TRAINING

Now we are getting somewhere. You might ask, "Barry, you don't want me to buy paper, color, size, or a pony. I have $300 burning a hole in my pocket, and my daughter ( wife, mother-in-law, etc.) has told me to come home with a horse, or else'

Fine. Let's find an animal with $300 worth of training, where the hooves, hide, and horseflesh are thrown in free to make the sale.

Good training is always a bargain. A flashy animal with bad habits, nomatterhow reasonable the price, is not. This is why I made TRAINING the first step in the evaluation check list. If it happens that a prospective purchase fails this category, don't even bother continuing the rest of the exam.

Why the emphasis on TRAINING? I have seen too many horse happy teen-age girls save their babysitting money for years ( with a bit of help from Dad ), only to be taken on a stampede. What happens when she arrives home with her proud purchase ( after spending two hours loading him in a rental trailer) almost follows a national pattern.

A scenario-the first time this miss works up the courage to take Sir Galahad out of the corral, he heads for the hills' The girl, worried about losing her expensive horse, somehow manages to stay on his back, ducking limbs, waving cars to a halt as he gallops across a busy highway completely out of control. Nothing seems to work - turning him in a circle, etc.— until the un-thinking horse slams into something solid, as a chain link fence, and finally is forced to stop.

Winded, the horse might not put up too much of a fight on the way home. The girl holds onto the reins with a death grip which destroys any communication between horse and rider, the only way a runaway can be " broken" from doing so. Asked how her ride went, she is too embarrassed to admit she is frightened of her pet. ConsequentlY, after a month or so of trying, the horse will again be advertised in the paperas "Spirited,needs experienced rider," or will be forgotten, to spend the rest of his life in a corral, chomping away a good part of the family's recreation budget.

An exaggerated story? I must have a dozen or so clients that regularly have their horse's feet trimmed, but not shod, as everyone in the family is afraid to take him out for a ride. Perhaps the nag stampedes, or rears. Whatever the reason, though the horse usually is well kept, the owners will not spend the additional money to have the mount re-trained.

To answer an often asked question, Yes it is possible for
a beginner to train his own mount. Notice I said "train'' instead of "break," as that went out of style years ago even if a few part-time cowboys still pride themselves on being able to ride anything with hoof and hide.

What it takes is time, patience, and knowledge. For the latter, there are a number of very good training how-to books on the market. Then ask yourself if you have the patience to train a poodle so that he doesn't puddle in the corner everytime anybody says something in a sharp voice. As for the hours and hours it really takes to school a horse, that should be part of the fun of being a horseman.

Best results are achieved with a young horse that has not been spoiled by " he-men" that use fear instead of understanding. Wild horses today are not range animals afraid of the sight of a strange looking creature that wants to jump on his back like a mountain lion: instead it is because the animal cannot comprehend why man feeds him with one hand, and then hits him over the head with a club, using th other.

I'm not saying that punishment and reward isn't a valid training method. That, in effect, is what a bit is, if used with a give and take of the hands. It's also very true that a horse cannot be allowed to have his own way. But, the basis of good training is the development of trust between horse and rider, and this should never be forgotten.

When this trust hasn't been allowed to develop - the classic example is someone bucking out a colt and calling him green broke - the horse and rider are not partners, but adversar - ies. This is why it is difficult to cure a frightened, or even understand why he is frightened, horse without going back to the basics. There are no quick and easy "cures" that are lasting. Doing it right takes time, which is money, which is why, as I have mentioned, good training is a bargain.