If a person is going to be successful in the horse world, you have got to decide what you want for yourself. The needs of the horse come before wanting to win championships; wanting to make money; wanting to be successful internally. It is a partnership. Your horse is critical. His needs must be met first, and if his needs are not met, your performance will pay a price.
We need to know what that horse considers to be a reward. As predators, we know food as a reward. There is, in our DNA [deoxyribonucleic acid], a factor for considering food a reward, but no blade of grass has ever run from a horse. No horse felt the need to stalk down a blade of grass and kill it, and then eat it. Food is just there, for them.
So what does a horse consider as a reward? Often times it is just the ceasing of work. Just stopping. Giving them a rub. Getting off their backs, if we’re on them. Walking them around. Walking away from them is a reward, that tells them that you are not predatorial. Think of innovative ways to reward your horse in HIS language. Which is to say, “I like you, and I’m not going to hurt you.”
Horses are very generous animals. They are ambitious. They have a lot of energy. So they don’t want to just stand around, they want to do things but be careful. Monitor them. Observe them. When they’ve had enough, ease up. Reward them. Stop. Get off. Give them a rub and walk away.
Your chances for success will fall right off the table if the needs of the horse are not met. When you meet his needs, then your chances go sky-rocketing. One can’t simply be conceited about it, or arrogant, when the horse meets your needs. The reason that you can not do that, is that you will start to overwhelm your horse, with your own requirements.
Study. Learn what he needs. Provide those needs and your chances for success will sky-rocket.
- Monty Roberts
Editor’s note: Find Monty’s principles illustrated and discussed in his Equus Online University: www.montyroberts.com/university
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