I apologise for the length of this essay. However, I feel it is such an important topic because it forms the foundation of all good horsemanship.
In past articles, I have argued that the cause of anxiety in horses always stems from a lack of clarity. But I want to briefly take that assertion one step further today.
As I have stated, when a horse understands the meaning of pressure sufficiently, pressure can become a comfort. This is because pressure can act as a guidepost to what is expected from a horse. It can give them a “light bulb” moment. Horses get a lot of reassurance when they know what the answer is and what the expected response is. This is why when there is enough clarity as to the meaning of pressure, the outcome is a horse that feels okay and experiences minimal emotional trouble.
Before I go any further, let me remind you of the difference between pressure that drives and pressure that directs. This is very important in understanding where I am going in this article, so please take the time to understand the difference between directing and driving pressure. There is a fuller explanation in my book, The Essence Of Good Horsemanship.
Many people think the difference between driving and directing a horse is how much pressure we apply. This is not true. The amount of pressure is irrelevant to the principle of driving and directing.
Directing pressure sends a horse towards where its thoughts are, eg using feel on a lead rope to ask a horse to think to the left and then allowing it to move to the left is directing pressure. The horse’s thoughts are to the left and the feet are moving to the left. Therefore, the horse’s mind and its movement are in the same direction. Anytime a horse’s thoughts and its feet are going together there is a directing pressure at work.
Driving pressure sends a horse away from where its thoughts are, eg swing the tail end of a lead rope on the right side of a horse to get it to move to the left is driving pressure. The horse’s thoughts are on the swinging rope and its feet are moving away from the rope. Therefore, where the mind is and where the feet are going are in different directions. Anytime a horse’s thoughts and its feet are being separated there is a driving pressure taking place.
To reiterate what I have said previously, clarity brings comfort. But this is the tricky bit.
When a horse does not have a clear understanding of how to respond to pressure, most times we resort to driving pressures. This is meant to block a horse’s unwanted idea (eg to go right when we want it to go left) so we can replace it with a wanted idea. The only justification for applying driving pressure is to bring clarity that enables a horse to recognize and comprehend directing pressure. Once our horse understands well enough that concept we can dispense with using driving pressure and replace it with directing pressure. This is when clarity becomes possible. But to do this we must always first present a directing pressure to a horse to give it a chance to respond. A driving pressure should only ever be used after a horse has ignored our initial directing pressure. This is very important – directing pressure first, followed by driving pressure only if necessary.
Therefore, it is the ability to direct a horse (ie, a horse’s movement follows its thoughts) that is the source of a horse feeling comfortable about pressure. If we are not able to present an idea to a horse in a way that influences their thought to take their feet somewhere, it is not possible for a horse to feel okay about working with us. At best, we can expect a polite resignation to their lot in life, which is a long way from a horse feeling okay. At worst, we produce a worried horse that is either very reactive or shut down.
Most people who oppose negative reinforcement training principles and call pressure "aversive" have in mind that pressure is only intended to be a driving tool and have little appreciation of the comfort pressure can bring to a horse when used as a directing tool.
If we accept the premise that a calm, confident, and happy horse can only be the result of being able to work with directing pressure, then we are at a crossroads when it comes to choosing what to do with that information. This is because of one simple fact. Most trainers/clinicians I can think of, rely on driving pressure almost 100 percent of the time. I could fill pages with the hundreds of names of trainers who only apply driving pressure in their work – many of them would be well-known and perhaps even held in high esteem by you. Very few trainers/clinicians are working towards being able to only ever direct a horse. Their goal is to establish obedience of the feet and this can be achieved through driving techniques, without ever the need to consider directing a horse. I can think of perhaps 30 or fewer trainers/clinicians that I am familiar with whose work is aimed at applying directing pressure and eradicating driving methods from their work as quickly as possible.
This observation may seem extreme at first, but remember how I defined driving and directing pressure. They are not defined by the amount of pressure used but by the whereabouts of a horse’s thoughts (focus) in relation to where its body is moving. When you think of it in terms of where a horse’s focus is and the direction the horse is moving, it is not so hard to visualize that most trainers rely on driving pressure, even if it is very subtle. It is perhaps one very important reason why I see so few happy horses in the world – even those owned by many professionals. There does not have to be much activity or energy for a horse to feel driven. So it is a mistake to assume that just because a trainer is using subtle cues a horse’s feet and its thoughts are going in the same direction.
I don’t expect many of you to automatically agree with my deduction and final analysis. It is a very big statement to make that because most training involves driving horses with pressure, there can be very few happy horses. It’s even bolder to suggest that perhaps trainers who rely on driving pressure can’t produce happy horses. But the point of this essay is not to lampoon thousands of trainers. Instead, it is to encourage you to think about the relationship between driving and directing pressure in consideration of the clarity and comfort we bring to our horses. And about that, I would also urge people to evaluate all the training they ever see at clinics or in videos, etc, in the light of these vitally important elements of training.
You don’t have to agree with me, but it would not be a waste of time to give these ideas some consideration.
An example of pressure being used to direct a horse’s thoughts forward and its feet going with that thought.