[QUOTE=vxf111;7356494]
I am nowhere near the rider this girl is and half an ounce of her patience.
I did think as I was watching-- that is the swappiest horse I have ever seen. Even when he’s going well… it’s CONSTANT swapping all over the place. Just makes me wonder if there isn’t some physical component to it.
Not that a physical problem excuses behavior… but… even as he’s spooking and carrying on-- there’s so muich swapping.[/QUOTE]
I’ve observed that sort of behavior as well, along with horses that just won’t travel a straight line, preferring to dance around on either side of it instead. I suspect that is a natural fear reaction. Probably an unstable, fearful mind looking for an out - “I’ll dodge out this way - oh well I can’t, so I’ll veer over that way”.
The greatest thing this rider did for this horse was increase his confidence in the rider. Once the horse believed he had good leadership and was safe (as he saw it), he was all there for the job.
That’s the most important point, to me.
Yes, as I read it, that’s what she learned. Another very good point we can all learn from her experience.
[QUOTE=NoDQhere;7356236]This is exactly what gets so many people in trouble with snotty, ill mannered horses.
Insisting on good safe manners and RESPECT for people is the best thing you can teach any horse, talented or not. Because you are just as injured whether the horse hurt you “accidentally” or “on purpose”.[/QUOTE]
Agreed that there needs to be an uncompromising training standard of a respectful horse - I think the question is “how”. The trainer has to adapt to what gets results from the individual horse. I think sometimes one-size-fits-all training is what produces these problems on horses that need something different to get through to them.
And this is exactly what gets so many horses in trouble with people, when the horse hasn’t been able to learn from whatever training it was given (or not given).
The horse demonstrated that, with the right kind of horsemanship, he was an outstanding performer. That’s the most important point.
Had he gotten what he really needed from the beginning, perhaps no big dramas such as those we saw in the video. Although this horse may have been more reactive and resistant than many, bottom line is that it was never the horse’s quirks that were the most limiting factor. It was the training that was the key to success.
This horse was more un-focused, resistant, less forgiving and less understanding than many horses. As was demonstrated by his more current performance video, he wasn’t a lost cause. He was always a horse being a horse - of course this kind of horse is certainly NOT for everyone who rides.
But he’s not THAT unusual, although he had become much worse than usual - he doubtless didn’t start that way. The thing that troubles me is classifying horses that don’t fit our preferred training style as ‘rogue’, when all they need is training that is effective for them. Not the ‘2x4 upside the head’ kind, either. The trainer who was coaching in the lesson video obviously understood what to do.
I do wonder how they corrected the kicking. My guess is that it wasn’t just through riding, but it would be interesting to know.
Too many people will blame the horse and treat him as a ‘rogue’, instead of saying “we need to find the right trainer/rider/owner for this horse”. So many riders/owners seem to think that if they aren’t doing well with a horse, no one else will either, and obviously that isn’t true. What happens too often is that the horse receives less understanding at each step down the ladder of knowledgeable owners/trainers.
Horses are what we make of them through breeding and handling. The horse is driven by firmly hard-wired instinct, as well as conditioning, and makes few, if any, true choices. They have no capacity to understand morals and values, only to react to their experiences. They are born with a range of temperaments and personalities, and what becomes of each horse has far more to do with the experiences it has at the hands of humans than anything else. IMO 
What does it mean that some people respond to a VERY successful training project by thinking of reasons to dismiss it, to criticize the rider’s & trainer’s choices instead of acknowledging their success? Looking at it from all angles is a very good thing, as is examining all the interim mistakes and successes. But dismissing it as a poor choice is a bit mystifying to me. Obviously not a training project most riders should take on, but still a valuable chance to learn, imo. So glad they did video and post the videos.
