Body Language: Copying / Synchronizing

This foal’s movements are synchronized with her mother’s

Horses naturally copy / synchronize with each other, especially others with whom they have a social bond. As Weston and Bedingfield explain in Connection Training, “…we can tap into this natural synchrony to deepen our bond and refine our communication.” We can start by inviting the horse to copy our movements, or we can engage his interest by copying him, and then trading off who copies whom. The following article demonstrates how to apply this concept to improve leading manners, but it can be used in many situations for communication, bonding, training, or fun. Copying is sometimes misunderstood. Horses already know how to do it; we just need to engage them by making our own body language clear. It is not “taught” by using pressure or other negative reinforcement. There is no negative consequence when a horse fails to copy his handler. It is the handler’s responsibility to make herself safe to be with, interesting to engage with, and clear in her own body language. Adding rewards such as food or scratching is optional. Synchronizing is inherently rewarding because it signifies a bond between horse and human, and social bonds are very important to horses.

Walk: My forward lean and pointing arm signal Brandy to walk with me

This article is a preview of the “Friendly Body Language” chapter in my book What Horses Really Want. The chapter also includes instructions for teaching horses to stand still, and come when called. Friendly Body Language is one of the elements that makes Protector Leadership so effective. Body language that makes intuitive sense to horses encourages them to stay tuned in to us and not wait for pressure on the lead. Instead of learning multiple cues, they use one concept: copy your handler. Many people do this intuitively. When our signals are clear and our relationship is solid, we have the foundation of liberty work. My lead is loose so there is no pressure; Brandy must watch me for cues. Pointing with the leading hand becomes a cue you can later use to tell the horse to walk on without walking with him. Handler should be at horse's head, not shoulder.

Halt: My body leans back

Halt must be decisive while the horse is first learning to watch the handler. I lean back and stamp my feet - left /right - to emphasize that I am stopping. Signals are exaggerated at first until the horse develops the habit of watching the handler. If you breath out loudly as you halt, that becomes a signal you can use for stopping with less rein while you're riding. Like "air brakes."

Trotting in sync through an obstacle

Brandy is right in step with my granddaughter as they trot through a bottle field obstacle. Once Brandy reliably tuned in to my body language, she watched anyone else who handled her, making her safer for children and novices to handle.

Brandy synchronized with me at trot

Brandy's lead is draped over her neck, showing that she is cueing entirely from my body language as we trot through a left turn. She understands that it is her responsibility to keep her head at my shoulder.

How to step over poles

My granddaughter demonstrates how to step over a pole: lift your feet high. Dartmoor pony Shadow has observed and is copying her. She keeps her lead loose, and gives him time to think through what she is asking.

Take a Bow

Brandy and my granddaughter demonstrate that once horses get the hang of copying us, there are all sorts of things we can teach and cue without pressure.

Related Articles:
Personal Space: Why the Double Standard?
Catching the Uncatchable Horse
Resources:
What Horses Really Want by Lynn Acton. The Friendly Body Language chapter demonstrates more details, including how to teach your horse to stand still and come when called.
The Horse Agility Handbook by Vanessa Bee. All Horse Agility is done on a loose lead or at liberty. Vanessa explains how to develop signals based on synchronizing Body Language instead of pressure. This was my reference guide as I trained Brandy.
Connection Training: The Heart and Science of Positive Horse Training by Hannah Weston and Rachel Bedingfield Clear training instructions and important behavioral insights, all solidly based on science.
Horse Speak by Sharon Wilsie Insights into horse and human body language that help you have two-way conversations with your horse.

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