Heart-Centered Horsemanship (Articles)

Contact Kathy Valentine

406-546-5135

kmjjag66@hotmail.com

Training vs. Teaching (Published in Feb 2002 Issue of Rocky Mountain Rider Magazine)

By Ron and Kathy Valentine

John Lyons Select Certified Horse Trainers and Clinicians

The horse is always learning. And, whether you intend to or not, you are always "training" him to either do what you ask or to ignore you. Horses are not able to separate a training session from a non-training session. Whatever you do adds to their memory bank and constitutes part of their learning. It's our job then as horse owners to learn how to improve our methods and question tradition so that we become the best teachers that we can be for our student, the horse.

Tradition is part of our everyday lives. Sometimes it is so strong that we have forgotten why we use a particular horse training technique, method or mechanical aid. And when asked about it, our response is often: "Thatâs the way I was taught" or "That's the way it has always been" or "That's the way Joe does it and his horses are always in the ribbons". We've all seen horse owners and horse trainers who are so steeped in tradition that they have become poor teachers. On the other hand, we've all seen horse owners and "trainers" that seem to make training look easy and who we would say are great "teachers".

When God gave us horses, we believe He also gave us a sense of what is right and wrong to do with them. We may not always know how to teach them, but if we are doing something that will hurt them, or if someone else does something that's not good, our instincts will almost always tell us. We've heard many stories from horse owners who admit they suspected what their trainer was doing was wrong or hurtful to the horse but, because he or she was the trainer, they deferred to his or her experience. If you own a horse, the responsibility to take care of him is yours; and that includes making sure that others don't mistreat him in the name of "training". You have to ask yourself if you and/or your trainer are bettering your horse. Is he or she adding to my horse or is he or she taking away from its spirit; taking that sparkle out of its eyes; and turning it into a robot that operates only off of mechanical commands and cues?

Here are some characteristics of a great teacher we learned from John Lyons. We suggest you apply them to your horse's educational program.

A great teacher uses "The Three Basic Training Rules". Since there are as many training techniques as there are "trainers", John established the following rules for evaluating any training method. We strongly encourage you to apply them to any method, whether it's yours or someone else's who you choose to train your horse:

1. The Training Must be Safe for You and/or Your Trainer - A training method isn't any good if you end up hurt or in the hospital. You are more important than any horse. Your horse may seem like a big pussycat to you and it may not mean to hurt you; but you must always remember how big and strong a horse is - and that no horse is worth losing even your little finger. The training techniques you use must therefore insure your safety. When evaluating a training method ask yourself, "If things go wrong, or do not work out quite as planned, can I get hurt doing this?" Accidents will happen, but you must, and can, minimize the danger. Listen to your instincts. When they are screaming danger at you, stop and rethink what you are doing. Find a better, safer way to accomplish your immediate task - believe it or not there is always a way to do it without a serious risk of getting injured!

2. The Training Must be Safe for the Horse - So what if you can force a horse into a trailer if you have to have it stitched up by a vet when you get him out of it. The training technique is of little good if it causes your horse to get injured or worse. Ask yourself if your horse is capable of doing what you are asking without getting hurt. Look around the area where you are training your horse. Is it safe for the horse? Is it possible for the horse to get tangled in wire or get injured by other objects in the immediate area?

3. Your Horse Must Be Calmer After the Training Session Than It Was Before the Session Began - This is the horse's way of telling you that he understands and is comfortable with what you are trying to teach him. It's important the horse remains calm throughout the training process. Pain distracts from learning. The more pain inflicted, the less your horse will be able to concentrate on what you are trying to teach him. If you were asked to solve a math problem but your knuckles were slapped with a ruler every time you were asked the question, would you be able to concentrate? The same is true of a horse when it gets jabbed with spurs or gets its mouth hurt when the reins are jerked hard. Pain gets in the way of learning and should be avoided. If a horse is nervous at the end of the training session, he's telling us that he's not sure of what we expect of him. A calm, responsive horse is the best proof of success.

A great teacher looks continuously for better ways to communicate with his horse. - He presents lessons using a language the horse can understand and in ways the horse can comprehend and respond to. Horses think differently than you and I. Horses base their thinking process on comfort and safety. Any thing that interferes with that can cause fear and anxiety. You will know your horse understands what you are asking when your horse recognizes the signal you are giving him and calmly responds accordingly.

