Post by Calaminty Jane on Nov 10, 2012 10:26:34 GMT -5
Teaching to Tie with Confidence
By Linda Parelli
For millions of years horses have been the ultimate prey animal survivor mainly due to their rapid reactions and incredible speed—and their ability to adapt. Horses are genetically programmed to avoid entrapment of any kind, and this includes things like being tied to something by the head.
In order to fully understand prey animal behavior, you need to feel what they feel and see the world from their perspective. You have to mentally put yourself into that totally vulnerable position of believing that behind every bush and under every water surface there is a predator who can take your life. So it’s challenging enough just to walk around every day, because the environment is full of predator hideouts; but as soon as there are fences, walls, barriers, places where you can get cornered, it evokes a terrible sense of fear.
Just knowing this has to give you some idea of why horses have so much trouble with anything that inhibits escape: fences, trailers, chutes or unsure footing like mud, water, deep grasses and shrubs. And then there is the whole notion of being tied. This is entrapment, confinement, captivity . . . so it should be no surprise that it is one of the most challenging things for horses to accept, and more so for certain Horsenalities™.
As soon as a horse feels trapped by the halter, the natural reaction is to throw the head backwards and pull back violently. In effect the horse is pushing against the pressure that happens to be at the back of the head; that’s why he goes backwards. And then the increasing pressure increases the panic attack. The force a horse can put into this is incredible. He throws his whole weight against it and pushes with all his might, using his powerful hindquarters, shaking his head back and forth, trying to break free. When the horse can’t break free and the pain becomes unbearable, he leaps forwards and can hit the pole or wall he is tied to with maximum force and sometimes terrible results.
Rather than thinking of the horse as a pull-back, think about his lack of confidence and inability to think through the situation. This is where success begins.
For the naturally claustrophobic horse, anything that makes him stand still or restricts his movement is something he can have a lot of trouble with.
To Him or for Him?
Thank goodness for the incredibly adaptable nature of horses, because they can learn to do things in Humansville that to this day astound me. Have you ever thought about how incredible it is that a horse will travel in a horse trailer, allow the human on his back, allow us to steer him via reins? This is the level at which tying fits in, if not worse. For the naturally claustrophobic horse, anything that makes him stand still or restricts his movement is something he can have a lot of trouble with. And yet for thousands of years horses have adapted to the point where they allow us to do this.
So here’s the thing: We know that horses can learn to stand tied, but the methods to get them to do this are often quite forceful, because they usually belong in the sink-or-swim category. Throw him in the water and see if he’ll swim; tie him up and see if he’ll make it. Many horses are forced to learn to tie, and there’s no telling how many serious injuries and fatalities have occurred as a result. Even if they make it through the physical part, the emotional damage can be terrible.
In teaching a horse to do anything, the thought process is the same:
◾ Are you doing this to him or for him? There’s a profound difference here, because when you do it for him, you will teach him rather than force him.
◾Teach him to respond appropriately to pressure. This is critical for life with humans, because physical pressure can come in numerous forms, and the horse has to make sense of it, from maneuvering him on the ground, to leading, to communicating messages via your hands and legs when riding, to girthing and standing tied. Feeling the pressure change on the halter or lead rope and responding appropriately is a big part of learning to tie with confidence.
◾Are you willing to take the time it takes? Tying the horse is not the first step. You need to break it down into steps or ingredients that help the horse to make sense of it all. If you just tie him to a post—even if you tie him to a stretchy inner tube or bungee rope—without adequate preparation, the horse is going to run into trouble. As his teacher, you have the responsibility to make his learning process as efficient and safe as you know how to do so that you build confidence rather than destroy it. There is no doubt that teaching a horse to tie with confidence is an imperative.
The Horsenality™ Filter
If you have been studying Horsenalities™, it should come as no surprise that some horses are going to have way more trouble than others. Can you guess which? The Right-Brain horses and the Extroverts. The more fearful and energetic the horse, the harder it is for him to accept being tied. The fearful (Right-Brain) Horsenalities™ are naturally more claustrophobic and more inclined to react before they think. Right-Brain Extroverts initially have the most trouble and demonstrate the most panic. Right-Brain Introverts have just as much trouble, but at first it doesn’t seem that they will. Because they go internal, they are the ones that can make you think that they are accepting it, and then all of a sudden—sometimes days or weeks or months later—they panic and pull back. Think of it this way: They try to be obedient, they’re usually pretty good at standing still (if not frozen to the spot), and then they kind of wake up and feel something on their heads. Panic attack!
