I let my mare say no, because it's a sign that I've got a gap somewhere in her training that we haven't overcome yet. She used to yank her hooves out of our hands when picking her feet up, but by establishing a consent cue where she touches her nose to the hoof pick before her feet are going to be handled, it gave her time to balance herself and anticipate the picking up. Now, she doesn't need the consent cue anymore and she just picks her feet up and holds them like a dream for as long as you need. And this took about a month or so of repetitions. And there were times when she'd refuse to touch the hoof pick, and I'd just wait for her. She ALWAYS eventually said yes when she was ready and we never skipped a hoof a single day. Previously, you'd just pull her hoof up and she would behave dangerously, either trying to hop away or ripping her hoof out of your hand and stomping. Letting your horse say no, and then reconfiguring your ask prevents a great deal of guesswork and accidents where you end up pushing your horse too far. Also, we had an incident where we were surprised by some cows that scared my mare very badly- she wanted to trot in a circle and get away. We walked a little ways away from the cows and decompressed, waiting for her to completely calm down (about 15 minutes) and slowly brought her a little closer. Over the next few weeks we brought her a little closer but never pushed her over threshold to where she spooked again. Now, she is so excited to see her cow friends, and loves going right up to them and grazing next to them on the other side of the fence. I think typical horsemanship would say we should have forced her closer instead of turning back after decompressing, but I know for a fact those baby steps allowed her to grow immensely and become more confident. The point of "letting your horse say no" is not to give up, but take it as extremely valuable feedback that you need to change something or work on a hole.
Absolutely amazing comment, I am in awe of your patience. I agree with you, horses should always have a say in any situation they have just as big of a right as anyone does to have an opinion and to say no. I am very interested to hear how you taught your horse to say yes to the hoof cleaning? I have a mare who’s been through a lot and she struggles with it, I would like to give your method a try ☺️
@@Hello-dg2zr I have my mare touch the hoof pick with her nose before I move to pick up her leg. First you have to teach them that is what's going to happen of course, by having them touch, then moving to the leg and asking them to pick up, then repeating. They just have to pick their leg up a little off the ground at first. We use treats and click with clicker training to reinforce- I recommend looking up the term "consent cue" with horse training to get a better idea of the process. Sometimes they take a bit to think about it before saying "yes." Even at times she has completely refused so we did a little scratching session or maybe a few of her other tricks before returning to the hoof and usually she's happy to do it. I just don't stop until I've gotten all 4 even when she's been grumpy about it and taking a while. We've done the same process with our new gelding who was a total stinker (trying to kick ya semi-slowly with his back legs if you hold his foot up for longer than a few seconds) and he's really come around after 3 weeks of solid training of this process. No more kicking. My mare doesn't need the hoof pick-touch cue anymore, now I just gently touch her leg, bend over, and say "pick up" and she lifts all 4 into my hand. We also worked on her with a hoof jack, rasp, and dremel to get her more patient for hoof trimming this way as well. Have just started this training on our gelding last week and he's been doing great. It's really important to be consistent as well as patient in the beginning, but I think this training reforms their brain and makes them a partner instead of just enduring what you ask. Also, if they pull their foot our, don't get mad or lunge them, they just don't get the treat reward. Let them have the foot and ask again. This process is important to have some kind of reinforcer though, and you kind of have to know when to hold it and when to let it go so they don't develop a bad habit of yanking it. That's why I like the treats because they learn that if they pull the foot they don't get that positive association.
I can see why you'd think that letting a horse say no is stupid. I've been there and now I'm one of the people that let their horse say no. My mare has been called dangerous, crazy and all the other names you can think off. But she has been stalled for her whole life. She had pretty much 0 training. And people never really brought anything good into her life, quite the opposite. By letting her say no, she doesn't have to escalate. I've never had her rear, buck, kick out or bite me, why? Because she knows that if it's getting too much, she can walk away. It's direct mirror of my training. If she walks away it means that I made a mistake somewhere: Did I move to quick? Am I confusing her? Is she not ready for this? Or pheraps it may be that it's not the right day, she's hurting or something stressed her out earlier and she's on edge. We do grow, a lot, even by letting her say no. Pretty much all my training is done in liberty, and I mean, real liberty. She has grass, hay, water available all the time while I'm training, she can walk away anytime. I managed to start her undersaddle tackless, in a field, in a herd, she could've run off, bucked me off, panicked, but all she did was listen to my voice cues, that she had learnt from the ground. She's very respectful of my space and I never had to punish her. Letting your horse say no creates a safe, reliable and willing partner.
This comment is absolutely gold. What a beautiful story, I am so happy to hear that there’s horse owners like you who really listen to their horse. I too have a mare, who’s an ex-racing horse, and if I didn’t let her say no she wouldn’t be happy, she would completely freeze and not move and tense up in all of her body. Horses need to have a voice too just as much as humans. Thank you for being an amazing, inspiring and caring horse owner 💗
Do you know Andy Booth ? Your " method of training", to, most of all, simply be with your horse side by side, really reminds him to me. You care so much for your horse reactions which are his equine language instead of rejecting it ! I believe you are right. I 'm nearly sixty, with horses passion for as long as I was born. So, in the seventies I met " the hard method" (stay on the saddle and yes I was enough good) when I started to ride at 10 years old. I was not convinced, nor happy with it. I stopped going to the horse riding school after four years. Nobody understood me. That was this : lack of empathy with horses who were treated like machines. Til 23 I did trails outdoors, equine tourism. When I went in another horse school, I met my heart horse which was exactly like the one you love but I lost him. I was not an owner. One day, my Junior had disappeared. I wanted to know where my beautiful big black horse was. It was hard to know but I understood that was srht to an abattoir. My heart was broken. He could have been a dream horse but nobody wanted to understand why he could buck off (! I still ridden him despite all, it did not matter to me he was so sweet, so gentle... I can not forget him, near 40 years later. 😥🐴❤And I again stopped riding. Til I was 56 years old, meeting at last different methods of training and meeting again this famous different, so called difficult horse, Punchie who was the same as Junior. I fell two times not her guilty but my health issues forbid me now to go back on the saddle. It makes me very sad. I could at least do Masterson massages on her but... I physically can not for the moment. I only ridden her one time last year. I saw her happy to be my horse. I fell I was a bad rider due to physical condition but she was absolutely fantastic. She never bucked off or did anything bad with me or bitten me like other people . All the time. Except one time, she speeded with stress in a second due to one bad pigeon who was perhaps a horse eater. 😂🕊️🐎I got up on the saddle immediately after my fall. I was popping up out of the saddle this day.🤣🍾🐴 She felt my no confidence last year and this is what I have understood, she was helping me, showing me all was good, we were going on well til the end of the lesson 🥹🏇🏻❤I decided to get up on the stirrups, all straight above her, to show her my full confidence for her too. We were in the outside arena... Not easy to trust your horse outside but... I fell I could let my stress go. I hold only the reins a little. She was so peaceful... We shared this unique moment of total complicity where she knew I trusted her and she trusted me. We were a couple. Horse and rider. 😍🏇🏻❤ On the ground her intelligent eyes were looking at me. (she 's an OTTB, retired from races), she was looking for... a kiss. I know this look when asking for it. I gave her with all my love and recognition for her tremendous help ! Punchie is my dream horse 😍❤️🐴❤️ But for a so long time, due to my health, my poor physical condition despite having a physiotherapy I lost my love heart horse... 😮We are separated.😔💔I only saw her in November but she showed me that she did not care about me, I fully understood her behavior. She was unhappy with me, due to my behavior of seemingly indifferent. She could not understand my situation. 😢 The next time she was in competition. I left good treats for her. I wish so much to be able to come back to her to care for her. 😊🐎❤❤❤ Take care of yourself. Go on with your great horse. I wish you the best! From France. 😊🐴👌🏻❤️
I allow my horses to say no but there is more to that then it seems. Teaching them they are able to say no to something and that we understand their communication. There are many reasons a horse could say no. Just like we have many reasons to say no to the horse. It’s much safer to allow the horse to walk away saying no to a new thing. It’s a training opportunity to show the horse the new thing is not dangerous and can mean happy things. It’s teaching us to listen and be patient while teaching the horse to accept new things. We build a bond and their “no” happens less and less. Horses say no to each other all the time like we do with other people. Allowing my horses to say no has led to horses wanting to say yes to a new thing. We taught them that we have great ideas for things to do together. So their curiosity overrides their caution when it’s a new thing. They come to us to ask for engagement of some type. Grooming, going for walks with them while they graze, naps, and training.
