UNDERSTANDING THE MIND OF YOUR HORSE

by

John O'Leary
Horseman
© 1999

When you are young, you probably really don't think about things like this. I didn't. I just rode em. The more that I have, the more that I have got out of horses and the more that I have been able to fix the major problems that I encounter. Unfortunately they cannot speak. Well, they can, but rarely can a human understand what they are saying. What a plaintiff thought that is?

I am so lucky to now be able to read their minds and to know what they are thinking. I haven't tried to do this, it has just happened. Maybe that's what 'Curley' was talking about in City Slickers One. When ever he was asked how he did that or how did he know that, he would say, when you get "The One Thing" They would ask, "When will that be?" and he would answer, "You'll know when you have it" You have no idea how good it is to know what the "One thing" is.

I also know that horses can read my mind. I can think a horse to stop in the lunge ring. I can emit energy from my fingers and get a horse to move. Above all though, I start my relationship with every horse with a firm opinion that it is as smart or smarter than I. Sadly, so many people start with the belief that the horse is a dumb animal so it is little wonder why they can never progress.

Perhaps I can put it this way. If you treat your horse as if it is a deaf and dumb person and imagine that you are on their back with whip and spurs, would you look at life differently? Perhaps. If you did hit them with a whip, blame them, spur them, scream at them or give your other half a hard time that night, would you want to be real sure that the deaf and dumb person knew what you were trying to tell them? Would you want to deliver your discipline with 'Justice'?. I would.

In reality, it is the same with our horses. They may be crying out to us, showing us all sorts of hand and mind signals but we just don't get it.

Can I give you some real life examples?

• I watched a rider riding a horse around a paddock at the back of our home property. For weeks, he was obviously practicing NH on the ground and his riding consisted of lot's of cantering and galloping. One day he drove into my place, most concerned that his horse had an injury to the wither which he didn't know how to treat, I went around and on arrival, saw the wither of the poor old horse cut through and in between the vertebrae of the wither with puss running down to the horses hoof. I asked for a look at his saddle and to my shock there was no padding beneath the front section and he had been riding with the steel front plate directly on the wither of the horse. The bloke weighed about 90kg. Wouldn't it have been wonderful if that owner could have understood the plaintiff yet subtle calls for help being made to him. The horse was put down.
   

• We had a problem horse here a couple of years ago and he located an old padlock that had been locked around one of the stable division mesh rods. He worked out that he could grab the padlock in his teeth and slide it up and down a meter of steel rod, thus getting our attention and perhaps what ever it was that he wanted.

• Another had 'A.D.D' I think the scientific description is 'Advanced Deficit Disorder'. Anyhow, he was bucking people off but was one hell of a character. Lovely temperament but an intelligence of a genius. We taught him to retrieve my hate if we threw it over the fence into his yard. Other tricks as well. Due to us giving him more interesting things to do and to allow his creative desires to come out, he stopped bucking.

• One horse, a world class one, couldn't get it through to his owner that he had a fragile mind and a deep separation disorder. Consequently, half way up the Dressage Scale, he blew up and became not ride able. If you got him out to plait, he would shit about 30 times until there was no more. If you walked around the corner and left him he would lose it and have major panic attacks. We took the pressure off, disciplined him with justice, understood his ways, rewarded him far and above other horses, changed disciplines and became his 'Cuddle Pot' where he would hold my clothing in his lips in case I went. He later became my roping horse and went on to compete well at the Olympic Dressage level.

• A bolter came to me. He would bolt three circuits of the local race course. The jockeys' could not stop him. I had a look in the back of his mouth with a torch. He had a tooth growing sideways with a hold about 2 cm wide through the inner lining. I had the tooth removed and the horse stopped bolting.

• Same stables. Horse was skin and bone. They could not put weight on the horse no matter what they fed it. Checked the mouth again and found one tooth that was about 2cm too long which meant that the horse was biting on only one tooth. Knocked the tooth off and the horse regained all weight......and the list goes on and on.

So, firstly we must always eliminate the Veterinary but that should not be the end of it. We should then get to the bottom of the mind set and gain other opinion if possible. The bad riding experience could be caused by an ill fitting saddle, sharp teeth, worms in the gut, sand in the gut and 100 other things......but, guess what is the main cause for horses going badly???.......dare to go and look in the mirror now and again.

So treat your horse as your best mate and partner. Share it's troubles and worries and try to work with them. You will be amazed at the results.

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