Horses with courage

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  • November 11, 2008 at 3:29 am #39897
    Horsepower
    Participant

    During the past 20 plus years of working with horses in harness, I have observed that the more courage a horse demonstrates, the more progress he makes during the the training process and the more useful he becomes while working. It seems, with many, that courage is an inherited trait but with some it can be brought out or developed as time passes and with ongoing work. Those horses at the bottom of the pecking order don’t seem to have the same courage traits as those higher up the ladder. In working my Suffolks, as singles or as part of a team or multiple hitch, those with less courage are usually not the best singles but do much better when hitched with others. Some horses just never make as good as workers single as they do hitched with others. In a recent post by Biological Woodsman he stated the following “It takes a brave horse to work single even on familar ground.” I have pondered that statement the past couple of days, and think the horses courage has a lot to do with working single.

    Would like to know what the thoughts and experiences of others have been.

    November 11, 2008 at 12:47 pm #48050
    Gabe Ayers
    Keymaster

    It seems to just be a matter of the nature of the horse as an individual. It comes down to a horse can only be a horse, so their instinct of being or feeling safe in the herd setting and company of other horses makes them more brave or feel more safe.

    The horse that works well and confidently single has obviously accepted being with humans as a herd experience. I think that is what all of us are talking about when we say think positive or recognize that your posture and attitude are being read by the animal at all times, maybe even closer that humans normally give an animal credit for.

    I agree that the alpha type boss hoss is usually braver, but I think mostly because they accept being with the real boss hoss quicker, with the human handler being the real boss hoss. That is where the skill of being a natural horseman comes into play and it takes time to develop that. It doesn’t mean go about your business with a totally human centered approach, but to be observant of the horses reactions to everything around them – starting with you.

    I think that is why they call it being a horseman and not a manhorse. The horse can only be a horse, so the challenge and duty is for the man to be a horse to create a natural herd interaction between both animals (humans and horses), but the horse is limited to seeing everything as a possible predator or one of them (another horse).

    What do the rest of you horsemen think? And of course “man” in this case is a contraction of the word human…not a gender thing…

    November 11, 2008 at 1:02 pm #48053
    Rod
    Participant

    Very interesting and brings to my mind a question about the value of sometimes working your (my) team animals single. This is something I have been doing and I sense that it is improving our relationship and communication. With no one else to depend on and follow it seems my two ponys are growing in their ability to listen to me, respond to my signals, becoming more affectionate. I have had at least one instance where one of them driving single had to go beyond his instincts and exhibit courage which he did reluctantly but then seemed animated by his or our success in overcoming his fear. This involved his reluctance at crossing a fast running stream while pulling a cart. It took a little talking and urging from the driver seat but he eventually decided to overcome his fears and cross the stream. It was a growing moment for him (and for me). As I exercise them individually, hopefully this will translate into a better and more courageous team when driven together. What do you think?

    November 11, 2008 at 3:51 pm #48051
    Carl Russell
    Moderator

    My sense is that the courage of the individual is a function of the confidence, or trust that they have for their safety in a particular situation, whether it is in a herd, or in the barn, or with an accustomed work mate.

    I have worked with several animals who have shown me that their inclination is to retreat, or not move into a challenging situation, but I have seen direct reaction from them toward my own courageous actions. In other words my animals learn to replace their timid inclinations with an appraisal of my reaction or expectation, then follow my lead.

    In working situations I never “ask” my horses in a questioning uncertain tone if they are ready, I tell them to get ready, and encourage them to move forward in the proverbial sense of “forward into the new situation”.
    This works with horses and oxen.

    I have had a several horses, and oxen, who demonstrated a type of courage in terms of willingness to put every ounce of power they had into lifting and moving heavy weight. This is the type of courage that the old timers refer to around here, which is a little bit different than the general courage to work and respond comfortably. However, I think that such courage can be lost, or overlooked by a teamster who is timid, uncertain, or inexperienced themselves.

    Another case of courage I have encountered is in a dangerous or compromising situation, such as an animal that hits the ground in shafts or on a pole and can’t get back up because of the restrictions of the harness, or terrain. In these situations an animal can be extremely distraught and very dangerous, IF they don’t know to trust and follow the teamster.

