PRINCIPLE THREE
PREDATOR & PREY
Horses are prey, and humans are predators; this plays a significant role in our relationship with our horses. As predators, our instinct is to push, pull, grab, and take without thinking. When we ride, we exhibit the same instinct by kicking, squeezing, or tightening up. We do this out of dominance and because it’s what comes naturally to us humans. However, this is not how we want to be with our horses. We don't want them to be afraid of us or what we’ll do. As a result, we must re-teach and re-wire our brains to be more conscious of these instinctual patterns.
At the same time, we are not the only ones who must re-learn. Because our horses are prey, they must learn to trust us - a predator. That sounds crazy, doesn’t it? We're practically asking them to go against everything their mother and herd have taught them about survival and relying on their instincts in order to trust us, someone they may perceive as a predator, beside them on the ground. Furthermore, on their backs, which resembles a predator attacking its prey in the wild.
That is why I think it is so important for us to grasp the importance of the "Predator & Prey" dynamic, as well as trust, in our relationship with our horse.
Now, I’m not saying you want to take that instinct out of your horse in any way. Instead, we want our horse to trust us enough that he will share that instinct with us before reacting or spooking to it. Especially considering Your horse can detect a bear, cougar, wolf, deer, or any other animal far quicker than you can. What's more, when there is a bad spot to cross a river or when the footing is unsafe in any way. This is the prey in them, and we want him to come to us and ask those questions and share those concerns with us before he acts on those instincts.
I must remind you that these things will not come easy or fast; they will be something you will work towards with no time limit. Slow is fast. The slower you go the more you can pay attention to detail and build that solid trust and foundation with your horse.
