider realizes it or not, he or she is training |
| horse to spook, then we must ask, "How is the rider | | | | the horse by just riding. The horse simply reacts to the |
| causing this." | | | | stimuli he gets. If the stimuli is consistent, the horse's |
| An uninformed rider may not be aware that perhaps | | | | reaction will become a habit until changed. If the stimuli |
| he is sitting tensely in the saddle. Also, maybe he's stiff | | | | is tense, causes fear reactions, and so on, the result is |
| as a board and has a white-knuckle hold on the reins. | | | | a spooky horse. |
| Believe it or not, the horse can sense and feel this | | | | This is but one example of how us humans can |
| tense. When the horse is in the habit of feeling it then | | | | actually be the reason the horse does or does not do |
| the horse's spookiness is also the rider's. | | | | something we ask of him. Although it's true that the |
| Picture it like this. Two deathly scared kids are walking | | | | rider is not the cause 100% of the time, it's a good |
| home at night. They both hear sounds and see things. | | | | place to start untangling the problem because it's often |
| One kid thinks he saw something and nervously asks, | | | | where it begins. |