Natural Disasters

The following is a magazine article (Horse Canada magazine, Sept/Oct 2009 issue)that I felt hit the issue right on the head! My personal comments in orange.


Natural Disasters
By Laurie J. Blake

Like any other training system, natural horsemanship doesn’t provide a magic bullet but requires education and commitment to get results.

Levi Walchuk on No Public Dncing in the Bridleless Cutting at the Big Sky Futurity and Aged Event Aug 11-16, 2008 in Great Falls, Montana

A few years ago, a group of us travelled to watch a show Pat and Linda Parelli were presenting in Guelph, Ontario. My friends were keen about “natural horsemanship” and the Parelli system; I went to see what all the fuss was about. I intended to be unimpressed, but I wasn’t able to stay that way.

While there was certainly a good sales job for the Parelli system going on, the horsemanship of the husband and wife duo was clearly evident. The main part of the show involved each of them working with an unfamiliar horse chosen by the audience, applying groundwork techniques and their seven games.

I left impressed with the skills of the husband and wife duo, and more than impressed with natural horsemanship than I had intended. And yet, even before attending that show, and many times since, I have worked around, instructed or cared for some “natural horsemanship trained” horses and have been just as unimpressed.

I’m not alone in this. If you gather together a group of horse people and talk about natural horsemanship, for every success story told, you’ll likely hear just as many, if not more stories of huge failures.

Nature vs. Nurture
Maybe, then, the question we need to ask is: Is being a natural horseman (or woman) something that certain people just have, something they’re born with? Or, can anyone learn how to become a natural horseman?

According to the three different natural horsemen/women I’ve talked with over the last couple of months, it is absolutely possible to learn the skills and acquire the ability to “speak horse,” as “Canada’s horse whisperer” Chris Irwin calls it. In fact, these trainers maintain that until one learns to understand the way a horse thinks and responds, it’s really not possible to be truly successful in working with horses at all.

Equus in: I completely agree, regardless of whether you’re an Olympic rider, or what. I’ve seen high level riders competing at the international level still not getting along with their horses – they could be so much more successful with that horse, even.

Surprisingly, despite their disparate approaches and methodologies, most “natural” horsemen and women agree: learning how to understand how a horse thinks, how it “speaks,” and using that knowledge in how you approach a horse, ride it, and train it is what “natural horsemanship,” or horse whispering – choose your term – is all about.

“Whether you call yourself a horse trainer or not, as soon as your horse sees you heading towards him, you’re teaching him to respect you or not,” says Ron Pyne, an Elgin, Ontario-based Parelli 3-Star Trainer.

In this age of self-awareness and self-help, it’s probably not surprising that most of us who spend much, if not most, of our time around horses realize that what we do directly impacts our equine companions. Maybe that’s why the idea of training horses, particularly training our own horses, has moved to the forefront of many riders’ minds over the last few decades – and, perhaps, why we’re seeing so much attention focused on “natural” training techniques.

Lyons certified trainer Wendy Downer says she used to train horses and was almost always disappointed by how owners subsequently worked with the horses. Now, under the banner of Kinder Horsemanship, the Elmvale, Ontario-based natural horsewoman trains owners and riders to train their own horses.

“Training the riders and horses together takes longer, and the progress may be slower,” Downer says, “but the two, rider and horse, learn how to complement each other.”

Creating our own problems
So why then, when applied with the best of intentions, does natural training (like any other type of training) so often prove ineffective? In some cases, misguided training has created horses that are so poorly trained that they spend their lives as someone’s lawn ornament, or are sent off to auction to become someone else’s problem, or become residents of the meat-man’s feed lot.

One person who was part of the group with whom I first saw the Parellis was impressed enough that he followed the system with his horse Dax, to some effect. “Dax and I were working on level 2/3 of the Parelli system – say “system” because that’s what I think it is. I don’t believe it’s a new paradigm on horse training, however, I do believe that what the Parellis have done is to systemize a set of procedures that were not available to the general public before. In this way the Parelli system has brought a new level of understanding to horsemanship for the average person.”

