LONG!! What "Natural" Horsemanship is to me...

[Linda Cowles <lindac@gilroy.com>]

> << Whatever. It works. I carry a crop too. If the horse knows why it's in
> your hand ... you
> won't have to use it.
> 
> ... A brave opinion in this politically correct time!  Everybody is
> so carried away with "natrual horsemanship" that they forget the realities of
> the situation.  Thanks for saying it.

Gee, folks, I hate it when I start sounding like a staunch advocate for
any one training regimen, but I have to open up my silly mouth and
clarify what NH is for me.

I advocate what makes sense and is effective for me. Unfortunately the
whole story can't be told in a few lines of email, or I'd do it. Am I up
to more than a few hundred lines on NH?? A few thousand? 

Horses "naturally" communicate by kicking, biting, ramming and shoving
each other with very strong forceful moves. They are also very loyal 
and affectionate to each other, building patterns of accommodating 
behavior that cements their bonds as a herd.

NH (Natural Horsemanship) is based on communicating with a horse in 
the language they understand and respect. It has to be strong enough 
to demand respect, but has to accommodate the horses need to be accepted 
by a leader. The whole technique is built on attaining and retaining 
respect and validating the hierarchy between horse and rider. There is 
a lot of talk about prey / predator relationships with NH, but for me 
it all amounts to respect and appreciation.

How tough are horses on each other when disrespect is implied? Brutal. 
I have evidence in my pasture! Kadance and Gavilan get tons of 
attention, and a 3 YO stallion here, Roar, despises them. Roar adores 
attention, only gets it from me, is isolated from other horses because 
he's an aggressive stallion who hasn't been trained to behave around 
horses. I want to change that, but he has a fractured shoulder, 
gotten by ramming stalls in frustration... 

I'm his only friend. I unfortunately spend more time with my own horses 
than I can with Roar, and he sees it. He's great with other horses when 
I'm around because I'm tough on him if he's not. When I'm not there? 
He's a stallion that hasn't been trained. A TB race horse that can't 
be sent to the track because of his problem with other horses.

My boys escaped their pasture to raid the barn on Tuesday... bucket
burglars! I have NO clue how they got out! They didn't get into the 
barn, but while eating the grass outside Roars paddock, they angered 
him and he broke out (re-fracturing his shoulder), and whopped both of 
them, gnawing Kadance to hamburger. Kadance is 3 hands shorter and 
700 pounds lighter, a Napoleon-complex pony, and was raw skin and 2 in.
 deep contusions everywhere... he looked horrible! Gav got away with 
a few lacerations, and will be at Castle Rock this weekend. The next 
day Kadance was fine. He's very tender, but fine. Horses are so tough 
in some ways, and so delicate in others.

The point is, "Natural" isn't "Soft", and Mother Nature isn't nice when
she's dis'ed by the kids. When a horse disrespects a stallion or alpha
mare, that horse will get retribution.

That is "natural".

NH is "talking" with the horse in terms they comprehend and respect.
Communication is verbal and physical, and for the most part, involves a
great deal of kindness & infrequent physical discipline. The discipline
is there, it *is* stern, and it's delivery is assertively prompt. Horses
appreciate swift and stern discipline... if you are strong enough to 
lead justly, they're safe following you!

Horses engaged in dominance battles aren't tentative. When a horse does
something dangerous - disrespect to a human is dangerous - I react
appropriately. That is the NH way. Set them up to do the right thing,
and don't tolerate more than an alpha horse would tolerate. They have to
respect you. Without absolute respect, they won't trust, and without
trust and respect, they won't obey unless it's convenient or easy. Gav
doesn't behave just because I give him buckets! I'm powerful enough for
him to depend on, the most powerful entity in his life. That's the key.
They aren't humans, and don't have the same priorities. I can save his
butt - when I'm around!!! Kadance saved it on Tuesday.

Those gentle looking rope halters are sold for training with a bull snap
lead rope that has leather poppers on the end. You get a horses
attention from either end. When the rope is flipped solidly while
holding the end, the bull snap can whop the horse in the face. The
popper on the other end is a noisy thing when swung in a circle, but
stings if it lands. If abused, yacht rope lays a welt almost like a bull
whip. These are corrections only made when absolutely necessary, just
like the appropriate use of a crop. Usually the rope is wiggled, as a
crop is shown or used to tap. If you use the right timing and are
consistent, forceful corrections seldom necessary. Like a crop, the bull
snap training rope can cause a lot of pain, and can be misused.

NH halters are thin and strong; a solid yank on them is a strong
correction. They have knots on the nose band that are used to influence
the horse laterally, encourage give. They can be very mild and very
gentle, but are influential enough that I'll ride almost any horse
I know in one... the exception is a horse that doesn't bend; the "Whoa
of last resort" in a halter is a lateral maneuver. 

Successful NH trainers don't hesitate to make a stern correction when
it's called for. There's a strings of words along the line of "ask,
promise, deliver". When asking a horse to back up on the end of a line,
I snake the end of the rope very slightly (the ask), then I swing it
once or twice with more emphasis (the promise), and if a miracle occurs
and my horse isn't offering to back, they get a bop with the bull snap
(I deliver). I'm always fair and set them up to be successful, queue
them to expect a request of some sort, so if they aren't responding,
they are blowing me off. They know better and don't do it.

NH methods set the horse up to understand what's being asked, and make
it easy for them to do the right thing, hard to do the wrong thing. It's
soft training when the horse is soft, hard when the horse is hard. It's
a way of training the horse to willingly do the right thing, to not
resist.

Set the horse up for success, and give them freedom to make a the
choice, because if you don't let them be wrong, you can't train them to
make the right choices without constant guidance.

It isn't perfect!!! Far from it. It's a tool. That's all. A tool. A fine
craftsman can do great things with it. I'm a serious hobbyist. I'm only
fond of the tools because of what I can do with them. A well trained
horse is my objective, not adeptness with the tools used to train. Call
it what you want, it can work.

I'm not a zealot, not precise with it. It's fun for me. I use other
stuff too. For me, NH *IS* natural, it's how I'm most effective with
horses. The word "natural" may annoy some folks, but is appropriate for
me.

  -- Linda

-- 


  Linda Cowles    
  Lion Oaks Ranch  
  Gilroy CA



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