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Realistic Horsemanship:
An interview with Ferdinand Santana
Volume 8 Issue 1 Natural Horse
Magazine 2006
Ferdinand Santana is a highly
respected and gifted Colorado horseman with an uncanny ability
to accurately read horses. He adjusts training methods to the
individual horse and uses mild mannered, soft
spoken techniques. Ferdinand also helps people develop a deeper
understanding of horse behavior by presenting a realistic picture of
the horse-human relationship. Through this he helps people develop
skills that will enable them to get along with their horses -
always!
Photo 1. Gem, who always tried
to get rid of her riders, has learned to accept and trust a rider,
and relax.
NHM: To be realistic about
horsemanship, what do people need to know?
Ferdinand: When it comes to
horses we all want to be great horsepersons. But in order to
accomplish this, we must first have an understanding of the nature
of the horse. When we are dealing with a horse - whether on the
ground or riding - we are dealing with pure and honest
emotions that can trigger the horse's survival instinct.
This survival mechanism can get us hurt or killed.
It is imperative, if we are
going to have horses in our lives, that we learn to recognize the
horse’s emotional state so that we can offer the emotional support
that is needed in the moment to maintain physical control of the
situation. Through having taken control of the horse's feet and
movements (forward, backward, left, right, up, and down), and
having established leader status by having taken the time to build
that relationship based on mutual respect and trust, now you
ought to be able to offer the emotional support that is so vital and
necessary in the relationship. Only then will the horse accept
guidance, and trust you to carry him through the moment, keeping you
both safe. We all need to increase our personal
knowledge, and develop and hone our feel and timing in our
horsemanship, to bring it to a level that will keep us both safe,
with the horse looking to us for guidance under all situations,
being truly a willing partner. When you build this type of
relationship with your horse, horses really become enjoyable. Take
emotional control and the physical control will come much easier.
Remember that when the horse is emotionally out of control,
controlling him physically is impossible.
NHM: What things do you find
are of most concern to the horse?
Ferdinand: The reality is, what
a horse cares the most about is his safety and survival in the
present moment, which is why he is always monitoring everything
around him. He sees danger in everything that he has never seen or
been around before. This is what makes him so emotional. As long as
the horse survived the moment, he feels that whatever he did to get
him through that moment was what needed to be done on his part to
survive. But if we are near him on the ground or on his back, he
couldn't care less whether we survived the moment or not. A horse
could buck us off in the pasture, we could be hurt or killed, and he
would go to eating grass right around our body. Aside from being
concerned for his safety, he wants to fulfill his own wants and
desires, and is not concerned about our own wants and desires. In
other words, he is concerned with his comforts. If he is not eating,
drinking, or sleeping he is out of his comfort zone.
Photo 2. Ferdinand asks Preacher to lie down. Preacher's
willingness to do so demonstrates how much trust he has in their
relationship.
NHM: What natural tendencies do
you commonly see in the horse?
Ferdinand: Horses are naturally
lazy and only do as much as they have to, to get by in their daily
routines. I've never seen a horse on a pretty Sunday afternoon
whistle to me and say, “It's a pretty afternoon… let’s go for a ride
and climb some hills,” or I've never seen one out in the pasture
say, “I haven't exercised in a while… let me work on my lateral
flexion and side passing.”
They are also creatures of
habit, so establishing the correct habits from the very
beginning in the horse-human relationship is critical. It's much too
easy to teach them something we shouldn't… the release of pressure
is their reward, and that release must be well-timed or we will
encourage the wrong things.
He is a herd animal and loves
the security that comes from being around other
horses. Regardless of what humans think, horses really would
rather be with other horses than humans - just as we would rather be
with humans than apes.
The horse is a horse. Let’s not
sugar-coat it - let’s be realistic and see the horse for what he
is.
NHM: How are horse
relationships established in the herd?