Equus: man, I couldn’t agree more!!!!

He did warn, however, that “if it’s not done correctly (ie. with proper supervision or instruction) most often what happens is that incorrect behaviour is encouraged instead of discouraged.”

As I talked with and listened to the three natural trainers, I realized the answer lies, as it does so often, not with the concept itself, or with any particular system, but solely in the way in which natural training is applied and understood, or misunderstood. As I discovered from my original contact with the Parellis, the proponents of the systems are compelling, knowledgeable, and passionate horse people who are well aware of the risks of natural training and more than willing to suggest ways to succeed with horses.

What you really need to know about horses
“A horse is ‘naturally’ a paranoid, attention-deficit, passive-aggressive victim waiting to happen,” says trainer, communicator and coach Chris Irwin. But, he says, what you see with a horse is what you get. Horses don’t lie, as the title of Irwin’s first book states: they tell you exactly what they’re feeling and even what they want from you, if you know how to listen.

Yet, Irwin has not been shy about uncovering problems with some of the application of natural horsemanship principles. “I believe we can “aid” our horses to evolve their nature into being calm, focused and willing partners.

David O'Connor jumping bridleless

Equus in: this is what I mean when I talk about “developing” a horse.

(cont.) But there are a lot of people playing games with horses in the name of natural horsemanship and the horse’s body language is upset: swishing tails, inverted backs, bending/pushing their body laterally into the person during the groundwork, flattened ears – but people don’t see it. They just live in their romantic illusion of ‘natural’.”

Equus in: this happens so much. On the other hand, some of the above body language can happen as part of the progress, or evolution, of the partnership between you and your horse. However it should eventually disappear as the partnership progresses.

Wendy Downer agrees that there are many people attempting to apply natural training principles without understanding what natural training really means. “Humans tend to carry too much emotion into training,” she says, “but horses live in the moment and don’t carry the emotional baggage we do.”

Natural training, she believes, does not equal aggressiveness, but it is about safety – for both the horse and the rider. People need to know where to draw the line with horses and how to establish the pecking order, as horses themselves do very clearly in a herd.

It’s not the round pens, fancy sticks, rope halters or other equipment that either make the training work, or cause the problem, it’s how people use or misuse them, Downer believes.

Equus in: like Jonathan Field says, “the bit doesn’t train the horse”. That follows for any piece of equipment. The person is what trains the horse. The tools you use make a difference, but they are not what actually "train" the horse.

“We still have to ‘know horse’, have that horse sense,” she says. “This can’t be learned in a weekend or through occasional instruction, but through experience.”

“How often is it not the system that is the problem, but the misunderstanding or misapplication of the system that is causing stress in a horse?” asks Chris Irwin. “Depending on the system, this is happening a LOT! It happens to us all and I will be the first to admit that there are people are there trying to do what I teach – thinking that they are doing it correctly – but not doing it correctly and, therefore, the results are often limited."

“And it’s not just the riding. In the round pen or in ground work games in natural horsemanship there are too many horses being stressed out because of the body language of the person,” he says. “HOW you are shaping your body is far more important – it suggests whether or not you are in fact herding the horse or sending the message to capture it, which always stresses a horse out.”

Speaking horse
Through the Parelli system, Ron Pyne believes there are seven keys to succeed in natural horsemanship: attitude, knowledge, tools, techniques, time, imagination, and support. If all of them are not present, success will be limited.

For Wendy Downer, becoming a natural trainer means changing the way you think. We need to be constantly and actively aware of what our horses are doing and learning, not simply reacting to what they’ve already learned, often unintentionally. Riders and trainers need to be in control of training, the horse, and the situation – at home and away.

