DISCIPLINE AND THE TRAIL HORSE

 

 

 

DISCIPLINE AND THE TRAIL

HORSE

 

 

    Discipline is a touchy subject. Disciplining a horse is not a pleasant activity. Riders and trainers have varying attitudes and technique when it comes to discipline and when you look at the range of horse dispositions, behavior, and experience, and combine that with the attitudes, behavior, and experience of people, you can see why diving into this topic is like diving into a tub of worms. The one thing we all agree on is that discipline, in one form or another, is absolutely necessary. In fact, if you do not have a handle on discipline, even with well-mannered horses, their behavior can, in time, slide down the slippery slope from nuisance to problematic to dangerous.
    Do not look upon your moment of discipline as an event, a confrontation, or a battle. We need to understand that discipline is a process, as it is with disciplining a child or a dog. Understanding that it is a process should help us understand that the emotions of the moment are not part of the big picture and that these emotions cloud our choices. Poor choices may exaggerate behavior problems by further confusing the horse. We need to understand that there are psychological as well as physical components to discipline. I have read some writers who maintain that no physical contact is ever necessary with horse discipline and accurately point out that in the herd errant horses are made to mind their behavior by being pushed to the periphery by dominant horses, a vulnerable position, and that our ability to push our horses to the outside of the round pen, makes them vulnerable, and their join up will earned respect, and therefore is the ticket for discipline. That is so, to a point, but have another look at that herd and you can see that the choice of discipline may also be a vicious bite or a swift kick. Being physical is a part of the horse's world of discipline and dominance, and if you choose to ignore that fact then you may also be choosing to ignore that a horse can be big, physical, dominant, pushy, and dangerous in your own space and your own world.
    Make no mistake about it, you can literally love your horse to death. A horse that is raised with lots of love but no clear borders of acceptable behavior will push these borders to no good end. This lack of discipline and respect towards a human will manifest itself by poor behavior including crowding one’s space, turning their rear towards people, biting, kicking, being generally pushy and being difficult when being asked to respond to pressures during training. On the trail, and in the backcountry where a rider can be isolated and vulnerable, this is serious. You can see many examples of spoiled horses at horse sales and in classified ads, and many of these horses do not live long fulfilled lives.
    As horse owners we are often forced into providing discipline whether we like it or not, and often our own gentle nature finds us at odds with the required discipline; I did not buy a friend to spend my time fighting over its bad behavior; I just don’t want to do it and don’t know if I’m doing the right thing anyway. It’s a tough situation. You can always try to buy a well-trained horse in order to own and ride a horse that is well behaved and better trained then you could create yourself, but once you own that horse your daily interaction requires that you understand and implement discipline or you lose the pleasure of a well-behaved horse. Love and carrots and sugar are not the end all recipe for a happy equine relationship. Love, carrots, sugar, respect, personal space and the appropriate discipline at the appropriate moment is. Your horse will actually love you more if you use appropriate discipline when needed and are in control – being alpha. Let’s look at discipline itself and some examples of appropriate discipline.
    First, although discipline can lean toward the psychological or physical, I feel that they are interwoven, not separable, and support each other. Second, if a physical action is appropriate, like the slap of your hand at the base of the neck or pushing the horse’s nose back where it belongs, out of your space, it needs to be immediate, and I mean immediate. Any longer than three seconds after the infraction is too long and the horse will not understand what the punishment is for. Although this may satisfy your anger it adds fear and confusion, reduces trust and respect, and undermines the value of your actions in the future. Third, do not believe that because your horse is big and strong you need to counter with big and strong discipline. You need to respond with the least amount of discipline to get the job done, however, you absolutely must win the moment, the horse must be worked through the bad behavior, or you will lose your status, and your future is not just only in jeopardy, it is like signing off on your future with that horse. You may as well throw your bridle down the well and walk home.
    This past summer I had a good lesson in discipline. Ironically, the horse was Sunny, a true favorite who has the heart of a lion and is a well-trained go anywhere horse. As some friends and I readied our horses at the staging area I discovered that in my rush to leave home I forgot my bridle. But it was no problem as I plodded along behind the group. A piece of rope for reins and a rope halter for a head stall did just fine. Although the head gear was minimal, Sunny has known me as long as I have known him, and he knew better than to mess with the dominant human among humans and horses (unlike my dominant status in my own family).
