Does Your Horse Seek Your Approval?

In the above picture, by way of interests sake, this horse is most definitely not seeking my approval.  He is extremely wary, and ready to plant a hoof on my head at any second.  This indeed, is the very opposite of seeking approval.  In a way, for my own self preservation, I am seeking his, because depending on how he interprets what I'm doing, he will fight or flee.  The give and take in horse human relationships is very interesting.

There was a time that I would not have known that a horse would seek your approval, or that could even happen, or that such a thing existed. In a predator such as a dog, it is very easy to see them seeking and enjoying your approval. They make it very clear, their tails are wagging and they are jumping up and down. Horses on the other hand are not nearly as visible and easy to read. They are many times much less interested in our approval. Not because they wouldn’t like to have it but because sometimes our approval comes in a form that they don’t enjoy. One example of that might be when a person is really pleased with something their horse just did and they give it a good patting on the neck, ribs, or hip. Sometimes one good smack, and other times a bunch when the human is real happy. The horse doesn’t enjoy a good smacking but over time they realize that their human is happy and they are about to get another good smacking.
Anyone that has been around horses for more than a day knows that if they are getting up to a horse for the first time and it has never been caught, the last thing you would do is start slapping them on the neck as soon as you got within reach. The horse would whirl and you might even get kicked as it left. Everyone seems to instinctually know that you need to stroke the horse real careful and with a lot of feel or they’re leaving. We also seem to know to stroke with the hair and not against it and we would have a much better chance of getting it haltered. For some reason we know a horse will enjoy a rub much more than a pat but once that halter is on and he can’t get away then he’s going to get a good patting like it or not.
The reason horses enjoy a rub rather than a pat is because that is the first thing the mare does with her tongue when the foal is born. It’s comforting, familiar and natural to the horse.

This bay horse, Kahlua, is receptive to being given approval.  She asked for it, earned it, and had enough respect, understanding, relaxation, and lack of fear to appreciate it once it is offered.  If you go up to your horse to pet him, and he knocks your hat off, hits you with his head when you get there or moves away that’s a sure sign he wasn’t looking for your approval. 
To compound things, patting can be very confusing to the horse because that same person will very likely pat the horse when they want him to move over in a box stall or in a trailer or when they’re tied to the fence and you’re trying to get to your saddle. One time the horse is supposed to stand and understand that they are being praised, the next time he supposed to move.
Rhythmic pressure which is another way of saying patting, can and is used to move horses, and is one of the ways horses move each other in the field. Using rhythmic pressure in phases, starting softly and slowly increasing the rhythm is one great way to teach a horse to move the parts of the body you need them to move. After you get the feet to move for you, then a stroke or five lets the horse know you approve ending the confusion and gives the horse a reason to start looking to you for that approval and know when he’s getting it. This is a very simplified example, but it gives you the idea. Horses are all born with different horseanalities and some are more people-friendly than others. Some are very much wanting to know when they did well and others are very aloof and indifferent to whether we approve or not. They can be born this way and they can be created with poor handling. You want your horse to want you to approve, and know when you do. This way they can relax and enjoy what they just learned or did. This relaxation in turn gives them confidence, which is where softness and responsiveness lives.

These are two of my horses, Jet is the sorrel, and Dealer is the black.  Dealer is a horse that came to me that was an example of poor treatment prior to my owning him.  He has issues with cinching, doesn`t trust people, and he does not look to them for solutions to his problems or seek approval.  His self preservation skills are very high, and he does not like to move his feet for people or other horses.  When I am saddling up Dealer here, he is not happy.  Some of what could be noted is the tension in his body, head up, eyes hard, tail tight, nose kind of tipped towards me and a little cocked, ears back, belly sucked up and his weight is even on all four legs and his hide was rigid.

  

Worried about the saddle and the cinch.

He does not want to move his feet. Sticky feet usually mean bucking might not be very far away. The goal is to get him to relax, get him free with his feet and to do that I will need to get him free in the mind. Willing and looking to me for the answer.

 

Note the hump in his back and how he has lifted the back of the saddle. You can see the tension and if you were to walk over and touch him anywhere you would feel the tension in his body.