“In fact, we need to expect 110% from our horses at home, so that when concentration is down, say at a show, everything still remains safe,” she says. Sometimes, this control is achieved simply by relaxing. She suggests three simple rules to apply when training horses:
1. YOU can’t get hurt
2. The horse can’t get hurt
3. The horse (and trainer) has to be calmer after the session is done than when it started.

What is the goal in natural horsemanship? Chris Irwin says, “While people talk about partnership and harmony and respect and trust, too often they are taught to be “alpha” in their approach. But, very few horses need us to come on as alpha. That’s too much and it sabotages trust. It’s not balanced. I teach that we need to read our horses well enough to be just who they need us to be to find the balance of respect with trust.”

Training phases

Btw the photo currently being used under the blog title is of the newest addition to our herd, Cody. He's a 6yo Paint gelding with QH influence (looks to be cutting horse) whom we acquired from a prospective client. I love the look in his eyes and wrinkles on his neck in this photo. You can follow the progress of this wonderful horse at Through the Eye of Equus.

I had just started into the Parelli method and was struggling with my Warmblood cross, Koolaid – a 3 year-old at the time. It seemed like every step we took in our training, we took ten steps back! I was at my wits end, I couldn’t understand what was going on.

“It’s alright,” the barn owner reassured me, “for every two steps you take, you will take one back as well.”

It did not make sense to me at the time, but I accepted it – it certainly was an answer to my frustrations! Since then, however, I have learned otherwise.

If you are communicating effectively with a horse, there is no reason to actually take steps back! There are a few situations, however, where your horse might seem to digress in its training. Take note though that your horse is not actually digressing but that you might rather just be working out kinks – working out existing, underlying issues in the foundation. Once the foundation is solid, the training can continue in leaps and bounds again. You are temporarily going back and re-building the foundation, without actually "taking steps back", so that you can then pick up where you left off to continue progress. This is of course assuming that you are communicating with your horse efficiently and training in a successful fashion! So, assuming that the issue is not you, here are a couple of phases I have found some horses to go through:

The fearful
We just recently acquired a 6yo Paint gelding whom we call Cody, who was apparently abused by his original owner (we’re the third owners since the abuser). As a result, he is extremely suspicious of strangers and wary of peoples’ intentions – very fearful at times. Our first ride out, he did everything I threw at him, without question. By our third ride out on the trails now though, while he still does everything I ask, he is starting to question me a little. He might pause outside the gate, “are you sure we should go out on a trail ride?” Or before a creek “are you sure this is the way to go?” Once I assure him that yes, we indeed should be going out on a trail ride or yes, this is where I’d like you to go please, he plunges ahead willingly. But there’s that one moment of question, where he just makes sure.

Why would he do this when before he would just go where I asked without say? Why would he start questioning me now?

Answer: because he is now becoming comfortable enough in my presence to do so.

With the fearful horse who has been abused, they do what you ask without question, for fear of the repercussions that may occur if they don’t. They might not even be all that reactive about it, but they won’t question you – they dare not. However as you work with them and earn their trust, they become more comfortable with you, and so they also feel more comfortable with questioning your leadership because they fear repercussions that used to occur, no longer. As you further develop your partnership with your horse, however, you begin to work more in harmony, in true partnership, to the point where they do not question your leadership (they might pause or flick their ears, but they won't flat-out balk or such).

