Teaching the Release

This week, I worked with two small groups of trainers—barrel racers and team ropers—on some tune ups with their performance horses. Though they were working in completely different disciplines of horsemanship, the trainers were running into very similar issues. Both groups of trainers were struggling to effectively communicate the release to their horses. I see many trainers who are taught to communicate with their horses using pressure and/or contact. To a certain extent, this method is correct. Pressure or contact is used to stimulate the thinking side of a horse’s brain; however, a horse does not learn what you are asking them to do based solely off of pressure. A horse learns from the release. I once was told “the release is what you teach,” and this mentality changed my training program forever. Over the years, I’ve learned that providing that release is the only way to communicate to my horse that it have done something right. Constant pressure is a cue for your horse to get tense and anxious. Release builds confidence. As a horse builds confidence, it becomes more relaxed. When your horse becomes relaxed, it slips into a state of flow. This state of flow is where the horse achieves its optimal performance level. As a trainer, the goal is to build your horse’s confidence in your feel. They need to learn what it feels like when you ask for a response, as well as what it feels like when they have done something correctly and receive a release. Once a horse gets comfortable with your feel, it will learn to be more relaxed and receptive to what you are asking it to do. It is important to remember that every horse is going to learn a little differently, and as a trainer, you have to adjust accordingly. I have 10 horses in training this month, and although my program is consistent for each horse, I have to be mentally flexible enough to make small adjustments and apply my techniques differently based on each horse’s unique learning style. Regardless of what discipline you are training for, the release/reward system is one of the most effective communication tools you have with your horse. Let the horse understand that a release will follow pressure when they provide they correct response. Once the horse grasps this concept, you will be amazed at how quickly their performance level accelerates.