Free Movement - The Racy Kind, Cont’d printer friendly version (PDF)

This would mean that while the horse is running laps looking for his escape, you walk to the fence and begin confidently walking in the same direction that the horse is going.  You'll find that although you did begin following the horse, because you are traveling the same path along the fence and he's traveling faster than you that your horse ends up with you in front of him in a leadership position.

Now there are three things that would happen next.  First, he could keep running over the top of you and keep going (unlikely in most horses, but not impossible if he's already learned how to mow any obstacle in his path over and has no respect).  Second, he could stop.  Then you would stop and build something from there.  Finally, the most common response would be that he wheels around and goes the other way.

When the horse does decide to turn around and go the other way, simply, calmly, confidently turn around and follow him.  Once again the horse will find you in front of him in a leading position, and once again the horse will respond in one of the three ways aforementioned.  You'll do this with low energy, but this doesn't mean SLOW energy.  At times, you may need to quicken your steps or lengthen your stride, the opposite way of how a parent will slow down so the child can keep up.  This eases the pressure the horse feels when he starts to get close to you, and you are moving at a speed that would be a leisurely walk for the horse.

This job for the horse gets the leaving part and the following part very clear in the horse's mind.  You see, in between the leaving and the following is the slowing which leads to the staying.  Soon the horse will start to slow down and maybe even stop for you when he sees you in front of him.  If that's what your intent is.  Your intent may be to get the horse to "lead up" to you, perhaps even have him follow you around for a while, like you're taking a stroll through the park together enjoying each other's company.  This is state of mind you want you and your horse to be in, it's not about getting the horse to perform a specific action, but to achieve a state of mind where he is calm and confident in your companionship, and the only way to do this is to be calm and confident yourself.

In all of this, one thing is for sure:  A horse is about association.  Does he associate you with calmness, something he can be sure of and follow, or does your mere presence cause him to leave in fear and self-preservation?  It may not be your fault he responds like this, something may have traumatized him in the past.  Or you may have done some things that made the horse see you as a predator.  Either way, the important thing is now you have the tools to choose a better mindset and better actions that your horse can start to associate with today, and build from there.

After you've done this exercise through a few times, and come to a place where your horse doesn't seem to be racing around anymore, you might try going back to the center of the corral.  Does he act a bit different, or does the cycle start over again?  If it does, that's okay, repetition is key in learning anything, for both humans and horses.  Remember, you don't have to get the 100% in one day, there's always mãnana.

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Your approach makes all the difference to the horse in whether he'll stay or leave as you try to catch him.  If the horse decides to leave in your attempts to catch him, the best thing to do is to go with him, behind the shoulder.  Try to go with the horse, follow him in the same gait that he is in.  See if you can match your feet with his front feet.  All the while stay behind his shoulder, match his speed whatever he decides to do.  When he stops, stop, hesitate, and then attempt to approach him directly at the shoulder.  If he decides to leave again, repeat.
 Cody Deering

When I bestride him, I soar, I am a hawk: he trots the air; the earth sings when he touches it; the basest horn of his hoof is more musical than the pipe of Hermes.

Henry V - Shakespeare

The Horse's Friend Newsletter is published by T-C Equine Services.  If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, please e-mail the Editor, Tiffany Deering, tbarcequine@windstream.net.

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