    Later in the day we got onto a tangled mountain slope, an old slide, and the trail continued along, but faintly. My friends continued on but I had the feeling that the true direction was down through the tangle to the stream bottom where the trail should continue to wind its way down the valley. As we edged our way down to the stream bottom Sunny began to act up, distressed that he was being separated from his buddies, who continued to head away down the valley. Over the years Sunny and I have ridden off from the herd on many occasions but always with a bit and bridle. His stubborn behavior surprised me and the halter offered little control. As soft in the mouth as he is, he was wired with energy and had no desire to respond softly and, unfortunately, I became a willing partner in a tug of war, a battle with a rope halter for a bridle and string for reins, and a 1200-pound horse. It went from bad to worse. We were spinning aggressive circles in a tangle of brush and cross fallen sticks. Things were getting increasingly out of hand and dangerous. Discipline was needed.
    Would slapping the horse at the base of his neck with my hand help? No, he could have cared less, and it only would have exaggerated the frustration. Shouting and hitting is easy to do but it is simply not effective and exaggerates the problem. When a horse is acting up on the trail by wanting to rush back home (barn sour) or pushes the horse in front, or aggressively wants to change pace to a trot or a run, it is always a good idea to turn the horse, disengage the rear quarters, and make him work circles until he stops the nonsense and is willing to walk off at the proper pace. But I had been turning circles and it did not help. I dismounted, and with the 12-foot lead, lunged him right there in that brushy mess, and continued to lunge him until he calmed down and showed the respect required. He was not invited back into my space until he behaved. It worked, and we rode off a much happier couple. I am sure the next person to chance upon that torn up circle would claim a mad grizzly had been there, or a UFO had landed there.
    Just like a school principal would discipline students differently based of their personality, so it must be with horses. A horse that is acting up may do so because it is aggressive, or afraid, or confused, or just being naughty, or a combination of the above. You absolutely must understand the nature of the horse before choosing the appropriate discipline. Horses that are calm, confident and experienced can handle a little physical reminder while an aggressive physical pressure of any type with a fearful insecure horse may quickly exaggerate the confusion and fear. If you are cinching up a girth of an experienced horse and it horse swings his head around and attempts a little bite then aggressively rubbing the nose back, pushing its face back, or a light smack on the nose, is a good choice for this naughty behavior. If you go to mount the horse and it moves, from fear or being naughty or poor training, then you need to dismount and repeat mounting until it stands still. If the horse is experienced and belligerent about it then a slap at the base of the neck or a modest knee in the girth area is also appropriate.
    Always use a firm ‘no!’ when using discipline. In time the word itself will help the horse understand it needs to behave. When you say ‘no’ get right into the horse’s space, looking directly into its eye (providing it is not aggressive). Do not jerk the bridle or bit for any form of discipline, except, when you are bumping a well-trained horse, ‘back, back, back’, as form of discipline. If the horse moves when it should be standing, or if it is being naughty and acting up, it is good discipline to gain control by putting the horse into motion. For example, if the horse moves ahead when it should not then you may choose to apply pressure to its chest and reins and ask it to move back. You decide when to let it stop and let it back into your space. Similarly, you may set the horse into forward motion and decide when to let it back into your space. This can, and should happen when horses misbehave on the trail, another good reason for 11- or 12-foot leads that can act as a short lunge line.
    A horse that kicks up during training may do so for a few different reasons. Often the horse is simply showing displeasure, being naughty or feisty. There is no need to whip the horse or be aggressive as a few rounds in the round pen or the lunge line generally convince the horse that it is business and they soon lose the foolish behavior. However, if it is an experienced horse who knows better, or an aggressive horse, or if the kicking becomes a pattern, then you need to ‘get after’ the horse just as you would if it was cutting corners, tossing its head, or other infractions in the round pen or on a lunge line. Raising your hands and voice and stepping toward its flank, some whip contact, or a carrot stick whip with a plastic bag (we are not fans of plastic bags on whips) attached, are good ways to let the horse know that the behavior is not acceptable. If the horse is extremely aggressive and actually attacks and does not respond to reasonable discipline then finding a good trainer or finding a different horse may be called for.
