09/03/2025
We're not humans. We're trainers.
I often hear people who work with horses referred to as....the human. Give yourself more credit than that.
It is said that we as "humans" need to learn to be proficient in the way horses think. The goal, seemingly sensible, is to get to a point where the horse in turn, accepts us as one of them. Certainly we do need to develop an understanding of how horses learn; the realistic purpose of training is to establish a partnership, or working relationship between the horse and human. Now you are a trainer and no longer human.
Years ago I was told that I needed a hobby, or some form of release from my job. I took up golf. I bought clubs, a bucket of golf balls and played. I didn't read golf magazines, or take lessons for the first 3 years.
I got fairly good. Meaning I could play an entire round while losing less than 5 golf balls. Sometimes I'd even hit some great shots. At that point I decided to get a lesson from someone other than my partner, whose only real job was to be a spotter. Where did it go?
The professional found holes in my program. I was holding the club wrong, standing wrong, swinging wrong and basically everything wrong. So what was at the root of my problems? I was doing what came naturally to ME.
I spent the next year trying to fix things. It only got worse. Occasionally I would hit a good shot, but I did before, too. Finally I realized that if I was ever going to have fun again, I needed to get out of my head and play naturally.
I'm not saying that the pro was wrong. He was absolutely right. Had I gotten lessons on how to golf correctly before I ever started, then that may well have been my natural. But I didn't, and it wasn't.
How does this relate to horses? We all have natural instincts, especially when we first start. If the horse didn't go, what did you do? Kick. If the horse didn't stop, what did you do? Pull. You had it right the first time. Then someone got in your head. Of course those things can be refined, but they're not wrong.
Here's my definition of natural horsemanship. The horse better get used to the things I'm going to naturally do.
You can shift your hands, shift your head, shift your eyes, shift your feet, shift your belly button and even shift your pants all you want to. But until you've trained the horse to respond to the things you're going to naturally do, those things have limited effect. Why? Because the horse is training you.
It's ok to learn from a horse, gather information, and gain experience. Horses can be good teachers. They're even excellent trainers. Unfortunately what they tend to train you to do is usually bad, backed by inappropriate responses with good timing. They're great at getting you to quit.
Don't give up your trainer role of creating appropriate responses with good timing. Horses get really confident when a leader shows up.
So to train a horse is to connect their natural instincts to coordinate with our natural instincts. Those are the things you do with good timing and appropriate attitude.
Be confident in the moment. If you're happy with your horse in the moment, be sure they know it. If you're mad, be sure they know it. If your expectations raise, they need to know it. And if you want them to try harder, make sure they know that too. If you want to hug his neck, do it. These are all emotions that horses understand. Each part and attitude, either of you have, is welcome at the training table.
Horses are very responsive and intuitive when it comes to emotion and energy. It's how they communicate. They don't hide what they're feeling from each other. We shouldn't hide either. That's just sneaky and not comminucating clearly. Just be sure to have the right emotion or energy for the situation at hand. When we're easy to read, it creates a partnership that builds trust and understanding between both. We know each other.
"Knowing" horses is an admirable quest that can certainly evolve into a better understanding. Yet, if what you learned didn't get you dirty, you didn't get the lesson.
So stop being a human and realize that if you actually "work with " a horse, you are a trainer. Paid or not. You either teach them the right thing, or they learn the wrong thing.
So what's right and what's wrong? That's up to you depending on your goals. For me it's how to reshape their instincts to teach them how to survive in my world.
Our world requires discipline, especially if you've picked one out to train for and be competitive in. I've had people at clinics say they don't train for a discipline, they just ride. Umm, your horse already told me that. It doesn't have any. I suppose that's why they call them a discipline. If you want to cause your horse to improve, pick one.
The purpose of training is to establish a partnership, or working relationship between the horse and human.
Be your horses partner, and not the one whose only job is to be the spotter. Both of you keep an eye on the ball. It takes discipline, and a discipline, to do that every time you ride.
Be a trainer, not a human.
