What Real Horse Training Is Actually About

I don’t think anyone with the slightest notion of horses and horse craft will deny the end objective of horse training is to allow the rider to exert total control over the horse. This is what dressage and all the “arts of riding” philosophies are all about.

But how would you define “control”? I hope you will agree with me that control should not be interpreted to refer solely to physical mastery over the pony.

I can recollect reading some article somewhere about the right bit to use with the right halter to get “total control” over a young colt. It looks to be a horrible idea with tinges of Big Brother.

I have two hypothetical, and maybe not so hypothetical, eventualities for you in relation to control.

The first eventuality imagines a show pony with rolling eyes, standing in the aisle of his barn in cross ties. You might say the pony is under control? It will not be able to bolt from the barn.

The second scenario is about a cowboy who opens a gate, leads his horse through, drops the reins and closes the gate, and all the while the horse stays still. Now that is another sort of control altogether.

I once knew a cowboy who sited his horse such that it might turn the cattle the cowboy on his 2 feet was shooing out of the corral. What do you think about that sort of control?

I ponder at riders who resort to heavy bits to exercise more control. I’ve one question for them: how much control would they have exercised if their horses threw them off? Potentially with some physical damage?

You aren’t going to achieve the best kind of complete control with tools and gadgets. If he is really feeling mean, your horse will just run thru a bit or whatever other tool you employ. And if all else fails, you pony can always give you a hard and sudden landing on the ground.

My viewpoint of control is that it is a state of mind that is based on your focus as well as that of your pony; the coaching you imparted to him and the trust you mutually enjoy. I have lost count of the amount of times I’ve seen riders who were using lead ropes to pull their horses, or were barely clinging on while astride. I never missed the chance to tell them,”You shouldn’t be with that horse, because you don’t seem to be able to control it”.

I think that when you lead your horse, he should follow you with head dropped and slack in the lead rope. If he is not doing that, you have a little problem which is most likely going to reach maturity in a major disaster.

I repeat: control is a condition of mind that reflects the quality of coaching the pony has received plus the standard of the rider and the trust between horse and rider. I’m content to be well placed to say everytime I approach my horses they all crowd near eagerly. Occasionally, my stud sulks because the mares have been leading him on, and at such times, he may intrude on my private space. I just have to give one look to set him right. And since he responds immediately as I need him to, I give him a little bit of scratching to show there aren’t any hard feelings.

Horses are Heather Toms passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100s of articles with other horse lovers, like all things about western show clothes