Horsemanship

Every now and then you here a story, it touches a cord and you know others will benefit from the telling.  Soso’s story reminds us of every child who never had a pony, the child who ‘made do’ with whatever animal encounters (s)he could seek out, and the life-long love of animals that ensued. Soso’s story follows, in her own words, and she shares some great ideas about how to learn more about horse and animal training – even if you don’t own a horse!

Just wanted to thank you for taking on some of the biggest issues in the horse world today…. as a young girl I always wanted my own horse but came from a poor family so it was not to be…..

As I grew older, I spent many years working around horses,cleaning stalls, exercising, etc. learning as much as I could and riding whenever someone would offer me a mount to work with…. never had any formal training as most of the trainers I had access to at that time were rough, even cruel to their show horses in the name of winning ribbons…. I just couldn’t bring myself to treat horses in that way…

Though I may not have had my own horse during those years I spent the time learning about other animals as well, working in zoos and museums and eventually acquiring my own USDA and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Educators licenses, as well as a wonderful group of exotics, mammals, birds of prey, insects and reptiles who traveled with me to help teach people of all ages about respect and understanding for the other creatures that share this planet with us….

During that time I also had the opportunity to engage in many different animal interaction programs with elephants, sea mammals and big cats learning about the training methods used by trainers at Sea World, Ringling Brothers’ circus and Disney World among others… these methods were different than what I had seen being used with horses and dogs, for the most part by people who believe that animals need to be “dominated”… the exotic and sea mammal trainers I worked with had very different methods, kindness and empathy for the animals feelings ruled the training sessions…. and I learned how to communicate what I wanted not just with voice cues but with body language as well….

When I turned 50 a few years ago I decided that it was time to revisit my deepest desire to acquire a horse, however, after doing quite a bit of research I decided to start with a mule!!!  I never regretted that decision and still have mules today…. I will always remember my first mule Tigger who taught me a lot about training equines of all types especially as she was a rescue case and needed retraining on a grand scale….  I learned how to work with her rather than try to beat her into submission and to this day I refuse to carry a crop or whip while working with equines…… there is no need if you put in the time to train properly from the ground first and develop a strong relationship based on friendship not fear….

To be honest I’m not into the horse training method du’jour, instead I take the lessons I have learned while working with other animals and bring them to my equine training with great success… I enjoy reading what other people have to say about their own training methods but mine is a potpourri of methods  learned over a period of 30 years which allows me to evaluate each animal as an individual and create a training method that works for that particular animal…. it is unfortunate that too many trainers treat horses in the same way without giving any thought to individual needs creating a cookie cutter methodology which is easy for the trainer but hell on the individual horses they train….

I know a lot of people in the horsie set here in New England think that I’m nothing more than a stall mucker and stable hand, however, all those years mucking stalls, working closely with horses of all types, observing behaviors has given me a base education in equines that goes far beyond a couple of hours a week taking a riding lesson from some trainer who may or may not be competent or even empathetic to the animals they are training… for many training horses and riders is nothing more than a paycheck…..

Based on my own experiences I hope you will encourage all horse owners and trainers to participate in animal interaction programs with other species in order to start thinking outside the box… most aquariums and zoos offer some sort of “trainers day” or “behind the scenes” tours to patrons in order to help people learn more about training methods….

Just because someone has won a couple of blue ribbons or even an Olympic Gold Medal does not mean that they are humane or even capable trainers…. as far as I’m concerned if they need to use methods such as Rollkur, harsh bits, whips, etc., I consider them incompetent, lazy idiots who have the empathy level of a kumquat…. harsh perhaps, but with all of the amazing things that people are doing these days without the use of cruel methods and equipment it’s time that we set the bar a lot higher when it comes to working with and training one of the most beautiful creatures that walks this planet….

With thanks so Soso for sharing her story, which is used here with permission.

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