Fairynuff
Well-Known Member
a highly pertinent subject, specially after reading some of the posts on HHo!
FHOTD Store Advertise Help Boundaries not just for teenagers!
Aug
31
2010
Tags: training
After the whole discussion the past two days about the aggressive stallion who has hurt his owner pretty significantly, I thought today was a good day for a discussion about boundaries.
If I think about it, the lack of boundaries is probably at the root of my dislike for a lot of natural horsemanship training that I see being practiced. The horse simply doesnt ever get a clear, concise signal that something he did was wrong. Therefore, being a horse, he starts to expand the range of his behavior. He says, hey, if I barged into him and that was okay, maybe I can smack him with my head the next time. And there was that day when I was fidgety and she didnt ride me because Pat says its ok not to ride on a day when they dont feel like being ridden, so maybe this time I will strike at her in the cross-ties. I bet that will get me put back. It does, too. The problem is, within months the horse is at the auction and by now hes behaving so badly, no one but Mr. Kill Buyer wants him. I call it killing with kindness. People try to form this sweet, punishment-free bond of love with their horse, and they end up creating a rank, out of control horse they are scared of and then the magical bond of love breaks and they dump him at the sale. Amazing how that happens.
Horses are pretty much exactly like kids in this respect. No, you dont have to nor should you beat them. But you do have to set boundaries they cant ever cross without consequences they dont like, and the consequences have to be simple and immediate. And believe it or not, they will still love you when you do this! Theyll actually love you more. Love is strengthened by respect in both human and human-animal relationships, and horses are actually the easier ones to set boundaries with so they are a good place to practice.
For example, if a horse is trying to barge along, I dont just run alongside like a kite on a string. I take the time to stop, growl, back the horse up a few steps and then ask him to proceed at the speed I was wanting to walk. Yes, this takes time. Part of the reason bad habits get created is that people are in a hurry. A groom may have fifty horses to put out into individual turnouts, so the last thing he wants to do is mess with teaching yours not to drag people. Or you yourself may be in a hurry and not think its a big deal but it really is a big deal. Those little incidents where the horse lacks respect blossom into bigger and bigger incidents until youre the one with the broken nose, or worse.
One of the most important things you can teach a horse is plain old whoa aka ho. Whoa means that you plant your feet on the ground and that is where they stay. It is not a suggestion. I have seen people ho-ho-hoing like Santa Claus and the horse still isnt listening. When you realize youre doing that, you know that your horse isnt taking your command seriously at all. It is time to escalate to something he takes seriously. It is not abusive to lead a horse who barges with a whip and give him pop on the chest if he doesnt stop on the voice command. Just walk right next to him with that whip in front of his chest and ask him to stay at your shoulder where he belongs. And when he does stop on the voice command only, politely, make sure you pet him and tell him hes good. Make simple rules and make sure good behavior is always rewarded and bad behavior is always corrected. It should go without saying that nothing works if you arent consistent. The same bad behavior needs to result in the same response on a consistent basis. It can be a whip or the flat of your hand. If youre leaving welts for anything less serious than striking at you or charging at you, youre overdoing it in my book. The point of the correction is a quick sting that says that was the wrong thing to do. The goal is not to create an injury because you are angry. Ive said it before here, and so has every good trainer in the world never discipline in anger. All discipline should be is you saying to the horse that what he did was totally unacceptable and should not be repeated. It is never about revenge, anger, or putting on a show because people are watching and you think you look like a cowboy/cowgirl. (P.S. You never do if youre doing that. You just look like a douchebag!)
So lets talk about this today: I want to hear about horses you got that were spoiled and had no boundaries, and how you installed boundaries and good manners and got them back to being productive members of equine society. Im sure these stories will benefit other readers who are dealing with the same challenges, so bring them on!
FHOTD Store Advertise Help Boundaries not just for teenagers!
Aug
31
2010
Tags: training
After the whole discussion the past two days about the aggressive stallion who has hurt his owner pretty significantly, I thought today was a good day for a discussion about boundaries.
If I think about it, the lack of boundaries is probably at the root of my dislike for a lot of natural horsemanship training that I see being practiced. The horse simply doesnt ever get a clear, concise signal that something he did was wrong. Therefore, being a horse, he starts to expand the range of his behavior. He says, hey, if I barged into him and that was okay, maybe I can smack him with my head the next time. And there was that day when I was fidgety and she didnt ride me because Pat says its ok not to ride on a day when they dont feel like being ridden, so maybe this time I will strike at her in the cross-ties. I bet that will get me put back. It does, too. The problem is, within months the horse is at the auction and by now hes behaving so badly, no one but Mr. Kill Buyer wants him. I call it killing with kindness. People try to form this sweet, punishment-free bond of love with their horse, and they end up creating a rank, out of control horse they are scared of and then the magical bond of love breaks and they dump him at the sale. Amazing how that happens.
Horses are pretty much exactly like kids in this respect. No, you dont have to nor should you beat them. But you do have to set boundaries they cant ever cross without consequences they dont like, and the consequences have to be simple and immediate. And believe it or not, they will still love you when you do this! Theyll actually love you more. Love is strengthened by respect in both human and human-animal relationships, and horses are actually the easier ones to set boundaries with so they are a good place to practice.
For example, if a horse is trying to barge along, I dont just run alongside like a kite on a string. I take the time to stop, growl, back the horse up a few steps and then ask him to proceed at the speed I was wanting to walk. Yes, this takes time. Part of the reason bad habits get created is that people are in a hurry. A groom may have fifty horses to put out into individual turnouts, so the last thing he wants to do is mess with teaching yours not to drag people. Or you yourself may be in a hurry and not think its a big deal but it really is a big deal. Those little incidents where the horse lacks respect blossom into bigger and bigger incidents until youre the one with the broken nose, or worse.
One of the most important things you can teach a horse is plain old whoa aka ho. Whoa means that you plant your feet on the ground and that is where they stay. It is not a suggestion. I have seen people ho-ho-hoing like Santa Claus and the horse still isnt listening. When you realize youre doing that, you know that your horse isnt taking your command seriously at all. It is time to escalate to something he takes seriously. It is not abusive to lead a horse who barges with a whip and give him pop on the chest if he doesnt stop on the voice command. Just walk right next to him with that whip in front of his chest and ask him to stay at your shoulder where he belongs. And when he does stop on the voice command only, politely, make sure you pet him and tell him hes good. Make simple rules and make sure good behavior is always rewarded and bad behavior is always corrected. It should go without saying that nothing works if you arent consistent. The same bad behavior needs to result in the same response on a consistent basis. It can be a whip or the flat of your hand. If youre leaving welts for anything less serious than striking at you or charging at you, youre overdoing it in my book. The point of the correction is a quick sting that says that was the wrong thing to do. The goal is not to create an injury because you are angry. Ive said it before here, and so has every good trainer in the world never discipline in anger. All discipline should be is you saying to the horse that what he did was totally unacceptable and should not be repeated. It is never about revenge, anger, or putting on a show because people are watching and you think you look like a cowboy/cowgirl. (P.S. You never do if youre doing that. You just look like a douchebag!)
So lets talk about this today: I want to hear about horses you got that were spoiled and had no boundaries, and how you installed boundaries and good manners and got them back to being productive members of equine society. Im sure these stories will benefit other readers who are dealing with the same challenges, so bring them on!
