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As ropers, we’re nothing without our horses. It goes without saying that the better we prepare and educate them to do their job in the arena, the greater our odds are for success.
I recently read an article by a professional team roper that talked about deal breakers for buying horses. What struck me as interesting, was how simple many of the problems can be to resolve.
I realize that some horses are more challenging to develop, and not everyone has the time, skill, desire and ability to take on a “project horse.”
However, if there are folks steering clear of horses with minor problems, then we can assume that there is a general lack of understanding on how to correct them. We can also assume that those who aren’t adept at basic problem solving, are also contributing to their creation.
It’s not uncommon for folks to label a horse as having a “quirk” and accept their behavior problems as permanent, assuming that “it is what it is.” But there are specific reasons horses behave the way they do and develop certain habits – and there are many steps we can take to change them for the better.
As horsemen, I’d like to challenge us all to be part of the solution instead of the problem.
More than anything, horses value peace and comfort. When we try to view world through their eyes, we can begin to see that they don’t really want to feel unconfident, fearful, troubled, resistant, anxious, etc.
Because we value their well-being, we can let that inspire and motivate us to educate and prepare them for competition in a way that eliminates these qualities and the unattractive behaviors that come with them. It’s not just the right thing to do as responsible horse owners, but it’s really the secret to our success as competitors as well.
In the remainder of this post, I wanted to address some of these “deal breakers” and offer ideas for better understanding why they occur, as well as insights for how we can address and prevent them completely.
BUCKING
Bucking is something that really can be deal breaker for a lot of folks because of how dangerous it can be. But the key to preventing and resolving a bucking issue, is first understanding that by nature horses are claustrophobic prey animals. It’s natural for them to have an extreme fear response when they feel trapped by pressure around their girth area especially. Starting colts or fixing a bucking issue is certainly something that should be done by, or in coordination with a professional.
It makes sense that before we should expect a horse to confidently carry a human on their back, that they should first be totally accepting of our tools – and wear them as if they were part of their own body. If we rush forward and add the pressure of carrying a rider without this complete acceptance of a saddle first, it only invites problems.
For a horse with a propensity for bucking, a high-level horseman can use well-timed pressure and release with a rope around a horse’s girth area to teach them that comfort (release) comes only when the bucking stops. Ruling out physical problems is a good first step as well. Even though a horse with a bucking habit isn’t for everyone, we can all benefit from better understanding why horses do it.
Bucking can often be avoided completely if we take the right steps to prepare a horse for saddling, riding and the pressures that go with it. Even once it’s become a habit, when the root cause is addressed, the horse is likely to seek other options when they realize they have them. As a result, they’ll make better decisions that are more in alignment with what we have in mind.
REARING
Reading is another exception where for some people, it can be a deal breaker once the habit is already established. But again, it’s valuable to understand how this behavior gets started so we can avoid it all together or at least head it off at the pass.
Something to consider is that a horse’s body always follows their mind. If a horse locks up mentally and feels as though they have nowhere to go, that’s when they’ll tend to shift their weight back and go UP. If we trace our steps backward and take responsibility, we have to ask – WHY and HOW did this horse get to a point where he felt like he had no other choice?
It’s highly likely for example, that a horse who was punished severely for behavior problems in the box, would resort to this. It’s also highly likely that it was the human who first dropped the ball somewhere further back down the line, for the horse to have developed the initial problem. We have to notice the subtle signs of issues and address them while they’re still small, vs. waiting until they’ve become dangerous.
As horsemen, we need to first ensure the horse is emotionally fit and educated to understand that he does have options for moving his feet, but that he’s also willing and able to respond instantly under all circumstances to our requests to do so. We can interrupt this pattern and unlock a horse’s mind and feet by leading their nose around to the side and moving them in a small circle, which keeps their weight on the front end, preventing it from going up.
CRIBBING
Cribbing is considered a vice, which is an undesirable habit that often develops from the stress brought by confinement or isolation. Correcting any vice then, involves creating a living environment that is as stress-free as possible for the horse. As with any habit, the longer and more a horse practices it, the more ingrained it becomes. For this reason, it may be more difficult to correct a life-long cribber than one who is younger and only does it occasionally.
If a cribbing horse already has full-time access to hay or pasture and lives with other horses, we may need to look at treating ulcers or consider changing our feed program to something that better suits a horse who tends to be anxious. The source of stress may be from hauling, competing, etc. but digestive disturbances don’t necessarily go away when the main source of stress does.
