Working With A Horse That "Hates Men"

[@callysto_ii]

I think the secret is to not to try to get more out of them than what they're willing to offer you. I see so many people who get a horse to do something they've not been able to do before and just push for more, rather than be happy with what they have. I remember this clip in particular you shared of matching step with a horse who ran off during a clinic, and at the end the horse was following the owner without a lead rope, and rather than be happy with that, she started running to see if her horse would trot after her. In this clip you could have easily taken the lead and tried to work with the horse to see how far you could push it, but instead you just took what that horse offered you, which was to make contact with you, and left it at that. And in a world where humans are always expecting more from them, that must feel incredibly precious, not only are you aware of his boundaries, but you actually respect them, I really think that's the key component :)

[@kohlhawkewaskeen1416]

“I checked and all the bits were still there” 😂😂😂

[@sseeback6754]

That was an awesome example of acknowledging a horse's concern threshold and how the animal thanks you for doing so. 😀

[@serenityhorsemanship3365]

"They Notice when You Notice and they Notice when You don't." ( A refinement of the old Ray Hunt saying updated by Warwick Schiller)

[@sazcorp]

"I checked afterwards and all the bits were still there." You nut! 🤣🤣

[@ramiethepeep]

Horses get treated like human toddlers - if they're dealing with an adult, then they're getting told what to do, made to do it whether they understand or not, and sometimes it's kind and sometimes they're just being bullied. Who wouldn't get frustrated? This horse gives a perfect demonstration of how good it is to *finally* have someone listen to you. Being ignored gently and patiently is still...being ignored. A horse is a social animal; it wants to be heard. The evolution of the CAT-H training just gets more and more fascinating!

[@spiritspoonful4526]

works on people too, being aware of their threshold and respecting it.

[@cpettis209]

I found you a few years ago. Don't tell your beautiful wife, but I absolutely love you and your next level for horses. I recommend others to check out your KZbin every chance I can. I was coming to see you last Fall in Waco Texas until it was canceled. Hope to schedule again for this next year.

[@louisecassidy5991]

Always be aware and watching demeanour of the horse. Simply being non-threatening has served me very nicely all my life. Only takes a moment for the horse to realise you're not on the attack, but he does need that moment. Continuing the approach when he's ready to flee........ Good one, Warwick.

[@fallbrkgrl]

Mr Schiller, you are the best! This will sound silly, but I don't own a horse, nor do I have the opportunity to work with them, but I have always loved them, and rode during the summers at my aunt's house when I was a teenager (back when we didn't "know" horses). I watch these videos trying to learn everything I can (without actually being around them), in the hope that there will be a horse in my future. By the way, I'm 58 and probably should find a different animal to work with, like a small donkey 😏, or just volunteer at a rescue, either way, I just want to be able to have some knowledge if the opportunity presents it's self, and that's what you are helping me with. Thank you! ❤️🌵☀️⛈️🌈☮️🐎

[@susan9188]

I used to ride a horse that when any guy ride him, he'd buck them off. He was called St. John and he was an 18 hands three quarter German Hunter. In fact when I used to go to the stables and I was down to ride Fritz and a guy called Roy was down to ride St. John we'd swope because poor Roy would always get bucked off. I discovered St. John was actually tigglelish and men seem to put their leg back further when in canter and then he'd start bucking haha.

[@mdee860]

What a great story. Acknowledging with patience & accepting where the horse is mentally on any given day is key. So happy you helped that horse learn that not all men are cruel. Love that you learned CAT-H, or your version of it! 😁

[@lisathewhitewolf]

I think men tend to miss the smaller signals and be somewhat forceful and rough.

[@curiousmonster8221]

@@aliceshaw8265 Well said.......✔️

[@weirdways2641]

A lot of it is how people are socialized by gender too. Being taught your whole life to be assertive and yield less can have an affect on the comfort of those around you and you might entirely miss it.

