When you are establishing your place in the hierarchy or improving your leadership role with your horse, it is important to ask yourself "when do I start becoming my horse's leader in decision making?" Do you start: when your horse wants to go back to his stall and you do not; when a scary object is approaching you and your horse; or as soon as you start riding? The correct answer is the moment you begin to make contact with your horse because horses are creatures of habit.
Horses will respond the same way time after time. So, if your horse is not in the habit of listening or obeying you on the ground, his behavior will follow in other areas even though you may become more strict, such as when you are riding. For example, if you only require your horse to stop and stand where you want fifty percent of the time, the rest of the time you are allowing him to stop and stand wherever he wants. In any given situation, he will obey you half of the time and react on his own the rest of the time because he has become used to making fifty percent of the decisions. When you have a conflict or a scary situation you only have a fifty percent chance that your horse will listen to you. Those are not good odds when your and your horse's lives may be at risk. It is important to note that this also signifies you are not the leader, instead you are an equal. Being an equal to a horse is not good because your horse will challenge everything you do.
To understand why achieving hierarchy is so important you must understand a horse's natural culture of herd order. Horses have a ranking order from lead horse to bottom of the herd subordinate. Herd order is a natural instinct to protect horses and it cannot be trained to go away, instead you must join the herd ranking. The ranking order instinct is the most important tool in training a horse. Once you establish yourself as the lead horse, all you have to do is know how to communicate what you want to your horse, and he will do it out of natural instinctive respect. For example, as a herd leader you can make you and your horse an individual herd separate from other herds. This will allow you independence to ride alone or to leave other horses when riding in a group.
Gordon Adair is a professional horse trainer and riding instructor with over twenty-three years of experience. Gordonıs specialty is instructing owners with their horses, the philisophy of teaching and communicating. The ability to teach and communicate can then be used with the ownerıs own discipline and personality. Visit Gordonıs web site on the Internet at www.adairmag.com/gordonadair for more informtion.
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