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Thinking ahead of your horse is a skill that will help your training. When you are working with your horse and you see or feel something that might cause an impending reaction (positive or negative) you should cue into this so that you can be ready to take advantage of the situation. If you are the kind of person who drives through town and can speed up or slow down your car to match the traffic lights (assuming your town has a traffic light!) you already know how to anticipate a situation.

For example, if you were walking down a trail that had a large puddle of water in it, think about what options the young or green horse has:

1). Walk through the puddle of water.
2). Jump over the water.
3). Walk around the water.
4). Spin and go the other direction.
5.) Stop
6). None of the above.

And you as the leader have these options:

1). Anticipate the puddle and support your horse through the situation.
2). Get nervous, pull back on the reins and make a big deal out of the situation.
3). Let the horse walk around the water.
4). Just sit there and let the horse decide what to do.
5). None of the above.

As you know, the correct answers would be: Walk through the puddle of water, and anticipate the puddle and support your horse through the situation. The point being, you just never know what the young horse is going to do in every situation. Every experience that you have with your horse has options for both you and the horse. You need to be able to consider (anticipate) what those options are, think about possible outcomes and then support your horse to the desired outcome. Know what you want to do before you get into a situation where you have to make split second decisions.

Even a calm horse that is dead broke will falter once in a while. You need to anticipate when these types of things are likely to occur and be ready. We were out trail riding near Mt. St. Helens and my horse stepped on a bees nest. I was riding in a rope halter with a very loose rein. The bees started stinging my horse on the legs and face. The horse’s first reaction was to spin and get the heck out of there. My reaction was to drive her forward (and get the heck out of there). This was a bad situation in a good place, the trail was wide and there was plenty of room to maneuver safely. We had just come off a trail that had a 200 foot drop off the side. My first reaction, not to over react and support the horse through the situation made a potential big deal into something smaller.

Don’t dwell on negative things – turn them into something positive. If you never do something because your afraid or nervous, you’ll never get the horse to experience those things that will help them through their fear. If your horse is afraid of cows (we see this a lot with "city horses") and you won’t go near a cow because of this, what are you going to do if you come across a cow and absolutely have to go by it. You need to challenge your horse and support him through these types of situations. If you know what your horse’s weaknesses are, work on them. A brave horse is a predictable horse.

Your horse wants you to be predictable and consistent. You don’t want to be uncertain or inconsistent and cause your horse to question what you’re asking. For example, if you get into a situation such as the example of the puddle of water above and let the horse spin and get out of the job. And the next time that you come across the puddle you get the horse to go forward but let him go around the puddle of water. What’s going to happen when you come across a puddle of water in the future? You wouldn’t know because you’ve been inconsistent with your responses in each of these situations. With training and experience, you can make situations such as the puddle reliable. Your job is to be consistent and support your horse through these experiences. You have the option to either think about what’s happening or just bounce along and let the horse take you for a ride – your choice!

Next Concept: Respect

There is some risk involved in horse training for both you and the horse. Horses can cause serious injury. Be sensible and don’t attempt anything that is outside your comfort level. This information is intended to illustrate how we apply our training techniques, you are responsible for using this information wisely. If you don’t feel comfortable with your abilities or an exercise, don’t do it! Seek advice or assistance from a professional horse trainer. Stay on the "high side of trouble".

Natural Horse Supply Training Information, (c) 1999 Natural Horse Supply. All rights reserved. Duplication of any material  prohibited without express written permission. This prohibition is not intended to extend to personal non-commercial use, including sharing with others for safety and learning purposes, provided this copyright notice is attached and you have written permission. E-mail to submit comments or request reproduction permission.

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Last updated: July 17, 2003