SavvyHorseSense

~Savvy Horse Sense~
The following is about Understanding, Learning, Applying and Achieving
Natural Horsemanship using a pressure system and feel to connect and communicate with the horse. In my circle of family and friends the words "breaking a horse" does not exist. We do not believe in using forceful, harsh tactics that spark fear in the horse in order to "make it" do what we want it to do. We prefer to say that we "start" our horses and our more non-abrasive approach carries over into how we present things to our horses when working and training them.
I am not saying that our way of doing things is right and someone elses way is wrong....what I am saying is that sooner or later people get tired of the tug and pull and bronc and buck method of doing things and find themselves expanding their horsemanship to higher levels and learning the natural way....easier way of training, working, riding their horses. The greatest part of horsemanship is that it is a never ending process. Once you feel you know it all, the horse will do something else to challenge your knowledge and help you to learn more, if you pay attention.
Too many people spend too much time blaming the horse for their own ignorant lack of understanding and lack of horsemanship skills and savvy. Horses can help us learn and understand if we just stop blaming them long enough to pay attention and consider that it might just very well be something we arent doing right, not the horse.
I want to thank my family, friends, and all the fine folks who have taken the time to pass on to me all their knowledge and horsemanship skills and savvy, and my horses thank you as well, I know they like me much better now!!!

I have written the following to try to do what so many did for me, and that is to pass on a lil bit of what I have come to understand. And I hope maybe that it might find its way to someone who is searching for a means of bettering their own horsemanship. Enjoy!

Understanding Feel
I want to take a moment and try to define for you what feel is. Feel is connecting to a horse and establishing a mutual understanding between you and the horse. Feel is more than just an energy and pressure system being transferred between you and the horse. Feel is being able to understand the language that the horse is speaking through their expressions, motion of body and rythum of movement, but also being able to communicate back to the horse. Both you and the horse being connected, and both human and horse working as a team in unison, lightness and harmony, is what natural horsemanship and feel is all about.
Horses work off of the feel of pressure instinctively and to feel of energy, to insure their self-preservation, not only in the wild but also where humans are concerned. It is every persons responsibility to be sensitive towards the horse and respect the horses need to protect itself and survive both in the wild and as a domestic horse. This is where the beginning stages of feel comes into play the most, in how you first present yourself to the horse.
If the horse feels as though you are a threat to him from the start then you can pretty much bet that anything else you try to present to the horse will also be taken in the same manner. Your walk, body positioning, expressions, every way you shift and move your body is conveying a message to that horse. This is why learning to understand the horse is very important. If you don't understand the horse, how do you expect the horse to understand you. If you are not willing to learn to understand the horse then the horse will not try to understand you as well.

Presenting "Verses" (instead of) Making

Making a horse do something, instead of presenting something to the horse, takes more pressure and harshness than what is necessarily needed, and you are apt to build more walls between you and the horse, and create problems that didn't exist. Because you are trying to force the horse to do something instead of trying to help the horse understand what it is you are trying to achieve. Making a horse do something is working the horse off fear and force which is the direct opposite of what any good horseperson is trying to achieve. Communicating your intent through soft feel and lightness of pressure, is the better method in presenting something to the horse. Knowing when to release pressure off of the horse is extremely important as well.
(Example: If you walk up to someone and order them to do something, it is a turn off and often the result is very un-rewarding for both parties involved. However, when you walk up to someone and present them with the opportunity to decide for themselves to do something it makes for a more pleasant experience. Horses are no different. Present something to your horse in such a way that it will inspire the horse to want to do what you are trying to accomplish with him.)
In order to maintain a natural state of lightness when working with horses, we need to have a light frame of mind. Just like in everyday life for us, when we think on the lighter side of life we learn to keep things simple and tend to not complicate situations to an overbearing state. Horses are the same, in their need for lightness. Presenting instead of making will create a softer feel due to the softer amount of energy and pressure transferred from us to the horse. As a result from this, a sound and smooth physical responce and cooperation will manifest from the horse, because you are keeping the horse in their natural state of lightness and feel. Horses are very sensitive and it takes very little pressure and feel, if you are presenting it properly, to communicate your intent for them. It is our responsibility to know and understand what feel is best for the horse we are working with and know how to communicate our intent correctly. This also helps to establish respect between the person and the horse and whenever there is respect there is cooperation. That applies to anything in life, as well as with horses. When we help the horse to understand our intent, through presenting something to them properly, then the horse will help us, through cooperation.
The result of a person not being connected to the horses feel, is a horse who lacks understanding of what is being presented to him. When people start taking more of the responsibility of why they have an uncooperative horse, the faster they will learn that their lack of sensitivity and understanding of feel is the problem, Not The Horse.

