After watching hundreds of hours of horseman
clinicians and being with my horses for hundreds more hours I believe that
there are four pillars to building a sound partnership. This is not intended to be an instant formula
to succeeding with horses.It is a quick way to view and support the process of
developing a productive, safe partnership.
These are the four pillars;
Trust
Confidence
Respect
Leadership
These are listed in order. First you need to earn trust, then build
confidence, establish respect and then practice leadership. These pillars are built on a foundation of
knowledge of everything you can learn about the horse, the sport you are
engaging in and the equipment you are using.
Depending on the situation the pillars take on a
different level of importance. When you
are just starting a young horse the trust pillar is really important. As you progress to a horse with more
experience the other pillars become more important. When developing a new skill with a more
experienced horse the confidence pillar is a more critical pillar. The process of building confidence is often
referred to by clinicians as desensitizing and others refer to it as preparing.
The result is the same really, because we want the horse to be able to handle
things and situations without uncontrolled fear. And so it goes with respect and leadership. As you work through a program with any
clinician I find it useful to see how the methods they use fit with these
pillars. For me it is a way to better
understand why the methods they are using work.
Your partnership with your horse is like a
building. It rests on a foundation. It is made up of pillars that are linked
together by smaller pieces. If
everything is put together properly and it is well maintained the partnership
will be strong and enduring.
