Understanding Horses for Better Training Results
Good horse training is boring to watch. It looks like nothing is happening. by Ron Meredith
Training a horse means dominating him mentally, not physically—because a horse’s mind doesn’t associate events the way human reasoning does, effective training must be based on what is logical to the horse. Since horses are prey animals, the first task is getting the horse to quietly accept you as a non-threatening presence in its herd; the second is using body language to establish yourself as the lead mare, the horse that actually controls the herd and makes decisions.
From there, break training into very small steps—shaping behavior through a corridor of pressures on the ground before transferring those shapes to work under saddle—so the horse never feels attacked and real learning can take place.
Many people are impressed by training methods that are nothing more than a blatant series of attacks on the horse because they are dramatic to watch. However, physically dominating a horse does not teach him anything. To train a horse, you must use mental strength, not physical strength.
Training horses starts with understanding how their minds work. You have to understand what is logical to the horse. The horse's mind does not work the same way as yours. They do not associate events or a sequence of actions in the same way we reason that things are related. To train a horse, therefore, you have to understand how horse logic works and base your training on that.
At Meredith Manor, we get a horse to accept us as part of its "herd" and then we use body language to get and keep its attention and to establish ourselves as the lead mare. We first use horse body language to play with the horse, then we use body language to get and keep the horse's attention. Now we can add body language that creates a corridor of pressures that start to shape the horse's behavior. We create the desired shapes on the ground, then we transfer the concept of corridors and shapes into our under saddle work. When done correctly, the entire system is very logical to the horse. There is no need for physical restraints or physical punishment and the horse never feels "attacked."
Let me give you an example of how myth understandings about training happen when people substitute human logic for horse logic. When a horse is scared or upset, it tenses and its head goes up. Human logic says that to create the desired shape (a lower head carriage), all you have to do is tie the horse's head down until the horse "understands." However, if the horse is tense because the training methods were scaring or confusing it, this will only make the problem worse.
From a horse logical standpoint, the tie down is only another threat or attack. If the trainer's techniques were horse logical in the first place so that the horse remained relaxed, its head and neck would eventually have the desired shape without the need for mechanical aids.
People who train by presenting the horse with a task then punishing the animal in some way when it doesn't "get it" are on the wrong track. They think they are teaching the horse a lesson. But the horse understands their "correction" only as an attack, a threat. No real learning takes place. By fighting with a horse, the only thing you are teaching it is that the biggest, baddest one wins. You give the horse no clues about how to do things methodically and logically.
Training is just like swallowing a big ball of string. It would be impossible to swallow it all at once. But if you eat it an inch at a time, break the task down into really small bits, it is easy. Getting the horse's attention is the first bite of the string we call training. Most of the “mythunderstandings” about training come about because people try to swallow too big a chunk of string.
You must go bit by bit, using a methodical series of actions to get the horse's attention and direct the horse's attention without threatening or attacking him. Training a horse involves dominating him mentally, not physically. And you must systematically introduce new shapes or tasks to him in a way that is logical to the horse according to his natural instincts rather than your human instincts and logic.
Contact: Meredith Manor International Equestrian Centre 147 Saddle Lane Waverly, West Virginia 26184 Phone: 800-679-2603 Email: [email protected] Website: www.meredithmanor.edu/
