Things to ponder...

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How much human is a horse?

Lately, I got involved in one of those ineffable discussions on Facebook. Again. 
I know it‘s of no use, and I know it‘s a waste of time. But sometimes, I just can‘t keep my mouth shut. 
Like in the following case. One woman posted in the Natural Horsemanship Students group that she‘d been on holiday and now she‘s back and finds a changed horse. She was convinced that the horse was sulking because of her absence and asked what she could do about it. I dared to write that she might misinterpret the behavior. Because I doubt that horses can be insulted. 
Well, and here we are anthropomorphizing the horse. That horses have feelings is clear and not to be denied. But what exactly are they able to feel? Do they know the same emotions as us humans? Are we pretty similar in fact? 
There are no real answers as even science will probably never be able to place us in a horse‘s head and allow us to share its conscience. So what is left, are observations. Observations and the conclusions we draw. 
As you might know I am quite fond of traditional horsemanship and I‘ve learned that it‘s no good to project human traits on horses. And that‘s what I am convinced of. Still. Even after I got scolded for being an arrogant, bad, mean, vicious human who denies horses feelings and conscience and everything.

If she‘d asked, I‘d offered her my point of view along with some explanations (which she didn‘t want to hear of course). Well, I think that nature has equipped the horse with all the emotions necessary for his survival. And I think that nature has deprived the horse of all the emotions that would complicate his survival. For instance: If a horse knew no fear and no caution, it would make an easy prey. But what if a horse knew compassion or remorse? The stud would not be able to kill his competitor‘s offspring without being tortured by scruples afterwards. Maybe this scenario is possible. But unlikely, in my eyes. If horses knew remorse or guilt, that would imply that horses are able to judge their behavior and its consequences (for themselves and their buddies) in complex contexts plus far in the future. So the stud is tormented by his bad conscience but he still kills the non-legitimate sons of his mares. Plus, he really needs to apologize to his rival whose leg he almost broke at their last fight. Well, it may be possible, but it would be inconvenient, obstructive. I think nature prefers simple over complicated.

I don‘t deny horses emotions in general, of course. But I think that from time to time us humans would be well advised to take some distance from our egos and to see our horses as what they are: prey animals, domesticated for thousands of years, but still not to be compared with humans.

Of course, I want too that my horse loves me, misses me and defends me if necessary. But I believe, unfortunately, that without me he still has everything he needs to live a happy life. We are an accessory to our horses‘ lifes. Some of them like us and spending time with us, others would be happy if we‘d stayed away. I don‘t think that‘s sad or tragic. It‘s just the way it is. But out there seem to exist people (and not just a few) who cannot handle the thought that horses are independent to some degree and survive without their owners (I am writing about emotional bonds here. Of course, horses need food and water to survive). Of course, some horses form stronger bonds. But still, I think, they are able to sever them more quickly and easily than us humans could.


Looking at my project horse: He doesn‘t like to be touched or handled by persons he doesn‘t know. He then threatens to bite, pulls an angry face and if he feels extremely superior he might even kick. I could interpret this behavior as him missing his regular handlers and therefore being angry and insulted. But what I actually believe is this: He doesn‘t like his routines being changed and mixed up. 
If humans were around him that respected his needs and tuned into him, who respected his personal space, didn‘t flood him with too much energy and asked very politely - he‘d be fine with it and wouldn‘t mind if it were us or others. As long as his needs are taken care of. We are disposable. 


I‘m sorry if this doesn‘t sound like Fury or Black Beauty. But life‘s not a pony ride.

Posted by ridingwitheyesopen at 7:44 AM

Tuesday, December 2, 2014
 

Things to ponder...

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Why reward is overrated

I reward too often. I reward when I shouldn't. I reward behavior that doesn't deserve it (anymore). How, some may ask. You cannot reward often enough! Reward fuels motivation, without reward no learning!

Wrong (at least in my opinion).
To understand the most important lessons, horses need no reward.

I don't know about the situation in UK and the US, but here in Germany, people currently knock themselves out with rewarding and praising their horses. They damn negative reinforcement and promote positive reinforcement (unaware that negative does not mean bad in this context but simply taking something away).
Well, that's going to far, let's get back to why I think reward is overrated. 

