First of I expect my horses to be safe around people. Absolutely no kicking, rearing, bolting, etc...
Beyond the basic safety behaviors here is a list of some of the behaviors I expect from my horses:
- Leading nicely- and by that I mean I want them to match my pace. If I am slow, they are slow, if I back they back, etc...
- Stand tied- Pixie is my only horse that will on occasion set back when tied, I can usually predict when not to tie her though. To combat that behavior I just taught her to ground tie while we are grooming and tacking up.
- Ignore other horses when we are leading or riding past them. If a horse in the pasture next to us takes off I fully expect my horse to look, but then I want them to focus back on me and walk calmly.
- Lunge walk/trot/canter on a loose line or free lunge without leaving me.
- Pick up all for feet on command and hold their own foot, I hate being leaned on!
- Accept worming and other medication without much fuss.
- Stand for mounting beside anything I line them up too. Example stumps, rocks, mounting blocks, trucks, etc.
- Flex automatically when I mount up. I shouldn't have to tell them too, I want them checking in the minute I sit down in the saddle.
- Flex to both sides with barely an ounce of pressure.
- Back up under saddle when I barely pick up the reins
- Whoa the minute I take a deep breath- no matter the gait. Inside and outside the arenas
- Be able to line up to gates so I can open them- Both Willow and Pixie are finally mastering this. We are now open both the round pen gates and outdoor arena gate. The trails this summer will be our next test :)
- Yield both front and back end with very light cue.
- Be traffic safe- I ride along the road and I need them to ignore all vehicles including semi trucks.
- In general be trail safe. Which is why we are working with Willow right now, she is far spookier than I want her to be :)
- Be polite around treats. I walk in my pasture with my treat bag on me. I expect them to be polite around me and the other horses when I am present. They are not to mug me or be pushy. Treat manners are a safety behavior for me since all five horses are pastured together I can't have them mugging me when I am in the pasture with treats.
Ok, so that is what I can think of right now. Keep in mind I ride in halters only. So I expect my horses to respond to the lightest of touch without a bit. I want them so in tune with my body language that others don't notice my cues. Now of course we are not perfect and I will be training them for the rest of their lives, lol, but we perfect one thing at a time. Yes, we still have holes we are working on when out on the trails and when distractions are present :)
In the end, regardless of what we are doing, I expect my horses to be responsible for watching me and responding to my cues. I want them thinking on their own though, I hate micro managing. Which is why +R training works so well for me because it teaches them to think and figure things out. This training is far from passive if anything we expect more from our horses because we know they are capable of doing it. The difference is we don't use pain or fear to teach them. The horse has the choice, which makes the behavior 100x more reliable in my opinion. Once they understand what you want and it has become a trained behavior you will rarely see them not perform on cue. For example when I mount Pixie, no matter where I am or what I am mounting from, she will flex the minute I get in the saddle and will continue until I ask her to move off. This makes mounting safer for me because she is thinking flex not forward and she isn't relying on me to hold the reins. I physically am not holding her there she is responsible for herself. (Of course she is rewarded for this behavior )
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