I'm so glad you mentioned not just strapping a saddle on, and letting the horse buck. All but one horse that has injured me, was started using that method. It teaches them to explode under pressure, and many horses trained that way, will bolt and buck, for the rest of their lives, if they get stressed or nervous. I have broken more bones than I could count, and all but one were from being launched through the air, and landing on the ground hard, when I was reschooling horses that were started incorrectly, and were just allowed to buck with the saddle on, at the beginning of their training. It's never been an issue, when I have started youngsters myself. Even if they were unhandled before they came to me. I feel much safer working with horses that nobody else started, than I do handling "already broke" horses.
Horses saying no doesn't necessarily mean that it will stunt growth, or your horse is being disrespectful. Really, the only time a horse would feel like it needs to say no is 1. it is uncomfortable, 2. it is scared 3. it is confused or 4. it is in pain. If your horse says no, the best thing you can do is take a step back and say, " I saw that you got uncomfortable, let's try something else or approach this differently or more slowly." That way it gives the horse time to reset or just more time to build confidence to approach the scary thing. Horses don't have the mentality to be "disrespectful". They react from pain, fear, confusion. Forcing your horse to go over a jump when they are scared or in pain just gives them an even worse association and experience with the thing they were already struggling with. If you give your horse the option to say no and give them choice in training, it becomes more likely that a horse will say yes because they know that they can leave at anytime if they get uncomforatable.
💯I think the most important thing to understand in training is that horses learn through association, like any animal. Ignoring the no just suppresses the symptom instead of addressing the cause, often with escalating pressure that the horse will remember as an unpleasant/scary experience (they were afraid something bad would happen, and something bad did happen). Respecting the no also teaches the animal that they can use non-aggressive, safe behaviour to communicate their discomfort, and increases the likelihood of them feeling comfortable enough to give a "yes" in the future.
This comment ❤🎉 I agree, I taught my brumby Jewel this way. I encouraged her to try, but often she would say no because she didn't understand my question, changing the question slightly encouraged her to try more, sometimes showing a behavior that perhaps I didn't think of, and still achieving the goal we set out for in the first place. Sadly an injury took her life despite 2 months attempting to save her life. It wasn't meant to be. I've since welcomed another young brumby, and using all his predecessor taught me ❤
If it wouldn't be too much trouble, I'd really like to hear more details about how you understand the "letting a horse say no" training method to better get the point you're trying to make and the concerns you're trying to raise. I understand "letting my horse say no" as a way to communicate with my horse and modify things so we can get to where we need to be. Usually, if she says "no" during training, she is either overwhelmed by what I'm asking her to do or she's confused about what I'm asking her to do. In either situation, when she says "no," she's communicating to me that what I'm asking is too complicated for her in the moment and I need to simplify it. In response, I'll break the skill down into smaller steps. We work on each step (sometimes over a period of days or weeks depending on what we're working on), and then we put them together, at which point she's able to say "yes" to the skill. It's not that we'll never do the skill; it's that we need to slow it down. It may be that we're on the same page and just speaking different languages, but if there are serious concerns that could arise from what I'm doing, I'd like to know about them so I can make sure my horse is getting the best opportunities to learn. I will note that I take a different approach when my horse doesn't do something because she's clearly and intentionally testing boundaries. I don't let her get away with that, but I call that training approach "enforcing boundaries." For example, she knows when it is time for grain, she must take two steps back so she is out of my personal space while I put her bowl down. We've done this every night since the second week I had her, so I know she knows this is how it works. Every now and then, she checks to see if the boundary is still in place and refuses to step back. In response, I refuse to give her the bowl. We stay like that until she does take the two steps back, at which point she gets a "good girl" and her bowl.
Question for those saying let a horse say no. I have a 10 year old mare here now for training. She has many trail miles and is fantastic at it. She's decided to back up if asked to turn around and head back up trail. She only does this when heading back toward direction of home/trailer. She will keep backing up until rider dismounts or turns to go back toward home. She doesn't even want to be led away. She's been thoroughly vetted, saddle fitted, had equine chiropractor. No physical issues, nothing traumatic has happened on trail. She's not ridden hard or roughly. She is physically fit and very well taken care of. Same owner over past 7 years. The owner does ground work with her on non ride days too. She also refuses to load onto trailer when leaving home, but eagerly self loads away from home. No trailer trauma or fear. She's gets a snack in the trailer when she loads at home as a reward. IMO it's barn/home sourness that she has developed over the last year. So yes she is saying no, but she would say no every time if allowed.
