In this post I want to talk a little about the terms that I will be using when I write future posts about horses, and horsemanship IN MY EYES. This is solely my opinion based off of my experiences with horses. I would love to get feedback on what people think, and I'd love to answer any questions one might have in regards to my training with Fury (you will meet him in a future post) and or anything else. Lets begin...
When I train a horse, I will always want to use the least amount of pressure to obtain my end goal. The widely known and respected horse trainer Pat Parelli states, "The more you use the reins, the less they use their brains", and in my opinion I agree with this statement. BUT I also say that just because I can do something doesn't mean I necessarily will. In other words, I may always train my horses with natural horsemanship (We will talk about those words further into the post), and they may know how to respond to my seat and leg cues, and be able to ride with no tack but that doesn't necessarily mean that I am going to go out on an organized trail ride tackless and etc. Reins and bit (if being used) should be used in my opinion, as minimal as possible. A horse should not be controlled by its mouth, a horse should be able to read my body language and feel the pressure from my body cues and move as horses naturally move away from pressure.
There is another quote that I want to briefly talk about and that is,"There's not really a guide through Liberty Horsemanship, you have to discover it yourself with your horse as a guide".
I believe in this statement in a lot of ways but it has to do with more than just liberty horsemanship/training. I believe each horse is an individual... Each individual horse needs different attention and possibly methods.. Lets talk about a back up for instance, If you are working with a horse that is difficult to back up and it seems like your not making any progress think about changing the method of how you're asking. I actually had this happen to me with my horse that I used to own named Fury. I could get him to back up but he was very sticky. I had to put in a lot of effort for a little movement on his behalf. Two amazing friends and mentors of mine and my fiancee Anthony named Julie and Scott suggested trying a different way, and I was kinda dumbfounded, like a different way? Who knew? I always used a shake of my stick and string along with body language to ask for a back up, including a walking forward motion if he did not respond (Clinton Anderson method), but then it came to find out that all I had to do was shake my finger! A shake of a finger was more effective than all of the energy I was putting into it before. So that's my short story, long. (Face palm! lol) Bottom line, each horse is one of its own, as are we. It should be about time everyone start opening their eyes to that in the equestrian world. Having a method is fine, as long as it's not a one thing works for all method or I beat you endlessly with a whip.... One trainer who has some pretty amazing methods is Clinton Anderson. In his training DVD's he shows several ways of how to get the horse to complete the task at hand.
I like to say that I use natural horsemanship and that I do liberty training so here is where I will specify what those words mean to me. "Natural horsemanship" is not a method of 1 thing fits all for everyone. We all have our own opinion of what is okay vs. not okay, soft vs. too soft, hard vs. too hard, natural and not natural. "Natural" may mean different things from one person to another and that’s 1 main reason why I believe natural horsemanship is so widely misunderstood along with people not knowing how to do things differently. I believe every horse is able to do natural horsemanship, it truly is the handler that needs to learn how to do something that they've never done before.
There are usually 2 words associated with the other when looking one up and that's "Natural Horsemanship" and "Liberty Training".
The definition for liberty in the horse/equine world is slightly different from the actual definition for liberty but they both come down to freedom. Liberty in horsemanship, basically means free to not cooperate if they choose to (can run away), and free from tack; a halter(in some cases) and most definitely free from a lead but generally the handler will still use a stick/crop/whatever you choose to call it. Natural horsemanship IN MY OPINION works off of pressure by using the horses natural instincts, not by using fear or force. Liberty training and "natural horsemanship" tie together in the sense that they both want the horse to be in their most "natural state of mind" as possible.
I personally am NOT anti bit, tack, halter, lead rope, etc. But I do not agree with the majority of those who use bits and restraints to control/force the horse...
But I do believe it is VERY IMPORTANT to start working on the ground with a halter, lead, and usually a stick (to clarify a request) before starting ANY liberty training. In my opinion I believe it helps you and your horse get to know eachother, for the HORSE to become familiar with the tool (stick) that you will use, and as a result that gives you and your horse a great foundation together. My blog name is "Educating equine and Training tots; Leading to liberty" because I believe you have to educate a horse before you can lead with liberty. And in my eyes being at "liberty" is my end goal.
As my blog continues, I will write more about my training techniques and discuss other peoples methods. I am not here to change anyones mind on their horsemanship. I am here to help educate the ones who are willing to TRY something different. There are MANY methods of horsemanship that works (and many of us disagree on what one works best) but it's just a matter of what method works best for YOU and YOUR HORSE... that is for you to decide. That to me, is horsemanship. Let's end this with a quote from Pat Parelli "If your horse says no, you either asked the wrong question, or asked the question wrong.."
**Educating equine and Training tots; Leading to Liberty**
My next post will be about my journey with Fury and introducing him to everyone. I will also be featuring
{Gabriela Medeiros (google+)/thegalloptogreatness.blogspot.com (her blog)}
because she featured my story with Fury on her last blog post. I will go into a little bit more detail when I write my next post.
