Comment

Comment by Ellen Ofstad on April 26, 2010 at 8:15am

I have no problems understanding the feelings of anger and frustration over seeing people handling a horse in this way. I hate seeing people smack horses and treat them unfairly. Fortunately I am in the lucky position that I am an instructor so I often get the chance to help people do things differently; it's harder to deal with my frustration when I see a situation I can't do anything about.

When I see people act this way I keep in mind that many people are taught to fight with horses.
Phrases often used amongst horse people are things like "don't let the horse win", "show him who's boss", "take control over the horse" etc. These indicate that the horse-human relationship is a competition/fight/war.
No wonder that many people uses force and get aggressive when dealing with horses, they are told that winning a fight is the only way to have control, and if they don't the horse is ready to "take over". If a person has been taught this kind of training they really don't have much of a choice. They don't want to fight with their horses, but what to do?

This is really the basis of this whole video; to show them a way that works better for both parties. In my experience people will change their way of dealing with horses if they are just shown a better alternative. They are more than happy to stop smacking away and screaming at the horse, it's not their idea of fun either.

Just like horses people don't get better if they are just corrected and criticized; that just makes them defensive. More importantly; just being told that what you are doing is wrong is not helping at all unless you are shown what you are supposed to be doing. The problem is often that when people get upset with someones way of dealing with horses (like many get when they see this clip) they start out with attacking and blaming the person. This will only get the person doing it defensive and then the chances of them listening to any good advice diminishes.

In other words; if one sees someone acting like this with a horse and would like for them to act differently, "getting testy" with them is the approach least likely to succeed. It's just human nature to react that way, just like it is human nature to get upset when one sees someone doing things like this!.

Comment by Ellen Ofstad on April 18, 2010 at 8:01pm

Horses with problems don't get difficult by themselves, and I totally agree that this isn't their fault. I don't even think it's the owners fault; they are doing the best they can. The horses in this video came to me because the owners asked for help, they realized that they are doing something wrong, but don't know how to change things. Make no mistake; everyone in this film loves their horses, and they are willing to change their ways.

What I don't agree with is that the horse is spoiled and naughty; the horse simply hasn't been trained properly. She is being told what NOT to do, but that really doesn't give her much information about what she is supposed to do. This is causing her (and the owners) a lot of stress and they are stuck in a difficult pattern. The point of this film isn't to point fingers, but to help other horses and owners with similar problems.

I trained Boldina and the owners for 6 weeks and in the film you will see what happens with them over time :)

Comment by Barnmice Admin on April 18, 2010 at 8:32am

Part Two is being featured right now, guys. :)

Comment by Ellen Ofstad on April 18, 2010 at 4:32am

The horse got a lot better. Remember that these clips are a part of a series... if you clic on the tag Boldina you can see the other clips with the same horse. :)

Comment by Rebecca on April 16, 2010 at 5:45am

omg i so would not ride that horse is it better now