horses learn better if there is a Reason to do it. Inspired by Totilas rather pales

[soulfull]

I think that actually proves a theory that I have, especially watching the training one. My last horse would only do things when either he enjoyed doing it for fun OR he could see the reason for doing it.

This to me proves that if a horse has a reason to do something like in this case moving out of the way of something going to get him, or in mines case moving out of the way of traffic or opening a gate he is more likely to do it. Ask him to do something just for the sake of a dressage test well that was a different story lol

Honestly used to say to my friend that if Beacon could not see the point to doing something he wouldn't do it or it was so much easier if he could see the reason

Thoughts??

 

[SusannaF]

It probably depends on the horse. There was a thread ages ago on Fugly Horse of the Day where everyone was talking about horses that had specific "likes" and "dislikes" for sport. One woman said she'd had a talented jumper, but there was always something missing. He would jump, but not with enthusiasm. One trainer told her to interfere less with the horse, and let the horse choose the distances and approach, and she did. Result? Horse began to love jumping – it obviously became more of a mental exercise for him, and he thrived on it.