International Non - Ridden Equine weekend 2021!

Vicki and Steve Yates of The Non Ridden Equine Association are hosting a weekend dedicated to horses, ponies, donkeys and mules who are not ridden (the 1st and 2nd of May 2021). I wanted to share a little about why I think the work they are doing, raising awareness about the value of non ridden equines, is so awesome and regardless of if you ride or not, give you a little insight into the world of 'non-ridden' from my own journey with horses as well as some non ridden activities you could try with your own horse. 

From the age of around 4 I rode every week, from the age of 12 I rode most days and from the age of around 13 / 14 I rode multiple horses, multiple times a day and could spend hours in the saddle, often riding the horses other people didn't want to get on! While I did always 'love' horses for the sake of them being horses and spent a lot of time grooming them or just hanging out in the field with them I did, very much, focus on riding. As I moved away from livery yards and we rented our own field I began spending more and more time just enjoying 'being' with them. I always found livery to be an uncomfortable environment and being away from that gave me space to 'breath' and move towards doing things in a way that were more well aligned with my intuition and own values, rather than feeling like I needed to fit in with others to avoid conflict or criticism. During our move away from traditional and natural horsemanship yards I began questioning many of the things I'd learnt over the years and paying more and more attention to Dee, my ex-racer. At the time he was around 18 years old. We had transitioned to bitless (sidepull) after he'd began bolting and no amount of aversive equipment or training was helping and this was really our first step toward me changing my entire perception of horses and my relationship with them.

The more I observed his behaviour during our transition to bitless riding and the more I 'listened' when he wasn't comfortable with something, the more I recognised him as a sentient being. As a someone, rather than a something. Every so often I would have a moment of insight where I would see him express his needs or emotions on a level I hadn't noticed before, the way he was attuned to and in sync with his environment and things happening around him, all in a way that I wasn't. His awareness was way beyond that of my own. Of course it was, he's a horse and being vigilant is important for his survival, but even so, I realised how much I could learn simply from taking a step back and observing and how much I had been ignorant of in my time with horses. This is where I switched from being the one who was trying to (at the time) 'be a leader' and 'setting the goals' to being the one who was in awe of the horses around me and I wanted to follow and learn about them, from them!

As I learnt more about how horses communicate, their body language and stress signals etc I realised Dee wasn't comfortable being ridden, his body, while not old, had worked hard and he was happier without a rider thank you very much. We began walking out in hand and doing small amounts of ground work, but again, while he really enjoyed walking out and going on 'adventure picnics' he didn't enjoy ground work at all. I went from one 'extreme' to the other, from riding 3 + times a day to not riding at all, and feeling like I would never want to again, Dee was so much happier, our relationship was stronger and I just got so, so much more from our time together. Who needs a holiday or retreat when you can spend a few hours sitting in a field watching horses!!!

We weren't around many other horsey people at this time, but even so we got plenty of 'You have an expensive field ornament' or 'your horse is wasted' comments... People didn't really understand why I had a perfectly healthy horse who I wasn't riding. Surely just sell him if I don't want to ride anymore? Sadly to this day people still hold this belief and many people are bullied or manipulated into selling a horse they can't ride anymore, even when they don't want or need to. 

Despite this we were really happy with loving, caring for and learning from our now non ridden horses  and in fact decided to adopt two Dartmoor Hill Ponies from our local rescue to keep Dee, and my mum's pony, Folly, company. Both were semi-feral, bought for £5 each from the back of a meat truck and had had very little human interaction. These two beautiful boys have been the most rewarding ponies to spend time working with - The breakthroughs with Joe were so fulfilling, he was that scared of humans he would poo himself and tremble when he saw you from across the field, he's now one of the most confident little ponies we have. These two brothers were who yet again, deepened my interest in horse behaviour. Not long after we adopted them I shifted to using positive reinforcement, it didn't go too well to begin with as I made a lot of mistakes (e.g poor timing, I used food that was of too high value and I did not setting up well  for success etc) but we got there and the results were brilliant. Clearly both Joey and Charlie were small ponies and we were never going to ride them, even so often people asked us why or if their children could ride them - not realsing there was so much more to having horses than that.

 I feel here is a great place to highlight some of the reasons why someone may have a non ridden equine:

🐴 Lack of confidence in the saddle.

🐴 Chronic illness in horse.

🐴 Chronic illness in human.

🐴 A younger or older horse not able to be ridden.

🐴 A companion horse or pony.

🐴 A horse who finds being ridden emotionally distressing.

🐴  pony who was loved but outgrown.

🐴 A rider has become too tall or heavy for their horse.

🐴 Having a horse for therapeutic and mental health support.

🐴 Enjoying learning from a horse.

🐴 'Just because' (you really don't even need to have a reason!).

🐴 You rescue and rehabilitate horses unsuitable for riding.

🐴 To up-skill your training (non ridden equines need to learn skills such as cooperative care too, some of those who are unable to be ridden are also those who have complex behavioral needs and who we can learn most from as a behaviour consultant or trainer).

