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For the First Time Horse Owner .. and others .. here are some thoughts on
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HOW TO BEGIN LEARNING AND PRACTICING NATURAL HORSE TRAINING |
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| It seems that everytime I search the internet for "Natural Horse Training" there's a listing for still another trainer who is adding still more twists or, someimes, just name changes, to what basically is the same "natural" method of beginning the schooling of an untrained horse. Many of these trainers use their own special, catch phrases to refer to the same thing. Maybe, there ought to be a special dictionary to help the average horse owner figure out what's being said and advertised. Perhaps I am just too dumb to figure out this new "horsey jargon". But, if there are any first time horse owners who are having the same problem, I hope they may find some comfort in reading this and knowing they are not alone. I have been a horse owner for nearly forty years. And yet, these days, if often seems that the more I read about "natural" horse training, the more confusing it becomes. Personally, I have had several serious problems, at least partially as a result of placing too much trust in certain "natural" methods. And, both I and a friend of mine, who is very experienced in horse ownership and riding, have been injured in our early attempts to apply this type of training to the beginning stages of riding of our horses. Each of us was using a noticeably different type of "natural horsemanship" training, as prescribed by different well known and respected trainers. This is an issue which will be discussed, below on this page. One of my lessons learned is that "natural horsemanship" training takes a lot more time than I had been prepared to schedule on a really consistent basis. And, more so, than with many other training methods, it takes lots and lots of patience. So, I have been making every effort to adjust my schedule, accordingly And, I am continuing with my "natural" training efforts, with continuing modifications, which may seem appropriate as I learn of them, because I believe this approach is so important for the horses and our relationships with them. And, I do so with confidence that, eventually, I will achieve the degree of success I have been hoping for. All this being said, the training information on this web site is not intended to serve as a manual which describes the details of any of the horse training methods I have been and will be using. Rather, it is being presented to address the aforementioned areas of possible confusion, as well as to suggest some ways to navigate around all the catch phrases and apparent contradictions which exist and get on a consistent and steady course of training that is understandable. And most importantly, It is being presented in the hope of helping to keep some other horse owners and riders a lot safer, than I had been keeping myself.
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This basic style of horse training and handling is called by a wide variety of names which, I think, causes some confusion, especially for new horse owners. For a majority of people who do not own or ride horses, the name Horse Whisperer probably comes to mind most often. For those who DO own horses, the most common name quite possibly is Natural Horsemanship Training , a term that I think, at one time, had been used most often by horse trainer, Pat Parelli, who also calls his method the Saavy System. And, there are lots of other names in popular use now, that refer to certain trainers' slight modifications of the same basic training methods and concepts, such as Partnership Program .. Willing Partnership .. Horsemanship through Feel .. Resistance Free Training .. Relationship Training .. and still other variations on the same basic theme, which is to train without inflicting any significant discomfort or pain on the horse. From this point on, I will use the term Natural Horse Training to include any or all of the above. It should be pointed out that many of these methods apply only to the very early stages of groundwork, a mandatory prerequisite to any style of training (which seeks to avoid the bucking bronco scenario), well before any person ever attempts to mount a horse for the animal's first experience in life of being ridden by a human being. However, there are a number of trainers whose programs extend to the actual first riding of a horse and well beyond, even to very advanced riding, correcting bad habits and ad infinitum, with all of that being marketed under single training system names, such as John Lyons' Perfect Horse (Willing Partnership) program and Pat Parelli's Saavy System. Although some of these trainers offer good arguments for maining continuity by sticking with their particular system, from the very beginning to the very end of the training during a particular horse's lifetime, many people (myself included) prefer to take the "best parts" from the methods of a number of different trainers and mix them together during the ongoing training of the same horse.
