horsegirlonajourney

We spent two whole days at the Western States Horse Expo this weekend and feel like we barely saw anything, but we saw everything we most wanted to see (except, alas, the perfect pair of ranch work boots).

Our highlight was Robert M. Miller, DVM. Miller has a lifetime of experience as an equine vet and as a zoo vet, and during his talks would say things casually, like, “my wife and I were on a veterinary safari in Africa…” as if that’s part of real life and not something amazing out of a novel.

First, we caught most of his talk about the connection between horsemanship and artistic talent, which he wrote about in his book The Passion For Horses & Artistic Talent.
He believes that people who love horses also often express themselves in art, without even realizing that their “little hobby” is actually art. He said that the popularity and critical recognition of Western art and cowboy poetry are growing disproportionately to other artistic segments, and he wrote this book to celebrate this and increase awareness of the connection between horses and art.

Jan and I thought that it’s possible that we all have artistic tendencies and that he just happens to be looking at horse people. But the thing about horses is you see their beauty, when they are still and when they are in motion. And to bond with horses you need to open up, and be willing to listen, and to express, and to accept that the default human way might not be the best approach. Miller said that he’s rarely met a farrier who didn’t also do metal art

Then we sat spellbound for an hour for his main lecture of the day, “Understanding the Horse’s Mind.” He is not a showy speaker, but his information is compelling, and his stories are wonderful. I found myself wanting to make slides with photos and bullet-point text for those who can’t learn just from listening. Jan and I can both learn from reading, so we took notes as we listened, and read as we wrote, and have spent the past two days blurting out things like “quick! the 10 essential things to remember about a horse’s mind!” and seeing if we can get them all.

One of the things that made his talk so great was that he illustrated every point with stories from a lifetime of working not just as an equine vet but as a zoo vet. He gave examples from other species to show how horses are different, or how horses are similar but to a different degree, or how horses are the same.

This talk inspired me to buy his book Natural Horsemanship Explained: From Heart to Hands, because he went into detail about what happens in the brain of the horse, not just in the mind. Having read several layperson-friendly books in recent years about neurobiology and neuroplasticity and “the brain and the mind,” we’ve become increasing intrigued by the physical changes in the brain that occur in response to changes in mental and emotional fitness (and, in fact, overall physical fitness as well). Miller says that he wrote this book for people who are already familiar with natural horsemanship, including top-level clinicians, to explain why it works — what is actually going on in the horse’s brain that causes things like the 7 Games to be so effective for horse and human partnership.

For example, one of the 10 things to know about the horse’s mind is that horses are not innately afraid of predators. They are afraid of predatory behavior. Thus, horses can partner with humans, befriend dogs, bond with barn cats. A “dangerous” or “problem” horse with one owner can become an athletic, calm, responsive partner with another owner. Or with the same owner, when the owner changes, as Linda discovered with Regalo.

Jan and I discussed this at some length and realized that when horses drive each other, they exhibit some characteristics of “predatory” behavior. Head low to protect the throat, ears flat, eyes hard and intense, slow stalk that can escalate into a sprint if need be. The other horses might not be “afraid” of the dominant horse’s drive, but they sure can scoot out of the way fast.

Can you guess the other nine of the 10 most important things to know? I’ll share my notes, but I’ll put them after the More link so you can think about it first.

Continue reading →

Respect and leadership are my current priorities. Before I went outside, I thought about Rocky’s right-brain introvert horsenality and what happens when an RBI becomes confident. I thought about what I have to change in myself to provide leadership and earn respect, without damaging our rapport.

My goal: “do less now instead of more later.” I would check in with myself often, to assess what I was doing and how Rocky was responding. His disrespectful behaviors start out subtly. The more I could work on this goal, the less I would need strategies for dealing with anything bigger.

Savvy Strategies

These helped me do less while building respect and leadership.

Envision spikes coming out of my feet and going all the way down to the core of the earth, while the top of my head raises up to the sky. This keeps me grounded and lifted while reminding me not to move my feet.
Exaggerate my body movements and then refine to the “sweet spot.” Linda teaches students to find our balance point by sitting on a log or a barrel, rocking too far forward or back or side to side until we find a secure middle place, and then having friends try to push us off. It works on the ground, especially when facing away from Rocky and going through the motions without any intensity or energy, so it becomes friendly game for him but practice for me. It also works while mounted.
Get a clear picture in my mind of what I want us to look like before I even begin. This includes his body shape, my body shape, and our precise positioning on the Earth. When we reach a point closer to that vision than where we started, stop and rest.
Breathe. And blow out when Rocky did.

