I'm over here zipping up my fire suit here because I am sure that more people disagree with me, than agree with me. As I said to someone I was visiting about this with - I tend to be more a Sensitive Sally, tree hugging, pony loving kind of rider. I'm not afraid to correct misbehavior, but I'm also not going to beat my pony into submission, tie their head up for hours, tie their noses between their front legs, etc...
I think everyone knows that we train our own ponies. We don't do it because we think we are good at it, or better than others. We do it because we are poor folk and can't afford to send our horses to the more qualified professionals, so we do the best we can. We make mistakes, we get lessons, we ask for help and we try our best to fix the mistakes. Admittedly, we make a lot of mistakes and it takes us literally FOREVER to make a broke pony. At the end of the day, I'm thankful for that fact. It means that we know our ponies, they know us and we get to have a connection with them that those with their ponies in full time training never get to experience.
That said, there are some things that I have been seeing some of those trusted professionals doing behind the scenes that make me scared to ever consider taking our ponies to a professional again. I get the pressure those professionals are under. Their clients want results and they want them quickly. I've seen many of my trainer friends have to put their own personal horses so far on the back burner that they aren't even on the same stove anymore. I feel for every one of those trainers. However, there are a few things I'd love to see used a heck of a lot less in training. Many of these devices are aimed towards pleasure horses, reining horses, etc...I admit that I'm not sure how the "game" type horses are started. I'm guessing they have their own list of questionable training techniques.
So, without further ado, training techniques I wish would go away...
Lunging. I'm not talking about lunging a few minutes, each direction, with changes of direction to get an accurate read on a horse's mindset. Heck, lunging can be a great way to check for lameness too. But if you're setting an alarm and just mindlessly chasing your pony around in a circle to "lunge them down" or make them quiet, there are other ways to get a more broke and quiet pony that are better for the mind and body of your pony. No one can argue about the damaging affects of lunging on a horse's joints, and the younger they are - the worse it is. So while we are discussing it - don't lunge weanlings. For the love of Pete. Just don't.
Draw reins. I am not going to lie. I own a set. Can't remember the last time I used them. I don't really know where they are but I do own a set. They have their use. If you're trying to work through an issue for a couple of lessons or practices. If you're trying to work on one thing and you just need to focus on one thing, not three or four, draw reins can help you get past that hump. Then hang them back up in the back of your tack room and forget about them. I'm opening myself up here - but NEVER should you use draw reins on anything with less than 90 days, preferably 120 or shoot, let's go for 6 months. Nope, just don't. Big N-O from me.
Along the same train of thought, training forks. Same idea, different tool. Hang it back up for the same reason. At the very least, build a strong foundation and work on the basics before you start cranking their heads down. Sigh. Please. Can we just go back to getting them broke and remembering that a broke horse is a soft horse? Can we remember that collection and headset come from the back to the front. Get the horse driving from behind and then... then their head will come into a soft position. You cannot get softness with draw reins or a training forks. You can force a head down and pull that jaw in. You can do that...
Side reins and bungees. Okay. Again these are a tool that have their purpose down the road. At some point in the training process, bring them out for a few sessions. I just sold our one set on our last sale of tack because we never used them. Literally never, ever. But I concede that maybe, someone, somewhere - might need to use them SPARINGLY. So use them and then put them in a tote. At the bottom of the tote. At the bottom of the pile of totes. In the back of the tack room. Under a washing machine.
Again, we aren't professional trainers by any means. We have made a lot of mistakes training horses over the years and one of the reasons we know how to fix those mistakes is because we asked for help from professionals. They know what they are doing. They need to have these tools in their arsenals to help those of us who have screwed up our horses. But there are some times these tools should not be used and again, these are just my personal opinions.
They should NOT be used on:
Anything less than 2 years old.
Anything with less than 90 days under saddle
Anything that is hot or reactive.
Anything that is not properly fitted or conditioned for the level of work being asked. (A horse that isn't properly fitted or conditioned can't carry themselves correctly even without mechanical devices. Why would you add devices to force them to? You're just begging for soundness issues.)
I cannot argue that these devices work and will get results. Usually quickly too. Trainers and people trying to prepare their horses for the big shows feel they have to do what the people paying the bills tell them to do. I get that. I'm sorry for that. I wish that humans could put the pony before the ribbons and be patient. They will get it, some of them it takes longer, some of them it doesn't come as naturally and some of them just have to have an opinion about it first. But they will get there, maybe just not in time for the futurity.
I guess I'm okay with that. Like I said, it will take us forever to make a broke pony. I'll show my pony in the walk trot for as long as I need to for her mental and physical health. I'll take my last place ribbons or the gate or even the walk of shame if needed to know that I'm not sacrificing my pony's mental and physical well being for a placing or a check.
I know that we have been the butt of many inside jokes with our set up and the way we start ponies. It doesn't get much more redneck, duct tape, twine string put together than my ground driving setup. But you know what I see? I see a pony happily moving forward, that is physically fit enough to do the work I'm asking. She had a foundation of voice commands for all three gaits and whoa before we started. I desensitized her to strange noises and ropes around her body first. She has a calm look on her face, her tail is relaxed and she has never once run away in fear from my set up or felt trapped. She goes forward as slow or as fast as she wants (as long as she is going the gait I am asking for) and I don't worry one bit about where her head is. Honestly, I'm worried about anything, it is picking her head up lately. Ribbons in the show pen aren't the only indicator of success, folks.
I can sleep at night knowing that this is how my yearling is getting started towards a future as a show pony, can you?
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