I have two girlfriends, one in Phoenix and one in Santa Fe. Coincidentally, each woman has met a wealthy man and is madly in love with him. Whenever I speak with a girlfriend, she tells me how great her boyfriend is to her. Trips, new cars, money in her account, credit cards she can use, jewelry, massages, fancy dinners….I hear about all the fun they are each having with their boyfriends. If they ask me how I am, I tell them that I am having a love affair with a 3 year old colt named Zum!
If I am impatient, Zum will know and it will be harder for Zum to develop patience!
While reason reigns in human minds, horses follow their emotion and instinct. Zum reacts as he feels. He cannot groan or cry. But he can widen his eyes with concern. He can become repressed in his mind and body. Or he can become tense with resistance. Resistance carries a message to me. Something is wrong with my requests, my timing or Zum’s readiness. This is my clue to try something else. When Zum’s eyes soften and he moves forward with cheerful willingness and light feet, I know this is Zum’s smile to me. He feels my guidance motivated by my love and kindness towards him. He feels that he can trust and enjoy my presence as well as my requests.
Horses can make us better people!
The most important thing I have learned about training Zum is to preserve his good opinion of himself. I allow him to feel accomplished and confident. I always use positive reinforcement to let him know when he has done well. This is how I keep his attention and good attitude!
My positive attitude goes a long way into improving Zum’s attitude. Zum makes more progress in his training when he gets 1 to 2 lessons a week. This is especially true for young horses like Zum. I can tell when Zum is mentally or physically confused with a lesson. He moves his ears back and forth as he tries to figure things out. If Zum suddenly has a severe attitude problem with something I am teaching him, I let him take time off from this lesson for a few days. Relaxation gives us both a fresh mental slate to work with when we go back to the lesson. For example, I am giving Zum a month break from trying to put on his bridle again. I found two molar teeth in his feed bin so I know that he is still teething. It hurts Zum to have a bit in his mouth because his gums hurt! So I ride Kamar and pony Zum and the lesson is how we all can have fun out on the trail!
Zum needs a variety of experiences to make him well-rounded. The more settings and situations that he is exposed to, in a positive, non-threatening way, the more easily Zum will adapt to new experiences. Variety leads to self-confidence!