As you can see, you very probably would get a wide variety of conflicting opinions, should you happen to ask for advice from a variety of horse owners, as to which training method is best, or whether a mix of several methods is best, and how to tell when and how it might be a good idea to use a certain part of a certain method, etc. And, on this web site, the best we can offer are some hopefully objective observations and case history accounts in regard to things that may be very important to consider, when making your own, individual decisions on these training questions. (And, that's what I think it always should come down to: making your own, individual decision about your own horse, which I think can be the most difficult, yet most rewarding part of horse ownership. I do not much care for horse owners who leave all of the tough decisions up to somebody else, so that, if and when there's some kind of bad result, they can say, "Well, the vet told me to do...(this)," or, "The farrier told me I should...(do that)." I believe that people who won't take the decision making responsibility for them, shouldn't own horses.) There appears to be but one basic technique at the heart of all the above mentioned training methods. The method consists of applying some sort of pressure to the horse, as a way of asking for a certain response, and continuing to maintain that pressure until the horse reacts with the desired response, IMMEDIATELY being rewarded by a release of the pressure at the very outset of the desired response from the horse. Depending on the situation, the pressure can be nothing more than resting the weight of a hand on top of the horse's head, or certain body language pressure, such as taking a step or two toward the horse, or eye contact pressure, such as staring directly into the Horse's near eye, and/or a more physical pressure, such as throwing the soft end of a rope onto the ground, a foot or so behind the horse's hindquarters or shaking and waving around a short stick with a plastic shopping bag tied to the end...or even the more "conventional" techniques, such as roping the horse and pulling back on the loop around the neck or, for those who are not experienced ropers, pulling back on a longe line, attached to the horse's head. And, the very first thing the horse is supposed to learn to do is to move away from the pressure, thus achieving his or her own release. ALL OF THE "NATURAL" HORSE TRAINING METHODS, THAT I KNOW OF, OPERATE ON THIS SAME BASIC PRINCIPLE OF USING A RELEASE OF APPLIED PRESSURE TO CONDITION THE HORSE TO MOVE AWAY FROM PRESSURE (a departure from the horse's natural instinct to move into pressure). THE IMPORTANT CONCEPT HERE IS THAT THE HORSE, hopefully, WILL LEARN FROM THE RELEASE THAT IS ACHIEVED, NOT FROM THE APPLICATION OF THE PRESSURE, ITSELF! And, what the horse is supposed to learn, through repeated use of various pressure and release exercises, is to give the desired response as quickly as possible, in order to achieve the release. This means that the trainer will continue to apply the pressure, if something other than the DESIRED response is being given, even though the horse may be trying to achieve his or her own release at the time. (Please note that the preceding description of using certain kinds of pressure as a basic training technique, is an oversimplification. for use mainly to establish a starting point for the following discussion.) |
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Note: Bart, the horse in the photo at left, seems to be saying, "Doesn't it seem strange that the first and most basic principle of using a thing called "Natural" Horse Training should be to condition the horse to do something opposite from a horse's natural instinct, like moving away from pressure? I guess that's why the word "natural" keeps appearing with quotation marks. And, this business of roping and longeing has never seemed very natural to us horses!" |
Considerations
for choosing a safe and effective TRAINING LOCATION |
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Now, if you think that the above information is all you need to know, in order to begin natural horse training, I think you may be at least partially correct. And, if you were a bionic man or woman, who was faster and stronger than a horse, you probably would succeed, but might need years to develop your own pressure release methods by trial and error. But, for those of us who are not bionic, it is very easy for the horse to achieve his or her OWN release from any pressure we might apply, simply by turning and running away from us, rather than trying to figure out what response we're after. And, that's where the "tricks of the trade" come in, including the use of a round pen by probably most of today's "natural" horse trainers, as a so called SAFE area for horse training. Some thoughts, facts and opinions on this are stated in the following "Horse Training Consideration". |
| Horse Training Consideration No. 1 (including MY PERSONAL DISCLAIMER) TRAINING A HORSE INVOLVES CERTAIN RISKS, AND CAN RESULT IN DEATH OR INJURY. This web site has been made available for informational purposes only. I/we do not assume any responsibility or liability for its accuracy. Any use of or action taken as a result of the information contained herein is done so at the sole risk of the individual, organization or business involved. Although you will find all sorts of safety hints and words of caution in the training material that is put out by many of today's most popular trainers, including those who use natural horse training techniques, my opinion is that many of them tend to minimize discussing the risks involved, probably fearing it would be bad for business. To my observation, most of these trainers do not publicize much, if any, information about if and when there are times when they, themselves, have been injured while training a horse. One noteable exception is Buck Brannaman, who gives a detailed and forthright account of a recent injury at the end of his book, The Faraway Horses. The fact of his publicizing this incident, the way that he has, indicates to me that he apparently is a trainer who puts his concern for the safety of other horse owners ahead of any personal profit motive. It certainly has influenced me to take a serious look at the various exercises in his book of groundwork exercises, which I purchased from his web site. ( http://www.brannaman.com/index.htm ) And, it may be the most important piece of information I have been exposed to, recently, that motivates me to be especially careful in planning and executing my own horse training lessons. I think that mine was a fairly normal reaction, in saying to myself, "Whoa! If Buck Brannaman can get injured doing the same kind of thing that I plan on doing, I had better be very careful and well prepared for all of my lessons with these horses." Both of my horses carry around a certain amount of mental "baggage", from their previous ownership experiences. And they react, or fail to react, quite differently to identical applications of the same training techniques. Considering these circumstances, it is only realistic to assume that almost anything can happen, quite possibly when least expected. And, I guess the "bottom line" is that training a horse is not a really safe hobby, like knitting or singing in the church choir. At times, is can seem closer to hobbies like sky diving or sailing through the Bermuda Triangle.
