You read that right. Here is an example why:
All my horses have been trained to bridle in partnership. This means that I hold the bridle and bit out, and they reach down and pick up the bit themselves; they are a participant in the bridling process.
I swapped bridles between Roman and warrior earlier this week bc Romans head is slightly bigger. I've bridled warrior in the new bridle a couple times now.
Today I offered the bridle and bit to him and he shows no response. He looks at the bridle and reaches out to touch my head with his muzzle. I keep offering and he keeps ignoring the offer and touching his muzzle to my head/face.
At this point, I'm faced with 3 choices:
Put the bridle on without partnership
Problem solve the why
Forgo the bridle and either ride in a halter or change plan all together.
A thought occurred to me about the switching of bridles. So I swapped his bit back into his original bridle. I explain to him what I did verbally hoping he at least picked up that I was trying and reoffered the bridle and bit.
He looked at me, paused, then reached down and picked up the bit. We bridled in partnership and I'm sitting there laughing at how picky my horses is.
So why does partnership create problems? If he didn't have a way to participate, he would have never been able to share his preference/opinion. Down the road it could have led to more extreme behaviors and aversion to being bridled, head tossing, clamped jaw, etc.
Partnership creates problems because it gives the horse a voice. They can share what they want and how they want it for maximum comfort, safety and trust.
It is the most gratifying experience to know my horse trusted our communication let me know the feeling and comfort of this bridle is better than another in such a subtle yet clear way.
Partnership reveals problems. And I wouldn't have it any other way.
תגובות