Even by simply offering better leadership as horsemen, we can build our horse’s confidence so much that they experience less anxiety in general, even when we’re not around. Being able to manage our horse’s lifestyle through their management and diet as well as teaching them to be confident no matter of the situation they’re in, is an effective way to help reduce stress and cribbing. Even if cribbing can’t be resolved completely, there is a lot that can be done to reduce and manage it.
HAULING
When I bought my current gelding Dot Com, he’d already traveled all over the United States as a pro level head horse. Although he never hesitated to load, he was really not very confident in the trailer. A horse that paws, rushes or stutter steps as they step in our out, or trembles and sweats excessively when hauled is not a confident hauler, and this is certain to affect their health and performance.
One of the things I did to build my teenage rope horse’s comfort level in the trailer, was park it with open doors in the pasture for 30 days and fed him hay and grain in there twice a day. I also spent time teaching him to be confident about placing his feet on the ramp going in the trailer as well as backing out.
Take time to develop a refined language of communication on the ground so you can very specifically place your horse’s feet outside of the trailer, and ask for the same level of responsiveness in it. Instead of allowing a horse to rush to load or unload, challenge them to go slowly and thoughtfully – one step in and out at a time. Wait until they take a deep breath, or lick & chew and reward that relaxed state of mind.
HANDLING
Horses have different personalities just like humans. Some are more “people horses” while others are more right brain, skeptical and stand-offish. Regardless of their personality and innate characteristics, we must have the same expectations for teaching a performance horse to be safe for us to be around.
We all spend a lot of time handling our horses – leading them, grooming and handling their feet. By taking the time to teach our horses what they should be sensitive to and what they should ignore, we create can create calm confidence and trust. Before a horse should be started under saddle and educated for a specific discipline, they should be “tamed” and gentled in a general sense as part of their preparation.
We can accomplish this or fill in the gaps for older horses by introducing what we want to be meaningless touch (like clippers) with as much as we think the horse will accept, and retreating while they’re still accepting of it (or when they’ve made a positive change or shown a sign of relaxation) and not backing off (inadvertently rewarding them) if they yield away or resist. We don’t want to ambush or overwhelm our horses, which can create an illusion of confidence (learned helplessness), but instead use well-timed approach and retreat to educate them. It’s the difference between doing something TO our horses vs. FOR our horses.
The key is starting small and not expecting more than the horse is ready for. The same process applies to getting a horse accepting of a rope swung all around and over their bodies and around their legs, etc. It’s our responsibility to teach them to differentiate between what kind of energy, motion, and tools have meaning and which don’t. In any case, they shouldn’t be afraid or feel the need to defend themselves from them or us.
“It’s only by the horse’s cooperation that we can ride, drive or even touch him. And when we accept our horse’s willingness to be used, we also accept stewardship of him. Stewardship is different than ownership. When we own an object, it’s ours to do with as we please. With stewardship, we are bound to take good care of it, too.
The fact that a horse is alive and breathing doesn’t mean he’s well. A true horse person doesn’t need a course in horse psychology or a battery of lab tests and radiological scans to tell if a horse is mentally and physically well. The look in his eye, the way he carries himself, his interest in his surroundings and his work, and the health of his coat and feet tell the story.
Stewardship isn’t just about feeding and routine health care, although that’s a big part. It’s about serving the horse’s needs as well as our own.”
– Eleanor Kellon, VMD
KICKING
Kicking is essentially a defense mechanism a horse will resort to when they feel threatened. A horse isn’t necessarily wrong to protect themselves from what they perceive as a source of potential harm. Although we may perceive it as inappropriate or dangerous, we have to ask – Why do they feel the need to defend themselves in the first place? What can I do to change the way they feel (and therefore the behavior)?
We can help horses like this by teaching them to think vs. react by asking them to move their feet. By yielding a horse’s feet we’re demonstrating leadership, which actually builds their confidence. When they know that we are the ones in control of a situation, their desire to protect themselves will decrease. The more thorough we are in educating our horses and the better timing we have for supporting them when they need it, the better habits they’ll develop and the more confident they’ll become.
We can gradually expose them to higher pressure circumstances while maintaining the same high standards for mental connection and responsiveness. At any sign of insecurity, we can interrupt their pattern, move the horse’s feet and ask them to focus back on us, then reward them for doing so.
PULLING BACK
Pulling back when tied is an opposition reflex behavior that comes quite naturally to prey animals when they feel trapped and confined. Their instincts have wired them for survival, and over centuries it wasn’t the horses who yielded to predators who stayed alive.