On the Left-Brain side, the Extrovert is inclined to have the most trouble because he has trouble standing still. Patience is not his natural inclination because he’s got a busy mind. The Left-Brain Introvert has the potential for having the least trouble, but don’t forget he is still a prey animal. If he gets scared, he can still act like a Right-Brain horse.
Things they are likely to do:
LEFT-BRAIN EXTROVERTS—Medium tendency to pull back. Given to pawing, head tossing, grinding teeth, lip popping, tongue twisting, etc. when tied. These are called displaced behaviors, and they arise when the horse can’t move his feet.
Mistakes we make: Tying the horse too soon rather than teaching him to stand still. Not tying him for long enough and gradually building up his tolerance and patience.
RIGHT-BRAIN EXTROVERTS—High tendency to pull back right away. Tendency to paw, get worked up.
Mistakes we make: Tying the horse too soon rather than teaching him to stand still without tying.
RIGHT-BRAIN INTROVERTS—High tendency to pull back, but at seemingly unpredictable times.
Mistakes we make: We think the horse is calm, but he’s gone inside himself and is frozen in fear. For this reason we tend not to put enough time and repetition into the teaching.
LEFT-BRAIN INTROVERTS—Low tendency to pull back.
Mistakes we make: Tend to assume the horse is okay, so take shortcuts in his teaching program.
The Success Formula
Think about what a horse needs to be able to do and then structure t into the program. Did you see that word? Program! This is not something you just do once. It takes a program of preparation, preparation, preparation, implementation and repetition.
Preparation
This is where you will put the most effort because it determines the success of what follows.
◾The Seven Games: This is the foundation of everything. It’s how you develop a language so you can communicate with the horse to tell him what you want and help him to understand that he need not be afraid. The first three games are your critical building blocks. In there you have the Friendly Game, which you will constantly use to reduce or prevent fear; the Porcupine Game, which is about teaching horses to yield to and from physical touch and pressure; and the Driving Game, which is about teaching horses to respond to a suggestion without physical contact. Games 4, 5 and 6 are made up of the first three Games and are important in the way that building sentences out of words is important. The first three games are the words; the next four are the sentences. Now you can have conversations that make sense to your horse, and now you have a language to teach him with. The better you and your horse get at the Seven Games, the more easily you can teach him anything you want.
◾Isolate the main Games that apply to the situation and invest more time in these as part of the teaching program. In this case, you will need the Friendly Game, the Porcupine Game and the Yo-Yo Game. The lighter and more responsive you can get your horse in yielding to pressure, and the more self-confident you can get him, the more successful you will be.
When a horse pulls back, it’s not because of the rope; it’s because he’s afraid.
◾Friendly Game: Tossing ropes around your horse’s legs, neck, body and head; rubbing around ears, top of head, under jaw; tapping things, flapping things, etc. This is all about building high levels of confidence and teaching your horse how to feel safe almost no matter what happens. When a horse pulls back, it’s not because of the rope; it’s because he’s afraid. The Friendly Game is the most important game when it comes to preventing or curing a pull-back, and it cannot be done in a day without going too far too fast, or it becomes traumatic. Many horses have been traumatized into standing still, but they are frozen with fear and have learned that moving is worse than standing still. That is not the idea here. Look for signs of confidence such as blinking eyes, lowered head, cocked leg, soft muscles, soft tail and ears, etc. Use the principles of approach and retreat, with lots of retreat. Take it slow and make it solid.
◾Porcupine Game: Teach him to lower his head and to come forward lightly and responsively when you lead him forward a step or two. When he feels pressure guiding him forward, the message needs to get to his feet, because if he stands still and only stretches his neck towards you, this could be a sign of trouble ahead. If he goes backwards rather than coming forwards, let the rope slide through your hands and start again. Don’t play tug-of-war, as the horse will stop thinking and start panicking.
