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Rewarding Your Horse

2K views 14 replies 13 participants last post by  Saddlebag 
#1 ·
"The horse responds to comfort, they respond to peace better than about anything else you could do. All he wants you to do is just leave him alone. So if the horse responds to you and you give him a little peace and comfort that means more to him than anything." - Buck Brannaman

I have seen several posts lately that imply that the rider should punish the horse for not performing what is asked ie; stopping, turning, jumping, and i thought that it was sad that so many riders misunderstand what a horse wants so badly. The horse doesn't want to be your child or your lap dog or your buddy. Your horse only wants to be a horse and that is the way he wants to be treated. You don't have to be the lead mare or the angry stallion. All you need to be is patient, understanding and willing, and your horse will be the same.

Horses need structure but they need it to be a horse structure not a people structure. If you structure things around the horse and how the horse is progressing and not around your timetable in the end your horse will be better for it. I have read several threads that went something like " I want to (insert equine competion here) in three months but my horse won't (insert basic function of a riding horse here) what (insert tack or gimmick device here) should I use?" A better question from the horses standpoint would be "What does my horse need to do well before I can use him to (insert equine competition here) and be successful at it?

Any thoughts?
 
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#2 ·
I agree.

Positive reinforcement and just being left alone for a while are good for a horse.

That's why I don't do treats when training, and also why I rarely "punish" my horse.

If he does what is right, he gets left alone. I don't push the issue. If he doesn't do what was asked, I keep asking til he does, then I stop and let him rest.

It is funny, though, that I have seen some people beat the same concept into their horse over and over and over. When I teach my horse something new, and he finally gets it, I don't push it anymore. I let him rest and then I move on. Then I'll come back to it the next time I see him (like the next day). I see it as training as a means to an end, not as an end in itself.

Example: I taught my horse to yield his hindquarters. He got it quick, so I left him alone and didn't push it. The next day I asked again to see if he would remember. He did. Once again, did not push it. Every time I ask, he does it. Then he rests.

My rewards for all of my horses have always been: You do this, I'll leave you alone for a while just to relax and think on it.
 
#3 ·
A better question from the horses standpoint would be "What does my horse need to do well before I can use him to (insert equine competition here) and be successful at it?
Any thoughts?
Now THAT is what I call training!
I only ride for pleasure, but I like to think of "working with" my horse, rather than "using" her. In order to be able to work with the horse, you need to know strengths and weaknesses and how to address them. This in itself takes time, and I find it very enjoyable. The pressure to find a gimmick or quick fix would be on if I were competing, though.
 
#4 ·
I agree Kevin. The quote from Buck is so true and explains very well why pressure & release works so well with horses.

The other thing that comes to mind is "You don't know what you don't know". Punishment for something that a horse doesn't know doesn't work. It's a recipe for frustration on both parts.

If something isn't working, the first thing a rider should question is themselves and then where a step may have been missed along the way. They don't go from green to great overnight.

I do think there is a place for discipline & punishment to an extent, certainly not an advocate of beating one by any means. My most recent example to share is my gray mare. She knows better and was just being a rip, decided working wasn't in the cards that day and got light in her front end. Tipped her nose & popped her on the butt with the end of my reins and drove her out of it before allowed to escalate. One reminder was all it took, she then worked like a champ.

I agree completely on the timetable. There was a point in my life when I was that trainer, everything was based on a goal date. I can admit now that I screwed up a few doing things that way. These days I'm in no hurry, we get there when we get there. My clients know I'm not going to make them a 30 day miracle and have that horse ready to clean up in the show pen with 20 rides under it's belt. Could I, most likely, but I won't. If that's what they want they are welcome to take their horses elsewhere.
 
#5 ·
Couldnt agree more...pushing too hard is more apt to backfire when training. Time and patience are very much underated in todays horse world, as are tollerance, etc etc.
To be the best one can be, and the best your horse can be, we all need to do a little more of the stop...look...and listen stuff. Time may be money but it could also be said that... Time taken is money well spent!
 
#7 ·
So basically just treat your horse like a man. If you want to cut him some slack, stop nagging!

Great thread Kevin. While I have to admit I'd love to be moving faster with my eventing plans, I am happy that we are making our progress on our own timeline. Anytime my horse cannot do what I'm asking, I first ask myself what I am doing wrong to not get the desired result. He always seems so happy when I finally figure it out and ask correctly.
 
#8 ·
I give a treat (usually a pear or apple) after I'm done with riding. They definitely prefer it over comfort (my qh will die for the good pear). :wink:

But seriously every horse (AND rider) has its very own speed of learning/progressing. You can't really say "he'll do it in one week", because it's impossible to tell until you try and work on it at least for some time. That's why when trainer is telling me "I'll polish (break, train, etc.) it all in 30 days for any horse" I just don't rely much on that trainer. Because good training takes time. Lots of time.

As for "rewarding", to reward my horse I soften my hands. They perfectly understand that. Also they know that whip tap is a reminder to work, not a punishment (and is not taken as one). And yes, I too get frustrated at times that progress seems to be so slow. But it is what it is (and my trainer is very encouraging every time making me to believe we DO progress :) ).
 
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#9 ·
I fully agree with the concept. And every horse is going to progress at a different pace; I don't think that every horse would or should be expected to be in the same point in their training in the same exact time frame...some catch on to things quicker and some need more time to get something really solid. I like to allow for that, but some trainers do not.