I want to say, that harsh bits are not something I agree with, but some equipment, like a crop, or round tip spurs are helpful for some horses. I am at a barn where some people use spurs for the lazier horses. They use the round ones, and they are just there if needed. I myself use a crop, and its just something my horse respects. It’s just a tool for if i need to give her a small tap on the neck, because I don’t wanna use spurs. It really depends on the person using this equipment
Here’s my insights on all these! Number 1: I completely agree with! Number 2: mostly yes, the only situation I wouldn’t use this in is with really young babies or yearlings that tend to get overwhelmed so easily and sometimes they get so stressed and so I just like to calm them down and let them stand by the scary thing not going through it then walk away and try again tomorrow until they can gain enough trust in me Number 3: personally I don’t like to tie any part of the horses body to themselves but I do use spurs quite a bit, my horse works fine without them but I show a TON and in big reining shows, so I like using spurs to get the fastest reaction, yet also make it seem like I barely did anything, and I don’t use them harshly, just a rope, my horse is also not as filled out in the stomach so the spurs give me a longer heel to not have to move my foot as much, though all my horses start off with no spurs then I start using them as almost like you would use a calculator, just to do things faster Number 4: personally I use this to an extent, I like to just put steady pressure then when they move away I release and pet, then do it again and over and over until they learn that as soon as they feel the pressure they get it released and they get pet, personally with my horses (which is a 7 year old really well trained Reiner, a just turned 5 year old little mare and a almost 1 year old stud colt) they all get a bit anxious and don’t react well to over stimulating situations (except the mare) and it can make them lose trust or become flustered when to much ropes or pressure is being used, so I don’t like to increase the pressure and freak them out, more so just keeping it calm
I think that using excessive materials is wrong and agree in that way, however materials like martingales to keep a horse's head down, can also being a training method when used in specific ways, just like how a whip can be used as a weapon, but in the right hands, a tool. Martingales aren't to limit a horse's head movement or tie it to itself, but just have its head lower without using methods that could be extremely worse such as seesawing which no equestrian would wish on a horse. Although it can be trained in other ways, it's like saying a crop is bad for horses in everyones hands which isn't true like i said before. Thanks for this video though, I definitely agree with the other training methods you listed, and props to you for expressing your own opinions on subjects like this even though you know some people may not agree.
What you are saying makes so much sense! I love your approach to training! I especially liked your thoughts on the “not letting the horse say no” concept and on negative reinforcement training.
I agree with your take on allowing your horse to say no, I think that they shouldn’t just be able to walk away when they don’t like something, I think that they should be taught to work through it instead, one common result of this that I see is the avoidance of fly spray, this issue is easily fixed if you put in the work and dedication, when I got my ottb he would nearly rip the lead out of my hand to get away from the fly spray, I have since been working with him and forcing him to stand when I spray him, he is allowed to wiggle around and toss his head all he wants because I won’t punish him for expressing that he doesn’t like something but he isn’t allowed to walk away, he has since learned that if he stands it will be over quicker and he gets a treat afterwards, he is now able to be handled and have fly spray put on him by all of the staff at the barn
I tried both negative and positive reinforcement to my horse and neither of them worked for different reasons (negative: worsens our relationship) and (positive: made my horse so focused on the treats and not my "demands") I realised that my horse needed something else so right now i try to have a mix of those methods. I try not to put a lot of pressure and not to give treats every time she does something good (because then she waits for it and if i don't have treats she won't be interested in me).
You have to let a horse say no so that they can say yes. That’s my critique. Yes means they understand and trust what you’re asking. Letting a horse not say no loses trust and a conversation of partnership. Without the initial “no” your horse is more of a slave than a partner. I ride my horse bridleless/ neck rope, and because I let my horse say no and I listen… my horse is constantly saying yes. It’s a difficult concept for some, but listening to your horse to me prevents sourness and accidents, just my opinion though.
As someone who just got her foot jumped on by her spooky horse who was afraid of the farrier, I agree with you. Safety comes first (for horse and human) and sometimes that requires negative reinforcement. #learningthehardway.
i agree with you're disagreement of letting the horse say no. i had a horse that would say no a lot and instead of just going "alright" my trainer helped me think "why is he saying no?" (just like you said in the video). by not letting my horse say no, and instead asking him to leg yield towards things he doesn't like (with his head facing the opposite way) and as soon as he would relax to the scary thing i would release and make it a big deal. it taught him to relax and kinda ignore stuff instead of run and get worried. he's an amazing and much calmer horse now who is very willing to try. it's not mean when i ask him to leg yield towards it, he has very good off the leg lateral controls, it's just nicely asking and helps him relax through his body.
just as a follow up i think people think we're forcing a horse to do something that they're freaked out by when we don't allow them to say no. but it's a lot like desensitization where you ask them to accept something that is uncomfortable in a comfortable way for them. taking something that could have just been a scary memory (and therefore leaving that object to be scary) and turning it into a learning opportunity where the horse learns that the object is nothing to be scared of.
I definitely see your point and I do agree to some extent, but I think the good thing about letting your horse say no is that you can slowly over time overcome their fear of the object or whatever it might be that they’re afraid of and you build up a trust to each other where you both have a say. I’m not trying to say anything against the way you do it just trying to explain why I let my horse say no ☺️ I do have an ex-race horse so it might be different for a horse who doesn’t have traumas
@@Hello-dg2zr i agree with that. my horse was just scared of everything and would tense up so i didn't want him to leave with that tension. but, he had ear twitch trauma and that was a really extra slow process. i see where you're coming from.
also slapping a saddle on a horse that's never worn a saddle tighting the girth or cinch all the way and throwing them in an arena or round pen and just letting them panic and buck is just flooding and it doesn't teach them anything since a scared horse can't learn and retain information
(IGNORE MY SPELLING PLEASE) I teach negitive reinforsment and positive, in my opinion they are a great way to train I use negitive for example when I'm leading a horse into a float ect and positive is kind of for fun but I havent done this yet but I will train my horses to load into a float librety style because negitive can hurt the horse so positive is something I enjoy teaching my horse and my horses love it too! Negitive is something essential for a horse to know though they need to learn that because if I sold my horse they may not teach positive so its good for them to know both, negitive because its really something they need to know, positive, they enjoy it I enjoy it so I love it. Both should be taught.
I let my horse say no, she always has a say, i personally believe it is the best way of making your horse trust you, there will be moments where they will have to do or not do something which is why i call it a 50-50 partnership. My mare is an ex-racing horse, so she has a lot of traumas, we take things very slow and i don't push her or force her into situations she doesn't like, we take it very slow to make sure she gets new good experiences with humans, she doesn't trust people, but its slowly getting better. I personally think its different from horse to horse how you should train them every horse is different but no horse is evil or have bad intentions, they just need a gentle and loving guide, which is their human
I also believe in making training fun for your horse , it makes them want to learn, n trust you much better. N to me, my horse is family, my buddy, not a tool to throw away when he's used up.❤
This video is so helpful! Thanks for posting this. Question… what’s a martingail? And how is it bad? I heard you mention it, and I didn’t know they were bad.