Pressure
Applying and Releasing

People often times give up too easily and throw their hands in the air and get frustrated at the horse. It isnt that the horse lacks the ability to perform the task or intent the person is presenting. It is most likely because the person is unable(not incapable of), to present their intent in a manner in which the horse is able to understand and process it, in order to perform the intent or task. It is the persons responsibility to help the horse understand, by presenting the intent in such a manner that promotes understanding and not confusion, from the horses frame of mind, Not Ours. People have to get creative in their thinking. Not all methods will work the same way on every horse. It may be necessary to alter the method in some degree in order to suit an individual horse and reach the horses mind. There are always exceptions to every rule, because horses are not alike and do not all learn the same way, using the same exact methods. The basics that a horse needs to learn may never change, however, the way we help the horse learn these basic fundamentals is an ever shifting process. Just keep a positive attitude and have an open mind to explore. Above all have patients.
Here are some basic steps that will serve as a guideline in getting started.
1) First establish your intent. You have to have a plan. You must establish what you want to accomplish with the horse before you enter the pen, arena, pasture, etc...
2) Present and communicate your intent to the horse in a clear and correct manner.
3) Use a soft approach and the feel of pressure to help the horse learn and understand your intent. When I say use a soft approach, I do not mean for you to baby the horse, what I do mean is for you to use a non-threatening, non-abrassive approach.
4) Reward the horse when it gives to the pressure(performs your intent to the fullest), by immediately releasing the pressure off him. Only release pressure if the horse has fully performed your task or intent. Even he it is just a small movement or reation, recognize it and reward him for it. (For example...if your intent is to teach your horse to lower his head, no matter what method you are using, when he lowers his head even a centimeter, release the pressure immediately, because he lowered his head. The horse might not have lowered his head quite as far as you were expecting him to, however, he did accomplish your intent, by lowering his head, even if it was just a centimeter. Be a gracious teacher, don't expect the horse to climb a mountain in one session.)
5) Repeat steps 1-4 consistently until the horse performs your intent with no resistance and with the least amount of pressure possible, from both directions or sides. What you do with the horse on one side or in one direction, you must always repeat on the other side or direction.

Working Off Pressure

There are three main points on a horse that you work pressure off of to accomplish a multitude of intents. They are the eyes, shoulders and hips.
When the horse gives to the pressure you are exerting, then this is a clear communication from your horse that he understands your intention. There are specific behaviours that the horse will do to communicate himself to you. Some of these behaviours include....
Licking of the lips,
Lets a breath out/exhales,
Chews & Yawns
These are some behaviours that indicate that the horse understands and is processing, or thinking about what just took place between the two of you and the horse is filing this feeling away in his mind. Be advised that this process works both for unpleasent experiences as well as pleasent ones. So if the horse has experienced an unpleasent situation, then the next time you or someone else gets close to doing the same thing then the horse will remember what happend the last time and excert preservation behaviours in an attempt to protect himself from having to go through it again.
Learning and recognizing when to release pressure off a horse is as equally important as knowing when and how much pressure to apply. Only applying pressure and not releasing pressure off the horse when he has performed your full intent, will cause the horse to become confused, unsure and frustrated. The horse will not understand your intent, because of your lack to communicate your intent to him clearly and correctly. (For Example...
If we scold a child for doing a wrong action and we scold the child when he has done a good action, then what we have created is a confused child, unable to discern between what is right or wrong. Horses are the same.)
Releasing pressure off the horse is a reward to the horse for his performance. The horse recognizes this as a reward because he can feel the release of pressure off him. It is also important to know how much pressure to apply on the horse. A good rule of thumb is to start by using the least amount of pressure and work your way up to heavier levels of pressure until the horse responds to your intent. I say full intent because, if you release pressure too soon, before the intent is carried out and accomplished, then you will confuse the horse into thinking that that was all you had intended for him to do, and it will be more difficult for the horse to understand what your intent is for him the next time you get to the same point and he accomplishes it as before but feels no pressure release from you this time. It goes back to the example above about scolding the child for good actions and bad. To you it may not matter, but to the horse it makes and means a great deal to feel that release when he has accomplished something for you.
Consistency is the key to anything you are presenting to the horse. When you want the horse to perform a specific task you have in mind, you need to use the same exact method every time. Be consistant in your approach and methods you use to initially teach him from the first time to the last time, because that feel is what the horse remembers and understands. When you find a method that works between you and the horse, and the horse carries out the intent with no resistance and good feel between both of you, then use that method every time. This will also help you to know when it is time to move on and present something else or new to the horse. Never move on and start presenting something else or new to the horse, until the horse fully understands and accomplishes the first task at hand with no resistance and with very little pressure applied, and does it effortlessly every time you ask him to carry out that particular task.

Always remember to never rush the learning process. Allow the horse the time it needs to learn, according to the horse, Not You. Approach it as if you are on the horses time instead of the horse being on your time schedule. This will help you not to rush the horse or push him too fast and too hard. If you try to push too hard to fast then the horse will feel overwhelmed and the process will become more difficult for you and the horse. Being pushy is not fair or respectful to the horse, and is not what soft feel and natural horsemanship is all about.....and isnt that what we are all trying to accomplish!!

I hope this info has been helpful to you... Enjoy your horses but most of all allow the horses to be able to enjoy you as well.

This horse is but one of my many treasures!!! His name is Nerve! I learned much from him and value everything he has taught me! But that's another story I will tell later!!!