Our horse is a self-reflecting feedback system. It responds to what we are feeling and who we are being, more than just what we are thinking or doing. Our horse is always a reflection of our present state: not always instantly, but always reliably.
A month or so ago, I wrote an article on why softening your horse is important, then I did one on which side is stiff and which is hollow. Continuing on with that thread, today my article is a few general rules on how horses learn to get soft and why and of course how to keep them that way!
It’s a well-known fact that horses learn from the release of pressure not the application of it. But what does that really mean? Let’s take stopping. If we pull on the reins, eventually the horse stops. It may be the pulling that gets them stopped, but it’s the release of that pressure that teaches them to stop. More important, the release is what makes them want to stop. If we don’t release when they do stop and allow them to relax and recover, we don’t create the desire in them to want to it. A horse that wants to stop can then easily be taught the next lesson… how we want them to stop.
If on the other hand there is no release, then a horse gets resistant and defensive. It hurts and they don’t see a way to please us. When that horse hears you say “whoa” he braces for the immediate and continuous discomfort instead of knowing that as soon as he stops, the pressure will immediately cease, and he can relax and even get a pat and a rest.
With no release, they either give up, get hard mouthed, try to anticipate maneuvers, brace or get hollow and stiff. But when the release is immediate, they learn to crave and offer it. This principle goes across everything we do with our horse. They don’t learn to move away from your leg because you’re kicking them with it, but rather when they do move away, you release your leg.
As your timing gets better, you’ll find yourself releasing when you first feel them think to stop. That’s why some people can get results from a horse more quickly than others. And with consistency, feel and the release principle, you will feel your horse getting softer. All “softer” means is that your horse is more responsive (not to be confused with reactive) to very subtle cues and stays relaxed through his body, yielding willingly to the riders almost imperceptible movements.
We keep them soft by always staying present and in tune with what we’re asking, how we’re asking for it, and how it’s being responded to. Always starting with the softest request and incrementally increasing it until we feel the response, followed by an immediate release. If we go past their correct response with increasing force, things go the other way and our horses start getting dull, heavy and unresponsive. Soon, it takes a mighty pull to cease motion instead of a small deepening shift in our seat with a soft feel of the reins.
Gerald O’Brien, an Aussie liberty trainer, once told me first you have to get a horse to willingly comply with your request (ie crave doing that maneuver). Only then can you show him how you want it done. When they consistently offer that, then you get to increase the speed. That might be some of the wisest words I’ve heard.
Lameness. A dreaded word. Uttering it means that your horse may be out of commission. Determining the cause can be challenging, delaying treatment. Here are four keys to proactive care and communication with your veterinarian can help keep lameness from sidelining your horse and ruining your ride.
1. Commit to regular soundness exams
Prevention is the best treatment. While there’s no foolproof way to stop lameness from happening, there are ways to reduce its effects. Veterinarians agree that regular soundness exams are one of the best ways to catch problems before they’ve negatively impacted your horse. “Bringing the horse in twice a year for a lameness exam is what you can do that will undoubtedly prolong this horse’s athletic life. We can detect arthritis early and come up with a rational plan,” Dr. Allen said.
During a soundness examination, your veterinarian may:
Observe your horse walking, trotting and cantering
Examine your horse’s back, neck and joints
Complete a nerve block by using local anesthetic to temporarily desensitize certain areas of the limb to help identify potential issues
Complete X-rays, possibly sharing hoof images with your farrier to help ensure ongoing proper shoeing
By establishing your horse’s “normal,” you and your veterinarian will be able to identify potential issues earlier. This is especially important because lameness may not always be obvious. In early stages, subtle changes in gait, performance or willingness to work may be the only indication.
2. Keep your veterinarian in the know
Because early signs of lameness can be difficult to spot, it’s smart to consider your veterinarian as your first source of lameness information. Similarly, your veterinarian relies on you for information. So be sure to share observations about how your horse is moving, after all, you know your horse better than anyone else. Take note of any changes in gait as the more time-based information you can give the better.
3. Agree to diagnostics, especially for DJD
Speaking of diagnosis, communication becomes even more important if you suspect your horse is dealing with a lameness issue. When your horse is being evaluated for lameness, your veterinarian will ask you a number of questions ranging from your horse’s routine exercise to diet and supplement use to changes in housing to other therapies your horse is receiving. Your veterinarian will also ask you to describe any past lameness your horse has experienced. All this information is critical to supporting the diagnostic procedures, which may include radiographs, nerve blocks, ultrasound and more, depending on the suspected issue.