◾Yo-Yo Game: Send him back, bring him forward. Get to where he can do this confidently and without hesitation. Then do it with distractions such as having someone rhythmically shaking a flag (Carrot Stick and plastic bag) or slapping the ground with a Carrot Stick and String some distance behind you (not too close at first). You need to get your horse to be able to think under pressure, because that is how he is going to override the instinct to pull back. That’s why you also need practice and repetition. Do this seven days in a ow, without fail, before you go to the next step and tie your horse. Of course, it can be done in less time, but this is by people with high levels of Savvy and experience. This is a formula that anyone can follow.
Implementation
When it comes to tying your horse for the first time, use a long rope. The 22’ line is usually the ideal tool. You will need a 4”–6”-diameter hitching rail or a tie ring attached to a sturdy pole or wall.
The idea is to not tie your horse at first, but to wrap the rope in such a way that it will slide if he puts pressure on it. This way he won’t panic. Then you play approach and retreat like playing a fish, until finally your horse doesn’t even consider pulling back. The way you do this is to create a little stimulus (by shaking the flag) that will bother him and cause him to back up and feel the halter tighten behind his ears. Keep shaking it until he either stops backing up or comes forwards. Pretty soon he’ll realize that he can stop the flag by coming forwards, and here is the breakthrough. He will start to think his way through it!
Repetition
Do this as many times as it takes until the horse can stand there and never put pressure on the rope, even if he steps from side to side. Now do it every day for seven days in a row.
And then every other day until finally you are consistently satisfied that you cannot get this horse to pull against the halter.
Then you can tie him securely . . . but you’ll find that because he’s so calm, confident and patient now, you can usually just wrap the rope around the hitching rail or loop it through the tie ring!
This is where if you take the time it takes, it takes less time. You do it properly in the beginning, and then you don’t need to keep trying to fix it in the future.
Watch Out
It takes a little skill to do this (Level 2 plus), so if you don’t feel confident, then have a Parelli Professional help you. It’s easy to fumble the rope or stimulate the horse the wrong way and have him jump on top of you, but that really only happens if you are having a tug-of war-instead of allowing the rope to slide as you are teaching him, or if you have not done enough preparation before starting the implementation.
The other thing that is critical is that you can read your horse. Do you know what confidence looks like? Can you detect the smallest signs of fear?
Confidence: Soft, blinking eye, alert yet relaxed, soft muscles, no brace, breathing normally, level head, loose tail, cocked leg, softly moving ears, etc.
Fear: Staring eyes, tense muscles (especially the under-neck), bracey jaw, neck and forelegs, high head, clamped or J-shaped tail, feet braced wide, tight ears that twitch quickly, rapid or violent breathing or holding breath, etc.
In everything you do you need to persist, using a lot of retreat, until the horse shows signs of confidence instead of fear. This is where if you take the time it takes, it takes less time. You do it properly in the beginning, and then you don’t need to keep trying to fix it in the future.
How to Tie
Tie high, tie often and for increasingly longer periods of time.
◾ Tie high: It’s important to tie a horse above its head rather than below it so he can’t accidentally get a leg over it. Use quick-release knots such as the Bank Robber’s Knot or Horseman’s Bowline (see files.parelli.com/instructions/knots_know.pdf ), depending on what you are tying to. The tie ring is a super idea, as is a high line. Have just a small amount of slack in the rope so your horse can rest with his head level or at least not get his nose lower than the level of his chest. All we ever use is our rope halter, because it’s light, soft and comfortable, and should anything go wrong you are a pocket knife away from getting your horse free.
◾Tie often: This is all about instilling positive habits. If you only tie your horse once in a while, you have more potential for him to have problems. If it becomes a regular part of his life, he adapts to it, and there are no surprises.
◾ Tie long: The first time you might only tie for a few minutes and in your presence, but gradually you will build that time to where you can safely leave him tied for some hours. This is vital for preparing your horse for a farrier or veterinary work and is especially important if you plan to transport your horse, because you’re going to expect him to be able to cope with standing tied for as long as ten hours at a time, sometimes longer. To transport our horses from the U.S. to Europe they took a seven-hour flight, but they had to stand confidently before and after takeoff, too—delays included!
Remember, a horseman is always preparing his horse for anything and everything. Building your horse’s self-confidence, teaching him to think his way through situations and to trust you completely is what it is all about.
