With horses, at a young age, they learn teamwork, the value of family and looking out for each other is vital to their survival. Every aspect and member of the herd plays a key role in the safety of the herd as a whole. Training should be no different. Learn to first communicate with them as if they are a new found friend from another country whom of which you don’t speak the same language. Learn to listen, learn to see, be open to their culture and over time you’ll come to adapt to their ways and someday won’t be foreign any longer. With horses this same approach leads to success! They study us more than we study them. We are distracted by bills and money and our to do list, yet horses are not. They are more focussed then we are. They already know what we are about before we ever touch them. Just because one person can achieve a certain outcome from an animal doesn’t mean everyone can. Let me put it this way, if you see a happy married couple enjoying a nice dinner you would be crazy to think you could interrupt and take his wife thinking she would treat you the same she does to her husband right? So why do we expect any differently from a horse after we purchase it? The horse has no idea it’s been sold. Money isn’t a factor in a horses world. All it sees is that his herd dynamic has changed so now he will study you to see where you stand in the pecking order as does he. You are back to square one. It’s now time for you to build your very own relationship with this horse as if you never saw it in harmony with the trainer or previous owner. This is the biggest issue I see in the horse world. “Patience, understanding and a sense of humor” go a long way. “All good things come to those who wait”. And it will just have faith!
J Randol horse training 