The disrespectful
The horse who pushed me into Natural Horsemanship is our Warmblood cross gelding, Koolaid. He was three at the time and none of our (light) under-saddle work was resembling…well…under-saddle work. I could count myself lucky if he so much as trotted a couple of steps. A canter? Hah! You could forget that! My 4H leaders at the time had no brilliant ideas and in the mean time, he was becoming worse. He was pushy, he kicked when he pleased, he was nippy, he struck, he reared, he bucked, he resisted – he could be downright dangerous when the mood hit him. When I attended the Parelli tour stop that year, I was awed, and determined to forge a partnership with Koolaid akin to the one I had seen Pat and his stallion Casper share. Someone forgot to tell Koolaid though. Throughout the first three years of his life, I had unwittingly created a monster. All my handling from day three of his life onward had made him comfortable around me, but I had failed to earn his respect (major mistake on my part). Now, all of a sudden, I was challenging his authority with the Parelli NH games. He’d been playing games with me all along, getting me to move my feet, making sure I was below him in this two-beast hierarchy, and when I started knowingly playing the games with him he’d been playing with me all along, he stepped it up a notch to make sure he stayed on top. Suddenly we seemed to digress even further. At least pre-Parelli, he would walk under-saddle, or follow me on the ground! He became even more dangerous* and I felt like all the work I had put into him thus far was falling apart. In reality, we were returning to the foundation, to the roots, and fixing things from the inside out. So, temporarily, it did seem like we were going backwards, when in fact we were simply building a stronger foundation - and addressing the underlying issues to do so - so as to later leap ahead. I have found the same will occur with any horse who has (usually inadvertently) never been taught to respect humans. At first they might rebel (even lightly) against someone asking them to step down from that little pedestal that has been created for them, but if you keep at it diligently, they come around and that foundation of respect that was previously missing is built so that you may continue in all areas of training, in harmony.

* I am not saying that PNH, specifically, might bring out dangerous behaviour in your horse, but that any work that challenges your horse’s authority might cause them to retaliate. The key (as I later learned) is to push your horse to grow but not to retaliate towards you – challenging a horse who thinks he’s top horse can be dangerous and is usually not necessary. However, some retaliation may occur when you start to play with your horse, particularly games that involve dominance (ie, where you ask your horse to move his feet, etc) – this is normal for some horses. Please seek professional help if you are having difficulties with your horse – safety first at all times!

Catching
Another phase that I find some horses go through is a hard-to-catch phase…most often with left-brained horses. Right-brained horses are typically naturally very willing and want to be part of a herd, want the security of a herd – which they soon learn you can offer. Left-brained horses, however, I find are more comfortable being by themselves and are ok with not being caught. Left-brained Introverts especially, I find, don’t really care to work. The first week, everyone is happy to be caught – working with you is new and intriguing. By the second week, however, they’ve got it figured out and don’t really care to be caught. Week three, same deal. In the mean time, you’re working hard on creating a partnership where your horse enjoys being around you. By about week four, however, they’re figuring out that being caught isn’t so bad after all. They enjoy being with you and even playing with you in the arena, and even become keen on being caught.

So while it might seem at first that your work with a horse is moving backwards, in reality your horse’s newfound pleasure in avoiding being caught is simply a reflection of everything else that is going on. Sometimes the timeline is shorter, sometimes it is longer, but it is the timeline I find most typical with some of the horses I work with.

These “backwards” phases (when we are doing things correctly) are simply the result of having to build (or re-build) something that is lacking in the foundation – respect or trust, etc. It’s like a house with a crumbling foundation. You pick up the house, re-build the foundation, then set the house back down on its new, solid foundation and all comes together! If you were actually going backward, you’d have to work your way all the way back up to the top – knock down the house and re-build the house and foundation from scratch, but since it’s simply an issue with the foundation, you can cement the foundation and still have everything at the “top”. Keep in mind that these are just phases – if you keep on working on the path to success, everything will eventually come together. How do you know if you’re on the right path? You don’t always, which is why it can be important to seek help from a professional who can teach you to communicate efficiently and who can tell you what is and what is not normal or to be expected when you’re on the correct path. Keep in mind though that phases such as the above can occur, be normal, and that you just have to have the tenacity to work through them!

Barbed wire

Quick quip on barbed wire fencing after once again hearing Cathy spout off against it in yet another blog last week (…sorry, I still don’t think you need to own one). First off, it is a pet peeve of mine when someone yet again incorrectly reports that Pit Bulls were the aggressors in some attack, chase, etc.

