The Gentleman Horseman
I have heard it said that when dealing with horses, get them gentle. Strong advice that comes to me by way of Buck Brannaman taught to him by Ray Hunt. Get 'em gentle. I have really taken this advice to heart as well as spent time reflecting upon the idea of a gentle horse. Following this advice leads to advancement in many areas of horsemanship.
A young or uneducated horse starts out with a wild look
I have always cringed at the idea of breaking horses. The mere mention of someone wanting a broke horse rubs me wrong inside. I personally am always working on bettering my horses and fixing areas in need of improvement.
The idea of a dead broke horse has inklings of Zombie Apocalypse. A tuned out, turned off horse that is dull to the world around it and more robot slave than willing partner.
The newer term applied to educating a young horse has shifted from break a horse to start them. I myself have given this some thought and decided that, for me, the term gentling a horse holds way more stock.
A young horse or one that is uneducated, can be high energy. The term wild comes to mind. Horses are after all wild animals. We as humans have domesticated a large percentage of them. Still though, a domesticated horse,set free, would have a decent chance of survival by turning back to their wild roots. The part of a horse that mother nature put in, never goes away.
My feeling is that the best we can do with a horse is to channel that energy. Work with what is there. I have heard the late Peter Campbell talk at length about this. An idea of his that has stuck with me is that "we will never get the buck out of a horse, we can only lessen them from wanting to buck with us on them."
A horse is a horse and will always remain that way. Much of the romantic thinking of horses stems from the idea of them running free. A huge part of their majestic nature is their alertness and sensitivity. To take that out would be to kill the spirit of a horse. Are they then still a horse?
To gentle a horse is to have them relate to our world in a less reactive way. We can work with them, guiding them to follow our lead when things get scary. Teaching a horse to look to us before making the decision to move out at a dead run.
By working with what is in a horse and allowing it to remain just under the surface we keep their essence strong. The partnership that I have written about in past blogs remains intact. We channel their energy and save it for when we need it most.
This brings me to expand on the idea of working a horse on a lunge line or in a round pen. There has been an idea put forth that you can run a horse to eliminate trouble. Circle them round and round until they are worn out and docile enough to handle. I myself started down this road.
I have sweated up a few saddle pads and found my horse compliant only on the days he was too worn out to contest. My horse got to be in really good shape and each session was longer than the one before it. If I wanted to just get on and go I would find myself on a well conditioned horse without much for brakes. The steering also was a little sluggish. This was far from an ideal situation.
Now days I use a round pen to build confidence
These days I work first on channeling that energy. Exercises that set up understanding and responsiveness with reward, educate a horse. What is taught to a horse this way remains with them.
I am now able to save a lot of my horses energy for when I want to get on and go. Riding a high energy horse with responsiveness is to me, quite fun. This allows me to spend a good deal of time working on stuff at the trot and canter. If we had a job to do my fresh horse could last all day.
By first getting a horse gentle and willing to follow a riders lead I can set up a horse for success. Without the constant need for self preservation a horse can learn freely.
The classroom becomes a welcome environment that feels safe to the horse. Who doesn't learn better in a safe environment?
May we all strive to be Gentlemen or Gentlewomen. A gentle horse is a pleasure to ride. Get 'em gentle. The rest is easy.
Happy Trails!
Eric