By Linda Parelli
For millions of years horses have been the ultimate prey animal survivor mainly due to their rapid reactions and incredible speed—and their ability to adapt. Horses are genetically programmed to avoid entrapment of any kind, and this includes things like being tied to something by the head.
In order to fully understand prey animal behavior, you need to feel what they feel and see the world from their perspective. You have to mentally put yourself into that totally vulnerable position of believing that behind every bush and under every water surface there is a predator who can take your life. So it’s challenging enough just to walk around every day, because the environment is full of predator hideouts; but as soon as there are fences, walls, barriers, places where you can get cornered, it evokes a terrible sense of fear.
Just knowing this has to give you some idea of why horses have so much trouble with anything that inhibits escape: fences, trailers, chutes or unsure footing like mud, water, deep grasses and shrubs. And then there is the whole notion of being tied. This is entrapment, confinement, captivity . . . so it should be no surprise that it is one of the most challenging things for horses to accept, and more so for certain Horsenalities™.
As soon as a horse feels trapped by the halter, the natural reaction is to throw the head backwards and pull back violently. In effect the horse is pushing against the pressure that happens to be at the back of the head; that’s why he goes backwards. And then the increasing pressure increases the panic attack. The force a horse can put into this is incredible. He throws his whole weight against it and pushes with all his might, using his powerful hindquarters, shaking his head back and forth, trying to break free. When the horse can’t break free and the pain becomes unbearable, he leaps forwards and can hit the pole or wall he is tied to with maximum force and sometimes terrible results.
Rather than thinking of the horse as a pull-back, think about his lack of confidence and inability to think through the situation. This is where success begins.
For the naturally claustrophobic horse, anything that makes him stand still or restricts his movement is something he can have a lot of trouble with.
To Him or for Him?
Thank goodness for the incredibly adaptable nature of horses, because they can learn to do things in Humansville that to this day astound me. Have you ever thought about how incredible it is that a horse will travel in a horse trailer, allow the human on his back, allow us to steer him via reins? This is the level at which tying fits in, if not worse. For the naturally claustrophobic horse, anything that makes him stand still or restricts his movement is something he can have a lot of trouble with. And yet for thousands of years horses have adapted to the point where they allow us to do this.
So here’s the thing: We know that horses can learn to stand tied, but the methods to get them to do this are often quite forceful, because they usually belong in the sink-or-swim category. Throw him in the water and see if he’ll swim; tie him up and see if he’ll make it. Many horses are forced to learn to tie, and there’s no telling how many serious injuries and fatalities have occurred as a result. Even if they make it through the physical part, the emotional damage can be terrible.
In teaching a horse to do anything, the thought process is the same:
◾ Are you doing this to him or for him? There’s a profound difference here, because when you do it for him, you will teach him rather than force him.
◾Teach him to respond appropriately to pressure. This is critical for life with humans, because physical pressure can come in numerous forms, and the horse has to make sense of it, from maneuvering him on the ground, to leading, to communicating messages via your hands and legs when riding, to girthing and standing tied. Feeling the pressure change on the halter or lead rope and responding appropriately is a big part of learning to tie with confidence.
◾Are you willing to take the time it takes? Tying the horse is not the first step. You need to break it down into steps or ingredients that help the horse to make sense of it all. If you just tie him to a post—even if you tie him to a stretchy inner tube or bungee rope—without adequate preparation, the horse is going to run into trouble. As his teacher, you have the responsibility to make his learning process as efficient and safe as you know how to do so that you build confidence rather than destroy it. There is no doubt that teaching a horse to tie with confidence is an imperative.
The Horsenality™ Filter
If you have been studying Horsenalities™, it should come as no surprise that some horses are going to have way more trouble than others. Can you guess which? The Right-Brain horses and the Extroverts. The more fearful and energetic the horse, the harder it is for him to accept being tied. The fearful (Right-Brain) Horsenalities™ are naturally more claustrophobic and more inclined to react before they think. Right-Brain Extroverts initially have the most trouble and demonstrate the most panic. Right-Brain Introverts have just as much trouble, but at first it doesn’t seem that they will. Because they go internal, they are the ones that can make you think that they are accepting it, and then all of a sudden—sometimes days or weeks or months later—they panic and pull back. Think of it this way: They try to be obedient, they’re usually pretty good at standing still (if not frozen to the spot), and then they kind of wake up and feel something on their heads. Panic attack!
