Partnership Exercises

Exercises that you can do!

The first step on the road to partnership is awareness.
The following exercise will enhance your observational skills and help you become more aware of how your actions affect your horse and how your horse's actions affect you.

"Becoming a Horse Watcher"

The next time you groom your horse, ideally on a day when you're not planning to ride, make careful note of the following:

How many times does your horse put his ears back?
Does he ever switch his tail or "make faces" at you?
Does he pull back either half-heartedly or seriously against the place he's tied?
Does he move into you or crowd you?
Does he fidget in place?
Does he try to bite or mouth you?
Does he try to kick or threaten you with a cocked foot?

Now, having made note of what your horse is doing, I want you to see if something you are doing directly caused these reactions. That is to say, go through the list again and watch what you're doing even more closely.

Please don't say to yourself, but that's just the way my horse is! Horses, by nature, enjoy being groomed and touched, many of them may not be used to it but they can learn.

Observe the horse's immediate surroundings for anything that may be causing some of these behaviors. For example, is your horse making faces at you or at the horse tied near him? Alternatively, is your horse making unhappy faces at you for brushing him too hard, or with a brush that is too stiff? (Remember that a horse can feel a fly's touch anywhere on his body.) He may be very uncomfortable with something that may feel moderately soft to you or he may be waiting for the very stiff brush that he thinks is coming.

Put yourself in your horse's place, exactly and moment by moment. Imagine that you are the one being tied, brushed, washed, pushed or pulled. Try to not be judgmental, just try to see what's really going on.

After you put your horse away for the day, write down your observations. Journals can be very helpful in the learning process. They can be invaluable for looking back and charting changes and progress. They can also remind you of what works and what doesn't.

After you write down you observations from the day, consider what you saw. Improving grooming is an important first step in the partnership process. Think about what you can change in your grooming routine that can improve one of the behaviors you saw today and would like to change. Some of the behaviors may be big, like biting or kicking, so I suggest starting with a smaller one. Let's say that your horse does flinch when you brush him. Find something to groom him with (and you may need to be patient and win back his confidence) that he likes. Even if it's a soft palm or a hand covered in a soft sock or a towel. Find a way to make a change.

In my experience, horse people are a smart and creative group. They solve complicated problems all the time at home, work, and in daily life. If you think of your horse as a co-worker or a friend, you'll see that, like a human friend, he may have both rational and irrational reasons for being upset. It may require some consideration and experimentation on your part to make changes that improve his behavior. Start small and don't be afraid to try different things.

Without understanding there can be no partnership.

If you have any questions about this exercise or would like to share any of your equine experiences please contact me.