Since I was a little girl, I have been infatuated with horses. Now I know all little girls want a pony dressed in pink to come to their birthday party, but even after the party, I wanted the pony to stay. I, along with my parents, knew from day one, that horses were going to be a big part of my life. Over the years, I have grown from taking lessons and going to small horse shows here and there, to being one of the highest ranked competitors in the world and being recruited for one of the best NCAA equestrian teams. In this journey, I have seen many ways of the horse world and how the "perfect little pony" comes to be so perfect.

Anytime a performance goes well, whether it's a play or a concert, we tend to think of how much work they must have put in behind the scenes. However, have you ever thought this way about good behavior? As you talk to a nice little girl or boy, or even pet their nice puppy, you never think too much about the fact that they may act like that because what goes on behind the scenes made them do so. In the horse world, everything is behind the scenes until it is time for the performance. Over time I have seen many tactics and methods that have been used on horses to up or quicken their performance. These tactics have gone from little bumps to severe punctures to the horse. 

The horse showing industry has been around for decades. The extravagant world of beautiful horses with their owners in sparkling show clothes, showing off their talents is one of the most surreal environments to be around. However, as the shows get more prestige, the pressure gets more intense. This calls for measures that seem to exceed the limit. But what becomes too much? Horse training is a job done by talented riders from all over, but when the talent turns to aggression, that is when somebody needs to step in. Training takes a special touch, but the touch needs to be monitored to not over exceed the line of training into abusing. The line between training and abusing seems to get thinner and thinner.

Starting with the horse's mouth, the big metal bit seems to be big enough to make an impact on the horse's head and neck level. However, we tend to bump the reins causing the horse to feel it in the mouth and in turn put his head down. Now, the line is when the horse's head is in a good position, yet the bumping continues. The hands doing so may be in habit of bumping and in which case can be the reason for the continued action. That does not make for a good reason though. The rider needs to be able to release the horse and let it know what it is doing is correct. The extreme case is when the bit is on the heavier, more severe side and the hands have too much pull. I have seen this many times, where a horse will walk out of the practice pen with the sides of their mouth full of blood from the bit cutting into it. This is where the line is drawn.

The next problem area that seems to be a spot for all trainers to abuse is the belly area. This spot is especially abused because of the spurs worn by the trainer. Spurs are metal accessories that slide onto the rider's boot and is used to direct and connect with the horse. These accessories can differ from round balls with nothing poking or causing pain, known as ball spurs, to spurs with rolling pokes that differ in sharpness, known as rowel spurs. The highest level of spurs is known as the rock grinders. These are rowels that are so sharp they feel like little needles poking out. When it comes to using spurs on the horses, they are doing one of three things. The spurs are either being kicked, pressed, or rolled into the horse's sides. The pressure is the most important key in being effective but not aggressive. The rider needs to be conscious of the type of spurs they have on and how they use them. I have witnessed horses with their sides bloody from spur gouges and rubs. This is where the line is drawn.

Other training tactics that are used are the ones that work inside the horse. Here I am talking about drugs. There are many drugs that are used in favor of the horse. They help them relieve pain, calm them down, or reduce swelling. When the drugs are used for other reasons, that is where the training methods get out of control. Drugs have been used to calm the horse down so much that it makes them loopy and "out of it". This is a scary case in which the horse could hurt himself by tripping and falling if not completely aware with his senses. Along the lines of tripping and falling, the drug used to help with pain can be overused in a way that the horse could no longer feel the pain. If a horse is hurt, but the owner still wants them to compete, the drug will be used to mask the pain and get them through the show. This will injure the horse even more, because there is no healing done, only covering the pain up and putting more strain on it. There are drug testers that walk around shows to randomly select horses to check and see if their bodies have been altered with a narcotic. However, there are few drug testers and so many horses. 

Other tactics have been used among other breeds of horses. Whatever the performance asks for, the limit will be pushed to get the best they can. In the Tennessee Walking horse, the look asked of them is for the horse to move forward while throwing their knees up to their chest and bounce in a sort of marching manner. It is known that this is a very tough gait to teach a horse and takes time. Some Walking horse trainers have used the method of burning the bottom of the horse's shoes to make the horse's foot jump right back up after it hits the ground. They also punish the horse when it needs to urinate, therefor causing the horse to always be jumping around and in turn gets the bouncing gait. Tennessee Walking horses are known as one of the most abusive breeds, but that only raises the question, "is that the case because it is the truth, or is it because we just don't know about the others?"

All of this talk seems like horse shows need to be banned all around, but that is not true. These are cases that are not done by all, but one abuser is one too many. Horse shows are incredible events to attend or be a part of. It is amazing to see what these animals can do, and to be able to connect with a fifteen-hundred-pound creature and work together to accomplish something is an indescribable feeling. If we follow some small tips and reminders, then we can define the line again and train horses with the correct mindset and tactics.

One of the biggest goals in being responsible for any living thing, is having control over yourself. This means that no matter what happens, the person needs to be able to take a step out of the line of fire and take a calm approach to it. A good way for all horse trainers to think about things is comparing it to a child. When a child learns his/her ABC's we help them and remind them of the next letter. We DO NOT scold them, hurt them, or get angry when they mess up. If a child does something that they knew they were not supposed to, then that is usually when the temper comes out. Yet, we still do it in a mannerly fashion, remembering to scold them in an appropriate way so they learn their lesson and move on from it. This is the same case with horses. When teaching a horse something new, we have to remember to gently help them along and be there to comfort them when they do something right, never getting angry for something they do not know. If it is something they do know, that is when we need to discipline them and let them know they should not do that again. This should, in no way, be with an excessive temper to drive them away from you and make them frightened. 

Another tip is to remember to always give praise. As a child, my mother always told me if I did the dishes or took the trash out, I would get a star. Now, I understand now that there were no stars to begin with, but the idea of a smile from my mom and a "gift" at the end kept my feet moving and finishing the chores. When it comes to horses, of course the first thought would be to give it a carrot or a pat on the neck when it does something right, and that is true, but the most important gift is the release. The release is when the horse is learning something and its being reminded over and over again and finally when they get it, the get the feeling of being left alone. This lets the horse know that nothing needs to be fixed or altered anymore, that they are doing exactly what was being asked of them. Some of the best riders are known as that not because they were born with the best riding abilities, but they have the best timing on their release. Knowing when the horse does something right and being able to praise the behavior right away is the only way an animal will ever know they should do that again.

Understanding the difference between a good rider and a good horseman brings me to my final point on bringing the horse world to a better standard. A good rider is somebody that can sit tall and pretty while the horse does its job. This rider can mask any problem and tend to "just get through it" without any bobbles or major problems. However, they never fix anything or truly connect with the horse. A horseman on the other hand is the real deal. They are the ones to figure the horse out, what the horse is like, what it's feeling, and be able to work with it. A horseman works through the problems and knows every step and thought the animal will have, but this takes time, a lot of time. Not many riders want to spend the time and effort it takes to understand the animal, they just want to "get through it". The more horseman we have out there, the better for our horses and our industry. 

This industry is full of amazing people. This group is my family that I have grown to know since I was just a little girl with a pony at my birthday party. They work together to teach each other the ways of the animal and how they should think differently about training it. There isn't one horse that is the same as another, which makes training hard, but the difficulty is what makes the industry great. As my concern for the training methods on horses grow, my love grows as well. 

