Expectations

Much like kids, horses can and do live UP TO or DOWN TO our expectations. If you expect your children to behave, and maintain a balance of boundaries, exercise, affection, and education, there is an excellent chance your children will grow up to be outstanding citizens. The same applies to horses- be fair, be consistent, be clear in your direction, and expect the best from them. Again- there is an outstanding chance that your horse will deliver.

This entire week has been a reminder in just that-- how expectations can either set you up for a wonderful client horse - hoof care provider interaction, or a not-so-good-one.

These expectations not only apply to hoof care providers- but to owners/ handlers as well. If the handler's expectations match the hoof care providers (ie: if you both believe and fully EXPECT good to excellent behaviour from the horse,) it happens. Yes, it might take a bit to get there, but that good behaviour does happen.

If the handler and hoof care provider expect opposites, well, the horse is going to listen to whomever is at their head. And that can be- and often is- a disaster.

We saw both ends of that spectrum this week.

The first was last Saturday, with my four favorite ponies on the Planet. All of them behaved in excellent fashion- even though two of them were in pain from recent laminitic flare ups. They stood like champs and did their level best to be good.

The same carried through to our next two stops- the first with two more of the Best Ponies On The Planet-- and they were wonderful too. How wonderful? Good enough that my five year old son could hold them for their trims. Something that I won't allow with any other client horse. The next stop was the same way-- a wonderful older mare whom we've been trimming for a few years. This old girl can be trusted to deliver the best every.single.trim. Why? Because she's been trained well, handled well, and her owner expects her to behave- every.single.trim.


Welcome to the Dark Side....
Later in the week- the next stop we will visit the opposite end of the behavior spectrum. What happened? Well, handler expectations coupled with a lack of consistent handling for the past year or so resulted in a very difficult day. The first horse of the day kicked Dear Husband in the ribs. All but two or three of the horses pulled, fussed, wiggled, and made life difficult. And the next to last horse ... well, the next to last horse kicked Dear Husband in the exact same spot as the first horse, cracking two ribs, and causing separation in the floating ribs.

What were the expectations here?
- On the part of the hoof care providers:
We expect the handler to be able to head off behavior such as kicking.
We expect the handler to provide necessary discipline as needed.
We EXPECT the horses to BEHAVE- No Biting, No Kicking, No Rearing, No Fussing... you get the point.

- The handler in this instance expected the horses to be difficult.
And the horses were more than happy to comply with that expectation.

Now- the horses the handler expected to behave perfectly- did indeed behave perfectly.
But the ones that the handler expected trouble from?
Gave all they could to meet that expectation as well.

Run! Run Towards The Light!
The LAST stop of the week, where we spent our day yesterday, was with a group of racehorses.
Now, everyone will groan and roll their eyes, as you are EXPECTING to hear a horror story, right?

Wrong.

Way, way, way wrong.

The horses with this particular group of clients all behave. Because they are handled calmly, consistently, and with the expectation of excellent behavior. Any adverse behavior is dealt with with fairness and firmness. Lo and behold, the horses stand up and behave.


Is it ALL what you expect to happen? No.
Is it breed/ sex/ job/ etc prejudice? No.


Horse behavior is a direct result of conditioning. If the handling is slipshod, hasty, rough, and inconsistent, then you can expect a horse to be tight in mind and body, because he will KNOW that something is going to happen and he KNOWS that it is out of the normal day to day routine.

I'll say it again:
Horse behavior is a direct result of conditioning.

YOU- as the handler- have a responsibility to provide proper conditioning to your horse. You can condition them to MISBEHAVE as quickly (if not quicker), as you can condition them TO Behave.

Training (ie: conditioning) starts with YOUR mind, and your mindset while working with your horse. If you expect that horse to be difficult, then he'll be happy to oblige.

The Appaloosa in the picture at the top of the post has a bad bad BAD reputation when it comes to hoof care. He was touted as a real pain in the rump to work on; kicking, pulling, wiggling, you name it- he tried it.

The very first time we met this horse, the handler was injured (non-horse related.) That Appy was just plain giving that poor man FITS. Dear Husband was no where near the horse, and that gelding- who is all of maybe 14 hands- was putting on a show and a half.

Dear Husband looked at me, thinking this was never going to happen. At that point, the horse just became too much for the injured handler, and I stepped up to him.

Within five minutes, the horse had his head down, was picking up all four feet for me and Dear Husband, and he literally fell asleep while being trimmed.

What was different?

Well, for one, I was mesmerized by his spots, his sheer athletic ability, and his eye. This was one S-M-A-R-T horse. Way smart.

But I also went with a purpose and intention, and the expectation of Excellent Behaviour.

We saw that horse again yesterday. He was hard to catch (I was trimming one of his pasture mates at the time, and was not able to step into the paddock to try my hand at catching him.) Dear Husband got a hand on him, and stood off the to side in the shade as I finished up his Lady Love.

Once I was done, Dear Husband and I traded places, and I once again got my hot little hands on a horse that (sshhhhh-- don't tell Sonny,) I'd just about give various portions of my anatomy to bring home.

If you are expecting to hear good things, you're right. Once again, my little spotted wonder buddy fell asleep during his trim. I chased flies away, rubbed his head, neck, and ears, and whispered to him about what a fine horse he was, and how he was such a grand boy.

Moral of the story?
- Expect the best
- Train and condition for the best
- Believe in YOUR ability to teach your horse how to behave.

The end results are amazing. I promise.