Tricia Yates Training

As I was taking this photo I thought to myself, if someone had shown 10 year old me this photo and told me that one day, not only would I own one of these beautiful horses, but all of them and then some, I would never have believed them. It was beyond my wildest dreams and I would have thought never in my realm of possibilities.
I am still awestruck that I have these amazing animals in my life and get to work with them almost every day. I love them so much ❤️
I may not have a lot, but I have these beautiful beasts.
(They are also the reason why I don’t have a lot🤪)

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1028418699316488&set=a.472320848259612&type=3&mibextid=wwXIfr

When a horse is forced into some shape, whether by strong hands, strong bits, leverage devices like draw reins and bitting rigs, side reins, anything too powerful for the horse to respond in any way but to submit, the head and neck position is only part of what is affected by the coercion.

The head and neck are attached to all the rest of the horse, and so every part of the horse moves in a more restricted way. But worse than the physical response to force is what happens mentally and emotionally to the horse, fear of pain, fear of restriction, the long lasting post traumatic stress disorder of anticipating pain even if the horse isn’t still being ridden incorrectly.

This is why it can be so hard to gain a horse’s trust after it has been lost. That anxiety lasts a long time, even with more kind and gentle handling.

The point here? Don’t use force. As in be a better trainer. It is not a hard concept to understand.