Forceful Training Is Doomed To Fail…

Milo used to be a profoundly anxious horse.

As a youngster, his anxiety often manifested as mouthiness.

When I first got him, I was 18 and he was 2. I was told to “bop” him on the nose to stop the biting.

It never worked.

He just got more head shy and when overwhelmed would turn and grab at my clothing quickly before quickly moving his head away, anticipating being flicked or bopped on the nose.

I was then told to hold a nail with the pointy side out when he turned to nip me. I never did this.

The point being: the behaviour never stopped. He’d suppress it sometimes but the anxiety came out in other ways: explosives like bucking, rearing, spookiness, striking at the air, pawing etc.

The hitting never addressed what drove the behaviour: his anxiety.

For years, I operated with the “ride him through it” and “don’t let him get away with it mindset.”

And, for years, his anxiety-induced explosives and bucking persisted at varying intensities.

Even when he could successfully mask the behaviours, the anxiety still remained. He would have liquid diarrhea at shows, was incredibly resistant and spooky and all in all wasn’t a happy horse in training.

Back then, if I had tried to turn him loose in a public place like I have in this photo at the beach, he never would’ve chosen to be with me.

Training wasn’t fun.

I was a source of profound anxiety.

I wanted him to work with me, but only on my terms.

I wanted him to refrain from “annoying” or “dangerous” behaviour but I wasn’t putting the effort in to help him cope with his anxiety and properly regulate.

So, it left him between a rock and hard place.

“Don’t do that” but, also, “cope with your high anxiety without inconveniencing me.”

A ridiculous expectation to have of a partner. A selfish one. An unkind ones. It wasn’t a partnership — it was a dictatorship because his feelings didn’t take precedence.

Bottom line:

Milo has become the horse that he is today because I’ve shifted my training protocols to be rewards based.

Because I’ve addressed the WHY behind his behaviour.

Because I actually listen to him now.

Out of all of the naysayers who insist I’m “unrealistic” and “not in reality” when I say we should excuse physical punishment as a regular training method, I’ve yet to discover anyone who can do what I’ve done with him.

If punishment is so effective, take your tack off.

Go turn your horse loose in publicly.

Go ride down a trail bridleless.

See what you have when you no longer have the capacity to leverage coercive force.

Because, that’s where you see the truth.

Forceful training tends to fall apart when the horse realizes they’re finally free.