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Does your horse need breathing space?

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Does your horse need breathing space?

October 17, 2018 6 Comments

Does your horse need breathing space? By Don Jessop

How do you know when a horse needs a break?

In my twenty years of experience training and teaching in the horse industry, I've begun to notice an important pattern. One that I feel any horse enthusiast could benefit greatly from. I call this pattern, "the rest window."

The word window describes a specific amount of time in which a specific task can be repeated. Repeat the task too early and the horse feels trapped, claustrophobic, or criticized. Repeat too late and the horse forgets what you're even doing in the first place, causing you to start the whole process over.

Most trainers are smart enough today to realize that a horse needs a break, and rewards for their effort, even if they don't perform perfectly. Horse trainers who don't realize this, are stuck in an old version of the horse industry I call "horse slavery." It's a big nasty phrase that describes all too many horse trainers of the past, and some in the present. We know horses need breathing room! But how much breathing room? How big is the window?

Imagine you just asked your horse to canter two circles on the ground in preparation for riding. You know he needs a break and reward for achieving the task, but you also know that you must ask him to canter again, and soon because he simply didn't perform in a manner that would set up for safe riding. Perhaps he bucked or pulled on the line too hard. Before you ask him to go again, you must ask yourself, "How long do I wait before asking him to canter again?

Answer: no less than 30 seconds, no longer than 120 seconds.

Remember every horse is slightly different, so no answer is absolutely perfect. Horses need just enough time to feel like you recognized their effort, but not too much time to forget about the job at hand, and this window between 30 seconds and 120 seconds, is nearly perfect for the average horse. 

Some horses are quicker, and some are much slower, so feel your way to success on this topic. But never forget... your horse has a beating heart and brain that sends all the same chemicals through the body that our brain does. That means she experiences all the same emotions. Science has shown us that horses have the brain of a four-year-old human child. I think it may be more like a two-year-old human child, but even still... the emotions are present. Which means our training must be considerate of those emotions. Your horse does need room to breathe and think, just like us.

You can learn all about this, and so much more, in our private coaching classes. Sign up here: https://masteryhorsemanship.com/collections/mastery-horsemanship-coaching

I'd love to hear your comments on the topic.

Please share this article with your friends.

To your success,

 

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6 Responses

Morgan
Morgan

January 29, 2023

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Morgan
Morgan

January 29, 2023

With so much in my heart I am here to express myself on how Priest Salami saved my marriage from divorce. Myself and my husband were having some misunderstanding and it was tearing our marriage apart to the extent my husband was seeking a divorce. So I have no option other than to go to the internet to seek a solution to my problem. It was there I came across Priest Salami details and about how he has helped a lot of people by restoring their relationship. I contacted Priest Salami and in less than 48 hours my husband cancelled the divorce papers. Now myself and my husband live together in peace and harmony all thanks to Priest Salami for saving my marriage from breaking up. Priest Salami contact information are via email: purenaturalhealer@gmail.com. Whatsapp number: +2348143757229

Jenny Drake
Jenny Drake

June 14, 2019

I really liked this especially having a time frame.

Kathleen Glielmi
Kathleen Glielmi

October 27, 2018

Both horses and riders need time to process what they are doing and how successful they are. Praising a horse or rider for a good effort ,taking a moment or two to process and then a brief reteaching of the concept is what good teachers do in classrooms every day

Laina
Laina

October 25, 2018

Don, That is great information. Simple but valuable. It seems this is about what I do now, but will be extra aware in the future.

Traceylynn Hommel
Traceylynn Hommel

October 19, 2018

Thank you Don, I appreciate that this kind of mind set for our horses is out there now and being well represented and that you are caring enough to blatantly put it in your teaching as well. Well represented!

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