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Horses are naturally creatures that run away from danger. They are always aware of their herd leader who stands guard and alerts them if there is any danger. When horses are not in a herd situation, they instinctually feel a need to “be on guard” for themselves, and they can become anxious.
When we remove a horse from its protective herd and leader, it is up to us to fill the gap and help the horse understand that we can take care of him. By asking our horse to focus on us, we give him an opportunity to shift his attention away from anything that may make him nervous. Doing so will make the horse feel safer. He should become comfortable being with us.
To get your horse to focus on you, try this preliminary exercise. All you need is a halter and lead rope. Ask him to stand facing you. You want your horse to watch you. As long as he’s standing quietly for you, take time to pet and stroke him. As soon as his attention wanders, cluck to him, and if he won’t focus on you, shake the lead rope to get his attention. Once he looks at you and acknowledges you, go to him and pet, stroke and praise him.
The horse will eventually learn it is pleasant to be attentive to you. Sometimes just using a lead rope won’t get the horse’s attention, and you may want to use a whip, wand or “carrot-stick.” There are many tools of the trade available. You can tap the horse a couple of times and stroke him with it. Often this will get the horse to shift his focus back to you.
Another method to get the horse’s attention is to ask him to perform a task he already knows. Ask him to back, disengage his hindquarters, circle or side-pass. Just the action of performing a task can refocus the horse.
Teaching your horse to stay focused on you is a very basic concept, but it is not as easy as it sounds. There are many distractions around you that your horse feels he should be checking out.
Food is a major distraction for the horse. Try first to get your horse to focus on you in an area where there is no grass. Then for a real challenge, try keeping your horse focused while in the grass. Remember, the object is to have your horse focus on you and not on eating.
Another big distraction for our horses is when we take them away from their buddies. Right away, they want to call and whinny to each other. I consider that an unacceptable behavior. The horse is not focused on me if he is calling to his buddy.
When a horse begins this behavior and starts looking around for his buddy, I will send a little energy through the lead rope to keep the horse mentally with me. If the horse whinnies anyway, I will send a good shake through the leadrope to the halter. I will shake the rope as long as the horse keeps calling. When he quits, so does the shaking rope.
Then I stroke and reward the horse. The reward should always be the climax for a lesson done well.
Always remember to reward your horse - IMMEDIATELY.
Situations that are unusual will also compete for our horse’s attention. It might be someone doing construction nearby, kids playing across the field, or another horse being ridden within view. It doesn’t matter what the stimulus may be, but it can distract the horse from it’s task, and we have to work at regaining our horse’s attention again.
When you are successful at keeping your horse focused during groundwork, this lesson will transfer to your mounted work.
When mounted, learn to watch your horse’s ears to see where they point to. Study the position of your horse’s head when he is relaxed and attentive to you. Watch to see when his head lifts higher. You will be able to recognize your horse’s tension by the height of his head. When it goes up, you can be sure he’s distracted. At this point, you need to do something to get his attention back on the task at hand.
There are many methods that can help you get your horse to focus while you are riding him. For example, if he is turning his head to the right to check something out, twitch the left rein gently to remind him to pay attention to what his task is. If your horse lays its ears back to another horse, you can give your reins a shake or you can give your horse a thump with your leg. You can slap your horse on the neck, or if you are riding with a crop or whip, you can brush him with it. If a soft reprimand doesn’t work, you will have to increase the intensity until you finally get your horse’s attention.
Each horse is different and what may work with one horse may not work for another. Sometimes you may have to try more than one method until you finally find one that will make the horse respond to you.
Remember, once you ask for focus, you must persist until you finally get your horse’s attention, no matter how long it takes. When he finally focuses on you, immediately give him praise.
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