1. There is no such thing as a “Pit Bull”. There are three breeds that are commonly referred to as “Pit Bulls”: the American Pit Bull Terrier, the American Staffordshire Terrier, and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier. I am not really going to get into it here except to say that “Pit Bull breeds” are breeds that require strong leadership or structure and guidance, same as some horse breeds require stronger leadership than others.

2. Dog breeds commonly referred to as “Pit Bulls” are commonly demonized for the wrong reasons – for the breed, when the owner is often to blame either for mishandling the dog directly (ie. training dogs to fight) or indirectly (ie. not establishing adequate leadership). Cathy allowed herself to be yet one more individual to mis-report and demonize.

3. How often has an individual mis-guessed your horse’s breed? The same happens all the time with dogs. I’ve been asked on occasion if our Doberman cross dog is a Greyhound. A Greyhound! When we actually had a Greyhound, no one had any idea what it was (and btw, the Doberman cross throws strongly to the Doberman side – you can barely detect the other breed). If you do your research, you find that most often what was once first reported to be a “Pit Bull” was actually something like a (as in this case) wire-haired mixed breed (how different could you get?). Or a Lab. If you’re going to report a dog attack, wait until the full details surface before reporting dog breed, unless you are knowledgeable on dog breeds and have seen the dogs yourself.


Sorry, just had to rant on one of my biggest pet peeves. But back to horses. Here, Cathy spouts off again about barbed wire:

“AGAIN…barbed wire is NOT under ANY circumstances, horse fence.”

Okay, so you’re going to front the dollars and time, Cathy, to re-build everyone’s fences? The reality of the situation is that many people do have barbed wire and, for many people, that barbed wire is their only option. I cannot speak for other areas of the country/continent, but up around here (BC and Alberta), nearly everything is barbed wire. To re-fence a quarter section (160 acres), including paddocks and smaller pastures, with something other than barbed wire is not only expensive but also very time-consuming. Personally, when we do eventually purchase a property, all our smaller paddocks and pastures will be fenced with something other than barbed wire. However re-fencing an entire quarter section (or more) just might not be possible – definitely not right away, prior to putting horses in it! When my family ranched, our horse paddocks were board, but our pastures on the rest of the 160 acres were all barbed wire…with never a barbed-wire-related injury to any of our horses. So, can barbed wire ever be safe? In my opinion, yes. Optimal? No. Worthy of condemning people because they used barbed wire? No.

What can you do to make barbed wire as safe as possible?
1. Keep it tight, with no sag
2. Check it regularly! Downed trees can destroy your fence, other animals might break through it, it might become rusted and break, etc.
3. Use 3 (minimum) to 5 strands
4. Walk the perimeter with your horses when they are first set loose in the pasture and/or turn them loose in the pasture during the day so that they can see the fence
5. In areas of low visibility (for whatever reason), tag the top strand with coloured tape that your horses will see so that they can see the top strand of fence
6. Don’t leave loose ends lying about

While barbed wire is not the favourite horse fence, horses can successfully be kept within its confines, especially in larger areas and in smaller numbers. If you can afford (both time-wise and financially) to replace all your fences…be my guest. Just understand that barbed wire is not some evil contraption designed to kill all horses and that it can be safe for horses with proper management (both with the horses and with the fences).

He walks so nice too

This is sort of an extension of the blog Horses as our Reflections, my apologies if it seems I am repeating myself.

"He walks so nice too!"

The above words were ones I overheard as I walked down the street with our dog, Aly. Never mind that Aly is a girl and so it should be “she walks so nice too”…but that’s besides the point. The individuals passing us in the street were obviously commenting on our pup to one another and thought she was well-trained as well. This is the same dog that, whenever I drop her off at a kennel or return for her after a weekend away, is dragging her handlers about. She’s over 50lbs of wagging tail that has the strength to tow your average human wherever she so pleases. Yet despite her renegade leash-walking with any stranger bold enough to take hold of her leash, that pup always walks obediently next to myself or the SO, without so much as threatening to pull. In all likelihood though, the individuals passing us on the sidewalk probably would have been added to Aly’s pile of leash-pulling victims. So what does this have to do with horses?

