This perfect control gives horses instant response to any outside stimulus. For example, if you strike a horse with a whip you get an immediate action of some kind, which depends on the breed of horse.
It is because of this highly developed nervous organization that the horse has displaced all other animals who are able to carry heavy loads among civilized people.
But here's a common problem:
The horse is often given credit for more intelligence than he deserves. Many would even place him on a level of reason with the man. Perhaps this is because of the demeanor of most horses, but it is a fallacy.
Now don't get me wrong. Horses aren't Stupid, but THE HORSE CANNOT REASON. It may be able to act on how you touch it, or speak to it, but this is a learned response after you spend many hours with your horse. If you notice at first, these interactions do not have the desired response with your horse, and it is only with firm interaction that they learn the meaning you intend.
I make this statement, not merely as a theory, but as a fact based upon more than twenty years of close observation and contact with many thousands of horses.
In the area of intelligence and reason, there is a vast gulf between man and horse - a gulf so wide that no horse will most likely ever cross it. You need to understand that horses look smart, but need time to learn what we are intending, and take that into account if you want to be effective in training your animal!
Since the horse cannot talk and does not understand what you say, you will have to make your wants known to him in the first place through the sense of touch. Later this method of communication will be merged into that of voice and motions. As for instance, a touch of the whip will mean at first "Go on"; later a motion of the whip will have the same effect, and at last the word "Get-up" will mean the same thing.
When you talk to the horse through the sense of touch, take into consideration the nervous organization. To some horses a sharp stroke of the whip may be very cruel, because of the extreme sensitiveness of their nerves, or being thin skinned as many term it, when to another horse the same stroke would only attract attention.
Watch your horse closely so that you may know and act accordingly. You cannot train a horse and put only half your attention to your work. Be alert and keen, ready to take advantage of any sign of submission or wilfulness.
Want to know more? You can unlock the secrets to training any horse -- you just need to take that first step today.
Despite mankind's top level status in the evolutionary chain, understanding and making friends in the animal kingdom has a lot of rewarding benefits. Whether the formed relationship is for companionship, working purposes, or both, it helps to when one can learn the language of the animal counterpart.
The great thing about animals is their honesty. They give signs of what they are thinking and feeling and it's up to you to decipher the message. It's no different with horses as you have to understand their mindset of where they are coming from.
Horses are herd animals. They are also prey animals so they can get a bit twitchy if they perceive you as a hunter. In the wild, a herd is governed by a boss mare. She protects the herd's safety by looking for dangers and motivates the herd into flight from predators. When the boss mare is on alert with her head up and her ears are pricked forward along with tense muscles, the herd knows it's a danger sign and is prepared to run at her signal. However, when the lead mare is relaxed with her head down grazing, the rest of the herd knows it can relax too. You can tell that a horse is at ease by the position of its head, the relaxation in the ears, the drop of the tail and yes, even a deep sigh too.
For her leadership, the boss mare is given complete obedience from the herd. She controls the space, food and water resources of the herd. This is the status that a horse trainer would want. A trainer will need to be accepted as part of the herd and take the position of a leader by providing safety and food resources.
In training a horse, it's about a trainer's ability to control his body language as well. He must not back away from a horse or else lose his position in the herd hierarchy. He must also control his breathing and his muscles as the fear will be sensed by the horses. The task is to establish leadership by portraying the ability to care for the herd and showing fear certainly won't inspire confidence!
By taking an interest in the nature of horses and how their minds work, it makes the relationship more beneficial to both the horse and the trainer. A relationship based on bonding rather than fear and pain makes natural horsemanship the preferred method in horse training.
Both Jack Sinclair & Mariam Ma are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.