Most of us know that working a horse is nothing like driving a car. A car is a mechanical device with no mind of its own. It has no choices or decisions to make. It has no responses that are outside human control. It has no ability to learn. We know this. So comparing driving a car with working a horse is almost always a poor metaphor.
However, there is one way in which driving a car and working a horse are similar. In both cases, you need to know where you are heading if you have any chance of getting there.
I am always pressing the point that providing a horse with clarity is one of the most important elements in creating emotional comfort in a horse. A lack of clarity is the most common form of abuse we impose on horses. And to avoid being unclear, we must be crystal clear in ourselves if we are to have any chance of bringing clarity to a horse. We need to know what we want, what it will look like when we have it, and why/when we should stop asking for what we want.
I tell students at clinics, “Before you ask your horse a question, have a clear picture in your mind of what you are asking for, and don’t ask a question until you have that picture in your head.” One of the worst mistakes you can make is to ask a question and be unsure of the answer. DO NOT be in the middle of a horse’s response to a question and think to yourself “Is that good enough? Should I ask for more? Should I have asked for less? Should I have waited longer? Should I have applied more feel or less feel?”
The clearer the picture you have in your mind before asking your horse for something, the greater the chance your horse will figure it out and the less anxiety you will be imposing on it.
Whether you step behind the wheel of a car or into the stirrup of a saddle, know beforehand where you are headed.
At a clinic I am trying to explain to a student’s horse where we are headed, but I’m not sure I am being clear enough.