RELATIONSHIP BEFORE HORSEMANSHIP.
I'm starting to see a lot of questions asked on Facebook that follow a similar path. They start out "I feel I have great connection with my horse but..."

And then the person goes on to ask a question about a problem that's not about connection, but about a lack of process. I'm not saying they are wrong for asking, it's an easy trap to fall into, the "all or nothing thinking". There's the camp that is only about process (that used to be me) and there's the camp that's only about relationship. But in reality, the magic lies somewhere in the middle. It's a blend of both.

One of the chapters in my book The Principles Of Training is called "Relationship Before Horsemanship". It is not "Relationship Instead Of Horsemanship" It's about relationship FIRST, and that's what makes the training easy.

Nervous system regulation, or a lack of it, is often the reason certain techniques are used in training horses. Since I started on a relationship first based approach, I have found the training to be so much easier, even with highly sensitive horses like the Andalusian mare in this video.
My first priority is to have them feel safe around me (not just obedient, there's a BIG difference) through attunement, and that helps regulate their nervous system. Many horse's nervous systems regulate just fine out in the pasture, and are either continually outwardly anxious or inwardly anxious around humans. Once they have a regulated nervous system around me, I initially ensure that in between each interaction or ask, that they return to relaxed (once again, not just standing obediently still) before asking anything else.

If you've heard my 13 rabbits story, it's about teaching them to "spit out their rabbits" (you can watch the rabbit story at the start of this video (   • How to avoid freak accidents with hor...  . This is slow work, but not technical at all, and anyone can do it.
This video talks about this, and shows some of the nervous system regulation with a sensitive Andalusian mare.

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