Confidence Through Testing by Don?Jessop

My daughter asked me today how to get better at reading a horse while riding. She explained how she can see the horse on the ground quite easily, judging its energy output, reactivity levels, and confidence clearly. But riding… she struggles to feel the horse’s state of mind.

So, here’s the truth… even the best trainers can’t see everything, or even feel everything. There’s more guess work involved than most trainers care to admit. We’re like doctors diagnosing an illness and reporting several possibilities rather than one certain reality. So, rather than lean on intuition and visual or tactile information, we lean on something else to read the horse. We rely on testing.

As an analogy, imagine you and I are sitting across the table from each other, and I pick up visual cues that you’re uncomfortable. Perhaps you’re holding your breath more than usual, or you’re carrying a worried look about you. I can’t really know what’s going on until I ask you questions. I could guess, but let’s be honest, it would be a guess. My guesses with horses are more educated than most but I don’t want to fool you. It’s still a guess until I prompt the horse with a test of some kind.

In the case of you and I at the table, I may ask you to tell me about your day. From your response I can glean more information about your mood. If you’re distant and sluggish to respond I could sense whatever you’re going through is deeper than I originally guessed. If you’re snappy, I could assume you’re more tense than observed. But if you’re prompt and funny, I might assume your visual cues indicate a slight physical discomfort rather than emotional. And, from there, assume it’s safe to explore a new conversation or take the current conversation to a new level.

It’s the same for horses. Some people ask the horse to trot because the rider enjoys trotting. I often ask for a completely different reason. I use the transition as a test to get a stronger sense of her mood. If it’s an easy transition, for instance, I know we could do more together. If it’s sluggish or snappy, I could assume my horse is distant or distracted. It’s the same for braking. If I pull on the reins, or sit back to slow down, and my horse is unresponsive, I will instantly know there’s something bothering or distracting the horse. You see, reading is best done with small tests to see what going on.

If you’re ever not sure about your horse’s mood, don’t just take off cantering into the sunset. Test the transitions. Read by brail, through feel. Read the bumps and dead spots in your horse’s responses to your tests... Then smooth it out with some practice and notice how everything you want works out better because you’re not just telling the horse to do things. Instead, you’re testing the horse’s response, and gaging whether or not it’s appropriate to do the things you want, based on the connection and readiness of your horse.

Testing builds confidence. Small test like asking for a step of backup or simply asking for the horse's head to come down, can enhance the connection, and if nothing else, show you his readiness and willingness to listen. This way, you’re never surprised by his sudden bad behavior, and he’s never surprised by your sudden desire to ride off into the sunset. It’s a fair and fine thing to do on the road to mastery with horses.

Thanks for reading. Don