Horse Information - Aussie Horsemen

In the horse world, there are few things more terrifying that sitting on a runawayhorse. And it’s an experience that most of us have either been through ourselves or witnessedhelplessly first hand.

Every weekend around Australia, dozens of riders have found themselves perched on a loose cannon,hanging on for dear life, praying that this ride will end safely. Unfortunately, many times it doesnot and the outcome is sadly often very serious for horse and human.

So why do horses bolt ... why can they be calmly walking along one minute and the next become anunguided missile with seemingly not even a thought for their own safety let alone the person ontheir backs? How can you learn to see it coming and divert it or even better, not have it happen atall?

Once again, the answer lies in understanding the true nature of the horse and as such, understandingour part in our relationship with them.

The Cause:
Horses are flight response prey animals. This means that they are preyed upon by meat eaters andthat they rely on flight or running away as their primary source of survival. Their instincts havebeen finely tuned for millennia and because they are instincts, it means that they will react firstand think later ... if they survive. So if they get a scare, their first thought is to run away andto do so as quickly as possible.

Even though there are few natural predators for horses in Australia, their instincts have beendeveloped and finely tuned over such a long period that they are deeply ingrained into their rightbrain. Just because we own our horses and love them, brush and feed them, doesn’t mean they willjust forgo their instincts in our favour without further thought. While we certainly can re-programme their instincts and lessen much of their fear, it takes times, care and genuineunderstanding to do so.

When a horse gets scared, a chain of events is set in motion. His mind will get tight and his headgo up. His right brain instincts kick in and send the signal to his feet to flee. His body preparesto do just that and will straighten and stiffen in preparation for flight. Then, he’s off ...adrenalin is pumped through his body and his hindquarter is stiff and locked against the would beattacker, so he looses his lateral flexion through the body therefore his ability to bend. Thefaster he goes the more right-brained he becomes and his body becomes even more stiff and straight.No amount of pulling on two reins will have any effect ... no matter what bit you use or how severe.Once a horse truly decides to go, unless you can quickly get control of his hindquarter there islittle you can do about it. In fact, pulling on two reins just makes it easier for him to flee ...it gives him something to lean on or push against so that he can power up his hind even more. Justwatch a racehorse in full gallop and you’ll see it. The jockey perched up forward over the horse’scentre of balance, two short reins and all the speed the horse can muster. A rider on a runawayhorse looks pretty familiar doesn’t it? We get tight and tense when our horse takes off so we startto go into the foetal position closing off our sternum to protect our internal organs. Our weightshifts forward over the centre of balance of the horse, we pull on two reins and the horse runs evenfaster. There is one big difference between the two ... the jockey wants the horse to go fast!

Some horses will slow down and stop when this happens ... generally the old quiet paddock pony whowas only a bit scared or who thought he wanted to go home and has learnt in the past that running ofis a good technique. He is not overly right brained (instinct driven) ... he’s still thinking andusing his left brain a little and feeling the discomfort of the bit he may ease up. But if you arethe rider of the runaway horse, don’t count on it happening. Most times the horse will just keepgoing until something comes unglued somewhere ... either for you or him. He is right brained so heis not thinking ... logic has gone out the window ... all he is trying to do is survive no matterthe cost.

So what about the bolting horse who is not one of the snorting, spooky, obvious types. Why does theseemingly quiet old bombproof paddock pony who has never put a foot out of place take the bit in histeeth and go? There are many reasons a horse will bolt, some of them described above. Sometimes,even if he is quiet, something will catch his eye and give him a scare. It doesn’t even have to be areal danger ... a perceived danger is just as real to a horse and an actual one. Nine times out often with the quiet horse, he’s pretty much just gotten his own way most of the time. He’s figuredout how to do just enough to keep the human happy, so no one has ever really pushed his buttons orasked too much of him, so they never found out what he is capable of when he does get scared. Thishorse is often stiff as a board to ride, with little or no lateral flexion or hindquarter control.He’s been steered by his front end most of his life and allowed to become stiff through his body.

Being able to disengage or control the horse’s hindquarter is paramount to controlling the horse.The hindquarter is the engine or powerhouse of the horse ... it is where his strength and speed comefrom so if you have no softness or communication there you have no true communication with thehorse. You can get away with just steering his front end with the reins, however under pressure, ifyou can’t take the power away from the hind, you may as well try to stop a freight train with atooth pick. It just won’t work.

So the old quiet horse gets a scare or just decides he’s had enough and wants to go home, or to getyou off his back, so away he goes. If you have no control over his hindquarter you are in for theride for as long as it lasts or until you come off.

