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The Teacher and The Student
- By Ed Thornton
- Published 12/18/2005
- Training Tips
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Ed Thornton
Ed Thornton John Lyons Certified Horse Trainer http://www.edthornton.com Thornton Ranch & Learning Center 57980 Cortez Dr. Yucca Valley, CA 92284 (760) 365-2269
View all articles by Ed ThorntonIntroduction
You, being a horse owner, are a trainer. Simply by the habits you repeat every time you meet with your horse. You do the same things over & over again pretty much the same way. The horse being a conditioned response animal will learn your habits and develop his own set of automatic responses to your cues if you repeat them consistently.
Think of your horse as if he were a kindergarten student. If your child told his teacher that 2+2=5 would you expect the teacher to swat him and tell him he was just being obstinate or stupid? You would pull your child out of that school and find another one. Well, some "Trainers" do similar actions with horses. The horse picks up the wrong lead and the trainer beats the horse for making that mistake. The trainer says," I taught you how to take the correct lead, and you are just being stubborn, you did it right before." The truth is if the horse knew the correct answer he would do it . Let the horse tell you when he has learned the lesson. Be a teacher not a trainer.
Think of your horse as if he were a kindergarten student. If your child told his teacher that 2+2=5 would you expect the teacher to swat him and tell him he was just being obstinate or stupid? You would pull your child out of that school and find another one. Well, some "Trainers" do similar actions with horses. The horse picks up the wrong lead and the trainer beats the horse for making that mistake. The trainer says," I taught you how to take the correct lead, and you are just being stubborn, you did it right before." The truth is if the horse knew the correct answer he would do it . Let the horse tell you when he has learned the lesson. Be a teacher not a trainer.