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HOW DOES MY 'EQUINE PERSONAL CONTACT METHOD' WORK?
I believe the positive results achieved by developing
this method stems from educating the mind of the horse towards compliance
rather than trying to force a horse's body to obey commands. Hence my
motto:
Educate The Mind - The Body Will Follow!
Equi-Thought:
To force, is to break down willingness - rendering a horse incapable
of learning.
To teach, is to build up willingness - enabling a horse to learn.
METHOD PROCEDURE
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Positive Desensitization
By touching an area of a horse's body until all negative reaction
ceases, allowing the
Horse to move away from the stimuli until the horse no longer
feels the need to
escape.
Positive Conditioning
By repeating each section of the learning process until the horse
responds positively.
Conditioned Stimuli
Using verbal and physical cues in a considerate manner.
Positive Reinforcement
Using verbal and physical rewards consisting of words together
with physical strokes.
Equi-Note: I do not use food rewards
(tidbits).
Reverse Psychology
Asking a horse to repeat a reaction it is performing in defiance,
such as backing
away when asked to move forward.
Pyramid Stacking (personal concept)
Teaching a horse to accept one section of a broad base process
before starting to teach
it a new section, resulting in the horse reaching the desired
objective. As a horse
accepts each new learned reaction, education up to this point
is usually retained in the
horse's mind.
Average Time Taken:
General desensitization usually takes between 1 to 1 ½
hours with specific problems taking +/- ½ hour more. Treatment
rarely exceed 3 hours regardless of behavioral problems with many
specific problems being dealt with during the general desensitization
program due to the human/predator equine attitude changing to
human/leader.
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EQUINE REACTIONS
The two negative reactions I will be working
through are:
FEAR
The horse cannot obey.
ANGER
The horse does not want to obey.
The negative reaction I do not want to encourage
is:
TEMPER
The horse refuses totally to obey.
The two positive reactions I will be working
towards are:
WILLINGNESS
The horse will obey.
EAGERNESS
The horse wants to obey.
EQUINE BODY SIGNS TO LOOK OUT FOR:
FEARFUL/TENSE HORSE:
raised head - hard eyes - tight facial expression - tight chin - grinding
of teeth
harsh/explosive snorting - increased respiration - neck/body sweating
clamped tail - frequent loose defecation
Equi-Note:
The horse will be uncomfortable when I enter its `personal body space'.
CALM/RELAXED HORSE:
lower head carriage - soft eye - soft facial expression - relaxed lip/chin
gentle sigh/chewing of mouth - relaxed respiration - loose swishing
tail
Equi-Note:
The horse will begin to show it is comfortable when I enter its `personal
body space'.
MY AIM FOR A HORSE:
REPLACE:
fear - flight - self preservation
WITH:
self esteem - self-confidence - self-control - courage - intelligent
obedience
eagerness to comply with owner/handler
MY AIM FOR AN OWNER/HANDLER:
Is to help you behave and react in a way that is
worthy of your horse's respect. Not to dominate your horse but to teach
you to work with your horse as a true team. Both you and your horse
will experience an 'altered attitude', which will add a positive element
in your relationship, and should continue to improve as time goes by.
Photo # 52 Photo # 843 Photo # 845
(thumbnails - opening to large photos with details)
Photo # 802 Photo # 821 Photo # 453
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