Which gives me time to peruse the 'net. Not always a good thing but I managed to stop myself from impulse on-line purchases. Well, at least if you don't count things like flags and clappers for desensitization. Which I don't. Anyway.
I was intrigued by a post on Warwick Schiller's FB page where he was explaining what he means by 'making the right thing easy and the wrong thing hard'. He was explaining that he wasn't meaning that we punish the horse for making the wrong choice but show them and set up the circumstances to choosing the 'right' thing is easier.
Of course this sparked a debate. A few were quite emphatic that the horse should never ever feel stressed or upset. And if he/she does then the trainer is doing wrong. I read along and after a while I got bored- everyone was just repeating themselves. But it did get me thinking.
Clearly, I am not a horse trainer, nor am I an expert. Lord knows that there are enough self-proclaimed experts out there.
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| clearly I am not a genius horse trainer |
So when did we start to think that if we are perfect all the time that the horse will be too? Does this not take away the autonomy of the horse? Making them a mere extension of ourselves and not a being with thoughts, feelings and desires?
And why do we think horses should never ever feel stressed? Is it because we want a full and deep relationship and believe that any disagreement means we have failed?
When we train horses we put on stress. We take that away when they respond the way we want. Ideally anyway. Sometimes we can remove the stressor when we get the wrong answer too. But that's a different post.
And why do we think horses should never ever feel stressed? Is it because we want a full and deep relationship and believe that any disagreement means we have failed?
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| sometimes we keep it together |
If I wanted to achieve a stress-free life for Carmen I can retire because she has that now. Her life of eating and napping in the sun is probably all that she strives for.
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| Carmen living her best life (although more food and grooming is always welcome) |
I've been doing a lot of thinking of how to tackle my goal this year of helping Carmen understand how to respond to pressure in a relaxed way and not a get me the hell out of here way. Doing this requires me to add some stress to her and then helping her find the right answer.
Does this make me cruel?
I don't think so.
Science tells us that all stress is not bad. Stress is simply something that tells us we need to do something. Getting married is stressful but not bad (right L?). Being chased by a bear is both stressful and bad. And in between there's a whole bunch of gradations:
The goal, for me, is not to prevent stress from happening but to keep it at a manageable level so learning can occur. I cannot imagine a universe where training is always sunshine and rainbows. At least not for the average ammie like I am.
My goal is also to let Carmen learn how to make good choices. Which means that sometimes she's going to make a decision that is not the one I want. I don't think that means I have failed. At least, not specifically. Sometimes a wrong answer is given because we don't know the right answer. Sometimes it's only a little wrong but on the right track (and it's only wrong to me, not to Carmen. She thinks it's the right answer).
Honestly, if I gave up every time I got the 'wrong' answer I would have two pasture puffs and never step into a saddle again.
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| I do love sitting in a saddle |
Hopefully I'll be back in the saddle soon and I won't have so much time to think. Or not as much anyway.
Wow. You virtually quoted my beloved dressage trainer (Deb Nelson, Renton WA). She said to me, "Of course they'd rather stand under the tree all day eating apples. But that's not realistic." Dressage is hard, but horses can love it if we are compassionate, thinking riders like you. We spend so much time pondering how to make the horse happy in its job - I wish they know how much time we spend!
ReplyDeleteAny riding can be hard depending on how it is approached. I think that is how we tend to think that other disciplines are so hard on horses. It's not the discipline it's the rider/training.
DeleteI do with Carmen knew how much time I spend thinking on her but I suspect that she would believe it her due!
This is exactly the same conclusion I have come to (with a little help from some people who gave me the gift of perspective). Stress happens. Pressure is life is pressure. Teaching our horses how to deal with that stress and pressure is the real gold. xx
ReplyDeleteIt becomes a lot harder with the very sensitive ones (like Stella) who are also prone to ulcers. I'm hoping that I can help Carmen with this.
