Article
Submission and why you need to be alpha.
Every time I give a clinic, invariably I have at least one rider who doesn't understand why his or her horse won't respond to a given request from its rider. Usually the situation includes either disobedience or a fear response on the part of the horse.
Example A: Rider requests a transition from the trot to the canter. Horse doesn't respond at all. Rider repeats request. Horse bucks, frightening the rider. Comment from the rider; "He doesn't want to canter…..etc, etc."
Example B: Horse and rider are traveling along nicely when horse spots something and looks, tenses or jumps a bit. Rider gasps, grabs the reins, vice grips the horse's back with his or her legs, and off they go at a full gallop. Often this does not have a graceful ending, and ends up leaving both the rider and horse scarred and feeling fragile.
The questions I have are:
Do you know why this is happening, and are you willing to do what it takes to prevent it from happening again?
Now, I personally would like to subscribe to the notion that horses are unpredictable, however I have found that they are VERY predictable in almost every case. We humans just need to pay attention. The first clue they will give us is regarding our placement in their herd.
No, we are not herd animals, nor prey animals as our beloved equines are. But being human and the more supposedly intelligent species of two, would it not be in our best interest to understand the social and behavioral structure that is encoded in our horse's DNA? In simple terms, you can take the horse out of the herd, but you cannot take the herd out of the horse.
So by default, you are now a member of your horse's herd. The next question you need to ask is "Where do I stand in my horse's herd?" If your answer is anything but "I am alpha, I am the boss and my horse knows it", you have some work to do. You need to become alpha.
Why?
Horses in a herd environment determine who is alpha, discipline their young, and run off members of their herd that are more submissive using their hooves and teeth. If your horse doesn't recognize that you are alpha, you may be at risk for the same type of treatment.
The herd follows the alpha's lead. If you are alpha, you will have the ability to influence your horse. If you are not, your horse will assume he is in charge, and do what he instinctively knows is best for his well being. That may not necessarily be part of your program.
How?
The good news is, you don't need to beat your horse into submission. Equines have a social order that allows the alpha mare (it is always a mare, never a stallion) to eat first (and be bred first, however you need not participate in that) before the other members of the herd, on the chosen patch of grass, flake of hay or bucket of grain. Bottom line is alpha eats first.
So, to gain alpha status, you must be able to feed your horse something of significance (hay or grain). You must be in a position to put it in your horse's normal feeding area, with the possibility of the horse having access to it. YOU now must be in the position of 'eating', and denying your horse access until you have 'finished'. This can actually be as simple as making your horse wait until you have left the stall before he eats. This does need to be part of a regular routine.
Most horses figure it out fairly quickly; however DO NOT put yourself in a position where there is a possibility that you could be harmed. If you have a particularly difficult (in regards to the above described scenario) or aggressive animal, PLEASE enlist in the help of a professional!
Give it a whirl. My guess is, if you do your horse will at the very least have more respect for you. At best, your horse will look to you for guidance and instruction…and you may find that your horse is all that much more loveable.
J Wilson