Re: Spooking / round pen work

["Sandy Bolinger" <bolinger@bigsky.net>]

parelli does lots of riding in the round pen---then onto the arena...Way to
much time there for my likes...but just exactly what some people
need....they have to start somewhere..maybe some of them NEVER want to get
out on the trail...who knows. Just because it's not my or your cup of tea,
doesn't mean it doesn't have enormous value for certain people and their
horses. And like I've said before, I've picked little tid-bits here and
there out of all these different "natural horsemanship techniques" and they
have been absolutely invaluable to me and my horses...

----- Original Message -----
From: Tracey <tracey@tbt.co.za>
To: <DVeritas@aol.com>; <bolinger@bigsky.net>
Cc: <ridecamp@endurance.net>
Sent: Wednesday, September 27, 2000 1:29 AM
Subject: Spooking / round pen work


> Sandy wrote:
>
>
> > Some people need that time in the round corral/arena in order  to build
> THEIR confidence...seems to me a large amount of what Parrelli does  is
> aimed at building the humans' confidence...hours and hours of asking the
> horse to do different things helps the person to figure out how a horse
> reacts to various stimuli...there are allot of people out there who have
an
> extremely difficult time interacting with horses because of a deep seated
> fear...the success of the natural horsemanship techniques has as much to
do
> with gaining the owners confidence as it does the horses'.>
>
>
> I have been mulling over this, and wondering why it makes no sense to me,
> and I think I've finally found it.
>
>
> Sandy, your assumption that round-penning builds confidence in the rider
is
> based on the assumption that you will be transferring what you have learnt
> about your horse in the round pen to your riding.  I just don't believe
this
> is the case.  Riding confidence is only learned by riding.  If a rider is
> not confident, and the horse makes a "spooky" move - even if it is only by
> stumbling - then the rider's natural reaction is to make every green rider
> mistake : lean forward, grab on the reins, grip with the knees, brace the
> back, etc, etc.  Nothing you learn in the round pen can teach you not to
do
> this.  It is a knee-jerk reaction that must be "unlearned".
>
>
> You can learn to be confident handling horses in the round pen, but again,
I
> honestly believe that it is a false sense of security for horse and rider,
> and that nothing can compensate for experience out on the trail, and that,
> even in hand, if a horse spooks or misbehaves on the trail, a nervous
> handler will not be confident in such a situation, just because he or she
is
> confident in the ring.
>
>
> Tracey
>
>
>
>