Proper Use of the Hands according the French tradition

 

Proper use of the hands. 

 

I already know I will forget something.

 

But, here we go anyways. 

 

Your hands live in a "box" in front of you on the horse. That box, during collection; is about 6 inches wide and 5 inches tall. That box, on a young horse; is about 16 inches wide (about) and about 4 inches tall.

This box represents how refined the rein aids become as the center of gravity of the horse (right behind the wither but also extends underneath the horse in a long triangle shape) gets narrower during collection.

You may use your hands within this box the way hands are intended to be used. But generally on a young horse your hands will be a little wider than on a horse working high collection. This isn't something you create in one day, it's a development on the horse that you create and more importantly chase each day.

You may NEVER move the hand backward (or too far down) as this contracts the neck, there is vertebral interference, and you lose the horses trust in the contact. You may shorten the rein (the reins should be adjusted continuously never becoming stale in length as the neck naturally lengthens and shortens depending on the gait). In general they will be longest in walk and shortest in canter.

 

Above all, you want your horse to trust the contact. That it will always be there; but it will be very light and alive. 

 

You may move the hand upwards or to the side and then put it back in your box. The hands will live in this box while your elbow remains elastic and your upper arm remains hanging relaxed at your side, with your traps and lats engaged with positive tension (tension that moves under rhythm).

What is the purpose of moving the hand upwards?

I move the hand upwards to create a "jaw flexion" in the horse; licking and chewing. I do this with both or one rein and then I put it right back in the box. 

 

You can also do various jaw flexions on the ground by pulling the bit gently forward or to the side (millimeters at a time do not go crazy, force is not a part of this. You are using the bit as a tool and the pressures as suggestions to shape a feeling). You are creating That Forward Feeling by giving the horse a contact he can trust and then filling that contact with energy.

 

What is the purpose of moving the hand to the side?

To create lateral pressure on the outside and unload the right front shoulder by transferring weight to the outside shoulder and outside rein. Or, moving the outside rein in this way can help you find a "lost" outside rein (this is the end of the horses center of gravity).

Leadership, relationship building, reinforcement, ethics, and the concept of fairness in training.

 

Q: Can you be direct and authoritative with a horse and still build a close relationship?

A: In my experience, which is vast, YES. The key is context and FAIRNESS. 

 

(Keep in mind, I don't have a problem catching horses that are in my program, they explicitly display joy when they see me and I am not the food lady. My geldings drop their wee wees when they are with me and sometimes fall asleep grooming. We clearly have a great relationship. I ride with a bit, whip, sometimes spurs and treats (a clicker too.) 

 

***What is fairness? This is so hard to define in a post that lasts forever but doesn't reach every moment in equine consciousness. I am going to do my best here.***

It is only fair if you consider the horse first. Are their basic needs met? Are they in any pain? Am I the problem? What can I do better? What are the short and longterm consequences of my actions? How do I break down this thing I want to teach into easy to process pieces?? 

 

There are many times (almost everytime), I give the horse the benefit of the doubt, watch their behavior over time (all this time gathering data in my brain), and then decide one day to correct them for something I've let slide because I've concluded that it was fair, it was necessary, and it was for the greater good. There are also many times assessments have ended in me suggesting someone get a new farrier, see the vet, retire a horse, change discipline, or euthanize. Assessing a horses behavioral modifications ends in SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS. Please stop trying to limit the tools some of us have to get there.

In addition to the mindset you have to master the method. Or try to. Whichever method you prefer or choose because this is very much an individual journey and not an indoctrination. I like to use a little bit of most things, but I've experience with hundreds of horses and many of them with behavioral issues way out of most people's comfort zones. I've relied on those horses and their feedback to tell me when I'm being fair and when I'm asking too much. I factor in my horses feelings and input and adjust accordingly. There's times I've quit at the horses suggestion. This is relationship building. 

 

There's also times I've pushed for more, just a little more, just one step out of their comfort zone; I get it and reward it. This builds emotional resilience. This is also relationship building. 

 

There are times I've interrupted a behavior because it was dangerous, and that also was relationship building. It reinforces healthy boundaries between horse and handler. It lets my horse know I wont accept a certain behavior but I'm not going to do more than what is fair to extinct the behavior. In order to use positive punishment ethically and responsibly, you must have impeccable timing. You must also try to master the "one and done" where you figure out exactly how loud your energy has to be to extinct the behavior the first time, or nearly bring it to extinction so that you can quiet your energy going forward and NOT get stuck in correction mode. We are talking about relationship building here so the hypothetical goal is to extinct the behavior and move on. Getting stuck in correction mode will hurt your relationship with your animal way more than one or two well administered corrections.

