Thanks Rick

Question
QUESTION: I just wanted to say thank you for all your videos and your website. It has really assisted me in developing a critical eye around horses and "horse people" and preparing myself for horse ownership.

I saw a girl at a barn a few weeks ago. She was lunging her horse, and she would get her trotting and then just stand there fairly still untangling the end of the lunge line. She called the horse stupid for stopping and coming into her. She was loud, saying "canter" "canter now stupid" "keep trotting, stupid" and it was always the stupid horse's fault. I don't think she stopped yapping at the poor hose for more than 30 seconds.

Had I not read your website and watched your videos, due to my own ignorance and inexperience, I would have probably agreed with her. I would not have realized it was her body language that was talking to the horse, and the horse was doing exactly what was asked of it.

Thanks again.

ANSWER: Thanks for your kind words. Glad you were able to see what was really going on. I can only put the information out, it takes people like you to invest time and effort with an open mind to accept and learn how to Think Like A Horse.

Glad to hear people confirming what I see all the time, I get so much negative emails that I make this up or I hate women because of what I tell people I see.

Sometime I wonder if I am just seeing this at the places I have been and maybe this does not happen as often as I see it.

Can't remember the last time I saw good horsemanship and good horse understanding. It seems rare.

Thanks again for the email, glad the info helps, keep watching others, you will learn many wrong ways but then you will know what not to do.  :)

Rick

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi again Rick,

Just wanted to say it's definitely not just the places you frequent. I'm all the way over in Australia and bad horsemanship certainly is not confined to any one place!

I was at that barn for a couple of hours, maybe, and the things I saw... certainly makes one afraid to speak up in fear of rustling feathers, because people's egos, especially in the horse world, get in the way of their ability to take advice and suggestions; so I applaud your ability to be so forward about it and to keep going despite the hate mail.

Just scratching the surface of what else I saw...

- There were horses wrapped up in padded rugs (It was a fairly warm, sunny day)
- Lunging incorrectly and blaming it on the horse (and being very vocal about it, too)
- Getting a horse to "collect" by tugging on the reins over and over and over until it obliged and lowered it's head, then tugged some more to keep it "collected"
- Two women trying to force a bridle on an obviously frightened horse. There was one woman on either side of the horse's head, petting her and stroking her and trying to jam a bit in her mouth but calling her sweet while they did it.
- Not letting a horse roll in the sand after it had been worked so much it was drenched in sweat and hosed down.

Sorry to bore you with those stories, but that was just HALF A DAY at a barn. You're certainly not alone.

Regards,
Hayley

Answer
I know it must be everywhere, I have been to enough barns and shows, but still there are lots that just want to argue about how wrong I am.

The people that cry and complain are the ones that know what I say is true about THEM and so they take it personally and what to justify what they do by calling names.