Discovering Ranch Life ~ Photography

AMEN Franklin! Thank you for this brilliant essay! I’m so grateful that Franklin Levinson chooses to share his wisdom with us. Thank You! Even your wallet will appreciate this post

Have a great day!

/Maria

NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUN

By: Franklin Levinson

I have recently been listening to several podcasts, interviews, calls and webinars regarding horsemanship provided by other trainers. A number of these trainers are personal friends of mine. Additionally, I have been reading what other horsemen and women are writing about their techniques and methods. I have provided numerous interviews and writings for various media myself for many years. What struck me today is that we are all saying essentially the same things about how to become successful with horses. Most all of these enlightened horse people today speak of the development of trust as an integral part of any successful horse/human experience or activity. A few still cling to the ‘show them you are the boss’ school of horsemanship and the application of force and coercion to achieve success. But fortunately this philosophy of horsemanship appears to be dying out in many places. For this I am grateful.

But another thing I notice is that humans involved with horses can still tend to be very opinionated, holding a rather narrow view of what successful horsemanship is. Many of their opinions are obviously based on limited experience and little actual knowledge of the psychology and minds of horses. Often the human seems to be looking for a one answer fits all situations. An example of this is to use a bit or never to use a bit when riding a horse. To me, is I think it is inappropriate to look for absolutes in a world that has no absolutes. I have said numerous times that a bit, spurs, crops, whips, etc. are merely tools and not good nor bad within themselves. Even a gun is merely a mechanical device. It is the human using the device that dictates whether it has value or not in any given situation.

Many humans do not seem to want to look at a bigger picture of the uses of a particular tool. Some say to never use a bit based on images and medical testimony as to the inherent pain involved in a horse even carrying a bit whether it is used or not. Others say it is OK and actually always essential for control. Most competitions will not allow a competitor to ride without using a bit. I assume this is because the ability to ride effectively and safely without using a bit is so foreign to so many humans due to tradition, uninformed opinions and erroneous conclusions about horses that it has been made a handed down official policy. The proper, safe and effective use of a bit depends on many things. Among them are the abilities and skill of the human as a rider and trainer, the conditioning as well as the actual physical body of the horse, its mouth and more. The same goes for applying metal shoes to a horse’s hooves. “Never say never” I think is a good response to this sort of thinking. Mostly these are opinions based on theories that, at first glance or upon an initial consideration, seem valid. Perhaps these opinions are derived at from historical concepts such as training horses for the use in warfare and the military. This training was often done as expediently as possible, with the emphasis on control rather than trust. So, mandatory use of bits was always and logically viewed as necessary.

The problem as I see it is a severe lack of actual wisdom, skill and knowledge of horses in the world. This, alongside archaic methods and philosophies that are sill considered valid, but are in reality merely traditions and traditional thinking, creates problems for the horse living in the world of humans today. Tradition does not make anything right, great, effective or something to be supported and continued. Tradition for the sake of tradition is unfair, unkind and often dangerous, especially for horses. The bigger issue as I see it is the unwillingness of the human to evolve in their thinking and to learn as much as they can about the horse. The humans appear to always be looking for the next magic bullet that will eliminate all their difficulties with their horses. This is evidenced by the success of all the name trainers’ special and rather expensive equipment. Examples of this are Dooley Halters, Carrot Sticks, special name brand ropes and the like. Something that has been very interesting for me is to have to work with horses in primitive conditions. In other words where there was no special equipment, no round pen, open areas and lots of distractions including grass. I have had to use string, sticks and many other items I found laying about on the ground. Reliance on specific equipment is limiting to our effectiveness and abilities. It restricts our creativity and hinders our talent to think outside the box, so to speak. I believe in versatility in our horsemanship, training methods, riding disciplines and all things horsey. If we are too reliant on a particular method, techniques or ‘steps’ we will never achieve the higher levels of horsemanship with consistency.

Another issue is one of taking responsibility and being accountable for the behavior of our horses and not simply blaming the horse and judging it as naughty, bad or some such negative thing. Parents have responsibility for the behavior of their young children. Most of us would agree that this is true. But when it comes to our horses, it is so easy to blame them for everything they do that we do not want. Whenever someone says to me my horse is naughty, they are telling me they know little of the reality of horses. Often I will point out to them the innate innocence of horses. They agree and say they didn’t really mean it as it sounded. To this I respond that the words we use really do reflect our beliefs and paradigms. To say that you did not mean what you said reflects in a negative way on the integrity and consciousness within the communication. If you really believe the horses is always innocent, then never call or judge it as bad, naughty or guilty. We need to always take responsibility for the training, or lack of training, and thus the behavior of our horses.

As most evolved and enlightened horsemen and women today are actually saying the same things, what is new and different? What is new and different is how we talk about what we are trying to communicate. We may prefer how one trainer languages and speaks of their techniques over another. Preferences are just fine I think and important. Whether it is called the 7 Games, Waterhole Rituals, Haute Ecole or whatever, the essence of the information is the same. The words spoken may be a bit different and one thing or another may be emphasized. But at the core of the information is the development of trust. This means that the horse feels safe, feels peaceful, feels relaxed and feels that its immediate needs are met and believes that a trusted leader is finally with it. So is there anything new under the sun? Not really, but that is not what is important. What is important is as old as humans and horses being in successful association with each other and that is called TRUST.