by Mary Gallagher
Respecting what really matters to the horse is what horsemanship is all about. We find out what really matters to horses when we observe their behaviors. Let's say we take a horse out of his/her herd and we notice the emotions come up while leaving her companions. How do we respond? That is horsemanship. If we continue without addressing the insecurity that arises in the horse, we are losing an opportunity to help the horse.Horses will forgo comfort to define safety. I say 'define safety' because how safe they feel depends on how much they trust you. As the horse gets further away from the herd he becomes more uncomfortable and reacts accordingly. He no longer cares about comfort, all his thoughts are on getting to where it is safe, back with the herd.
As horseman we could set things up so that the horse can see the comfort outside the pasture before we take him away from the herd. In this way, the horse sees the safety in our leadership and we bypass the unwanted behavior. Horsemanship is all about understanding what really matters to the horse and setting the horse up for success.
Wishing you the best as you develop your horsemanship!
(Originally published April 2013)
