Eating grass

We all have dealt with it, or still deal with it. So, how do we stop it?

I felt Parelli's take on the situation was great, so I am posting it here (in green):

I often hear people say, "I never let my horse eat grass when I'm riding", and guess what...their horse is one of the worst! He takes every opportunity to lunge at the grass, even unseating the rider to get at it. If we think about it from his point of view, he's surrounded by delicious grass and then gets punished for wanting to eat it. This is just like taking a small child into a candy store and expecting him to have enough self-control to ignore all that candy. It's a pretty tough thing to ask, right? By being more considerate, we could give him some time to eat before asking for his full attention, then allow him to eat it now and then, but only when you invite it. Be sure to give permission rather than just letting him plunge his head down. Invite him by using the Porcupine Game... simply lower his head to the ground when you want him to graze. It's a great way to improve Game #2!

I am of the opinion that respect has a great deal to do with a horse plunging its head down to eat without permission. Remember that whatever you have on the ground is always halved in the saddle, so if you have say ok respect on the ground, you will have little to no respect under-saddle. If you've got an absolutely fantastic level of respect on the ground, that will carry into the saddle. The more often you have that fantastic level of respect on the ground and the more you work to further build it, the more respect you will have under-saddle. On that note, respect is not forced, it is earned. You earn it by representing a firm and assertive leader, but never an aggressive one (if you feel angry, get off and walk away). You get it by way of body language and backing up said body language, but you do not get it by simply using the end of a crop or leadrope. If you create a resentful horse, that resentful attitude will follow you in amongst that grass - the horse won't care that you asked it not to, it's going to eat when it wants, what it wants, and however much it wants! Respect is earned also by being persistent and fair.

Another factor that plays a role in whether or not a horse will be constantly insisting on eating grass is rules and boundaries. If he sometimes gets away with snatching a mouthful here or there, with no rhyme or reason, he'll think he can get away with it other times. Why not?

First off, I always ask people who don't want their horses to eat grass: why not? Sometimes it's that they don't want to have to wash off the bit, sometimes it's that they think the horse will somehow get its legs tangled in the reins (not if you're watching!), and other times they think it will create a disrespectful and rude horse. What I always remind them though, is that this is a partnership.

part·ner·ship (pärtnr-shp)
n.
1. The state of being a partner.
2. a. A legal contract entered into by two or more persons in which each agrees to furnish a part of the capital and labor for a business enterprise, and by which each shares a fixed proportion of profits and losses.
b. The persons bound by such a contract.
3. A relationship between individuals or groups that is characterized by mutual cooperation and responsibility, as for the achievement of a specified goal: Neighborhood groups formed a partnership to fight crime.

Mutual cooperation. To me, I read that as both parties cooperating, and combining the interests of both parties. When working with our horses, that means considering what they want to do as well - after all, they're already doing what you want to do!

This is how things work with our horses:

A horse I do not deem to have a very high level of respect for me yet, is usually not allowed to graze (they're often the type of horse that does not get treats, either, until their overall p.o.v. shifts). Once I have earned a fairly high level of respect from them, they can graze to their little heart's content, provided they abide by my rules:

1. If you feel the need to grab that long, tantalizing strand of grass whilst walking, be my guest, but you are not slowing down to get it. This includes in-hand as well as under-saddle. On the ground, my horses have 12' of rope to play with. If they want to eat, they soon figure out to jog a couple steps ahead, grab a bite or two (by that time I have walked past and they are at the end of the 12' rope), then jog back next to me or ahead of me again, without ever hitting the end of the rope and without ever getting in the way of my path. Under-saddle, it means they are not yanking the reins out of my hand to grab a bite - they work with what they have, and the continue at the pace we were. On the ground, they hit the end of the rope and/or lose their grazing privileges if they do not keep up. Under-saddle, they meet a light squeeze and then (if necessary) a spank if they slow overly or if they stop without permission.

