Why the yelling?

At the show on the weekend, I ran into an old riding buddy who I hadn't seen in a while, and who had stopped riding for years, only getting back into it this year as she missed it, and makes a very good income, so can afford the types of horses and lessons she could not in her youth. She had a very lovely, but young horse at the show, and she had only owned him for a month.

I commented to her how it was too bad she went off course in her hunter class, but that her horse was lovely. She was embarrassed about going off course, and explained why; her horse had picked up the wrong lead, and the only thought that filled her head as that her trainer was going to yell at her for doing something as basic as picking up the wrong lead.

I thought she was joking/exaggerating, so I replied something to the effect "Well I am sure your trainer's reputation and income isn't riding on your hunter round, so probably not a big deal". Only she wasn't joking, she was truly worried about getting yelled at by her trainer to the point she wasn't able to think straight, and so aimed at the wrong jump.

There are lessons to take from this;
- Yelling is useful for correcting certain behaviours, but is not useful for correcting behaviours that require thinking to come up with an alternate behavior/action. So for example, yelling at someone for riding bareback, without a helmet, in a paddock of loose horses (mentioning no names...), and then more quietly explaining why the behaviour is against barn rules, works, as it is a dangerous activity, and the person being yelled at just needs to know to NOT DO IT AGAIN. They don't have to think it through.

Keep in mind that what is said does matter; raising a voice and offering constructive or encouraging advice can help boost a rider's energy level and/or confidence and help make a possitive lesson stick, so when I refer to yelling, I am talking about negative messages being yelled.

This can also apply to horses who are doing a dangerous behaviour that just needs to stop and doesn't need to be replaced with a different action such as a horse that thinks biting your hat is a good idea while putting blankets on (Magnus...), With a horse though, you have to make sure the yell/strong punishment is times so it is directly associated with the behaviour, as with a horse you cannot go back and explain what it was they did wrong and why.

A tap to wake a horse up on the other hand, can help the horse perk up and pay attention in a positive way.

- Yelling is NOT useful for correcting behaviours that require thought. So as in my initial story, the rider needed to be able to think about correcting the lead and getting to the jump. She needed to know being on the wrong lead was wrong, but needed to move beyond that and come up with a Plan B to correct the lead and still continue on the course...which she could not do as she was  so worried about the harsh consequence of her perceived failure. When a person is yelled at, it puts them in reaction/fight or flight mode, and rational thought is lost to instinct. When in a true danger situation, reacting without thinking can save your life as it increases reaction time, but I hope we can agree being on the wrong lead should not be in the category of life threatening!

This is also applicable to horses. Let me use the example of a horse stopping at a jump. Some trainers wallop horses for doing this regardless of the cause, which can help make the horse learn to jump regardless...but there are times when the horse SHOULD stop, or at least make adjustments, and when the horse is jumping out of FEAR, it is more likely to take unnecessary risk and jump from dangerous distances.

Example; rider gets in crooked with a weak canter and has lost their stirrup. At this point I WANT my horse to either stop gently, or be able to balance up and jump quietly if the jump is small enough. A horse that is afraid it is going to be walloped though, is likely to panic and rush the jump blindly, knowing that it is likely to hit the fence, and wanting to just get it over with. These are the horses that end up flipping over jumps, or learn to bolt past jumps that they feel they just cannot do. If instead the rider takes responsibility for getting the horse correctly to the jump, and uses balancing and encouraging (but NOT punishing) aids, the horse is more likely to be able to think rationally, and be adjustable right to the base to make a tricky approach possible...and sometimes the stop IS the safest option!

The other thing that happens both with people that are often yelled at and with horses that are harshly punished, is that the transition to flight or fight mode is closer to the top and that adrenal response happens with very little provocation, so a student that gets yelled at in lessons just needs a look to have the same feeling they get when actually being yelled at, or the horse just has to sense its rider's displeasure.

The sad thing is that this reaction pattern can begin to be association with the activity, so the rider gets nervous/anxious when jumping/showing with ANY coach, or the horse gets fearful/upset when ridden by any rider.

So...given that most people don't LIKE getting yelled at, and that yelling is NOT useful in a learning environment and not conducive to being able to adapt and think rationally, WHY do adults allow their riding coaches to treat them in this way? Coaches that they PAY to teach them? Makes zero sense to me, but hang around the horse shows enough, and you will see it is not that uncommon a technique. Maybe Clare or Christine should do a psychology study on that....

Karen