The Hole in Many Natural Horsemanship Programs

It is harder to sell people something that that already have and can resupply at no cost. Perhaps that is the reason that so many high dollar clinicians do not put enough emphasis on physical contact and affection with the horse. Horses enjoy treats. They do not have a deep seated psychological need for treats. Horses need contact, security and affection. They not only have a deep seated need for contact and affection, it is one of the pillars upon which wild horse interaction is built.

The safest, most effective training regimens must be based on the principle of 51% control, 49% affection. To do otherwise is to turn a blind eye to a horse's true motivation. A horse is driven to seek security. That security is felt best by a horse that is lead and loved.

You can't make money off of teaching people to back up their horses, follow the slightest pressure and then to spend hours hugging and rubbing them. There is no product that can be sold to facilitate that process. It is too simple, too pure. It cannot be marketed anymore than one could teach a class on how to properly perspire.

But marketing is not done directly to the horse. The customer is the owner. If the owner is convinced that what the horse wants most of all is the same thing that the owner wants, then the sale can be made. Systems built on the idea that the horse seeks autonomy as its highest goal sell. They sell to the teenage girl who wants nothing more than to be free to "make her own decisions." They sell to frustrated middle aged owners whose lives have been dominated by domineering spouses and bosses.

They sell to those who love their horses so much that they want to give their horses everything that they ever wanted in life. But my horse does not want what I want. He does not need what I need. He is not me. He is not my dog.

I respect my horse enough to give him what he wants and needs--a feeling of security. A horse really understands what Kris Kristopherson wrote, "Freedom's just another word for nothing left to loose."

Steve Earle wrote, "God is God and He is not me."

Comet is Comet and he is not me. I understand that. That is why we have an actual relationship instead of pretending to live in a fairy tale.

(The filly shown above is now part of the Corolla offsite breeding program and along with three others produced in that program now lives happily at Boys Home in Covington Virginia where she will be doing her part to stave off the extinction of the Corollas for years to come.)