The Gap Between Theoretical Training Methods and Practical Application

When training a horse, there is always a gap between the theoretical and the practical and this can be very frustrating. My advice for this is pretty much always that more time is needed. I can’t overstate the beautiful simplicity of the first Waterhole Ritual™ as a preparation for the rest.

So, this article features a question by one of my loyal readers Norman, who writes:

I have been having trouble with the Waterhole Rituals™. My horses just aren’t reacting as I expected. During the first Ritual, my pony won’t come up to me again after I move the chair away. I can’t sneak up on any of them for the third Ritual. They always seem to be aware of everything around them. Should I chase them anyway? They never stop when I stop during the fourth Ritual. I don’t know how long I should keep walking after them. I don’t want them to resent me because I’m doing it wrong. Your Method is exactly what we need, it’s just frustrating that I can’t do it right.

Here was my reply:

In the beginning, your only problem is not taking the time it takes to achieve the desired response. The horses will respond to it but it will only happen when you take the time it’s going to take.

The first Waterhole Ritual™ is not about getting any interaction from your horse, it is about spending time with him. When sharing space the horse doesn’t need to come back to you after moving your chair, it’s not about the horse returning to you. Interaction is not part of Sharing Territory so what your horse is doing by not coming back to you is fine. Look at what the purpose of this Ritual is and continue to share space with your horse for 30 days before going on to the next Ritual. Each Ritual builds on the next, so you want to be sure that before going on to the next Ritual your horse is responding to the preceding one in the desired manner and that you can feel the connection growing with him. This will enable you to then see how the previous Ritual builds the opportunity to go on to the next.

On the Leading from Behind Ritual, just follow slowly behind the horse and eventually the horse is going to slow down and not feel the need to run away from you. When this happens and he does slow down enough, it will give you the opportunity to lead him from behind with an occasional urging him forward and following him just as is shown on the DVD. Don’t urge the horse forward when leading from behind unless the horse stops and the energy is low. At this point, you can push gently, pause, push gently and then pause. This is about training a horse, a horse doesn’t know unless you train him. I would also suggest a lot of the Eye Contact Ritual to slow your horse down.

If you are still having problems, I would like to suggest making an appointment for a phone consultation to talk with me directly. You can have an hour or a half hour phone consultation, which are followed by email follow-ups and the recordings of the calls so you can listen to them again and again. Students find this really beneficial. Hope that helps.

Carolyn Resnick

Horsemanship from the Ground Up