Medicine Horse Ranch

01/02/2025

Every time you ride. You're either schooling or un-schooling your horse. There's no in-between.

Correct, traditional training is tested, proven and is suitably firm and kind in tandem. Bits, required to mouth and flex a horse to help him lift his core and carry his rider well into his teens or twenties if done correctly and fate remains kind to him.

Coaching, not terrifying the horse, allowing mistakes, but correcting them gently, progressively , not by yanking a rope or knotted head collar where the knots correspond painfully to pressure points on the face, but through repetition.

Correct training, its really deep, it's not easy, it demands more from the trainer than the horse most days. No loss of temper, no gadgets. It is about building the horse, physically and mentally, giving him confidence in you and allowing him to find himself, to learn balance, to accept the aids without a fight, in grace.

There's growth and understanding, not submission in a negative way. Kind legs and hands, a good seat for the rider to guide him through the process, through all of the training. No crude, cruel methods that are cleverly gift wrapped and presented as natural.

Forget about quick fix "systems" that only seek to hoodwink you into thinking they are working. Done through bullying and bulls*t, with tarpaulins, plastic bags on sticks and fast talking sales people, offering the holy grail by art of distraction. Most not able to actually do anything constructive in terms of correct training with any longevity.

Bullying, spinning, yanking, HURTING your horse by constantly brow beating him until his brain shuts down, his hind quarters hurt and his fetlock gives out. Know that doing this stuff, he will go lame and switch off if you're "lucky", fighting back if you're not!

Focus less on ego, or that of these so called messiahs with more Instagram followers than gods, but with so little knowledge, if you poured it into a teacup it wouldn't half way fill it!

I'm tired of bitless, bridleless, barefoot, not for a circus act but for day to day and at any cost. I'm fed up being told by nervous wrecks how groundwork will cure them of their fear of riding which as an experienced rider, I know, sadly, it won't.

Modern so called groundwork is not the correct method of long-reining and beautiful in hand working of the horse to flex, strengthen and advance him. The new so called groundwork, reported to build a bond just by subduing and confusing the horse, losing him all hope. Not to mention, this stuff is contextual. Horses don't think like us, so the tarpaulin indoctrination may be possible in a clinic or at home, but just you wait until it's out of the blue, on a hack, trust me, you won't ride him over it because riding isn't groundwork! The horse doesn't relate or connect the two.

Understand, you can build an unbreakable bond with your horse, through mutual respect, through taking time for his educational needs. Leave your ego at the door. Stop listening to snake oil sales people.

A horse is made, a rider is made. Making either takes a lifetime of hard work, repetition. consistency, disappointment and of course the absolute feeling of elation, joy. The highs are beyond comprehension, and until you have walked that path, you will never understand why the natural, no hope brigade talk such utter nonsense.

I accept the people who believe, I feel sad for them. Most so indoctrinated they want to justify their cults without stepping back and seeing it for what it is. Often, dare I say it, middle aged women, nervous to ride, looking for a reason not to, being sold an expensive dream in order to have the decision vindicated by others who want to "play" with a horse. I only hope, for the sake of the horse, they one day realise they are wrong. As a middle aged woman, I know the joy of riding. That's why it saddens me that the "cults" normalise not riding when I bet, 99% without medical reason, would buy the £1000 nerves cure potion if it was a thing, so they could ride fear free! I get it, I'm not being mean, I'm trying to make you see the wood amongst the trees!

I don't bother to fight back, the argument is pointless, the disciples are as subdued as their horses, confused by smoke and mirrors.

Just know that you can go to groups that love all that rubbish. Share this post so you can moan about it with other believers. I really don't care, because I know what is right and humane and correct. I thankfully ride every day, my horses are happy and healthy with no fear of me or my methods. Just, know it won't change the facts, moaning will only make you feel better, justified, able to discuss with your peers about how uneducated I am (!). That's fine, you haven't found your way yet. I hope you do.

This group is for people who genuinely want to get on better with their horse. To overcome nerves and anxiety riding to progress. This is not a place for natural horsemanwhatever, and I invite you to leave if that is your thing and you don't like my point of view.

If you want to genuinely find a way, please stay, open you mind, your heart. See where it leads.

Save for the Masters who preserve the correct training methods, modern opinions have changed, usually driven by money in sales of gadgets and promises.

Methods have changed, but in the last five thousand years, one thing hasn't changed... the horse.

HU Owen
Author & Rider.

I HOPE IT RAINS The Confidence Manual for the nervous rider https://amzn.eu/d/8uUZXVp

12/23/2024

Something to think about. Thoughts?

My thoughts on anthropomorphism

While working with Joy this morning I started thinking about anthropomorphism…again. I think about it a lot and I’ve wanted to write this post for awhile but never quite found the words.

Many may disagree with me but I take this opinion from my own understanding of human psychology (I have a Diploma in Human Development which delves in to Developmental Psychology) and also from what I feel in myself to be true, unpopular opinion though it may be.