@Gray0123 it's also a stupid and dangerous idea to trail ride in a standing martingale because if your horse trips, stumbles they can't throw their head up to regain their balance
I had a horse and her name was Shayne her body was black and she had a white dot on her face.She was an American quarter horse she was amazing at barrel racing and every time we went there where men were would “calm her down.” They had to use spears and I was uncomfortable every time they came over to do it.they would just jab them into her side gave me the same pain that she had. They didn’t do it hard thank god but I still hurt to watch
a lesson horse I ride has a martingale? is that bad. Also some ponies have grass reins for hacks they can still move their heads around but can’t keep putting their heads down for grass..
i personally rode with a martingale for a year or two and i think it's not great for the horse but even worse for the rider's learning because i didn't learn anything. my horse was pretty unhappy with that training and once we moved to dressage he's been very happy, coming up to the door excitedly and being very engaged during lessons. i would talk to your trainer about it because it really didn't work for my horse and i. he was unhappy when it was on, and i didn't know what to do when it was off so he was also unhappy. TL;DR i'm not a vet, but i think martingales are pretty bad for the horse and the rider, i'd at least ask your trainer about it
@@animangle thanks, the horse doesn’t seem bothered by it at all and i’ve never really noticed any unhappiness from her. but thanks for telling me about your experience using one. how is it bad for the rider may I ask?
@@yeah88ok i never learned how to work without a martingale on difficult or even just normal horses. it kinda just lets you do whatever you want with the reins because it doesn't show any effects. so you can have great timing or awful timing and it doesn't make a difference. i spent a lot of time learning timing and how to use the body to soften after switching trainers and it was 100% worth it. also, with my horse i've noticed i can't really tell he's unhappy with his life until he's happier and i can look back and compare. i'm sure he could still be happier than he is now, and that's the goal. also, what kind of martingale are you currently using???
@@yeah88ok also i don't think grass reins are bad but they're also just not necessary (this is purely my opinion and experience) unless they're putting younger beginners (under the age of 10) on horses. when i've been to nose to butt trail facilites it's pretty easy to pull the horses heads up but full honesty and just to be clear my horse has no interest in eating stuff when we go on trails so i might not understand the struggle.
@@animangle shes just a lesson horse so I can’t rlly choose what to use but I ride horses without them a lot aswell so i’m not just used to using one. she has a running martingale I believe
Idk why people have such a big problem with spurs, there’s horses that aren’t that sensitive and need a bigger aid, there’s nothing you can do about that you can’t train them to be more sensitive as long as you don’t incorrectly use them I don’t see the problem
You absolutely can train them to be more sensitive! I’d know because I’ve done it myself. Horses are usually only ‘lazy’ and ‘dull’ if they’re undermuscled, unmotivated, or in pain/unable (like due to age) to preform in that way. I used a mix of pressure and release (Amelia Newcomb Dressage) and positive reinforcement (Milestone Equestrian & others) to encourage a dull, cold-backed mare into becoming a horse eager to do what I ask when I ask! You should train that response first without spurs, then with spurs IMO.
@@valeriegarcia5420 I never stated they were abusive, or used improperly!! All I said was that it’s NOT a fix for a dull horse, and horses should be able to do basic WTC without spurs. I have nothing against spurs. They are incredibly helpful for certain cues!
I wear spurs on most horses. Ask with the leg cue first, but the spur tells horse gotta respond. When I say spur the horse, all I do is turn my toe out a smidge.
I disagree with your view of allowing the horse to say no, which I explained in the comments to your video where you read the comments to this video. That was a good move, btw. Here I'm just going to pick on you for putting a saddle on your horse's back and letting him toss it off. What was that supposed to teach him?? There are effective ways to introduce a horse to a saddle without giving him a chance to buck it off. I don't get that at all.
I know some people aren't going to agree with me here but I ride Western and live in the mountains so I have to use a breast collar to keep my saddle from sliding back the horse I'm currently riding I use a pulling collar cause sometimes I do rope a little for my bit I use a tom thumb bit but I don't ride with my hands a lot and I do use spurs I ask with my leg but when I need some speed out of him or if he isn't really listening and just kinda doing his own thing I give him a little reminder I guess I basically just said I do everything she said not to do
No one is going to disagree with your use of a breast collar or pulling collar. That's a common piece of tack, not a training tool. It's to keep you saddle from sliding backward and it can also help keep it from rolling. The other stuff, yes people will have strong opinions about.
Any training method done wrong is not going to work. To evaluate a training method look at the expert in that method and how their horses go. If it doesn't work for me it doesn't mean it is a bad method. And if it doesn't work for one horse that doesn't mean it won't work for others. By the way I do like how your horses behave and I think you are good at what you do. I just don't think those statements were logical.
there are some methods that just don't work at all and lead to the horse needing a complete restart like just throwing a saddle on a colt or a filly for the first without getting them used to the weight and feel of a saddle, tightening the girth or cinch all the way and throwing them in an arena or round pen to panic and buck until they stop and shut down
@@daniellecote7393 Yes I agree there are some methods that either won't work or are not worth the stress or pain they cause to the horse. That wasn't my point, what I was saying was I can't say a method is bad for everyone just because it didn't work for me. You need to look at the horses of the person who came up with the method or an expert in the method. If their horses are well trained, mentally alert and move nicely it is a good method even if it doesn't work for me. If their horses are shut down not well behaved or moving in a way that will cause the horse problems long term, it is probably not a good method.
I think she was just kind of showing that. Not as an example because all of the other videos were her doing stuff with her horses not examples of what she was talking about.
i think you've greatly misunderstood the use of saying no in horse training. you need to do much more research before making blanket statements like this.
Well no because if you or someone else trained your horse to put a saddle on say they bucked it of and then you turned around and was like it’s ok you can never wear a saddle again because you said no :).Them your horse is gunna have no training so think before you say
I let my mare say no, because it's a sign that I've got a gap somewhere in her training that we haven't overcome yet. She used to yank her hooves out of our hands when picking her feet up, but by establishing a consent cue where she touches her nose to the hoof pick before her feet are going to be handled, it gave her time to balance herself and anticipate the picking up. Now, she doesn't need the consent cue anymore and she just picks her feet up and holds them like a dream for as long as you need. And this took about a month or so of repetitions. And there were times when she'd refuse to touch the hoof pick, and I'd just wait for her. She ALWAYS eventually said yes when she was ready and we never skipped a hoof a single day.
Previously, you'd just pull her hoof up and she would behave dangerously, either trying to hop away or ripping her hoof out of your hand and stomping. Letting your horse say no, and then reconfiguring your ask prevents a great deal of guesswork and accidents where you end up pushing your horse too far.
