Solving Problems through Foundation Training

Ride! Magazine is very pleased to welcome celebrity trainer Charles Wilhelm as our new monthly columnist. Charles is one of the top clinicians in the country, specializing in Foundation Training. He is especially well known for his success in resolving problem behaviors in horses. Charles advocates “Success through Knowledge” and believes in spending as much time training the rider/owner as the horse. He will be sharing his Foundation Training techniques, a blend of traditional, classical and natural horsemanship methods, which are applicable to every riding discipline, and are useful for problem resolution as well as enhancing performance.

No matter how you ride, what you ride or even why you ride, we all share one common goal as equestrians: each of us wants to have a fantastic relationship with our horse. What does that mean in practical terms? It means a horse that we have clear communication with, a horse who responds consistently to what we ask, a horse who respects us, and of course, a horse we LOVE spending time with. The fundamental means to building that special relationship is through foundation training. A strong foundation helps every horse to be its best.

In this column over the next year I will discuss frequent problem behaviors and performance issues, and then walk through actual exercises in foundation training that can resolve these situations. I will share real stories of my current clients; folks just like you from all walks of “horse-life”, from the backyard family horse owner, through top competitive riders and trainers. People who have learned to use foundation training to get the most from their horses.

So just for this issue (if you will kindly humor me), I want to go “back to the basics” to ensure that everyone is on the same page as we move forward over the coming months.

What is foundation training? Foundation training is the methodical step-by-step process of teaching your horse to respond consistently to your cues and standards. This is done through focusing conditioned response training on three primary aspects of the horse: the physical, the mental, and especially the emotional. Horses learn by conditioned response - meaning repetition – and lots of it. And what they respond to is pressure and its release. They will do pretty much anything to get away from pressure. As prey animals, horses have a natural flight instinct, commonly referred to as the emotional aspect of the horse. Horses can have varying degrees of the emotional aspect. It’s important to recognize your own horse’s natural emotional level, because it should determine how and when to apply (and release) pressure most effectively. But whatever the emotional level of your horse is, s/he is ultimately trained by the release of pressure as a reward for the behavior.

So in the most simplistic form, how we train horses is that we release the pressure immediately when they perform the behavior we want. And timing is critical. You must release the pressure within one second of the horse performing the desired behavior – or else it’s too late. Also key to the methodology of Foundation Training is that we teach in baby-steps. For example, when teaching a horse to go forward at first, we begin by rewarding for a single, tiny step -- and we do it a lot. Many repetitions. We never ask a horse to do more until it is completely comfortable with each level. In conjunction with baby-steps, we begin exposing them to pre-cues (a kiss, verbal command, clicker, etc.) so over time, the horse learns the pre-cue and responds to that to avoid the pressure altogether.

Another important element of Foundation Training concerns setting and raising standards. This goes hand-in-hand with baby-steps. While you need to consistently reward for the try (baby steps), you also need to be comfortable setting higher standards and expectations as the training progresses (progresses being the key word here). Again, once the horse is solid taking that first step, move on to having him take two before you release the pressure, then three, and so on. Always train with clear standards in your mind, and always set higher standards when your horse has mastered the current lesson. Once you have established what the standard should be, it becomes vital that you consistently execute to that level and then move on to the next step. Too many people find a comfort zone with their horse’s performance and stop progressing the training. No matter how good your horse is, you should always be trying to get a better performance. It’s good for you and it’s great for them – physically and mentally.

Lastly, as far as I am concerned, every time you do anything with your horse it’s training. Foundation Training is about building a complete set of skills on your horse – so everything you do, leading, grooming, bathing, clipping – everything is a training opportunity. You have unlimited opportunities to reward good behavior and correct the unwanted. Do not let those opportunities pass you by!

At this point you may be asking yourself, now what does Foundation Training have to do with problem–solving? Everything actually. Unless there is a physical problem with the horse or the equipment -- pretty much every common problem I come across (bucking, bolting, loading, clipping, spooking, rearing, barn sour, buddy sour, biting, pulling, no collection, lack of suppleness, not engaging the hind quarters…you name it…can be traced back to a gap in the training somewhere. Foundation Training bridges those gaps, resulting in a horse that is light, supple, relaxed, and very well-mannered – in every situation.

So that’s a quick overview of foundation training. Not too complicated, right? But how is it going to help you build the relationship you want with your horse? Well, in the upcoming issues of Ride! these are the topics that we will cover in terms of foundation training. Many (if not all) of you should find some of these topics near and dear to your own hearts. I know I do! And again – these are applicable to every discipline – without exception.

My staff and I are excited about working with the readers of Ride! and look forward to helping you build a constantly improving relationship with your horse. We also invite you to contact us if you have any questions. Look us up on the web at www.cwtraining.com, or stop by the ranch if you are in the area – we love company. As I tell my clients…and as my wonderful wife Anne keeps reminding me…NEVER be afraid to dream big when it comes to what you and your horse can accomplish together!

Look forward to hearing from you,

Charles Wilhelm