Post by Admin on Jun 12, 2016 7:01:59 GMT -7
My friendship with my horse has gotten so intimate. I no longer feel comfortable sharing videos or pictures.
In the past, me and my horse would have small, intimate moments once in a while. But now our bond together is intimate and it feels weird to post videos or pictures online.
Last weekend, I did what I never thought. I brought her into the indoor arena in only a neck rope and a lead attached to it. We walked, trotted, and backed up with it (on the ground). She also did what many would call "disrespectful" but I call this trust... I was leading her, and she stopped. She dropped down and began to roll. Then she lay down beside me as I stood, and I bent down and scratched her neck and she sighed, completely relaxed. Two years ago, I would never have thought to achieve this. Only a year ago, she wouldn't trot with me. And just the other day, we trotted together SEVERAL LAPS in the indoor arena in only a neck rope with me beside her.
In the past, I'd be running in front of her with a pressure-halter. She'd just be walking behind me with her head straight in the air, until I got out of breath. She was telling me she didn't like that. For a year I worked on just trotting around me in circles, working on transitions, and vocal cues at liberty. Then the other day, I was able to trot her in hand with only a neck rope. I didn't give treats, and hardly used petting rewards. The reward for Destiny was the exercise itself. She enjoyed running with me. Just as she has always run with her horse friends in the field without a reward, she enjoyed it with me. Not that there is anything wrong with training with treats or pets! I myself feed treats. But this to me has been a huge achievement.
Afterward, we played ball. I had always used treats. But this time, we chased it around, she threw it, and pushed it with her nose. The only thing she didn't want to do is the Spanish walk. That tells me that she most likely doesn't enjoy the movement itself. She'll prefer a reward when she does the Spanish walk. I learned so much about my horse last weekend. And I think she learned more about me as well.
I'm going to see her again today, and I will be playing with her again. But this time it will not be on video, nor will there be pictures. I am not criticizing anyone who does post videos or pictures of them and their horse. It is not wrong to do so, nor does it display a "poor" relationship with a horse. My bond with Destiny has been strong as soon as I started liberty, no doubt. And I still have shared videos and pictures of me and her. But in my personal opinion, my own friendship with my horse is private. Just as my intimate moments with human friends aren't broadcasted on YouTube.
By all means, keep making videos! I also encourage making a channel on YouTube if you haven't already. It's good for people to see this side of horse training! In fact, just by sharing my videos, I've gotten many people to try liberty training. Great results and formed wonderful bonds with their horses.
Also -- keep training with treats! I trained every single thing my horse knows using treats. The cordeo and the ball game I was able to do with zero treats and minimal petting rewards last weekend. In fact, those things would have been difficult to teach without treats!
Some may take this post in offense. You may think I hate using treats, think it's rude to video, etc. But that is definitely not the case! The way I do things with Destiny has changed, I now feel that we have both outgrown videos and pictures. I also feel that me and her have outgrown using treats during training. But by all means, use these things! Videos and pictures are an effective way to get people to see liberty training. And perhaps try it themselves! And treats are a wonderful reward that horses love, and it makes them eager to learn. It's also a great reward for horses that don't feel rewarded by a pet or scratch.
If you decide to take the same path as I am and quit making videos, posting pictures, and training with treats... good for you! But if you decide to post videos and pictures, that's also good! Making videos gets iberty training out there, more people can see it, and try it with their own horses and build bonds with them as well. And training with treats is a great reward system that I encourage anyone to use.
Just putting that out there, so no one gets offended by my post. I realize that some things I've said in here may read in offense -- and it was in no way intended that way.
In the past, me and my horse would have small, intimate moments once in a while. But now our bond together is intimate and it feels weird to post videos or pictures online.
Last weekend, I did what I never thought. I brought her into the indoor arena in only a neck rope and a lead attached to it. We walked, trotted, and backed up with it (on the ground). She also did what many would call "disrespectful" but I call this trust... I was leading her, and she stopped. She dropped down and began to roll. Then she lay down beside me as I stood, and I bent down and scratched her neck and she sighed, completely relaxed. Two years ago, I would never have thought to achieve this. Only a year ago, she wouldn't trot with me. And just the other day, we trotted together SEVERAL LAPS in the indoor arena in only a neck rope with me beside her.
In the past, I'd be running in front of her with a pressure-halter. She'd just be walking behind me with her head straight in the air, until I got out of breath. She was telling me she didn't like that. For a year I worked on just trotting around me in circles, working on transitions, and vocal cues at liberty. Then the other day, I was able to trot her in hand with only a neck rope. I didn't give treats, and hardly used petting rewards. The reward for Destiny was the exercise itself. She enjoyed running with me. Just as she has always run with her horse friends in the field without a reward, she enjoyed it with me. Not that there is anything wrong with training with treats or pets! I myself feed treats. But this to me has been a huge achievement.
Afterward, we played ball. I had always used treats. But this time, we chased it around, she threw it, and pushed it with her nose. The only thing she didn't want to do is the Spanish walk. That tells me that she most likely doesn't enjoy the movement itself. She'll prefer a reward when she does the Spanish walk. I learned so much about my horse last weekend. And I think she learned more about me as well.
I'm going to see her again today, and I will be playing with her again. But this time it will not be on video, nor will there be pictures. I am not criticizing anyone who does post videos or pictures of them and their horse. It is not wrong to do so, nor does it display a "poor" relationship with a horse. My bond with Destiny has been strong as soon as I started liberty, no doubt. And I still have shared videos and pictures of me and her. But in my personal opinion, my own friendship with my horse is private. Just as my intimate moments with human friends aren't broadcasted on YouTube.
By all means, keep making videos! I also encourage making a channel on YouTube if you haven't already. It's good for people to see this side of horse training! In fact, just by sharing my videos, I've gotten many people to try liberty training. Great results and formed wonderful bonds with their horses.
Also -- keep training with treats! I trained every single thing my horse knows using treats. The cordeo and the ball game I was able to do with zero treats and minimal petting rewards last weekend. In fact, those things would have been difficult to teach without treats!
Some may take this post in offense. You may think I hate using treats, think it's rude to video, etc. But that is definitely not the case! The way I do things with Destiny has changed, I now feel that we have both outgrown videos and pictures. I also feel that me and her have outgrown using treats during training. But by all means, use these things! Videos and pictures are an effective way to get people to see liberty training. And perhaps try it themselves! And treats are a wonderful reward that horses love, and it makes them eager to learn. It's also a great reward for horses that don't feel rewarded by a pet or scratch.
If you decide to take the same path as I am and quit making videos, posting pictures, and training with treats... good for you! But if you decide to post videos and pictures, that's also good! Making videos gets iberty training out there, more people can see it, and try it with their own horses and build bonds with them as well. And training with treats is a great reward system that I encourage anyone to use.
Just putting that out there, so no one gets offended by my post. I realize that some things I've said in here may read in offense -- and it was in no way intended that way.