How to Train a Horse
by Elaine Polny
(Palgrave, Ontario, Canada)
The power of influence!
Answer:
The best way to discover how to train a horse is by identifying the true intentions of the goals in mind.
At Horses by Nature we do not look at a horse in the way that suggests "they" need to be trained to begin with. The word "train" implies there is something wrong in the behavior of another that we want to change. Under these conditions force and/or manipulation tends to be at the forefront. Instead I replace the word "train" with "communicate". This allows an entirely different intention to be created.
Taking away all forms of competition whether it be to race or compete within any sport also alleviates all concerns of time, ego and brings back the true welfare of the horse's life.
Removing all painful measures possible like bits, shoes, tie downs etc. and replacing with treeless saddles, barefoot trimming, bitless and a natural lifestyle is the least I can offer since freedom itself has been removed from the horse.
Then I look toward the "how". If you are asking for "how" you are looking for a technique, If you are asking "why" you are looking toward the answer. In other words, techniques abound usually using force to fix something, but persuasion and/or influence is much more kind, effective and everlasting.
Why to we want our horses to behave differently?
Certainly there are some common sense actions we need to have in place for safety and health concerns. For example we do need our horses to pick up their feet to be trimmed since our domesticated environments do not allow their feet to self trim like in the wild. We need our horses not to bite us or run us over for obvious reasons too.
How we see horses.
We see a horse as a friend, a family member, another species occupying this earth like us. We see the horse as "someone" opposed to "something" who is required to fulfill every whim and request we make.
All horses who are intended for competition purposed are still in "slavery" and "bondage". How do I know this? Because no horse would volunteer to run in a race, nor would they continuously jump over fences the number of times asked, nor would they willfully be separated from their own kind for long durations, nor would they apply steel to their feet, nor would they want to have a spur or whip to touch their body. Go ahead think about what most "do" with horses.
Some people have suggested that the horse is an "athlete". But the definition of an athlete is "a person" who trains to compete in sports not an animal. All animals do not have the need, want or ego to compete with one another through sports. It's a human thing!
So now how do we "communicate" with horses?
When we are left with the freedom to communicate with the horses best interest in mind, now the power of influence instead of force can be utilized and achieved. From here the best idea to date is with the use of positive reinforcement methods.
Conclusion:
How to train a horse?
Train the human to see them in their true natural form. Where the horse's perspective is always taken into consideration.
Elaine Polny
Horses by Nature
Palgrave, Ontario
Canada
