Thoughts about Thinking

In his book “Thinking, Fast and Slow”, Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman makes a convincing case that two systems compete in the human mind to deal with our environment.  Simply put, one system is more intuitive, prone to simplification and substitution, while the other is more analytical.  We need both to survive in a challenging environment.  The fast System 1 helps us react to situations quickly, but can easily lead us astray and to make rash judgments and decisions.  The slow System 2 lets us apply reason and analytical thinking, but may not be fast enough to deal with situations where quick decisions are called for.
 
Can we extend that to horses as well?  One may claim that horses don’t think, that they are naturally intuitive, live in the moment and react instinctively and according to their current emotional state.  So, they are mostly working in something like our System 1, but can they reason or be analytical as well?
 
It is obvious that your horse will react to your aids or cues.  It will also detect the mood you are in at the moment.  It will be responsive to your body language when you are doing ground work.  All this behaviour can be explained with System 1.  But when we ask a horse to perform a more complicated task, such as stepping up to and standing still at a mounting block, jumping over an obstacle instead of going around it, lateral work, collection etc., there is more than intuition at work.  The horse needs to understand what we ask it to do.  This can be very difficult when there is no immediate need for the horse to do something for us that goes beyond reacting to our cues.  So, how does a horse begin to understand what we want? 
 
You may have noticed that some horses are very quick to respond, sometimes with the right reaction and sometimes not.  They seem to offer answers that may not be the correct ones for the question we asked, but have a certain logic to them.  An opening rein, for example, could be understood by the horse as “move your feet” or “bend your neck” or “give softly to the rein”.  If we wait long enough, the horse will eventually let go of the ones we don’t want as long as we are consistent with the aid.  It will gradually tune in to our personal way of asking a question. There are also horses that don’t seem to “get it” right away, but they may eventually give us what we want if we only give them enough time to reflect. 
 
All this requires a certain amount of analytical capacity.  The horse seems to sort out various interpretations of a question and then choose the “right “ one.  I would say that this corresponds to a slow thinking process, akin to our System 2. 
 
So, it is important that we give our horses the opportunity to “think” and analyse a situation.  Don’t rely on physical cues only or physical reactions to our aids.  Let things sink in and give the horse time to reflect on something that has just happened.  If the horse has done something for us for the first time, exactly as we asked, take a break as a reward, let the horse know that this is what you wanted.  This is a good place to either call it a day and continue tomorrow, or to move on to another exercise.   
 
In conclusion, our questions, demands or aids, whatever you want to call them have to be clear for the horse to understand. They have to be logical and consistently applied for the horse to “tune in “ to our personal and individual way of asking. To catch the moment when this happens and to give the horse positive feedback is crucial to making any progress.  One thing that most of us sometimes forget is to give a clear signal to the horse when it has done exactly what we asked for.  Frequent and long breaks are some of the most important tools we have to reward our horses and to give them the time to “think” about what just happened. 

Thomas Kubli, January, 2020

Questions and Answers

Have you ever asked yourself why it appears to be so hard to be a good rider.  Why you seem to never be able to get that perfect flying change, that clear round, that winning spin or sliding stop, or simply to get your horse to walk past that scary bunch of flowers?  Well, you are not alone.  These are questions that have haunted me for my entire career as a horseman and amateur competitor.  If these questions have never bothered you, you are likely an Olympic Champion, a professional horse whisperer or you have never tried to get a horse to do what you really want.
 
It has taken me a long time to come up with an answer, but once I found it, everything became clear.  Most riders try to connect to their horses through physical cues or aids.  This is the traditional way of teaching riding, which is still very common today.  You are taught the technical intricacies of a half halt or the correct use of a supporting rein.  These are all terms that emphasize the physical influence we exert on the horse’s body.  What is missing in this approach to riding?  It is the connection with the horse’s mind.
 
Unfortunately, we are able to sit on a horse while we train it.  Try sitting on your dog or cat to teach it tricks and you will soon find out that this is not the right approach.  Horses, however, tolerate us sitting on their backs, which is already a detriment to the proper connection to their mind.  Traditionally, our contact with the horse starts out as being physical rather than mental. 
 
If we literally take a step back and approach the problem with a bit of distance, amazing things start to happen.  If we can teach a horse tricks, even simple ones like stop and go, without sitting on them, we can establish a true connection with their mind and their tremendous intelligence.  Horses are very sensitive and can detect out moods, body language, and even guess our intentions.  Let us not get sidetracked by the physical activity of sitting on a horse but start to communicate with the animal.  Riding then becomes a logical extension of our communication and not the principal approach to it. It is the last step in training our horse to perform for us.

This is why we spend a lot of time on the basics, such as ground work and developing a centered seat. Expect no miracles, but once you have put in your time building a solid base, amazing things will start to happen.

Thomas Kubli, December, 2018