Developing True Interest
Before we can progress in our training with the horse, we must develop a sense of interest. 👈🏻
I used to work with horses in a very "traditional" way. I believed that the only way to get the horse to be interested in what I wanted him/her to do, was to get his respect by moving his feet, setting rigid and unchanging boundaries, and being the dominant "lead horse."
Guess what? It worked. My horses would watch me like a hawk 👀 No matter where I went, they'd turn to follow me with their eyes, watching me constantly. At the time, I was mistaken and believed this is because they were interested in what I was doing.
🚫 I was wrong. 🚫
They weren't interested, they were worried. They were watching me because I had proven to be more worrisome than anything else around. I was inherently unpredictable because at a moment's notice I would jump into a frenzy of moving their feet, ordering them through a series of "tests" and pushing them out of my space. So, naturally, they wanted to watch me because they had to be on their toes...wondering what command would come next.
When I discovered this new way of being with horses, I also found how difficult it can be to develop TRUE interest in the horse. If I didn't rely on domination or cookies/food, it became increasingly difficult to get the horse to want to interact with me just on the basis of it feeling good and us creating things together. So I went to work on MYSELF. I knew I had to find a way to help horses be interested in working with me.
What I found on this journey is that 90% of the time, the reason we were lacking interest is because of something inside of me. The horse needed to feel interest and presence from 👉🏻ME👈🏻 before I could expect them to do the same. This means that I have to be genuinely interested in getting to know who they are. Not for training purposes, not to figure out how to "get them to do stuff," but just a pure interest and desire to know their hearts, their minds, their souls.
The most magical thing happened when I made this shift...I started to see and discover things about the horse and about myself that I never would have found if I had just "put the horse to work." I found deeper levels of connection, I found intimacy, I found friendship. 💛
Now when I train, it just feels like I'm with a friend. Which makes life pretty dang magical. ✨
Jess Roberts, owner and trainer of Harmonized Horsemanship, is a Colorado horse trainer and equine behaviorist based out of Franktown specializing in the horse and human connection. Through liberty horsemanship, positive reinforcement training, and respectful horsemanship, Jess creates a deeper connection that results in a willing and happy equine partner. Learn more about her approach here.