When teaching horses, you must remember that the equine species needs repetition and more repetition to learn well. A horse may usually need 5 or 50 repetitions of instructions to ultimately grasp the action, and the point is this: if you’re not capable of exercising great patience, you haven’t got any business teaching horses. If you approach your pony the right way, you will find that as the training advances, your bonding with your horse swiftly improves, and in turn, that decreases his learning cycles.
Try to stick to those methods that have successfully withstood the passage of time. To my mind, pony coaching isn’t a matter that calls for extensive innovation. The techniques that have come down through the ages are those that have emerged successfully thru years and years of trial and error, and they have served generations and generations of horsemen very well. You need to use creativity to adapt them to your precise circumstances, but don’t tinker with the fundamentals.
You will struggle to find a better approach than natural horsemanship. This system emphasises the necessity to understand equine psychology and a little bit of the history of horsemanship as a prerequisite to pre-eminence in training. It is very important to be well versed in these subjects to achieve maximum effectiveness.
Some significant features of training primarily based on natural horsemanship
* Natural horsemanship eschews force and negative re-strengthening while training. This strategy believes in the effectiveness of easy-handed convincing. It is vouched for by famous journalists like Laura Hillenbrand who have specialized in equine matters.
* Each problem related to pony coaching has a solution. The onus is on the trainer to come up with the perfect solution to each problem that arises. You’ll find that as you pursue your training endeavours, you become a much improved homo sapien even as your horse learns more and becomes a better animal for it.
* Keep one thing in mind: if the pony isn’t responding well, the issue undoubtedly ensues from the tutor.
* Keep your mind and perspective free of the kind of unhealthy perspectives that surface from ownership pride.
* In the first stages, don’t spend time on aspects to do with riding your horse. The far more important thing is to bond totally with the pony; this makes him a much better learner and makes your future coaching a cake walk.
* Horses have herd instincts. Since they’re prey animals, they have also got robust survival instincts. They naturally tend to form herds as a survival mechanism. You must keep this under consideration as you train your horse, because this knowledge will be instrumental in helping you understand horses.
* Horses use body signals extensively as a technique of communication with each other. You’ll gain immeasurably by watching them closely. Be especially alert to their use of their ears, eyes and body position to convey feelings, alerts and moods.
* The horse’s head position is a good indicator of its mood. If the head is bowed, the pony is feeling submissive; if the head is raised, the pony might be feeling anxious or rebellious.
You want to control your horse with an iron fist in velvet gloves. NEVER use the fist to strike, though. When he gets used to the concept that you are the manager, your pony will happily follow you. But before things reach that stage, he is probably going to try you out. He will go against you simply to check if you are resolute of purpose. When you convince him that you are , he will be fine. Just accept the proven fact that even as you are teaching your horse, you are learning things yourself. Bide your time and you’ll soon see the enormous advantages of natural horsemanship.
Horses are Heather Toms
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