Do we, as riders, understand our horses?

You're probably familiar with moments when something just doesn't feel right while riding. The horse decides it has its own version of the plan, and you start to feel that your idea of going straight ahead, towards the entrance of the arena, is merely a suggestive thought that ends up somewhere in the bushes next to the arena. Instead of knowing what's going on, it feels like the horse is playing with you and making a fool of you.

"What's this idea of yours today?" you ask your horse, while it answers with a look that says, "If you think I'm going where you tell me, think again!" And this is exactly what it's all about. How well, as riders, can we understand what our horse is thinking and what it intends to do? How can we prevent situations where the horse tries to unseat us or run away?

Simply put, we need to learn to understand our horses. Recognizing when the horse beneath us is in physical discomfort is crucial to prevent collisions like rearing, spooking, or other unpleasant things the horse might do. Often, these behaviors are preceded by subtle signals from the horse to the rider. And here's the catch – if the rider doesn't recognize and pick up on these signals, a small problem that could easily be solved grows into something much bigger over time.

It's a bit like when someone starts gently tapping you on the shoulder, and you ignore it – until they finally slap you hard. If we paid attention to these small hints, we could avoid the bigger issues. But, as is often the case, we only notice them when it's too late. Then we think, "If I only knew earlier!" 🤦‍♂️

The psychological approach to horses, where we try to solve all problems through spiritual means, has its place, but its effectiveness varies from case to case. It's no secret that the success of this approach depends not only on the mental aspect but also on the horse's physical state. When we focus only on its psyche, we might end up forgetting that the horse could have real physical issues affecting its behavior. 👍😄

And here's the key moment: both these perspectives – psychological and physical – need to be combined. When we view the horse as a complex being with both emotional awareness and a physical body, we almost guarantee success. If the horse feels good physically, it's more likely that its psyche will be balanced and stable!!!!!!!!

When both aspects are correctly combined, success is nearly assured. That's when true harmony is created between the rider and the horse. It's like when all the puzzle pieces fall into place. That's when we feel that our horse is not just our companion, but a real partner.

Let's take this example: The horse will often "train" you when jumping. Sometimes, you'll have a great feeling, everything will go smoothly, and you'll feel like a showjumping champion. Other times, it will feel as though the horse has completely stopped understanding you. In these moments, you'll likely search for the problem – and often the first thing you'll suspect is its temperament.

Riders' reactions vary, but in 90% of cases, they'll start looking for the cause in the horse's temperament. The most common phrases heard are: "This horse is making things up and doesn't want to cooperate!" And what follows? A change of bit, a tighter noseband, and sometimes a stricter approach to training. As if our first instinct is: "When it doesn't work, we need to be tougher, that'll fix it!" 💪

But what if the problem isn't just the horse's disobedience? What if the issue is how we're perceiving the situation? Sometimes things don't work because the horse isn't in good enough physical condition, or it hurts, or maybe it simply had a bad day and the rider saddled it wrong. So before we "punish" the horse and make unnecessary changes to our methods, maybe we should ask: "What is the horse trying to tell me?" 🤷‍♀️

If we focus not only on the psyche but also on the physical causes, we might discover that a different approach is needed than just "increasing pressure." Perhaps it's enough to pay more attention to the signals the horse is sending before we decide to solve everything with force.

Let's try to look at the problem from the other side. As we said earlier, the horse's mental health must be approached from a physical perspective as well. Let's learn, as riders, to look at the misbehavior or lack of cooperation from our horses with a different perspective than is common in today's riding world.

Let's not look for the problem in "bad behavior," but in the horse's physical state.

Often, the problem might be hidden in something not immediately visible – in the horse's anatomy and biomechanics. It could be an inherent anatomical issue that simply prevents the horse from handling the heavy load under saddle. And what happens then? The horse begins to show signs of non-cooperation because it feels physically restricted or even in pain, and the rider often doesn't know what the real issue is. And when the rider doesn't understand how to assess the horse from the perspective of its physical condition, they end up in a vicious cycle of frustration.

Many riders begin looking for the problem in the horse's temperament, but don't realize that the horse might simply have a different physical capacity than what is expected from it in the level of riding required. Maybe the horse has a movement problem that's preventing it from reaching its full potential. If the rider learns to perceive and understand these physical limits, they can avoid not only frustrations but also unnecessary changes in training methods that would never resolve the issue and could make it worse.

That's why it's important to pay attention not only to the mental and psychological aspects but also to the physical state of the horse!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Because that's where the key to success lies, and it will help us achieve a harmonious relationship between the rider and the horse.

7.1.2025

Michel Jaonpeev Mares

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