Is it our job to teach emotional tolerance?

Is it our responsibility to train our horses in such a way as to teach them emotional stability?

This is a topic that has been hovering in my mind lately, promoted by both my own experiences & posts I’ve seen others write. When we enter into the manége with our horse, is part of the training process to increase their “tolerance” levels?

I’m not sure I have a cut & dry answer to this. But allow me to ramble. I believe that it is our responsibility as humans to promote and create a learning environment for our horses that is species-appropriate, safe, and enjoyable. And through that environment, they do often find the courage and space necessary to open up and grow emotionally. Which is a beautiful by-product, and one I am always SO pleased to witness. 

However, I am finding, more and more, that the purpose of training should not be to teach emotional stability. Instead, I think that this is the natural result of clear, ethically minded training. When we route ourselves in science we are able to clearly speak to the horse’s body, therefore unlocking pieces of himself he might have previously blocked off. Unlocking these pieces then allows for the horse to become a more fluid and expressive version of himself, which is one (very important) piece of the puzzle. 

Walking hand in hand with this physical unlocking is the mental and emotional soundness of our horses. The beauty of a horse is that he exists in the now, in the Earth, and in the physical. Therefore it follows that his emotional and mental state is often quite heavily linked to his physical wellbeing. 

An example of this is a client horse that my mentor, Linda, is currently working with. Knight came from a somewhat unknown background. What we do know is that he was ridden and trained in a way that completely shut down his natural voice. The first few times we worked with him he would put himself (and us) in physical danger to try and escape the arena, often crashing into walls and gates. This prompted us to take a step back and redesign his program. Through a lot of slow time, gentle asks, and quiet moments we have seen a huge shift in his personality- and body! The things that we did were all rooted in the physical but had a far greater impact on his mind than his body. 

As the training progresses and we are able to push the physical capacity of our horse, I believe that the natural progression is an increase in the emotional fortitude of our horse. Now I’m not saying that we need to push our horses so far physically that they become dead to their surroundings, thus becoming “emotionally tough”. Instead what I posit is that increased awareness of their physical body naturally allows for a horse to become more emotionally and mentally sound. 

Have you ever experienced this? If so, what happened? I’d love to hear!

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