A long-time friend sent me the following quote by Tom Dorrance:
“I believe horses naturally have a tremendous faith in the human being. It is their natural instinct of self-preservation that the person needs to understand in order to gain the confidence of the horse. I have seen where a person has missed the understanding of the horse’s need for self-preservation, and this has caused the lack of confidence the horse is trying so hard to gain. Then, if a person can present himself or herself to the horse in a way that is understandable to the horse, so it can develop confidence, I find that a horse is very forgiving”.
My students often ask me, “When will we be ready to….” My answer is always the same “Don’t get into any situation where you are not braver than your horse.” The horse is looking to the human to be his leader. If the rider is apprehensive, it will start to erode the horse’s confidence. As the horse becomes less confident so does the rider. This is a delicate relationship between the horse and human.
The other day I took a young horse that had very little experience with livestock to help gather cattle. She can be hot and emotional but I know this horse well and I’m confident in my ability to support her if she gets scared. When we started driving the cattle she got very excited. I was able to bring her to the back and work on getting a hold of her feet so that she could start to think instead of react. I was comfortable with the situation and in my relationship with the horse so I was able to build her confidence and set the foundation for her next experience.
Enjoy your journey with the horse. If you build a solid foundation, you will have a partner for life. Your horse is counting on you!
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