Relationships mean everything to horses. In fact, the type of leader you are determines exactly how your horse behaves.
Relationships mean everything to the horse. The structure and rules within the herd give the horse a feeling of comfort and security.
There is a basic hierarchy within a horse herd, a pecking order from highest to lowest and every horse knows his place within the herd. Unlike humans, horses are not inclined to climb that social hierarchy if they do not have to.
In fact, horses will only try to improve their standing when they become aware that the horse above them in the pecking order is faltering in his leadership abilities. There are exceptions, but for our purposes it is helpful to accept this as a rule of thumb.
Horses are natural followers and they look for natural leaders. It is up to the human to develop their leadership abilities so that the horse will naturally follow him. If the horse detects weakness in the leader he will feel the need to take over, because the safety of the herd is at stake. In other words, if you don't lead, your horse will.
There's a common mistake people make regarding this concept:
They think they have to be the "boss". They get "bossy". They turn the leader-follower relationship into a master-slave relationship. There is a huge difference. There are horses in herds that get "bossy" and bully other horses, but the herd does not willingly follow a boss. The boss will usually be a loner, largely avoided by the other horses. The boss can make the other horses do things, and the "bossy" human can do the same, but the followers are not inspired to follow willingly.
The dominant style of horsemanship for thousands of years has been this kind of "show them who is boss" style.
If you watch a horse herd closely, you will discover another type of leader, what Mark Rashid calls "a Passive Leader".
This type of leader is clearly in charge of the horses that surround her, but she does not bully them or "boss" them around.
The Passive Leader does just what needs to be done to accomplish a particular task, no more and no less. If she wants another horse to move she uses only the energy required. She will politely suggest the other horse move and then back it up only if she needs to.
The Passive Leader does not waste energy bullying or flagrantly displaying power. The other horses respect this type of leadership and will follow her willingly.
This passive leadership is what we should emulate. Everything we ask of our horses should be asked in a manner that respects the sensitivity of the horse.
If we consistently follow this rule, the horse will respect our leadership.
Not only will the horse respect our leadership, but they will want to be with us. They will be eager to follow us. We will develop a partnership and relationship with the horse that is intriguing to the horse. They will look forward to being with us and doing the things we ask of them.
Study what relationships mean to the horse. Do what you can to become a passive leader.
Whenever you suggest to your horse that he do anything, ask yourself the question Ray Hunt asks his students time and again, "Can you do less?"
Do less and watch the relationship flower.