DeleteGem has achieved, after 10 years as my riding partner, her stress free existence of eating, napping, and getting scratches. H’Appy has taken her place as my riding horse and he is exposed to stress a lot. Such is the life of a riding horse
ReplyDeletelol, same as Irish. Although he gets jealous if he doesn't get some work!
DeleteGreat post ;) I agree that stress and pressure are unavoidable components in riding and training and life in general. But it doesn’t have to be *bad.* Figuring our that balance between positive tension and overload is so hard tho.
ReplyDeleteYou are a thinker like me. :)
DeleteYou are so right about the balance- it can shift on any given day. But when we recognize that the stress has moved into overload then we can adjust. I hope to spend a lot of time on that this year.
Awesome post. I agree, pretty unrealistic to think they'd never be stressed. Which got me thinking, we went for a nice relaxing trail ride yesterday that we've been on a million times before and the mares were feeling good and looking for trouble the entire ride. None of the riders were fussed, so perhaps the horses were simply enjoying a little drama. I do think they're bored when it gets too easy or routine, and desire a little stress and excitement!
ReplyDeletethe horses might have had their own internal stressors. Or they smelled something in the woods that you were not aware of. Or they were messing with you. :)
DeletePressure. Unavoidable.
ReplyDeleteI would love to believe that we could all learn in a relaxed and happy bubble, breathing through our troubles and living in a zen state. Namaste.
But humans, and horses, learn best with some pressure. The pressure prompts quicker reactions and mistakes. And we all know how valuable mistakes are.
It is knowing how much pressure to apply without prompting panic and mental shutdown. At the same time, a horse (or human) that has learned to deal and thrive under intense pressure such as competing, tackling a deep rooted fear, or climbing Mount Everest, will build a tolerance and self confidence and that will translate to most other situations.
In management, we call this the Adversity Quotient. Learning to tackle adverse situations and thrive is an important part of leadership. At the foundation of AQ are four teachable skills called C.O.R.E. For control, ownership, reach and endurance.
I worry sometimes that I dont put my horse in enough pressure situations for him to continue developing his skills. And I dont mean the kind of pressure that comes with the spring thaw crazies. So Ive signed up for a despooking clinic “the mounted police way” with sirens and smokebombs.
That should make the occasional baby carriage we see on trail more tolerable. ;-)
I find a lot of parallels between managing people and horses. 😊 I think your clinic sounds like a lot of fun.
DeleteLately I've been exploring the interface between my stress and Val's. I would like to be more in control of my emotions - enough that they don't impact him (as much), which I find very challenging.
ReplyDeleteHorses - always an opportunity for self-improvement! :D
Self-control is key. A horse like Carmenis very tuned in to my moods.
DeleteHonestly, I think it all depends on your definition of stress. I think horses can learn from brief moments of stress (and finding ways to relieve that stress). In most circumstances, any form of new pressure causes that type of "stress" in a horse. However, I don't think a horse should ever be in distress during good training. With that said, if a horse has had bad training in the past, it might experience distress during the retraining process, even with the most patient and kind and easy-going program. I think the idea of no horse ever experiencing stress during training is downright absurd. With that said, I do think trainers should strive to cause as little stress/distress as possible during their training sessions.
ReplyDeleteI like the distinction between stress and distress. I agree about striving to keep it low. I am also a believer that we help the horse figure out how to relieve it. I think that we are setting ourselves up for disaster if we expect that the horse will always be 100% keen.
DeleteLOVE this post, and something I am exactly working through with Spicy.
ReplyDeleteHe was stressed and anxious all the goddamn time. Removing the stressors didn't really help; he's a naturally anxious horse and just found new ones! The only thing that helped was getting him THROUGH it. The only problem now is that I've given him confidence I get more sassafras from him now... but given the alternatives I'd rather that.