2. If I answer "no" to your question of "may I eat grass now?" (ie. if you bump my hands lightly and I don't give you your head), the answer remains "no" until I dictate otherwise. Don't keep asking, or I will have you working hard so that your focus is on the work at hand in lieu of the grass.

3. If I allow you to eat while stopped (this is where I like Pat's method of telling the horse it is now ok to eat grass, via applying pressure to ask them to lower their head), you may continue to do so until I pick up my reins and energy and squeeze you lightly forward.

The best thing I ever learned about getting a horse to quit eating grass was from John Lyons. He said to spank your horse rather than kick it or pull on the reins. Horses don't like to be kicked (I mean, would you?), and who has reefing on the reins ever worked for anyway?? So from then on, when a horse went to dive their nose down into grass, I simply gently spanked them with my rein ends (rhythmically, swinging my reins from one side of the haunches and across my body to the other side). Never had a problem after that.

Earning a high level of respect from your horse is key though, as is working in partnership with them. If you are working in partnership with them, they might gently ask, every once in awhile, if they can eat grass, but they will do so politely and not every stride. Also, if you are working in partnership with them, you are allowing them to eat grass here and there (take your time coming in from their paddock to work, let them eat while opening a gate, etc), out of consideration for their wants and needs, and so your horse will respect you for that as well. Horses respect a leader who is fair, whose rules they can easily understand. The above three rules are pretty easy for a horse to understand, I find. The other key though is prior and proper preparation (respect, etc), as it prevents a lot of mayhem in the first place.

Personally, any horse I ride is permitted to eat - over the last 6 years or so that I have really developed my horsemanship, I have never had a problem with a horse being excessively rude while eating. If they are a little more rude than I'd like, I revoke their grazing privileges. Once I feel they are again respectful (either during that same ride/walk or during another session altogether), then I return their privileges. My horses are always chomping away happily while still complying with everything I ask. If they are still doing what you ask, what more could you want? Why not allow them to do a little of what they want, while still doing what you want as well?

Two tidbits of the day

Two quick things that came up on our trail ride today that I wanted to brush over quickly:

Trusting your horse

Grazing while riding


Trust your horse
Trusting our horses is difficult when we're unconfident ourselves or are unconfident in our horse. However, how can we expect our horses to trust us if we cannot trust them? The key, I believe, is prior and proper preparation (getting a little repetitive, I know). With a well-rounded horse that is properly developed - emotionally and mentally balanced, there is no reason not to trust. Adding experience to that horse's resume can further our trust that they can handle whatever situation we throw their way. Experience, used correctly, can greatly strengthen a partnership between horse and rider. On that note, partnership is very important - not only do you want to develop a calmer, braver, smarter horse, but you also want to earn their willingness to work with you - their trust, respect, and ultimately, their partnership. Personally I do tend to underestimate my horses. I prepareprepareprepare and then forget that after all that preparation we've done, that they can handle it! Then when I show distrust in them, they lack trust in me, and the vicious circle continues. Usually the lightbulb moment hits me when I ask a horse to do something new and they handle it flawlessly - and I realise that they had probably been ready for awhile and had just been waiting for me to ask them. Today, the point hit home for me when I refused to trust my 5yo OTTB Link, and he couldn't trust me sufficiently (in that situation) at that point (with more continued prep it will come!). The situation: a very steep hill I was holding him back from going up until the other two horses ahead of us had cleared it. I did not know how he would handle the hill and by holding him back I had hoped to create space between us and the last horse and therefore leave room for error (such as his possibly deciding to bolt up the hill). He got so psyched up and since I was asking him to not move forward, he went the only other direction I hadn't ordained as off-limits - up. His head won an argument against mine and I slid nicely off of his 16.1hh butt to land in the mud. He then proceeded to carefully pick his way up the hill I had been so concerned about entrusting him with, and waited for me at the top. See, if I had simply trusted him in the first place, I would have been a lot cleaner up at the top (lmao). The rest of the trail ride I threw all caution to the wind (just kidding) and threw my trust into him (not kidding). He obviously knew what he was doing, so who was I to doubt him! He never failed me once and tackled the terrain beautifully. We each learned a lot today and invested a lot of additional trust in one another throughout the ride - it was an amazing feeling. There are times we need to trust our horses and there are times when the partnership is perhaps not ready yet for such a challenge, where the trust just is not there yet, but if you are wavering on the edge - not sure if you can trust your horse to handle something (and you've done all your prep work at home), go for it. Trust the horse. They usually know what they're doing!


