A while ago I received an email from a woman that attended a clinic as a fence sitter. She expressed her concern that sometimes she felt I was a little too abrupt and too firm with some horses. She felt horses benefitted more from slow quiet work.
I agree with her that some horses do better when the training is quiet and persistent. But equally, others benefit more from the clarity of a little firmness at the right time. However, it was interesting to me that the fence-sitter was more concerned in her own feelings of discomfort by my use of pressure than the horses and the benefit they received from it. She made no mention of the obvious improvement in the horses. Only her own discomfort about how I used pressure.
It has become a growing fad in the training world to work within the comfort limits of a horse and avoid any training that puts pressure on those limits. Many professional and amateurs trainers alike have become convinced that the road to a better relationship with a horse is by appeasement of their fears and anxiety. The view seems to be that if you want to have a friend in your horse avoid troubling it in any way.
During the last lesson at the clinic today it was observed that students often try to work within the comfort zone of their horse. I remarked that I am always trying to work towards the limits of the comfort zone. Many riders are looking for ways to keep their horse comfortable, whereas I am always searching for where those comfort limits exist and extending them. I push a horse towards new challenges and then replace the anxiety and stress associated with those challenges with clarity and comfort. In this way, a horse expands its potential to work with people and builds a stronger bond with them.
Whenever I come across something a horse is worried about, I play with that and do my best to turn their worry into comfort through focus and clarity. Then I go looking for the next boundary between comfort and discomfort and try to do the same. And then the next. Yet, a lot of people back away from those areas where a horse starts to feel insecure and try to keep their horse’s emotions in a comfortable cocoon. I believe this can emotionally cripple a horse and potentially dooms a horse to live in an emotional intensive care bubble. I see horses that can't be separated from other horses or can't be ridden on a trail or can't be trailered or can't be hot shod or can't be ridden on a windy day or can't be ridden without certain type of bit etc.
I am always looking for ways to make a horse feel emotionally secure. But this comes from challenging a horse’s comfort zone, not from wrapping them in bubble wrap and avoiding all stress. Harry Whitney use to say “in our comfort, there can be no learning.” I believe this is very true. A horse can only progress to be a better partner if we incrementally challenge their perception of safety and comfort and teach them we are the solution to their trouble and not the source.
Instead of placating our horses and wrapping them in cotton wool to protect them from things that worry them, we need to turn their trouble and "no go" areas into comfort zones. It's a seek and destroy mission that lasts a lifetime. We owe them that.
Is this the sign of an emotionally crippled horse and rider….