How To Train a Hero

In his 11 years on the planet, my horse Hero has experienced many things and undoubtedly many riders.  Truth be told, I could tell from the first time I met him that he'd had a lot of handling and training in his life. It was one of the things I liked about him.

Hero has what I would call a "youthful exuberance."  I don't believe that there is a mean bone in his body, but there are times when he gets a little full of himself, and his way of expressing his feelings is through movement.  And by movement I mean rearing, striking, bucking, crow-hopping, and of course, galloping.  Thankfully, none of this has happened when I've been on his back.  Yet.

But I realize the tendency is there, and this is when I call in the professionals.  My favorite trainer confirmed for me what I had been feeling for some time:  I have a very green-acting 11-year old horse.  She finds him to be a bit scattered and unsettled, and thinks he may have been subjected to "poison cues."  I'd never heard this term before, but I love it and I think it is accurate.  In Hero's case, we suspect that at certain times a rider may have asked him to canter and then yanked on his mouth to bring him back or slow him down.  To Hero, this means that when he is asked or cued to do something (canter) he then expects to be punished (pulled on his mouth).  This is confusing to a horse because he thinks "why would I canter when I know it will cause me pain?" and he begins to resist working with his rider.  It can also cause some exuberant displays of athleticism.

I do not for one second think that these poison cues were intentional.  Riding is a skill of finesse, and riding well is an art form.  I have had hundreds of hours of lessons and I consider myself a novice.  Every horse is different, as is every rider, and none of us are always great.  And as forgiving as horses are, sometimes they learn to be on guard because they have been hurt in the past.  Pain is a very effective teacher.

So my job is to take my kind little Hero and go back to basics with him.  I must admit I am thrilled at this prospect for it will be the first time I have ever attempted to retrain a horse.  I adore Hero.  I want so much for him to trust me and want to be with me, both on the ground and under saddle.  He is by nature a sweet and kind horse and it is very rewarding to work with him.

But I must also be careful.  I know of horses who have been with one rider for most of their lives, and they are very much "one-woman horses."  This is dangerous because there is no guarantee that their "woman" will always be there for them, and horses that are misunderstood are also often mistreated and that, my friends, is a lose-lose scenario.  Right now, I think Hero needs to be a one-woman horse, as it will teach him consistency with the aids while bolstering his trust and confidence.  But I need to be really careful that I always ride him correctly so if heaven forbid he finds himself in other hands he will be treated well.

The path ahead for Hero and me is one of opportunity.  Truthfully, I can't wait.