16/11/2024
I have never met a horse that I was scared of.
Why?
I understand horse behavior, and know that even the most aggressively violent horse is acting to defend itself.
If you don't give them a reason to defend themselves they are no longer aggressive.
I get called to help with so many 'dominant' horses.. But when I arrive they are anxious horses that people have tried to dominate into submission.
The irony is that one of the things I hear about myself the most, is that I am scared to ride, scared to canter, or scared to 'ride out the bucks"..
Don't you just love hearing the gossip about you.. It is highly entertaining.. But these people are actually spot on..
I am scared to ride an anxious horse, it rude a horse at a canter that isn't relaxed at a walk or trot, and I am definitely scared to ride a horse scared or in pain enough to buck..
About as scared as I would be to get on a plane with someone who doesn't know how to fly as pilot.. Because if a horse is still scared, they don't know we won't harm them, they don't know they can carry us safely...
Before I climb on, I need a horse to feel safe with me, and know all the communication I will ever need for riding, before I canter I need a horse to know they are safe at a walk, safe at a trot, and have carried my saddle at a relaxed canter..
Pilots go through intensive training these days with flight simulators.. I consider my groundwork flight simulation.. Or rather anti-flight simulation.. I don't want to go flying..
