21.5.08

Thoughts from the round pen,

"Some other lessons have relevance for everyday life. I ask the horse to trust; it will trust so long as I am trustworthy. These animals are smart, and they don't forget a lesson, so make sure to know what I want to teach them, and thus avoid a prolonged period of trying to unteach behaviors I don't want. Don't punish refusal to obey, but give consequences the horse understands. Stop the training session on a high note--if necessary, back up to something the horse already knows and reward it well. And that patience comes from having right-sized expectations, and being willing to set aside those expectations when the horse has other ideas. Even horses have bad days.
I have long believed that we teach people how to treat us. That certainly held true for the horses and burros. The trainer's alpha mare attitude wasn't the simple dominance I had imagined, nor was there any pleading or placating with the horse. The correct approach required clarity of intention, simple communication, and choices for the horse. Consistency engendered respect, not fear; calmness rather than anxiety; confidence and trust, not confusion. Revising the bumpersticker about dogs and their owners: I would like to fully be that person a horse would need me to be
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(Anton Torrence)