Attention! · Better Together Horsemanship

Attention!

When a horse is fully engaged, it significantly enhances a training session. Similar to a child who is attentive in school, they are more receptive to instruction and can respond to subtle cues. You can no less and achieve more.

Distraction is a key factor in horses not responding promptly to cues. Once we have a horse focused and waiting for instruction, we can adopt a more connected, subtle approach.

An attentive horse can detect subtle cues, which may give the impression that they are anticipating instructions. However, they are actually responding to our energy and body. Studies have shown that our bodies react 100 ms before we have a conscious thought, rendering our energy and nonverbal cues more potent than physical instructions.

A distracted horse will seem ignorant, heavy and you’ll have to be loud. None of that is fun, so getting their attention before anything else is key to a session that feels good - for you and the horse.

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