Re: RC: Spooking and, ETC>>>>>>>>>>>>

[DVeritas@aol.com]

In a message dated 9/20/00 8:59:21 PM Mountain Daylight Time, 
Marv@MarvWalker.com writes:

<< In actuality, the ONLY source of safety, confidence and comfort 
 a horse has is in the herd.  >>

    You must be talking about an untrained horse, a feral horse or some other 
horse, 'cause that statement is simply not true.  My horses, as well as 
others in the real world, defer to me when under saddle, and not because I am 
their "herd leader".  They have learned to trust me and THAT THEIR JOB IN 
LIFE HAS CHANGED AND THEY ARE NOT RUNNING LOOSE IN A HERD IN THE RUBY 
MOUNTAINS.   That happens over time and life experiences together...sure my 
horses and I play "join up" or "bonder" or whatever word you want to call the 
horse's responses based on the herd dynamic, BUT, that DOES NOT ALWAYS RESULT 
IN A RELIABLE MOUNT.  It must be BUILT from that point.
    The moment we slip a halter on a horse, WE are redefining the horse's 
world.  Meeting them "half-way" is not a bad thing (IMO), but we certainly 
aren't becoming a herd, though that dynamic is not a bad place to start 
putting a horse at ease with whom we are and what we want from them.
    I believe that Threat Assessment Capabilities range from the barely 
existant to the acute in horses, regardless of breed or nature of performance.
    And, it seems to me, that the better horse world is a world populated by 
those horses whose ability to determine what is and what isn't a threat is 
refined and fine-honed and not simply passed to a (so called) "herd 
leader."....(although the "herd leader", "join up" or "bonder"  has a 
cause/effect dynamic on the horse/person relationship (predicated on "horse 
behavior responses), it is not the same as good, effective horse training.)  
    Now, that said, I want to reiterate the phrase, "good, effective horse 
training".
    Horses can become accountable (read, "want to") for their behavior and 
everything out there is not based on some R-complex brain behavior that was 
discovered by some guy speaking "EQUUS" or whatever.
     Horsemanship and (so called) "Natural Horsemanship" can and do 
complement each other.  But, "Natural Horsemanship" without Horsemanship 
places a lot of people in dangerous and unfamiliar territory.
     Have a nice "Mind Meeting Mind Moment",

                Frank Solano