Firstly we need to understand what anthropomorphism is.

It is the act of attributing human thoughts, feelings and emotions to an animal.

So why is it a problem?

Because it is believed that animals don’t think the same as we do. They don’t have the parts of the brain necessary to produce certain thoughts that we attribute to them. And anthropomorphism could lead to the horse being unfairly treated on the basis of a belief that they have human thoughts and emotions.

My personal opinion is this:

Anthropomorphism is not the problem. The incomplete process of anthropomorphism is the problem.

I also believe that neuroplasticity plays a role whereby the horse brain may be able to enlist other areas of the brain to perform emotional processing tasks since they’re lacking the prefrontal cortex. But that’s another topic for another day.

But anyway, hear me out and then feel free to give your thoughts…politely.

Let’s take the term “belligerent”. A lot of people refer to horses as belligerent.
What does it mean? In human terms, belligerence is when someone is considered hostile and aggressive.

But why would a human be hostile and aggressive?
In psychology terms, a person may act hostile and aggressive when they feel threatened. Their anxiety over the perceived threat makes them act in an aggressive way in order to protect themselves.

Go figure!

So if we complete the same thought process with a horse. Labelled it as belligerent but then extrapolate that further and understated why we can decipher that they feel threatened.

By understanding that they feel threatened we can now change tact and approach the horse with new eyes. We can now present ourselves in a kinder way to the horse. We can do what they need to feel safe therefore removing the perceived threat and down scaling the “belligerent” behaviour.

Let’s try another one.

Bolshy/bolshie

In human terms it means someone who is deliberately combative and uncooperative.

Why would a human be deliberately combative and uncooperative?
Probably because they don’t feel comfortable with the situation and they’re behaving in this way in order to protect themselves, to try and stop it from happening.

So why then, would a horse be deliberately uncooperative and combative?
Probably because they don’t feel comfortable with the situation and they’re trying to keep themselves safe and stop things from happening that they’re scared or anxious about.

So with that knowledge we can adjust our approach so the horse feels safe and comfortable to cooperate.

How about this one; disrespectful.

Why would a human be disrespectful to someone? Probably because that person has offended them in some way, perhaps by their behaviour or something they’re said. Or perhaps because they don’t know any different.

So for a horse we can extrapolate that and understand that perhaps the horse is behaving in a disrespectful way because either A) we’ve offended them or B ) they don’t know any different and we need to show them a better way.

With that information we can repair the relationship and show them a better way.

What about some positive emotions? One I heard recently is pride. That horses don’t feel pride.

Pride is defined as “a feeling of accomplishment or confidence that can be a response to success.”

You think a horse might feel a sense of pride when they feel confident in a new skill they’ve developed?
Confidence is certainly something we attribute to horses with apparently no concern for anthropomorphism.
Confidence is defined as a feeling of self-assurance arising from an appreciation of one's own abilities or qualities.

Certainly we can accept that for horses, though I am unsure why, as equestrians, we seem much more comfortable accepting anthropomorphism when it’s in a positive view versus in the negative view.
Of course I understand that the negative attributions could lead to the horse being unfairly treated. But if we can extrapolate for the positive emotions, why not for the negative?

At the end of the day, the thing humans and horses have in common is our primitive instincts. All human behaviour is driven by an instinct. We have psychology to explain that for us.
But horses have that same part of their brain too. Their behaviour is driven by instinct and if we break it down further, we can use that information to understand WHY the horse might be behaving in a belligerent or bolshy or disrespectful way.

Feelings and emotions give off an energy or aura. We feel it from other humans. And we can feel that same energy or aura from a horse. That’s why we attribute a human emotion or behaviour to it. Because as humans, that’s how we understand it, we instinctively feel it.

The issue, in my opinion, is not anthropomorphism but the incomplete extrapolation of anthropomorphism.

If you’re going to label a horse with a certain behaviour or emotion, it’s important to look at that emotion from a human perspective to understand what drives that emotion and break it down completely so you can use it from a place of understanding for your horse.

09/25/2024

Sharing this to save it for later. I need to practice this knot.

09/03/2024

"I am fine!"

"No, you're not."

"No... I am fine."

"I can feel that differently."

"Don't feel me."

"Why. You are literally on my body and next to me. I am always feeling you."

"Because I am holding back the flood of feelings that I have no idea what to do with. If I felt them, I might fall apart"

"Ok. I won't feel you then."

"Excuse me... can you pay attention to me? I am asking you a question nicely. Can you respond to me nicely please?"

"But we just made an agreement. That I disconnect to how you feel, just like you disconnect to how you feel."

"Yes but, don't connect to my feelings. Connect to my actions and commands."

"They are one and the same. That is impossible unless..."

"Unless what?"

"Unless I detach myself from you. Emotional death."

"Great. I'll have one emotional death please. None of those nasty inconvenient feelings. Let us just do actions please."

"Ok. But I am here, waiting for you."

"What are you waiting for?"

"For you to feel. So that we can communicate with feel."