I must admit I was feeling out of the loop. I've had a decade off, and when I came back to horses there was all this talk about 'natural' horsemanship. And I was left thinking...what the heck are they talking about? People kept telling me, "It's different than when we were growing up!"
Sunny faces a fear...but without me shoving it into her face
Of course, I made the jump back into horses by adopting wild...and I didn't want to screw up my horse, right? And all the wild horse folks seemed to be jumping on the natural stick with a flag wagon, so I figured I'd give it a try with my new horse.
My new horse wasn't impressed. Nope, she was not. Tried to kill it. Since I was at the end of it, I decided this wasn't a good game to be playing and set the stick aside.
Since then, I've seen a Parelli video and read about countless mustang trainers using the stick. They were all waving flags and bags in their wild horse's faces. In the meantime, I've adopted two more wild horses, both of whom thought I was trying to kill them with that stick with a flag or a bag at the end.
I am apparently a stick with a flag or a bag failure, as none of my girl's are passing the face your fear test with it. I probably couldn't crawl out of a Parelli Level 1 bag with such an obvious lack of skills!
We don't need no stinkin' sticks, mom, as long as we've got hands and ropes!
But that's okay, because I've found I don't need a stick in my hands to get my girls to face their fears. I need my hands on their bodies, touching them in places they've never been touched. I need the end of my lead rope rubbing up against them, or flipping over their backs. I need chickens and dogs running under their feet. Basically, what I need is for them to realize that I'll never put them in a place that is a threat to them; rushing them with a plastic flag or bag shortly after adopting them isn't the way to do that.
Sticks and Stones may break my bones, but just hanging out will never hurt me.
For my horses, facing their fears meant coming to terms with an item that was left nearby. You may recall the saddle being left on the rail of the corral for Quiet Storm; she was afraid of it, but went to Darling for comfort because she trusted Darling. Had we pushed the saddle on her, we would have become part of the fear equation, but instead we provided moral support by giving her a pat and continuing our chores as though the saddle was no big deal. By the time Darling climbed onto her back, Quiet Storm had no fear left. She trusts Darling; they've developed a bond.
All of my horses are able to face their fears. Some, of course, have come about it more quickly than others. They'll all walk over plastic tarps, past squealing pigs and through water; not because they want to, but because they trust that I'm not going to put them in danger. None, however, has needed a savvy flag, string or stick to get the job done.
What are your thoughts regarding flags on a stick?
And they kept using these sticks with flags or plastic bags at the ends of them. "Teaches your horse to face their fears!" Er...okay...
Sunny faces a fear...but without me shoving it into her face
Of course, I made the jump back into horses by adopting wild...and I didn't want to screw up my horse, right? And all the wild horse folks seemed to be jumping on the natural stick with a flag wagon, so I figured I'd give it a try with my new horse.
My new horse wasn't impressed. Nope, she was not. Tried to kill it. Since I was at the end of it, I decided this wasn't a good game to be playing and set the stick aside.
Since then, I've seen a Parelli video and read about countless mustang trainers using the stick. They were all waving flags and bags in their wild horse's faces. In the meantime, I've adopted two more wild horses, both of whom thought I was trying to kill them with that stick with a flag or a bag at the end.
I am apparently a stick with a flag or a bag failure, as none of my girl's are passing the face your fear test with it. I probably couldn't crawl out of a Parelli Level 1 bag with such an obvious lack of skills!
We don't need no stinkin' sticks, mom, as long as we've got hands and ropes!
But that's okay, because I've found I don't need a stick in my hands to get my girls to face their fears. I need my hands on their bodies, touching them in places they've never been touched. I need the end of my lead rope rubbing up against them, or flipping over their backs. I need chickens and dogs running under their feet. Basically, what I need is for them to realize that I'll never put them in a place that is a threat to them; rushing them with a plastic flag or bag shortly after adopting them isn't the way to do that.
Sticks and Stones may break my bones, but just hanging out will never hurt me.For my horses, facing their fears meant coming to terms with an item that was left nearby. You may recall the saddle being left on the rail of the corral for Quiet Storm; she was afraid of it, but went to Darling for comfort because she trusted Darling. Had we pushed the saddle on her, we would have become part of the fear equation, but instead we provided moral support by giving her a pat and continuing our chores as though the saddle was no big deal. By the time Darling climbed onto her back, Quiet Storm had no fear left. She trusts Darling; they've developed a bond.
All of my horses are able to face their fears. Some, of course, have come about it more quickly than others. They'll all walk over plastic tarps, past squealing pigs and through water; not because they want to, but because they trust that I'm not going to put them in danger. None, however, has needed a savvy flag, string or stick to get the job done.
What are your thoughts regarding flags on a stick?
