“You can’t be yelling and screaming at a horse and then expect it to listen when you whisper.” Dagobert D. Runes I grew up learning traditional and wildly dysfunctional horse riding and training methods. You know the ones where you “never allow your horse to get away with it”, “are the boss and they will do what you want,” “punish them for doing something bad” and that “more pressure and harder training yields faster results.” over the last year and a half, and thanks to a horse who refused to stand for that BS, I’ve started to question how ethical those beliefs/practices are and began asking different questions and looking for a different approach like: is there a gentler way to get this result? are there training methods that don’t require the use of force or training tools/aides to achieve the development I seek? how can I possibly expect him to be soft and relaxed when these traditional methods are so harsh? what if he’s actually not being “naughty” at all and is desperate for me to be better and pay closer attention to what he’s trying to tell me? in the world of horse training and horsemanship, I have come to believe with absolute conviction that every problem can be solved by doing less. struggling in trot/canter transitions? less trot/canter transitions and more halt-walk or walk-trot transitions (or body work or vet work if those are still a struggle) struggling over fences? less jumping and more flat work (or body work or vet work if that is still a struggle) struggling with tension under saddle? less riding and more groundwork (or body work or vet work) struggling with a horse who is always hot/explosive when stalled regularly? less time in a stall and more time outside with others. we were all taught in a pretty dysfunctional system that, when it came to horse training, more is more but what if our horses have been saying the opposite all along? that the answer has always been to do…less. —— #horsemanship #horsetraining #blackbeauty #horsetok #ilovemyhorse #equestrian #equestrianlife