Re: RC: mare's defensive/aggressive behavior

[Horsestwo@aol.com]

Kimberly;
Melanie, I find this quite interesting because I understood this part to be
to help a horse
gain its trust of a human, especially a wild mustang or whatever.  I agree
completely
with later on the control is from you and the horse is to focus his
attention on you and
not wonder.  The basic reward is releasing the horses stress by stopping
the pressure as well as allowing a connection of trust between the horse and
human.  Why trust? The horse connects it is the human who has released it
from stress.  This helps later on when the horse spooks or shies..helps the
horse look to the human for the ‘what do I do now...how do I react stage’.

Hope this is clear and it is only my interpretation.  Please elaborate if it
is wrong...

I have only worked with my two Arab geldings that were handled from birth (no 
feral horses).  But I have watched my instructor (I prefer that term to 
trainer) use the round pen for many horses (including my own) and had her 
explain the nuances.  I had used the round pen to have the horse come to me 
and to do some basic "spook in place" work.  Having my instructor explain 
that my controlling type gelding was only putting himself back in control by 
coming to me was a revelation.  You are supposed to be developing a 
communication system based on "conditioned response."  The trust comes in 
when your horse KNOWS that you won't change the meaning of a cue midstream.  
When it knows that the kissing sound means "move something" then you use 
subtle body language to indicate what you want done.  Teach what you want 
done, repeat it until the horse is 100%, then move on to new maneuver.  If 
you get stuck teaching new thing then you can always go back to step the 
horse ALWAYS does correctly.  This is what builds trust whether with mustang 
or barn baby.  

The only thing "natural" about what JL does is to use body language as a 
means to establish control.  This becomes the communication tool used to 
teach the horse to do many "unnatural" things such as* don't run off when 
something frightens you; spook in place* or *give to pressure rather than 
pull away*.  So, you can see I don't care for the term "natural horsemanship" 
although I like what the meaning implies: finding a better way.  Horses 
understand control.  Being a tyrant will not bring you control. But wanting 
and wishing, sweet talk and pretty please will you do this for Mommy? won't 
work either.  I still talk baby talk to my two when I go to feed or groom 
them but when I need a response such as "move over" or "put your head down" 
they don't get a vote in the matter.  I want a consistent response because it 
is 1) safer for me; 2) safer for them; 3) a step in teaching them what I 
ultimately want to do with them such as riding endurance.  If you have shown 
that you are in control and always treat the horse with kindness (no 
bullying) that will build trust.  But when the shit hits the fan I don't care 
if the horse trusts me I want the horse to respond to my cues so we will both 
be safe.  That is "conditioned response."

I hope this answers your question.  If not or if you want more info on JL 
methods write back.

Melanie in AZ


Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/RideCamp
Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-