Lean into the Shadows
My Perfect horse shopping list
4 legs
1 Tail
1 Pretty head
2 ears
2 eyes
0 spooky
I train a lot of horses. I also train horse owners, and the most common problem horse owners face is… you guessed it… spookiness.
A horse spooks and bucks because he’s either seen something or because something grabbed at his belly, like the cinch. A horse jumps sideways because a gaggle of geese fly out of the pond or a plastic bag floats across your field toward you. The point is, horses spook, kick, buck, bolt, and generally try to avoid the shadows, where the scary things are.
But there is hope. First things first… you don’t get to train away the instinct to startle. It will outlast any training program. Even brave humans startle when surprised. It’s the intensity and outcome of the startle that warrants new training. When a horse learns to spook in place instead of run away, you’re on the right track.
There are many tricks to our trade, but one way to train for better responses to uncomfortable situations or spookiness is to do something we call “leaning into the shadows.” It’s a rather simple concept based on associations.
Example. I love maple bar pastries. If you give me a pastry at just the right time, I’ll learn to love the place or environment I get to have them. My brain will associate a positive thing with a place or person or both.
For horses, other rewards are useful too, not just food rewards. Time, relaxation, rubbing, kind words, they all work. The point is good things plus hard things equals easy things. The real point is, if your horse finds something hard, do it and add positive things to help it become easy. The shadows are darker places. Lean in, don’t avoid them, and plant rewards in there to find. For instance, don’t always ride around the puddle, ride through it. Make a program of the problem and fill the space with rewards. Don’t avoid the scary end of the arena, ride into it and spend some quality time there.
If you struggle loading in a trailer or walking through a stream. Don’t just “get it done,” give it some love. Lean into those shadows. Take a spooky place or activity and make it fun. Be creative.
Leaning into the shadows, conceptually, means not avoiding the problems, but instead making a mini program to solve them.
Support helps, try out our coaching to help make a program of your challenges. First call is FREE. Click this link.
Thanks, Don
