Post by Calaminty Jane on Nov 22, 2012 14:43:04 GMT -5
Taming Comes Before Starting in Any Young Horses Development
-by Pat Parelli
This article was originally published in the May 2011 issue of Savvy Times magazine. Recent back-issues of Savvy Times are available for Parelli members in the Resources section of Parelli Connect.
I believe the four stages every horse should go through in order to be set up for success during his life are taming, starting, foundation and then specialization or sport training. If you don’t progress through these stages in order, then you leave gaping holes in the horse’s development. You end up realizing only a fraction of the potential of that horse.
Your last colt may have been tamed at birth, but that doesn’t mean the colt you are working with today is.
We hear a lot of talk about colt starting, but there is an important step that comes before starting. To me, taming a horse absolutely must happen before starting, or you haven’t won the Friendly game.
Every horse needs to be tamed, but for some it happens during the first twenty minutes of life, during imprinting. Others don’t ever experience taming and hopscotch to being started. Perhaps they miss their foundation and hopscotch to performance, and then people are left wondering why a horse blows up in the warm-up pen.
It is no big secret what caused that situation: it is simply that the horse has not gone through each of those four stages of development. The stages should be transitional, so that the horse doesn’t even think about the stages but knows he just want to come back for more the next day.
When you walk into a corral with a young horse, you have no record of his history. It is important to not assume that taming is a done deal. Always start from the beginning — not the middle — of the book.
People tend to be dogmatic and figure that they’ll just do things the way they worked last time. The problem with that approach and young horses is that you don’t know whether the horse is tame. Your last colt may have been tamed at birth, that doesn’t mean the colt you are working with today is. If you don’t work with a plan, you leave yourself open to that risk of leaving gaping holes.
Taming, unlike starting, is teaching a horse that there is nothing to fear. You absolutely have to establish that horse’s belief that you are not going to kill him. If the horse does not fully believe you are not going to harm him, then you’ve lost before you’ve started.
You need to have a skeleton structure when you start working with young horses, but it needs to be a flexible structure that allows you to adapt to the situation and the horse. The variations come in with the horse’s Horsenality, based on innate characteristics, learned behavior, environmental influences and spirit. By the time you get done with working with an untamed horse for the first time, his Horsenality is already starting to shift.
When you come back again tomorrow with a mustang, you start again in reading where that horse is. You need to not make assumptions about what you think you know about him. Untamed horses require all the savvy you can muster. I used to make a lot of mistakes in my approach, thinking I was going to do something to the horse, not with the horse and for the horse. That shift in attitude is critical. You are developing a young mind when you are taming or starting a horse.
Mustangs are perfect to show the philosophical difference between taming and starting, because they’ve received minimal interaction with humans. They are blank slates. Otherwise, mustangs are like all horses. Each one has a Horsenality based on innate characteristics, learned behavior, environment and experience. Some mustangs are gentle. But like domestic horses, some are less tractable and don’t have an easy nature.
A lot of people make the assumption that because they’re mustangs they’re going to be tough. That’s not necessarily true. I’ve had some mustangs that were so easy it was ridiculous and some that were a real challenge. But again, it depends on their age and on their influences.
There are no guarentees. You need to know how to read the horse and know when the horse is likely to be responsive or reactionary. If you get all green lights, taming is something that goes smoothly and seamlessly moves into starting and then foundation.
Taming and starting horses is a metaphor for horsemanship as a whole. Make the first ride as if he’s been ridden a thousand times, and ride your horse for the thousandth time as though it was his first. Getting the smallest details right is critical to becoming a horseman. Taming and starting colts shows you where you falls short more quickly than perhaps any other stage you go through with your horse.
As you move through the stages of development all the way to the highest levels of performance, always remember the magic formula:
Accept the Human (as a friend and a leader)
+
Accept the Saddle (placement and wearing it)
+
Accept the Rider (as passenger then guide)
+
Accept the Bit (wearing, communicating)
This is a great formula to review for any horse, throughout his life. Many, many "trained" horses still have gaping holes in one or more of these areas. If you start with taming, move to starting, then foundation and finally specialization and always remember the magic formula for acceptance, then you and your horse will be set up for a lifetime of success together
About Parelli
Pat Parelli, coiner of the term “natural horsemanship”, founded his program based on a foundation of love, language and leadership. Parelli Natural Horsemanship allows horse owners at all levels of experience to achieve success. Together with his wife Linda, Pat has spread PNH across the globe with campuses in the United States, United Kingdom and Austraila
-by Pat Parelli
This article was originally published in the May 2011 issue of Savvy Times magazine. Recent back-issues of Savvy Times are available for Parelli members in the Resources section of Parelli Connect.