🐴  For competitive non ridden sports or events. Just because you don't ride doesn't mean you don't actively take part in events or competitions - there are events surrounding training, groundwork, agility, in hand dressage, or in hand showing etc that have nothing to do with riding. 

 🐴 + Many, many more reasons!

It's now been about 8 years since I rode, and while I sometimes miss it I don't feel that it's something I will ever go back to in the way I once did. While I am considering backing my younger boy once he is old enough (6 years +), and I am currently in the process of teaching some ground cues to transition to saddle for Apache our middle aged cob, if I do ride it would only be for the occasional 10 - 15 minutes, every once in a while. I, personally, just get so much more from being on the ground with them.

Some of the things I've learnt since stopping riding (though aren't necessarily synonymous to not riding!):

🐎 Your horse 'likes' you more if you listen to them and are kind (and their opinion DOES matter!). ;)

🐎 A horse is never trying to 'dominate' you (dominance, as we often speak about it, is outdated and doesn't exist - there are many things we 'brush off' as dominance and this doesn't do our horses or us any favors).

🐎 If a horse were philosophical they would be Buddhist, I'm sure of it! (Okay, okay, this may be a little more opinion based than science based, but they are so zen when we don't interfere! :p) 

🐎 We have much more to learn from our horses than our horse has to learn from us.

🐎 Relationship is KEY. Attachment and bonds need to come before training or riding.

🐎 No horse is the same, many really dislike being ridden, while others couldn't care less, and some actually enjoy it - it is not one size fits all.

🐎 Regardless of if we ride or not, all of our interactions with our horses should set them up for success, be gentle, kind and utilise informed and up to date scientifically supported methods. 

🐎 Our horses often really do know stuff before we know stuff (this includes stuff about us!).

🐎 Taking part in non ridden activities helps you become more creative (or at least it's worked that way for me).

🐎 Doing non ridden activities can build horses and humans confidence and can also be a fantastic foundation for riding later on.

🐎 If not fitting in means you and your horse share more trust then not fitting in must be a good thing. 

🐎 Trust your gut - If something doesn't feel right then don't do it. 

🐎 No matter how we look at it, with the amount of non ridden activities you can do to enrich your horses life or keep them fit and healthy riding is undoubtedly for us humans, whilst I am not at all anti riding, if we do ride we need to be aware of this and ensure that the horses needs are met and their well being kept as a priority if and when we do ride.

🐎 Advocate for your horse. While they are great communicators, very few people listen. Be your horses voice.

🐎 A horse, living as a horse, is never wasted.

Working in rescue and with my own rescues I went for several years focusing solely on cooperative care and changing emotional responses in horses who were fearful, anxious, frustrated etc. More recently I feel like I've come 'full circle' and am getting back to a balance of 'fun' and 'essential'.

I will always advocate for gentle, kind, and where possible positive reinforcement (or at least LIMA, Least invasive, minimally aversive) training where the horses emotional experience is taking into account as much as their behaviour is. Here are some of the activities you can try with your horses using these methods:

Observe your horses behaviour and body language  - Okay, so this is super simple but a great gateway into creating a better relationship with your horse! Take a note book, a pen and a cup of coffee and go sit in your horses field (far enough away that you don't disturb them) and observe what they do, how they interact with the other horses etc. Note their facial expressions and body language, what do they do when they're not happy, don't feel safe, are resting or playing etc. While all horses use they same set of body language and expressions, like humans, each will express themselves in slightly different ways or patterns. Get to know your horse! Some things to look out for:

Ear positioning / Tension or softeness in jaw, mouth, nose, eyes and body muscles etc / Shapes and softness of eyes / head positioning / breathing rate / how long do they spend resting / do they lie down / how long do they play for and who with / which other horse do they spend most time with / tail positioning / how long do they graze for / how often do they move from one hay pile to the next etc. - Basically find out what your horse does in their own time, learn their likes and dislikes through observation and develop observational skills which will help you better understand them.

Cooperative care -  Ok, so this is more of an 'essential' activity, and in cases where there is already fear or an aversion to something you need to be careful how you approach resolving an already established 'issue', but this is also an incredibly rewarding way to spend your time with your horse. What is it that your horse needs to do, but isn't too comfortable with? E.g do they need their hooves trimmed but are not yet very experienced with the farrier? or they need injections but don't like needles? They have sweet itch but won't let you near them with a rug? Often get eye infections but they're 18hh and won't let you bathe their eyes? We can help them with this and teach them skills that will make their lives, and yours a LOT easier! So pick 1 thing you are comfortable with training, that isn't too much of a big deal for your horse and begin there - be proactive and help your horse feel safe and secure about day to day or emergency management or treatment by preparing them for it through training. In many cases you may need more help to make training a skill like these but there are plenty of knowledgeable and professional people out there who can help, including myself should you wish to ask any questions.

Walk / hike together - This really is what it says on the tin, rather than hack out, hike out! You can lead them in a headcollar or bitless bridle so they can have little picnics while you're out. If you're lucky enough to keep your horses somewhere with lots of off road paths then this is a fantastic activity that encourages fun exploration and will help you and your horses keep fit.