Also, we had an incident where we were surprised by some cows that scared my mare very badly- she wanted to trot in a circle and get away. We walked a little ways away from the cows and decompressed, waiting for her to completely calm down (about 15 minutes) and slowly brought her a little closer. Over the next few weeks we brought her a little closer but never pushed her over threshold to where she spooked again. Now, she is so excited to see her cow friends, and loves going right up to them and grazing next to them on the other side of the fence. I think typical horsemanship would say we should have forced her closer instead of turning back after decompressing, but I know for a fact those baby steps allowed her to grow immensely and become more confident.
The point of "letting your horse say no" is not to give up, but take it as extremely valuable feedback that you need to change something or work on a hole.
Excellent! Over challenging a horse will destroy his self confidence. The best horsemen always know when to release and praise.
Absolutely amazing comment, I am in awe of your patience. I agree with you, horses should always have a say in any situation they have just as big of a right as anyone does to have an opinion and to say no.
I am very interested to hear how you taught your horse to say yes to the hoof cleaning? I have a mare who’s been through a lot and she struggles with it, I would like to give your method a try ☺️
@@Hello-dg2zr I have my mare touch the hoof pick with her nose before I move to pick up her leg. First you have to teach them that is what's going to happen of course, by having them touch, then moving to the leg and asking them to pick up, then repeating. They just have to pick their leg up a little off the ground at first. We use treats and click with clicker training to reinforce- I recommend looking up the term "consent cue" with horse training to get a better idea of the process. Sometimes they take a bit to think about it before saying "yes." Even at times she has completely refused so we did a little scratching session or maybe a few of her other tricks before returning to the hoof and usually she's happy to do it. I just don't stop until I've gotten all 4 even when she's been grumpy about it and taking a while. We've done the same process with our new gelding who was a total stinker (trying to kick ya semi-slowly with his back legs if you hold his foot up for longer than a few seconds) and he's really come around after 3 weeks of solid training of this process. No more kicking. My mare doesn't need the hoof pick-touch cue anymore, now I just gently touch her leg, bend over, and say "pick up" and she lifts all 4 into my hand. We also worked on her with a hoof jack, rasp, and dremel to get her more patient for hoof trimming this way as well. Have just started this training on our gelding last week and he's been doing great. It's really important to be consistent as well as patient in the beginning, but I think this training reforms their brain and makes them a partner instead of just enduring what you ask.
Also, if they pull their foot our, don't get mad or lunge them, they just don't get the treat reward. Let them have the foot and ask again. This process is important to have some kind of reinforcer though, and you kind of have to know when to hold it and when to let it go so they don't develop a bad habit of yanking it. That's why I like the treats because they learn that if they pull the foot they don't get that positive association.
I can see why you'd think that letting a horse say no is stupid. I've been there and now I'm one of the people that let their horse say no. My mare has been called dangerous, crazy and all the other names you can think off. But she has been stalled for her whole life. She had pretty much 0 training. And people never really brought anything good into her life, quite the opposite. By letting her say no, she doesn't have to escalate. I've never had her rear, buck, kick out or bite me, why? Because she knows that if it's getting too much, she can walk away. It's direct mirror of my training. If she walks away it means that I made a mistake somewhere: Did I move to quick? Am I confusing her? Is she not ready for this? Or pheraps it may be that it's not the right day, she's hurting or something stressed her out earlier and she's on edge. We do grow, a lot, even by letting her say no. Pretty much all my training is done in liberty, and I mean, real liberty. She has grass, hay, water available all the time while I'm training, she can walk away anytime. I managed to start her undersaddle tackless, in a field, in a herd, she could've run off, bucked me off, panicked, but all she did was listen to my voice cues, that she had learnt from the ground. She's very respectful of my space and I never had to punish her. Letting your horse say no creates a safe, reliable and willing partner.
Thank you so much for taking the time to write this out. Letting a horse say no it SO critical to safety in many situations.
This comment is absolutely gold. What a beautiful story, I am so happy to hear that there’s horse owners like you who really listen to their horse. I too have a mare, who’s an ex-racing horse, and if I didn’t let her say no she wouldn’t be happy, she would completely freeze and not move and tense up in all of her body. Horses need to have a voice too just as much as humans. Thank you for being an amazing, inspiring and caring horse owner 💗
Do you know Andy Booth ? Your " method of training", to, most of all, simply be with your horse side by side, really reminds him to me. You care so much for your horse reactions which are his equine language instead of rejecting it ! I believe you are right. I 'm nearly sixty, with horses passion for as long as I was born. So, in the seventies I met " the hard method" (stay on the saddle and yes I was enough good) when I started to ride at 10 years old. I was not convinced, nor happy with it. I stopped going to the horse riding school after four years. Nobody understood me. That was this : lack of empathy with horses who were treated like machines. Til 23 I did trails outdoors, equine tourism. When I went in another horse school, I met my heart horse which was exactly like the one you love but I lost him. I was not an owner. One day, my Junior had disappeared. I wanted to know where my beautiful big black horse was. It was hard to know but I understood that was srht to an abattoir. My heart was broken. He could have been a dream horse but nobody wanted to understand why he could buck off (! I still ridden him despite all, it did not matter to me he was so sweet, so gentle... I can not forget him, near 40 years later. 😥🐴❤And I again stopped riding. Til I was 56 years old, meeting at last different methods of training and meeting again this famous different, so called difficult horse, Punchie who was the same as Junior. I fell two times not her guilty but my health issues forbid me now to go back on the saddle. It makes me very sad. I could at least do Masterson massages on her but... I physically can not for the moment. I only ridden her one time last year. I saw her happy to be my horse. I fell I was a bad rider due to physical condition but she was absolutely fantastic. She never bucked off or did anything bad with me or bitten me like other people . All the time. Except one time, she speeded with stress in a second due to one bad pigeon who was perhaps a horse eater. 😂🕊️🐎I got up on the saddle immediately after my fall. I was popping up out of the saddle this day.🤣🍾🐴
She felt my no confidence last year and this is what I have understood, she was helping me, showing me all was good, we were going on well til the end of the lesson 🥹🏇🏻❤I decided to get up on the stirrups, all straight above her, to show her my full confidence for her too. We were in the outside arena... Not easy to trust your horse outside but... I fell I could let my stress go. I hold only the reins a little. She was so peaceful... We shared this unique moment of total complicity where she knew I trusted her and she trusted me. We were a couple. Horse and rider. 😍🏇🏻❤
On the ground her intelligent eyes were looking at me. (she 's an OTTB, retired from races), she was looking for... a kiss. I know this look when asking for it. I gave her with all my love and recognition for her tremendous help ! Punchie is my dream horse 😍❤️🐴❤️ But for a so long time, due to my health, my poor physical condition despite having a physiotherapy I lost my love heart horse... 😮We are separated.😔💔I only saw her in November but she showed me that she did not care about me, I fully understood her behavior. She was unhappy with me, due to my behavior of seemingly indifferent. She could not understand my situation. 😢
The next time she was in competition. I left good treats for her.
