Custodians. Resilience. Humans and Horses
A custodian is defined as a person who has taken on full responsibility for the well-being, protection, and guarding of someone, an animal or something.
This is the start of a conversation, a conversation that may spark other deep and meaningful conversations.
This conversation is about how we as horse owners, riders, handlers might do better by our horses, it is not intended to be a conversation about not riding or not competing.
However if you decide that you don’t want to ride any more or don’t want to compete that is a choice you can make because it feels right for you and your horse or your horse has indicated physically or mentally that riding is not the best option.
What would it look like if every rider, owner, or handler were to see themselves as custodians of horses?
Horse’s needs would be prioritised, before our own human needs, wants and desires.
The human need to jump higher, go up the levels for the ribbons and accolades would be put aside.
The human need to be better than the other riders, to win at all costs, would not be the driver behind competition.
Humans would speak out, defend, and advocate for their horse and maybe even speak up for the welfare of a horse that isn’t theirs.
Don’t get me wrong I love riding and competing, I love building a confident competent relationship where we trust each other.
I enjoy the process of preparing both myself and the horse for riding physically and mentally, remember horse’s aren’t designed to be ridden like the bicycle was, we have to prepare our horses to be ridden.
I monitor our progress and plan the next steps in our preparation for our sessions and competition day. Ensuring we are prepared and resilient enough for the task and the environment ahead of us.
However, I am also mindful, observant and prepared to be flexible and abandon my desires and aspirations for the well-being of the horse.
Definition of resilience: the capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties, the ability to spring back into shape, elasticity.
Neuroplasticity is another great superpower we humans have and I suspect horses do too. Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to change and adapt due to experience. It is the capacity of neurons and neural networks in the brain to change their connections and behaviour in response to new information, sensory stimulation, and development.
Going out to competitions, clinics, a lesson or anywhere new for your horse, would be a very different experience for the horse if the rider/handler/owner, the custodians, were to ensure that their horses are prepared for new environments and situations.
Remember it’s not the horse reading through the season's competition, clinic or lesson schedule, phoning his buddies to find out which ones they are going to, no it is us humans that are doing that!
Keep in mind, even if you have been to a venue before, in your horse’s eyes it could be a completely different experience, maybe you parked in a different place this time, changes that are easy for us to adapt to, possibly even invisible to us, could be overwhelming for some horses.
What would it look like if, when going on an outing (competition, clinic, lesson, hack), all, if not the majority of horses and humans were resilient and prepared enough for the event?
Humans and their horses would be more relaxed, with relaxation comes improved movement, along with improved brain and emotional regulation which would lead to improved performance of both horse and human.
If you have ever forgotten your jumping course or part way through your dressage test you forgot where to go next, your subconscious tension and anxiety or maybe you are aware of the tension and anxiety, could be the reason. Similar to your horse, your subconscious is trying to keep you alive and safe!
Horses wouldn’t be seen hauling their Custodians back to the yards or parking, because they would never be separated from their buddies or the horse would have the confidence, and resilience to be out on his or her own or their buddy would be coming along with them.
In some situations, your horse may have formed a temporary bond as a substitute for the herd back home or it could be that he is with a home herd buddy but that horse is still in the yard or gone off to compete.
Some horses are resilient enough not to need an equine buddy when away from home, they are comfortable and confident in themselves and their human custodian.
Why shouldn’t a less resilient horse have an “emotional support buddy”?
Custodians wouldn’t be seen getting angry or frustrated with their equines because they would have prepared themselves and their horses to cope.
Humans would notice the small signs that their horse is showing them that they are starting to feel stressed or anxious allowing the human to help their horse to de-escalate before the horse becomes too overwhelmed and feels the need to yell at their human!
Horses wouldn’t be washed in cold water on a chilly day, humans yelling at their horses to stand still! Have to say I would be moving around and showing my unhappiness if I had to have a cold shower!
Horses wouldn’t be consistently, frantically calling out, fence walking or bashing against yard gates trying to get out and back to another horse that will make them feel secure and safe, less vulnerable.
Definition of vulnerable: exposed to the possibility of being attacked, remember a horse is just trying to stay safe and survive.
Maybe we could work towards…
Horses that are well-prepared for the tasks that we are expecting them to carry out, physically and emotionally.
Custodians that are sufficiently prepared and skilled enough, physically and emotionally.
Custodians that have the skills to cope with the environment.
Custodians that have the appropriate useful in-hand skills.
Custodians that have the ability to help their horses regulate from the ground, assisting their horses to walk with the handler quietly, confidently for the safety of themselves their horses and everyone around them.
Are some horses more resilient than others? Yes I believe they are.
Are all horses capable of doing the tasks (within reason) that we are asking of them? I believe that mostly yes but we humans need to go at the speed required for the horse to process and build the skills and resilience, physical and mental ability.
Breaking down the steps into bite-size chunks, for human and horse.
Expanding our knowledge and understanding of ourselves and our horses.
We are all perfectly imperfect, unique and individual.
No two horses or humans are the same, there will be similarities but there are more differences.
Keep experimenting and exploring until you find what works for you and your horse, keep evolving and learning.
If you’ve found value in my rambling today, feel free to leave me a message and maybe contribute to my next rambling by buying me a “coffee”, every dollar counts.