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[RC] choice and training horses - Jennifer AdamI do not have near the experience many of you have, so forgive me for jumping in. I just had to comment - (my husband is looking over my shoulder and he's offering to throw the keyboard out the window before I stir up any more trouble).I strongly believe that it is a horse's choice which allows us to train him. I have 3 BLM mustangs - one was eager to make a partnership with me and behaves no differently than a domestic horse. The other was shy at first, but has now bonded with me and is perhaps easier to train than any domestic horse I've ever had. The third - well, she was a horse of a different color entirely. She is a 6 year old mare named Gypsy. I bought her from someone who had adopted her and had *no* idea what to do with the wild thing they had suddenly brought home. They took her to 3 professional trainers who all said she would never be gentled. I fell in love and bought her for next to nothing. I tried every method I knew to gentle her at first - and nothing worked. Forget round pen work, at least at the beginning. This mare had fire in her eyes and would rather run herself to death than even look at me. Hay, treats, alfalfa cubes - nothing worked as motivation because she wanted freedom more than food. She was never aggressive - just completely determined to be independent. I spent months trying to offer a better choice than fierce resistance. I walked up to her, walked away. A thousand times a thousand times. Finally she showed a little interest. At that point, when she had finally CHOSEN to open up to a dialog with me, could we begin building a relationship. Training CANNOT start if your horse has no interest in what you are doing. It doesn't matter what methods you use, your horse can choose to listen or not. Yes, you can make the choice to listen easier and hope he or she gets it, but it is still up to them. We now have the type of bond I've always worked towards. She CHOOSES to be with me, CHOOSES to follow my cues, and CHOOSES to work with me. I know I'm not the best or the most experienced or the fastest trainer out there, nor will I ever be. But I succeeded where famous professionals failed because I was willing to give her the time she needed to make that choice. Jumping off my soapbox now - Jen _________________________________________________________________ Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today - it's FREE! http://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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