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THE ROUND PEN: Some trainers refer to it as a round corral; but most call it a round pen. And most use it. It's purpose is to make it impossible for a horse, who is running loose of any direct physical connection(s) to the trainer (i.e.: halter or bridle and lead or longe line, rope(s), etc.) to simply run away and outdistance the trainer or "hide" in a corner, thus achieving a release from any pressure being applied, without first giving a desired response to that pressure. Probably, the bigger the round pen, the better, except for that same consideration. If it's too large, it enables the horse to at least temporarily outdistance the person on foot, thus allowing the horse to stop and take at least a short break from pressure. (About sixty feet in diameter seems to be a popular size.) I think that ninety-some percent of the trainers who have used a round pen for the initial ground training of a horse will agree that it should be high enough on the sides to prevent the horse from considering trying to jump out of it. (Even on this point, however, there are exceptions where some trainers have achieved success using a kind of round pen arrangements, with sides so low that the horse could simply step over them at a walk.) And, arguments can be made either way as to whether the horse should be allowed to see out of the round pen (i.e.: the question of whether a solid wall, which well exceeds the height of the horse, is preferrable to a regular pipe configuration of the wall sections. Some proponents of the solid walls believe that the training is achieved best when the horse is isolated from outside distractions, and believe the horse is less likely to suffer serious injuries to legs and/or other body parts, if or when there may be an accidential collision with a wall section. And, some people who use pipe round pens, modify them by fastening heavy, solid boards to the inside of the pipes in such a way that they hope will provide better injury protection for the horse, especially for the horse's legs. SOME TRAINERS BELIEVE THAT THE ROUND PEN TOO OFTEN IS USED AS A CRUTCH AND DO ALL OF THEIR TRAINING WITH THEIR HORSE(S) AT LIBERTY IN LARGE PASTURE AREAS. This often requires the involvement of one or more human 'helpers', in order to achieve any desired responses from the horse(s). While I, personally, agree with this basic observation and philosophy, I generally have to work with my horses without any 'helpers', here at Rancho Ontelaunee. So, my best compromise to date, is to do initial response conditioning in our round pen and, then, attempt to achieve certain similar responses with the horses at liberty in pasture. |
(Please excuse the incomplete status of this "safe training location" section, as the reworking and editing of this page remains in progress.)
"Natural Horsemanship" Training Stages
A LAYMAN'S UNDERSTANDING OF THE VARIOUS STEPS AND CONCEPTS
| "ALPHA" or "PASSIVE LEADER"?? The basic idea here, which all of the Natural Horse Trainers seem to agree upon, is to begin to get the horse to accept the human/trainer as a leader that he wants to be with and follow. One point of disagreement, in terms of this concept itself, seem to involve various interpretations of wild horse behavior, in which most of the herd members appear to have several leaders, the so-called "Alpha" stallion, the dominant mare and the so called "Passive Leaders" of the herd. Generally, the Alpha is a fairly young and very physically fit stallion, who some observe to be hated, actually, by most members of the herd and who follow his wishes so as to feel secure under his protective watch and dominance and so as to avoid being beaten up by him.. Supposedly, the dominant mare, who handles more of the day by day discipline, also can be very :pushy. (Using human equations, I suppose you might think of the Alpha Stallion as a very sexually active General George Patton, with the dominant mare taking on the duties of a First Sergeant and Drill Sergeant.) On the other hand, the herd has a number of "Passive Leaders" usually are older horses who develop a following on a day to day basis, due to their demonstrated wisdom, experience and ability to pretty much keep things on a comfortable plain and stay out of harm's way. (These might be considered the squad leaders of the herd, who pretty much just TAKE orders, themselves, and try to figure out the most painless ways, for them and their small groups of buddies who follow them, to do what's needed and just get along.) So, as to the question of which type of leader you should attempt to be, an Alpha or a Passive Leader, my personal decision is that it's not worth the resulting confusion of my being concerned about it. My two horses are such opposites that, in matters like this, what works for one horse often does not work very well for the other. To my understnading, the basic principles are pretty much the same for becoming either an Alpha or a Passive Leader to your horse. The differences seem to be a matter of the degree to which the dominant role is demonstrated to the horse. And, as indicated, I think the degree is going to want to be varied from horse to horse. (I know people who will disagree with this. But, to my observation, none of their horses behave anything like Bart!) |
TO BE CONTINUED - - -
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We apologize for any inconvenience(s), which may result from the incomplete status of this page at the present time. If you are interested in a more detailed discussion of basic training and interaction relationships between horses and humans, we recommend that you check out the "GETTING ALONG WITH HORSES" page on the "BAREFOOT FOR SOUNDNESS" web site of our friend, Marjorie Smith, at http://www.barefoothorse.com/ Her discussion of this includes some very interesting suggestions of how horses, themselves, appear to be thinking and acting, based on their physical movements and reponses, both with humans and with other horses, in certain situations. At the present time, you may find (on the "Links" page for this web site) some information and links to the web sites of a number of Natural Horse Training professionals, on which sites you can find a variety of free access acticles containing various step by step training exercises which may be useful for you. As indicated on the "Links" page, for the immediate future schooling of both of my own horses, I have decided on using the basic relationship training methods of Dan Sumerel (STS .. the Sumerel Training System). This equates to what also is sometimes called "foundation training." Additionally.. as part of the continuation training for both horses, I plan to use a number of the exercises contained on our other "linked" horse training sites, including that of Buck Brannaman. Still additionally, trainer Pat Parelli devised exercises, which he calls "The Seven Games that Horses Play", which I hope to try out. These were published in Natural Horse Magazine and are available for subscribers in the archives of the magazine's web site. Click here to access our LINKS page or |