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nelson mandela bay's family lifestyle
author:
ruth jorritsma
bridging the gap
photography:
jo, jorritsma photography
issue:
7, spring 2008
Many people, even sometimes avid riders, are weary of horses. These are big animals and by their mere size are often intimidating. Ruth Jorritsma, breeder, horse trainer and riding coach, transports us into the world of the horse, helping us understand their nature, so that we are able to enjoy them and solicit more from them, be it for recreation or sport. The nature of a horse seems at the best of times unpredictable. That is, until we begin to understand their way of thinking. If we can get into our horse's mind, this beautiful creature is transformed into a spectacular and predictable companion – not so intimidating anymore. A horse is a flight animal. Despite his natural size, he is afraid and his natural instinct and best defense is to run from predators. Humans, in their minds, are predators In their natural environment, horses live in herds. The herd consists of a stallion, a group of mares and their young. The responsibility of the stallion is to protect his herd. He is powerful, at all times alert and ready to defend his herd with quick reactions and very aggressive behavior, against anything that might even just seem like danger. Using his teeth, kicking and chopping with his feet at the predator, he will fight for the protection of the herd under his care. The stallion, however, is not the only one in charge. The herd is maintained by the lead mare. She is the one who keeps all the other members of the herd in check. She deals out discipline, biting and kicking and chasing them away, until they submit to her authority. In the herd, pleasure is shown by nuzzling and scratching – and a content sleepy look in the eyes. This behavior, in very basic terms, forms the basis of a horse's life in the natural environment. Whenever we alienate them, as has been done for ages, from their natural environment, we create conflicts with new domesticated herds where humans need to take on the roles of “stallion” and “lead mare.” Felix was brought down from Gauteng to Nelson Mandela Bay and introduced to a “new herd” of two other geldings. He was able to be ridden, but the signs were there that he'd been mishandled. He displayed anti-social behavior towards his new owners, uncertain of his “place” in this new herd that did not only include the other two geldings, but also a family of two adult humans and three very active pre-schoolers. There is a good old saying: “the front end bites and the back end kicks.” This was true of Felix, although he never followed through. On approach he'd move away, ears back and turn his hindquaters towards the human members of his herd. As time passed, less attention was given to Felix. The one thing he craved was to “belong” to this unusual herd set-up, where the owner becomes the “lead mare” or “dominant stallion”. For Felix's owners the solution was not to sell this “difficult horse”, get another one that is not a “problem” and move on. They were adamant that he would become “theirs” and chose not to give-up, but to understand, learn and solve the apparent problems. Many other horses are not this fortunate and end up being sold and bought and moved from herd to herd, only increasing their angst and compounding their problematic behavior. Felix made it very clear he didn't want us in his personal space. In his natural environment the lead mare would find this behavior problematic and unacceptable. His anti-social behavior would make him a threat and in his new domesticated environment the same was true. We should never give up on horses. Despite their natural “fearfulness”, they are very brave. We had no history on Felix. We did not know how he was treated in previous herds or how his owners responded to his anti-social behavior. Quite often the response of owners is either neglect or profuse and uncontrolled anger. We chose another route, reacting from our understanding of his natural environment. We approached Felix with caution – quite aware that the front end bites and the back end kicks – and when he reacted, we responded accordingly. In this instance he would always move away and we would push him further away by chasing him. This is what the lead mare would do. Using our body language we showed that we are not afraid of him, but displeased with his behavior. In a small enclosure it is, off course, easier to do this, but even in a larger encamped area it is doable with a little effort. After a while, us consistently behaving as the lead mare would, we suddenly saw the first signs of him relenting. Felix stops running and turns towards us, saying that he wants to be with us. What we were doing made sense to him. Now, possibly for the first time in this animal's life, humans were bridging the gap. The consistent pattern of moving closer and pushing away was something Felix understood and he could actually start to relax. His owners, empowered by their new understanding of who this horse is, remained aware of his body language, constantly watching his facial expressions. When his ears are forward, he is showing interest. When his ears are pulled back, it is a warning, but his ears are pulled back less and less. He starts feeling safe in the company of his owners who are now, in his mind, the “stallion” and “lead mare” – enjoying. Felix's owners did not spend hours studying, in order to enable this transformation. We met up once a week. They would join me and learn by being part of the process and in the following days they would apply what they saw – not even always perfectly or consciously – but they were involved and they wanted to bridge the gap. What was initially perceived as a “problem horse”, was easily revealed as a fantastic animal with a very pleasant nature, eager to please and hungry for attention.
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