I also prefer to keep training sessions shorter rather than dragging them on; my schedule doesn't really allow that right now, since I can only get out to the barn only 3 days a week, but I still only keep 'training' to as long as it will take for my mare to get the concept, and then we move on; trail ride, or whatever. I hate when I go to the arenas here and watch folks do the same exercises over, and over, and over again, when the horse got it right the first time...do it once, or twice, and move on; doing it over and over is why horses get sour. When I'm at the arena I might do some exercises for a while, then just get off and tie her up for a while to rest; if there is no one at the arena, I might take off the saddle and let her roam the arena for a while.
 
#10 ·
With regard to horses preferring peace to anything else, this I totally have seen.

ONce when I was leading Mac up from the field and he was walking next to me, not too close, not too far, and keeping a nice drape in the leadrope, I looked over and saw how absolutely perfectly at peace he was with himself, with the day with following me. He was walking in harmony with me and his body said that THAT was just a very nice place to be. I watched his peaceful face, slack lips, soft eye and I got to feeling all misty eyed and full of love for him. It seemed like such a Hallmark moment that I thought by adding a little pet on his nose I would make it better.

So, I reached over to pet him and I intereupted his Hallmark moment. Because , for a horse, something coming toward his face must be seen, and sniffed. so required him to leave his zone of "everythings the same".
So , while I was trying to improve my moment by adding affection , I broke into his and diminished perfection by entering his space and touching him. He was happy in peace and being left along to just be next to me. being loved on only lessened that.

Silly human!
 
#11 ·
Great thread, Kevin. I saw the title of the post and thought you were going to be writing about horse cookies, and thought to myself, "Kevin? Cookies? Nah...." and I was right. :)

The hardest thing I have had to learn is how to go slow to go fast, and to let the release of pressure be the reward instead of pats, words, cookies or whatever. My tendency is to try to teach one or two more things if one goes well. I have had to learn to set it up so that the horse figures out what I am asking for, and to let them think it over if they need to. I love it when it works.
 
#12 ·
"The horse responds to comfort, they respond to peace better than about anything else you could do. All he wants you to do is just leave him alone. So if the horse responds to you and you give him a little peace and comfort that means more to him than anything." - Buck Brannaman

I have seen several posts lately that imply that the rider should punish the horse for not performing what is asked ie; stopping, turning, jumping, and i thought that it was sad that so many riders misunderstand what a horse wants so badly. The horse doesn't want to be your child or your lap dog or your buddy. Your horse only wants to be a horse and that is the way he wants to be treated. You don't have to be the lead mare or the angry stallion. All you need to be is patient, understanding and willing, and your horse will be the same.


Horses need structure but they need it to be a horse structure not a people structure. If you structure things around the horse and how the horse is progressing and not around your timetable in the end your horse will be better for it. I have read several threads that went something like " I want to (insert equine competion here) in three months but my horse won't (insert basic function of a riding horse here) what (insert tack or gimmick device here) should I use?" A better question from the horses standpoint would be "What does my horse need to do well before I can use him to (insert equine competition here) and be successful at it?

Any thoughts?
I agree with you kevinshorses on nearly every part of your statement, horses were here to teach us patience, putting a time frame isn't the way to get a result but rathyer to work on that specific day whatever it is that your horse shows it needs work on because horses are in the present.

I would raise a small point for thought though. Being the lead horse or angry stallion, is part of horse structure and they understand that. It is a way to relate to the horse in a way they can comprehend. I'm not saying a person needs to go out in the field and stomp around acting as if their ears are pinned and theyre ready to kick, but part of the basic structure of horses is the heirarchy in their herd. So in order to do horse structure rather than people structure you need to relate to them in a way they understand. My mare has 100% accepted me as her alpha mare (to put it in horse terms) to the point that if i go sit in the field she will come over to eat her grass by me, when i drive up in my car or if I am going by in the gator she will canter beside me or close behind, or after a riding session I can take the reins off and she will follw directly beside me while I muck, stopping when I stop and taking steps backwards if I do. I know she has accepted me thusly because all throughout the traiing i kept with my 'patiently firm' direction and made sure that she understood through my actions when something wasn't acceptable. So I agree with you that taking the term lead mare or angry stallion literally is not the way to success with your horse, but to incorporate aspects of that into your training and body language helps the horse understand it on their terms as well (asking your horse to back from the ground, no response, tap the ground with a carrot stick, no response, bend slightly and walk forwards while tapping...the association is that I mean business).

Anyways, just MO. :)
 
#13 ·
I think most horses are smart enough to realize that you aren't a horse but because you give them some kind of comfort or pleasure they choose to be with you. Some horses enjoy being around people and will seek them out while others would rather just go about thier business.

I don't buy into the human as the alpha mare philosophy for a couple of reasons. First, it's mostly a myth that there is always a "lead mare". I have live with my horses very closely over the last two summers and have spent a good deal of time watching them. While there is a hierarchy in a herd, it is constantly evolving and is not the written in stone thing that so many believe it to be. It also has very little to do with gender or age. Second, horses treat other horses differently than they should treat humans. While a little nip from one horse to another is okay they had better not do that to me even once. I don't want my horses to see me as another horse.

I would rather they see me as the all-knowing, all-seeing, infallible god of hay but barring that seeing me as a human that they can trust and obey will suffice.
 
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#15 ·
My two horses always come to greet my outstretched hand with their outstretched noses. This certainly makes it easy to catch one. They seem to have carried it a step further. As I opened a gate to allow fresh grazing they started squabbling with each other over who would be the first to greet me. Both horses enjoy a good scratch, tolerate being groomed and definitely don't want any hugging or petting.
 
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