For me, I can see the advantages in a young horse having a job to help it adapt to life as a riding horse. However, there comes a time when to continue with working at a job becomes a hindrance. At some point, the focus of the job needs to move from performing a set of routine tasks to being connected to the rider. It should never be that we tell a horse to do something and then wait until it’s done before telling it to do something else.
A Visit From An Old Friend
Bruce said, “Mate, this is what I have learned and the only stuff that I am sure about. The first 500 horses taught me how to stay on. The second 500 horses taught me how to be good at getting a horse to do stuff. The next 500 horses taught me that if I don’t get in the way of what a horse wants to do, they all seem pretty happy.”
Nature Versus Nurture
Contractual Trust
Cross Ties
Their purpose is to restrict the movement of a horse when tied up. They hinder the horse’s ability to swing around or turn its head. Every attempt by a horse to swing its neck is met with pressure. They act by flooding a horse with pressure until it gives up fidgeting in futility. Cross-ties are anti-training because they do not address the cause of the problem, only the symptom.