Communication With Horses

I have been referred to as Nebraska’s’ Horse Whisperer. This is an honor I take very seriously.

My life is to work with horses, especially, problem horses. These horses are very seldom born this way, they are made. Horses, as well as all other animals, become a whipping post for all human frailties, fears lack of confidence and respect for themselves. A person that has no control of or has disappointment in their lives will try to dominate and feel superior to the poor animal he/she is abusing. Withholding food, medical care and water is another method of passive aggression and control. This is what I combat every day and I sincerely wish there were no animals in this world that required my “horse whispering” skills. I do work with other horses, the lucky ones with owners that send the horse to me for a little “tune up”, or they may have acquired a bad habit. These horses are loved, and even though they might be a challenge at times, they lack the fear, distrust and genuine loathing for humans that my badly abused charges have.

This article is about "Training", although, I prefer to call it Schooling. Training can evoke mental pictures of abusive methods, cruel bits, spurs, tying a horse to a snubbing post and then letting him buck until exhaustion sets in.

Not my methods or beliefs, and I get better results faster. I have an approach to schooling that is just beginning to be accepted by many of the new generation of riders and which has always been known by those rare “Buckaroos” of the past.

I still hear ridicule and snickers, but those who really know and understand horses appreciate and understand my methods. I would like to point out at this time that there are countless good trainers and some are even brilliant in their methods. My method is my own, a combination of experience, voracious appetite for any information and keeping my mouth shut when the old Buckaroos and very knowledgeable people talk about all their years with horses. I have learned so much from those who are willing  to share their knowledge. I may not always agree with their methods, but that doesn’t matter. Any insight is invaluable to me. There is one thing I have learned, however, if you are missing that special communication you need to effectively “talk” with your horse, all the training classes in the world will not help you. You have to be a willing communicator.

However, before I get into communication, I need to point out one of the most common mistakes horse lovers make – the failure to check for physical problems first. This is  especially important if the horse has been a tractable animal up to that point. A sudden change in behavior and/or attitude should be a red flag to check for an injury, tooth, or nutritional problem. It could even be a sign of overwork. Once the problem is corrected, the horse will again become his old self. How else can they let you know they are ill or injured? Sore backs, legs, or hoof abscesses can stop a horse cold. Infected, sharp, broken, or in some cases wolf teeth that haven’t been pulled can cause bit and head throwing problems. Oh yeah, just slam that cold hunk of metal on your sore tooth and see how you react! A horse came to me ready to be sold at auction, she would not load, barely lead and when saddled either bucked or would not move. It turned out this mare had a deep abscess in her front foot. Once the abscess was healed, I had to deal with all the fall out from the treatment she received as a “problem horse.” Today she is one of the sweetest, most patient horses I have and is very tolerant of new, inexperienced riders.

Nutritional problems can completely change a horse’s personality. Lots of alfalfa mixed with corn and molasses can turn a food sensitive horse into a horse’s rendition of a child on a liter of Pepsi and 15 chocolate bars. Attention span, what attention span? They are too high on sugar to focus on you or anything else. A change of diet to good prairie grass hay can make all the difference in the world, and steamed oats will do fine.

Once you have determined there is no physical or medical reason for your horses change in behavior, your will need to probe a little deeper and this will require acute observation.

 Now here comes the big question. Is your horse your companion or your tool? If companion, you may have already noticed that something or someone is upsetting or causing a problem with your animal. Maybe a trailer mishap, possibly an ill mannered rider, water crossing, bad experience with a tarp or barbed wire, head throwing or head shy or just plain contrariness.

A new horse may be extremely head shy due to blows to the head, a biter, usually from fear, or a kicker-he who kicks first might avoid abuse to the hind quarters, or just impossible to handle due to pain, fear and alienation by humans.

A little observation goes along way in unlocking the cause behind the behavior. I am sure you would look forward to going into a stock or horse trailer knowing you were going to be hit with a board, shoved on or hit with a rope. Yelling is good too. That will really motivate that trailer shy horse. Water shy horses love to be spurred and kicked on the sides while having the bit yanked around in their mouths all the time knowing there are monsters in the water. Sounds like fun to me too, and forget communication. There are really monsters in the water, (just little, bitty ones) and I’m a so called logical human. The rider is so busy trying to “horse” the horse that the poor animal doesn’t know which way to go and a little abuse goes a long way. We all forget one simple thing. They are bigger than us in the most part. Period. They can hurt us or even kill us. A “thinking” horse will eventually even the score and usually when you least expect it. The golden Rule is: “Dominance will come back to haunt you.  If your horse throws you, he is not going to hang around -  he’ll run like crazy to get away from you!.”

Those who view the horse as an expendable tool, usually could care less, as they will just get rid of the animal and get another. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard the old saying “With so many good horses, why would you want a bad one?” I ride one of those “bad ones” and have been told repeatedly to put a bullet in his head. He’s an “outlaw.” Yes, it did take a lot of work and over a year to earn his trust, but this “outlaw” carried me through a very noisy parade in Minden and when we got lost on a trail ride, Jet’s first, he carried me through swamps, mud, deep water, bawling cattle, thorny thickets and cactus without a twinge of protest. He was so tired at the end of the trail he could hardly stand, but my “outlaw” got me home! So much for that bullet advice. Many people just don’t understand. An abused horse, once you have earned their trust will carry you through hell if need be and that is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for me. I don’t get rich schooling horses and have taken horses that everyone has given up on just for the chance to help them, but this is my reason for being. I have been given a special gift and calling and though the money is nice (helps feed my rescues and others) it is not the sole reason I do what I do. It is for the love of it. Having an abused horse finally respond, nickering softly in greeting as you approach or lying their head on your shoulder as they fall asleep is a gift like nothing I have ever known. They are companions I can laugh and cry with, have fun with and never fear they will betray my secrets and trust. We are two different species bridging the gap between us with love and communication.

