Our
Training Philosophy
Horses want security more than anything else in the world
– more than love, carrots, pats and rugs. For horses,
security means safety, which is everything given that they
are a prey animal. And the most wonderful thing about horses
is that they are willing to hand the responsibility for their
security over to us humans. It’s a huge responsibility
and one which Fred feels is the absolute key to any successful
horse/human relationship. If horses could talk, the horsey
words for love would definitely be security and respect.
Fred
has met many owners who experience 'problems' with their horse’s
behaviour. About 40% of our business is in the re-education
of horses that are displaying some sort of undesirable behaviour,
be it bucking, rearing, kicking, shying, pigrooting, and so
on – all challenging and potentially very dangerous
behaviours. And 99% of the time, these behaviours are associated
with a breakdown in the respect that the horse has for their
owner or rider.
In
all the years that Fred has been professionally starting and
re-educating horses, he has never met a truly nasty, ignorant
or vindictive horse – but he’s definitely met
hundreds of horses that 'test the boundaries' or lack respect
for their owners (and humans in general). This is often due
to the horse feeling insecure, or lacking confidence in the
human's ability to be the herd leader. And that’s where
problems with behaviour can start.
Horses
are so very much like small children, it’s uncanny.
As with our kids, sometimes we don’t want to be too
assertive with our horses. However, having CLEAR boundaries
and being confident and consistent in our implementation of
them is absolutely the key to a happy, willing and (most importantly)
safe horse.
So
then, it comes down to training and retraining. Putting the
boundaries in place. Training not just horses but also their
owners and riders. In order for any training regime to work,
Fred believes it needs to be achievable – and not just
achievable by him or the experienced rider and handler, but
also by the novice rider, the rider starting again in later
life, the parents looking to help their child who wants to
ride. Basic boundaries or 'rules' that any horse will recognise
and understand and that any owner can implement. Because no
horse will ever be better than their owner. They can be retrained,
taught tricks and 'tuned up', but will very quickly revert
back if good boundaries and rules are not maintained.
From the minute a new horse arrives at Watkins Horse Handlers,
either for starting or re-education, they start to learn and
understand all of Fred’s 'rules' (yes, we call them
that!). Often horses are determined to keep things 'their'
way for a day or two, but once they understand the rules,
the change in their behaviour and level of confidence is incredible
to watch. And everything unfolds from there, because a confident
horse is a happy, receptive and willing horse. An 'easy to
teach' horse.
Freds 'rules' are simple, easy rules anyone can put into place,
and training exercises anyone can learn and continue on with
once they take their horse home. I truly believe this is why
Fred is so good at what he does – he knows most people
can’t do what he does and don’t ride like he does,
and he understands how important it is for owners to have
a plan once they leave here, so he teaches owners as well.
He understands that a happy horse is just as important as
a 'fixed' horse, if you can call it that. And we like to know
our clients – human and horse – leave happy and
continue on happily.
|
The Chief
DJ
Gunner
Nemo
|