[@seeing8spots]

It doesn't have to be this way but culturally yes I think men tend to take a "im in control" approach because that's how men have been trained culturally to approach things. I work with dogs and men new to the profession in particularly constantly struggle with fearful or misbehaving dogs compared to new women who tend to give space and sweet talk the dog instead of jsut manhandling it into what they need. My vet friend has actually noticed the same thing which is interesting to me.

[@bluemoon3699]

Men tend to treat horses like machines. Women and girls connect to the animal. You showed respect. The horse realized you have a heart.

[@lisathewhitewolf]

Well...what I was thinking is, men tend to see the "what." Women tend to see the "why." Of course, there are exceptions, such as people who want to learn; it's just the initial hardwiring.

[@katherinegdev]

CAT H is similar to the modality of equine bodywork I do...Masterson Method. Staying below their brace instinct. Love it!

[@WarwickSchiller]

Masterson is great, I just did the 2 day course with Sandy.

[@randomvielleuse527]

Wow. What a great way to start my day! Thanks for this, Warwick- it's fantastic to see such a graphic and immediate response to offering respect and awareness.

[@jennyrosd2003]

That's really interesting!! Never ending discoveries with these amazing creatures.

[@epona9166]

Warwick I definitely see the value of staying under threshold when working with a horse, because that builds the horse's confidence in you and establishes a basis for ongoing communication. But then there's the separate but important issue of ensuring that a horse can handle the stress of encountering something scary out on the trail, for instance. You have explained about the cup of worry and that you have to empty it regularly or your horse is going to "suddenly" explode. So you've got (1) not exceeding threshold and (2) bringing the horse back under threshold, but is there a bridge between the two? Can you mentally prepare a horse to be calm on the trail if you always stay below threshold when not on the trail? Or maybe the horse's confidence in you IS the bridge? He has confidence in your leadership so is less likely to lose it on the trail, and that's the best we can do?

[@kaylagoold4053]

I wonder about this too! I’ve been working with a VERY skittish and non-trusting mustang. For the most part, I really try to stay below threshold. But sometimes it feels like he needs to just be told “no you can’t get away with that even if you’re scared” and he can sometimes handle that just fine. So how do we know when we’re accidentally babying them, versus growing their confidence without creating trauma?

[@WarwickSchiller]

i belive the trust that you build honouring those thresholds is what gets you through the scary moments.

[@comesahorseman]

Excellent question!

[@peopleddiagram2920]

Excellent advice.

[@loredelore7286]

We had a great little horse years ago who I thought preferred men to women. I was his main carer and my husband did all the work with him. On some occasions he would show me his displeasure in and around the barn and I thought he didn't like me because I was a women. I kept observing him and it was always when I approached with tack. It wasn't that he disliked me or women but he preferred my husband as his work buddy and me as his carer. It meant he was going out to do his favourite thing which was hacking and hunting and I never had any interest in that, but he loved that I knew his needs of care and could read his emotions very clearly, he took care of my husband like I have never seen in a horse and protected my daughter when her Shetland dumped her and he stood by her until someone came to her rescue. He never stopped once at fence no matter how difficult it was, he could outrun the point to pointers out with the bloodhounds. I never had a horse so sweet, so sure of what everyone's place was in his life, a horse so honest reliable and matter of fact and a true Christian and a soldier like no other. He taught me how to read horses. RIP Todd.

[@antoinettenichilo2377]

Thank you 🤩

[@RichmondvaleOrg]

Beautiful example, thanks for sharing .

[@horseygirl70]

You are amazing Warwick 🐴

[@Carroty_Peg]

Temple Grandin mentioned that it's pretty common for animals to be wary of men.

[@comesahorseman]

Historically, men were the hunters; prey species haven't forgotten this.

[@vamppanic]

@@comesahorseman it’s more to do with the fact that within society men are conditioned to be forceful and not consider their own feelings or other people’s feelings and animals can clearly see that forcefulness

[@nenaddjuric6518]

Thank you !

