Leadership: Principles Matter
Relationship Based Horsemanship
Leadership is a vast subject with many component parts. For me and my horses, it’s a critical element of success in the partnership I strive to create with each of them.
If you haven’t read any of Simon Sinek’s work on this subject, you really should. He has great insights into what it takes to be a leader. His book, “Leaders Eat Last” is an excellent read; I highly recommend it.
My favorite leadership quote of his is:
“Leadership isn’t about being in charge, it’s about taking care of those in your charge.”
What principles do I use to be a better leader for my horses? Here is my list:
When I see my horses, I think of them 3 dimensionally: as emotional, mental, and physical beings with very distinct needs and perspectives.
With my goals in mind, I map out how best to achieve them from an attitude of partnership as well as accomplishment.
I have high expectations of my horses. But I break up those expectations into pieces they can comprehend and achieve, given their current levels of development.
I avoid negative emotions when around my horses. In my view, nothing of substance is achieved by being angry, annoyed, or frustrated with my horses. If I can’t control my emotions, how can I expect my horses to do it?
I expect myself and my horses to progress in knowledge and ability.
I will be consistent, persistent, and insistent about what I want my horses to do.
I don’t start something I can’t deal with appropriately.
I rely on my intuition. People and horses won’t always tell you directly what is on their hearts or minds. But if I’m paying attention, they will tell me in more subtle ways to which I must respond appropriately.
I’m willing to experiment with training strategies as my personal knowledge grows.
If I find a principle is not working for me, I tweak it or re-write it all together. The list above has been tested and proven valid for me over a long time. I wrote them based on information I have gathered from many other excellent horseman and what feels right for me. If you are looking for principles of leadership for you and your horse, you can start with mine. I believe they will work as well for you as they have for me.
Here are two examples of how principled leadership can generate positive results.
I’ve been involved in training our tobiano Half-Arabian stallion, HAAP ABOVE THE DDINN (Addinn), since he was a 2-year-old. We know each other very well. He is now a beautiful 5-year-old who has produced lovely tobiano Half-Arabian foals over the last two years. Addinn and I have a very good relationship, but I was concerned about mood swings between being sweet and kind to days of being obstinate and willful. Despite addressing this issue from many different angles, I hadn’t found a solution. But, by using the first and last leadership principles listed above, I found the answer.
I noticed that Addinn consistently flinched when I rubbed him in the area just below and behind his right shoulder. I didn’t worry too much about this, as he had never really enjoyed being rubbed or scratched anywhere. But it finally occurred to me that perhaps this was a tiny sign of a much bigger problem involving his gut. He didn’t show any other sign that he might be having a gut problem, outside of the attitude shifts I described earlier.
I had him examined by our vet, for whom I have great respect, and he didn’t detect anything that would indicate a gut problem.
But my intuition nagged at me, and I decided to treat him as though he had a gut problem. I had already been using a product I was having success with in getting Walker, my 25-year-old Half-Arabian, to put and keep weight on, so I thought it couldn’t hurt to try and see if it would help Addinn feel better.
Addinn’s Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde flip-flops slowly disappeared. My husband, Steve, has been amazed at his transformation. He has become one of the consistently sweetest, kindest stallions Steve has ever owned, and Steve has owned many stallions.
I could have easily written off Addinn’s past behavior to a personality quirk. I think many people would have. But by following my leadership principles, I was able to discern and eliminate Addinn’s distress.
HAAP HASAFA (Hasafa), the mare I started under saddle last year, has been learning to cross bridges.
I’ve posted about the methods I use to teach my horses to do this. The 14-foot, elevated bridge on our 45-acre training ground can be especially intimidating to horses, so following leadership principles is important in having a horse cross it with confidence.
The other day, Hasafa refused to cross that bridge when we approached it, despite having crossed it successfully while riding at least twice. I didn’t have time to deal with the refusal appropriately that day, so I bookmarked that moment in my mind, telling myself to make sure I had time to train her about it the next time we rode.
On the next ride, she again refused. When Arabians refuse, they can make a giant fuss if you try to force them into what they don’t want to do. You may have noticed that my principles list didn’t include the use of force. However, it does include persistence, consistency and insistence.
I hopped off of her back and led her across the bridge, going in both directions. Then I got back on and approached the bridge again. Arabians are very intelligent, and Hasafa knows I know how intelligent she is. So as we approached the bridge, she hesitated slightly, perhaps remembering how I’ve behaved on principle, and then walked across the bridge despite some worry. We went back and forth across it until she gained confidence, with my praising her verbally and with wither rubbing each time. On the fourth crossing, she did it with no worry and we continued on our ride.
I didn’t get mad at her. I didn’t call her a “stupid horse”. I didn’t get flustered or frustrated. I followed my principles.
Once principles are developed, testing them is an important part of being a leader.
When principles are successfully employed, they become powerful guides in decision-making.
When proven principles are followed, they provide great peace of mind.
For today, I will leave you with one final thought from Simon Sinek:
“Be the leader you wish you had.”
For more information about the amazing horses that have been and are being bred on the HAAP farm, go to www.arabpinto.com
If you have questions for me about any of my posts, please feel free to contact me at isabellefarmer@gmail.com or visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/arabpintos