Enrichment  - There are a LOAD of amazing enrichment ideas floating around to try with your horses, check out this facebook group for some ideas! Enrichment for horses

Reverse round pen - This is the positive reinforcement trainers approach to lunging. We basically turn the round pen inside out, and stand in the centre while the horse is on the outside of the fence. Here we can train for movement, and add cues for walk, trot etc all while avoiding the use of aversives such as whips or aggressive body language. You can start by getting your horse to follow a hand held target or to move 'A to B' from one stationary target to the next. Remember, never withhold food, and reward the tries. If your horse struggles lower your criteria and reinforce all the small success first, then build up. The foundations need to be solid to avoid frustration. I'd recommend starting with low value reinforcement such as low sugar chaff, or if your horse likes scratches, then even scratches. Again, there are lots of professionals out there who can help you with this should you get stuck with anything.

Exploration - Lay out some objects for your horse to explore, ensure you don't use anything too scary, just novel enough to be interesting but not so out of this world crazy that they startle and gallop off into the sunset never to trust that corner of the field again. You can explore with them, use different colours (horses see blues and yellows best), textures, scents etc. You could also add 'natural enrichment' to their paddocks, such a branches to sniff at and scratch on, or plant horse safe herbs in hedgerows etc.

Grid work / body work - You can lay out a pole grid to walk in hand with your horse, this can be a good exercise for those who get stiff joints and need gentle exercise as well as for building muscle in healthier horses.

Agility - For fun or competition agility's popularity is soaring. What I really like about it is that you can teach it easily using positive training, and if you introduce each obstacle to the horse carefully then  they come across a load of potentially 'scary' real world things and build positive associations with them, so when you decide to go out hiking with your horse any 'weird' or 'flappy' things they come across while out and about are likely to be significantly less scary than if they hadn't been introduced to and practiced some agility. It's also really good fun and you can set up obstacles really affordably, e.g. I just made a DIY A-frame with scavenged wood, some surplus paint and a fly curtain, a 'jump hoop' with some old foam 'things' and a load of poles and small 'jump wings/raised pole bases' for about £5. It is also disability friendly, you don't need great mobility to complete a course with your horse and it can easily be done at a steady pace.

Scentwork - Ok, so this one is really new to me still, but I have begun practicing scent work on a regular basis with my gang and I LOVE IT! 

There are so so many benefits to it, including:

- It can help increased a horses duration of concentration.

- Cognitively enriching.

- It enables them to use this sense as they would naturally if they weren't in human-centric environments.

- Encouraging behaviours that are ethologically friendly. 

- It can help build confidence. 

- Provides mental stimulation without too much physical exertion (great for horses in rehab or those who are at the beginning of training).

 - It's an activity for bonding (Human + Scent activity = good things happen).

- It promotes problem solving, and 'giving things a try'.

- It can be a super relaxed activity where you are able to keep the horse under threshold, therefore you can start nosework in a safe space and use it to expand their comfort zones once they've got the hang of it.

We've been working on tracking recently, which takes some time to develop, however a really simple activity you can do it scatter feeding, or hiding goodies around for your horse to search for.

I am no expert on this, as I am still learning about it myself, however I want to mention it as I really believe it is going to be a game changer. If you want to learn more I highly recommend investing in Rachael Draaisma's Scent Work for Horses book.

Meditation/Self Development practices - Just spend time sitting and meditating with your horse or practice mindfulness while grooming, walking with them or just relaxing in their paddock. There is a really nice Mindfulness for Stress Reduction free 8 week course that you can find here which may help give you some ideas of what to practice in the company of your horse. If that's not for you then how about just sitting with your horse and reading or journaling in their company - find something peaceful that you can do while around your horse that will help you grow and become more self-aware.

These are just a few ideas, there is also a list of activities on the Non Ridden Equine website and i'm sure elsewhere on the internet too! So why not find something you like the sound of and give it a go! 💓

 

Finally some statistics and reflection...

The average horse has around 7 homes in their lifetime, a pony has an average of 14. Many of these are moved on so often because of the fact they can no longer be ridden. When we consider all of the alternative ways to enjoy being with our horses it seems such a shame that so many are uprooted simply because people think or feel that they 'no longer serve a purpose' or will be 'wasted'. A horse deserves better than being used and then passed on once someone is 'done with them'.  I really hope one day we will live in a world where a horse is valued for simply being a horse and we can appreciate them as a someone, rather than an object designed to 'do a job'. I'm sure if you're reading this and got this far then you already feel the same way too. It's not about 'all or nothing', it's about acting with compassion and seeing our horses as living, feeling, emotional individuals who we strive to do our best for, even if what we know is 'best' goes against the grain of traditional horsemanship. It is time to evolve.

So, that's that. Check out the Non Ridden equine's free resources on their website! Pick a non ridden activity to try and have fun with your horse from the ground this weekend! 💗

 

If you want any advice or support feel free to pop me a email or Whatsapp me.

My website with contact details can be found here: https://www.feralhearts-horses.com/