    Working in the woods I have had several such instances, and this is where I really became aware of how much courage there is in trust. Having to get one animal still standing to remain calm, while calming the one that is down, then loosing gear, and sometimes unharnessing completely, in a completely random setting, with little or no resources, or help, to get the animal back on its feet, re-harnessed, and hitched back up, requires a calm and purposeful demeanor anyway, but within these situations I have seen my animals (Both horses and oxen) taking appraisal of my behavior, and noticeably responding positively to me because I am not distraught (at least on the outside).

    This is only to say that I believe that if you want courageous animals then at the very least acting courageous yourself is the first step.

    Carl

    November 12, 2008 at 7:01 pm #48054
    jen judkins
    Participant

    I believe there are relatively few truly brave horses. Meaning that ‘courage’ or the intention to be courageous in the face of fear, does not come naturally to horses. Being prey animals, their whole mode of survival depends on their ability to percieve danger and run away. That said, I have indeed witnessed horses exhibiting courage to one extent or another.

    I’ve seen a horse chase down and stomp on a coyote (while the rest of the herd turned tail). I came across a lone horse in the woods once in the pouring rain, standing over the unconcious body of his rider. I’ve even watched my own alpha gelding ‘rescue’ the rest of the herd when they became disoriented in an abruptly violent storm. He ran down, circled them and pushed them back up the hill through several gates to the safety of the barn. He wouldn’t take shelter himself until everyone was inside and safe.

    Perhaps what I observed was not courage, but something else. I don’t really know.

    In the working relationship between a human and a horse, there is clearly a correlation between the confidence of the handler and the confidence of the horse. A confident rider or teamster will bring out the tendency for confidence in any horse they work with because of their focus and their ‘clear expectations’ (quoting Carl here), even if that particular horse isn’t typically very confident. Whereas a less confident handler might get by with a naturally confident horse, they would likely have difficulty convincing a skeptical horse to work through scarey situations.

    I don’t know if confidence is equivalent to courage, but there are clearly horses out there that go way above the natural call of duty, particularly in regard to work ethic and I don’t know if that is in them from the start or if it is a product of brilliant leadership (or perhaps both).

    Horses are likely as complex as humans in regard to the spectrum of characteristics they might express. For instance, my alpha gelding…the same one that rescued the herd in the storm….would not be considered a brave horse by most. He is skiddish and skeptical, perceptive to danger to a very high degree. Perhaps that is what makes him such a good herd leader? The bravest horse in my herd is also the lowest in the pecking order…an elderly quarterhorse. Perhaps it is his age and long experience that makes him so? Again, I don’t really know.

    In our training drives, Peanut is frequently alittle nervous about what is up ahead on the road, but he is easily convinced there is no danger and moves along with very little encouragement from me. I try hard not to prattle on with words that don’t mean anything, maintain my focus and intention to get to where we are going. A simple approach, perhaps, but he is getting more confident everyday. Interesting thread.

    November 27, 2008 at 10:54 pm #48052
    Carl Russell
    Moderator
    Carl Russell;3470 wrote:
    ……
    Another case of courage I have encountered is in a dangerous or compromising situation, such as an animal that hits the ground in shafts or on a pole and can’t get back up because of the restrictions of the harness, or terrain. In these situations an animal can be extremely distraught and very dangerous, IF they don’t know to trust and follow the teamster.

    Working in the woods I have had several such instances, and this is where I really became aware of how much courage there is in trust. Having to get one animal still standing to remain calm, while calming the one that is down, then loosing gear, and sometimes unharnessing completely, in a completely random setting, with little or no resources, or help, to get the animal back on its feet, re-harnessed, and hitched back up, requires a calm and purposeful demeanor anyway, but within these situations I have seen my animals (Both horses and oxen) taking appraisal of my behavior, and noticeably responding positively to me because I am not distraught (at least on the outside).

    This is only to say that I believe that if you want courageous animals then at the very least acting courageous yourself is the first step.

    Carl

    Just last week I had a young college student visiting to accompany me in the woods, and the nigh horse must have corked himself while waiting for us clearing some brush from the trail. Somehow he lost his footing and toppled slightly off the trail into a little hollow where he couldn’t get his feet back under him. He only thrashed for a second but as I approached hi he calmed right down. We had to un hitch the off horse by unbuckling straps and then completely unharnessed him as the hames were lodged down in the hollow and kept his feet uphill. Lying there with only his collar on I finally had to “convince” him that he could actually move, and get up.
    We re-harnessed and hitched them up and went back to work.

    That’s a lesson I couldn’t have planned, even if that was what she came to see.

    Carl

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