Ep 107: Stimulating Your Horse’s Thought Process
Your horse has two thought processes: thinking or reacting.
The horse using the thinking side of its brain is a learned habit. At the earliest point in the day, I want to establish a habit of tapping into the horse’s ‘thinking’ mechanism.
When that horse sees me stepping into the pen, I want that horse to associate me with using the thinking side of its brain. If the colt moves away from me, that means it is using the reacting side of its brain. In this case, I will apply a little pressure to the hindquarter. As soon as the horse relaxes and has both eyes on me, I step back and release.
Once I have a halter on the horse, I will move that horse a step or two in each direction. When the horse relaxes, I release. This exercise helps the horse think about where it is placing its feet and looking for the release, therefore, engaging the thinking side of its brain.
A lot of times when I get a horse in for training, they are here because, mentally, they have fallen apart. They have created a habit of being more reactive. Unless I have that horse using the thinking side of its brain, I may be able to somewhat control the horse, but it is not in a mindset to be receptive to training. When a horse is reactive, it makes it hard for me to control them or perform any advanced maneuvers because they are not in a state of mind to be receptive to the responses I am asking for.
Remember that in everything we do, we are either creating good habits or bad habits. Before you think about saddling today, assess what state of mind your horse is in. If your horse is in a reactive state, do something simple to stimulate the thinking side of that horse’s brain.
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