Did you know that most people who train horses are doing it all wrong? That’s right, even those trainers who have helped hundreds of high school girls make it into shows, and those organizations that have been handling hundreds of horses and training them since before I was born. A lot of them, most of them, the vast majority, no matter what experience they have, or proven success model they follow, are still doing it not as good, fast, or safe, as they could, if they would just adhere to what all professional animal trainers do.
Sound like there is no way that can be true? Well, as not only a professional animal trainer, but also a scientifically trained veterinarian with over 30 years of experience in all facets of the horse industry, I would like to assure you, it’s true.
Why does it matter? Because if you are sending your horse to be trained by someone who trains their ‘own’ way, or follows the method of some horse whisper, natural horsemanship, evidence based training (that is not R+), someone who demands respect, or anything other than what all professional animal trainers worldwide follow, there is a chance they are going to come back to you, worst case, ‘messed up’ i.e. bruised (mouth pain, spur marks, raw saddle marks, sore feet, etc.), otherwise fearful, or just not really ‘fixed’ the way you had hoped. Or, if you entrust your child to someone who also subscribes to their own ways of doing things that they learned from their trainers (or any of the other previously mentioned), but still is not the method followed by all professional trainers, I would caution you, you could be putting your child at risk. So it’s important because there is a health and safety risk for children, and yourself, who are put into the hands of trainers using outdated methods, and a health and safety risk for horses who are put into the care of these same kinds of trainers.
I recently heard of a perfect example. A family of horse lovers took their horse to an event, and upon wanting to leave the event, the horse was reluctant to enter the trailer. This is very common problem all of us have probably experienced at one time or another. Multiple people stepped up to willingly offer their help on how they would handle it if it was their horse. Many with various methods, some more harsh than others, yet what matters is that every helpful person brings their own experience, knowledge, and training to the situation. And this is so completely unheard of, discouraged, and frowned upon in the world of actual professional animal trainers, because they are all trained the same way, have learned, and follow, the same system to train any animal to do literally anything, because there is over 100 years of scientific research, documentation, and ongoing proof from around the world, that the methods they use are the fastest, safest, and simply most effective way to train. There is no single trainer, cowboy, or second generation horseman who can come close to that (unless they use R+). Not using this method is a little bit like insisting on refusing to use a smartphone and instead using only a land line because that is what you started with and feel more comfortable with for communicating with others. I would venture to go so far as to say that anyone not using these scientific methods to train and handle horses, are at risk of practicing horse abuse, not to mention putting their students, or themselves, potentially unnecessarily in harm's way.
I realize these are some strong statements, but I owe it to you, and your horses, your children, to help you understand that just because something has always been done a certain way, and it seems to work, doesn’t mean we can’t learn more, better ways. Isn’t that the purpose of life? To grow and learn as a human, and always do our best? Especially for our horses that we love so much?
So if you are a horse rider, lover, owner, and you have zero frustrations, fears, insecurities, behavior issues, or safety concerns at any time, then please with all due respect, please feel free to disregard. But for the rest of you, who do at times, have questions about who to listen to, if you are demanding enough respect from your horse, if you are being too soft, struggle with how to handle some horse behavior situations, or get a little knot in the pit of your stomach when you swing your leg in the saddle hoping for nothing but a great ride but notbeing 100% sure, then this message is for you!
There is a map, a clear proven path, to overcome any training issue with any animal, just do what the professional animal trainers do! And what exactly do they do? Well, they correctly use positive reinforcement, also called R+, which is not, when done correctly, just overfeeding your animal and bribing them into complying. Did you know, sometimes we don’t use food at all! And even without food, our horses run to us, eager to learn, interact and be ridden! Sound too good to be true? Well please subscribe to my YouTube channel @The1DrQ where we regularly post videos proving this all to be true! In fact, we don’t even carry treats on us when we train horses at the ResqRanch. Want to learn more? Please sign up for our newsletter on our website www.ResqRanch.org to find out about all of our summer programs, starting with our Kentucky Derby Party the first Saturday in May, multiple in person horse training clinics occurring throughout the summer, ongoing volunteer opportunities, and our incredible summer solstice celebration. Mark your calendar now! We look forward to seeing you on one of our social media livestream training sessions, and in person at the ranch where we show you how you too can learn to successfully ride, show, and compete, with your horse, trained with positive reinforcement, faster, safer, and more successfully than you ever even dreamed possible! God bless you and all your animals, thanks for reading!
-DrQ and the Crew of Aspen Park Vet Hospital and the ResqRanch.