Self-Regulation

---

Horses are not born into the human world with an understanding of how we humans expect them to behave in our presence or even around other horses.  Foundational training, when designed to put the horse first, provides horses a necessary learning curve of options.  When horses are asked questions, through the body language of a human, the horse learns to answer the question.  The horse must be allowed to figure out the answer.  They must be allowed to get the answer wrong.  The KEY, is how they are provided grace when they provide the wrong answer, and are rewarded very positively when they provide the right answer. 

Foundational exercises teach the horse to isolate body parts, release to pressure, and understand safety boundaries, on the ground and under-saddle.  

What are some examples of how Foundational training helps a horse learn how to self-regulate?

• Horses learn to be approached by humans, on the ground, such as farriers, veterinarians, or just people walking by.  (A natural reaction is to pull back, move back, try to leave, or be reactive.)

• Horses learn to regulate their gaits at walk, trot and canter on a loose rein and on soft contact. (A natural reaction is to pick up whatever gait and whatever pace they feel suits them, or be reactive to legs or rein pressure when applied to their body.)

• Horses learn to be touched on all parts of their body, on the ground and under-saddle. (A natural reaction is to over-react to touch in places that they have not been desensitized, that could result in a bolt.)

When Foundational training is complete, the result should be a horse that can handle many scenarios.  Why?  Self-regulation in a horse is an accumulation of experiences that have positively influenced the horse to become more balanced in the mind and body.  These experiences included many moments where the horse would be offered choices, and the trainer, non-emotionally and kindly, shows the horse how the wrong decision is hard and the right decision is easy.  This creates a horse that learns to use the thinking side of the brain and creates perspective.  

It’s important to mention that it’s the repetition of the process mentioned above, by a trainer with exceptional feel and timing, within the 30-60 day process of teaching the foundational work, that leads a horse to attain a solid feel of self-regulation.  Consistency is key.

Many horses start their careers by going directly into discipline training.  Discipline examples are hunters, jumpers, polo, 3 day eventing, dressage, trail riding, team roping, barrel racing, cutting, reining, and the list goes on and on.

There is potential for this to be a tricky journey, as the horse has no control over what knowledge the "discipline trainer" has to provide.  Luckily, many discipline trainers have foundational training knowledge and incorporate that into their daily discipline training.  So this is more for the horses out there that landed in a specific discipline barn, with no foundational training available to them.  

What could be missing in this scenario?  (Learning how to use the thinking side of the brain versus the reactive side of the brain.)

• Does the horse ALREADY know how to self-regulate and maintain the gaits at walk/trot/canter while learning about the discipline?

• Does the horse ALREADY understand the release of pressure already prior to being asked to learn more complicated discipline focused work?  

• Does the horse ALREADY know how to self-regulate when placed in unexpected stressful situations in a familiar or unfamiliar environment?

I have consistently seen that horses who started with foundational training move into discipline training with more ease and less stress.  They also tend to have more longevity, mentally, in that discipline because of the learned ability to self-regulate.  

There are plenty of discipline specific trainers that do an incredible job of combining foundational training into their discipline training.  They produce very balanced horses mentally and physically.  

But it's when the horse leaves the trainer, and heads to the new home, that potential problems can arise.  

How does the horse owner maintain the horse's knowledge and skillsets on a regular basis?  When the horse owner cannot maintain the same regiment of work and feel and timing as the trainer, how does the horse handle these inconsistencies?

Not all horse owners are made fully aware of the training their horse’s may have had, but may see occasional "holes" in the training, that seem like they are more foundation based vs discipline based issues.  That's when I would encourage finding a foundational horse trainer to help fill in the gaps.

Also, keep in mind certain breeds and bloodlines of horses are known to take longer to develop.  There's also the very real issue of horses having pre-existing medical conditions that can prevent training from moving along at a reasonable pace.  There are so many factors we have to consider.

Shown in the pictures above are my horse "Cruisetown," an Irish Sport Horse that had discipline training only when I adopted him in 2018.  A more complicated case, he had a year of turn out before we started foundational training regularly.  Each year presented new issues, medical issues, habitual behavioral issues due to medical issues and then finally, a year where the foundational training came together because he was healthy and trusting of the process.  Every year he showed small signs of his ability to self-regulate. We did eventually start our Dressage journey together and now, he is just hitting his prime in his late teens.  The moral of the story is don't give up!