Respect

Respect can be a subtle thing. Respect is frequently demonstrated in how close or far someone stands from another person. Years ago I was at a museum inIndiana. There was an exibit that demonstrated the way different cultures had different requirements for personal space. Americans and western Europeans are about mid-way in their requirements, most needing about 18 inches between them and someone they are holding a conversation with to be comfortable. The distance varies some depending on how well acquainted they are with the other person, families being encouraged to come closer by hugs and a newly met stranger being subtly held at a distance by an almost fully extended arm when shaking hands.

People from Japan and other Far East regions are at the extreme end of require the most distance for themselves. People from the Middle East are at the other end of the scale, requiring the least amount of space. This can lead to some unconcious judgements about the intentions of other humans when people are trying to interact with one another. Each tries to adjust personal space to a comfortable distance and this can result in an unconcious opinion that another is pushy or unfriendly when it is a matter of seeking a comfort zone.

Something I see over and over again is that people, all people, do not respect animals' personal space. Worse yet, if they are comfortable with animals, they don't expect the animal to respect their boundaries. A horse or dog without respect for a human's personal space can be dangerous. I have been body slammed many times by horses and dogs whose caretakers have failed to instill a proper respect of a bubble of space between them and humans.

A well-established bubble can save you from injury. I had a friend over to ride one time and we were walking through my pens. A higher-ranking gelding began chasing another horse. Just as my friend was walking through a gate opening the mare charged for the same opening. When she saw a human in that opening she bounced off the invisible shield I had taught her to respect and ricocheted off in another direction. This was only about a year after I had been taught how to create that protective shield, but the incident made a real believer of me about the importance of teaching animals to respect humans' personal space.

Teaching an animal to respect a bubble is a simple task, but one that requires persistence and concentration. You make certain that your horse always, no matter what, stays that magic distance away from you. It is a matter of knowing where the zone is around you, and if the horse comes into it you send her out of it. EVERYTIME!

It usually isn’t necessary to do any more than quietly back the horse to the line you draw in your mind, but sometimes you have to get firmer with an animal who is used to casually walking all over people. That type may take a lot longer to convince, but even they can be taught. You must make the line of demarcation so strong in your own mind that you automatically move a horse outside it, every time the horse crosses the line. One you have gained this habit of insisting a horse or dog respect your personal space without thinking about it you will automatically teach it to every animal you are around.