I wish so much to be able to come back to her to care for her. 😊🐎❤❤❤
Take care of yourself. Go on with your great horse. I wish you the best! From France. 😊🐴👌🏻❤️
I allow my horses to say no but there is more to that then it seems. Teaching them they are able to say no to something and that we understand their communication. There are many reasons a horse could say no. Just like we have many reasons to say no to the horse. It’s much safer to allow the horse to walk away saying no to a new thing. It’s a training opportunity to show the horse the new thing is not dangerous and can mean happy things.
It’s teaching us to listen and be patient while teaching the horse to accept new things. We build a bond and their “no” happens less and less. Horses say no to each other all the time like we do with other people. Allowing my horses to say no has led to horses wanting to say yes to a new thing. We taught them that we have great ideas for things to do together. So their curiosity overrides their caution when it’s a new thing.
They come to us to ask for engagement of some type. Grooming, going for walks with them while they graze, naps, and training.
Horses saying "no" is one of the most valuable feedbacks imo, and I personally believe you gain the respect of the animal by listening to them.
I'm so glad you mentioned not just strapping a saddle on, and letting the horse buck.
All but one horse that has injured me, was started using that method.
It teaches them to explode under pressure, and many horses trained that way, will bolt and buck, for the rest of their lives, if they get stressed or nervous.
I have broken more bones than I could count, and all but one were from being launched through the air, and landing on the ground hard, when I was reschooling horses that were started incorrectly, and were just allowed to buck with the saddle on, at the beginning of their training.
It's never been an issue, when I have started youngsters myself. Even if they were unhandled before they came to me. I feel much safer working with horses that nobody else started, than I do handling "already broke" horses.
Amen! A wise old Irish horseman told me eons ago the goal is to never let a horse learn it can buck with a saddle on.
Horses saying no doesn't necessarily mean that it will stunt growth, or your horse is being disrespectful. Really, the only time a horse would feel like it needs to say no is 1. it is uncomfortable, 2. it is scared 3. it is confused or 4. it is in pain. If your horse says no, the best thing you can do is take a step back and say, " I saw that you got uncomfortable, let's try something else or approach this differently or more slowly." That way it gives the horse time to reset or just more time to build confidence to approach the scary thing. Horses don't have the mentality to be "disrespectful". They react from pain, fear, confusion. Forcing your horse to go over a jump when they are scared or in pain just gives them an even worse association and experience with the thing they were already struggling with. If you give your horse the option to say no and give them choice in training, it becomes more likely that a horse will say yes because they know that they can leave at anytime if they get uncomforatable.
💯I think the most important thing to understand in training is that horses learn through association, like any animal. Ignoring the no just suppresses the symptom instead of addressing the cause, often with escalating pressure that the horse will remember as an unpleasant/scary experience (they were afraid something bad would happen, and something bad did happen). Respecting the no also teaches the animal that they can use non-aggressive, safe behaviour to communicate their discomfort, and increases the likelihood of them feeling comfortable enough to give a "yes" in the future.
This comment ❤🎉 I agree, I taught my brumby Jewel this way. I encouraged her to try, but often she would say no because she didn't understand my question, changing the question slightly encouraged her to try more, sometimes showing a behavior that perhaps I didn't think of, and still achieving the goal we set out for in the first place. Sadly an injury took her life despite 2 months attempting to save her life. It wasn't meant to be. I've since welcomed another young brumby, and using all his predecessor taught me ❤
If it wouldn't be too much trouble, I'd really like to hear more details about how you understand the "letting a horse say no" training method to better get the point you're trying to make and the concerns you're trying to raise. I understand "letting my horse say no" as a way to communicate with my horse and modify things so we can get to where we need to be. Usually, if she says "no" during training, she is either overwhelmed by what I'm asking her to do or she's confused about what I'm asking her to do. In either situation, when she says "no," she's communicating to me that what I'm asking is too complicated for her in the moment and I need to simplify it. In response, I'll break the skill down into smaller steps. We work on each step (sometimes over a period of days or weeks depending on what we're working on), and then we put them together, at which point she's able to say "yes" to the skill. It's not that we'll never do the skill; it's that we need to slow it down. It may be that we're on the same page and just speaking different languages, but if there are serious concerns that could arise from what I'm doing, I'd like to know about them so I can make sure my horse is getting the best opportunities to learn.
I will note that I take a different approach when my horse doesn't do something because she's clearly and intentionally testing boundaries. I don't let her get away with that, but I call that training approach "enforcing boundaries." For example, she knows when it is time for grain, she must take two steps back so she is out of my personal space while I put her bowl down. We've done this every night since the second week I had her, so I know she knows this is how it works. Every now and then, she checks to see if the boundary is still in place and refuses to step back. In response, I refuse to give her the bowl. We stay like that until she does take the two steps back, at which point she gets a "good girl" and her bowl.
Question for those saying let a horse say no. I have a 10 year old mare here now for training. She has many trail miles and is fantastic at it.
She's decided to back up if asked to turn around and head back up trail. She only does this when heading back toward direction of home/trailer. She will keep backing up until rider dismounts or turns to go back toward home. She doesn't even want to be led away.
She's been thoroughly vetted, saddle fitted, had equine chiropractor. No physical issues, nothing traumatic has happened on trail. She's not ridden hard or roughly. She is physically fit and very well taken care of. Same owner over past 7 years. The owner does ground work with her on non ride days too.
She also refuses to load onto trailer when leaving home, but eagerly self loads away from home. No trailer trauma or fear. She's gets a snack in the trailer when she loads at home as a reward.
IMO it's barn/home sourness that she has developed over the last year. So yes she is saying no, but she would say no every time if allowed.
I want to say, that harsh bits are not something I agree with, but some equipment, like a crop, or round tip spurs are helpful for some horses. I am at a barn where some people use spurs for the lazier horses. They use the round ones, and they are just there if needed. I myself use a crop, and its just something my horse respects. It’s just a tool for if i need to give her a small tap on the neck, because I don’t wanna use spurs. It really depends on the person using this equipment
Here’s my insights on all these!
Number 1: I completely agree with!
