----- Original Message -----
My question is: How did you establish this
with your horse? What has worked? Do you use the 7 games of Pat
Parelli? Do you use a roundpen and run the horse around for a long
time? Do you use "passive leadership" as championed by Mark
Rashid? Do you try to do it by presenting a "good feel" to the horse
like Bill Dorrance and Leslie Desmond write about? Or do
you use some combination or change as needed depending on the
horse?
**Charles, since I guess I have become immune to
flames, and always have an opinion, I will jump right in.
What I think works the best are the
following. Work with the horse frequently and consistently. So, it
does not matter then, so much what flavor of training Make little goals
(sounds like John L.), when you have the TIME to follow them through, and in
all handling of the horse, do not allow any expresions of disrespect. Do
not let them crowd you, walk all over you, pin their ears at you when you
carry in the hay, turn their butt, etc. Keep in mind, that
there is little you can do PHYSICALLY, that as
anywhere as extreme as what another horse can do. John L. once said in
an article, (for perspective here), that if you hit a horse with a steel-tip
baseball bat, as hard as you can, it is nowhere as hard as a shod horse can
kick another!. Okay, not that I am proposing THAT, but it\s a usefull
visual for perspective.
Horses learn by habit (repetition), and by making
the right thing easy and comfortable, and the bad thing uncomfortable.
Some react well to verbal scolding (one of our Arabs), and one needs strong
body language.
I tend to have, as a model of what a horse
"should" be able to do....and what my goal is....as looking at what a good
ranch-raised horse would be able to do. That translated into.....tie
wherever put, go down the trail without spooking, leave it's buddies, load
calmly, cross water and rough terrain, etc. Most horses are capable of
this, or for you Eastern folks, look at what the Police horses can put up
with. In fact, Shiela Varian told me at length that she sends out some of her
3 year olds (the ones destined for family use not show quality), out to do
hard ranch work for several months. Going out into the world and being
used produces a steady, calm horse.
Now, personally, I dislike the whole concept of
playing "games" with horses. My experiences have have shown me that a
whole lot of people who have problems with their horses (unwilling to
discipline them), turn to this Parelli stuff. I stand by my opinions
that many of his methods are dangerous, confusing, and from what I have seen,
still produce horses with big holes in their trianing. I was just pissed
last year when Ride Magazine ran a series of his articles.....with PHOTOS, no
less of: someone riding horse right up to back of open trailer with persons
neck right at roof level....a small child with no helmet standing on back of
pony with nothing on head, someone walking right behind horses butt with lead
rope in her teeth....kneeling right in front of the horse to bridle. I
find this stuff show-offy, little practical purpose, extremely dangerous and a
REALLY bad example to novice horse handlers!
And, finally, some horses misbehave because they
are penned up in unnaturally small areas, and have too much pent up energy,
overfed, etc. With a horse like this, it is hardly realistic to take
them out and try to get them to focus....let them get rid of that energy
first. I am a HUGE fan of wet saddle blankets, long hills, and wearing
them out some BEFORE trying to introduce anything new. With the new
horse, we need to keep on introducing things to sack her out. One thing
we do with young horses is throw things back and forth while riding side by
side (jacket, crinkly bag, etc). Now, does it make more sense to do this
when the horse is fresh....or a bit tired?
Common sense, is most of it. Even John
Lyons says to make the right things easy....set up the horse to
succeed.
Karen
