How do you train without pressure...

As a reminder, I'm going to be posting much more frequently on my other traveling blog, so add that one if you want posts more often. That one will also be more things about my trip, life and journey and this one will be more about my thoughts on horse things alone.

Here's the link again: http://thewanderingequestrian.blogspot.com.es/

So Spain is goddamn cold.
Today it's also cold and wet. I do not have the proper clothes for this. It actually snowed for a day last week.

okay, pictures take too long to upload here

I've started to forget what it feels like to actually be warm.  No, I'm not exaggerating. I'm posting this from the nearest place to a heating panel in my room with breaks for my hands.  I am a warm person- I do well in the heat and awful in the cold.

There are two other girls here with me right not, Charlotte, 16, from Scotland, and Nele, 18, from Germany.


So far we've only been riding the 'guest' horses (our hosts went on a trip to see family so it's understandable) which is rather dull for me as I'm used to actually riding a horse- not just being a passenger. And we are not 'riding' these horses, we're sitting on them. I'm hoping that we're going to start riding the other more difficult horses soon. (The ones that have been off all winter) Okay, what we're actually really hoping is that it gets warm soon.

All of the horses here are ridden bitless, which is fine since I ride with bitless as well as with a bit (although I have to say that I  rather think the Dually halters- Monty Roberts- do less than jack shit when it comes to riding.) I think the real problem is that these horses don't seem to know what to do with pressure. They're ridden on a very loose rein, which is again, fine, but that includes when they may 'act up'. (On the plus side, it's given my the chance to work on improving my independent hands I suppose.)

When she said she had a problem with people letting the horses eat, I pictured guests like we had when I was a trail guide- where they'd say "Oh, you must be hungry, here go and have a bite to eat". But we aren't letting these horses eat, they just know that they're much bigger and stronger than us, and that there's really nothing we can do if we don't catch them in time and they plunge their heads down to the ground. Horses knowing that they're bigger and stronger than you is something you hope they'll never figure out for just this reason. Still, it's hard to correct them when they're to go right back to being ridden on a very loose rein after eating. So when you pull their heads up and tell them to go on, what you're kind of saying is also that 'that was fine, there's no difference in my riding or your freedom now then there was before' which is why they keep doing it.

Catching them before they get their heads down is great, but they can be sneaky little things and in all honesty, it's not training them not to do it. It's basically putting a bandaid on the problem.

I told them they should be quite happy they weren't my horses and didn't have to follow my rules because at home in my pasture, a loose rein is a privilege not a right. When you act nicely, you get a nice loose rein (pressure is removed), when you do something you shouldn't or try and go faster than asked, you lose length (pressure is applied), when you behave again, the pressure leaves, and that's how they learn what they're supposed to do or not do.

One day, one of the horses started cantering up the hill with a guest out of the blue and my horse decided she wanted to follow. Since I am not used to letting my horses do whatever they want, I reined her in, and since she kept acting nervous I didn't give her a loose rein again right away. Then my host, told me to give her more rein because she was acting nervous because she didn't know what tight reins/pressure meant. While I still think that it's more likely because she wanted to follow the other horse and I wasn't letting her and she was annoyed because she's not used to 'no', it raised a question for me, how on earth, do you train a horse  to ride without teaching them about pressure and what it means? I just don't understand how you train a horse if you don't use the removal and application of pressure. How do they understand what is right and what isn't?  I really don't understand...

But, these are not my horses and therefore they, and I, follow the rules set down by their owner. Even though I may find them frustrating. I really hope we're allowed to actually use the reins and pressure with the more difficult horses, because I refuse to get injured or run off with if I could have prevented it.

I've also never met so many horses who bite when annoyed- picking out feet for example or cinching. Biting is one of the big No-No's in my pasture since it's one of the only truly aggressive things a horse can do- just about everything else is them trying to get away. And these are not like the trail horses we had when I was a guide, these are healthy, fat horses who are fed 3 hay times a day, never kept tied up, ridden bitless on a loose rein, with treeless or very lightweight saddles, for one hack a day which is mainly walking and the occasional brief trot/canter. They have a great life is my point.

They're even kept with their families- mothers and daughters and so on. These are in no way abused or overworked horses. They are not mishandled or mistreated. I think they're just a bit...well, spoiled. I can't say they're disrespectful since I don't know if they've ever been taught or expected to respect their handlers and horses aren't born knowing that.  They know their job, and they'll do it, but no more.

They're also quite likely to run over you during feeding time. After getting stepped on a time or two I did decide I'm following my ' no fighting when people are out' rule and my 'don't be pushy about food' rule. I am also expecting them to move out of my way (i'll just annoy them until they do otherwise) and not just ignore me when I try to go somewhere, instead of me moving out of theirs. So far they're slowly picking it up.

 Personally, I think they'd be happier overall with having more set rules and boundaries. You can set boundaries without being cruel or harsh, and in my experience, the horse will actually thank you for it. Horses are herd animals, they like knowing who the leader is and they like the feeling of safety that defaulting to you can bring once you've got their trust.  Horses are like children, limits are your friend because while you can be friends with them, you need to be the parent/rider/owner first.

"It's the same with kids; you see some of these people with their kids, instead of being a little more engaged and seeing when things are going the wrong direction and redirecting them, they wait till they've done something wrong. Then they want to beat them up, or whip them for something that's already happened and people still do that with horses too. I'll be doing this the rest of my life, trying to convince people that that's not the way to go about things." - Buck Brannaman.


Not having these boundaries and rules doesn't make your relationship a partnership, it's just the oppose end of the spectrum from where many riders are dictators, but it isn't a partnership. You just become a passenger to them. A bit of an annoyance they have to put up with occasionally, and so when you annoy them (asking them to pick up their feet or tightening a cinch) they'll let you know you're annoying them.

I ask quite a few things of my horses at home, although none of them are very difficult.

I ask that you not fight when I'm out there.
I ask that you respect my spatial bubble and be polite around me. (You're much bigger than I am after all)
I ask that you ride out without acting up- this is different for every horse- and that you go, stop and turn when I ask.
I ask that you try what I want you to do or learn, even if it's new and confusing to you right now.
I ask that you look to me when you're scared, anxious or confused.
I ask that you try and move correctly so that you develop healthy muscle.
You respect me.

In return,

I feed, water and clean up after you.
I take care of your injuries.
I will respect you.
I do not get angry when you are confused or scared.
I try to stop trouble before it happens.
I try to ride and kindly as possible and work with you in the way you prefer.
I am a safe zone that you can go to and not be afraid of other horses or people.
I will listen to you if you tell me that you're having a terrible, no good, very bad day and you just need the day off instead of making you work anyway.
I will listen if you say that you are really not okay with doing something, and I will backtrack until you are okay with it.

We are partners, however, the balance of power is uneven because I am still the leader, but that isn't always a bad thing. Especially when you're a 1,300 lb flight animal who could injure or kill me easily, and I am not.

“Discipline isn't a dirty word. Far from it. Discipline is the one thing that separates us from chaos and anarchy. Discipline implies timing. It's the precursor to good behavior, and it never comes from bad behavior. People who associate discipline with punishment are wrong: with discipline, punishment is unnecessary.”-Buck Brannaman