The Horse Is Always Right | RES 034

Ride Every Stride | Horsemanship and Personal Growth with Van Hargis

Anyone who has gone to any of my horse expos knows I love to reference my personal heroes while I work. It’s because I’ve learned a great deal from these horsemen, and some of their wisdom has taken a lot of time for me to digest and understand properly. This week’s episode revolves around an encounter I had years ago with one of my heroes, Ray Hunt, and the lesson he taught me.

After unexpectedly helping out at one of Ray’s expos he invited me over for supper that night. It was a quiet meal of the most part, and I felt just a little disappointed that we didn’t strike up an in-depth conversation. But at some point, Ray took a bite of steak and pointed his fork at me. He said, “You know Van, the horse is always right.”

This brought to my mind the old cliche of “the customer is always right”. But Ray went on to explain just a little bit more. He said the horse is always right because he’s doing what comes natural to him, or he’s doing what he thinks you want him to do. Either way, the horse is always right. I had a long drive home the next day and couldn’t stop thinking about what Ray had said. Over time I started to realize that it was completely true, and there are many lessons that can be learned when you fully understand the concept.

Key Takeaways

Horses don’t harbor any ill intent. They want to be efficient as possible, and for the most part, quiet and still. Keep this in mind when you are communicating with your animal. Remember, the horse isn’t doing what it thinks you want it to do to please you - the horse is performing a behavior so you will end up leaving it alone to let it relax.

Train from the horse's perspective. A horse’s survival instinct is going to tell him one of two things when humans are around; either protect himself and get away or stay and get along. So anytime you want to point a finger at your horse when they do something wrong, you should really be pointing it at yourself. It’s your job to understand your horse’s nature and communicate accordingly.

Observe horses objectively. They are animals that live in the moment, even though they do develop habits and behaviors. But listening to what a neighbor or someone else tells you about a horse will rarely help you much. Horses don’t write down their history and reflect upon it. Be in the moment with them, watch their body language, and see what they are telling you in the here and now.

Be careful when asking for more from your horse. As you move forward in training your requests of the horse will grow more specific and demanding. You need to do this gradually. By learning your horse’s body language you can see their words coming back to you about the request you make of them. Communication is a 2-way street, and you need to be able to listen to your horse just as well as you can ask things of them.