Ugly to Pretty

There is alot to criticise of me in this clip (will try to get video loaded, otherwise it is on VE Facebook Page)

My theory in horsemanship at this current point in time is that sometimes it looks ugly at the start, but that can often be the progression needed to get to the good stuff.

I find that too often people shy away from the ugly stuff, sometimes this is a good thing because they do not have the skills to get through it, but too often people doubt their skills and quit before they get to the place they want with their horses.

So for example in this clip this wee pony is highly reactive, runs over his child owner, does not respond appropriately to pressure etc etc. So in my eyes I am thinking, OMG nothing is more important than safety at this point and if that is at the expense of this ponies feelings for a brief moment then so be it!

So what is happening here is that the pony cannot handle the stick and string slapping the ground. So I am helping this pony understand that the stick will not harm him and that the only answer is to "hurry up and relax". The people that own this pony had only had him for 2 months, I suspect that his previous owners potentially may have been 'avoid-a-holics'. By this I mean that they avoided anything that upset him. Unfortunately all this does is repress the problem, then it comes out in a BANG!

So the thought process I have while doing this is
1. do not release the pressure (stick and string moving) until he has stood still!
2. only stop the pressure when the horse shows a sign of relaxing AND has feet still
3. if I release the pressure when the horse is fearful, I am teaching him that being fearful is the right answer
4. horses do not learn from the pressure (stick and string), they learn from the release fo pressure (stopping the stick and string)
5. Keep him out of my space as much as possible
6. ABOVE ALL- My safety is the MOST important thing!

Signs of relaxing may include:
-big blink
-cocking a hind leg
-lowering head
-sighing
-blowing nose
-licking and checking

It is important to note that a horse does not WANT to be like this, they just do not know any other way to be. I see it as my responsibility to the horse to help them find a place where they can best survive in humansville, this means that they need to be able to cope with any and all situations we force them into! Along the way I hope to help people do this themselves and on the same token, learn ways that I can do this EVEN BETTER!

Sorry this is a big novel, hopefully I have explained clearly the mission I was trying to accomplish lol!

If this was a horse I did not know, I would be more vigilant about the hind end and not let the horse turn his head away as much.