​It’s Not The Horse, It’s You

By Gaye DeRusso
 
So many times, we blame the horse for things that happen, but was it really the horse or was it you. Did you fail to teach your horse the cues for things you want to communicate to them. How are they supposed to know what you want if there is no communication. You want to open a gate up, but no one taught your horse to move its shoulders or hindquarters, no one taught it to side pass. So, when you get to the gate and ask your horse to move over, guess what, he has no clue what you’re asking. When you reach down to grab the gate, he has no idea what you’re doing, but feels claustrophobic so he moves away from it. You push on his side to ask him to move over close to the gate, but to your horse that just means forward so that it what he does and then the drama begins and the name calling but it was not the horse, it was you.
 
It was your failure to teach the horse what he needed to know to open a gate and just expecting he could read your mind and would do it. But he has never opened a gate in his life, so how could he?
 
We expect that these gaited horses are trained, but most are not. They have just been saddled and ridden forward. So guess what, that is all they know. You get on and they are supposed to run as fast as they can till you get off and that’s just what many do. Why? Because that is what someone taught them, and no one taught them any different. You get on they run for a couple hours, you get off and they get fed. That’s pretty much their job description. 
 
But most these horses really have no training at all, they do not understand the bit, so they throw their head and fight it, because it is uncomfortable for them, you pull, and they pull because they do not understand what to do with that bit. You get a bigger bit, and they pull again and then no bit works for them. Why? Because they don't understand what the bit means or how to respond to it. They do not need a bigger bit, they need training. 
 
When I first got into gaited, I remember watching a show trainer. He rode each horse about 15 min. He went around the arena one way and gaited and went around the other way and gaited. All the horses had long feet, long toes, and heavy shoes. Then he would get off and go to the next horse. I was so use to hunter/jumper and dressage training, where we would lunge the horse and warm it up, then work at a walk and get it supple and do all sorts of lateral work, then work on the trot and speed control and transitions then at the canter, collecting and extending. We worked them at least 1-2 hours to get all this done. I was like what the hell can you get done in 15 min. Oh you can gait. Duh. 
 
Well, I rode some of his horses and guess what that’s all they knew, was to go around the whole arena and gait, not walk, not canter, not backup or bend or leg yield or side pass or move their shoulders and hindquarters. This was a great lesson; I learned the gaited horse knew nothing but to gait once you got on. 
 
As the years past, I worked with so many gaited horses and the majority knew nothing. People wondered why they had no control or why the horse wouldn’t go over to the gate to open it, or when they asked it to move over the horse sped up. Or why the horse could not back up or walk or canter. I would tell them because you bought a horse that has no real basic training. So, your horse has no idea what you are asking. It’s not his fault, he did not sign up for this job. It’s our fault. So, I would take all these horses and put basic training on them, so they understood cues we gave them, they understood the bit and understood to move forward when we asked, but also to move sideways if we gave the cues. The horses became calmer and more relaxed because they understood and no longer was anyone kicking them or yelling at them for doing it wrong, because now they understood what to do. 
 
So, if you are having lots of issues with your gaited horse, it yanks on the bit, throws its head, runs away with you, its bucking, rearing, runs through gates, won’t stand still to get on, won’t stand by the mounting block, won't gait well. Just remember it’s not them, they did not ask for this job, it’s you. It’s you not recognizing you bought an untrained horse. And although you saw video of it going down the trail gaiting, they didn't show anything else substantial because it doesn't know anything. I could care less about flapping a tarp over a horse’s head, having the horse carry 2 people or someone stand on its back. I could care less about it going down the road gaiting. Sure, those things may show you the horse can gait and its calm, but it doesn’t show you how well it is trained, because a trained horse understands cues. A trained horse knows to go forward when asked, to slow down when asked and to go sideways or backwards when asked. If you don't have a horse that understands those cues, at some point you may have a wreck and it won't be the horse’s fault, how could it, it doesn’t understand. 
 
So next time you’re having some issues, I want you to think is it really the horse or is it you? Do you think he understands what you’re asking? In reality, there’s a high likely hood your horse doesn't understand at all, its just guessing what you want and sometimes its right and sometimes its wrong. If you want them to give you the right answer all the time, then you must train it, so it understands what you want. So, remember, it’s not the horse, it’s you.