Bonding with my horse AND getting her to focus???

[Willow's Meadow]

Quote:
There is much more.... but you get the point.

stalker!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I should report you.

 

[Willow's Meadow]

Quote:
Thank You. I would also like to add to this that it is absolutly AMAZING to me that people like welsummers and other people who have posted on this topic have posted paragraphs and paragraphs and have read the WHOLE topic and ALLLL the posts of me and other people. And what absolutly amazes me is that they have the TIME to do all of it!!! Don't they have a job? Don't they have a family? Don't they have a life? All I did was ask a simple question about some exercises/activities I could do with MY horse to get her mind running and her focus on me. I wanted people like welsummers to just list a few things I could do with her. MY horse is 5 years old so she is young and green. She is also turned out 24/7....she lives outside in a pasture with 2 other horses. Please don't anyone say that is abuse because their are thousands of people that just keep their horses outside with a run-in. So she is usually very tired when I ride her. She'll be half asleep in the cross ties sometimes. lol So I think that is why she is not really focused...because she is tired. I think she is a little tired just because she is outside all day so she is running around and rolling and walking and playing with the other horses instead of just stand in a small stall all the time. Anyway they had to start an argument and a debate on it they couldn't just answer my question. But thank you anyway Sumatra for standing up for me.....some of the things these people have said are very rude, immature and mean. They couldn't just answer my question they had to bully me, yell at me and say mean things about me.

 

[michickenwrangler]

Willow's Meadow :

Quote:
There is much more.... but you get the point.

stalker!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I should report you.​

Oh, calm down. Research is just another way to determine credibility. I've done it before too. If I'm curious about someone, I'll click on their profile and look at some of the things they've posted in the past. People are welcome to do this to me as well. This is a PUBLIC FORUM and you are interacting with PEOPLE. While we may indeed be faceless online, but we are real with our own opinions and ideas. Try not to say anything on here that you wouldn't say to someone's face.

I've taught high school and I currently teach middle school and your writing patterns are similar to a high school students. Most educated adults don't overdo the OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!! and exclamation marks the way you have.

Though I have argued with people on here and other forums as well, eventually you get to a point where it's not worth it. Welsummerchicks and I really got into it on another thread but eventually the argument got dropped and we went on with our lives without reports or edited posts. Yes, I do like to capitalize words for emphasis but I try to do it sparingly.

Remember Willow, YOU asked for advice. More experienced horsemen and women on here have answered you. You haven't liked our advice. You don't have to follow it but please be aware of the consequences.

 

[Katy]

Willow's Meadow :

Quote:
There is much more.... but you get the point.

stalker!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I should report you.​

Stalker? Are you kidding me? Lots of us go read people's previous posts. Helps get a handle on who you're responding to.

 

[michickenwrangler]

Willow's Meadow :

Thank You. I would also like to add to this that it is absolutly AMAZING to me that people like welsummers and other people who have posted on this topic have posted paragraphs and paragraphs and have read the WHOLE topic and ALLLL the posts of me and other people. And what absolutly amazes me is that they have the TIME to do all of it!!! Don't they have a job? Don't they have a family? Don't they have a life? All I did was ask a simple question about some exercises/activities I could do with MY horse to get her mind running and her focus on me. I wanted people like welsummers to just list a few things I could do with her. MY horse is 5 years old so she is young and green. She is also turned out 24/7....she lives outside in a pasture with 2 other horses. Please don't anyone say that is abuse because their are thousands of people that just keep their horses outside with a run-in. So she is usually very tired when I ride her. She'll be half asleep in the cross ties sometimes. lol So I think that is why she is not really focused...because she is tired. I think she is a little tired just because she is outside all day so she is running around and rolling and walking and playing with the other horses instead of just stand in a small stall all the time. Anyway they had to start an argument and a debate on it they couldn't just answer my question. But thank you anyway Sumatra for standing up for me.....some of the things these people have said are very rude, immature and mean. They couldn't just answer my question they had to bully me, yell at me and say mean things about me.

Sounds like an ideal set up and is how my horse is housed.

Your mare is probably not tired when you ride her--horses have a lot of stamina--she's probably just lazy. My horse likes to doze in the cross-ties, especially in summer since the barn is cooler with less bugs.

Besides, I'm usually on this forum in between entering grades online since even with hughesnet it takes a few minutes.​

 

[froggiesheins]

Now THIS IS ONE HECK OF A STATEMENT AND SO SO TRUE.....

Quote:
I'm sorry but I cannot agree. All in the world the stallion did was discover how to get his own way to end an unpleasantness that you were making him endure. It was about HIM. He didn't care about you or your feelings, only about ending something HE did not like. Deceit is a HUMAN characteristic and horses do not possess it. They are not involved in what you think or feel. They aren't even aware that you DO think and feel. They are self-aware only. When they like us it is not because of us but because of how we relate to THEM. They are not like human children. They cannot reason their way through life. Cutting horses cut because they like the game much the way dogs chase a rabbit--it's instinct and it's FUN. If they don't enjoy it, it quickly shows in lost cows and we soon find another horse to cut with or another job for that horse that he is more adept at.

There are a lot of truly fine and noble horses out there but I do not believe they are that way because of us or to please us. They are not dogs that way. They are noble and fine for themselves because of a need inside them. It is their own personal need to be fine and noble and NOT because we in any way made them that way.

JMO, of course!

