Equine Handling Skills
his is my reflection, which is constructed upon the Gibbs’ (1988) reflective cycle and focuses on my equine handling aptitude.
I was 10 when I first started riding horses; I instantly fell in love with the large majestic animals. My confidence however took a knock back when I was bitten severely on my shoulder. Meaning I couldn’t ride for months leaving me anxious around horses and leaving me with an unpleasant experience.
Nonetheless in order for me to be able to work in the animal industry I needed to build my confidence back up, I did so by consecutively going to a local yard for numerous weeks. Interacting with the horses in several ways including riding, lunging and grooming.
However I still feel my confidence isn’t at a satisfying level, I l lack the self-reassurance when handling a horse as an individual. I acknowledged this during a handling session, as when I approached the horse I was very uneasy. The additional experience I had carried out hadn’t helped my confidence, I believe this was due to the fact I became accustomed to the horses at the other yard.
The horse I was paired up with for the practical was a young horse; which was an area I was unfamiliar with. I felt exceptionally nervous around the horse and to me this affected the horse’s behaviour in a negative manner as well.
In order to build my confidence I will gain further involvement with horses, grouping up with knowledgeable handlers helping build my confidence. I will also carry out further reading on aggressive body language horses use including movement the ears. It is important to understand horses body language indications, as horses are visual communicators and are extremely sensitive to subtle changes in the body language of their companions (Waring 1983)
References
Gibbs, G. (1988). The reflective cycle: Kitchen S (1999) An appraisal of methods of reflection and clinical supervision.
Waring, G.H. (1983) Horse Behaviour: The behavioural traits and adaptations of domestic and wild horses, including ponies.