If we want to use horses to accomplish our personal goals, it’s also our job to help horses override their instincts and learn to yield to pressure and accept that quietly standing tied is part of it. These are “rules of the game” that the horse isn’t necessarily going to teach themselves.
The key is not allowing them to get practiced at pulling back to begin with. One pull back episode can create severe and permanent damage to a horse’s neck and body and is something we should do everything in our power to avoid. We do this by developing their understanding of how to yield to halter pressure well before being tied, and not forcing them to stand tied hard and fast right off the bat.
There are also some tools available on the market that allow us to run our lead rope through and adjust the amount of drag on it. This gives our horse the feeling that he is tied up but if he pulls back there is not as much resistance on the other end of the rope, which eliminates the extreme feeling of confinement, and can help a horse learn not to overreact and pull back.
SPINNING IN THE BOX
When addressing an issue in the box (and any other issue) we can always break things down by retracing our steps in the areas of our horses physical, mental (educational) and emotional development. For example, before we ever stepped in the box on them for the first time – was the horse extremely responsive and confident, with finger tip / hair trigger control and calmness? If so, at what point were those qualities lost? What action steps were taken the moment an indicator of a problem first came up?
Or, did someone fail to prepare the horse well to begin with, then overlook signs of an impending problem, until perhaps there was a also secondary physical (soreness/ulcer, etc.) component that developed on top of it? Box problems in many cases are created because we failed to give the horse the tools they needed to start with, then we missed the signs pointing to the fact that the qualities we needed were deteriorating.
It’s not uncommon to “steal” runs on a horse with a box problem, but this isn’t true stewardship. On top of that, “just getting by” isn’t how a real winner operates. When we acknowledge and accept a problem and take action resolve it as its source (vs. cover up the symptoms), we’re not only doing what’s best for the horse’s well-being, but ultimately what’s best for our roping success in the long run as well.
We all know the roping box is an intense place, but it’s not one we want our horses to dread. We need our horse to be responsive to our hands and legs so that we can move any part of their body, any time, any where – no exceptions. This requires spending time outside the box to develop this first.
Again rule out any physical issues as well that may be attributing as well such as sore hocks, ulcers, etc. When we address physical issues, refine our horses education and build their confidence (often through plenty of scoring), anxious, fidgety behavior in the box can resolve completely.
As you can see, we can correct (and prevent) many of these “deal breakers” by better educating and preparing our horses, but it all starts with ourselves. If you’re looking at buying a horse that has one of these issues, or your current horse struggles in any of the areas mentioned, I recommend taking the time it takes to thoroughly address them, even if that means temporarily postponing your roping goals. In the end you’ll be much further ahead in your horsemanship and roping.
Keep in mind that some rehabilitated horses will always require special care, treatment or consideration to prevent them from regressing. Of course, not all people have the skill and time to take on a horse with problems, which again is understandable. However, we all owe it to our horses not to contribute to their creation.
We can’t accomplish our roping goals on foot. Horses are our partners. It’s both a privilege and honor to own and care for them, and a responsibility to take very seriously.
Even though the western world is one steeped in tradition, more advanced ways of educating and communicating with horses have been around for decades and in today’s digital age, are incredibly easy to come by. There’s no excuse for allowing behavior problems to continue, or develop unnecessarily.
Of course, we all make mistakes and have a few war stories to tell. However, these stories aren’t ones that I relive with pride. The key is that we keep learning and improving ourselves as horsemen. With every thought, touch, and step we take, we can turn a new page and write a new story with the goal of bringing out our horse’s very best potential and making the most of every opportunity we have together.
As competitive as team roping has become, being successful at the highest levels does indeed require an incredibly naturally talented equine athlete. But even the most gifted don’t reach the top by themselves. There are people behind them making smart management and training choices that enable those great horses to shine.
Don’t underestimate the power you have for helping your equine partners perform at a level you may not have even realized is possible yet, and how doing so has the potential to change your life for the better and make the journey an extremely enjoyable one for you both… as well as everyone that your horse ever meets.
“If you are fond of a horse and wish to do him a real favour, train him well. Teach him good manners, good habits, both in the stable and under saddle. You need never worry about the future of such a horse if for any reason you have to part with him. You assure him of friends wherever he goes. Perhaps the greatest kindness you can do any horse is to educate him well.”
– Tom Roberts, The Young Horse
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