Rusty

 

[Redcatcher]

Quote:
I'm sorry but I cannot agree. All in the world the stallion did was discover how to get his own way to end an unpleasantness that you were making him endure. It was about HIM. He didn't care about you or your feelings, only about ending something HE did not like. Deceit is a HUMAN characteristic and horses do not possess it. They are not involved in what you think or feel. They aren't even aware that you DO think and feel. They are self-aware only. When they like us it is not because of us but because of how we relate to THEM. They are not like human children. They cannot reason their way through life. Cutting horses cut because they like the game much the way dogs chase a rabbit--it's instinct and it's FUN. If they don't enjoy it, it quickly shows in lost cows and we soon find another horse to cut with or another job for that horse that he is more adept at.

There are a lot of truly fine and noble horses out there but I do not believe they are that way because of us or to please us. They are not dogs that way. They are noble and fine for themselves because of a need inside them. It is their own personal need to be fine and noble and NOT because we in any way made them that way.

JMO, of course!

Rusty

Horses are certainly capable of showing affection and of having certain feelings towards herd members and even towards other species. If they were self-aware only, there would be no bonding, no herd structure, stallions would have no need or desire to protect their mares, and mares would reject their foals. You could try to argue that all of this is self-serving but if that is the case, then horses might as well be flat worms. The stallion who stuck his nose in the water bucket had a number of options to end the "unpleasantness" that I was "making" him endure. One of them would have been to injure or kill me. That would have resolved the problem with a lot less effort. If you say it is was out of respect, then there is some acknowledgment that I will react and that I am capable of thinking. Otherwise he would have not chosen the bucket as an option. A horse can respect an electric fence too but only has ONE option to avoid being shocked. That is a conditioned response, the nose in the water bucket was not. Horses, like dogs, are individuals. Some want to please, some do not.

 

[arabianequine]

Quote:
I think it is called no tact. I could not agree more some posters just don't have any, see my thread.

 

[froggiesheins]

Well lets see here, (aww feel like nit-picking) HARD WIRED INSTINCTS ARE THE REASONS WHY THERE IS: herd structure, pecking order (no pun intended) reproduction, self defense.
Alot of people put too many human emtions into horses. They are capable of responding to reward and punishment and retaining that information. They "want to please humans" BECAUSE THERE IS A REWARD INVOLVED. If a horse is a "nasty" horse, ie; fights with human etc...it is NOT because they don't LIKE you it is because of a punishment that will be involved when you handle them.
The stallion with the water bucket trick, is a CONDITIONED RESPONSE TO A STIMULII period.
I have seen, with my own eyes, a stallion that actually killed a man because that man pushed/punished than horse for no reason other than the fact that the human was stupid and did not know how to speak horse language. The horse reached the end of his sanity and attacked the man with him front legs. AND THE REASON WHY THAT HORSE DID THIS---ELF-PRESERVATION!! People, you NEVER want to see that.(I was secretly happy that this horse finally fought back)


Quote:
I'm sorry but I cannot agree. All in the world the stallion did was discover how to get his own way to end an unpleasantness that you were making him endure. It was about HIM. He didn't care about you or your feelings, only about ending something HE did not like. Deceit is a HUMAN characteristic and horses do not possess it. They are not involved in what you think or feel. They aren't even aware that you DO think and feel. They are self-aware only. When they like us it is not because of us but because of how we relate to THEM. They are not like human children. They cannot reason their way through life. Cutting horses cut because they like the game much the way dogs chase a rabbit--it's instinct and it's FUN. If they don't enjoy it, it quickly shows in lost cows and we soon find another horse to cut with or another job for that horse that he is more adept at.

There are a lot of truly fine and noble horses out there but I do not believe they are that way because of us or to please us. They are not dogs that way. They are noble and fine for themselves because of a need inside them. It is their own personal need to be fine and noble and NOT because we in any way made them that way.

JMO, of course!

Rusty

Horses are certainly capable of showing affection and of having certain feelings towards herd members and even towards other species. If they were self-aware only, there would be no bonding, no herd structure, stallions would have no need or desire to protect their mares, and mares would reject their foals. You could try to argue that all of this is self-serving but if that is the case, then horses might as well be flat worms. The stallion who stuck his nose in the water bucket had a number of options to end the "unpleasantness" that I was "making" him endure. One of them would have been to injure or kill me. That would have resolved the problem with a lot less effort. If you say it is was out of respect, then there is some acknowledgment that I will react and that I am capable of thinking. Otherwise he would have not chosen the bucket as an option. A horse can respect an electric fence too but only has ONE option to avoid being shocked. That is a conditioned response, the nose in the water bucket was not. Horses, like dogs, are individuals. Some want to please, some do not.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

Horses are NOT dogs, and they should never be treated as such. My dog is very well behaved, but honestly if he was the size of my horse, he could seriously injure me with some of the things he does. It's a little easier to understand why horses should not be treated like dogs if you think of it in this capacity.

You can EARN your horse's respect through groundwork and other exercises in an arena or a roundpen. I don't know if horses bond as much as give their respect. I've seen many bonded horses seriously injure their owners because they were just too comfortable. A respectful horse will look to you for direction and is less likely to injure a person than an over friendly, puppy dog horse with no boundaries.

My best advice is to get a book at the library about respect training and horse herd dynamics. That would be a good start to your training with your horse. It will also help you to understand why horses do what they do. A person who is in tune with their horse's behavior is much better equipped to train a horse effectively.