ARE YOU A leader or a doormat? When it comes to horses, it’s important for you to assert yourself as their leader and not their doormat, to be stepped on, pushed around or, worse, to show his rear end to you and posture like he’s going to give you a swift kick for bothering him.
“We get a lot of horses coming to us from people who don’t know or understand what it takes to be the boss of their herd,” said Kate Tippets, horse trainer and daughter of Olympic Peninsula Equine Network’s co-founder Diane Royall. “Oftentimes then the horse, or the people, end up getting hurt, frustrated and/or scared, and it shows in their behavior.”
When new horses come to OPEN, it’s usually Tippets who evaluates the horse to see what he knows, how he reacts to various situations and tasks, and then begins basic training, including respect for people.
“Usually the horses that come in need a lot of training, and that’s what has prevented them from keeping a home, or from going to a good home,” she said. “I teach them stand still and to have good manners while having their feet trimmed, how to load and unload from a trailer safely and train them for common local riding such as trail, western pleasure and English.
“I also like to teach them to bow and lie down in case of an emergency, such as after fall, so a rider may be able to get back on easier. It also teaches the horse confidence. I love to give them useful skills so when they go to a new home it will be a success.”
New owners are often so excited to have a horse that their first instinct might be to pamper him, feed him treats and love on him every chance they get. While that may be a normal human response, it could undermine your partnership with your horse.
Kate said horses find safety and comfort in clear rules, direction and routine. If he breaks a rule, he’ll need correction.
Comfort comes in doing the right thing. If your horse crowds you and you don’t step away, then your horse is testing your leadership. Step toward your horse, perhaps raise a hand and say, “Hey! Get away!”
She’s seen many occasions when a person new to horses has gotten a really broke (well-trained) horse, and they’ve actually untrained the horse by not continuing their own lessons, or by not continuing to learn more about good horsemanship.
“They haven’t furthered their own education, and that can turn into a problem,” she said. “A horse wants to trust his rider. They are smart animals who will often test the new rider to see if they really know what they are doing and if the person is someone they can trust in what they may view as fearful situations.”
She said there are many videos that are free on YouTube that can help to educate riders and trainers by providing an abundance of how-to videos for interaction with your horse and proper body language.
“You can’t tell them you’re the boss; they learn it through your body language and your treatment of them. And the horses are grateful for that. Because, in a herd, they have two bosses, they have the stallion and the lead mare. They are the leaders of the pack, or heard, and they get bossed around by them and know their pecking order.
“It’s the same with people. You’re my boss? Cool! I’ll do whatever you ask. They learn we are the leader, and they are happy when they know what’s expected of them and how to do it. We tell them, ‘Hey! This is what you’ve gotta do in order for us to have a successful life together,’ and the horses are like, ‘Hey, thank you!’ ”
Operative
OPEN is a Sequim-based horse rescue, rehabilitation and re-homing organization that is “focused on doing what we can for horses and people in need,” said Valerie Jackson, who, with Royall, founded the organization in 2006.
When they began taking in horses in need of help in 2006, they were only helping one or two horses at time and “giving them whatever they needed, vet or farrier care, training, socializing or just groceries in an effort to give them the best possibility of finding a permanent new home,” Jackson said.
“This all fell on our personal household budgets and property,” she said.
As word got out, more people asked them for help, and a permanent facility was needed where they could shelter and care for the horses, and where they could show rehabilitated horses that are ready for adoption.
It soon became apparent they could no longer personally pay for all that was needed to help with the growing number of horses in need, including those seized by animal control because of the owner’s abuse or neglect, who often came to them starving, ill and with badly overgrown hooves.
“When we received our nonprofit status in 2013 we thought we had finally arrived, only to quickly discover non-profit doesn’t come with any buckets of cash or links to grants or an actual horse facility.”
That’s when they started holding fundraisers and relying on donations.
“Unfortunately, we have had to cancel all of our spring fundraisers due to the coronavirus pandemic. Donations are down significantly, so to just stay afloat with the needs and care of our rescue horses we are running on our reserves,” she said. “And we need help.”
If you’d like to help donations can be made with PayPal via its website olypenequinenet.org or mailed to P.O. box 252, Sequim, WA 98382.
For more information or to view horses available for adoption visit the Facebook page OPEN (Olympic Peninsula Equine Network) Community Group. Or call and leave a message for Royall, Jackson or Tibbets at 360-207-1688.
These ladies provide a very valuable service to both humans and horses. Let’s do what we can to help them out, ok?
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Karen Griffiths’ column, Peninsula Horseplay, appears the second and fourth Sunday of each month.
If you have a horse event, clinic or seminar you would like listed, please email Griffiths at kbg@olympus.net at least two weeks in advance. You can also call her at 360-460-6299.
