“Horsemanship, the art of riding, handling, and training horses. Good horsemanship requires that a rider control the animal’s direction, gait, and speed with maximum effectiveness and minimum efforts.” — Charles Edward Casolani
Horsemanship is a term that encompasses the skills, knowledge, and understanding needed to form a harmonious relationship with a horse. It involves treating the horse with respect and working with its natural instincts and behavior to create a positive and safe interaction between horse and human. Horsemanship is the foundation of all horse riding disciplines and is essential to the development of a trusting relationship between the two participants.
There is a difference between being a horseback rider and a horseperson. A rider comes to an already caught, groomed and saddled horse and rides – whether it be for a lesson, exercise program, show or competition. A horse person understands all of the intricacies of the horse themselves. They understand the care, the nutrition, and the needs of the horse and can manage all those aspects (or arrange for the aspects that they cannot manage such as farrier or veterinary care).
The experiences that a youngster has early in their equestrian career can help develop them into either a rider or a horseperson. Exposure to the nitty gritty side of horses will help develop a horseperson. When looking for lesson opportunities for a youth, find one that requires the youth to help catch, groom, and tack the horse. (And clean tack, and shovel manure, and feed, and….!). This will allow the youth to become more comfortable around the horse and teach them basic horse skills and develop a sense of responsibility towards their mount.
An ideal equestrian program allows for the hands-on training of the youth that then encourages observance of the horse’s condition. For example, when grooming the youth should notice knicks, cuts, swelling, lumps etc. The youth should then have a person whom they can report any irregular findings. Once the responsible adult (instructor, program manager, etc) receives the information from the youth they should then take the extra step to explain to the youth why it is (or isn’t) an issue and thank them for noticing.
A conversation could go like this.
Youth: “I noticed that Snickers has a swelling around his eye today. This is not usual for him. Can you come take a look?”
Instructor: “Thank you for noticing this! We have not seen this yet. In most cases eye swelling indicates a problem. We need to call the vet. In the meantime, why don’t you go catch Blaze for your lesson?”
Or:
Youth: “I noticed that Snickers has a swelling around his eye today. This is not usual for him. Can you come take a look?”
Instructor: “Thank you for noticing this! We are aware of the issue, and he has already had a veterinarian look at him. He has a small scratch in his eye that is healing. Once your lesson is completed you can help us give him his medication.”
In both cases, the adult acknowledges that the youth was observant and able to identify a condition that was not normal. The youth is then able to understand what happened and the course of treatment that is necessary. The goal is to develop a horseperson that has curated a habit (even subconsciously) of evaluating the horse’s wellbeing whenever they are in the general vicinity of a horse and noting abnormalities. For example, each morning and evening when I am feeding my horses I am observing them for lumps, bumps, cuts, appetite, etc. I am also observing their general behavior (do they seem “off” from their normal activities.) Does this observation always “register” in my brain – no. It’s a subconscious process but when something IS different it is readily apparent and can be dealt with.
If the program allows, and the youth is old enough, perhaps they can help offset the cost of the lessons by working. Mucking stalls, feeding, turning horses out, bringing them in, grooming, etc.
Furthermore, as a parent (guardian, or other mentor for the youth) encourage the youth to participate in all the aspects of horse care. Have them be available to help catch and hold horses for the farrier if that is safe and appropriate.
Have them be present, when possible, for veterinary visits (routine and non-routine care). While in many cases, the veterinarian will have an assistant who will handle the horse during the exam, the youth can be there to observe the process, listen to the information provided by the veterinarian and ask questions. The more time young people spend around horses, the better horse people they will become.
