TIME
in Horsemanship
As human beings, we measure
time, but we also let time
measure our life. Time seems
never as long, or as short as
we would like it to be.
When we are with horses we should consider
how they perceive time too! And, most importantly,
in activities that horses do not appreciate, understand,
advantages in our horsemanship. Mainly, the
horse will not look at us just as a nuisance
when we appear in his space.
If you ever wondered what is the horse’s concept
would know that is not a subject alien to him.
Unlike in human life, for the horse, time is
marked by vital needs, and not by a clock, or
an agenda. Examples of time instances, that a horse definitely
understands, are related to reproduction, seasonal changes
(which regulate the length and density of the equine coat), and
most definitely to the vital needs, like food and water intake, or
social interactions.
However, the more
interesting question is
whether horses are aware
of the passage of time,
and have the concept of
episodic memory, also
known as “what, where,
when” memory. Obviously,
in this case ‘when’
is most relevant. If an
animal is able to demonstrate
an awareness of
when a particular event
occurred, that animal
Horses that
have confidence
in themselves
learn much
faster than
those who are
always on alert
has a ‘conscious’ sense of time. In the case of horses, they
are certainly able to remember when an event happened, and
definitely alter their behavior accordingly. Therefore, we can
conclude that horses do have the capacity to understand time on
a conscious level.
Between human and horse, a form of time that matters is the one
used in communication. In this regard, I am not intending to talk
about how quickly we should give a reward to a horse that is being
TRAINING & Showing
not spend all the time we have together
or are even fearful about. Being conscious
of this fact can actually give us great
of time, and researched about it, you
time, during which a horse perceives the communication through
his senses, understands, and responds in form of behavior. The
more these technical times are taken into account, the more
the horse will benefit from it, and will be able to learn from his
experience. Each individual has different times, and methods of
learning. Horses that have confidence in themselves learn much
faster than those who are always on alert, because they cannot
concentrate on a situation for significant periods of time.
Man and horse have a long history in common, during which the
horse has served us, both as a necessary support to our life, and
as a source of pleasure. In both cases, the horse had no choice
other than executing what he was trained to perform. We should
definitely ask ourselves what would happen if instead of proposing
to the horse things that he must accept, we give him some
room for expression in this regard. It could be surprising to find
out that, if we let the horse act spontaneously, we can even have
the chance to experiment, and learn together.
Obviously, the real obstacle is having an efficient communication.
There is a real possibility of spontaneously communicating with
the horse, but to do so it is necessary to give the horse an opportunity
to express himself openly and relate spontaneously. The
time it takes to do this is related to the quality of communication
that we offer to the horse and that we are willing to accept from
him.
To start an immediate relationship with the horse, a good action
is to do it with the horse free to move, immersed in the dimension
of space and real time. Allowing him to use the language
of space and movement, and giving the horse time to decide
whether or not to participate in the action always repays our work
in a positive way. By letting the horse be free to move, and to
trained for an action.
Watching a human and a horse work together can have different
outcomes. It can look like they are in perfect sync, like professional
dancers, or that one executes the other’s directive requests,
or that there is a problem in the communication, and the
action stops. When communication is not a problem, the flow of
the action in time can definitely be helped by a shared common
purpose. This is always present, when two individuals are working
in sync as a team. In the second instance, the human is communicating
an instruction to the horse, and there is a technical
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