Degenerative joint disease (DJD), also called arthritis, is often to blame for lameness. In fact, DJD causes up to 60 percent of lameness in horses. DJD is characterized by progressive deterioration of articular cartilage, along with changes in the bone and soft tissues of the joint. If left untreated, DJD continues to get worse. Diagnosing DJD allows you and your veterinarian to begin treatment early, because once cartilage wears away completely, it cannot be restored.
4. Know product differences
To help overcome lameness and get your horse moving again, veterinarians will recommend a treatment plan tailored to the location, severity and cause of the lameness, plus your horse’s type and level of work. When DJD is diagnosed as the cause, using therapies to both reduce the symptoms (lameness) and slow disease progression is ideal.
Successfully managing DJD may require a combination of therapies, such as FDA-approved drugs, complementary modalities and biologics. The many joint therapies vary widely in effectiveness, safety and cost, so it’s important to talk with your veterinarian about the differences. Working together to choose what’s right for your horse can make a real difference in long-term health.
My wonderful friend Shannon Pigott just wrote an article on Pressure isn’t the Problem, it’s the Amplifier. I liked it so much I asked her for permission to reprint it for all of you. Here it is!
Left to right: Sandy Collier, Barbra Schulte, Kathy Daughn, and Shannon Pigott
“Dear pressure, I’m learning to love you!
There was a time when I thought pressure was the problem.
I’d show up prepared. I had done the work. My horse was ready. But when the stakes got high and the judge was watching or people were lined up at the rail, I would freeze. My body hesitated to respond the way it had in practice. I felt disconnected from my horse, from my plan, and honestly, from myself.
That kind of pressure used to leave me frustrated and discouraged. I thought something was wrong with me. I thought I lacked grit or mental toughness or whatever it was that other riders seemed to have when they walked in with confidence.
But I’ve learned something that changed everything. Pressure isn’t the problem, it’s the amplifier.
It turns up whatever doubt is already inside of you. If you bring fear into the pen, pressure makes it louder. If you bring doubt, pressure turns it into hesitation. But if you walk in with focus and a clear plan, pressure will sharpen your performance. Now I treat pressure like a tool. It is something I am learning how to use, not something to avoid.
Here’s one of the biggest mindset shifts that helped me.
I’ve done harder things than this.
I’ve walked through real challenges. Physical ones. Emotional ones. Life has thrown tougher things at me than a reining pattern or a fence run. Reminding myself of that gives me something to anchor to when the pressure hits. It helps me stay calm. It helps me breathe. And most importantly, it helps me execute.
I’m not perfect at it. Pressure still shows up. But now, instead of fearing it, I’m learning to ride with it. I’m learning to let it sharpen my senses instead of cloud them. I’m learning to trust myself more than I doubt.
In my last article on May 13, I talked about what softness was and wasn’t, the benefits of your horse being soft, and how I go about it. If this topic interests you, you might want to go back and read it before you read this one. In this article, I’ll give you a few suggestions on simple ways to increase softness and responsiveness in your horse.
One thing that makes a horse softer and more responsive is being more ambidextrous. Your horse will be better able to respond to your aides and will be more supple doesn’t have one side stiffer or more hollow than the other. Imagine how much more fluid and coordinated we’d be if we didn’t favor one side more than the other. I’ve written several articles on this in the past, because I think it’s so important for everything we do with our horses to be equally flexible and balanced on both sides.
First, it’s important to understand that about 80% of horses are stiff to their left and hollow to their right side. It’s easy to feel because when executing a symmetric circle to their stiff side, they don’t want to tip their nose to the inside as easily and they tend to collapse that circle by trying to lead with their shoulder. The opposite is true to their hollow side. They’re too bendable bendable and tend to drift to the outside of that circle. Also, it’s harder to move their shoulder in to keep them on it. So, first try to walk a perfect circle both ways making it very round and see if you can tell. Once you’ve figured that out, the next thing is to make the stiff side more supple and the hollow side a bit stiffer until they’re as balanced one way as they are the other.
Another way to tell is when you’re walking a circle to the right (if they’re more hollow that way), you’ll feel their hip cocked to the inside. In other words, their hind feet don’t follow in the tracks of their front feet.
Once you’ve determined which side is which, I’ll give you some ideas on how to even them up. I’d love some guidance from all of you regarding what problems you encounter and areas that you could use some suggestions for also.
