{"id":1227,"date":"2018-12-02T19:02:21","date_gmt":"2018-12-03T02:02:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/articles.amazinghorsecountry.com\/?p=1690"},"modified":"2019-02-21T13:07:43","modified_gmt":"2019-02-21T20:07:43","slug":"introducing-horses-to-obstacles-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/articles.amazinghorsecountry.com\/index.php\/2018\/12\/02\/introducing-horses-to-obstacles-4\/","title":{"rendered":"Introducing Horses to Obstacles – Part 4"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’d like to\u00a0introduce five of our Strategies for Success<\/i> that we follow when we start working with horses on obstacles or anything new and unknown.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. We build it in the groundwork, then ride it in the saddle.<\/li>\n
  2. We never force a horse to go on, over or though something they’re scared of. We\u00a0do<\/em>\u00a0go forward when the horse is in release and following our focus.<\/li>\n
  3. Find ground zero.\u00a0 This is the position, proximity to an obstacle, or a maneuver that we\u00a0know<\/em>\u00a0the horse can achieve.\u00a0 We can always start successfully from our ground zero point.<\/li>\n
  4. We define success as, \u201canytime the horse tries for us,<\/em>\u201d and reward and encourage our horse when he tries.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  5. We allow the horse the time he needs to investigate the obstacle before we continue to ask him forward.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    In this article, we’re going to focus on #4.\u00a0 You’ll need\u00a0to\u00a0read Part 1<\/a>,\u00a0Part 2<\/a>\u00a0and Part 3<\/a>\u00a0first.<\/p>\n

    The fourth point is an important one.\u00a0 It involves shifting our focus from this:<\/p>\n

    \"obstacle
    “I need the horse to COMPLETE the obstacle so I can feel good about what an awesome horse-person I am!”<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    to this:<\/p>\n

    \"horse
    “I need the horse to TRY the obstacle so he’ll believe that it’s my role as a leader to help him through his struggles and fears. That way he’ll learn to trust in my leadership and as a team, we can do anything!”<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Lets start by agreeing\u00a0on the following definitions:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. \n
        \n
      1. Goal<\/strong>.\u00a0 A goal is what you aim for.\u00a0 It might happen in an hour or it might take years. A goal is the end result; a culmination of individual successes that build on one another.\u00a0 A goal could be anything from winning a competition in 3 years time, to having your horse stand still while you mount.\u00a0 \u00a0Goals help guide us on a path of successes.\u00a0 If we have no idea what we’re aiming for,\u00a0it’s impossible to formulate a plan on\u00a0how to get there.\u00a0 Having a goal causes our work to be productive.\u00a0 Although it’s important not to lose sight of our goal, it’s equally important not to focus exclusively on it.\u00a0 When training, our focus needs to be on the individual exercises that support our goal.<\/li>\n
      2. Success<\/strong>. I define success as “anytime the horse tries for us<\/em>“.\u00a0 Thinking this way can be a positive game-changer.\u00a0 It’s also one of the biggest struggles humans have.\u00a0 We struggle because we want the goal before the horse is able to provide it. We’ve cultivated a society of instant gratification where we expect we can have anything, anytime.\u00a0\u00a0You’ll find, however, that if you consider your job to be creating successes for the horse you’ll actually achieve your goals faster, with the benefit of building a committed leadership agreement with your horse.<\/li>\n
      3. Try<\/strong>. A try is when the horse commits to an action that follows our focus.\u00a0 In short – we focus on a direction or action and put energy into that focus.\u00a0 Then, our horse essentially mimics us by sharing our focus and moving in the direction we desire.\u00a0 That might, in an initial instance, be taking one step.\u00a0 It might be moving only 6″.\u00a0 It doesn’t matter.\u00a0 The point is, you asked of the horse and he had enough commitment in your leadership to follow.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Lets say that we’re doing some groundwork and lead our horse, Jack, up to a box full of bits of pool noodles.\u00a0 Jack is wary.\u00a0 The closer we lead him, the more anxious he becomes.\u00a0 At some point, his focus goes off to the right.\u00a0 This is followed shortly by Jack looking to the right, then leaving to the right.\u00a0 Here’s what happened: when Jack’s ability to handle the pressure of the box hit a limit, his focus changed from following you to escaping the deathly scenario.<\/p>\n