 

Once his feet did move, instead of forward they go up. This is some baggage that unfortunately was put in when the first fellow attempted to train him. A previous trainer had a go at Dealer for 3 months and then said he was untrainable. However, I can tell you that he learned a lot in that three months. How to be bracey, worried, untrusting, hard to catch even in a box stall, bad with his feet, wouldn`t accept the saddle or rider and so on. He learned how to deal with poor handling.

At this point his reaction to the saddle was mild compared to our first sessions and he was learning to think sooner and his reactions were smaller and ended sooner.

 

 

 

Softening and freeing up.                                            

 

 

 

Moving in both directions. One eye and ear on me, making a change.

Here, finally, I get a much better look.  He stops, faces me, lowers his head a little, and licked his lips.

A horse that does not seek approval is much more time consuming to work with. For Dealer humans didn`t have anything he wanted only things he didn`t want. You have to know what horses value so you can get them to want your approval and they will put some try in so everything won’t feel forced. A horse that seeks approval is willing happy horse. They will look to you as a leader rather than a drill sergeant or the other side of the coin, someone to walk on.
In this picture, Cody’s ears are up and forward and he’s checking in with me, looking to see if he is doing the right thing, what the request is, and if it will change.

 

 

 

Here Cody is keeping one eye on me to see if I’m going to give him the “thumbs up”; which to him might be something like the absence of another request, or a touch he enjoys, or allowing him to stand and rest, all of which are releases of mental pressure on him.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In this photo I think Cody is so shocked by his owners jumping technique that he forgets what he was doing altogether!

Horses will seek comfort if you can give it to them before during and after a manoeuvre or exercise. They will learn to hunt for it and recognize it as it’s offered. Horse have got to be as comfortable as you know how to make them when they are doing or done what you’ve asked. Saying ``Good boy`` won’t have any comfort for a horse like a rub, or riding in time with his natural rhythm, for example. 

Here are some more pictures of the approval scenario while riding.  Seeking, giving, and receiving with Sargent.

Allowing a horse time to soak after an exercise is another way to have them realize and seek approval. When you allow a horse time to soak it means you are giving the horse time to relax mentally and emotionally and think about what just happened. Things I like to look for is the horses head lowers, eyes are blinking, licking of the lips. A horse that seeks your approval looks to you, not away. When you’re in the saddle and you laterally bend your horse, he should look up to you in the saddle. If he doesn`t, then he probably needs more time to relax.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you’re on the ground standing near them, they will (on their own) wrap their necks around you. Not pushing on you, just bent in your direction.  If they bend away from you and never to you, it is a clear sign that they are not looking to you for approval, and as the horse owner we need to make some changes. At a distance if your horse looks to you; ears forward with questioning, inquisitive eyes, which would be a positive sign.

 

 

 

 

Another sign to watch for is if you circle your horse online he should be looking in again towards you and not pulling on the line. If he is pulling on the line and looking out of the circle then that would be a bad sign, he would  be gone if it wasn`t for the line. Make sure you offer your horse time to feel your approval, and look for opportunities to give it and then watch the change in your horse and how easy things become.
Enjoy your horse and be sure your horse enjoys you.
All the best,
Glenn

Glenn Stewart travels extensively conducting clinics, demonstrations, and colt starting sessions, and also offers Camps and a 3 month Horsemanship Course at his home The Horse Ranch, as well as the Horsemanship Learning Adventure Series; two completely different experiences, High & Wild in the Northern BC Rockies, and Working Equitation with Lusitanos in Brazil. He rides 30-60 client horses per year, including young horses, restarts, challenging horses, and foundation training.  Glenn is the 2010 Champion of the Cowboy Up Challenge at the Calgary Stampede and has been chosen as one of the Canadian representatives in the 2012 Road to the Horse, the World Championship of Colt Starting in Murfreesboro, TN.  More information by calling 1 877 728 8987 or visiting  www.thehorseranch.com

We are pleased to announce Glenn and Horses All Magazine will be bring articles to you each month in 2012!  And, we've added a special twist for you!  Every month, starting in January, the article will be supplemented by video clips on our website, right here in the Articles section.  We are going to give you a visual to go with the words!