Lesson 20 Controlled Catastrophe
Your horse can only be as brave as you!
How to stay calm, cool, collected and focused in a catastrophic situation.
With horses being prey animals, they are designed to spook at the slightest possibility of danger. Rather than punish the horse for this (he really is not wrong!) look at how you can get him more mentally and emotionally collected by getting yourself that way first.
This program will already have brought about great changes to you and your horse so your might have already found that your horse has become calmer, smarter braver and more athletic and does not shy as much. The secret is more in how you handle the situation than anything.
Let’s observe the typical shying scenario:
- horse snorts and spooks, jumps to the side with fright
- rider grabs the reins, grips with legs to hang on, looks at horse
- rider grabs the reins, grips with legs to hang on, looks at horse
- rider’s whole body is tight with fright caused by the reaction of the horse
- horse gets a fright from the rider getting a fright
- horse runs away from source of spook (ex. a burnt stump)
- rider grapples for control, then takes horse back to see its just a stump
- horse is really afraid, rider can’t understand horse’s stupidity tries to force horse to look at stump
Because the rider got tight when the horse did, the horse believes even more that he had real cause to be afraid. By going back to look at the stump the horse also learns that this really is a problem! Using this approach does not help horses to get braver, it scares them more. That’s why so many horses never improve very much from a shying problem.
Now, the more natural approach
- horse spooks, rider does not lose focus on trail ahead, or direction of travel
- rider does not grab both reins or grip with legs, stays balanced
- rider does not allow horse to run away, uses direct and indirect reins to keep horse on track
- rider does not go back and check out the stump
The rider showed complete unconcern with the shying, stayed calm and relaxed. as the horse’s leader the rider proved that there was nothing to worry about and did not make an issue about the object the horse spooked at. This alone can help a horse to become less spooky, but on top of that we are going to help the horse become braver and learn some face-up strategies that need to become habit.
Face the danger
When a horse wants to turn tail and run, the safest thing you can do is turn him to face the danger. He can still run away backwards but it will not be nearly as fast! This will help you to maintain control but still stay relaxed. Your whole body language needs to be soft and relaxed, focused on the danger but unconcerned. Don’t try to make the horse stand still, allow him to drift backwards and away until he feels brave enough to stop. (if you try to push him forward when he’s trying to back up in fear, you will cause him to rear up).
In order to face the danger, keep both reins in front of you, semi-short, no pressure and make corrections with a direct rein to keep his zone 1 facing the danger directly. If the horse gets away from you a bit, turns away more than 45 degrees, use an indirect rein to get control of the hindquarters again and face him up. All the while, never lose your focus! Do whatever it takes to keep your eyes on the danger and you’ll make all the right corrections. The worst thing you could do is look where the horse is taking you, and even worse, to look down at the horse.
Rehearse on the ground first
The reason you’ll want to do this is for safety! If your horse is really going to react, you’ll survive it better if you are on the ground. Once the horse finds that he can stand still and face the danger (not approach it) then you’ll be ready to try it mounted.
- Ask a friend to shake a plastic bag or make some kind of commotion that you know will spook your horse (but don’t have them walk towards you, just stay in place)
- Hold your horse at the end of the 12 ft line. The more drift a horse has, the less panicky they’ll be
- As he spooks and runs around, pivot with the horse so you can keep facing him but find a power position with your legs spread and braced, pelvis low to centre of gravity so you cannot be pulled off your feet or even move.
(If you don’t think you’re any good at power positions, simulate it with a friend – hold onto the rope between you and try to pull each other off balance until you can find the position where you can’t be budged, even if the rope is suddenly dropped).
Now try it mounted
- When you friend starts spooking the horse, practice being able to stay cool and calm and keep your horse facing up.
- Use short but loose reins to keep your horse in position, using mainly the direct rein to correct zone 1 but reverting to an indirect rein (belly button) to gain control of the hindquarters if your horse tries to turn tail.
- No matter what, don’t lose your focus! keep your eyes on your friend’s eyes and ask them to help you by making a noise every time you lose your focus.
- Then ask your friend to move around a bit and see if you can turn and face the whole time.
On the trail or out on a ride there will be times that you’ll use the technique of just not paying attention to what you horse is shying at and keeping you focus on your destination, and other times you’ll know you have to turn and face or your horse is going to run away with you.
Success Tips
- focus!
- keeping your whole body relaxed
- independent seat
- not making the horse feel worn. You need to build his confidence, not punish him
- allowing the horse to drift back as far as he needs to to feel safe
Pitfalls
- losing your focus, looking at the horse or where he is taking you
- tightening your body
- gripping with your legs and grabbing the reins for balance
- allowing the horse to turn tail
- trying to push the horse towards the danger
Troubleshooting
The horse is really scared, gets uncontrollable
Do much more on the ground before trying it on the horse’s back. You need his confidence level to come up a fair bit. Keep improving the 7 Games to build respect. The more respect he gets for you as his leader, the less fearful the horse becomes.
Make sure you give the horse plenty of rope, hold the end of the 12 ft line. If that is not long enough, use a 22 ft line so you can allow even more drift. The more you hold a horse tight, the more it will trigger claustrophobia on top of the fear. Do whatever you can to allow drift but not lose control of zone 1, that is don’t allow the horse to turn away from the danger.
One last strategy is to be inside a corral that is large enough to allow plenty of drift, but will also help you contain the horse.
Summary
Your horse can only be as brave as you.
Learn to stay calm, Cool and collected in a catastrophic situation.
Prey animals are supposed to be wary. Dont punish the horse for being a horse! Teach him to become more mentally and emotionally collected.
The secret is more in how you handle things.
Don’t do the predator thing when the horse shies.
If the rider gets tight, the horse will get worse.
Keep you focus. Stay relaxed.
Use a direct rein to keep the horse facing the direction of the problem.
Use an indirect rein if the horse has managed to turn away.
If you, as the horse’s leader, can remain calm and unconcerned… the horse will start to do the same. He will check with you first.
Face the danger. Allow the horse to run backwards, but do not allow him to turn. This is when you can get run away with.
Never lose your focus. The worst thing you can do is look down at your horse.
Rehearse on the ground. See if you can hold your horse on a long rope while someone spooks it.
The more drift a horse has, the less panicky he will be.
On the ground, keeping a low centre of gravity will help you keep your position while the horse tries to run away.
When on the horse, use short but loose reins.
Keep zone 1 facing the danger.
Once you can do this from one spook source, then get your friend to move around and see if you can keep your horse facing up.
Sometimes you’ll want the horse to face up, sometimes you’ll just keep your focus and ride on by.
Don’t stop the horse from moving backwards or away if he feels the need to.
Try not to pull on the reins or grip with your legs. Keep your tail relaxed. Never push him toward the danger.
If your horse is really scared, do a lot more on the ground to help him become braver before you try this on his back.
You could do it inside a corral but be sure its big enough to allow plenty of drift or he’ll jump out!