A great teacher is patient and understands the horse won't always get it right the first time or get it right every time - As a teacher, it's important to realize that the "correct answer" is always more obvious to the teacher than to the student. Even if the horse responds correctly to what he has been asked to do, it does not necessarily mean that he has completely mastered the step or even has learned it. Horses have definite learning cycles and patterns. They go through stages of good and bad during their learning process. Look for the following learning curve when you are trying to teach your horse something new. If you are aware of this learning cycle it will help you to recognize where your horse is in the lesson and help you be more patient when things are not going perfectly or as smoothly as you expected.

Knowing how your horse learns makes it easier to be a patient teacher and will also help your horse be more successful. We've found if often helps if you compare your expectations of your horse to the following scenarios:

Professional Athletes - We all think a professional baseball player is great when he bats .300. That means he gets a hit 30% of the time he is at bat. A 70% "failure" rate! We also think a professional basketball player deserves a pay raise when he makes 50% of his baskets. A 50% "failure" rate! And don't forget, professional athletes are either playing a game or practicing nearly every day!

Our Horses - If we are fortunate, we may be able to ride our horses two or three times a week, but yet we expect them to pick up the correct lead, within 1/2 second or less, 100% of the time! We expect them to load in our trailer in 10 seconds or less, 100% of the time! We expect them to act perfect in the show ring, 100% of the time, no exceptions! We expect them to comprehend and learn what we are trying to teach them without getting confused or nervous 100% of the time!

Many horsepeople tend to take it personally when their horse is not perfect. When we make a mistake, most of the time we are able to recognize and correct the situation immediately. This is not as easy for the horse to do - yet we often expect instant correction or success.

A great teacher operates from a lesson plan which is broken down into small enough progressive steps for the horse to understand - We all have goals we want to reach with our horses. Those goals might be anything from having a calm, responsive and safe trail horse to having a world champion show horse. Regardless of what you want to do with your horse it's important to understand your goals and then break them down into small enough progressive steps for your horse to understand. Set daily goals when you ride; reasonable goals that you and your horse can reach today. Working from a lesson plan is very helpful. It helps you be specific about what you want to achieve today and helps keep you focused. Before you ride, take 5 minutes and jot down on a piece of paper exactly what you would like to accomplish. The more steps you put in the process, the less chance you'll have of problems and the faster you'll be able to proceed in the long run. Put that lesson plan in your pocket and refer to it as often as necessary.

Accept improvement each time you ride. Don't expect perfection. Consistent improvement will lead to great performance. When problems do appear with your lesson plan and you begin to feel frustrated, go back to a step in the lesson that your horse can complete confidently and calmly then stop the ride for the day. Breaking that troublesome step down into smaller steps usually helps and there is always another day to try again. Donât get caught in the trap of thinking you must get it all done today or you are likely to become angry and frustrated which results in bad habits for both yourself and your horse. There are only three emotions that belong on the back of a horse - enthusiasm, patience and a sense of humor!

A great teacher is consistent with the horse - Two plus two must always equal four. For example, if you pick up the reins and want that to equal stop, then picking up the reins must always equal stop. If the horse doesn't stop, but you or your trainer releases the reins, your horse will end up confused and uncertain about what you really want.

It's important in your horse's training program to get consistency at one step before moving on to the next; and it's nearly impossible to be consistent with your actions if you are not focused and concentrating on what you are doing. A thousand different external stimuli may be present that are trying to distract you -but you must remain focused. Don't let anything break you concentration from the lesson you are teaching (unless you or your horse's safety is involved). The larger the distraction, the more determination you must have to stay focused. This is one of the most difficult things to master.

A great teacher sets reasonable time limits for himself and the horse - If unrealistic time limits have been set, it doesn't matter how good a teacher you or your trainer are. Many people don't have the time to do it right, but they always have the time to do it over and over. In the words of Pat Parelli: "It takes less time if you take the time it takes!ä The best horse trainers in the world take years to make a great performance horse. Most horse people use about 5 steps to teach a horse something. However, the fewer the steps, the harder it is to teach something new. The simplest lesson should be broken down into at least 25 steps in order to give the horse half a chance to learn it. The more steps you have in your lesson plan, combined with many repetitions of each step, will allow your horse to learn more quickly.

A great teacher is not embarrassed to have someone watch his or her teaching session - If you or your trainer do things either of you are embarrassed to have someone watch, then you shouldn't be doing it.

