Horsemaniac said:
how do you teach lightness to a horse?
By being light.
If the horse is not light (or not soft), it's because it hasn't learned lightness (or softness) as the predominate modus operand from the human. The human, as leader (i.e., the dominate party), sets and
teaches the terms and conditions of the relationship.
Horsemaniac said:
i think once he gets it will *hopefully* solve a *little* bit of our bolting when scared issue.
"Bolting" is a behavior, and the human can very much affect behaviors. "Scared" is in its head - an emotional state, and the human cannot prevent this because humans cannot control the emotions in the horse's head. Emotions belong completely to each horse, just as your emotions belong completely to you.
But humans can
influence emotions indirectly - through their behaviors.
If the horse
learns that the human will take actions to
support it and provide security when it is fearful, it will learn to manage its fear. We do this by giving the horse a safe place to go when it's afraid. ("Safe place to go" having physical as well as mental dimensions.) We give the horse the time and a safe space to work through its problem: Its fear. When the horse learns that we will do this, it will learn to manage its fear in a manner acceptable to us. But we have only influenced it.
Another way of looking at this is: Humans
earn the behaviors they get from the horse. So if the human wants a different behavior from the horse (e.g., not bolting), then target that behavior and earn it through human behaviors.
Horsemaniac said:
...he will stare at it for a while and i will pat him to *try* to calm his nerves.
Very good behavior on your part; just the right thing to do. He's standing and looking (rather than blowing up), and you are rewarding him for standing and looking.
This is a variation of what John Lyons calls "spooking in place."
However, what you are actually doing when you rub or pet him is rewarding his
behavior, not "calming his nerves." Why? Because only he can calm his nerves; that is, calm himself emotionally. (Just as he cannot calm your nerves.)
By rewarding the behavior you want, you are
influencing his mind (and conditioning his behavior). (Just as his blowing up influences your emotions and conditions your behavior.)
The
behavior you are rewarding is his
standing and facing the fear-causing thing. This is exactly what he must do at some point if he's to learn to manage his fear; and
he must be afforded the time and space to work through his emotional problem.
As long as he's doing the right thing: Not bolting, bucking, rearing, dancing all over the place, etc., and is standing still looking directly at the scary object, it's paramount that you reward his behavior: leave him alone (no kicking, pulling, scolding) and just pet him. Remember, the reward applies to the last action (behavior) he took, or is now taking: standing still and looking.
Do not put him to work just because he's standing there looking at the scary object; that is, just because he's trying to work it out in his mind. You must reward him as he IS working it out in his mind.
Just to reinforce the point: we reward the horse for standing and looking directly at whatever is scaring it. How else will it determine (i.e., work the issue through its mind) whether or not the thing is dangerous, and thereby assuage its fear? (Running away does NOT assuage fear of the object; only fear of being caught by the object; and not being caught reinforces running away.) Further, if we do not allow it the time and space to work it out mentally, how else do we teach it that it must learn to manage its fear in a productive manner? (Certainly not by teaching it that it should
always flee when something might be dangerous.)
Learning to stand still and manage its fear is critical for any fearful domesticated horse, and is a fundamental difference between a feral horse or an under-trained horse, and a well-started horse.
As an example, in training a feral Mustang that is terrified of humans, or any horse that we are starting,
we always reward the horse when it stops and stands and looks directly at the human. Same-same for scary objects.
Horsemaniac said:
...anyway i cant get him to move . weve stood there for 20 mins and he still wont go forward. then suddenly he will spin round and bolt.
Stop trying to go forward and instead work on the immediate training problem: His fear.
Let him stand there and work the problem through his mind. That is, working through the decision that (a) it's not a threat or, (b) he must flee or, (c) he must fight.
I guarantee that (if you or someone else doesn't crank up the pressure) he will not stand there being fearful beyond the next feed time.
At any point that he flees (i.e., bolts, rears, bucks, etc.), any productive exercise (such as circles or figure eights) wherein he moves his feet is appropriate; so that he is moving his feet. Then as he calms himself, ask him to stop and look again at the scary object. Don't try to get closer or try to stick it up his nose; just let him work it out.
If you are in a hurry and cannot
take the time it takes for him to assuage is fear standing there - 20, 30, 280 minutes, beyond dinner time, etc., then go ahead and do any productive exercise wherein he moves his feet at that place. Moving his feet is in essence him "fleeing;" and Mother Nature has programmed him to maintain his fear only so far while he is fleeing; and you just gave him that safe place to go: a circle.
But in order that he NOT learn to flee every time, he must come back to standing and looking at the object. So as he calms himself, ask him to stop and look again at the scary object.
The end game is him coming to the conclusion that he will manage his fear without all of the wild and wooly behaviors. But you must allow him the time and space then and there to do that.
Best regards,
Harry
