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The list goes through periods during which
new folk come along who invariably bring with them the
techniques and cultural thinking which have been successful
to date. I agree with what you have said, in principle. I
am inclined though to be a tad more forgiving of these folks
<g> and I wouldn't reduce their entire life's experience
down to a personality flaw. I'm sure that no one here would
intend such a consequence I'm just reading the statement
from the other's perspective. :-)
To these new folks I would want to say that it is absolutely
possible to eliminate the words "dominate", "boss", "alpha
mare" from your training vocabulary and still not get run
over. It will not be easy. The "old" ways will creep in
out of habit. And you will need to accumulate a bunch of
new ideas and techniques. However it will become infinitely
easier once the "paradigm shift" has occurred in your
thinking.
Most traditional /conventional horsemanship revolves around
a core concept of dominance, submission and herd dynamics.
Many of us have been to certain horsemanship seminars where
such ideas are espoused. I did say -most-. :-) If you are
lucky you will find yourself at a Harry Whitney or Mark
Rashid clinic. Neither of these guys would be caught dead
with a clicker. LOL But you also will not hear the word
dominance--other than to say that that kind of language
isn't "fitting" when it comes to dealing with horses.
It was actually Bill Dorrance's book "True Horsemanship
Through Feel" which solidified my own paradigm shift. About
five years ago I was struggling to marry what I'd learned
about clicker training with what I was learning from Harry,
Mark and Bill. I had been thinking that they were two
separate concepts. But a particular passage in Bill's book
made me realize that both were part of one large complex
integrated tapestry of ideas revolving around simply MAKING
THE RIGHT THING OBVIOUS.
Since then all vestiges of dominance theory have melted
away. What I work with now and it has not failed me yet is
a simple idea that if the horse knew what I wanted and was
able to do it, he would be doing it.
As the (presumably<LOL>) "brains of the operation" it is
my responsibility to seek out the reasons why the horse
doesn't understand or feels unable to comply. I have found
that there are LOTS of perfectly valid explanations for a
horse's "disobedience" (another word off my vocabulary list)
which have nothing to do with dominance, submission, or
power plays for alpha position. Never will you hear me say
"he's being a sh**", "he knows but he's trying to dominate"
or "he's got your number" or any other such remarks
that suggest that
the responsible party vis a vis this horse's understanding
is not ME. :-)
Anyway, I wanted only to say that I respect anyone's effort
to make a change like this. It is not so easy. You can't
just walk away from what 'worked' and replace it with
nothing!! Once you have more skills and ideas which support
the new paradigm you will see it gets easier. It also gets
easier when you are able to surround yourself with people
who are of like mind and will support your efforts to work
through the inevitable bumps in the road. IOW immerse
yourself in a new culture that is based on a desire to help
the horse be successful. Win/win! Luckily for us the most
flexible and forgiving in this whole equation are the
horses!
sf/cr
Yes it is interesting how we interpret their
behavior. Seems how we interpret it depends a lot on the
horsemanship-culture we grew up in. Is the horse mean, a
bully, dominant? Or is he confused, frustrated, worried?
There is a big difference in our attitude and approach, too,
when we view the horse as needing/wanting our help and
support rather than as adversaries.
Horses by nature WANT to get along. That is what they do
best cuz even amongst themselves that is what they practice,
getting along. What WE see when we observe them (mainly in
unnatural groups in small paddocks) is what they do when
they are worried and frustrated about not having enough
space and having to compete for limited resources. Most
horses in the wild would probably choose to just go to a
different patch of grass.
I am of the opinion that our first goal should be to
convince the horse he has nothing to fear from me. If he
feels safe then he's in a better frame of mind to think
about what I have to say. I could say that this is a horsey
thing but really it could be said about any learning
environment. Safety trumps other reinforcers till safety is
assured.
The way we approach a horse
says a lot to the horse. I don't go charging in with an I'm
the boss attitude. If I'm at the stall door and the horse
is behaving in a less than welcoming way I will read that as
I need to soften my approach NOT try to get bigger than they
are. Most of us behave like bulls in a china shop around
horses and it bothers them. So I stand at the door and ask
permission, if you will, to come in. May I approach? I
come in peace (no safety compromise here). Bearing gifts.
:-)(the gift isn't necessarily food, maybe just a soft touch
or scratching of a favored spot) Usually the answer is 'oh
hi nice to see you, she's such a nice girl, so polite'.
Obviously if a horse has had a lot of bad experiences with
humans then it is going to take some time before the horse
opens the door for you. But I see no point in making an
introduction be a battle of wills from the get go.
sf/cr
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