When I was 16 I wanted desperately to learn 'dressage'. I heard about this man who taught dressage lessons in our area. I found out what barn he was teaching at from a friend of mine, skipped school that day and drove out to see him. I introduced myself and inquired about lessons. He asked a few questions and followed me back to the barn to see the horse I was riding and watch me ride before committing to teaching me. There he began to explain how MY position was off, MY attitude about riding was off, thus exposing why my horse was off!

At that time dressage to me was a way to 'beautifully control' your horse. I really had no idea what it was all about, but in that 10-minute evaluation I began to see quickly what it wasn't about. In all my riding up 'til that point everything was based, more or less, on force. To me it was always the horse that was wrong. I had no understanding of how I sat on this horse, no understanding of how this horse physically and mentally worked under me. Yet there I was in my glory, controlling this all-powerful horse, taking pride in making this creature sulk around the riding arena, making him bowing to my every whim. All this was about to change in the rudest awakening of my riding life.

My mount was a large Canadian Thoroughbred. She was very stubborn and was often the one in control taking ME for the proverbial ride around the arena, and else where if she desired! After a frustrating and unwanted gallop across the 5-acre field and thru a fence, I got on the phone to tattletale to my instructor. "This horse! Guess what she did TODAY?" I said. To my disbelief my instructor said something to me that in 12 years I have yet to forget. "All you ever see is the bad. Do you EVER see ANYTHING good in that horse? Until you stop looking for so much bad you will never have anything good in your life! Now, I will see you next week." and then hung up on me. At 16 this is NOT what I wanted to hear, but it was the truth and it hurt. From that day on however, my entire attitude changed and my education began.

ATTITUDE & KNOWLEDGE

Horses are wonderful creatures to be around and riding them should be pleasant for both horse and rider. Unfortunately a lot of times riding becomes frustrating for the rider, because the horse is just as frustrated. Because of lack of skill and education a circle of anger, defense and frustration quickly develop between horse and rider. It is a circle that is hard to break, no matter what the symptoms of the problems are. The horse pulls on the reins, won't stop, won't go, bucks... the list goes on and on. And that list is just from the rider's point of view. The horse's complaints? Riders with stiff bodies, harsh hands, bad tempers, and not wanting to SEE the first sign of a horse TRYING hard to do SOMETHING right. At least us riders can COMPLAIN about it! The only thing for a horse to do is act out to show how upset he feels.

It is easy to see how this starts. The horse pulls on the bridle, the rider pulls back harder. The horse pulls more to rid his mouth of the pressure, the rider pulls harder to control the horses resistance. This is what starts the circle. That is, a reactive cycle, (horse pulling, rider pulling) and each repeating cycle, making the bad behavior into a habit. A BAD HABIT.

THE RIDERS POINT OF VIEW

"This horse goes to fast. I pull back to stop him, and he nearly pulls me out of the saddle. He is not easy to ride, he tosses his head, he is rough and it bounces me around. One minute he won't move, and the next I find it nearly impossible to slow him down or steer him. If he would obey I could sit easier. It is very frustrating and sometimes scary. I feel like I am getting nowhere with him. If he would only obey, I wouldn't have to use spurs or tie his head down. Why does this have to be such a battle? Why can't he just do what I am asking him to do? If he'd pay attention maybe he wouldn't run into the fence or trip as much as he does!"

Most horses, for lack of GOOD training by a good rider, have problems. Stubbornness, nervousness, etc. We call the horse clumsy, dumb, witchy, etc. Most riders are quick to fault the horse. A good rider will always look at himself first for fault, and take the time to attempt to think about what the horse is feeling. For example, did you ever stop to think that your lack of balance or your nervousness are causing you to grip tight with your legs, telling your horse to rush off? How can the horse listen to the signals to stop when you legs are telling him to go?

THE HORSES PONT OF VIEW

"I go about my life, doing this and that and not thinking much about how I go about what I am doing--I just do it. I was made to graze, and live in herds with other horses where everything is ok to me. But you and I go out in the arena and then, I am bothered by some feeling of discomfort, pain, or tension. It is a gnawing feeling I do not like, a 'bad thing'. It makes me want to do something about it to make it go away, as soon as possible. I just want to feel the way I felt before it all started. I do not understand why you yell at me when am hurting, tired or I don't understand what we are trying to do. When my back hurts, I toss my head, I rush up, or I may even buck. When you pull on my mouth and I don't understand, I pull back. When my legs are tired I slow down or may even stumble only to be kicked by spurs. When I am physically out of shape and can't do my job I refuse. All I know is my unhappiness makes you very unhappy, which makes me suffer even more."

