Guest blog Miranda Hoogenberg from HOPE for Horses: from HARD to HEART

Having and training a (young) horse can be so much fun, if you have the right horse... or the right help with training..... but..... having a (young) horse can be hard work.....

I see them all pass by in my work and yet I agree with: “Having a (young) horse is Fun!!!”

A perfect match!

The road to riding is truly one of the most beautiful moments for building a bond with your horse and it doesn't always require (a lot of) stress.

We bought a young horse for my daughter last summer, they fell for each other instantly, so it was a clear case. As a mother, I would have preferred to see a slightly older horse for my daughter (almost 15), but well, I know better than anyone that sometimes a bond is formed that you cannot deny and so this (in my opinion) much too big young man had to come home with us.

In his eyes, you could already see that there was a strong character behind those beautiful deer-brown eyes and I really trusted in giving him time when making the purchase. I also trusted the fact that I have never come across a horse that really didn't want to cooperate!

In the first few weeks, you can discover everything that such an animal has been through. Lunging? Isn't that where you pull the one on the line down and see how long he or she can hang on??? And if that doesn't work, you just jump over the fence (1.50m)? To create a partnership with this horse, it is helpful to reverse this behavior.

Insecurity due to a large, stiff body

To ensure that there is nothing physically hindering him, we have a nice therapist come by a few times a year, including for this young man. He is only 4 years old, but there was already a lot of tension in his body! His muscles were already stiff, which gives a wrong signal in his work. It was also clear right away that this horse, with his long legs, had no confidence in his own body. His body was very awkward and had grown to over 1.75m in four years. Such a large body needs to find its place!
You see it with children in puberty as well, suddenly the most handy children bump into everything. They drop things or are suddenly not as good at what they were good at before. Adolescents become insecure! The feeling in their bodies suddenly changes. This works exactly the same with horses! This is because the brain does not grow in a linear fashion. Parts of the brain are more developed than other parts, causing total chaos in the whole being. Not only mentally, but also physically!

A horse cannot learn without relaxation!

And then comes the part of Understanding in the training of your horse. When a horse has been handled to "learn" things, has he really understood them? Because when there is no relaxation, there is no learning moment either!

But how do you achieve relaxation? By giving your horse clarity! Well, easy to say, right?

Peace in the work is of course important, but also giving your horse the feeling that it can and may find peace in its body. The moment your horse can start to learn in relaxation, you can also see progress being made.

And then comes harmony! The body relaxes and the mind gets the rest it needs to learn and understand. Sometimes this requires a lot of repetition because there has been too much tension. Repetition, repetition and more repetition!!!

For some horses, attack is the best defense

Currently, we have two young horses, one is young and doesn't know much yet, is scared and reacts by running away and jumping over the fence. The other chooses to be difficult and if he deems it necessary, to come towards you with his ears back.

And the one who comes towards you is a huge cuddler with a very small heart! The moment he chooses to "attack," I make him do an exercise he already knows in a calm state. As soon as he performs this exercise, you immediately see him change into the cuddler he actually is. You can see his behavior as "trying to outdo" or as "attack is the best defense." To avoid the defense, the "attack" (in his eyes) must be redirected. Something he may see as an attack, may be the most normal thing in the world for you as a handler.

Is your horse overreacting? You can reduce it by distracting him with relaxation. It may not be that what you asked was wrong, but that your horse has a trigger there. In that case, it is helpful to still ask the same thing, but make sure you help your horse with his trigger. Do this in a clear, but helpful manner so you can break the cycle.

Because this horse has been treated very poorly, he has taught himself that attack is the best defense. This must be changed, because if you were to respond to that as a human, communication would go wrong in many ways, resulting in your horse becoming even further removed from who he really is. It becomes hard against hard! And then I focus on the horse, who wins. Physically, we cannot control them, we have to rely on feeling and interaction. On trust.

Provide clarity for the horse from your HEART!

The other horse is mainly afraid of himself, he is unsure of his large body. He is a bit awkward and clumsy in his movements and you can see that he has already learned the "trick". He can jump exceptionally well and knows exactly what is expected of him when he is loose. He must jump over obstacles. But when you ask him something directly, he almost panics. He has no idea what is expected of him and then uses everything he has against you. And that's quite a lot. He starts rearing, swiping with his long forelegs. He jumps with two hooves in his nose over the fence. But his heart rate is so high it's off the charts! So, stress! Not because he enjoys reacting like that.

Such a horse especially needs clarity and guidance on how to best use his body in situations that are stressful for him because he doesn't understand them. For this horse, it is particularly important that he can trust his body. That he understands how to use his body, how to create calmness. This involves doing exercises that allow his body to flow. Calm in the body and showing him that he can use his body to find peace. His heart rate decreases and he relaxes! Here, learning can take place again, gaining new experiences with positive outcomes and certainty! That's what you want with your horse, isn't it?

These relaxation exercises can be used throughout your training. It is absolutely unnecessary to ride or train a highly stressed horse!

From HARD to HEART!

Written by Miranda Hoogenberg from HOPE for horses

Also read her other guest blogs:

Miranda Hoogenberg: ‘Cannabinoids good for the entire system in horses’

Guest blog Miranda Hoogenberg from HOPE for Horses: Mental well-being of horses