Equine Equilibrium

It is still a bit of a minefield when you think where the rider sits for example and the responses you want to be elicited by reins, legs, and seat - there are over 30 of them. It is a lot to signal from where we are sitting and that's why it is really critical to make sure that the horse can discriminate our signals. The leg is often used for a lot of signals, go faster, go sideways, bend, turn. We expect a lot and when the horse does not understand, it may resort to its coping mechanisms which can vary from apathy to hyperactivity or aggression.

It is difficult to train a horse and we expect so much that regrettably our frustration and aggression comes to the fore sometimes. There is an underling expectation that the horse knows what it is meant to do and that it is too naughty to do it. But the problem with punishing for non-compliance, is that vou really don't know that the horse knows what he is meant to do. Certainly, if you have trained it clearly enough according to the law of habit formation; if you train something clearly enough and reinforce it repeatedly enough, then the horse would do it. If he doesn't, it must be something to do with the way we ask or the fact that it has not been trained clearly enough.

Talented horse people do not resort to force because they understand the necessary communication between human and horse. They understand the benefit of combined reinforcement. Most of us have to learn this.

This is an excerpt from 'Conversations with Dr Andrew McLean' available to purchase via our online store: https://esi-education.com/shop/