Professional Horse Fighters

That's what I'm going to call them. They aren't trainers, they aren't riders or partners or any other word used to appropriately describe someone who's willing to listen and converse with their horse. No. Instead they are people who, for whatever reason, choose to pick fights with the horse.

Oh yeah, and then excuse those fights as being something other than a fight.

And I can't understand the ‘social grace' that prevents people from yanking these horse fighters off of the horse. If it were a kid picking fights in the sand-box most decent parents would have the good sense to separate them.

Introducing Heath Ryan

(Apparently he's a big deal..)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmNbPBjDb8U

What he says he's trying to accomplish is only clear when you turn the speakers on. If you watch without the sound, well, it's beyond me. Sure I could make guesses, but I shouldn't have to! If it isn't abundantly clear to me what you want as a rider then how do you expect your horse to get it?

Also, I shouldn't have to say that the horse can't understand your verbal explanation when your physical actions are in direct conflict with them.

• Tail swishing, check.
• Whole-body tension, check.
• Blocking the horse's movement, check.
• Bad hands, check.
• Body all over the place, check.

But He's Likable

Okay, yes. Here's where I see problems. Likable riders can get away with murder when it comes to working with the horse. Likable isn't synonymous with ‘nice' or ‘kind' – it simply means someone can relate to them. They can be rude **sholes to their students and clients and still be likable if that's what you're comfortable relating to. Just as they can be creepy sales-man-ship riders (ahem, Parelli anyone?) and appeal to a certain group of people.

So here's this likable person, doing not-so-likable things to horses and nobody wants to say anything, because they like him as a person. It's a cycle, and an epidemic in the horse world.

He's More ‘Successful' Than Me!

I can already hear the cries from his supporters because I'm not competing Internationally (or competing at all), I don't own expensive stallions and blah blah blah.

To this I ask what are your priorities? My priorities go something like –

1. Be kind, clear and respectful of my horse and his needs;
2. My horse's health and well-being is more important than my ego-driven aspirations;
3. No situation or setting is so important that I need to force an issue my horse isn't prepared for;
4. Listening to my horse's feedback;
5. General riding on the flat should never result in me being out of breath, tense or otherwise physically spent;
6. Handle, train and ride my horses without excusing any of my actions (e.g. I injured my neck so my sitting trot isn't coming along very well, or I have to put him behind the vertical because it's a windy day and I need a firmer contact for control);
7. If it can't be done without compromising my horse's trust in me it doesn't need to be done.

These most likely differ from Heath Ryan's priorities, you'll notice nowhere do I place even a thought about competition, winning, running a stud, etc. And still I criticize him? Yes, because despite differing priorities what we do have in common is the horse; who can't speak for himself about being treated properly.

Professional Responsibility

I also take issue with the fact that he's a ‘professional'. Mostly I regard a professional as nothing more than someone being paid money for something, unless/until they prove they have something valuable to teach or provide.

But for the average person there is a higher regard for professionals over amateurs or those not being paid money.

So here's this guy being given accolades by people, all the while he's being rather unkind to his horses and emulating that for other riders. He's helping pass on these kinds of habits.

Do I think he's intentionally being cruel in any way? No. But motivation doesn't change the fact that it's still happening. Here he is aboard his own horse Regardez Moi, bounce bounce bouncing along.

What a kind horse, as a great many are, to put up with rough hands and an inelegant sitting trot.

Necessity

Lastly I want to make the point about necessity. For most of us horses are no longer a daily necessity to function. We don't rely on them for transportation, they are a hobby. For some a professional hobby, but still a hobby.

I hate the premise of excusing behaviors out of ‘necessity'. Like having taken your horse to a show he isn't fully prepared to handle, refusing to take it at the horse's pace and instead strapping on gadgets and being physically rough with the horse (tight reins, spurs, whip, etc) and forcing it through the class – saying that all those extras were necessary because your horse is still ‘learning' how to handle shows, etc. No. They weren't necessary for your horse to learn anything (except to lose trust in you) and instead they were necessary for you to feel comfortable about using them on your horse.

Let's just call an excuse an excuse.

We use force and coercion on horses all the time, excusing it as being necessary in the training process or because of the horse's temperament or because it was windy that day or because he doesn't like mares or because he doesn't like the color of his tack. No, seriously I've heard that excuse before…

At the very least if you're going to do something be up front about why you're doing it – you owe your horse at least that small consolation prize.

Otherwise you're lying to yourself, your horse and everyone around you.