Operating Close to The Fear Line

The first trainer that really worked with Fiona (I don't use names anymore, learned my lesson the hard way on that one) talked a few times about operating close to "the line" when training horses. "The line" defines the point at which the horse is too frightened and is no longer learning. This trainer said, and I am paraphrasing, that you should operate as close to that line as possible without making the horse go over the line. The reason he gave for doing this, was that if you let the horse try as hard as he/she needs to at their own ideas then it will preserve life in the horse for when they are ready to apply it to our ideas.

I didn't really get that idea when I heard it the first few times, but I just heard it again in an audio interview with this same trainer. The interview covered a lot of topics, some of which I had heard before and this theory about "the line" is the only one that I completely disagree with. I think I get it now but I definitely disagree with it.

The first reason I disagree with it is because, based on my experience this trainer had no idea when Fiona was over the line. Now, bare in mind, I don't know shit from shinola when it comes to horses, even now and I knew way less when this guy was around.  This whole theory is based on the assumption that we know when the horse is close too and below or is over the line. Without an accurate gauge of "the line" you have no shot at making this happen.

The second reason I disagree, is that a high energy horse will operate just under and over the line for a long time. I contend that every time you let the horse get over the line, you lose ground, maybe not a lot of ground but you definitely step backwards. This is when you should employ the idea, "If you take the time it takes you take less time." So let's say you are trying to get a horse in a trailer. If you walk a horse right up to the trailer, even if the horse is pulling away from it, showing definite fear of the trailer, then you've crossed the fear line. You have at least one enemy, in the horse's mind, the trailer. If the horse is already disrespectful and pushy, you have 2 enemies. Now, let's say you took a different approach with the same push/disrespectful horse. Instead of charging right up to the trailer like spartan going to war, you walked just close enough to see that the horse was "concerned" about the trailer, but not yet trying to run you down to get way from it. This distance will vary greatly, depending on the horse. It could be 10 feet, it could be 100 feet.
You still have an opportunity here to teach the horse and have the lesson sink in faster. If you stop at this point and didn't let the horse rest or stare long enough to make the trailer a concern, instead you started moving the horses feet. You can do this in any way you see fit. Make the horse trot circles, try sending the horse and making them yield their hindquarters, anything..just move them. Then the trailer is not the issue, YOU are the issue. The horse has to deal with you...the trailer is benign, just sitting they, but YOU, you are a pain in the butt. As you move the horse's feet, get closer to the trailer and try to give the horse and opportunity to rest. They might take the offer, they might not. If they don't then move them back away from the trailers and move their feet again. Pretty soon, they will be RUNNING for that trailer.
The difference between this approach and operating closer to the line, is that you know the horse never went over the line. They never had a chance, you put them to work as soon as they took their attention off of you.

The third reason I disagree with this approach is that you are always dealing with 2 fear lines, the horse's and the humans. I also figured out, and here's the spooky part, the lines are related to one another. Let's say a new horse owner, owns a horse that has been in a trailer 1000 times and has no issues. However, the human, for whatever reason, is scared to death to be in a horse trailer with 1000lbs animal. Guess what the horse is going to be afraid of eventually. GETTING IN THAT DAMN TRAILER, that's what!!! The upside is, if the situation is reversed and the horse is scared to death of trailers, but the human has a lot of experience trailering horses, then eventually with the right training and work..the horse will move their fear line toward the human's and become less fearful.


My situation with Fiona was truly the worst of all fear line scenarios. We both had very low trigger points for fear. Now you had a trainer to the mix that is encouraging the horse to operate at or above her line ALL THE TIME and then handing that horse to an owner who is terrified. Well that is just a recipe for disaster and that's exactly what we got...disaster. It wasn't until I started operating well underneath my fear line and the horse's fear line that things started coming together. It was frustrating for awhile because I really didn't understand why other people could do things with my horse that I just couldn't. I was physically/mentally paralyzed by fear. It still happens, but now I know. I can lift the fear line and the way to do this is operate below the line until I gain the knowledge/experience to life it.

Buck Brannaman has a great quote about fear. "If fear were represented by a beast, then the only way to slay that beast would be knowledge." Knowledge is the light that shows you, there's nothing to fear. You can always proceed with caution, but you cannot proceed with fear. Going back to the second reason above, if the horse goes over the fear line, he/she stops learning. Without the capability to learn, there can be no new knowledge and therefore the fear line never moves. You must keep the horse, always, well below the fear line and give them knowledge of what you expect from them. They will do anything and everything to please you, and they will still have plenty of life in them, but they have to learn what you want from them first.


Anyway, that's my "expert advice", it's free and probably worth it. :) Cellulitis is still going way, swelling still present but getting better. 

Cellulitis? Are you friggin' kidding me?

So, I got a text message from the barn last Friday morning saying that Fiona was off her food and they were keeping an eye on her. I thought about just going straight to work but instead I stopped to check on her. Just a few hours after I received the text, I was standing at her stall looking at a very swollen left hind leg.

We called the vet and he said she had cellulitis. Cellulitis is a bacterial infection under the skin and I do not recommend trying it at home. Fiona was in a lot of pain and not putting weight on the limb. The treatment is 8 days of anti-biotics (Nexcel), bute 2 times a day and “cold-hose therapy”. I love when vets and medical doctors use jargon. “Cold-hose therapy” means spray he leg with cold water 3 times a day until the swelling subsides. Yes, seriously.

Where do they come up with this stuff?

Anyhow, less than a week later she is nearly back to normal. The leg is still swollen but it appears that 20-30 mins of walking actually helps reduce the swelling. She is walking normally and she is pretty much back to her sassy self today. I didn’t give her bute tonight so we will see how sassy she is in the morning.

She is a trooper though. That little mare is tough as nails. She has been pinning her ears at all the horses around her for 2 days and trying to bite Koa, her stall neighbor, when the other boarders are handing her treats. The first day, after the vet was out, I had to walk her to the washrack to get her first 20 mins of “cold-hose therapy”, and I could tell she was hurting. She was limping real bad and walking so slowly, but she did it. She just followed me right over there.

She has learned to stand in the washracks/tack areas really well. I usually tack up in her stall because it is right near the tack room and then I don’t have to tie her. This turned into a good training opportunity for her. She stood in a really small wash rack for the full 20 mins one time. Of course it helps that the last thing she wants is to have to walk, but even today when was great standing there.

I have to say it is pretty frustrating to have another setback. It is like just when we make good progress we hit another one. She got her first lesson in cantor/gallop just last week. The trainer did 30 mins of canter/gallop transitions which would have tuckered out just about any horse…not Fiona. She was just getting started. God help me.

We are still working through some saddle fit issues. The endurance saddle I got is a great fit for me, but it is too wide in the withers for her. I got a memory foam pad and that helps but the saddle still tends to ride forward. The guy I got it from recommended a crupper (Google it) or to just cinch the front part of the saddle instead of doing a centerfire rigging (again. Google it). I am going to try the front cinching when we start riding again. I don’t think we will go so far as a crupper. I might have to get another saddle. L This is not a hobby for the thrifty.

Anyway, hopefully we will be back to riding next week or the following week.