Number 2: mostly yes, the only situation I wouldn’t use this in is with really young babies or yearlings that tend to get overwhelmed so easily and sometimes they get so stressed and so I just like to calm them down and let them stand by the scary thing not going through it then walk away and try again tomorrow until they can gain enough trust in me
Number 3: personally I don’t like to tie any part of the horses body to themselves but I do use spurs quite a bit, my horse works fine without them but I show a TON and in big reining shows, so I like using spurs to get the fastest reaction, yet also make it seem like I barely did anything, and I don’t use them harshly, just a rope, my horse is also not as filled out in the stomach so the spurs give me a longer heel to not have to move my foot as much, though all my horses start off with no spurs then I start using them as almost like you would use a calculator, just to do things faster
Number 4: personally I use this to an extent, I like to just put steady pressure then when they move away I release and pet, then do it again and over and over until they learn that as soon as they feel the pressure they get it released and they get pet, personally with my horses (which is a 7 year old really well trained Reiner, a just turned 5 year old little mare and a almost 1 year old stud colt) they all get a bit anxious and don’t react well to over stimulating situations (except the mare) and it can make them lose trust or become flustered when to much ropes or pressure is being used, so I don’t like to increase the pressure and freak them out, more so just keeping it calm
I think that using excessive materials is wrong and agree in that way, however materials like martingales to keep a horse's head down, can also being a training method when used in specific ways, just like how a whip can be used as a weapon, but in the right hands, a tool. Martingales aren't to limit a horse's head movement or tie it to itself, but just have its head lower without using methods that could be extremely worse such as seesawing which no equestrian would wish on a horse. Although it can be trained in other ways, it's like saying a crop is bad for horses in everyones hands which isn't true like i said before. Thanks for this video though, I definitely agree with the other training methods you listed, and props to you for expressing your own opinions on subjects like this even though you know some people may not agree.
What you are saying makes so much sense! I love your approach to training! I especially liked your thoughts on the “not letting the horse say no” concept and on negative reinforcement training.
I agree with your take on allowing your horse to say no, I think that they shouldn’t just be able to walk away when they don’t like something, I think that they should be taught to work through it instead, one common result of this that I see is the avoidance of fly spray, this issue is easily fixed if you put in the work and dedication, when I got my ottb he would nearly rip the lead out of my hand to get away from the fly spray, I have since been working with him and forcing him to stand when I spray him, he is allowed to wiggle around and toss his head all he wants because I won’t punish him for expressing that he doesn’t like something but he isn’t allowed to walk away, he has since learned that if he stands it will be over quicker and he gets a treat afterwards, he is now able to be handled and have fly spray put on him by all of the staff at the barn
I tried both negative and positive reinforcement to my horse and neither of them worked for different reasons (negative: worsens our relationship) and (positive: made my horse so focused on the treats and not my "demands") I realised that my horse needed something else so right now i try to have a mix of those methods. I try not to put a lot of pressure and not to give treats every time she does something good (because then she waits for it and if i don't have treats she won't be interested in me).
Thank you. Valid points, good reasoning and easy to understand. This is why I watch your videos 🐎
You have to let a horse say no so that they can say yes. That’s my critique. Yes means they understand and trust what you’re asking. Letting a horse not say no loses trust and a conversation of partnership. Without the initial “no” your horse is more of a slave than a partner. I ride my horse bridleless/ neck rope, and because I let my horse say no and I listen… my horse is constantly saying yes. It’s a difficult concept for some, but listening to your horse to me prevents sourness and accidents, just my opinion though.
As someone who just got her foot jumped on by her spooky horse who was afraid of the farrier, I agree with you. Safety comes first (for horse and human) and sometimes that requires negative reinforcement. #learningthehardway.
Love your logic. I got my first horse in my 50s and I am really finding a lot of great info in your videos!! Thanks!!
i like your opinions on horse training methods.
Carm has the best opinions on training methods!!! 🐎 ❤️
i agree with you're disagreement of letting the horse say no. i had a horse that would say no a lot and instead of just going "alright" my trainer helped me think "why is he saying no?" (just like you said in the video). by not letting my horse say no, and instead asking him to leg yield towards things he doesn't like (with his head facing the opposite way) and as soon as he would relax to the scary thing i would release and make it a big deal. it taught him to relax and kinda ignore stuff instead of run and get worried. he's an amazing and much calmer horse now who is very willing to try.
it's not mean when i ask him to leg yield towards it, he has very good off the leg lateral controls, it's just nicely asking and helps him relax through his body.
just as a follow up i think people think we're forcing a horse to do something that they're freaked out by when we don't allow them to say no. but it's a lot like desensitization where you ask them to accept something that is uncomfortable in a comfortable way for them. taking something that could have just been a scary memory (and therefore leaving that object to be scary) and turning it into a learning opportunity where the horse learns that the object is nothing to be scared of.
I definitely see your point and I do agree to some extent, but I think the good thing about letting your horse say no is that you can slowly over time overcome their fear of the object or whatever it might be that they’re afraid of and you build up a trust to each other where you both have a say. I’m not trying to say anything against the way you do it just trying to explain why I let my horse say no ☺️
I do have an ex-race horse so it might be different for a horse who doesn’t have traumas
@@Hello-dg2zr i agree with that. my horse was just scared of everything and would tense up so i didn't want him to leave with that tension.
but, he had ear twitch trauma and that was a really extra slow process. i see where you're coming from.
also slapping a saddle on a horse that's never worn a saddle tighting the girth or cinch all the way and throwing them in an arena or round pen and just letting them panic and buck is just flooding and it doesn't teach them anything since a scared horse can't learn and retain information
there also very likely to explode under stress
LOVE your vid!!! really helped me!😃🥰
You're totaly right.👍
(IGNORE MY SPELLING PLEASE) I teach negitive reinforsment and positive, in my opinion they are a great way to train I use negitive for example when I'm leading a horse into a float ect and positive is kind of for fun but I havent done this yet but I will train my horses to load into a float librety style because negitive can hurt the horse so positive is something I enjoy teaching my horse and my horses love it too! Negitive is something essential for a horse to know though they need to learn that because if I sold my horse they may not teach positive so its good for them to know both, negitive because its really something they need to know, positive, they enjoy it I enjoy it so I love it.
Both should be taught.
Great video and great wording! ⭐️
I let my horse say no, she always has a say, i personally believe it is the best way of making your horse trust you, there will be moments where they will have to do or not do something which is why i call it a 50-50 partnership. My mare is an ex-racing horse, so she has a lot of traumas, we take things very slow and i don't push her or force her into situations she doesn't like, we take it very slow to make sure she gets new good experiences with humans, she doesn't trust people, but its slowly getting better. I personally think its different from horse to horse how you should train them every horse is different but no horse is evil or have bad intentions, they just need a gentle and loving guide, which is their human
the bigest thing that we focas on when training is being loud!!! it helps them not be as spookey
I also believe in making training fun for your horse , it makes them want to learn, n trust you much better. N to me, my horse is family, my buddy, not a tool to throw away when he's used up.❤
This video is so helpful!
Thanks for posting this. Question… what’s a martingail? And how is it bad? I heard you mention it, and I didn’t know they were bad.
Its tying down the horses head no matter how “loose” it is its restricting the horses natural movements thus causing muscle strain and pain
@@Gray0123 thanks for the quick reply! I used to want one because I saw other people using them and I thought they looked “ cool “ 😅
@Gray0123 it's also a stupid and dangerous idea to trail ride in a standing martingale because if your horse trips, stumbles they can't throw their head up to regain their balance
Well said!! I love your videos, you're so chill and your horse's are cute:)
1 hour ago! love your videos!
