I wrote a recent post where I described the difference between punishment (negative) and correction (positive) when working with. I must say I was disheartened to read (my post was re-blogged by someone else on another forum) how many horse owners feel that punishing attacking a horse has its place in horse training. Respectfully, I absolutely disagree.
Why doesn’t punishment (as described in the previous post) work? Let’s explore that with an example of using punishment on a horse for an unwanted action I read about: the owner described how he/she punished their horse by whacking him several times as hard as they could with a stick because he reared when passing other horses. The rearing stopped. Why? Fear. Not respect. Not trust. But fear. If you think for one moment that this is what respect looks like, you’d be lying to yourself.
But the rearing stopped you say?! Indeed it did. But it will come back. Why? Because the horse was not encouraged to find the right answer on his own. The horse didn’t stop rearing because his handler helped build his trust and confidence by teaching him tactfully that he could pass other horses in a calm fashion and still be safe. There were no clear, firm corrections or rewards for even the slightest effort. Instead there was nagging, dulling pressure and his one big lesson from this experience is that his human handler can’t be trusted not to expose him to danger.
Let’s fast forward a little and pose a hypothetical situation that will test this horse’s training. The horse and his handler are walking by a small herd of horses. Among them is a 16hh stallion. The stallion moves fast, head high as it comes closer and closer. The gelding is nervous...trapped, frightened. Where to now? Will it be the stallion willing and able to kick or the handler willing and able to beat him? Who can he trust in such a tight spot? His handler didn’t show him how to adopt a wait and see and trust in your leader approach to this kind of situation. He’s outta there.
The stallion could have been a snake on a trail or advertising sign in an arena. The result will still be the same. Solid horse training takes time. Fear = Respect? Not at all.
Why doesn’t punishment (as described in the previous post) work? Let’s explore that with an example of using punishment on a horse for an unwanted action I read about: the owner described how he/she punished their horse by whacking him several times as hard as they could with a stick because he reared when passing other horses. The rearing stopped. Why? Fear. Not respect. Not trust. But fear. If you think for one moment that this is what respect looks like, you’d be lying to yourself.
But the rearing stopped you say?! Indeed it did. But it will come back. Why? Because the horse was not encouraged to find the right answer on his own. The horse didn’t stop rearing because his handler helped build his trust and confidence by teaching him tactfully that he could pass other horses in a calm fashion and still be safe. There were no clear, firm corrections or rewards for even the slightest effort. Instead there was nagging, dulling pressure and his one big lesson from this experience is that his human handler can’t be trusted not to expose him to danger.
Let’s fast forward a little and pose a hypothetical situation that will test this horse’s training. The horse and his handler are walking by a small herd of horses. Among them is a 16hh stallion. The stallion moves fast, head high as it comes closer and closer. The gelding is nervous...trapped, frightened. Where to now? Will it be the stallion willing and able to kick or the handler willing and able to beat him? Who can he trust in such a tight spot? His handler didn’t show him how to adopt a wait and see and trust in your leader approach to this kind of situation. He’s outta there.
The stallion could have been a snake on a trail or advertising sign in an arena. The result will still be the same. Solid horse training takes time. Fear = Respect? Not at all.