Wednesday 30 November 2016

Grooming and trust

Using grooming to develop connection and trust


Grooming our horses is a precious and useful mutual activity to get in the moment with your horse, when you encourage the connection physical and mental. So don´t waste it, use it. 


Grooming is another example of conditioning to do something to our horses which we learn as children, and in riding schools and pony club. All too often I have seen a horse fetched in, tied up short and attacked with a brush, all the while the owner talking to her friends. I´ve done it myself in the past, when it hadn't occurred to me. If the horse is an accepting sort they will probably get along fine. But there could be so much more, and we should let go of the idea in human terms, of cleaning a horse of mud and dirt ready for saddling, and think about it from the horse's point of view.

As a mutually beneficial activity in which you and the horse have the opportunity to benefit from our fingers and tools, appropriately and sensitively used, to gently probe and remove annoying ticks or burrs, flies and dirt from ears and eyes and intimate parts, provide scratches and massage,and general health checks. Touch, offer, listen, observe. Never insist, but if you need to treat a wound, ask for permission, go slowly, give the horse time to understand your intent, and wait if they indicate you are going too fast. Wait means drop your intent, relax your breathing and negate your thoughts.

As you groom, do you think about your horse, or are you both mentally elsewhere?

With Lucie and Seraphina we are generally together, physically and mentally, and I like to take my time. The horse which is not being groomed waits quietly and asks when it is their turn. This is how I see it, maybe I am mistaken. Fina is impatient for her scratches and tries to get my attention. She likes her back scratches. Both of them like the underneck scratching, a place other horses can't reach easily. If Fina keeps offering me her chin there is usually a tick to be found there. So this is something mutual between human and horse that they cannot get from other horses. Use it! But don't let them abuse you. You are not a scratching post. I hear people say that they love it when their horse rubs their head on them. They think it is a sign of affection even love. The point here is that if you want your horse to respect you, you must have ground rules. That is how horses view the world. Lower ranking herd members would not come up to a higher ranking horse and rub on them. Not without a ritual of asking, and if the other horse says not interested right now, they will go away, and maybe ask again later.

Asking and giving permission is the key thing here.

I give scratches when asked politely. I encourage my horses to ask permission. They ask permission to graze if I am with them. It is a good leader's job to provide food, move the herd to fresh grazing. I don't try to behave like a horse, I just use some of these things to help them respect me and give us mutual understanding. I try to do the things which as a human I can offer, in a way in which should give them reasons to perceive me as a leader. (Yes, I know, the leadership in herds theory has been challenged by recent studies, I will explain my view on this and the use of the term leader elsewhere!) So if they need a scratch, they can ask and it will be given, but the decision to start or stop is mine, and if they start pushing into my space or leaning on me, I will step them back gently but firmly.

Back to the grooming. Another thing I hear is people saying they can't touch their horses ears, or medicate their eyes, the horse won't let them touch their most sensitive spots. I think this is often because they go too fast or too directly. My horses have no problem with eyes or ears but I wouldn't grab their head and go straight in with the meds. Trying to take less time usually takes more, I think we have all heard that, but humanness will still make us take short cuts even when we know it is probably a bad idea. Our natural tendency for a direct approach with a planned result, our modern impatience to get a job done without wasting time, will make us try it this way, and sometimes it works. But it won't win us points in horse world.

Some horses, like some humans, enjoy the feel of strong grooming, others have more sensitive skin. Observe as you brush, feel as you go. Try to get them in the moment with you. Encouraging your horse to participate in tasks is a great way to connect with them and develop partnership. They may want to sniff the brush you are going to use. Are their ears watching you when you are behind them? Can you find all their scratchy spots, can you touch them all over and are they aware of you and relaxed about what you are doing? These are the things I ask people who are around horses for the first time. This should be their first goal.

I am not suggesting to always take a softly softly approach, what I am saying is you should observe your horse as you groom and both of you behave accordingly. Partly this is approach and retreat, partly about being in the moment and not rushing the task but most importantly, using it to develop the connection you desire in groundwork and then riding. It is part of both and you should use it as such. Don't waste the opportunity to get intimate with your horse. Grooming and preparation is not just to get the horse clean.

The horse isn't really interested in getting the mud or straw off it. As we all know, they will roll in the dirtiest place once left to themselves. So apart from tick removal and scratches, what's in it for the horse? This article is about making sure there is something in it for both of you, and not wasting an opportunity to develop your relationship.

One racehorse trainer I worked for would never allow tails to be brushed, we would go out with bits of straw, because he said they didn't go any faster if their tails were clean. Can't argue with that. His horses didn't go very fast anyway, so nothing was proved. A natural horsemanship trainer I worked with said that cleaning out the feet was of no interest to the horse. It was something the human asked for and wanted to do. I could debate this one, as above, and on the basis that they are in our care,and no foot no horse. Picking feet is beneficial even if the horse doesn't know it, maybe they need to trust us on that one. I believe they only give their feet willingly when they trust us. The more I ask with my thought and focus, for a foot to be lifted, the more trustingly it is offered, for me to clean and check. I think that is definitely in the horse's interest, and that he is capable of understanding that. You shouldn't have to be squeezing skin or poking hock or chestnut, or pulling at the feather, just offer the thought. And never attack this sensitive member with the hoofpick and don't drop the foot afterwards!

I only have the two but the differences are interesting. Lucie is much faster to respond to my intention to clean her feet, she offers each and is light in my hand. With Fina, the wheels turn more slowly, but as long as I am not impatient, it happens, though she could take more responsibility for holding her foot up. When I'm grooming Lucie she is sceptical at first, she does like her mud and is not particularly fond of mutual grooming. When they are in the field together, I see Fina making the approach more often than it is accepted, and even when they start the wither scratching, it is Lucie that moves away after a very short session. Interestingly, I think Lucie has come to enjoy physical contact and scratches more since Fina has been with us. There are several reasons for this, and it is a good thing, I am liking it, and treating it as an honour to be invited to touch or scratch.

Seraphina is a tart, as several people have fondly said of her. She loves attention, scratches, anything physical, and will soon be on top of you asking for attention if not reminded to maintain everyone's space. Lucie is more reserved, she does love contact nevertheless, but on her own terms, and one needs to go much slower with her. When she is comfortable and safe in the moment with you, you see her head lower and lean slightly towards you, and an ear will be offered for inspection. She wants her ears scratching inside, the flies and crusts removing. Gently but then more firmly. Any deviation from the ritual and the head goes up, you are going too fast and she doesn't feel safe. When she has confidence in trusting me with her precious ears I can do anything. Same with her eyes, which often need treatment and drops in summer. You have to see it from the horse's point of view. These are their precious life-saving eyes and ears. They have to trust you to look after them. Developing this trust is an integral part of horsemanship and your relationship and connection with your horse.

Use it, in everything you do. Think about everything from the horse's point of view.

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