[@sveandful]

My girl loves men XD it's a real problem when we're out riding and she decides to approach random men along the way... Some are not too happy about it XD

[@fetchmour]

i have a mare like that shes a real hussi

[@TimCausleyhorsemanship]

Yup heard the “hates men” thing a lot-of course as I gentle, ground work and ride in balance on their horse-better than they have ever seen or thought!!-total nonsense-respect goes both ways-the horse has people more or less figured out the instant you are near them-usually people prove them right good or bad-Assessing and interacting with horses is partly natural for some people and the fine art is learned through time, dedication, learning curves-did I say TIME-ya that is why many horses “hate” some man-no time, no patience, no respect on either end!!

[@curiousmonster8221]

I did the same with a cob that threatened to bite & turned her ass on people. I kept going to see her every day and she was interested how I interacted with the other horses. She's a little snuffly chickpea now.

[@LythaWausW]

Letting them know, that you understand their feelings is as you say mostly body language. But I think it helps the human in the equation to vocalize what is happening. The horse hears a mumble of nothing but I can say "You hate that thing, I get it." I also own a donkey and someone told me once that donkeys understand the English language. Odd but perhaps true, and that goes for German, the country I live in. My horse and my donkey are bilingual, which is silly cuz they are always looking at my body position, my facial expression and my tone of voice. But they know both German and English commands. "Back" and "Raus" e.g.

[@maryhennessey4284]

You the MAN!

[@PartanBree]

So it's all about sensitivity to someone else's body language. Most of us are very good at this with other humans; some only respond to the body language of those they respect and ignore the signals of those they see as inferior ("how was I supposed to know she wasn't interested? She never said so!"). I think we are all more likely to ignore an animal's signals, not because we can't read them, but because we don't respect the animal as an equal. I think that's the real challenge here. I see you doing these subtle dances with horses and it looks like magic, but then I realise I do the same thing with people when walking in a group. or moving through a crowd. We have the ability, but the respect is the missing piece.

[@Seleuce]

That's the key, I agree. And it goes both ways. A disrespectful horse will also ignore your body language, run over you and ignore you.

[@catland1566]

True with any creature!

[@lazygardens]

As expected: Horse "hates men" ... horse walks over to Warwick to say hi at second meeting. It's the body language. March toward the horse "large and in charge" and they don't like it. And many people confuse "confident" with a body language that is more aggressive than friendly. The approach, pause to check each other out, approach again, pause again is what horses do when approaching a strange horse.

[@linehaugaa7089]

It's exactly the same thing with dogs. You HAVE to let them know that YOU know what THEY need! It's all about communication. To see eachother. I hate the phrase: He's just going to have to put up with it! - And then the owner is not willing to give the animal the support it needs to feel safe. I have seen this in many cases with children also, but at least we can explain to them why it will be better if they just do this and that.

[@brendareed8412]

I think sometimes animals fear men. Big difference.

[@warrenstemphly5756]

I think most horse owners project their own emotions onto their animal

[@kylied6264]

Lmao me if I was a horse

[@VaporwaveLover2000]

go find your dad

[@sintara8442]

A lot of times men behave differently from women when they are around animals. My rescue dog used to be terrified of men with low voices, but as soon as i convinced my dad to play with a tennisbal by himself the dog loved him. Someone playing with a tennisbal is obviously ok hahaah. Id do something simular for a horse, maybe showel poop from the pasture or something. Very non threatening..

[@brandon10601]

“My horse hates men..” How many of your cats hate men also?

[@jebediahnightlinger6357]

My dog and I hate cabbage, turns out...my horses do too. I just don't understand??

[@kidstuff44555]

Cabbage is very hateable

[@vibekekirk]

Me neither. Both me and my horses love cabbage.

[@jolicska]

female owner hates men not the horse. too much personal attack against men these days

[@pictlandpickers1171]

It thought you were a girl🤐