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[RC] Being the Herd Leader - k s swigart

Jim Holland said:


Horses will never learn "human"...you must learn "horse"...


As I said in my first post, if it helps you to estabilsh a working
relationship with your horse to think of it in this way, then by all
means, think of it in this way.

However, last time I checked, Jim Holland's training methods include
things like the one rein stop, and such contrivances as ....well... a
bridle. I believe his head gear of choice is an S-Hackamore.

But whichever type of headgear anybody may choose to use to communicate
with their horses, they are decieving themselves if they don't
acknowlege that this is a HUMAN communication tool, and that for it to
be effective at all, the horse must learn "human."  Round pens, halters,
carrot sticks, EVEN just raising your hand are all human tools.  Horses
don't have round pens, halters, carrot sticks or hands.

Personally, I have found that my horses are plenty smart enough to learn
to respond to the assortment of human communication tools that I have
used on them.  I confess, they are tools designed by humans specifically
for communicating with horses, but they sure as hell ain't things that
my horses use to communicate with each other :).

There are plenty of people for whom the "communicate in horse" concept
works very well.  And if it works for you, fine, use it.  However, there
are also lots of people who just can't seem to make it work for them,
and they get mired down in it and think themselves useless because they
can't.

If you can't make the concept work for you, that's also just fine.
Since it is entirely possible that the reason you can't make it work for
you is that the underlying premise is flawed.  You are not a horse, and
your horse doesn't think you are a horse, and it never will. :)

kat
Orange County, Calif.



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