My greatest teacher is the horse and I have learned that he observes our mood and body language as this is HIS language. The herd will survive by immediately responding to potential danger. The fear and flight instinct has allowed the horse, throughout history, to survive the preditor and escape immediate danger. His instinct will always be to look for calm leadership with a person he can always trust.
If we are to become the leader for the horse, it is our responsibility to ensure we are always looking out for his best interests and welfare, offering him a place of safety, security and calmness. His body language will show us either the signals of his stress or the signs of contentment. In this way he will speak to us and allow a deep connection if we are prepared to listen.

A calm horse will have a peaceful expression with a lowered, relaxed neck. His ears may be flicking quietly back and forth. His eyes and facial expression will look tranquil and his jaw will be relaxed.. A horse experiencing too much stress will look anxious with ears pinned back, tight facial muscles, nostrils and a clamped jaw. As humans we also respond in a similar manner! When we feel tense, our neck is tight, we sometimes grit our teeth and clamp our jaw. Human tension is often apparent in tightness around the chest and shoulders and shallow breathing. This does not allow for deeper core-breathing. The horse is similar and if he is feeling calm, breathing will become deeper and more rhythmic and his neck, head and jaw will appear relaxed.

BODY AWARENESS
The horse will become our mirror. It is important therefore to be aware of our mood before we enter the stable door. If we give a really deep sigh, before entering the stable, we release much of our built up tension which our horse will immediately observe. He will feel more comfortable if we give him a safe place of calmness and security.
As the herd leader, we need to be aware of our own personal space so the horse does not presume to move into this area unless we invite him. In the herd if you see a mare pushing a foal around with her nose, she is showing her dominant status. We can relate this behaviour to our handling of the horse. When he is being led, we should never PULL at his head, to encourage him to move forwards. He will mentally say ‘NO’ and there will be an immediate conflict. The herd behaviour teaches us to PUSH the horse away, to assert our dominance. If the horse does not move forward we should encourage him with our voice and if necessary, reinforcing our intentions with a tap of the whip behind the girth area. Horses find it more natural to FOLLOW leaders.
If we allow our horse to move into our space, nuzzle us and push us backwards, he is exerting his dominance and if this behaviour is tolerated it will cause confusion. At all times we need to maintain our superior status whether in the stable, out leading the horse or riding in the school. This does not mean that we use ‘bullying’ tactics but just that we understand the language of the horse and respect its significance.

A horse may nuzzle for titbits, rubbing his head against his rider until he is nearly pushing him over! This is not over friendly behaviour, this is dominant behaviour! I have experienced several horses who are allowed to ‘walk off’ before the rider has barely mounted and this is thought to be a ‘forward thinking’ horse. The important lesson for the horse to learn is to stand calmly, awaiting further instruction. As you proceed to mount the horse, he should stand quietly until he receives a further command to ‘walk on’. This applies to any form of handling, the horse should be taught to stand still, for instance, whilst he is being groomed. An awareness of your composed body language, deeper core breathing and relaxed shoulders will help him to feel calm. Develop a feel of being grounded, relaxed in your knees and then handle the horse with lightness in your arms and relaxed fingers.

I have tried several techniques to help the horse to relax and stand calmly, the most effective method has been the use of breathing techniques. If the horse appears agitated when he is asked to halt, either under saddle or in hand, just take a deep inward breath. Then slowly release the breath with emphasis on a long, deep sigh. Relax your shoulders and release the diaphragm on the outward breath. The horse will respond quickly and mirror this breathing, which is a language he will understand. You can help him to become more calm and receptive to further instruction.

HORSE LISTENING
The herd family act as one, their survival depends on it. The horse is always very aware of his surroundings and the atmosphere around him. If the horse is presenting with erratic behaviour or vices, we need to look closely at what might be the cause, rather than labeling the horse as being difficult. For instance, what we label as vices may be the horse trying to tell us that he is anxious and lacking the leadership which he seeks. It is our responsibility to cultivate a language of trust before any ridden work is commenced. If this relationship is already established, a greater empathy can be developed through training under saddle.
Horses respond very quickly to our breathing patterns and I use this awareness to gain a deeper connection, beginning at the stable door, right through training to advanced Classical riding. I have also observed the keen sense of hearing and smell, on which the horse depends for his survival in the wild.
As humans we tend to put more focus on verbal communications than body language. This is why we depend less on our other sensory skills and more on our highly developed art of talking and hopefully listening!
When we take a few steps back from our busy lives, we can re-capture these sensory skills and become more aware of our horses. We can then become more conscious of the signals that we give, whether by our body language, voice or breathing.

Our relationship does not begin in the saddle, but at the stable door! To ‘connect’ with the spirit of the horse, we need to take a journey of exploration and become dedicated to the art of ‘horse listening’.