© 2002 - 2007 Heart-Centered Horsemanship



Contact Kathy Valentine 406-546-5135 kmjjag66@hotmail.com		Training vs. Teaching (Published in Feb 2002 Issue of Rocky Mountain Rider Magazine) By Ron and Kathy Valentine John Lyons Select Certified Horse Trainers and Clinicians The horse is always learning. And, whether you intend to or not, you are always "training" him to either do what you ask or to ignore you. Horses are not able to separate a training session from a non-training session. Whatever you do adds to their memory bank and constitutes part of their learning. It's our job then as horse owners to learn how to improve our methods and question tradition so that we become the best teachers that we can be for our student, the horse. Tradition is part of our everyday lives. Sometimes it is so strong that we have forgotten why we use a particular horse training technique, method or mechanical aid. And when asked about it, our response is often: "Thatâs the way I was taught" or "That's the way it has always been" or "That's the way Joe does it and his horses are always in the ribbons". We've all seen horse owners and horse trainers who are so steeped in tradition that they have become poor teachers. On the other hand, we've all seen horse owners and "trainers" that seem to make training look easy and who we would say are great "teachers". When God gave us horses, we believe He also gave us a sense of what is right and wrong to do with them. We may not always know how to teach them, but if we are doing something that will hurt them, or if someone else does something that's not good, our instincts will almost always tell us. We've heard many stories from horse owners who admit they suspected what their trainer was doing was wrong or hurtful to the horse but, because he or she was the trainer, they deferred to his or her experience. If you own a horse, the responsibility to take care of him is yours; and that includes making sure that others don't mistreat him in the name of "training". You have to ask yourself if you and/or your trainer are bettering your horse. Is he or she adding to my horse or is he or she taking away from its spirit; taking that sparkle out of its eyes; and turning it into a robot that operates only off of mechanical commands and cues? Here are some characteristics of a great teacher we learned from John Lyons. We suggest you apply them to your horse's educational program. A great teacher uses "The Three Basic Training Rules". Since there are as many training techniques as there are "trainers", John established the following rules for evaluating any training method. We strongly encourage you to apply them to any method, whether it's yours or someone else's who you choose to train your horse: 1. The Training Must be Safe for You and/or Your Trainer - A training method isn't any good if you end up hurt or in the hospital. You are more important than any horse. Your horse may seem like a big pussycat to you and it may not mean to hurt you; but you must always remember how big and strong a horse is - and that no horse is worth losing even your little finger. The training techniques you use must therefore insure your safety. When evaluating a training method ask yourself, "If things go wrong, or do not work out quite as planned, can I get hurt doing this?" Accidents will happen, but you must, and can, minimize the danger. Listen to your instincts. When they are screaming danger at you, stop and rethink what you are doing. Find a better, safer way to accomplish your immediate task - believe it or not there is always a way to do it without a serious risk of getting injured! 2. The Training Must be Safe for the Horse - So what if you can force a horse into a trailer if you have to have it stitched up by a vet when you get him out of it. The training technique is of little good if it causes your horse to get injured or worse. Ask yourself if your horse is capable of doing what you are asking without getting hurt. Look around the area where you are training your horse. Is it safe for the horse? Is it possible for the horse to get tangled in wire or get injured by other objects in the immediate area? 3. Your Horse Must Be Calmer After the Training Session Than It Was Before the Session Began - This is the horse's way of telling you that he understands and is comfortable with what you are trying to teach him. It's important the horse remains calm throughout the training process. Pain distracts from learning. The more pain inflicted, the less your horse will be able to concentrate on what you are trying to teach him. If you were asked to solve a math problem but your knuckles were slapped with a ruler every time you were asked the question, would you be able to concentrate? The same is true of a horse when it gets jabbed with spurs or gets its mouth hurt when the reins are jerked hard. Pain gets in the way of learning and should be avoided. If a horse is nervous at the end of the training session, he's telling us that he's not sure of what we expect of him. A calm, responsive horse is the best proof of success. A great teacher looks continuously for better ways to communicate with his horse. - He presents lessons using a language the horse can understand and in ways the horse can comprehend and respond to. Horses think differently than you and I. Horses base their thinking process on comfort and safety. Any thing that interferes with that can cause fear and anxiety. You will know your horse understands what you are asking when your horse recognizes the signal you are giving him and calmly responds accordingly. A great teacher is patient and understands the horse won't always get it right the first time or get it right every time - As a teacher, it's important to realize that the "correct