RED DEER – As a long-time student of horse behaviour, trainer Jerry Tindell advocates gentle methods he has practiced all his life on his Missouri farm.
At a horse show in Red Deer earlier this spring, Tindell put horses, donkeys and mules that he had never met through basic training steps before large crowds to prove his methods work.
He said a human’s job is to communicate what is wanted so the horse, mule or donkey responds to the person in a positive way rather than out of fear. He accomplishes that using positive body language, consistent behaviour and his knowledge of natural equine movement.
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“The problem comes about when you’ve got an animal that lives, breathes and makes decisions. The resistance in those animals is natural,” he said.
“They lean against or try to get away from pressure. They only relieve pressure by understanding it or getting away from it.”
Horses and mules have four basic movements: forward; backward; left and right.
A horse will fail if it does not understand what is wanted. A person can’t send mixed signals to the horse or it will be confused and will not respond.
Tindell said it is important people realize they often do not understand new commands themselves the first time out. He also wants people to understand safety and how to stop a horse properly.
“This is the first thing I teach every student I work with. Never allow yourself to get in an unsafe situation.”
In the wild, a horse’s behaviour is learned from the herd. There are natural actions for the horse and if people do not identify those characteristics there could be a struggle for dominance.
Pushy behaviour is caused by people who have allowed the horse to be dominant and think it is No. 1 in the pecking order. The horse may think it is boss of the herd but there is a difference between being bossy and being a leader. Further, a bossy horse is often a fearful horse.
Allowing a horse to become pushy could endanger it because it could lead to unsafe behaviour.
“If something interests them or grabs their attention and they are afraid of it, they will fight it,” Tindell said.
Horses need movement and work.
“A lot of stock are depressed today because they have no activity, they have no job and no movement.”
In their natural environment, horses travel miles for forage and water but many are only ridden once a week and need more activity. They also need boundaries.
“Our responsibility is to be fair and to be firm and to create discipline. They need direction and they need to know what we want,” he said.
“They are not like our kids. They are part of our family but they are animals.”
When Tindell demonstrates his techniques, one of the first things he does is teach the horse lateral flexion.
He uses a soft whip to get the horse’s attention without hitting or yelling. It is used to create pressure and get the horse to turn its head until it can almost touch its ribs. This relieves pressure from the animal’s hindquarters, which is where its power and energy originate.
Horses and riders need to understand lateral control for safety. The trainer also needs to be able to teach backing up, standing, turning to left or right and shoulder control.
However, Tindell does not want to break a horse’s spirit or its ability to express natural behaviour such as going fast, spinning, bucking, rearing, turning and snorting.
“They all have it and it is not fair for us to remove it. That is their life and they fight for life,” he said.
However, most riders want their horses to go slow and easy without kicking or rearing.
“These things are natural for your horse,” he said.
“If you are not looking for it, you are missing the boat. You have to identify it in every single one of them.”
