Evasion in Horses… Good or bad?

evade |iˈvād|

verb

escape or avoid, esp. by cleverness or trickery: friends helped him to evade capture for a time | he tried to kiss her, but she evaded him.

Stop and think...

How do we train our horses?

Mostly we use pressure and release of pressure. We put pressure on equines in many ways. Some pressure is subtle like moving or stepping towards a horse. Others pressure can be as direct as using spurs while you ride. Both training methods apply pressure on an animal. Now ask yourself what is your expectation of what your horse will do when he feels that pressure?

Horses are blind flight animals. When they feel the pressure of a predator, they run away from that danger, thus releasing that specific pressure. When they move as a herd, they respond to the movements of other animals getting close. Even shortly after foals are born their mothers begin to teach them through pressure. Mares push them with their muzzle to direct them to nurse. They steer them around their stalls, they guide them through doorways and tuck them behind them for safety.  In the illustration from the American Youth Horse Council site it gives a great visual that shows how big the flight zone is. Pictured is also the human who at that point of balance is exerting zero pressure. Stepping forward and to the left or right will cause the horse to react. The reaction may simply be the need to make a decision, such as, do I move and which way. 

How do we use this instinct for flight to train our horses?

If you are causing discomfort or pressure on your horse, whether it is light or heavy, your horse must react. Horses react through movement. This movement is generally away from the pain or pressure. If I were to poke my horse on his shoulder with my finger, and he moves away from the pressure, he has correctly interpreted my intention. By moving away from the poking finger the pressure was released and he is now no longer feeling the discomfort. What he has done was to evade away from the pressure. Just as if I were to squeeze my horse’s sides when I ride, giving him a signal to move up to meet my hands, or maybe to increase his stride, he has moved from my insistent leg to evade or release the pressure. Again my horse has correctly interpreted my signals. He has moved in the way I had asked. Another connection a horse makes by training through evasion is to stop or reduce their speed when we pull on the reins. In this case we cause discomfort and then release it when the horse does what we have asked. Horses can make hundreds of these connections through training and repetition. What we are essentially asking a horse to do is to seek comfort.

Why is seeking comfort so important to how we bit our horses?

By putting a bit in a horse’s mouth riders are stuck with how that specific bit performs mechanically. Bits can only do two things: cause resistance or relaxation. Tongue pressure plays an important role in resistance. When a horse is resisting the bit, he's really evading the tongue pressure because the bit is interfering with his ability to swallow. If it is a snaffle, it will fold in the middle at the joint and cause your horse pain and discomfort every time you adjust the reins. Seeking comfort a horse will evade the pain that they are in at the moment. Sadly a snaffle will cause the most pain when a horse is framing up in its bridle. Whether it is the extreme frame like a dressage horse, or a frame of a well-trained lesson horse, if their nose is in and their head is vertical, the snaffle will cause discomfort. Horses will then adjust their head, neck, back and hind end to achieve a comfortable position to travel in while they are being ridden. The direction that their head will go, when they are evading the discomfort of a snaffle, will always be out of the framed position most disciplines require. In other words they are evading the wrong direction, What we really want is a bit that your horse will evade into the correct position for what ever discipline you chose to ride. 

Think of it this way:

If I strapped a hiking backpack with a frame on to your back, and that pack dug into your hip what would you do? I then said, "You must hike five miles and you cannot take off the pack.” What would you do? Well, you might shift the pack over to minimize the pain. Then I said, “Whoops the pack is loose.” I then straightened the pack and tightened it down more. What would you do now? Probably you would twist you body, slump a little and start loosing focus in order to continue. You have managed to evade the pain but have sacrificed your form, your focus and your ability to experience the joy of the hike. A correctly fitted backpack would actually feel bad if you were wearing it wrong. It would naturally encourage you to stand correctly because you would be seeking the comfort of the correct position.

How do I know if my horse is evading bit pain and seeking comfort?

Does your horse…

1. Put his nose to his chest when you take up contact?
2. Stick his nose out and down – pulling the reins out of you hands when you try to take up contact?
3. Throw his head up high and fight when you take up contact?
4. Stick his tongue out the side of the mouth when you take up contact?
5. Open his mouth and put his tongue in his throat when you take up contact?
6. Twisting his head to the side when you take up contact?
7. Do you have to tie his mouth closed with a caveson - figure eight, drop, crank or flash?
8. Does he have a sore back?
9. Does he ring his tail when you take up contact?

Why does my horse evade a snaffle? How a snaffle bit causes pain:

1. Nutcrackers and pinches the horse’s tongue
2. Takes away the use of the tongue by pushing it down below the bars.
3. Pinches the corners of the lips
4. Traps the lips up against the molars
5. Impacts its ability to swallow

Solution…

Let’s find a bit that uses evasion to train your horse into the bridle and make your training easier and your horse more comfortable.

      I discovered an amazing book by Major T.S. Paterson, M.C. called, Sympathetic Training of Horse and Man, written in 1925. Even though this book was written almost 100 years ago it is a great reference for equestrians today. The following quote is one of my many favorites included in the book.

“Some horsemen still believe that there is a “key to every mouth,” and that it        

is only necessary to go on trying a sufficient number of bits, to convert the       

most unmanageable tear-away brute into a ladies hack. At the risk of      

incurring the displeasure of the firms who sell the bits I hope to explode this      

fallacy. If there is a key to every mouth it may be said to be the elimination of    

pain and discomfort, and the substitution of ease and comfort.”

Be sure to look for our next Blogs in our Bitting and Training Series where you can learn about:

1.              The three keys to horse training.

2.              How bits function in a horse’s mouth.

3.              The differences between bits.

4.              And I will guide you on choosing a bit that will help you train your horse.

We are responsible for the well being of the horses in our care. If we expect 100% effort from them while we ride, we owe it to our horse to be sure they are as healthy and comfortable as possible.

Be well,

Hope Birsh

Maryland Saddlery

Please contact me with any questions about bitting training your horses. I would also love to see video of how your horses are training and any challenges you might have that I can help you with.  

mdsaddle@gmail.com