answer" is always more obvious to the teacher than to the student. Even if the horse responds correctly to what he has been asked to do, it does not necessarily mean that he has completely mastered the step or even has learned it. Horses have definite learning cycles and patterns. They go through stages of good and bad during their learning process. Look for the following learning curve when you are trying to teach your horse something new. If you are aware of this learning cycle it will help you to recognize where your horse is in the lesson and help you be more patient when things are not going perfectly or as smoothly as you expected. Knowing how your horse learns makes it easier to be a patient teacher and will also help your horse be more successful. We've found if often helps if you compare your expectations of your horse to the following scenarios: Professional Athletes - We all think a professional baseball player is great when he bats .300. That means he gets a hit 30% of the time he is at bat. A 70% "failure" rate! We also think a professional basketball player deserves a pay raise when he makes 50% of his baskets. A 50% "failure" rate! And don't forget, professional athletes are either playing a game or practicing nearly every day! Our Horses - If we are fortunate, we may be able to ride our horses two or three times a week, but yet we expect them to pick up the correct lead, within 1/2 second or less, 100% of the time! We expect them to load in our trailer in 10 seconds or less, 100% of the time! We expect them to act perfect in the show ring, 100% of the time, no exceptions! We expect them to comprehend and learn what we are trying to teach them without getting confused or nervous 100% of the time! Many horsepeople tend to take it personally when their horse is not perfect. When we make a mistake, most of the time we are able to recognize and correct the situation immediately. This is not as easy for the horse to do - yet we often expect instant correction or success. A great teacher operates from a lesson plan which is broken down into small enough progressive steps for the horse to understand - We all have goals we want to reach with our horses. Those goals might be anything from having a calm, responsive and safe trail horse to having a world champion show horse. Regardless of what you want to do with your horse it's important to understand your goals and then break them down into small enough progressive steps for your horse to understand. Set daily goals when you ride; reasonable goals that you and your horse can reach today. Working from a lesson plan is very helpful. It helps you be specific about what you want to achieve today and helps keep you focused. Before you ride, take 5 minutes and jot down on a piece of paper exactly what you would like to accomplish. The more steps you put in the process, the less chance you'll have of problems and the faster you'll be able to proceed in the long run. Put that lesson plan in your pocket and refer to it as often as necessary. Accept improvement each time you ride. Don't expect perfection. Consistent improvement will lead to great performance. When problems do appear with your lesson plan and you begin to feel frustrated, go back to a step in the lesson that your horse can complete confidently and calmly then stop the ride for the day. Breaking that troublesome step down into smaller steps usually helps and there is always another day to try again. Donât get caught in the trap of thinking you must get it all done today or you are likely to become angry and frustrated which results in bad habits for both yourself and your horse. There are only three emotions that belong on the back of a horse - enthusiasm, patience and a sense of humor! A great teacher is consistent with the horse - Two plus two must always equal four. For example, if you pick up the reins and want that to equal stop, then picking up the reins must always equal stop. If the horse doesn't stop, but you or your trainer releases the reins, your horse will end up confused and uncertain about what you really want. It's important in your horse's training program to get consistency at one step before moving on to the next; and it's nearly impossible to be consistent with your actions if you are not focused and concentrating on what you are doing. A thousand different external stimuli may be present that are trying to distract you -but you must remain focused. Don't let anything break you concentration from the lesson you are teaching (unless you or your horse's safety is involved). The larger the distraction, the more determination you must have to stay focused. This is one of the most difficult things to master. A great teacher sets reasonable time limits for himself and the horse - If unrealistic time limits have been set, it doesn't matter how good a teacher you or your trainer are. Many people don't have the time to do it right, but they always have the time to do it over and over. In the words of Pat Parelli: "It takes less time if you take the time it takes!ä The best horse trainers in the world take years to make a great performance horse. Most horse people use about 5 steps to teach a horse something. However, the fewer the steps, the harder it is to teach something new. The simplest lesson should be broken down into at least 25 steps in order to give the horse half a chance to learn it. The more steps you have in your lesson plan, combined with many repetitions of each step, will allow your horse to learn more quickly. A great teacher is not embarrassed to have someone watch his or her teaching session - If you or your trainer do things either of you are embarrassed to have someone watch, then you shouldn't be doing it.
		© 2002 - 2007 Heart-Centered Horsemanship