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relationships with horses are truly wonderful. We bring them into our
lives and take the best care of them we can. In return, they try their
best to understand what we want and perform as we ask them to. It's easy
to take that relationship for granted. We expect that when asked, our
horse will stand tied, pick up her foot, or trot on command. But things
don't always go as planned. Some days our horse won't pick up her foot
willingly. She won't stand quietly, or trot off as promptly or willingly
as we'd like. We've all had these days. When they occur we may get
frustrated, angry or perhaps just confused about what to do next. This
can be very upsetting for the horse, who wants very much to please us.
What can be done to improve this very important and sometimes fragile relationship with our horses? I believe that the answer is both simple and familiar: communication. But communication with a horse is not quite the same as communication with another human. For one thing, they're a different species which doesn't speak our language. Also, they have different motivations for wanting to be with us and to do what we ask. None of this is new information. Obviously, horses are a different species and can't converse with us in English. But, if it's so obvious, then why do we expect horses to immediately understand what a kick in the sides mean? Why are they expected to know the meaning of the word "whoa!" without a clue but for a yank in the mouth? Learning to communicate with horses is not that different from learning to communicate with people in a foreign country. When visiting a new country you will be surrounded by people with different ways of communicating, different customs, and different taboos. This can be very frustrating, at least at first. But when you've learned the language, studied the customs and the taboos - when you've learned to navigate in their world - you can become part of that world. You can communicate. This process of learning to communicate in a foreign country can be made much easier with the aid of a guide and interpreter. The same thing can be said of learning how to communicate with and better understand your horse. That's a teacher's role. My main focus in teaching is what I call "Partnership Awareness." In Partnership Awareness I act as guide and interpreter to help people better understand how their actions affect their horses'. I help the person learn to communicate more effectively by learning something of the horse's language, customs, and taboos. This is first done through a series of exercises on the ground and later under saddle. This learning process also includes the horse. The horse must learn to accept the person's attempts to communicate and must acknowledge successes on the person's part in the new partnership-communication process. Both the person and the horse learn to encourage successes in each other and thus learn to be partners speaking the same language. The new language will not be either "horse" or "human" but a combination that is both unique and strong. This new language can serve as the cornerstone for a new and stronger relationship between you and your horse. One based on shared understanding and clearer communication.
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