I had a horse and her name was Shayne her body was black and she had a white dot on her face.She was an American quarter horse she was amazing at barrel racing and every time we went there where men were would “calm her down.” They had to use spears and I was uncomfortable every time they came over to do it.they would just jab them into her side gave me the same pain that she had. They didn’t do it hard thank god but I still hurt to watch
Good stuff!
so true love all these
A horse cannot say yes if no is not an option
a lesson horse I ride has a martingale? is that bad. Also some ponies have grass reins for hacks they can still move their heads around but can’t keep putting their heads down for grass..
i personally rode with a martingale for a year or two and i think it's not great for the horse but even worse for the rider's learning because i didn't learn anything. my horse was pretty unhappy with that training and once we moved to dressage he's been very happy, coming up to the door excitedly and being very engaged during lessons. i would talk to your trainer about it because it really didn't work for my horse and i. he was unhappy when it was on, and i didn't know what to do when it was off so he was also unhappy.
TL;DR i'm not a vet, but i think martingales are pretty bad for the horse and the rider, i'd at least ask your trainer about it
@@animangle thanks, the horse doesn’t seem bothered by it at all and i’ve never really noticed any unhappiness from her. but thanks for telling me about your experience using one. how is it bad for the rider may I ask?
@@yeah88ok i never learned how to work without a martingale on difficult or even just normal horses. it kinda just lets you do whatever you want with the reins because it doesn't show any effects. so you can have great timing or awful timing and it doesn't make a difference. i spent a lot of time learning timing and how to use the body to soften after switching trainers and it was 100% worth it.
also, with my horse i've noticed i can't really tell he's unhappy with his life until he's happier and i can look back and compare. i'm sure he could still be happier than he is now, and that's the goal.
also, what kind of martingale are you currently using???
@@yeah88ok also i don't think grass reins are bad but they're also just not necessary (this is purely my opinion and experience) unless they're putting younger beginners (under the age of 10) on horses.
when i've been to nose to butt trail facilites it's pretty easy to pull the horses heads up but full honesty and just to be clear my horse has no interest in eating stuff when we go on trails so i might not understand the struggle.
@@animangle shes just a lesson horse so I can’t rlly choose what to use but I ride horses without them a lot aswell so i’m not just used to using one. she has a running martingale I believe
Idk why people have such a big problem with spurs, there’s horses that aren’t that sensitive and need a bigger aid, there’s nothing you can do about that you can’t train them to be more sensitive as long as you don’t incorrectly use them I don’t see the problem
You absolutely can train them to be more sensitive! I’d know because I’ve done it myself. Horses are usually only ‘lazy’ and ‘dull’ if they’re undermuscled, unmotivated, or in pain/unable (like due to age) to preform in that way. I used a mix of pressure and release (Amelia Newcomb Dressage) and positive reinforcement (Milestone Equestrian & others) to encourage a dull, cold-backed mare into becoming a horse eager to do what I ask when I ask! You should train that response first without spurs, then with spurs IMO.
@@cloglAmelia literally uses spurs herself💀 they r still not abusive if used correctly in my opinion
@@valeriegarcia5420 I never stated they were abusive, or used improperly!! All I said was that it’s NOT a fix for a dull horse, and horses should be able to do basic WTC without spurs.
I have nothing against spurs. They are incredibly helpful for certain cues!
I wear spurs on most horses. Ask with the leg cue first, but the spur tells horse gotta respond. When I say spur the horse, all I do is turn my toe out a smidge.
I love horses.
I disagree with your view of allowing the horse to say no, which I explained in the comments to your video where you read the comments to this video. That was a good move, btw. Here I'm just going to pick on you for putting a saddle on your horse's back and letting him toss it off. What was that supposed to teach him?? There are effective ways to introduce a horse to a saddle without giving him a chance to buck it off. I don't get that at all.
I know some people aren't going to agree with me here but I ride Western and live in the mountains so I have to use a breast collar to keep my saddle from sliding back the horse I'm currently riding I use a pulling collar cause sometimes I do rope a little for my bit I use a tom thumb bit but I don't ride with my hands a lot and I do use spurs I ask with my leg but when I need some speed out of him or if he isn't really listening and just kinda doing his own thing I give him a little reminder I guess I basically just said I do everything she said not to do
No one is going to disagree with your use of a breast collar or pulling collar. That's a common piece of tack, not a training tool. It's to keep you saddle from sliding backward and it can also help keep it from rolling. The other stuff, yes people will have strong opinions about.
@epona9166 I know I just stuck my opinion out there and said what I do I don't think most tack and spurs is bad if used correctly
Any training method done wrong is not going to work.
To evaluate a training method look at the expert in that method and how their horses go. If it doesn't work for me it doesn't mean it is a bad method. And if it doesn't work for one horse that doesn't mean it won't work for others.
By the way I do like how your horses behave and I think you are good at what you do. I just don't think those statements were logical.
there are some methods that just don't work at all and lead to the horse needing a complete restart like just throwing a saddle on a colt or a filly for the first without getting them used to the weight and feel of a saddle, tightening the girth or cinch all the way and throwing them in an arena or round pen to panic and buck until they stop and shut down
@@daniellecote7393 Yes I agree there are some methods that either won't work or are not worth the stress or pain they cause to the horse. That wasn't my point, what I was saying was I can't say a method is bad for everyone just because it didn't work for me.
You need to look at the horses of the person who came up with the method or an expert in the method. If their horses are well trained, mentally alert and move nicely it is a good method even if it doesn't work for me. If their horses are shut down not well behaved or moving in a way that will cause the horse problems long term, it is probably not a good method.
The more I do with horses the more I think listening to them is important.
no offense but u said that u don’t like having anything extra like a spur or anything but ur using whips in this video
nice
Go slow to go fast. :)
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2 MIN!!!!
25 secs ago!!
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Showing a bucking bronc as an example of flooding is a bad example. He's supposed to buck lol
I think she was just kind of showing that.
Not as an example because all of the other videos were her doing stuff with her horses not examples of what she was talking about.
i think you've greatly misunderstood the use of saying no in horse training. you need to do much more research before making blanket statements like this.
Well no because if you or someone else trained your horse to put a saddle on say they bucked it of and then you turned around and was like it’s ok you can never wear a saddle again because you said no :).Them your horse is gunna have no training so think before you say
Don't think you have done enough research on the concept of positive reinforcement and consent based training
1 view in 1 second girl fell of
You have 1 subscriber shut up
@Get-in-touch-01 ok then buddy
all ya need is a drain rod and ya can sort a horse in seconds