One of the many questions that may come to mind is “what are the differences between the “natural” and the “traditional” methods”? The “natural” philosophy is to work at the horse’s level and in a way that is more natural to them (Lyons 4). The idea is to get the horse soft and responsive. It is important to do many repetitions to help the horse relax and get soft. The “traditional” training is more aggressive. It uses force rather than reasoning to train the horse (Lamb 32). It is natural for humans, since they are predators, to use force, muscle and brutality to gain what they want (37). This does not build trust in the horse; rather it builds relationships based on fear (Lyons 8). Humans need to learn how to see it from the horse’s point of view (33).
Horses communicate through body language. In a herd there is always a dominant horse... If one horse is able to move another horse’s feet, that horse becomes dominant. The “natural” trainer uses that to his advantage. “The feet are in your hands” (Hunt 85). This means that once the trainer can move the horse’s feet, he is in control. Once the horse understands that the trainer is the leader and becomes calm, it is safe to continue on in his training.
By working out the leadership role through body language, the horse will have trust in the trainer (Lamb 30). However, if the horse is forced to understand that the human is leader through brutality and pain, then the horse will fear the human. This will cause the horse to use defence to get rid of the discomfort and someone will end up hurt. Humans are predators and in order to work with horses with a trustful relationship, they must counteract their natural predator instincts (91). Using force and violence can, sometimes, get the horse under-saddle and in the bridle faster. People who do not have patience to train a horse do the traditional method. |