Chapter 78 The Horseman's Stage
“What you have to keep in mind when you are working with a horse,” Evan instructed. “Is that they are not pets like your dog or cat, and cannot be treated like them. They are horses, and they need to be allowed to be horses. So, the first rule that I’m going to teach you this morning is: let horses be horses. Although they are affectionate and you can certainly use their shoulder to cry on, you have got to keep in mind that this is an animal that is anywhere from 8 to 12 times your size and more than 10 times more powerful. Without malice and without even intending to do so, this animal can hurt you badly.
“I remember one of my first experiences with this lesson. I was about 6 or 7 years old, and I was using the chest of one of my dad’s Belgian draft horses for warmth one winter morning when it was about 30 degrees below zero. I was snuggled up next to his warm fur, and he picked up his foot and moved it slightly, then shifted his weight, somewhere around 1800 to 2000 pounds onto my foot. I pushed and hollered and screamed, and he felt nothing more than a little irritation, like a mosquito or a fly pestering him. Had it not been for my dad coming to my rescue, I would have been in that position for quite some time. Lucky for me, the snow was soft beneath, and my boot was thick on top, and I got nothing more than a little bruising.
“I’ve seen pictures of mangled feet that have been crushed by a horse’s hoof because of owners wearing flip-flops while working with their horse. I’ve seen pictures of countless injuries and witnessed a few of my own because someone was careless around a horse. I’m not telling you these things to scare you, but I do want you to understand that you need to respect these animals and treat them a little bit differently than you do your dog or cat.
“Let me give you a quick rundown on some of the main differences before we bring our first trainee in this morning,” he continued with his introduction, giving a brief outline of the differences between prey and predator animals and the psychology that each possesses. He explained that most bad behaviors by horses were caused by human error more often than by some ill nature within the animal itself. When allowed to be horses, they tended to be more content, and most of the danger was eliminated. Learning to work with the animal as his leader rather than as a ruler, an equal, or a lesser was essential, and in order to work as a leader, the owner had to have two things: respect and direction. To demonstrate, they brought in the first animal.
The trailer backed up to the round pen, and the gates to the round pen, as well as the trailer, were opened. A jet black mare with tangled mane and tail leaped from the trailer and into the pen. Her eyes were wild with fear, and she searched the tall panels of the round pen for a means of escape as the gate was closed and the trailer was pulled away. Evan stood in the middle of the pen while the spectators sat upon the bleachers that had been set up at a level where the lowest point was just below the top of the fence panels. The panels were solid, so as not to distract the animal.
“I want you to take a look at the fear in this mare’s eyes,” he began. “She is in her most dangerous state of mind right now. If I am careless and don’t respect her, then I will become a victim.” Almost on cue, the mare made a rush at him. He raised his hands and hissed at her as she charged him and stepped to the side as she veered away from the beeline that she had made toward him. “Lucky for me, she was just trying me out and wasn’t serious about it.
“I’m going to use my status as a predator as a tool for overcoming the instincts of the prey animal. Instinctively, she has two choices: fight or flee. You will notice that when I raised my hands like a pair of claws, she veered away from her attack. I’m going to use that same method to send her away. During this phase, I need to make certain that my eyes are focused on her eyes as a means of communicating to her that I am the master in this pen.”
Evan was in the middle of the round pen, and the horse was standing with her butt against the fence on the opposite side from the crowd, with her feet set and her head lifted in proud defiance. Evan raised his arms and took a step toward the horse. He made a sort of hissing sound, and the horse leaped into the air and scrambled to run away. She was within the confines of the round corral, and her attempt to escape was held back; she was forced to follow the fence line. Her wild and defiant eyes remained focused on Evan. Her ears were turned toward the threat in the center of the corral. Her pace slackened to a steady gallop, and she made at least a dozen circuits around the corral with Evan turning and keeping his eyes focused on the horse.
“She is going to flee a quarter to a half a mile and then begin to slow down,” Evan said. On cue, the mare’s pace slowed even more, and when it did, Evan stepped over in front of her to cut her off and again raised his arms and hissed. The horse turned away and began the fast-paced gallop in the other direction, and Evan settled back into the middle. The turn wasn’t nearly as violent as the original, and the pace of the gallop was the steady, even pace that she had settled into before. Evan continued to focus on the horse from the center of the corral until the pace had slowed again. Again, Evan stepped forward and raised his arms, and again the horse turned and galloped in the other direction. This time, the pace began much slower than it had before, and it was only a few moments before the horse slowed to a trot.