On the Left-Brain side, the Extrovert is inclined to have the most trouble because he has trouble standing still. Patience is not his natural inclination because he’s got a busy mind. The Left-Brain Introvert has the potential for having the least trouble, but don’t forget he is still a prey animal. If he gets scared, he can still act like a Right-Brain horse.
Things they are likely to do:
LEFT-BRAIN EXTROVERTS—Medium tendency to pull back. Given to pawing, head tossing, grinding teeth, lip popping, tongue twisting, etc. when tied. These are called displaced behaviors, and they arise when the horse can’t move his feet.
Mistakes we make: Tying the horse too soon rather than teaching him to stand still. Not tying him for long enough and gradually building up his tolerance and patience.
RIGHT-BRAIN EXTROVERTS—High tendency to pull back right away. Tendency to paw, get worked up.
Mistakes we make: Tying the horse too soon rather than teaching him to stand still without tying.
RIGHT-BRAIN INTROVERTS—High tendency to pull back, but at seemingly unpredictable times.
Mistakes we make: We think the horse is calm, but he’s gone inside himself and is frozen in fear. For this reason we tend not to put enough time and repetition into the teaching.
LEFT-BRAIN INTROVERTS—Low tendency to pull back.
Mistakes we make: Tend to assume the horse is okay, so take shortcuts in his teaching program.
The Success Formula
Think about what a horse needs to be able to do and then structure t into the program. Did you see that word? Program! This is not something you just do once. It takes a program of preparation, preparation, preparation, implementation and repetition.
Preparation
This is where you will put the most effort because it determines the success of what follows.
◾The Seven Games: This is the foundation of everything. It’s how you develop a language so you can communicate with the horse to tell him what you want and help him to understand that he need not be afraid. The first three games are your critical building blocks. In there you have the Friendly Game, which you will constantly use to reduce or prevent fear; the Porcupine Game, which is about teaching horses to yield to and from physical touch and pressure; and the Driving Game, which is about teaching horses to respond to a suggestion without physical contact. Games 4, 5 and 6 are made up of the first three Games and are important in the way that building sentences out of words is important. The first three games are the words; the next four are the sentences. Now you can have conversations that make sense to your horse, and now you have a language to teach him with. The better you and your horse get at the Seven Games, the more easily you can teach him anything you want.
◾Isolate the main Games that apply to the situation and invest more time in these as part of the teaching program. In this case, you will need the Friendly Game, the Porcupine Game and the Yo-Yo Game. The lighter and more responsive you can get your horse in yielding to pressure, and the more self-confident you can get him, the more successful you will be.
When a horse pulls back, it’s not because of the rope; it’s because he’s afraid.
◾Friendly Game: Tossing ropes around your horse’s legs, neck, body and head; rubbing around ears, top of head, under jaw; tapping things, flapping things, etc. This is all about building high levels of confidence and teaching your horse how to feel safe almost no matter what happens. When a horse pulls back, it’s not because of the rope; it’s because he’s afraid. The Friendly Game is the most important game when it comes to preventing or curing a pull-back, and it cannot be done in a day without going too far too fast, or it becomes traumatic. Many horses have been traumatized into standing still, but they are frozen with fear and have learned that moving is worse than standing still. That is not the idea here. Look for signs of confidence such as blinking eyes, lowered head, cocked leg, soft muscles, soft tail and ears, etc. Use the principles of approach and retreat, with lots of retreat. Take it slow and make it solid.
◾Porcupine Game: Teach him to lower his head and to come forward lightly and responsively when you lead him forward a step or two. When he feels pressure guiding him forward, the message needs to get to his feet, because if he stands still and only stretches his neck towards you, this could be a sign of trouble ahead. If he goes backwards rather than coming forwards, let the rope slide through your hands and start again. Don’t play tug-of-war, as the horse will stop thinking and start panicking.
