The psychic stuff and the need to make trainin and understandin horses somethin so mystical takes away from ordinary people the realization that we all have the ability to be good horse people.
Lately, I have been thinking about neurological traits in horses that might go unrecognised. Can a horse suffer chronic depression? Can they experience schizophrenia? What about paranoia or autism?
I keep coming across articles and videos that promote the idea that touching (patting, rubbing, stroking, or whatever you want to call it) a horse is an important element in the training process.
Now that the Paris Olympics is coming to an end, I expect some of the controversy over the conflict between horse events and animal welfare will subside for another four years. But it shouldn’t.
I am a huge fan of teaching a horse to follow the feel of the inside rein and offer a lateral bend through its whole body. One of my most regular Ross-isms at clinics is “The bend is your friend.”