Many riders take their lives into their hands when they hop on their horse. For the most part ...even though they love their horse, they do not really understand how their horse thinks, what heneeds or why he does the things he does. It seems an easy thing for us to just accept that somehorses are fidgety, snorty, that they shy or startle easily, that they often stand with their headshigh, get distracted or seem tense. Most times, the horse owner or rider never even seems to noticethese things and if they do its just chalked down to being the way some horses are ... so they hopon and ride them anyway! And because horses are very tolerant and willing creatures, they often getaway with it. Sooner or later though, when the circumstances are right, the inevitable accident willhappen ... “out of the blue” ... and yet if the rider took the time to notice, the signs were thereall the time.

Unfortunately many of these behaviours as described above, are often put down to the horse beingnaughty or misbehaving. The truth though is that the horse is nervous, tense, in fear for itself andnot trusting or feeling confident with its rider. When this happens, all the training that the ownermay have put in will mean very little and Mother Nature with her many million year old instincts,will take over.

The Cure:
First up, please don’t ride this horse just yet. If you don’t know the horse you are getting on,make sure you check it out on the ground first. A horse can be a lot of fun if you have taken thetime to build a relationship with it and prepared it before hand. Otherwise they are a big, strong,fast, and very dangerous creature who will be prepared to hurt you and themselves to flee fromdanger. Most people don’t realize that a horse does not care about getting hurt ... as long as hecan still run he’ll do what ever it takes to get away ... and that may mean going through a fence,over a log, under a branch ... whatever ... even if he gets hurt in the process ... as long as hecan still move.

Be aware of how your horse is feeling on the day. Run him through a few ground skills checks beforeyou get on. Make sure he is relaxed and listening to you ... that you can move his feet in alldirections including backward and sideways before you get on. Make doubly sure that you can shifthis hindquarter over, each side. And when you first get on, ride around a little and make sure youcan do it at walk, trot and canter. Make sure you can flex him laterally with one rein so you canstop him if need be by bending his head around to one side. He needs to soften laterally when you dothis so make sure his body relaxes before you release and doesn’t stay stiff.

Take the time to build a relationship with your horse so that he listens to you ... even if he doesget scared. You need to be such a good and consistent leader for him that even if he does get scaredof something, he listens to you and not his instincts.

If you are out on the trail and you’ve done all of this you have a good chance of having a niceride. Try to leave his head alone and give him a loose rein as much as possible. If you keep contacton his head you’ll give him something to lean on and push against. A goey horse with a rider thathangs on to two reins all the time, will just get even more goey and more unsettled ... because ofopposition reflex he’ll just get worse and worse and you’ll cause his ‘bad’ behaviors.

If he is getting right brained and not listening to you, get off!!! ... be smart, stay safe. Get offand do a little ground schooling until you get his attention back on to you again.

All riders, even those who have genuinely quiet horses, should always pay attention to what theirhorse is doing and thinking. That doesn’t mean being at attention all the time, just being aware.This will help you to read your horse and be prepared for anything that does happen ... it may wellsave you that fraction of a second between being safe and not. Be relaxed, but be aware.

If you do this and you feel your horse get tight, you’ll have time to flex him before he takes off,and get control of that hindquarter again. You only have a second but if you have done yourpreparation and are aware, you have time to get control again and divert the situation. If you missit and he does take off, sit back, breath out and get that flex on him as quick as you can. Then getoff and work through it. Better to get off and be safe than try to be a hero and stay up there andend up in a wreck.

Most riders on a runaway horse panic when it happens and go through the processesmentioned above. They get tight in the body and butt and make the horse even more scared. They tiptheir weight forward and pull on two reins. The only thing this will guarantee you is to make thesituation worse.

But I haven’t got time for all that. I just want to ride my horse!

Famous last words for anyone who has ended up in hospital or worse from a horse riding accident.There are more than 5000 brain injuries sustained in horse riding accidents in Australia alone eachyear. The statistics for death and other injuries are staggering. Not only are they appalling, agreat majority of them are preventable.

In this day and age, in a time when we want instant fixes and instant results with little or noeffort on our behalf, horsemanship skills are greatly diminished and as a result insurance premiumsare high along with the accident and injury rate. Taking the time to develop a relationship oftrust, confidence and rapport with your horse will not only make your time and experiences togetherthat much more fun and enjoyable it may well save your life!

Understanding the way horses think and behave and learning to communicate with them instead of justblaming them when things go wrong, is a very rewarding achievement indeed. It will see the two ofyou safer, more confident and doing much more together than ever before.

Taking the time to spend a few minutes preparing your horse before you ride is a lot quicker thandisregarding the importance of preparation and lying in a hospital bed for weeks or months orworse!

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