◾Yo-Yo Game: Send him back, bring him forward. Get to where he can do this confidently and without hesitation. Then do it with distractions such as having someone rhythmically shaking a flag (Carrot Stick and plastic bag) or slapping the ground with a Carrot Stick and String some distance behind you (not too close at first). You need to get your horse to be able to think under pressure, because that is how he is going to override the instinct to pull back. That’s why you also need practice and repetition. Do this seven days in a ow, without fail, before you go to the next step and tie your horse. Of course, it can be done in less time, but this is by people with high levels of Savvy and experience. This is a formula that anyone can follow.
Implementation
When it comes to tying your horse for the first time, use a long rope. The 22’ line is usually the ideal tool. You will need a 4”–6”-diameter hitching rail or a tie ring attached to a sturdy pole or wall.
The idea is to not tie your horse at first, but to wrap the rope in such a way that it will slide if he puts pressure on it. This way he won’t panic. Then you play approach and retreat like playing a fish, until finally your horse doesn’t even consider pulling back. The way you do this is to create a little stimulus (by shaking the flag) that will bother him and cause him to back up and feel the halter tighten behind his ears. Keep shaking it until he either stops backing up or comes forwards. Pretty soon he’ll realize that he can stop the flag by coming forwards, and here is the breakthrough. He will start to think his way through it!
Repetition
Do this as many times as it takes until the horse can stand there and never put pressure on the rope, even if he steps from side to side. Now do it every day for seven days in a row.
And then every other day until finally you are consistently satisfied that you cannot get this horse to pull against the halter.
Then you can tie him securely . . . but you’ll find that because he’s so calm, confident and patient now, you can usually just wrap the rope around the hitching rail or loop it through the tie ring!
This is where if you take the time it takes, it takes less time. You do it properly in the beginning, and then you don’t need to keep trying to fix it in the future.
Watch Out
It takes a little skill to do this (Level 2 plus), so if you don’t feel confident, then have a Parelli Professional help you. It’s easy to fumble the rope or stimulate the horse the wrong way and have him jump on top of you, but that really only happens if you are having a tug-of war-instead of allowing the rope to slide as you are teaching him, or if you have not done enough preparation before starting the implementation.
The other thing that is critical is that you can read your horse. Do you know what confidence looks like? Can you detect the smallest signs of fear?
Confidence: Soft, blinking eye, alert yet relaxed, soft muscles, no brace, breathing normally, level head, loose tail, cocked leg, softly moving ears, etc.
Fear: Staring eyes, tense muscles (especially the under-neck), bracey jaw, neck and forelegs, high head, clamped or J-shaped tail, feet braced wide, tight ears that twitch quickly, rapid or violent breathing or holding breath, etc.
In everything you do you need to persist, using a lot of retreat, until the horse shows signs of confidence instead of fear. This is where if you take the time it takes, it takes less time. You do it properly in the beginning, and then you don’t need to keep trying to fix it in the future.
How to Tie
Tie high, tie often and for increasingly longer periods of time.
◾ Tie high: It’s important to tie a horse above its head rather than below it so he can’t accidentally get a leg over it. Use quick-release knots such as the Bank Robber’s Knot or Horseman’s Bowline (see files.parelli.com/instructions/knots_know.pdf ), depending on what you are tying to. The tie ring is a super idea, as is a high line. Have just a small amount of slack in the rope so your horse can rest with his head level or at least not get his nose lower than the level of his chest. All we ever use is our rope halter, because it’s light, soft and comfortable, and should anything go wrong you are a pocket knife away from getting your horse free.
◾Tie often: This is all about instilling positive habits. If you only tie your horse once in a while, you have more potential for him to have problems. If it becomes a regular part of his life, he adapts to it, and there are no surprises.
◾ Tie long: The first time you might only tie for a few minutes and in your presence, but gradually you will build that time to where you can safely leave him tied for some hours. This is vital for preparing your horse for a farrier or veterinary work and is especially important if you plan to transport your horse, because you’re going to expect him to be able to cope with standing tied for as long as ten hours at a time, sometimes longer. To transport our horses from the U.S. to Europe they took a seven-hour flight, but they had to stand confidently before and after takeoff, too—delays included!
Remember, a horseman is always preparing his horse for anything and everything. Building your horse’s self-confidence, teaching him to think his way through situations and to trust you completely is what it is all about.