First Example: I am in the arena with a very insecure mare (the readers of my newsletter will already know her). 
She thinks her last hour has come: The barn manager has watered the sand and the fencing is full of (horse eating) water spots. Her head is in the air, her eyes are wide, tail up, back hollow. She would love to run as she is a very reactive horse. But she cannot as running would bring her closer to the scary spots. So we start working her emotions. 

Approach and retreat, I let her explore her thresholds. If she can't stand it any longer, if she's too close to the spots and the pressure becomes too big, we withdraw again and bring some distance between us and the spots. Within half an hour the mare is relaxing more and more, at the end she's cool. I praised her verbally quite a lot, but that was not for her. It was for me, because I needed to express my joy over her development. For the mare my rewards didn't matter. She didn't want to please me or solve a puzzle the human presented her. For her, her life was at stake. Reward was of no importance. What really meant something to her was safety, calmness, relaxation - not exuberant praising or cuddling on my part.

Second Example:  I am again in the arena, this time with a rather dominant mare. She doesn't obey. I want her to back up, she pushes into my space. I want more room, she tries to crowd me. We discuss. 
This is no motivation issue. It's about respect. Again, reward from me, for yielding a few steps and giving me some air, does not interest the mare. I am not in the position to praise. I am not important enough, I don't have enough influence (yet). She doesn't want to please me. She wants to show me who's in charge.
Imagine you have a big discussion with a friend, but in the end you manage to agree at least partially. Then your friend says: "Well done that you finally accept my point of view." How would you feel about that? 
You cannot reward somebody if you are at eye level. There is a decent between the one rewarding and the one rewarded. As long as the mare doesn't accept me as higher in the hierarchy, she cannot take reward from me seriously. She needs to take me seriously first. I don't gain respect through reward.  

Us humans are very focused on reward and recognition. I am convinced that both of it is of far lesser importance to horses than we tend to assume. I usually work with release to show the horse that he is on the right track. When safety and respect are no issues anymore in our relationship with the horse, we then can think about ways to motivate him. But even then, just leaving them at peace is often reward enough. 

What do you think about reward?

Posted by ridingwitheyesopen

Things to ponder...

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Horsemanship - Part I

By: Charles Wilhelm 

 

For me, horsemanship is being knowledgeable of and responsible for every aspect of the horse. There are many areas we need to understand and one of the most important is hoof care. Next time I’ll discuss some other important areas.

There is a good deal of discussion now whether horses should be shod or go barefoot. I’m sticking my neck out here but here goes; this is an area where we should use common sense, taking into consideration the health of the feet and the amount and type of activity of the horse. We also need to consider the type of feed and the supplements the horse is getting. When a barefoot horse comes in for training and the feet are healthy with good conformation, I don’t recommend having the horse shod. Some horses have very hard feet with good conformation and will never need to be shod. If a horse with iron feet is working a lot on terrain that is rocky or abrasive, shoes may or may not be needed. We usually ride over many types of terrain and not just rocks. So, here again, we use common sense. The decision is always based on the health of the foot.

Some people say shoeing is not natural. Putting a rider on a horse’s back is not natural either. Plus, a rider adds more weight and that changes the dynamic of hoof care. Some people are adamant that all horses can go barefoot but that is just not true. Most horses can go barefoot under the right conditions, such as not being worked and being a pasture pet. Proponents - some not all - of going barefoot have the philosophy that all horses can go barefoot if given time to adjust. When a horse is going to go barefoot, time does need to be allowed for the feet to harden and adjust. If it takes a year to get a horse sound when barefoot, then I don’t think it is fair to the horse to leave it barefoot. There are special boots that can be placed on the feet to get them used to being unshod. These are similar to the Easy Boot that can be used out on the trail when a shoe is lost. These may help but the horse is still walking on a hard surface inside the boot. The more a horse is ridden by a rider who is paying attention, the more the rider is going to know if shoes are needed. The reality is that not every horse can always go barefoot.

You also hear that it is good to pull the shoes in winter and there is some merit to this. Mud often sucks the shoes off anyway and we usually ride less in the winter. It is fine to pull the shoes if the horse has healthy feet and can handle it. For a horse with a narrow heel, going barefoot gives the foot a chance to spread and the heel to open up. Also, going barefoot increases the flow of blood and supports a healthy foot. The feet are stimulated because there is more contact with the frog and the bottom of the sole.

