We are going through an interesting learning curve with Barney. This is usual as we start to work through the layers and the last two sessions have been interesting. He genuinely has a lot of fear but also has some pretty established behaviours and would appear to be going through his whole repertoire, which includes half rears, trying to whizz round, napping, shooting forwards, running backwards and so on. All are met with our usual response. Total calm. We don’t react, quietly ask him to negotiate the patterns of poles we have laid in the outdoor arena and give him plenty of time to process what we are asking him to do.
We gave him a break today and took him back out into the arena for a second session after half an hour. It worked a treat and slowly he started to settle. We don’t agree with the old adage that you must always end on a good note. What is it supposed to mean? Surely the good note is the horse understanding that we will not get after him, shout at him, hit him or escalate our own behaviour and force him to worker harder. If the horse is totally overwhelmed it is far better to stop; give everyone time out and then quietly start again with an easier exercise. I cannot count the number of times we have stopped a session because a horse simply could not cope with even the seemingly simplest of exercises due to stiffness in the body, poor balance, fear or concern. Without fail they have not only been calmer and more confident during the next session but they have also made huge steps forward on the path of progress. Above all they learn to trust us and the foundation for a true partnership is formed. Besides, it is a definition of madness to do the same thing over and over and to expect a different outcome.