Re:The Horse Helped Shape Our World at Great Expense to Itself
by HeyLaughingBoy on Friday February 16, 2018 @11:51AM
(#16393647)
The essence of it is that because they are prey animals, good horsemanship is necessarily an exercise in leadership
That's something I hadn't thought of directly, but it's very true.
My wife is a horse trainer & riding instructor and one of the first things I see her teaching is being decisive and clear about what you want the animal to do. The parents of her younger students (mostly girls) often report that their kids become much more confident after taking lessons.
Horses are very finely attuned to body language and don't respond very well to someone who is timid and uncertain. The flip side of that is, of course, if (s)he really doesn't want to do something, come hell or high water, it ain't happening!
That's something I hadn't thought of directly, but it's very true.
My wife is a horse trainer & riding instructor and one of the first things I see her teaching is being decisive and clear about what you want the animal to do. The parents of her younger students (mostly girls) often report that their kids become much more confident after taking lessons.
Horses are very finely attuned to body language and don't respond very well to someone who is timid and uncertain. The flip side of that is, of course, if (s)he really doesn't want to do something, come hell or high water, it ain't happening!