Horse Behavior and Training, Principles and Practice
My goal is to help horses with behavior and training issues, or who aren’t performing up to expectations. Solutions come from insuring that the horse’s physical, social, and psychological needs are met, identifying what motivates them, and understanding how they learn and process information. The principles that guide my training are based in equine welfare, ethology, learning theory, and neuroscience. My approach offers an alternative to methods that prioritize the trainer or rider’s goals, and that judge the horse against an idealized and often unrealistic performance standard. Anna Blake describes this “natural human instinct” and its harmful impact on equine training in a blog: http://annablakeblog.com/2015/08/07/natural-instinct-the-human-half/
For us humans, we bring … ingredients [to equine training] that are nearly combustible. First, we have passion. Desire is like pouring gasoline on a fire. We rush and hurry and if we don’t get an answer fast enough, we ask again, louder this time. Ambition about the future clouds the immediate. We surrender awareness in the moment and look to the end result, without involving a step by step path to get there happily. We see ourselves cantering rhythmically with our horses but we don’t know how to get them there without a fight.
Addressing the whole horse also means taking care of its needs during the “other 23 hours” outside of training, by providing an enriched environment, with proper nutrition and grazing, social contact with other horses and people, mental stimulation, and independence to move and explore.
For us humans, we bring … ingredients [to equine training] that are nearly combustible. First, we have passion. Desire is like pouring gasoline on a fire. We rush and hurry and if we don’t get an answer fast enough, we ask again, louder this time. Ambition about the future clouds the immediate. We surrender awareness in the moment and look to the end result, without involving a step by step path to get there happily. We see ourselves cantering rhythmically with our horses but we don’t know how to get them there without a fight.
- Focus on the whole animal.
Addressing the whole horse also means taking care of its needs during the “other 23 hours” outside of training, by providing an enriched environment, with proper nutrition and grazing, social contact with other horses and people, mental stimulation, and independence to move and explore.
- Ask the question; ”why is my horse behaving this way?”
- Personalize instruction to fit the individual horse and rider.
- Build a foundation of positive learning experiences, and advocate for the right of every horse to humane training practices.