On-Line Savvy

We started with the 22-foot line in the front arena, playing Circle Game with the goal of tipping Rocky’s nose in on the circle at the trot. He has carried his nose up and outside for years, but he keeps the inside ear and eye on me. This posture started when he was favoring a physical issue and continued out of habit and my own ignorance. For a long time I didn’t know it was a “problem,” and then once I learned that, I didn’t know what to do about it.

I will keep just this light pressure on you and not release it until you try further than last time, but I can stand here like this for 48 hours, so take the time you need.

I still don’t know exactly how to teach him to change his posture, but I have a lot of tools in the toolkit now. I also know that I can’t expect him to change his entire body position all at once. Imagine if you had carried your head to the left for three years and now someone wanted you to look straight ahead. Ouch!

We had a lot of distractions from the road, like entire herds of feral motorcycles and trucks with flapping tarps on the way to the dump and big stock trailers going by. I ignored it all. With my goal in mind, I put light pressure on his nose to keep it toward me, and pointed at zone 3 to bend it outward, to put him “straight” on the circle. I tried to convey endless patience: “I don’t care what’s going on outside the arena or how long it takes, but I will help you find the slightest try of bending and then I’ll bring you in.”

I have a lot of tools in the toolkit now.

With his arthritis I have to be careful not to overdo circles. I got a small change in each direction and switched our focus to the water obstacle. Last time, we had another person and horse in with us, but this time we were on our own. Rocky put a lot of effort into taking the first step. Again, I grounded myself in endless patience: “I will keep just this light pressure on you and not release it until you try further than last time, but I can stand here like this for 48 hours, so take the time you need.”

He tried sideways away, sideways toward, back up, turn on the forehand, anything other than forward. And I tried not to raise my energy or pressure, just keep a rhythm of swinging the carrot stick so that his hindquarters ran into it when he swung too close to my side, and a feel on the line in case he tried to go around the other side. He pawed, he gave the impression that he was about to sit down or rear up although he did neither, he shook his head, and eventually, the feet followed the nose and neck. Release. Rest. By the end, he crossed it at the walk in both directions, and also stood in the cool water with all four feet and relaxed and enjoyed it.

Liberty Savvy

I took him to the covered arena and let him loose to roll and amuse himself while I went into the barn for my helmet, reins, and bareback pad. In the arena, I smoothed him off with my hand, and just for fun, set the bareback pad in place. He stayed with me and didn’t mind, so I cinched it, very slowly and gently. He still stayed with me. He got nippy at the cinching like he usually does, and I laughed and used my elbow and concentrated on not moving my feet.

I cinched it up enough that I thought it would stay in place and invited him to walk around with me, still at liberty, to see that he can move and be comfortable in it. I ended up tightening the cinch in teensy increments, three or four more times. At liberty. In different areas of the arena. By the time I went to clip the reins onto his halter, I’d forgotten he wasn’t wearing it, and we had to walk back to our staging area so I could put it on.

Freestyle Savvy

He stood still for mounting and didn’t even shake his head when I waited a while, breathing deeply to ground myself, and walked out nicely for follow the rail.

By the time I went to clip the reins onto his halter, I’d forgotten he wasn’t wearing it, and we had to walk back to our staging area so I could put it on.

I had put markers in all four corners this time to help me see where to keep us on the track and we did better. I also felt more fluidity at certain times and practiced trying to find that spot again with my body, because I could feel him walking out more, and being more even. I found it a few times. Rocky isn’t the only one who needs time and repetition to reshape his body habits!

We left the arena to walk on the ranch trail and used the arena gate as an Obstacle. It took a while but we each figured out each other’s needs, over time, and got the gate closed again.

On the trail, we stopped to talk to various people, practicing standing politely and with relaxation. Sometimes I swung my legs back and forth or lifted my arms out to my sides or patted him everywhere I could reach. This helps me not get locked into a rigid position, and gives Rocky something safe to think about. We even stopped by my office window twice to say hi to Steve via webcam. Steve caught some screenshots.

When it was all done, I had Rocky step close to a tack trunk for me to dismount easily, and then I stripped off everything and let him graze at liberty for 20 minutes. (Stripped of everything he was wearing, that is. I stayed fully dressed.)

When I returned him to his pen for dinner, he stayed with me, even though the other three horses were eating ostentatiously. I pointed to a hay feeder and said “good boy, go eat,” and patted his butt, and then he did go to his dinner while I floated into the house.