Rider Wellness: Is Your Horse Training You?

Horses Can Teach Unaware Humans to Do Their Bidding

A few years ago, I was having trouble getting the right-lead canter from my horse Vali. He’s a very athletic horse, and quite capable of cantering on the wrong lead around a circle. Sometimes I could get the right lead, but not often. My teacher/trainer and I tried all the techniques we knew with limited success. 

Then I attended a clinic with a Fjord Horse trainer, and she taught me another riding technique that mostly worked; but in the end, she gave me some advice: “He’s a Fjord. When he does it right, give him a treat.” This violated all the horsemanship principles that had been ingrained in me over the years, especially the principle of only giving treats in buckets, not by hand, to avoid creating a nippy horse.

Nonetheless, I started giving treats when Vali gave me the correct right lead, and it worked! Not only that, but my regular trainer also used the treat technique with a draft pony she was working with. It worked for that pony’s stuck behavior, too. What is it about draft ponies’ brains? They’re mellow, opinionated, and food motivated. 

As the more experienced horse people out there might expect, the treat technique can create a monster. Not the nippy/biting kind of monster, but the “I’ll do anything for a treat” kind of monster. Around the time I was figuring out canter leads, I was teaching Vali how to negotiate obstacles, including putting his front feet on a cement circle or stepping up on a narrow bridge. I rewarded the correct steps with a treat. 

Soon, Vali was bee-lining for the cement circle, stepping on it, and looking at me with the cutest expression while waiting for the treat that he knew was coming. And then he was always looking for obstacles to put his feet up on—bridges, low stumps, large rocks. He had it down. Vali was an overachiever to the point I had to be careful when he was standing next to any structure, even picnic table benches. He would start to step up on unsafe obstacles without being asked, just for the chance at a treat. I had to be careful with dangerous obstacles, and to make him wait for my request.

I remember riding with my friend Laura years ago. Laura had a giant Tennessee Walker, Copper. Laura was also an avid dog trainer and excelled in the sport of agility. Dogs are often trained with treats, and to Laura her horse was a very large dog. 

Laura carried alfalfa cubes on rides, and when it was time to reward Copper, he would open his mouth wide, Laura would toss the treat, and Copper would catch it. Like a dog. It was hilarious and amazing to see Copper catch the treats in his mouth. 

On one ride, Copper stopped frequently to pee. We were discussing whether Copper might have a bladder infection, and whether Laura should call the vet, and wondering how does one get a urine sample from a horse, anyway? After about the fifth pee stop in an hour, I started giggling. I’d figured it out—every time Copper peed, Laura would toss him a treat. 

Copper had learned that if he just peed a little bit, but often, he would get treat after treat. He had trained Laura to reward his peeing, therefore he peed frequently. I explained my theory to Laura and we both laughed long and hard about how smart Copper was. Once she stopped rewarding the peeing we were able to ride longer stretches, with many fewer interruptions. 

I’m still amazed at how horses learn so quickly given the right reward, and how horses teach us to do things without our being conscious of it. Like allowing them to grab grass when we are shutting the gate, even though they should be standing quietly at attention. 

The next time your horse is repeating a bothersome behavior, think about whether you have inadvertently taught him the behavior, or if instead he has taught you a behavior. It works both ways!

See this article in the March 2025 Online Digital Edition:

March 2025