I started these “Horse Sense” columns in the fall of 2011 based on what I think are God’s commandments found in nature.
Horseman Pat Parelli came up with the 10 qualities of horsemanship, but I feel they are the 10 qualities of any endeavor and are indeed the 10 Commandments. I feel an easy way to remember these commandments is to refer to the Wizard of Oz story and focus on the individuals who wanted a brain, a heart and courage. Think of the first three commandments for the brain, the second three the heart, then the last four for courage.
In my last column I mentioned I feel these four pillars of courage put feet to the first six absolutes. These four are no adultery, no steal, no lie and no covet. The no adultery commandment can be equated with responsibility, self-control, faithfulness or consistency.
I believe this one is foundational for the other three and really is the most valuable. When we picture horses modeling this quality in the round corral or circus ring they are consistently circling in a dependable cadence providing a great basis for more incredible things to follow. This is what we also see in a logging horse faithfully working on its own, or a saddle horse keeping the same direction without being reminded by their rider.
In each of these instances, fear, boredom, hunger, social pressure or weariness tempt them to quit or lose cadence. The better they hang in there no matter what tempts them, the more valuable they are.
To help a horse with consistency we have to know the individual. If a horse is not confident and is fearful, then repetition of what we are doing is important. We may even have to break down what we are doing into more components so they can focus on one thing at a time. I have found that horses may have a hard time learning if they are worried about more than one thing at a time. Lots of repetition can actually bring comfort to a fearful horse, but it might get us bored doing it (it’s good for us to learn how to hang in there, too). This is really the basis for good teaching anyway. If an individual horse is not fearful and bores easily, then too much repetition can actually sour it. We need to slowly build up repetition through time with this type of horse. We can actually switch subjects in between periods of repetition to add variety to keep horses’ interest, kind of like what we do with kids.
It’s all about being sensitive to what is going on with the horse. If we quit working with a fearful horse before addressing their fears we will not make much progress. If we do stop repetition with an easily bored horse at the right time we will gradually get it to handle more and accept it responsibly. In the first instance, it is important to work longer, and in the second case it is important to change up earlier to ultimately get the same result in each different “horsenality.”
We are really trying to develop a good habit here, and a great basis for courage is regularly practicing doing the right thing so it can be more easily done during a time of testing.
Mike Daniels is a horsemanship trainer and barefoot trimming specialist from Raymondville, Mo.
Email: rlhorse58@yahoo.com.
