Transcript: Horsefulness Training podcast-episode 11
Title: Myth #5 - Horses need to know “who’s boss” otherwise they will be difficult to train
Date: [02-05-25]
Host: Karine Vandenborre
Hello and welcome to the Horsefulness Training Podcast.
My name is Karine Vandenborre, I’m a professional horse trainer and instructor & founder of Horsefulness Training.
In the previous episodes of the Horsefulness Training Podcast, I already debunked 4 popular myths about horses and horse training.
Today, it’s time for the last myth that has a negative influence on the relationship with your horse and the training of your horse. That myth is: "horses need to know “who’s boss” otherwise they will be difficult to train”
This comes from the myth that the alpha mare is the most dominant mare in the group, that she also is the only lead mare, and therefore the other horses follow her everywhere all the time. But you already know now, that all of this isn’t true at all. Leading can be done by any horse in the group. It’s the whole group that makes descisions together, and hierarchy is contextual and less important than people often think.
In the meantime, even scientific research by Paul McGreevy & Andrew McLean, both experts in animal behaviour, has shown that when a horse is feeling comfortable with their trainer, it is much easier to train them.
This means if your horse trusts you, and if your horse is attached to you, the training will go much easier, more fluently.
But, if horses are shown “who’s boss” through a “strict” hand, meaning the use of a lot of pressure and forms of violence and coercion to keep the horse under control, there is much more chance that you'll run into problems.
There’s more chance that the horse doesn’t cooperate.
Not because these horses don’t want to cooperate, but because they are afraid of their trainer. And what you then get, looks like resistance, they won’t show expression and they close themselves off. Sometimes, when they get a new owner who does things differently this can still be visible for years after
Some horses do seem to cooperate, but there's still a layer of stress and tension underneath. They sweat less during training. This is something I already tell for years because I’ve noticed this in practice,
That's how the connection exercises have emerged. So that is the reason I always, without any exception, start with the connection exercises, before I start training a horse.
And that is also what i teach my students. To first bond and connect with their horse before they train their horse.
That in the first place it’s important to build a natural bond and a strong connection, based on the natural way horses communicate and connect.
You have to take your time for this and also when you continue training your horse,
Because it is the same as with friendship between humans: it can be strong, but you have to maintain it, otherwise the friendship fades…
Please leave your comments and reviews.
I’m going to leave you here and don’t forget: first connection, then training!
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