Pride and prejudice in equine training

May 6, 10:14 AMClicker Training ExaminerEve Alexander

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Lael belongs to the new generation growing up
 with natural horsemanship.

Kelly achieved great results with this BLM mustang,
not by force but with the power of love.

I should warn you now, especially if you board your horse - when you start natural horsemanship and/or clicker training, some people will discriminate against you. They may call you names to your face and say worse things about you behind your back.

Be proud to be a progressive trainer and don't let the prejudice of others stop you from pursuing your natural horsemanship dreams. Knowledge, truth and love illuminate your path to enlightened horsemanship.

Look at the right side of my page under Natural Horsemanship and you'll see world renowned trainers and clinicians who are spreading the word. It's getting much harder for the 'old school' trainers to deny that natural horsemanship works, and it's making them very uncomfortable.

So why should people care about what method of training you use? Unless you are abusing your horse, it really should not matter to them, however, some people get upset when confronted with truth.

And the truth is, conventional training methods are not effective, often causing distress and even pain to horses. People who apply those types of training methods don't want to acknowledge that they're wrong or that they're hurting their horses. By attacking you, criticizing your methods, ridiculing you and ostracizing you, they are actually trying to protect their own dysfunctional training methods.

I believe what upsets these people the most is the thought that horses have feelings and that they can communicate with us if we open our minds and hearts. They prefer to believe that horses are dumb beasts put on earth to serve us. They 'work' their horses and they 'make' them perform. They don't take responsibility for teaching the horse what they want - instead they punish the horse for failing to figure it out.

The beautiful thing is that horses are very forgiving. A person who regrets their past relationship with their horse can start a new one tomorrow. Your horse will forgive you. It's never too late to join us!

Here are some words of wisdom to help you through difficult times:

I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas.
I'm frightened of the old ones.
~ John Cage

When a true genius appears you may know him by this sign;
that all the dunces are in confederacy against him.
~ Jonathan Swift

Man's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.
~ Oliver Wendell Holmes

One of the greatest pains to human nature is the pain of a new idea.
~ Walter Bagehot

Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain - and most fools do.
~ Dale Carnegie

Do what you feel in your heart to be right - for you'll be criticized anyway.
You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't.
~ Eleanor Roosevelt

Criticism is prejudice made plausible.
~ H. L. Mencken

Have you experienced prejudice at the boarding barn or among other horse owners? Email me your story.

More Information
Karen Pryor's Clicker Training
Parelli Natural Horsemanship