Look to Your Horse for Answers - Part 3
I have found it helpful to
observe Gunny as he interacts in the herd and apply those observations to help me come up with ideas specific to his unique personality. Following is a list of things I have watched that have provided me with answers in our own training.
I started this as an experiment. For years, I had moved him away every time he pinned his ears. (I had been taught that the horse needs to move and that if we walk around the horse we will lose respect.) And for years, he had continued to be likely to pin his ears when around feed. Like magic, by showing him that he doesn't need to move and that I will respect the spot he is at, he doesn't feel the need to pin his ears. And even more surprisingly, he started to step away from the hay feeder, on his own, when he sees someone is coming to put more hay in. So making this change has increased the respect, rather than decreasing it.
I also discovered how to be able to move him away from hay without him getting offended. This was also from watching the herd. I noticed that if a horse came from a distance away and had a demeanor that said they wanted Gunny to move from that hay, he would move willingly away from the hay. It was the ones who walked all the way up to the feeder and then tried to get him to move that he would pin his ears at. So, my other half of the experiment was to be extra conscious that if Gunny is standing someplace and he has been there awhile, then if I want him to move I start telling him to move from a longer way away as I approach. I found out that if I do that he moves away willingly. If I forget and wait until I am up close and then ask him, he is going to say "What right do you have to come into my spot and then tell me to move away from it?" It is a subtle difference but an important one to gaining harmony for us in this type of situation.
Paying attention to your horse's interactions within a herd will provide you with insights into his own unique viewpoint and personality. And sometimes it is easier to see what is going on when you are an outsider looking in.
- Paying attention to how he responds when another horse moves him. What seems to work best and what seems to cause him to respond unwillingly?
- Paying attention to how he goes about moving another horse.
- Is there anything he seems defensive about when out in the herd?
- How is he about sharing a hay feeder? What does he do when another horse approaches? How does he approach a horse he wants to share with?
- How does he like to play with other horses?
I started this as an experiment. For years, I had moved him away every time he pinned his ears. (I had been taught that the horse needs to move and that if we walk around the horse we will lose respect.) And for years, he had continued to be likely to pin his ears when around feed. Like magic, by showing him that he doesn't need to move and that I will respect the spot he is at, he doesn't feel the need to pin his ears. And even more surprisingly, he started to step away from the hay feeder, on his own, when he sees someone is coming to put more hay in. So making this change has increased the respect, rather than decreasing it.
I also discovered how to be able to move him away from hay without him getting offended. This was also from watching the herd. I noticed that if a horse came from a distance away and had a demeanor that said they wanted Gunny to move from that hay, he would move willingly away from the hay. It was the ones who walked all the way up to the feeder and then tried to get him to move that he would pin his ears at. So, my other half of the experiment was to be extra conscious that if Gunny is standing someplace and he has been there awhile, then if I want him to move I start telling him to move from a longer way away as I approach. I found out that if I do that he moves away willingly. If I forget and wait until I am up close and then ask him, he is going to say "What right do you have to come into my spot and then tell me to move away from it?" It is a subtle difference but an important one to gaining harmony for us in this type of situation.
Paying attention to your horse's interactions within a herd will provide you with insights into his own unique viewpoint and personality. And sometimes it is easier to see what is going on when you are an outsider looking in.
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