Finding new things to stress about is/was definitely Carmen. I welcome sass over fear any day. :)
DeleteSelf control is key and softness is also important. A little pressure and stress comes with life, ours and our horses. We can learn to manage it most of the time. We all make mistakes and we learn from them and move on. I think all our horses want from us is that we make it perfectly clear what we are asking for and fairness in our interactions with them.
ReplyDeleteI agree about the clarity. It is so very important.
DeletePeople freak out about the word Stress. No one wants to feel stressed out, yes. But like you pointed out, a little stress is healthy. I think if they used the word challenge instead of stress, people's panties would straighten out. Semantics I guess.
ReplyDeleteRegardless, I'm with you on this one completely.
Laughing at your comment about straightening out panties. :D
DeleteI"m glad you agree with me.
I’ve thought about this a lot—not no stress, but how much is the right amount versus how much sends them to the wrong answers—ie, rearing, bucking, bolting, etc.
ReplyDeleteWhenever we enter a horse’s sphere—we are exerting pressure—direct or indirect. So, we are already an intrusion. Most horses would prefer to be left alone ( not all) but many are quite happy in the herd, so when we take them away, we’ve already made them uncomfortable—and a bit fearful because they’re away from their buddies.
So, IMO, we are always working with a level of fear, and the training is all about how to manage it and develop a safe, riding and/or working relationship. Building little by little—so they’re not overwhelmed, and always giving them the tools and confidence, with lots and lots of exposure and a way to safely find their own answers.
Not so sure about the fear always being present but the stress yes for sure. it's all about managing it.
DeleteLOVE this post.
ReplyDeleteAnd I think you hit the nail on the head - there are some cases of stress that are unavoidable, for sure. But it is also our responsibility as a rider to ride (or manage from the ground) that stress in a productive and positive light.
For example, the horse won't load because it has had a bad experience in the trailer (ie. Annie, haha). The trailer is the primary source of stress, so it's up to me as a horse-person and "trainer" to harness that stress and turn it into something productive. Which might mean only asking her to step one foot on the ramp and leaving it at that for a few days. It certainly wouldn't be to whip, chase, and beat her onto the trailer.
And the same thing applies to riding. A young horse's first show is going to be stressful. As a rider, it's up to us to say "You know what, we actually aren't going to enter the classes we thought we would... we will instead ride in the warm up arena and take in the sights and sounds." It's being flexible and aware of our horse's boundaries, and not necessarily "giving in" to them, but building up stress tolerance.
The next show that horse goes to, the work to enter that ring and lay down a Dressage test should have been done. It may not be a pretty test, no, but a tactfully ridden test and getting through it quietly, without adding the pressure of 100% focus and correct execution of the maneuvers.
Since having Annie I'm a huge believer in building on the stress - being aware of our horse's abilities and stress levels is such an important thing. We don't need to baby them, no, but we do need to set them up for success without adding to the stress (as a rider) already present.
All of this is so true. I love the idea of being flexible with the horse's boundaries.
DeleteGreat post! I agree, stress isn't in and of itself bad. The key is knowing how much stress a horse can handle (which of course varies greatly from one to the next) and helping them slowly increase it. But also find a job the horse is well-suited for, accepting that some will never really be happy jumping or in the wide open or around cows or whatever and that's okay.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it's good to understand the horse's tolerance and we need to be okay if it doesn't mesh with ours.
DeleteSo I did a horse behaviour survey by Purdue University and they showed you videos of horses interacting with objects and people. Then you were supposed to fill out a questionnaire on whether the horse was stressed, fearful spooky, reactive etc. Then re-showed you the video with the horses BPM on the video and I was really blown away by horse easily horses get stressed while still showing things like composure and curiosity. Some horses are just more outwardly reactive than others.
ReplyDeleteWow that's really cool! I wonder how much of that is training (the horses that retain composure even when their heart is racing)
DeleteThat is fascinating. It may help explain horses that explode ‘out of nowhere ‘
Delete