I like big shoes on a horse because a large shoe allows the hooves to expand. If a horse is shod with a shoe that is too small the hoof cannot expand and will be constricted. The bottom of the hoof wall will contract; it can’t expand because there is no place for it to go. As it contracts, the farrier puts on another smaller shoe and this can cause a horse to go lame. The bottom of the shoe should not be smaller than the coronary band. Farriers often keep the shoes as small as possible so that the horse does not lose a shoe. It is true that a horse can over reach with the back foot and pull the front shoe off. I still want the biggest shoe that fits the horse to have plenty of room in the hoof wall for the nail. From my perspective, it is a good tradeoff.

A lot of the bad rap about shoeing is caused by improper shoeing. Much lameness is caused by poor trimming and shoeing. A two-day class is not sufficient to gain the knowledge required to shoe properly. I have a lot of different horses come in for training. About 90 percent of the time the horses are not shod properly because they are not balanced (the horse’s feet are not hitting the ground evenly) or the shoes are too small. I can understand why there is so much discussion about going barefoot, but a horse’s natural conformation needs to be able to handle it.

I don’t believe that all horses should be shod. I do believe that all horses that don’t have healthy feet should be shod. If they can’t stand up to a training program or go on a long trail ride without getting sore feet, they need shoes.

Horsemanship is a complete package. It is doing what works for the horse. It is not saying that barefoot is the only way or that shoeing is the only way. It is being flexible and reasonable to meet the individual needs of the horse. It is paying attention and recognizing your horse’s needs, protecting your horse with good stalls and fences, knowing about nutrition and health care — a complete package of knowledge and action. More, next time.

Charles Wilhelm

 

Upcoming March Events

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Spring is near and although the weather doesn't seem to be hinting it, the show schedule surely is.  We've got the Hamilton County Horseman's Club Show coming up March 14th, details can be found on the SHi "Events" page.  So if you're tired of the winter blues and just want to "get out", feel free to sign up via horseshowtime.com or just come hang out.  And for those of you true adventurers, there are two weeks of A rated shows in Wilmington, OH at the Roberts Arena specifically March 19-22 and March 25-29.  Anyone interested in showing in either of these MUST notify us sooner rather than later since stalls and traveling arrangements will have to be made...  For cost estimation of either shows please email or text me directly.

2015 SHi Shows...

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The 2015 SHi Show schedules and prize lists have been posted and are ready for your browsing pleasure!  Our events are not only beginner friendly but also the perfect opportunity to get those first horse show jitters out of the way on home turf!  EVERYONE is encouraged to attend, participate or just come cheer on the home crowd!  Stop by the Cafe to get  refreshed and check out our exclusive horse show menu!  We hope to see you all there!!!

New USEF Rated Winter Series in Ohio!!!

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We are super excited about the arrival of a new winter series for 2015 at the Roberts Arena in Wilmington Ohio, about 30 miles east of Cincinnati.  The show expenses (stalls, classes, etc.) appear to be the same as the rated St. Louis show, however with half of the traveling distance and time it will certainly become a popular winter destination for us!

The pdf prize list link is marked below.  We are planning on attending in February, stay tuned for more details...

 

Holiday Lesson Schedule

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With Christmas and New Years both falling on Wednesday and Thursday this year, make up lessons with Brian are scheduled as follows:

Wednesday (Christmas Eve) December 24th, lessons scheduled prior to 15:00

Thursday (Christmas Day) December 25th, NO lessons

Friday December 26th, regular lesson schedule

Saturday December 27th, scheduled make up lessons

Wednesday (New Year's Eve) December 31, lessons scheduled prior to 15:00

Thursday (New Year's Day) January 1, NO lessons

Friday January 2nd, regular lesson schedule

Saturday January 3rd, scheduled make up lessons

Traders Point 2014 Wrap Up

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After so much preparation and anticipation it's hard to believe Traders Point is over once again!  We hope everyone will enjoy the moments we managed to capture as much as we enjoyed capturing them!  Thank you to Team Sport Horse for the memories, congratulations to all and may we take the good with the bad, in stride, enjoying every moment to it's fullest!  Until next time...