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Am I Just Too Old Fashioned?
I am beginning to wonder about horsemen and horsewomen insisting on "playing" with their horses.
When I started out riding, people did not play with their horses. It was heavily discouraged because it ENCOURAGES DISRESPECT. If you wanted to get your horse fit, you WORKED him properly, schooling him in a well thought out program.
If all a horse does around you is play he starts thinking that he does not have to work at all unless he feels like it.
You have to TRAIN a horse to obey you.
Am I just an old fashioned fuddy-duddy?
When I started out riding, people did not play with their horses. It was heavily discouraged because it ENCOURAGES DISRESPECT. If you wanted to get your horse fit, you WORKED him properly, schooling him in a well thought out program.
If all a horse does around you is play he starts thinking that he does not have to work at all unless he feels like it.
You have to TRAIN a horse to obey you.
Am I just an old fashioned fuddy-duddy?
Tags: play
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Shirley on -
I had to laugh! Gail, this has been a really long discussion between many of us with many different views as to what the word PLAY means.
This conversation went on for a few days not too long ago. You must have missed it but the can of worms may be re-opened with your question. Fun! Fun!
Jackie will have to give you her view.
To me it's lots of fun work with my horse.
Keep Horsen Around
and please help the wild mustangs!!!!
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Permalink Reply by Jackie Cochran on -
This is a toughie. I know when I see it, but I find it hard to define!! Let me try.
Training is when you both 1) work on the horse's physical fitness, and 2) teach the horse how to obey your aids. The horse is under the human's control, being WORKED (with all needed rest breaks) in a well chosen program of gradually increasing demands. Training assumes that the human is BOSS, and that the horse obeys. Obedience may come from persuasion or physical compulsion.
Play, to me, connotes interaction between EQUALS, where each individual contributes ideas. This sounds real nice, but human play and horse play are two different things. Horse play often includes what we consider violence (biting, kicking, rearing and explosive running), with shaking heads, loud snorts, and expressive movements. On the other hand human play extends from board games all the way to football. Horse play resembles football, with lots of running, bumping hard, etc.. Horse play does not resemble peaceful board games.
Horses are hierarchal animals. Horses lower down in the hierarchy are not allowed to be too violent toward their superiors. I personally think that when people "play" with their horses, they are doing one of two things--1) putting themselves in danger from the violence of horse play (though some well trained people can do it safely). OR 2) teaching the horse a HUMAN game that does not look like play to the horse, though the horse learns to cooperate with it.
A lot of what may look like spontaneous human-horse play is the result of TRAINING, where the horse has to learn to obey human cues, and also learns what actions are acceptable to the human. It is also hard work for the horse.
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Permalink Reply by Shirley on
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Just a thought that came to mind as I was reading Jackies explanation of what playing with your horse is.
When people go out to play with their dog, they aren't equals and they don't play as two dogs would play. Generally the dog is worked, stimulated and exercised while they are playing and the dog must obey the humans lead if they are going to continue to play but most dogs love this interaction. I see this as being pretty similar to playing with my horse. My horse loves putting his front feet on top of a mounting block of some sort or jumping over poles or pawing at his tarp till he gets it all wadded up underneath him. Some horses love kicking the big balls around and doing other stuff with them. Looks like playtime to me.
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Permalink Reply by Fiona Hill on -
A quick reply as I should be working! Add to this the issue of prey and predator concepts of play. Hunter/hunted, focus/awareness, establishing dominance by killing the opposition vs establishing dominance by putthing the opposition in place, but knowing when to stop.
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Permalink Reply by Debbie Matuszewski on -
I'm not sure what is exactly meant by play, but in my opinion, I don't think they should be treated like a dog for example, because the horses behavior can be dangerous, given the activity. For example, it is fun to run with your dog, and you may chase each other, but I wouldn't want that of a horse. I think they can loose boundaries of what is safe play. I go back to horses 30 plus years ago, and it was the same thought. My idea of play is to give my horses things to learn about, like putting branches with leaves around his body, once he sees it, putting an umbrella around his body, to get him used to different things, going over tarps, lawn timbers, etc. I think it gets horses used to new surroundings, and things you may come in contact with somewhere, and it takes the boredom out of my horse doing this stuff. He gets very curious. In some books I read, the authors have said that you treat a horse like a horse, not a pet. I still love my horse, even when he gets sassy, but as big and powerful as a horse is, he better know respect, for everyones safety. I have at times thru the jolly ball around his pasture hoping he would play with that, but he looks at me like "you go get it"!
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Permalink Reply by Jennifer Lamm on
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maybe after all this we've come down to it's a totally personal perception and choice.... if I can play with my horse I intend to do so. he has the personality for it, the desire to engage and he thinks it is fun to do the stuff I ask him to do.... maybe you would call it work, but we are calling it play... same thing I would do with my dog too.... Oliver is coming around and really looking happier... I know he is feeling better.... we were running side by side the other day and he got a little too rambuctious so I just asked him to stop, not come into me and to back up and he was a perfect gentleman. Horses feed off ENERGY... serious or playful, the choice is yours..... to the horses I am sure they see it as nothing more than that. You still have to move their feet,keep their distance, and be the boss... :)
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Permalink Reply by Shirley on
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Oh thankyou! You said just what I'm feeling about this whole issue.
Now I can chill-out and cheer-up!
Keep Horsen Around
and please help the mustangs!
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I helped a mustang and now look at me, LOL!!
Ugh, the other wild mustangs are totally getting jacked around.... it makes me SIcK.
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if anyone is interested, just for fun...... on my page, I put up some of Olivers baby pics. :) I got him when he was 8 weeks.... you can see me and Toby looking like OH NO, NOW WHAT... LOL... I don't know where else to put this... this thread is the HOTTEST one on the boards!! :)
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Permalink Reply by Over Fences on -
I was just on your pics page, and wondered about the baby.
8 weeks huh, did his mom come stay a while or was he weaned at 8 wks.?
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He's an orphan. :) his mama dropped him and rejected him.... he was found in the sanctuary when he was 12 hours old.. he's from the Wild Horses in Need Foundation. :)
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Permalink Reply by Shirley on
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If you could pass around the petitions and the contact information for government officials that could help our mustangs, that would be great!
Yes, you sure did help with your guy! One at a time is great but I hope we can keep part of the mustangs free and wild. I'd love to see the 30,000+ mustangs held in pens released. And the destruction of Clouds herd stopped.
Yes, jacked around and sickening sums it up pretty good.
I'm not in a position to take-on another horse or send a lot of money but I can spread the word. I think there is still many people that have no idea what is happening to our wild horses. It's still hard for me to believe what the BLM is doing. What happened to the guys in the white hats?
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