EQUUS
~Trends of Training~
Number 42 enters the ring: tall graceful Danish Warmblood; legs wrapped white; a coat as sleek as black satin; proud head set; with a twinkle in his eyes
you watch in awe as this magnificent horse prances around the ring. You wonder to yourself, what could I do to make my horse behave like that???
It’s all in the training say present day horse experts!
I am going to give you a little insight on the Trends of Training. From past days of taming the wild west to present days of horse whisper’s like John Lyons and Ray Hunt.
About 2 centuries ago the demand for reliable transportation was great. The motor vehicle had not been invented and so the fastest form of transportation was the horse. The horse was in constant demand and was an asset to the American settler. There was little time for training, the settlers figured the faster they trained the foals the less money they lost.
“In the past horse breaking has been man against horse, checking his will, and dominating him” says Doctor William O’ Reed the Dean of North American Track Veterinarians.
The methods of the settlers where very harsh not only physically for the horse but also mentally. The settler had no comprehension of the horse other than his beast of burden.
The term breaking horses many times also meant breaking bones. In mild cases of breaking the trainer would force the horse to the ground, sit on his head and tie his legs together, but when the horse was even more uncooperative drastic measures where taken.
Thomas Blundeville came up with the idea that for the more uncooperative horses. The trainer should take an iron bar set with prickles, suspend it from the horses tail, pass it through the legs. And attach a cord to the other end… in which the rider could lift up to the extent of punishment that was needed.
The idea of these harsh ways where to demoralize the horse…to brake his will, spirit and destroy his personality. During the time of the renaissance, the Duke of New Castle said
“A boy is a long time before he knows his alphabet, longer before he learns to spell, and perhaps several years before he can read distinctly, and yet there are some people who, as soon as they get on a young horse, entirely undressed and untaught, fancy that by beating and spurring him they will make him a dressed horse in one morning only: I would faint ask such stupid people weather by beating a boy they would teach him to read without first showing him the alphabet, surly they would beat him to death before he would learn to read!!!”
Eventually new methods of training where developed, however these methods where not popular, back then people thought of horse whispers as witches involved in black magic.
But well respected horse whisperer Monty Roberts says that these methods are nothing more than a language of understanding and reading the actions of equus. They see into the creature’s souls and soothe the wounds they find there.
The only tools a horse whisperer uses are a round enclosure, also known as a round pen, a cotton rope and his understanding of the horse. A man once described round penning as becoming the leader of the herd where the horse will trust you with his life and have deep respect for you!
When you round-pen you do become the leader of the herd, you say when you want to communicate and when you want the horse to move forward. But you do this with body language, not whips or spurs or by harsh voices. The Horse whisperer uses the cotton rope to urge the horse forward along the perimeter of the round-pen. He does this by swinging the rope around like a water wheel, about 2 inches of the rope should hit the ground, making the same sound as a jump rope. Certain body movements made by the horse whisperer send different commands to the horse, such as: when the horse whisperer speeds up the swinging rope the horse speeds up, or when the horse whisperer puts the rope in the other hand so that it is in front of the horse the horse will change direction. During this NO words are spoken. The horse whisperer is now using the language of equus.
The horse stays trotting in the circle then come the signs of trust and respect. First a cocked ear towards the trainer, then chewing motions and finally the sign that the horse wants trust. He lowers his head to about 5 inches from the ground.
The fate of the horse rested then as now with his owner. Where proper food and lodgings were traded for equine services render that the life of the horse would be decent and long, but in all reality the horse in abject servitude, the horse beaten because his owner knew no alternative, and the horse starved because his owner lacked the means. Our long association with the horse is like a road that here moves cleanly forward and there twists inanely back upon its self. The history of horsemanship is less about sugar than pepper less about light than dark and certainly less about mindful kindness than thoughtless cruelty.
In short, the life of training has taken many turns, for good and for bad, the heart of man kind is tactless in its own way, training should not be a fearful experience, but one full of positive memories. I hope that I have shed some light on your knowledge of training so that you can make the right choices in training your horse!
The horse tamable as they seem will always have tremendous heart and morale though maybe hidden away in there frightened souls.
The very symbol of grace beauty and power lies in
EQUUS
Were you impressed by that speech? Well if you were, let me tell you a little about the person who wrote it. She is my daughter. She is an exceptional teenage girl with an attitude to match. She will go to the Nationals and represent the State of New Hampshire in Louisville, Kentucky, November 1999. So if your in the area check her out.
Update
Cesar
The girls pet
