It was brought to my attention recently that there are many people "training" horses and calling themselves professionals on a resume full of RFDTV.
Don't get me wrong, I think all horse owners should learn as much as they can about their equine partners, however, when it comes to training we need to realize that just because we can watch someone on TV does not make that person the final authority on the subject or that we are a professional because we watch them.
People have been training horses for thousands of years.
There is nothing completely new to this profession.
It all has been done somewhere by someone and not all methods work 100% of the time on 100% of the horses.
Those methods that do not work 100% of the time on 100% of the horses need examination.
The rules I follow and that work in evaluating a training lesson are: 1) I cannot get hurt 2) The horse cannot get hurt and 3) the horse must be calmer at the end of the lesson than when it started.
If any of these rules can be easily broken, I look at the lesson and see if changes made will make the lesson safe.
If not, I abandon the lesson.
Another important aspect to keep in mind is, does the lesson give me better control of the horse and build respect in the horse for me.
I do not care how fast and easy the horse can move his hip, if he crowds, nibbles, nips, pushes, or pulls me when I am leading or whenever I am around it, the horse does not respect my space or me.
When leading your horse do you have a way to move his shoulders away from you? Can you ask him to calm down or soften to you without taking his head all the way back to his side? It takes a lot more than yielding hips to get a soft, responsive and respecting partner.
This is why it is important to be critical of any training technique and not assume that because they have a spot on TV their lessons are the end all.
In my training manual I give you 6 easy lessons that will not only teach your horse what you expect of him while you are around him, it will give you the tools to build a relationship of respect and trust between you and your horse.
Don't get me wrong, I think all horse owners should learn as much as they can about their equine partners, however, when it comes to training we need to realize that just because we can watch someone on TV does not make that person the final authority on the subject or that we are a professional because we watch them.
People have been training horses for thousands of years.
There is nothing completely new to this profession.
It all has been done somewhere by someone and not all methods work 100% of the time on 100% of the horses.
Those methods that do not work 100% of the time on 100% of the horses need examination.
The rules I follow and that work in evaluating a training lesson are: 1) I cannot get hurt 2) The horse cannot get hurt and 3) the horse must be calmer at the end of the lesson than when it started.
If any of these rules can be easily broken, I look at the lesson and see if changes made will make the lesson safe.
If not, I abandon the lesson.
Another important aspect to keep in mind is, does the lesson give me better control of the horse and build respect in the horse for me.
I do not care how fast and easy the horse can move his hip, if he crowds, nibbles, nips, pushes, or pulls me when I am leading or whenever I am around it, the horse does not respect my space or me.
When leading your horse do you have a way to move his shoulders away from you? Can you ask him to calm down or soften to you without taking his head all the way back to his side? It takes a lot more than yielding hips to get a soft, responsive and respecting partner.
This is why it is important to be critical of any training technique and not assume that because they have a spot on TV their lessons are the end all.
In my training manual I give you 6 easy lessons that will not only teach your horse what you expect of him while you are around him, it will give you the tools to build a relationship of respect and trust between you and your horse.
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