Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Sentences With Transitions

In our last post we talked about building sentences and a nice strategy to build a little at a time. In this post we will talk about sentences with transitions. This would cover adding more than one intention. For instance we may teach a child what a cat is, what colors are, the difference between walking, running, sitting, or standing. Then when they understand well enough, we would maybe put together a sentence for them that may look like this. The Orange Cat is Running Through the Kitchen. A very simple phrase with multiple intentions. An animal, a color, an action, a location and a direction.

When we start with communicating multiple intentions to a horse, we want to make sure they understand each part individually pretty well before we put it all together. How I start this is after they know what  I mean when I ask each part to move. I would put together something like this. I would stand directly in front of them, point to give them a direction, say to my left. I would then ask them to step their shoulder to their right and then walk forward. After I get a desired amount of steps I would ask the front end to stop and the hind end to step to the right until they were facing me again. This sounds like a very simple exercise, but it can be pretty tricky. Sometimes we make it very confusing for the horse. If you ask properly, as long as you have done all the prep work first. There isn't a horse out there that wouldn't do this the way you intend it to happen. The problem ends up with us not being aware of what we are saying without even knowing it.

Going back to the alphabets of communication for a minute. The most important thing in this example above is that you have the horses complete attention. The better he is paying attention to you and not things around him, the better he will understand your intention. The second most important thing is that you are AWARE of EVERYTHING that is going on at each moment. That's a lot to be aware of I know. You absolutely WILL miss things, but that's OK.  The point I am trying to make is, the more aware you are the better things will go. We need to be in a constant state of evaluation. This way we can find the opportune moments to act or interact. This is how we communicate our intentions clearly. You may get nice results and think your horse understands you. But understand that understanding is relative to experience and location. You may try this same thing next to something that makes the horse uneasy and get poor results. This is how you know that they really don't fully understand. This is also why I like to do things in different locations, and under different conditions. It will help them understand better. As well as give us more opportunity to evaluate so we can have a better understanding.

We can communicate multiple intentions in many other ways. Like backing while going left and right, side passing and getting more front or back end movement, or doing a nice clean circle then stopping the hind end while turning the front end for a turn around. Just a few examples to give you an idea. We will discuss more of them in future posts. Just remember if you do any of these, make sure they understand each part individually before putting it all together.

Something I would like to leave you all with today is to not focus on the cue so much when you communicate your intention to your horse. Just as a catcher sends signals to the pitcher in baseball so they can communicate. If they want to change the signals they can. The cue is not as important as your intention. Almost every trainer has a different technique than the next. They found the best way for them to make their intention clear. Instead of focusing on how the trainer did it. Focus on why it worked and how his intention is made clear. This is what makes all the differences. You can use the same cue on the same horse as someone else and get no result at all, but it works fine for the other person. This is one of the reasons it bothers me so much when I hear a person say,"This horse isn't trained as good as the last owner said it was."  Just because they won't do it for you doesn't mean they don't know how. Its mostly a relationship thing. A horse will test you and make you prove yourself to them. If a horse don't like you or don't trust you with their life, they won't listen to you. They need to see you as a confidant leader, and a partner. Someone they respect and trust.

Our next post will cover how communication builds relationships, and why having a relationship with your horse is so important.

6 comments:

  1. I so agree with your statement that about a horse testing you until you prove yourself. I think many people give up on a new horse because they just don't give the new relationship time to evolve.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes, many people give up to soon. I've also seen people buy a new, fairly well trained horse because they don't want to put money into training, and in no time have pretty much the same horse. Most of the time its just a lack of not understanding how to communicate and/or build a relationship. Thanks for the comment. We really like feedback.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sadly, I have to admit that I've been one of those people you just described. But I've learned that trust and bonding with a horse isn't accomplished in 1 ride, 1 week or 1 month, etc., it's something that develops over time with patience and understanding. I've had my current horse for 18 months and it was touch and go the first several months, but I was determined to develop that bond and not get discouraged. I'm so happy that I gave it time, sought advice and didn't give up because he's such a wonderful horse. I've enjoyed reading your blogs and visiting your Facebook page. I find all your information and insights very helpful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much. Your kind words should help promote this so others can enjoy it also. Being a new Blog We don't have a very big following yet.

      You are right when you say time and patients. Getting to know your horse and your horse getting to know you takes time and patients. The more you understand, the less time it takes. Intention says it all. Understanding that will help.

      Thanks again for reading along with us. I'm glad you find it helpful.

      Delete
  4. I have been reading and re-reading all your posts. Over the past few days I have been practicing being very clear with my intentions. It may seem like baby steps to most but for myself, the changes I have seen just in a few days are huge! I practice every time I handle my horses. I am working on being as clear as possible as to where I would like their body and feet to be in regards to my own. Also stopping, moving and waiting for my cue. I start with making sure I have their attention and that we both continue to give the conversation our complete attention. This is a great shift for me! As Ron said, my horses already know how to do what I am asking, I am just learning and being more aware of myself and my interactions with my horses. I guess you you could say I've stopped being 'lazy' or 'assuming' in my communication. :-) I am learning proper horsemanship. These posts are terrific and greatly appreciated!

    Toni

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That was very well said Toni. Sounds like you have the concept. Its also a good way to shine a light at a different angle on the subject. This can so many people. Sometimes a shadow can get in the way of seeing the whole picture. Thank you so much for you response.

      Delete