Grazing
Now some people - a lot of people, I find - allow absolutely no grazing while a horse has a bit in his mouth. They claim the horse can step on his reins (difficult, I find, when the reins are up in your hand in the saddle), that the bit gets too dirty (hey, isn't that what water was invented for?), or that the horse is too disrespectful. Now the latter, I can understand. There are certainly times I will revoke a horse's grazing privileges - no more grazing throughout the ride. However this is rare. If you've got a decent level of respect from your horse and you ensure you clutch that respect as tight as you can in your grimy little paws, you should have no problem. Here's my theory:

Horses spend their time, packing us around, doing what we want. Most often, the horse doesn't even get the vote on what they do. Now, I have no doubts that a horse can enjoy their time under-saddle (hopefully that indeed is the case), however I am willing to bet my bottom dollar that they still sometimes might have better things they'd rather do. Like, y'know, eating. I don't know about the next person, but all our horses love to eat. So, since this is a part-ner-ship, which includes two beings, my personal opinion is that we should thus include our horses' interests into the activities that we do. Coming in from the pasture, lounge a bit instead of marching directly up to the tackroom. After, or even before, a good session under-saddle or on the ground, do some liberty work! Perhaps most important of all, consider your horse's interest(s) when considering disciplines. For me, this also crosses over into trail riding through lush grass fields. My rule is this: provided you (the horse) keep up your end of the bargain (continue responsibly at the gait I asked), go ahead and eat to your little heart's delight! Works like a charm. For a horse that abuses the privilege though, they hit some boundaries. Rather than pulling on a horse's mouth (which I guarantee you will find yourself doing over and over), just bump the horse gently with the reins - by closing your hands and allowing the horse to 'hit the end' of the rein - and instead squeeze with your legs and go through your "ask" phases quickly (squeeze with all four cheeks, squeeze with your thigh then finally with your leg, then spank yourself with the rein ends and move the spanking down to eventually touch the horse, increasing the spanking until you get the response). For the particularly rude horse though (who is being irresponsible by ignoring your forward request) you can go through your phases even quicker and almost go straight to the spanking phase. Make it their responsibility though - they continue moving forward, you're quiet, they stop suddenly without permission, they run into the spank. This way they have the choice. Courtesy of John Lyons ;)

This thought came about though today when my mom, on her Thoroughbred whom she wasn't allowing to eat at all under-saddle, commented on my allowing my Thoroughbred, Link, to eat as much as he pleased. I explained to her that he wasn't losing any ground by grabbing food along the way and he was being respectful about it - he wasn't reefing any reins out of my hands, I was allowing him to eat. We were doing what I wanted, so why shouldn't I allow him to do a little of what he wanted? It made sense to her. "Well what if you decide you don't want them to eat, though?" she asked. My response was that, ultimately, they are your rules - you're the leader. So if you decide there is no eating under-saddle today, your horse should respect that. I pointed out to her that since she'd implemented rules with her horse and had made it clear he wasn't to eat, he was now walking calmly through the fields alongside me, very respectfully walking forward without continuously requesting to eat grass. It's your rules, since you are the leader - whether you decide to only let your horse eat at stops, to let him eat while you walk, or to not let him eat under any circumstances, is up to you. However, keep in mind that you can allow him to eat - it doesn't have to be disrespectful and it does not have to be a complete no-no. Furthermore, horses are smart, so you can change your rules up - they get it. Just be consistent in a rule once you implement it and they will figure it out and abide by the new rule.