How to Communicate With My Horse: Energy, Body and Silence

Communication is the first pillar of the K3P method because everything else rests on it. Horses survived by reading the intention of other beings extremely well. Your breathing, the set of your shoulders, the direction of your gaze and the tension in your hand are all sentences to a horse.

Rule one: speak with your body, not your voice. Turn towards the horse with square shoulders and forward energy and you are asking him to move. Turn away, soften your eyes and breathe out and you are inviting him in. Most misunderstandings happen because the human invites with words while driving with the body.

Rule two: energy has levels. Start with the quietest possible signal, increase only if needed, and always return to quiet the moment he answers. A horse taught that the loud signal always comes stops listening to the quiet one.

Rule three: silence is part of the language. The pause after a good answer is the reward. Without pauses the work becomes noise in which the horse cannot tell what was right.

Rule four: watch what the horse says to you. An ear turned to you means attention. A tight muzzle, a raised head and a stiff tail mean he is close to his limit. A sigh, chewing and a lowered head mean it has settled.

A starting exercise: walk with your horse and halt without pulling the rope, just stop walking and breathe out. If he stops with you, you have communication. If not, you have your homework for next week.

Once that conversation works, trust, respect and willingness come far more easily than you would expect.