TRAINING PHILOSOPHY - WHAT IS THE ULTIMATE AIM OF TRAINING? *Apologies for the length of this post but I think its an important topic to explore in depth. Please read to the end and view the linked videos and then join in the conversation* A few days ago some friends and I were discussing horse training philosophy. We were talking about different styles and techniques and discussing their merits and downsides. At one point I shared my opinion that many (all?) of the trainers/clinicians that tout themselves as being natural horseman/doing natural horsemanship, in reality train with the aim of stripping the horse of its very horse-ness to create submissive machines and were, IMO, not natural at all. Through discussing this a little further I found that my friends agreed and that we all instead preferred methods that allow the horse to be a horse; methods that truly work with the horse to make it a better horse... not just a more submissive/obedient/respectful horse. Ive long held this view but have always had trouble explaining exactly what troubles me about many of these trainers and why I feel the methods I have gravitated towards are more natural and... well, just better. So after our conversation I thought more on it and this is what Ive come up with (interested to hear the thoughts of others - please keep it polite and respectful). Natural Horsemanship methods talk a lot about respect, dominance, submission, alphas and herd leaders because thats their focus, their aim: to create a leader/follower master/servant relationship where man is the strong leader/master and the horse is the respectful/obedient follower/servant. IMO they actually dont want their horses to behave like horses. They essentially want machines that are 100% under their control, stripped of all choice, that do what theyre told, when theyre told. There are however, other methods/schools of thought, that instead, aim to create a teacher/student relationship. Methods that guide the horse to the right behaviour and encourage the horse to move better (gymnasticise its body), and to think better (to be in a relaxed learning frame of mind) so that the end result is still an obedient horse that is doing the things people want horses to do, but that is still a horse. And is generally, actually, a more beautiful and happier horse because it has been finessed rather than forced. To illustrate my point of view here are links to two videos of trainers working on teaching a horse to lunge. The first is from Pat Parelli*. Besides the fact that at first I found it difficult to understand what hes asking the horse to do (and Im a human so how is the horse supposed to work out what hes asking?! (Although to the horses credit, she did work it out)), take note of what hes aiming to achieve. Not just the specific task hes asking for here (lunging) but the relationship hes trying to achieve with the horse. He wants the horse to be doing all the work. He wants to stand still in the middle of the circle while the horse continues to circle around him (like an automaton) until he asks it to do something else. And thats what he achieves, so well done, he was successful in training what he wanted to train and I wouldnt say theres anything cruel about his method... I just think its unnecessary to require that very subservient attitude from the horse to achieve your aim (surely ultimately to be able to safely and happily work with, around and on your horse). Im aware that many people will disagree with me and think that level of unquestioning obedience is brilliant and aim for just that same type of result themselves. Is that maybe though, simply because they have been schooled by all the NH hype to think thats what they SHOULD be aiming for? So now to the second video. It is of Manolo Mendez* and to me is much gentler and kinder and yet still is training the horse to do what people want (ie its not wandering merrily about under no control at all). Yes, it is going to be a much slower process. Yes, Manolo would never win a Road To The Horse competition (although, lol, Im fairly certain hed be horrified at the suggestion of comparing his training to such a competition). But I feel it is the type of training relationship that more people should be aiming for. Because (and heres the take home message folks) when I compare the two videos... I know which horse Id prefer to be! m.youtube/watch?v=ZhYoDzIJCxA m.youtube/watch?v=NLSOEyEx3DY *I have chosen these particular trainers simply because these videos illustrate my point perfectly. There are many other NH trainers that train similarly to Pat and some other trainers that seem to share Manolos philosophies (but very few videos of them!)
Posted on: Wed, 31 Dec 2014 00:08:13 +0000
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