I believe the four stages every horse should go through in order to be set up for success during his life are taming, starting, foundation and then specialization or sport training. If you don’t progress through these stages in order, then you leave gaping holes in the horse’s development. You end up realizing only a fraction of the potential of that horse.
Your last colt may have been tamed at birth, but that doesn’t mean the colt you are working with today is.
We hear a lot of talk about colt starting, but there is an important step that comes before starting. To me, taming a horse absolutely must happen before starting, or you haven’t won the Friendly game.
Every horse needs to be tamed, but for some it happens during the first twenty minutes of life, during imprinting. Others don’t ever experience taming and hopscotch to being started. Perhaps they miss their foundation and hopscotch to performance, and then people are left wondering why a horse blows up in the warm-up pen.
It is no big secret what caused that situation: it is simply that the horse has not gone through each of those four stages of development. The stages should be transitional, so that the horse doesn’t even think about the stages but knows he just want to come back for more the next day.
When you walk into a corral with a young horse, you have no record of his history. It is important to not assume that taming is a done deal. Always start from the beginning — not the middle — of the book.
People tend to be dogmatic and figure that they’ll just do things the way they worked last time. The problem with that approach and young horses is that you don’t know whether the horse is tame. Your last colt may have been tamed at birth, that doesn’t mean the colt you are working with today is. If you don’t work with a plan, you leave yourself open to that risk of leaving gaping holes.
Taming, unlike starting, is teaching a horse that there is nothing to fear. You absolutely have to establish that horse’s belief that you are not going to kill him. If the horse does not fully believe you are not going to harm him, then you’ve lost before you’ve started.
You need to have a skeleton structure when you start working with young horses, but it needs to be a flexible structure that allows you to adapt to the situation and the horse. The variations come in with the horse’s Horsenality, based on innate characteristics, learned behavior, environmental influences and spirit. By the time you get done with working with an untamed horse for the first time, his Horsenality is already starting to shift.
When you come back again tomorrow with a mustang, you start again in reading where that horse is. You need to not make assumptions about what you think you know about him. Untamed horses require all the savvy you can muster. I used to make a lot of mistakes in my approach, thinking I was going to do something to the horse, not with the horse and for the horse. That shift in attitude is critical. You are developing a young mind when you are taming or starting a horse.
Mustangs are perfect to show the philosophical difference between taming and starting, because they’ve received minimal interaction with humans. They are blank slates. Otherwise, mustangs are like all horses. Each one has a Horsenality based on innate characteristics, learned behavior, environment and experience. Some mustangs are gentle. But like domestic horses, some are less tractable and don’t have an easy nature.
A lot of people make the assumption that because they’re mustangs they’re going to be tough. That’s not necessarily true. I’ve had some mustangs that were so easy it was ridiculous and some that were a real challenge. But again, it depends on their age and on their influences.
There are no guarentees. You need to know how to read the horse and know when the horse is likely to be responsive or reactionary. If you get all green lights, taming is something that goes smoothly and seamlessly moves into starting and then foundation.
Taming and starting horses is a metaphor for horsemanship as a whole. Make the first ride as if he’s been ridden a thousand times, and ride your horse for the thousandth time as though it was his first. Getting the smallest details right is critical to becoming a horseman. Taming and starting colts shows you where you falls short more quickly than perhaps any other stage you go through with your horse.
As you move through the stages of development all the way to the highest levels of performance, always remember the magic formula:
Accept the Human (as a friend and a leader)
+
Accept the Saddle (placement and wearing it)
+
Accept the Rider (as passenger then guide)
+
Accept the Bit (wearing, communicating)
This is a great formula to review for any horse, throughout his life. Many, many "trained" horses still have gaping holes in one or more of these areas. If you start with taming, move to starting, then foundation and finally specialization and always remember the magic formula for acceptance, then you and your horse will be set up for a lifetime of success together
About Parelli
Pat Parelli, coiner of the term “natural horsemanship”, founded his program based on a foundation of love, language and leadership. Parelli Natural Horsemanship allows horse owners at all levels of experience to achieve success. Together with his wife Linda, Pat has spread PNH across the globe with campuses in the United States, United Kingdom and Austraila