Help Your Horse Succeed
Help your horse succeed.
This sounds obvious, but often we get caught up in what we're trying to do we over-ask of our horses. Sometimes we get very focused on what we're working on we ask for higher criteria than our horse is really able to give us in the moment. Help your horse succeed by recognizing what they're capable of in the here and now, ask for that, appreciate that, then you can ask for a pinch more as you go. But asking for the big step first, knowing you likely won't get it right, is only going to make you both feel like you failed, creating frustration, confusion, conflict, and other unpleasant feelings.
This all sounds so simple and yet we find ourselves in this pattern over and over. We have 2 young geldings still mastering the art of being lead around the farm on ropes outside of fences. One does best with short gaps between reinforcement and continuous connection with the human. The human counts outloud letting him know he's getting closer to his reinforcement and that she is still there with him paying attention to his good behavior. When he gets to three (sometimes its a quick count, sometimes it's a slower count) he gets his reinforcement. This helps him succeed.
However our other baby boy is very eager, when you're walking him he always wants to get there first (even if he doesn't know where you're going). Asking him to woah is our big criteria. We try to ask for several stops where he stops WITH us, not rushing ahead and spinning around, on our walks out and about. But if we step out the barn door and he is like a racehorse out of a starting gate, asking for a woah is NOT going to happen. Instead you'll just end up with a frantic horse spinning circles around you as you try to contain him. Instead, walking with him at a comfortable speed for him, until he has let a little of that excitement come down then asking for the woah works best.
In both cases we have a tendency for us to try to lead them out like as if they know how to walk with us, stop with us, without helping them. This sets us all up for failure. Instead, giving the horse what they need, whether it be more structure and predictability, or more looseness and time to relax into this new setting, sets our horse up to succeed. Create Clickable Moments!
This comes down to knowing your horse, knowing which behaviors need more reinforcement and which are more self reinforcing. Horses who like movement need more reinforcement on slowing and stopping, horses who prefer stopping need more reinforcement on movement. Horses who enjoy exploring need more reinforcement on checking in with their handler and responding to cues. Horses who are hesitant about exploring need more reinforcement on investigating new things, engaging with their environment. Reinforce what needs weight added, but only ask for steps they can actually take well.