So many times I am given horses to train or I hear of horses in training, where the owner seemingly expects their horse to be a robot. Their “he walks so nice too” is a “oh, he walks/trots/canters/spins/jumps so nice”. What people fail to understand, however, is that what we make in the trainer’s pen is not always what goes home to the owner. At times the owner can get more out of the horse than we did and at other times the horse goes home and the owner gets less out of the horse than we did (more common). So far I have been graced with wonderful, understanding owners, however as a trainer you will one day stumble upon the owner who becomes disappointed upon bringing their horse home and finding out their horse does less than they expected. As an owner, you might one day bring a horse home to find it performs at a lower level than you had expected, than you were told. Keep in mind it might not be the trainer’s fault, but rather yours.

It always bugs me when people comment on a horse “he’s so relaxed!” or, conversely, “he’s a nutcase!”, as if every horse is a tense wreck waiting to happen and this ONE horse stands above the others because he is SO calm, or as if most horses are calm, yet this one stands out because he’s “crazy”. Every horse is perfect and has the potential to be the perfect partner. Yes, horses have a base personality. We’ve got two horses, a Thoroughbred and a Quarab, at the moment who are extremely high energy – it’s a challenge to keep them relaxed and their minds busy. We’ve also got two other horses, a QH-bred Paint and a Warmblood cross, who are naturally very relaxed and laid-back. However, as a horseperson, you have the capabilities of “balancing out” a horse. The high energy horse can learn to think through situations and remain calm, while the low energy horse can learn to have impulsion and to answer with “yes sir, yes ma’am, how far how fast?”. When every horse is “balanced”, every horse really is equal. Herd situations can help “balance” a horse, and correct horsemanship can do the rest. So, with that said, it’s more about the rider/person than the horse.

Horses are our reflections – what we do directly affects their behaviour as well as their general attitude. Sometimes all the credit really should go to the horse – our horses put up with so much! Other times though, the credit should go to the person involved, for keeping the horse the way they naturally are and for further developing from there, or for developing a damaged horse into an appropriate partner. Or, for creating a complete wreck out of the horse! If you want a calm and relaxed horse who “walks nice” – create one. If you’ve got a “nutcase”, it might have more to do with you (either originally or through lack of horsemanship throughout your partnership with said horse) than you’d like to admit.

Case in point: I have been asked to do an assessment on a horse who has “catching issues”, likely, from the sounds of it, thanks to handling by his previous owner. Teaching a horse to be caught could be done in a way akin to teaching a dog to come, or to sit and stay…but it likely won’t hold long. The horse who’s been conditioned to come will only come when the appropriate conditions are met (treats, threat of a beating, etc etc) – if those conditions disappear, so will the willingness to be caught. However, the horse who doesn’t mind being caught, or who even goes so far as to “catch his owner” is the horse who enjoys being with his rider, who enjoys the work they do. Hard-to-catch is not about not wanting to be caught for the sake of being caught, it’s about not wanting to be caught for a specific reason: a pinching saddle, hard hands, fear of the rider, dislike of the work the horse is being asked to do, preference for grass, etc.

From the owner’s seat, it’s important to understand how much of a role you play in your horse’s behaviour, attitude, and performance. You might send your horse to a trainer, but your horse is not a robot! Which is why it is vital to understand your horse – why he does what he does, how to get what you want (including using the same cues your trainer used), how to further develop him, and that he won’t be the same in your hands as he was/is in your trainer’s hands. It is important to understand what your trainer is doing, why they are doing it, and how you can continue it once the trainer is gone. Horses are individuals and respond according to what we, as individuals, ask of them, either indirectly or directly. Lastly, every minute you spend with your horse you are training him - keep it in mind!