Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

At 11:29 AM 10/4/2004, Ridecamp Guest wrote:
> I have a 14 year old NSH mare whom I've owned for several years,to this 
> day she will spook at any possible threat on the trail. I thought that 
> sence we've been together for so long she would trust me and feel safe 
> enough not to do this.Kind of like the trust a small child has in a parent.

A human child trusts a parent to keep the child safe.  A horse trusts 
another horse (or by extension, a human) to make good decisions that the 
horse can follow - *not* to keep it safe.  Example:  A human child might 
run to it's mother for protection from danger, but a foal will run away 
from the source of danger in whatever direction it needs to go - it doesn't 
think of running to it's mother for protection.

Horses don't work like humans!  Thus it's important not to fall into the 
trap of dealing with horses as if they were human children in horse bodies.

In a natural herd, the lead animals are followed not because the other 
horses feel that the lead horses will protect them, but because the lead 
horses have demonstrated that they can reliably find food and water and 
reliably avoid danger.  The other horses follow lead horses around because 
it makes sense to follow those that demonstrate good survival skills!

If the lead horses say it's safe to go down a trail to water, then the 
other horses will accept that it's safe to go down that trail.  If the lead 
horses haven't spooked at any rocks or logs along the trail, then the 
following horses are less likely to spook.  But believe me, if the lead 
horses say there's a danger - the whole herd is gone.  No horse is staying 
behind to protect another horse.

A domesticated horse comes to "trust" a human the same way:  They go along 
with the human program because there is reliable food, water and freedom 
from danger.  However - and this is an important point, as mentioned above 
- they are not expecting a human to *protect* them from danger.

In your relationship with a horse, "trust" develops when your horse comes 
to feel that you are a good example to follow.  So the only way a horse can 
become less spooky is to feel that it can rely on you to not get *yourself* 
into trouble.  This allows the horse to relax and go along with the program.


________________________________
   Lif Strand      fasterhorses.com
           Quemado NM USA
High Country Rider:  An endurance rider's journal
   www.fasterhorses.com/highcountryrider/