What the Mouth and Lips Say
Just like people, the mouth and lips of the horse tell us a lot about his mood. Often you may not see any other signs to help you assess how he’s feeling, but when you look at his mouth, you can tell. A relaxed horse’s lips are soft, even droopy, while tight lips drawn up almost to expose the teeth show fear and tension (fig. 3.10).
Sometimes, when a horse has understood your request and is happily accepting you as a good handler, he will yawn, lick his lips and chew. When he does this, leave him alone for a moment—he’s digesting a thought!
As with other signals, every horse is different, so observe yours when he is happily out in the paddock with his friends or standing relaxed in the stable so that you can begin to see what’s “‘normal”’ for him.
Tail
Observe the horse’s tail to assess his mood. The soft, accepting horse has a tail that lies flat on his hind end, hanging down and swinging smoothly as he moves. A high tail denotes excitement, which means you may have difficulty keeping his attention on you. The opposite—the clamped tail—is often seen as the horse crouches his hind end down prior to kicking out. It’s normally a sign of fear. A swishing tail may or may not denote discomfort: A tail swishing flies rhythmically is quite safe but “angry” swishing from side to side is not—it means the horse is far from happy (fig. 3.11).
Posture: What It Says
about the Horse’s Mental State
The ideal posture for Horse Agility is when the horse is looking at you in an interested way with his ears forward and a relaxed body. It’s okay if he has a quick snooze while you arrange an obstacle or discuss tactics with a
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fig. 3.9
3.9 It is normal for Kelston’s eyeball to have a white ring around it because he is half Appaloosa (it is a common breed trait), but his attention is not fully on me—he is looking at something in front of him. See how the wrinkles above his eye express a slight anxiety about whatever it is.
fig. 3.10
3.10 Ricky’s mouth is tight here, and he also shows fear in his eye shape and ear position.
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fig. 3.11
3.11 A relaxed tail gently swishing at flies as shown here is very different from one that swishes “angrily” from side to side.
fig. 3.12
3.12 Kelston is “loose” and soft as I give him a cuddle at the end of an agility session.
friend. To wake him, just gently attract his attention by calling his name or vibrating the rope (if you’re still working with a lead). Note that if he feels he cannot rest on occasion because at any moment he could be rudely woken up, he will not relax completely. If you go clattering in he may jump into flight mode—your aim is to keep his adrenaline down and have a calm easy horse to handle.
Keep in mind that after a hard or stressful session, a horse may look as if he’s having a quick sleep with his head down, eyes half closed and one leg resting, but it’s possible the horse has “shut down” and is mentally exhausted. When the horse shows this behavior, it is sometimes referred to as “learned helplessness.” This happens because the horse has not been getting enough rewards (see p. 45 for more about rewards). A horse in this state needs very positive, short, fun sessions in which he actually achieves something so that he begins to believe there are things he can do that will be rewarded.
So what does a horse look like when he is happy in his work doing Horse Agility?
• His ears are forward pointing at you, or split between you and the obstacle.
• He looks at you or the obstacle.
• He has a “soft” body.
• He displays an interested expression—meaning that he wants to satisfy his curiosity and not that he’s on the edge of flight mode.
• His tail lies flat, softly relaxed.
• He has soft lips—perhaps licking and chewing.
• His jaw looks loose.
• His neck and head are low—not held high and tense.
• He has soft, round eyes.
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In fact, the whole picture of the horse should be pleasing: not dramatic in any way but soft and ready to work (fig. 3.12).
Human Behavior
Building a Partnership
But what about your mood? We are so busy assessing whether the horse is in the right frame of mind to do Horse Agility, we sometimes forget to look at our own. Before we blame the horse for everything that may go wrong, we need to look at how we, the handlers, may be influencing him with poor communication skills and an inappropriate attitude. I’m sure you know horses that you can do anything with—that is, until the day you go out to bring them in for the farrier or the vet, and you can’t catch them! This happens because your body language changes in some small way and the horse (an expert in reading you) perceives it, becomes suspicious and decides he’ll take the safer route and stay where he is.
Horses are not machines, Because they are herd animals, it is vital to their safety that they learn to read both the physical and the emotional signals sent out by other animals—including people. When you are with your horse you are very simply in a two-horse herd; you are reading your horse while your horse is reading you! There is an Arab proverb that states: “The horse is the mirror of your soul.” Later, when you start having a horse mirror your footsteps in the work you do together, you’ll begin to see this concept fall into place.
A Positive Attitude
Just as in human relationships, a positive attitude plays an enormous role in how the horse reacts to you. There are two sides to the deal: If you expect the horse to be polite and respectful, then you had better be polite and respectful towards him. Leave your emotional baggage at the door—your horse doesn’t want it! Think about the person who constantly calls you to moan about something in her private or work life. It gets pretty wearing after a while, and even the most caring friend stops answering the phone. But your poor horse can’t do that: He has to put up with whatever you throw at him every day whether positive or negative. So, make it positive!
Before you even go near a horse, you must look at your attitude. Ask yourself the following questions:
• Am I patient?
Patience is not something that is taught or encouraged in modern life, but it can be practiced and improved, and you don’t need to be near the horse to do it. Horses do not understand impatience: Punishing them or getting mad only frightens them. Standing in a line or queue, sitting at the third red stop light in a row, and getting behind the slowest
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Clear Your Mind of Doom and Gloom
Many years ago I lost my confidence with a large, gray ex-racehorse called Stanley. If I didn’t ride him every day, he could get pretty spooky, and even when I did, he could be fairly challenging (when he took it into his head to be a racehorse again).
Every morning I would wake up and lie in bed listening to the noises outside to see what the weather was doing.
Is it windy? No.
Is it raining? I couldn’t possibly ride in the rain and get my saddle wet!