Ode To a Good Working Horse

I was thinking this morning about what a good working horse is, and what makes for one.  I believe good working horses come in all sizes and shapes, breeds and colors, and are found in most disciplines.  A good working horse isn't just born that way - people are a big part of the picture.  A good working horse can be a ranch horse, a trail horse, a cutting horse, an eventing horse, a therapy horse, a vaulting horse, a dressage horse or a hunter or jumper or polo pony.  There are many horses in those disciplines that aren't good working horses, because of the training and handling (or lack thereof) that they've received.  But I think almost any horse, whatever its background, experience or temperament, can make progress down the road towards being a good working horse.  Some horses have gone a ways down the road away from being a good working horse due to their prior handling, but they can turn around and head back the other way too.

To me, a good working horse is one that is calm, yet focused and responsive, knows what its job is and enjoys doing it, but is confident enough to deal with challenges that may arise.  What does it take to shape a horse into a good working horse?  A good working horse isn't dull, or dead, or shut down, or fearful, or compliant because forced - even if that horse is a competitive prize-winner.  A good working horse isn't just a piece of sports equipment to be used or abused for human competitive purposes, but rather a partner in the work who is respected as such.  A good working horse moves in a natural way, beautiful for a horse with its conformation, not in an artificial, forced or stilted way, no matter how flashy or rewarded in competition.  A good working horse exudes quiet confidence - "I know who I am, do you?"

How does a good working horse come to be? - these are just my opinions. I think a good working horse comes from clear, consistent, calm, confident, caring handling and training.  These characteristics aren't really divisible, but work together as a package.

Clear - the handler/rider knows what he/she wants the horse to do, understands the steps to get there, which may be numerous, and is clear in communicating what is wanted and expected.  Horses don't like ambiguity or uncertain signals and cues.  Example: If you don't want your horse to come into your personal space, make sure the horse understands exactly what your boundaries are.

Consistent - the rider needs to communicate with the horse in a consistent manner.  That doesn't mean that the rider doesn't try something new if things aren't working or the horse doesn't understand, but it also means that the horse can expect the rider to do things in a consistent way and not to expect one thing one day and something different the next day.   Examples: If you don't want your horse in your personal space, don't let them come into it without saying something about it, every time.  I don't want my horses to graze when they have a halter on, so they never graze because that's what they expect - if I let them graze sometimes and not other times, what are the rules?  The horse needs to rely on your consistency.

Calm - even if a rare situation requires the handler to get big, he does it without emotion.  There is no shouting, no jerking, no spurring, no anger, no attitude of punishment.  The handler just gets on with the business of clearly and consistently communicating what he wants from the horse and pretty much ignores any wrong answers while rewarding the right ones, and watching for tries towards the right answers that he can build on.  The handler exudes quiet no matter what is happening, and sometimes seems to be moving slowly - but a lot gets done if you watch carefully.  If there's a lot of flash and show, or sweaty exhausted horses, you can be pretty sure this trait isn't there in the handler.

Confident - this is a big one - horses require confident leadership in order to feel secure with us and what we ask them to do.  But this has almost nothing to do with "being your horse's alpha" or dominating the horse.  It isn't about fear or respect, it's about leadership and showing the way.  A confident rider gives her horse direction so the horse doesn't flounder or have to fill in the gaps itself.  This trait and the one of calm are braided together very closely.

Caring - this isn't about loving on the horse, or treats, or fine blankets or stables, not that there's necessarily anything wrong about those things.  It's about giving the horse what it needs to be a horse - proper food, care and opportunity to do horse things.  There are many types of living arrangements that will work for the horse, but one that doesn't is 24/7 confinement to a stall with little or no turnout.  Caring also involves treating the horse with respect as a partner, not as a slave or inferior, or even worse as an object.  Each horse is an individual and to be respected as such.  Many behavior problems in horses come from mistaken feeding, lack of turnout and/or pain (teeth, ulcers, saddle fit, wrong bit, body pain) - all of those things need to be systematically ruled out first. Rough handling, forcing a horse into unnatural positions or movements, or mistreatment in the name of competition, can't be caring, no matter how well a horse performs or how many competitions it wins.  Caring also means listening to the horse - this comes with being quiet and calm so you can hear what the horse is saying to you.  It also means understanding that developing a good working horse can't happen overnight and taking the time to do this right rather than fast.

This is the road I want to be on with my horses - the road to a good working horse - and most of the responsibility is on my shoulders, although I'm confident my horses will rise to meet me and walk the road together with me if I can bring these characteristics to our work together.  My horses will also forgive me when I fail, I hope, as I am sure to do, repeatedly - they understand, I think, that sometimes a step back leads directly to a step forward.  Ultimately, none of this is about technique - it's about the attitude and feel I bring to my relationship with my horses.

In closing, here's this morning's beautiful sunrise with horses (that's Scout on the left side of the round bale and Pie on the right):