����������������&�������������� Horses will never be willing to pay positive attention to something that they fear. The type of attention we seek while riding a horse is what we see when the communication between rider and horse is seamless, and when a rider and horse can perform harmoniously. It does not require a continuous reminder to be kept active. So, how can we have a harmonious ride, and lead an a��entive horse? One of the ways we can be perceived as a leader while riding is to patrol what surrounds us, just like a horse does. It is easily done by systematically looking ahead and around, while still pursuing our task and keep being in charge of the direction of movement. By doing this simple action, the horse perceives us watching out the same way he does. It can sound like the opposite of what we are traditionally taught to do, but it is instead our way to make him feel safe and let him know we are aware of what is ahead of us. If we watch its ears, always located in our field of vision, we can tell where the horse is putting his focus while we ride. This simple action of being aware of what our horse sees can shelter us from the very dangerous and common situations called spooks. This is especially true when we go out on trail for the first time in a new place, but it is also true even in the arena where we normally work. Traditionally, we are taught that horses have to carry their head in a certain standard manner, in order to be biomechanically correct in supporting our weight and while proceeding on the path we lay out for us. This model might be correct as far as carrying the rider, but does not account for the fact that horses constantly respond to what surrounds them too, and this is something that affects the riding performance of rider and horse. It is not possible to ask a horse to ignore the information he receives from his senses, but it is possible to have him choose to accept our leadership, if we show to our horse we are aware of our surroundings the same way he is. A��ention and fear Horses will never be willing to pay positive attention to something that they fear. Most of us are not aware of the strength of our actions, when we punish the horse using pain and fear, especially when we train. Speaking of pain and fear, it is good for anyone to know how deeply the pain and the fear can affect an individual and how the memory of what is learned cannot be easily erased. An example that very clearly explains the situation in human terms is when a rider falls or gets hurt, and feels he cannot ride again because he is afraid. Fear and pain are part of a mechanism that ensures the survival of an individual. The memory of pain is difficult to eradicate because it has its own memory path in the brain, independent from consciousness, and acts faster than conventional memory storage processes. That’s why conditioning through the use of situations that the horse tries to avoid is so effective. In addition to this, when the horse is bound by tack he has no alternative than to have to withstand the situation. If instead the horse has a choice, he would move away from a fearful situation! In the past century, a psychologist that had a patient who was unable to form memories because of damage to her brain, identified the mechanism behind how pain and fear act in terms of memory. Every day the psychologist had to restart his relationship with the patient as if for the first time. In his search for a way to help the patient, one day he wanted to experiment with pain, and hid a pin between his fingers, when he held out his hand to greet the woman. The pin stung the woman provoking a reaction involving pain. The following day, the woman did not remember the incident, but when he held out his hand to greet her, she withdrew her hand and refused to shake the hand of the doctor, all without 74 www.EliteEquestrian.us
19027EE
To see the actual publication please follow the link above