        To help progress, we’re\u00a0going to change up two things.\u00a0 1. We’re going to be alert to Jack’s tension.\u00a0 When we see, sense or feel him get anxious, we ask him to release tension.\u00a0\u00a0We may need to stop at a distance from the obstacle where he is able to stand quiet.\u00a0 2. We’re going to\u00a0 focus on where we want to go (see Where Do We Focus, below) and ask Jack to release tension.\u00a0 When he does, we ask him to move forward.\u00a0 From here on we repeat.<\/p>\n

        \n

        Where do we focus?<\/h3>\n

        Where we focus depends on what need the horse has.\u00a0 Some horses will completely avoid looking at something they consider a mortal threat, as if to say, “If I don’t look at it, it doesn’t exist.” When a horse avoids looking at something, then a successful tactic is for us to focus on it and ask him to look at it.\u00a0 In our example, that might be asking Jack to release and follow our focus to the middle of the box.\u00a0 This will generally spark his curiosity.
        \nIf the horse is able to acknowledge the obstacle i.e. he’s looking at it, but scared to step in it, then our focus must be beyond the box (where we want to end up).\u00a0 Here’s a simple rule of thumb: the horse will go where you look.\u00a0 If you look at the edge of the box, don’t expect the horse’s nose will get any further than that, because he’s already at<\/em> where you’re asking him to be.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

         <\/p>\n

        When Jack is able to move closer to the obstacle, while retaining a forward focus, he has succeeded.\u00a0 In fact, we have succeeded as leaders.\u00a0 In our case, we were able to have Jack take one stride toward the box.\u00a0 Now, he might be anxious again.\u00a0 A horse gains confidence by realizing that the obstacle is not going kill them – but only at a specific distance.\u00a0 If they get closer, they’ll have to go through that process again.\u00a0 Every step forward, with it’s associated release, is a success.<\/p>\n

        Now we have to decide how far we’re going to take this in a single session.\u00a0 My rule of thumb is that when the horse has tried and succeeded three times for you, give him a break OR move on to something else for a while.\u00a0 The whole point here is to cause the horse to trust that when he follows your direction in a stressful situation, he’ll live…so the exercise must have an end.<\/p>\n

        Each try and success takes us a step closer to our goal.\u00a0 If we try to force Jack through something, we may end up eroding trust quickly.\u00a0 When that happens, we can certainly recover by using the steps above.\u00a0 The easiest and most positive route is not to force him in the first place.<\/p>\n

        \n

        A note of caution…<\/h3>\n

        Be\u00a0careful about putting energy into moving the horse when the horse is not focusing on our intended path.\u00a0 If we do, he’ll follow his<\/em> focus with that energy, swing around the box, jump it, or back up.\u00a0 Basically, nothing that we desire.\u00a0 This would be no different than turning the wheel of our truck to the right, stepping on the gas and expecting it’s going to go straight.\u00a0 We haven’t set it up to go straight, so when we add power, it doesn’t.\u00a0 No big surprise there!<\/p>\n

        Oh, one other important note – we cannot force the horse to focus on a direction with the rein.\u00a0 We can move his head but this doesn’t change his thought<\/em>.\u00a0 If we think we have to pull on a rein, the horse isn’t following our focus and pulling isn’t the answer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

         <\/p>\n

        And that wraps up Part 4. In the next article, we’ll chat about inspiring the curiosity of the horse and becoming familiar with the steps a horse must go through in order to determine that what we’re asking them to walk over or through is safe.<\/p>\n

        Stand by – once I get all this snow plowed, I’ll get some video to illustrate the point!<\/p>\n

        Scott Phillips
        \nDecember 2018<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Defining success. Creating a space where your horse can always succeed and you can always feel great about it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/articles.amazinghorsecountry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1227","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/articles.amazinghorsecountry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/articles.amazinghorsecountry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/articles.amazinghorsecountry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/articles.amazinghorsecountry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1227"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/articles.amazinghorsecountry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1227\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/articles.amazinghorsecountry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/articles.amazinghorsecountry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/articles.amazinghorsecountry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}