Ferdinand: A horse is an animal
that was born to dominate and get his way within the herd through
body gestures and language. He suggests his intentions, and he
only makes physical contact within the herd should other horses not
take his persuasive gestures seriously. He uses contact as a
last resort. This is how he controls the other horses’ movements and
establishes his presence and dominance within the herd. This is how
‘pecking order’ works, and having a place in the pecking order
creates security. This body language can be very subtle, and often
goes unnoticed in the horse-human relationship, which can get the
human into trouble.
NHM: Have you found that a good
horse-human relationship helps dissolve horses'
fears?
Ferdinand: A horse is a flight
or fight animal, and he would rather flee danger than stand and face
it, but if he can't flee he will do whatever it takes to
survive. Keep in mind that a horse is always in survival mode to
some degree, even when we have established a relationship with the
horse through a proper foundation, one where he learns
to seek answers to his problems through us rather than
interpreting us to be part of his problem in the moment. Being
realistic about it, we will never attain the ultimate goal in our
relationship to have 0% fear and 100% respect from the horse. We are
the predator and he is the prey animal in our relationship, but
we can strive to build that relationship to the best of our own
personal talents.
NHM: Can you share a few
success stories about some of the horses who benefited from your
intervention?
Ferdinand: Sure. The story on
each horse is right from the
owner. 
Photo 3. Karmic - called
explosive, bucking machine, runaway train, brain fried, and crazy -
got a new lease on life with Ferdinand's help and emotional
support.
Gem (Photo 1), 6 years old, is a horse who was very
defensive, always wanted to get her way, and was non-compliant. When
not getting her way she would blow up into major bucking fits, do
belly rolls, and more to get you off her back. She was very spooky
and pushy. In the photo I am working on flexion out in the pasture.
She came to me from Oro Valley, AZ.
Preacher (Photo 2), 10
years old, was used for roping and only had one speed -
superfast. He was very nervous, head shy, hard to catch,
non-compliant and sour on life in general. He was an emotional
basket case and didn't want anything to do with humans. He was
untrusting of humans in a big way; all of his problems were human
created. When asking him to lie down for me, he is
demonstrating how much trust he has in the relationship that we have
built together through mutual respect. He knows that he is safe with
me & willingly lays down for me. I like to use this as a
measuring stick to tell me where we are in the relationship. By
seeing how willing he is to lie down without resistance. He came
from Trinidad Co.
Then there is Karmic (Photo 3),
5 years old. After being with 3 other trainers, and losing his right
eye with the third, his owner was told by these trainers and anyone
that knew the horse to put the horse down. He also seriously injured
his owner, a petite and committed horse person, yet she thought that
he just wasn't being presented things in the right format and
contacted me to see if I was willing to work with a one-eyed horse.
After her telling me his past history, I told her that he needed my
type of help and training now more than ever before. I explained
that he needed a lot of emotional support and I could provide
that. Some of the adjectives used to describe Karmic were
explosive, bucking machine, runaway train, brain fried, and crazy.
Now people that knew the horse can't believe it is the same horse,
he is so compliant, and in a yielding frame of mind!!! The owner
says that the word is out in her town and people go to see him just
to see the dramatic change in him. He comes from Riverton,
WY.
All three of these horses are
truly success stories.
NHM: Thank you, Ferdinand, for
sharing your experiences, your knowledge, and your insights. It's
nice to know about you and your efforts to help horses and their
people. Thanks for what you do.
Ferdinand: It has been my
pleasure and honor.
About Ferdinand:
Ferdinand Santana is privileged, honored, thankful, and humbled
by all the horses that have taught him so much over the years -
about the need to respect each other whether animal or human,
and to look for the similarities in all of us rather than the
differences. His specialty is helping rank and problem horses find
peace, structure and discipline in their lives so that they may
become productive members of the equine world. Ferdinand offers a
Horse Training Club, the purpose of which is to help people develop
skills that will help them get along with their horses for the rest
of their lives. Goers learn how to develop feel, timing and
techniques to solve their problems with their horses and to develop
a deeper understanding of horse behavior
719-946-0899
Branson,
Colorado | 
