Horse Training
I set out on a mission to learn what I could to help both of us.
In November 2003, I attended a Parelli Natural Horsemanship tour stop, and that was the beginning of my journey to learn more about the unique aspects of equine psychology. I was so excited with what I learned that I began utilizing their program and immediately began changing the way I interacted with George. He quickly became much more trusting of me once I learned how to read his behaviors and respond accordingly. I realized that he needed a level of leadership that I previously was not providing. By the end of 2004 George’s behavior had improved, especially his confidence, and I no longer worried about getting bucked off.
During this time however, I noticed there were days when I would go out into the pasture to catch him and he would run away from me, he would not trot up to me at liberty, and sometimes would pin his ears at me during roundpen work. I was not sure what was causing this at that time but in an effort to remedy what I was seeing I began incorporating clicker training into my work with him. I immediately noticed that he adopted a different attitude towards me. The problems I had noted went away and he seemed happier overall in work.
In 2004, I became interested in learning about equine biomechanics through Carol Brett with Balance International. Specifically, I wanted to address George’s soundness issues. I came to realize that some of the “natural horsemanship” methods I was utilizing were not in his best interest as far as maintaining his soundness as they encouraged him to carry too much weight on his forehand and not engage his hind end. I kept what I had learned about equine psychology in mind as I continued to adapt my training techniques accordingly.
When Frankie came into my life in 2005 it was not long before I realized my skills were no where near the level they needed to be to handle his constantly challenging and explosive behavior. He had a very dominant personality as well as a lack of trust in humans despite his seemingly friendly personality. Constant biting, kicking, and rearing were a daily concern.
Still trying to incorporate some of what I had learned through “natural horsemanship” into my work with him, his responses to my actions and the actions of “natural horsemanship” instructors I sought help from, made it apparent to me how much he was viewing those methods as forceful. It was not uncommon for him to either explode emotionally and physically or just check out mentally.
In an attempt to work with him, not against him, my horsemanship methods continued to be shaped by his responses. About a year after I got him I began incoporating clicker training into my work with him. I taught him simple things like fetching a cone in an open pasture, to occupy his mouth, focus his mind, and keep us both safe. I ended up spending a large majority of time working with him at liberty in the pasture simply studying his behavior and responses to certain requests I made of him. It was, and still is, amazing to me how much more he offered towards our relationship when he was rewarded for his efforts and was no longer bound by a small area or a halter . The difference was that it was obvious to him that he had a choice in what he did, that I would allow him to choose, and he would be acknowledged and rewarded for his efforts.
To sum up what I have learned over 7 years of dabbling in different methods, I feel that the best training methods are those that 1) acknowledge and respect equine psychology, 2) acknowledge and respect healthy biomechanics of the horse, and 3) incorporate methods based in positive reinforcement, (clicker training being only one of them), and most importantly 4) allow the horse a choice in whatever is asked of him, i.e., no force is used.
