The 4th Of 6 Keys To Building A Life Long Partnership With Your
Horse.
In Natural Horsemanship, being patient/tolerant means taking
the time do it right so you won't have to go back and do it
again and again.
Why do I call the fourth key patients when we are really
talking about time, because, if we loose patients we will
not spend the time it takes to get our horse through the
stages necessary for building a life long partnership.
Being patient is very important because it's going to
take time to build that partnership.
Let's talk a little about your horse and the time it's going
to take to get him from where he is at now to being a green
broke horse. Let's assume your horse has never been ridden
or ridden very little in terms of proper training or natural
horsemanship.
For a horse to feel comfortable having a person on his back
will take approximately 300 hours of riding. If you rode
your horse 1 hour a day five days a week then it would take
a little over a year to get 300 hours of riding time or a
little over a year for your horse to feel comfortable
having you on his back.
Let's say your not consistent with your riding time, maybe
you rode your horse 20 hours and then for what ever reason
you turned him out, then 6 months later you rode him 40
hours and turned him out again for another six months, then
started riding him again and put another 75 hours on him and
this continues until you have 300 hours, how old would he
be? If you started him as a 2 year old, he may be 4 or 5
years old or older before you had the 300 hours. The point
here is that the quicker you put the 300 hours on him the
quicker he will feel comfortable with you on his back. Being
patient is important and being persistent and consistent
will shorten the time it takes to accomplish your goals.
To take your horse from being a green broke horse to the
next level, and by that, I mean getting your horse from the
green broke phase to being a solid, safe and dependable
partner requires that you gain the necessary skills by going
through the different phases of natural horsemanship.
The time it takes to get your horse from the green broke
stage to being a solid, safe and dependable partner is
around 1,100 hours. I want you to keep in mind that you
will never really finish your horse because you will
continue to refine your horse for a lifetime.
We have talked about how long it takes a horse to go through
the different phases now we need to spend a little time on
the individual horseman.
So, how long does it take a person to be considered a good
rider? We will approach this question form the thought that
the rider is a green novice. It generally takes a green
novice about 1000 hours before being comfortable in a
saddle. You need to remember it's going to take time
for the rider to get used to the horse and how he moves,
thinks, acts and feels. The only way to get the feel of a
horse is through riding experience. The more riding a
novice does the better rider they will become.
Have you ever wondered how much time you should spend
working with your horse (Instead of working with your horse
why not think in terms of playing with your horse)?
Consider this, when it stops being fun for you or your
horse you're not playing anymore, it's become work and
probably time to stop. When you're playing with your horse,
you should think of it as working on yourself and playing
with your horse.
One other top I would like to discuss with you is timing. We
spent a few minutes discussing playing with your horse and
when it's time to quit, equally important is your timing
when playing with your horse. Timing will probably be most
important to your horse. In your relationship with your
horse, it's very important to know when you should quit
doing what you are doing. It's not what you do with your
horse that counts; it's when you quit doing something that
counts.
An example, lets say you have asked your hose to do
something through a cue you have given him and he gives you
the slightest try, you should instantly quit giving him the
cue. You need to recognize that the horse tried no matter
how slight. It's your responsibility to have perfect timing
and stop what your doing when your horse tries.
When you are learning this skill, remember it's going to
take time to get perfect timing and you shouldn't get
discouraged, you will learn. At first, it will be
difficult, but as you learn to read your horse's body
language you will begin to perfect this skill. Natural
Horsemanship is about learning this skill, to be able to
recognize if your horse is trying to do what it is you are
asking him to do. Be careful not to reward the wrong
response or reward the horse for doing it with an attitude.
If your horse is attempting to do it correctly with the
right attitude and you are slow in rewarding him he will be
confused because he thought he tried. If your horse gets
no reward (relief) after trying, soon he will quit trying.
How long you do something with your horse is not as
important as to know when to quit doing it. Know when to
take away the pressure (to quit) is as important to the
technique as the technique itself.
Have fun with your horse(s)!
Mike
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In the next article, we will discuss Creativeness?
Creating challenges for you and your horse. Learning what
the two of you can accomplish together. Why settle for
mediocrity?
Copyright ? 2005 Mike Gorzalka All Rights Reserved Worldwide
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Mike@perfect-horse-gifts.com
*DISCLAIMER*: The information contained in this article
is of my personal opinions and beliefs and should not
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