24/05/2023
Getting away with it!
I had an interesting conversation with a clinic spectator yesterday. She is a confident and capable rider at a yard that puts more focus on the horses mental well being than average, so this conversation did surprise me a little. It just shows how prevalent certain unhelpful outlooks are in the industry.
I was working with one of the horses she rides in the clinic. He was a nervous arab and we had great success getting him relaxed through the day.
Her question was about his exercise rides for endurance. Now I generally recommend a horse like this needs more practice being emotionally fit before working on physical fitness, but I also need to offer advice of how to proceed if that doesn't happen.
My main advice is to pay attention to signs of building anxiety and do something about it. In extreme cases that something is "get off and do groundwork".
This raised the question. "... But isn't that letting him get away with it".
I answered with a question. "What would he be getting away with? Being scared?"
Horses don't enjoy an overwhelming sense of doom. They don't plan it just to make their riders have a bad day. They genuinely fear for their lives.
The simple act of noticing they are worried and doing something constructive to help them through it builds their belief in our ability to keep them safe.
Sure, if you get off your scared horse, and while they're still scared untack them and let them go, they will associate riding with fear. Their last memory of a ride was them in terror for their life. If they get worried and a disengagement doesn't bring them out of flight mode, getting off and addressing that worry on the ground is only going to build confidence. Getting them relaxed and maybe getting back on a relaxed horse, or even just working them on the ground at the place they got worried until they relax is not letting them getting away with anything.
I feel the idea of horses getting away with things shouldn't be in our vocabulary. Yes, release teaches, so be mindful of what you release on, but it's not a battle of wits.
If anything I see riders trying to get away with surviving a ride on an animal in fear of it's life.