Do You equal pleasant?
It’s a funny title, right? Certainly not grammatically correct, but it speaks to an important principle in horse training. If your horse doesn’t see you as a pleasant experience, he or she may still behave but always with resentment and fear. On the flip side, if your horse does find you pleasant, you’re heading down the path of true horsemanship and a rich, fulfilling, relationship with your horse.
Now, let’s get into the weeds with this. Holistically, you need to be pleasant. The overarching theme of your day-to-day experiences need to be worthy of taking your horse from his comfortable home and friends to ensure he’ll want to continue without force and intimidation as your motivation tactics for cooperation. But that doesn’t mean you can’t be firm or unpleasant at times. Some things require leadership.
I’ll tell you candidly, leadership isn’t the fun part. Being a leader is rarely a fun experience. It’s rewarding after, but in the moment, it’s hard. You have to step up and set clear boundaries and be a big fat jerk sometimes. Then, immediately reinforce the friendly bond you had with soft, kindness. That role switching from sweet to bitter and back to sweet takes energy and focus. Hence, not always fun but totally necessary at times.
So, the big deal I’m making here is simply this… If you have to be to be firm, which you do sometimes, you also have to ensure you’re doubly pleasant because, at the end of the day, you must equal pleasant in the eyes and heart of your equine partner. All relationships, humans, dogs, horse, etc. require the same basic math. The sum of your overall experience has to create the sense, that in spite of your challenges, all is well. You want your horse to want to be with you. If you carry that into your day-to-day work, you’re sure to take the majestic, masterful path forward.
Good Luck, Don