Being fair means not abusing your power over the animal. It means checking your motives, your emotions, sometimes your pride (if you have any, I don't think I have much left after so many ego deaths. I have burning convictions but feel very little pride ). 

 

Which brings me to my last sentiment. We all live in an infrastructure that our nervous systems are not adapting to or adjusting well to. Horses and humans. 

 

After 20 years and hundreds of thousands of hours of hands on experience, experiencing my own trauma in life, and working with animals and humans that have experienced trauma, I've concluded that if I were to be truly trauma informed I would need to be concerned with balancing both horse and human needs. Why? Because these animals depend on us and we need to be well.

...and I spent years of my life devoted to force free training...I drank all of the Kool Aid just like I drank all of the FEI Kool Aid around 2010.

I'm not trying to bag on or promote any one training method. I literally use all methods of reinforcement in addition to learning theory and behaviorism. But I do want everyone to consider the consequences of their actions because ALL TRAINING IS COERCION. 

 

I also want to encourage us to stop waging war on each other's methods and concentrate on our work. This moment in time is the best opportunity in history we have ever had to collaborate, research, apply theory, yield results, and collect data. I know we are all passionate about what we do, but we must be more patient with each other and where everyone is on their journey. There are so many people out there like me, who are not certified behaviorists; and have so much to offer the world. "This is the way we do it because it's the way its always been done." Is no longer acceptable either; but some of those old ways are valuable. Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater folks. Problem solving behavioral issues isn't a streamlined process and will never be. 

 

-Elise Marie Weber

Equine Behaviorist, PSG Dressage trainer, and artist

Ethical Reinforcement, where the term comes from and my mission to keep horses from the auction/slaughter pipeline by supporting all aspects of the horse industry and animal ownership

 

Ethical Reinforcement is a term that quite frankly makes me cringe, but it describes one piece of what I do. Many people are enraged that I’ve given myself this honorary task, but I feel this is part of my mission and I have the experience to back it up. I’ve spent years studying and training horses and other animals. Mostly horses. I’ve explored all types of training and psychology and continue my education every day. I’ve put my hands on hundreds of horses and logged hundreds of thousands of hours working with them. I am also a horse owner and have bounced around between professional and amateur status repeatedly; when this is coupled with my experience it gives me a unique view.

The aim of ethical reinforcement is to evaluate a horse holistically and come up with a plan to meet the horse’s needs, improve the horses life, and give the horse life skills to ensure its welfare should the horse end up needing rehomed/sold/etc. I want to be fair to horses and I  want to preserve the horse industry as a whole. *gasp* Why would I want to do such a terrible thing? Well, buckle up because this is where I start to sound crazy.

I’ll start at the beginning; no matter what side of the fence you are are on politically there is no denying that the weather has gotten weird, making good quality hay is more difficult, and land is more expensive. When climate affects resources the first animals to go extinct are large mammals. Horses are no longer “useful” to mankind and there is no reason to preserve land for them. There are, in fact, plans to eradicate entire herds of wild horses in the US because they are not native herds, even though the wild horse of the west is iconic to American History. I’m not on their side, I’m just stating facts. Please keep listening.

We are a long ways off from an extinction event that takes horses from us, but there are changes happening in the horse industry where the effect is that the middle class horsewoman is being phased out. Its no longer feasible to be able to afford a horse these days with the rising costs of resources. This is why people are closing their boarding barns. Horse ownership is becoming more scarce; but look; theres still just as many horses. Where do you think they are going to??? Mexico, Canada, and some rescues. This has been made exponentially worse since horse slaughter was banned in the US. Banning horse slaughter in the US versus choosing to regulate it was absolutely detrimental to equine welfare and I would venture to say it is part of a racquet; but I won’t go there quite yet. I’ll save that for another article.  

We are headed towards a future where only rescues and people with a half a million dollars worth of land can afford to have horses. I can’t do much about that but I can do what I am able to by contributing to the industry as a whole. My contribution is my training and behavioral services that aim to keep horses out of the slaughter/auction pipeline in addition to stirring the pot with articles like this. Stay tuned.