Have you ever really thought about the phrase “to train a horse” or “horse training”?
According to Pat Parelli, horses are the ultimate prey animal; they are perceptive to changes in people, places and things. This includes changes in people’s physical look, emotional state, and intentions. How many of you have ever gone to the barn with an umbrella during a rain storm and your horse now believes that you have morphed into a mushroom? How about when you have had an emotional day and your horse seems to be calmer than normal, feeling for your emotional state as you cry into their mane? Or you have gone to the barn after a stressful day of work and your horse won’t even meet you at the gate? Coincidence, I think not! Horses are unbelievably perceptive to subtle changes – way more than we can imagine!
A horse’s personal environment is his home. They are acutely aware of the exact placement of all things; anything outside of that norm is cause for skepticism. The tractor is parked in a different place, the jumps have blown over in the night, new snow has fallen, and the ever-present item that brings up a horse’s skepticism -movement of the horse trailer to a new location!
This perceptiveness is not a choice that they make; it is genetic makeup, DNA programmed for survival. A horse is always ready to react in a blink of an eye. Why are they so good at this? They have bi-lateral vision which gives them “surround” vision as well as ears that rotate to give them “surround” sound, and they have multi-layered lenses which give them instant focus at different ranges. They are quick, athletic and have great endurance. Even the ones that are labeled “klutzy” are way more athletic than us humans! They are pre-programmed to have a flight line – a pre-determined distance they will run until they re-evaluate the situation at hand (or hoof).
Dusty practicing his flight line!
Training is to teach, to develop, to concentrate, to focus, to learn, and even to acquire new skills as determined by someone else’s agenda. Training comes in many forms, but the two main ones are positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement; regardless of what type of training you use, behavior modification is the end result, to create a desired response. In the study of Parelli Natural Horsemanship, you learn how to modify behaviors to the point that your horses will even become puzzle solvers, not just a trained trick horse.
The conundrum is this: horses are aware of everything and must be able to react at a moment’s notice for the sake of survival; then we put “training” into the equation. We ask them to completely override their genetic makeup that is to be perceptive to everything, turn off their instinct, and focus solely on us and our request. Regardless of what we ask them, no matter how basic or difficult. it is an incredible phenomenon. Their keen sense to change is what makes them so trainable; and their ability to adapt and override their genetic makeup to me is fascinating.
So, next time your horse spooks or loses their attention on you, take a moment to realize that this is what they are supposed to do. They will always be a prey animal regardless of how much training they have. A horse is always a horse, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, every moment of their life. Then revel in the conundrum that Mother Nature has given us in the horse; a prey animal that is able to be “trained”. When you think about it this way, it brings new meaning to Pat’s phrase: “inside every wild horse is a tame horse and inside every tame horse is a wild horse. Never, ever forget that! Happy Riding!
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
I like to call what we’re doing “continuing education” rather than training. Training makes it sound like the information is mostly going the one direction. But we all know that’s not what we’re up to here. As a student of the horse and horsemanship alike I keep this in mind. That said, there have been times when I’ve had to convince (train) my LBE that sometimes I really DO know best – like when I’ve worked on convincing him that going into the trailer really is a good idea.
This is so true. Something that bothers me a lot is when I see a horse spook, which is a legitimate reaction in his mind, and the trainer, be it a rider or teacher or whatever, then goes and punishes the horse for spooking? How does that work people? I have tried to explain to these people that we are working with prey animals here and our concept of logic is not theirs and punishment does not work.. But, I find that my well meant comments fall on deaf ears: how else will he learn not to do it? I sigh and walk off. I think that when it comes to horse training, there should be a whole heap of human training before we are allowed to “train” horses.. Parelli: spread the word and show the world!
Thanks for sharing and ready to use in my next workshop as introduction.
Freddy,
So glad you will use it in your next workshop. I have a gal that I teach that also does Mounted Posse Training and she printed it out and gave it to her unit at their last training session! I am so glad to see it being put to use!
Thanks for the reminder Susan. As my partnership with my extreme RBE increased, I often forgot that inside he was still that wild horse. Even though I knew that in the winter when I first showed up with a cap on, he would not approach me as quickly as usual, I forgot to consider that when I painted the trailer, my good loader might refuse to load until he reminded me.
Thanks for your comments guys! I am glad you enjoyed it!
VERY well said! You put into words what I sometimes forget to remember and am reminded of by my wonderful LBI mare when I do. I can never really find a way to “explain” what I felt about horses and “who” they were…this helps put those thoughts and feelings into words, short and sweet. THANK YOU!!!
its really hard, sometimes, to remember our different fundamental natures, esp. when you feel such a connection, its real, its there, but its a bridge, and everyonceandawhile one needs to be reminded of that, not do anything to undermine that, honor the horse for being SO brave to even THINK of crossing that bridge and not react when they do what they were born to do…………….
I remember when I was first starting PNH that I would tell people I didn’t train horses, that they were training me! Most people laughed because they think I’m joking or just don’t know how else to react. I still don’t feel like I’m training my horse – I feel like I’m building this incredible relationship with a being I cannot begin to understand. Mary Ann Kennedy has a song called Two Leaves and the lyrics go something like: If that big old oak tree was a horse, I’d know two leaves. These lyrics came from one of the great horsemen, Tom Dorrance or Ray Hunt – someone whom we think of as having it all figured out. Thanks for giving us this beautiful reminder to respect our horses’ wildness AND to feel the privilege of their connectedness to us.
Excellent post, Susan. It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that my RBI Ginger is like me, in other words, to anthropomorphize. We *are* alike in some ways, but in the ways you listed above – - we are so very different. Thank you for the reminder.
Amazingly perceptive! Short, sweet, to the point, and extremely well stated. May the Horse (continue to) be with you,
Ron
Excellent! That is one of the most beautifully written statements about the horse. The how and why he reacts the way he does, and how training fits into that element of a horse’s innate nature. Thank you for your good words. I will forward this on to many, many of my horse friends.
Linda
Excellent! Well said!