Post by Calaminty Jane on Mar 12, 2011 9:14:24 GMT -5
I want to dance with my horse
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“The more they are right …. The harder they try.”
How can I help my horse be right all the time? When I look back these last 10 years with Mac, I realize that even when I was trying my best to be positive, I was making him feel wrong most of the time…. Simply because I spent most of our time together with him having to guess what I wanted. Instead of directing him, I spent my time correcting/punishing him. I’ll always be grateful that I had the opportunity to meet Ray Hunt. I was fortunate enough to have a couple of private conversations with Ray. The 2 things I took away from those meetings were the beginning of understanding how hard I was making things for my horse. The first thing he said was….. most people tell their horse “I have something I’d like you to do. I’m going to give you a little information. You have to guess the rest… and… If you get it wrong I’m going to punish you”. Of course, I didn’t think that was true. I never hit my horse. Oh sure I had to correct him or encourage him now and again. So I asked Ray “What’s the difference between correction and punishment?” His answer” Correction is when they think it….. Punishment is when you allowed the step”. If you spent time with Ray at a clinic, you would be hard pressed to count the times he said “You’re late! You’re late!” Here is where I started to become aware of what my horse was thinking. I began to realize that he was always asking questions which, of course, I had been ignoring all this time. Should I slow down, should I turn, go faster??? He would guess. If he guessed right …. I would ignore it. If he would guess wrong, according to Ray, I would punish him by saying with my reins.... no not that. But again... he would have to try another guess. Horses that seem really reactive to your legs and reins are the over achievers. They desperately want to do what you want because they don't want to be punished by an abrupt correction. When they sense you are about to ask for something, they quickly throw out an answer. As Dennis tells us, preparation and very clear direction is the answer. I now try to be with my horse in a way that he doesn’t have to ask so many questions because I am riding with him … not just sitting. When he does have to ask a question, I try my best to answer in that next stride. I realize that someone fairly new to horses will read this and think “This is kind of out there”. I believe being with a horse in this way is no different than two people who dance very well together. We all dance with our horses… people like Dennis just dance a little better.
Carol
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“The more they are right …. The harder they try.”
How can I help my horse be right all the time? When I look back these last 10 years with Mac, I realize that even when I was trying my best to be positive, I was making him feel wrong most of the time…. Simply because I spent most of our time together with him having to guess what I wanted. Instead of directing him, I spent my time correcting/punishing him. I’ll always be grateful that I had the opportunity to meet Ray Hunt. I was fortunate enough to have a couple of private conversations with Ray. The 2 things I took away from those meetings were the beginning of understanding how hard I was making things for my horse. The first thing he said was….. most people tell their horse “I have something I’d like you to do. I’m going to give you a little information. You have to guess the rest… and… If you get it wrong I’m going to punish you”. Of course, I didn’t think that was true. I never hit my horse. Oh sure I had to correct him or encourage him now and again. So I asked Ray “What’s the difference between correction and punishment?” His answer” Correction is when they think it….. Punishment is when you allowed the step”. If you spent time with Ray at a clinic, you would be hard pressed to count the times he said “You’re late! You’re late!” Here is where I started to become aware of what my horse was thinking. I began to realize that he was always asking questions which, of course, I had been ignoring all this time. Should I slow down, should I turn, go faster??? He would guess. If he guessed right …. I would ignore it. If he would guess wrong, according to Ray, I would punish him by saying with my reins.... no not that. But again... he would have to try another guess. Horses that seem really reactive to your legs and reins are the over achievers. They desperately want to do what you want because they don't want to be punished by an abrupt correction. When they sense you are about to ask for something, they quickly throw out an answer. As Dennis tells us, preparation and very clear direction is the answer. I now try to be with my horse in a way that he doesn’t have to ask so many questions because I am riding with him … not just sitting. When he does have to ask a question, I try my best to answer in that next stride. I realize that someone fairly new to horses will read this and think “This is kind of out there”. I believe being with a horse in this way is no different than two people who dance very well together. We all dance with our horses… people like Dennis just dance a little better.
Carol