UNDERSTAND WHAT IS GOING ON

How do we end this circle of bad behavior? The correction has to start with the rider. The horse could care less if you ever got on his back again, so long as his misery is stopped, he doesn't care if there is ever a real SOLUTION. The rider on the other hand WANTS to ride, so it is the rider who must change first. It was our decision to ride the horse, it is up to us to find a solution to these problems, not just cover them up, or push them aside. We have to understand how this bad behavior circle starts, and the harm that is done by allowing it to continue and develop into BAD HABITS. The key to changing things is attitude and knowledge.

SYMPTOMS & PROBLEMS

When the horse misbehaves it bothers YOU, but remember that the horse misbehaves because of something that bothers him! For example, when you get sick a sneeze is not the problem. It is a symptom of the problem. Your problem is that you are sick. The solution is not holding your nose to stop the sneezing. The solution is to get rid of the sickness. Head tossing is not the problem. It is a symptom of the problem. The head tossing bothers YOU, but it is NOT the head tossing that bothers the horse. The problem with the horse is somehow he uncomfortable in his mouth so he tosses his head. The solution is to find out what is bothering his mouth. Tying his head down won't solve the problem, it will only temporarily stop the head tossing. You can be sure the head tossing will start up again as soon as that head tie down is off!

Rushing off is the symptom, the problem could be the horse is confused by the rider, he is in pain, or he is feeling playful. Pulling on the bit and yelling (anger) won't solve the problem. You are just punishing the symptoms.

Resistance will not stop resistance. A rider's anger will not stop a horse's bad behavior. Hopefully if you have read on to this point you don't WANT to be in this type of situation.

Of course the problem doesn't always have to be WITH IN the horse, possibly the rider is causing the pain (bouncing on his back, or having harsh hands), confusion (the rider has his legs tight yet is pulling on his mouth), or has under estimated the horses abilities for a certain task (the rider asks for a high jump, or a complete stop from canter).

SOLUTIONS

Once you understand the PROBLEM & SYMPTOM idea, you can begin to really find a way to fix things. Before acting out against the horse, or his symptoms, ask yourself questions. WHAT is CAUSING this head tossing? Then begin to ask the easy questions. Does the bit fit properly? Do his teeth need dental work? If these questions do not point to the obvious problem, then you need to ask harder questions, which maybe you don't want the answers to. Have you been holding the reins too tight? Have you been tugging on the horse's mouth causing him fear and pain? Was the horse ever properly educated to the bit by an experienced rider? Sometimes we won't like the answers. None of us like to admit that we are somehow the cause problem.

You have to take away the reason for the horse's bad behavior, but remember, if he has been misbehaving for a long time, it has become a BAD HABIT. Bad habits are hard to break, they can't be 'erased', the horse has to be re-educated. Being fair, if it took 3 months for a habit to start, it will take at least 3 months for that habit to correct. Keep in mind that the first step towards fixing things doesn't guarantee an immediate or quick fix.

The fact that the rider (possibly you) is not educated enough shouldn't keep you from wanting to learn. There is always room for improvement. We all have to start somewhere. Hopefully it is today. Don't be ashamed though! Maybe you didn't mean or know you were doing these things. Hopefully we all have good intentions and don't mean to cause our horses harm. We should not be afraid to step up and admit our part in the problem, because until you can and DO, the problem will not be fixed (sore mouth or sore back) and symptoms will not stop (head tossing or bucking). This is the first step to getting out of the rut you and your horse are stuck in.

Start with attitude! Think positive, with a kind heart. Do not ride with the attitude to 'conquer' your horse and be his boss. A rider must see that the horse is a partner, not a machine and not a slave. He is a living breathing being just like you. When a horse is in grief with something, he has the same feelings of hurt, pain, confusion and frustration as humans do. The horse doesn't want to feel like this any more than you do. It is better to get a horse to do things because he understands and wants to please, not because we are forcing him with pain and he is scared of us.

Riders MUST be patient! Do not get discouraged. As I had to learn in the beginning, be willing to see the very small and few GOOD THINGS your horse does each ride! Praise them and build on them! In the words of a past great horseman, hope for much, be content with a little and reward often!

Hear these three, T - T - T. Hear their chime, Things Take Time!

Happy Riding!

~ Kiersten Barnes
  August 24, 1999