“It’s Not Always Obvious What You Need”
As a kid growing up I had my hands into all
kinds of things. I loved learning and digging
into things to see how they worked.
(and still do!)
Unfortunately, I don’t see much of that in
many of today’s kids. Between computers, video
games, cell phones, MP3 players, etc….
well, they just don’t seem to work with
their hands near as much as we used to
when we didn’t have all that “stuff” to
entertain us.
My Dad would hand me old things to take apart.
There’s something about using your brain and
your hands at the same time that teaches a lot.
Pretty soon, I could pretty well figure out
most mechanical problems and then started
into electronics stuff – especially Ham
Radio (Amateur Radio) where I learned enough
to get my license. I had to learn Morse
Code and all. I still use it when I have time.
I learned lots building and operating radios,
putting up big antennas and literally talking
around the world.
It was that way with horses, too. I had a
whole bunch to learn about horses before
I could ever feel comfortable handling
and caring for them.
Learning how to care for, handle, train and ride
a horse safely and properly doesn’t happen
over night. You have to study and learn.
I can’t tell you how many folks I have met
(hundreds) that get the horseback riding
“dream” and desire to buy a horse and ride
out on the trail, along the beach or perhaps
even some romantic setting. Many don’t have
a clue what they’re getting into.
The last thing I want to do is squelch that
dream! But you have to go into this horse
addiction thingy with your eyes wide open.
Are you where you want to be with your
horses? Are you striving to learn and
improve? Ask anyone who’s been around
horses much and they’ll tell you they are
constantly learning. It never ends. Each
horse is different. New things come up all
the time.
Perhaps you want to raise the bar a little
and start teaching your horse new things or
start solving some persistent problems you
are having with your horses now.
Is there any doubt that your horse is capable
of doing what you want it to do? Most horses
are more than capable of doing the things we
want ‘em to do – we just have to show them.
Are there problems or behaviors that you
need to work on with the horse but not
sure how to go about it?
You’ve heard me say this a dozen times – it
all starts with the trainer. You, the trainer,
need to learn how to recognize the problem,
separate the issue from pain, discomfort,
lack of understanding, being scared, stubborn,
bad previous training, etc.
You need to know the nature of the horse
and how it thinks and learns. This, my
friends, is huge.
You’ve heard the old saying:
“You can lead a horse to water,
but you can’t make him drink.”
‘Tis true. There’s a parallel to this
as well – perhaps you’ve heard it:
“Those who do not read are no better
off than those who cannot.”
It all comes down to knowledge and then
action. If you have a passion for something
you’ll tend to put a lot of your effort,
time, thinking, emotion and even assets
into it.
My pastor always said – “show me a person’s
checkbook and I’ll tell you their passions.”
Ouch! But it’s so true in a majority of cases.
I titled this email:
“It’s Not Always Obvious What You Need”
My point is this:
You don’t know what you don’t know. In my
case I’ve found out that the more I know
the more I need to learn because whole
new horizons appear as I learn more.
You can always go deeper and find new
things in any endeavor. Handling, training,
teaching and riding horses is no different.
Here’s a simple example of when it’s not
always obvious – and I would expect most
horse owners to know this:
If you have a horse that continues to buck,
move away or even try to bite you when you
start to mount you may think the horse is
being belligerent or needs some form of
correction.
But, in many cases, the horse is just reacting
to pain. It could be his back is sore or the
saddle doesn’t fit well and when you try to
mount it is pinching or putting pressure on
nerves.
So what does he do since he can’t voice his
discomfort or pain? He tries to move away
from it.
Horses will always try to move away from
pain or discomfort (or from scary things).
It may not be obvious to you if you don’t
know to look for it. So you attempt to
punish the horse or correct a problem
that ain’t gonna be solved by sweet talkin’
him.
Comprende Vous?
That’s just one simple example but you get
the point.
I’ve learned so much from other trainers
and books. I prefer listening and watching
multiple trainers that have come up through
the horse ranks in different settings because
there’s always tons of “gems” to learn from
each one.
I sort of chuckle when I see what I call
these horse training “cult leaders”
and their followers. Listening to them you’d
think the followers are drinking some kind
of Koolaid. There’s only one true way……
Sorry, I digress. Not that they aren’t good
horse handlers – but their goal is to keep them
in their camp as long as possible.
There’s lots of horse trainin’ truths to glean
from when you learn from a diverse set of
professionals. There’s lots of
common truths and methods among them. But I’ve
found that if I can come away with 3 or 4
training principles – the valuable “gems” from
each one, then it has served me well.
You continually add to your knowledge and grow
in experience over time. You use what you learn
today on each horse you have in the future.
It truly is an investment in many ways that
continues to pay over and over again.
As I continue to bring this a close….
As you know, we have a special offer for
The Entire Horse Training DVD Library and have
two special bonuses that you can pick from
when you purchase it.
One bonus is a paid-up, one year subscription to
www.TheHorseLibrary.com – our online library. A one
year subscription normally costs $198.00
The other bonus you can pick from is both the
Jesse Beery Horse Training Course and our popular
Horseback Riding Beginner’s book PLUS the MP3
Audio Book version of both those books as well.
(both, at the bundle pricing, is over $150.00).
So – this is a significant bonus on top of an
already deeply discounted DVD library (already
over 50% off).
Please click on the link below and get yours
now. We are only offering 5 of these and 2
are already gone as of this morning.
http://horsetrainingresources.com/dvdlibraryspecial.html
Are you a member of riding club, own a stable,
in a 4H group, or a parent or grandparent of those
who can use this library? Or perhaps you and a
friend or two could pool your resources and share
these among yourselves?
It’s a fantastic bargain that you’ll continual
to learn from for years.
This offer ends tomorrow or when the remaining
3 units are gone. We’ll disable the order buttons
when they’re gone. Please don’t put off your
decision long if you’re on the fence. OK?
http://horsetrainingresources.com/dvdlibraryspecial.html
One more thing…
Thanks again to all of you who write to let us know
you enjoy these horse training and riding emails.
Your encouraging notes energize us to keep ‘em
coming.
Stay safe out there.
Charlie
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The Jesse Beery 8 Volume Course in Horse Training was,
is and continues to be the most successful horse
training course ever published.
Prof. Beery personally trained hundreds and hundreds
of horses. And, his course and methods were used by
thousands of horse owners around the world.
If you have colts that need to be started or just
have behavior problems with your horses that need
to be fixed, then the Beery course will help you.
All you have to do is decide to get started. You’ll
soon be enjoying a well-minded horse and reducing all
that frustration!
Check out the books available at:
http://www.HorseTrainingResources.com/beery.com
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