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Happy Fall ya'll :o)
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Some of the things we think we know about horses and training, but do we really?
Note: I'm going to preface the information on this page with a short story told to me a long time ago by a co-worker. It's the perfect parallel to the human thought and behavior process, particularly when it comes to thinking outside that habitual box.
This is, "The Story of the Ham"...
A young wife was busily preparing a holiday meal for a large family gathering. She placed the ham on a cutting board and quickly cut one end off, deftly flipped the meat around and did the same on the opposite end. Her husband, who was leaning against the counter watching, said "You know, I've always meant to ask you why you do that". She smiled and replied, "Because that's the way my Mama always did it". "I understand that," he said, "But why?" Pausing for a moment she answered, "You know, I'm really not sure; I guess I can ask her". Picking up the phone, she called her mother and posed the question. Her mother said, "You know, I never really thought about it. That's the way my mother always did it too. I guess you'll have to ask your grandmother." Sighing, she hung up and then dialed her grandmother's house. She repeated the question, and heard her grandmother laugh. "Oh", she responded with a smile in her voice, "When your grandfather and I were first married we had very little money. I only had one small roasting pan, and cutting the ends off the ham was the only way to get it to fit."
Now ain't that the truth?!?!?
This is, "The Story of the Ham"...
A young wife was busily preparing a holiday meal for a large family gathering. She placed the ham on a cutting board and quickly cut one end off, deftly flipped the meat around and did the same on the opposite end. Her husband, who was leaning against the counter watching, said "You know, I've always meant to ask you why you do that". She smiled and replied, "Because that's the way my Mama always did it". "I understand that," he said, "But why?" Pausing for a moment she answered, "You know, I'm really not sure; I guess I can ask her". Picking up the phone, she called her mother and posed the question. Her mother said, "You know, I never really thought about it. That's the way my mother always did it too. I guess you'll have to ask your grandmother." Sighing, she hung up and then dialed her grandmother's house. She repeated the question, and heard her grandmother laugh. "Oh", she responded with a smile in her voice, "When your grandfather and I were first married we had very little money. I only had one small roasting pan, and cutting the ends off the ham was the only way to get it to fit."
Now ain't that the truth?!?!?
Feeding treats to horses is a bad idea. I'm just going to say that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. It's not the treats that are the problem, but the potential for misbehavior that can turn this handy tool into a disaster. When dispensed appropriately, treats can be a marvelous resource, and are invaluable for both creating and enhancing the desire to please in a horse. As long as they are consistent and fair, horses do not mind rules to follow at all (as in not being allowed to become pushy in the first place). Horses can be trained to treat; click here to visit the training blog if you'd like to read more on this topic. Sure, praise works to a point and scratches are nice too, but how much volunteer physical labor do you do? Would you be willing to do something for a "hey, thanks" all the time? Appreciate a day job that was strictly voluntary? Study for tests and do reports for no grade? I'll pass - I'm pretty sure that would get old mighty fast :o)
You should wait until a horse's knees are closed (age 2 or 3) before starting him under saddle. Believe it or not, that's waaay off; try between age 4 and 6. If you think this is stupid, check with the Lipizzan trainers...they wait longer to train (oh, and "slow maturing" with certain breeds is also a myth) and their stallions perform well into their twenties. The last growth plates to close are the vertibrae near the withers which is (surprise surprise) right where the saddle and rider goes. Dr. Deb Bennett of the Equine Studies Institute has a site that is wonderful and she makes a lot of sense (which probably explains why so many people have missed her :o) Click on the graphic to visit her site.
Arabians are too hot to handle and very difficult to train. There is usually a very fine line between firey and flighty - and it's often blurred by the trainer's inappropriate methods. Since Arabs are at the top of the intellectual equine ladder, they need to be trained as such. Yes, they are "hot blooded" horses, but they are also smart enough to figure out what you want much faster than the average horse ~ the trick is getting them to want to - see picture left :o) Flooding an Arabian is nothing short of a suicide attempt and the quickest way to close their minds towards you. I think flooding is one of the worst training methods in use and completely unnecessary; of course because it's a quick way to break a horse (another method I'll pass on - no thank you) it's still widely used, especially on the Quarter Horse. Unfortunately, what often happens is that these horses retreat into a catatonic state (mentally shut down) to escape overwhelming fear - and then touted as "bombproof" (not scared by anything, ever). When this type of training is used, it inevitably results only in lengthening the fuse. What do I mean? Simply that it will be later rather than sooner when...BOOM (usually on the poor unsuspecting soul that has purchased this marvelous "bombproof" horse). Well anyway, I'm a big believer in giving the horse something else to do (like look at it instead of flee) when they are afraid. Here's an example with Bella watching one of those little paper party favors snap out - no noise, but it has those little streamers that wiggle all over...we're in an open area used for riding (so she's free to go if she chooses; and she chose not) Pretty neat, huh. :o)
