Horsemanship Jr. - Communication - Chapter One

In this chapter we will compare Communication between people with communication between a horse and his owner. We will learn the answer to this question: Why is it easier to communicate with a horse than with people.

Definition of communication:
Communication is the exchange of thoughts, messages or information by speech, signals, writing or behavior.

You will recognize the following terms that describe how you communicate with your friends:
Talking
Motioning
Frowning
Smiling
to name just a few.

But you may not have realized that your communication with your friends is often inconsistent (changeable). What is meant by inconsistent behavior and inconsistent communication can be explained in the following story. The characters are two youngsters about your age (Skip and Julie) and their neighbor, John, who is about the age of their dad. You will notice that attitudes change in this story, which brings about changes in behavior and communication.

Skip and Julie had just moved with their parents to an acreage within the Rocky Mountains. The two children had been cleaning the stalls of their barn. After mucking, they removed the manure in buckets and threw the contents over a large crevice (deep crack in the earth) that they found behind the barn. They did not realize that running through the crevice was a fence line that separated their parents’ land from their neighbor’s land.

Standing and watching them, only a few feet on the other side of the fence line, was the biggest, most unhappy looking man Skip and Julie had ever seen. He was furious and he told them, “Keep that manure on your own land and stay off my land and out of my way.”

Skip immediately became angry himself, and he told Julie, “Don’t even talk to that man – best we just go back to the house.” But Julie was sorry that they had made a mistake – so she apologized, “Sorry, we just moved in and now we know the boundary, so we won’t do this again.”

The mean attitude and behavior exhibited by the Neighbor at once changed, and with a pleasant attitude he welcomed the children to the neighborhood. He told them his name was John, and he walked them around their fence line and told them who lived in the homes surrounding their parents’ acreage.

Do you see that the communication between the children and neighbor John changed when angry behavior changed to a pleasant atmosphere? This is an example of how communication between people is not always consistent. When attitudes change, then behavior changes and behavior is part of communication. Neighbor John was a threat, but he accepted Julie’s apology and changed his behavior and his communication. He was no longer a threat, but rather he became friendly and pleasant.

Now let’s examine communication between a horse and his owner by continuing with the story about Skip and Julie.

After the difficult event with neighbor John, Julie saddled her horse and took a short ride. It was nice to have her horse Skylark as her only companion. She didn’t have to worry that Skylark would get angry and take out his anger on her. And yet, Julie knew that sometimes Skylark would refuse to go where Julie directed him. Skylark would stop or even back up when Julie obviously wanted him to go forward. This was one of those times. Julie kicked and clicked – but Skylark would not budge. Julie got off and tried to lead Skylark in the direction she wanted to go, but the horse refused. Julie saw this as a confrontation with Skylark. He was telling her he did not want to obey her command.

When Julie and Skylark returned to the barn, her father was finishing his chores.

Julie said to her Dad, “Skylark needs to be taught that what I say goes. He seems to have a mind of his own in this new pasture. I just wanted him to go down the ravine and follow the creek.”

Julie’s father smiled, “Well, no wonder. Skylark knew that swampy area would not afford him good footing, so he wanted you to find a safer spot to ride.”

WOW, do you see that this kind of communication between horse and rider can make safe situations that would otherwise be hazardous? Do you see that Skylark is consistent in his behavior to protect himself and his rider if he realizes they are heading toward unsafe areas?

We can now answer the question above: Why is it easier to communicate with a horse than with people?

Answer: Because a horse will be more consistent in his behavior and communication. Julie can count on that consistent behavior, and this opens communication between her and Skylark. The more consistent behavior she observes in her horse, the more their communication will grow.

More on Communication next time.