    If the horse is new in training, or new to you, or fresh in from the field, or very low in hierarchy among other horses, then misbehaving is often a symptom of genuine fear. Often the fear in these horses rears its head when you are asking it to do something and the fear is combined with confusion. In these instances you need to be very patient, but firm, and continue to complete the task at hand, working through the problem with repetition. Be careful to release pressure with any small success. In these cases, if you are not sure if the horse is genuinely afraid or confused or just testing you, use repetition of simple tasks to give the horse confidence and to instill your presence of the alpha being who is in control.
    An example of this may be a task, let’s say riding circles in the arena or round pen, and the horse begins to resent the activity and act out by tossing its head, not giving its face, and even crow hopping. Regardless of whether the horse is afraid, confused, or spoiled, you need to work through the problem by continuing with the activity until the horse settles down and accepts your presence and control, rewarding it with stops when it agrees to behave for short times. This may mean simply riding through the same exercise again and continuing to ride simple lessons repeatedly until the horse accepts its role. It may require dismounting and doing some simple groundwork until your authority is established, and then continuing with the exercise.
    Two things are certain with the frightened or confused horse- never use force and strike the horse, and never walk away or quit the activity until you get the desired response and it is understood that you are in control. Always end these sessions with affectionate touch. Treats are acceptable.
    Many trail horses constantly test the borders; seeing if they can choose the trails they wish, walking in your space as you lead them, crowding you as you place on a saddle, crowding a tree as you ride past, pulling their head away or toward you when you halter or bridle them, moving as you place on a pad or saddle, and the list goes on. If they are successful at stepping over these lines of behavior that you have clearly drawn for them, then you need to remind them of their place with the appropriate discipline. If you do not, it is a free ticket to freedom to abuse you further. And now they can get creative and invent new ways to abuse you, and they will.
    That is why I always remind the horse prior to our ride with a touch of preventative discipline – it works wonders. It goes something like this: I see a bad place to navigate ahead and do not want the horse crowding my space and stepping on my feet as I walk out in front, so, I walk out in front a couple feet then turn and give his nose a tap with the end of the lead rope and say ‘back’. Now there is no question about what I expect. The horse pays attention. Or maybe my horse has been known to walk off before I am mounted. I use the flat of my hand and lightly slap it against the base of his neck, or give a light downward tug on the halter and say ‘stand’ or ‘whoa’ before I mount up, and now the horse knows what I expect.
    Do not create problems that you or someone else has to discipline for in the future. I believe that young horses are best raised in the herd where they learn the mechanics of dominance, submissiveness, and herd discipline. If you raise a foal in isolation or with constant human affection, then be sure that it also has clear lines of acceptable behavior. Give it all the love you want but be sure it is not pushing into your space to receive it but comes in only when invited. Stop nuisance behavior like nipping and kicking before they become problems. If you are going to touch and rub the friendly young horse be sure it accepts the touch in all areas including legs, feet, groin and ears.     Do not get in the habit of scratching the horse’s rump as it learns to push its rear end towards people.
Finally, when it comes to discipline, as with all training, it is as much about knowing when to release pressure, when to back off, to show the horse that it is now behaving properly, or a step in the right direction. If you continue with aggressive discipline after the horse has begun to respond then the horse will certainly become more confused and not understand what you are asking or how to respond, and the problem becomes exaggerated and even dangerous.
    After reading this article that I just wrote, it does read somewhat as if all horses are born criminals and require time in juvenile detention centers, but that is not so. Like people, they come with varying degrees of tractability, desire to get along, and, what I call being an honest horse. Some horses are just born honest, reliable, and a joy to work with and live with. However, not following those discipline procedures above can and will turn an honest horse into a spoiled horse. And, some horses just seem to be born mean, disagreeable, sour – avoid those traits if at all possible, starting with not buying one with these qualities.

    I hope you had lots of great adventures this summer and fall and that you and your horse came through the season healthy, happy, and in one piece; partners- joined up- alike minds.
Ok already. Happy Trails!

 

A slap at the base of the neck is one place to administer quick discipline, quick as in 3 seconds or less, or don’t bother as the horse will not know what its about and become confused, afraid, or resentful.

 

Happy trail riders only happen with horses that have known discipline. Riders that do not have the experience, confidence, or innate ‘grit’ often quit the game. They believed that the more they loved their horse, the more it would love them back. It hurts when their big, powerful, buddy is very willing to disobey and push them around.