Horses are herd animals and they flee to survive. If they don’t have confidence in their rider they will flee with or without you. Of course, it is easier to flee with that big lump off of your back. If you have developed a bond of trust with your companion then you will face that fear together. Now we are back to communication and I can’t emphasize this enough. Communication involves observation for the cause of the problem, finding a solution to that problem and communicating the solution to the animal in a way they will understand. This takes a considerable amount of patience, but the rewards are well worth the time spent and the bond of trust forged between equine and human is unbelievable. This may include some pretty ridiculous solutions. I have no problem walking my horse through water to show them there is nothing to fear, or jumping around with tarps and garbage bags to let them know these things only make noise.

Don’t forget that horses see things five times the size we do, so that little bitty lizard looks like a Komodo Dragon to them. Their eyes don’t focus like ours either, even though they can see for long distances, they must move their heads to focus. Some riders don’t understand when the horse is putting its head down to the ground it is trying to focus on an object on the ground, so they pull the head up and the horse is not sure what the object is. To see at a distance (up to 5 miles) they must raise their heads to see the far away object. A good book on horses and their behavior is well worth reading. It will explain the horse’s physical and mental make up and it will open your eyes to why your horse does some of the things he does. Not to be contrary, but because of their hard wired genetic code and survival instincts. Oh, so you don’t have time to read – then try a tape. There are many wonderful tapes on horse behavior and training. Many look down on this type of knowledge, but these people are usually sitting in the middle of the river during a trail ride while the rest of us are watching from above.

This is a good place to address fear in the rider. A horse can sense a rise in blood pressure and heart beat. What many do not understand, is that your fear level affects the horses response. They get upset because they don’t understand what is scaring the wits out of you. They are not thinking - boy am I really scaring the pants off of this one. They are actually worrying about what has gotten you so upset. A mountain lion, or some other big, bad horse eating monster. Run for the hills - Flee!!!!! I have a good example for you here. I was riding a 6 year old gelding across a river crossing that looked fairly shallow, as we approached the bank he fell into a deep hole, up and almost over my boots. Other riders were watching waiting, waiting for the bucking and fireworks to start (trail riders have a weird sense of humor, as long as some one else is eating dirt, or in this case mud). The gelding froze and turned his ears back to see what I had to say. Everything hinged on my reaction. Disappointingly to the other riders, I calmly told my horse to back out, which he did. I had several compliments as to how calm my horse was, which I accepted graciously, but it was really the bond of trust and my calmness and faith in my companion which prevented a muddy wreck. If I had become nervous and spooky, he would have been sure he was going to be eaten by mud monsters and you can get away from monsters faster when you carry a lighter load, and leave a tidbit behind.

Do I love these magnificent animals, absolutely! Do I fear them? Never. Fear and respect are a long way from each other in the dictionary. Even the smallest horse can cause a severe injury, and I have several very large stallions. Their power and strength is unbelievable. What I possess is empathy, faith and communication and the horse can read this as well as you can read this printed page.

Have I been hurt - you bet and I am sure I will be so again. I am not ashamed to say I have bitten the dirt more than once and I land in the damdest places. However, in analyzing the accidents there is usually a human related problem. A bad kick to my right arm, that keen observation and being fast on my feet prevented a fracture, was caused by a fool slamming a gate in a Mustangs face before I was in position. A kick in the head, resulting in 13 staples and various bruises, was caused by my horse being hurt in some way - possibly a bee sting. He did his best not to step on me when I fell, but kicked me, accidentally, in the back of the head when he ran. I knew I was still alive when he turned and came back to me. I have to admit here that I probably would not have been dumped if I had not been riding with an air splint on my right leg. I have never claimed to be brilliant and I would definitely tell others never to ride under those conditions. However, I was bound and determined to help move cattle and had a wonderful time up to my little fall. I don’t bounce as well as I used to, so I try not to bounce at all, but that is part of the game. The horse was not to blame, and I was good for a few laughs around the area. The EMT’s couldn’t figure out why I had a boot on one foot and a tennis shoe on the other. Can’t get a splint in a cowboy boot!!

People say I am too old to be schooling and working with abused horses.

I can’t print what I think of that, I would have to use Lye soap on my hard drive!! When I get too old, they can just put me on old Jet (tie me on if need be) head him into the West and slap him on the rump and I will die where I fall, happy and content. (Hope it isn’t in your tomato patch!)

Until then I will continue to work with horses - the abused, starved and throw away horses that no one wants. This article is about training. I could have written just a few words: communication and patience, but I talked it over with the horses and they thought it was better to be a little more specific.

I spend a great deal of time and resources on rescue and rehabilitation. The old children’s horses that grew up with their family only to be starved and hauled off destined for meat. The injured that no one wants to spend the time or money on. The throw-aways, scared and bad mannered - scared in body and soul. This is my mission and my life. I can only save them one at a time, I know. But it never stops the nightmares of all those I can’t save.

For those of you who ask me if the horses talk back to me
when I whisper to them.   ALWAYS!