Beat the attitude out of him, man!
August 9, 2007
”Magnus wait; I have to speak to you! I heard shouted when I was on a horse trip a while ago. The voice did not belong to anyone in my group but came from someone in another group we were just passing. The voice sounded familiar and when we got closer I saw that I knew the voices owner.
He had taken a couple of riding lessons with me a few months earlier to improve his riding skills with his horse Blesi. Blesi appeared to me as a calm and balanced horse who trusted and respected his owner, and the trust and respect was mutual.
”I have problems with my Blesi” the owner said when we had dismounted our horses and common salutation was completed. He has started to run off with me. He has never done that before until now, he started it on this horse trip" he continued. ”I could not handle him; he stuck his nose in the air and ran straight forward." This was rather uncomfortable but I was able to stop him by running him into a fence. In the next three days when I rode him he flew off each time, not as soon as I got on back but after a while without any warning. It did not matter if I was ahead of the horse herd, or in the rear or in the middle – he just ran heedlessly. ”I do not recognize him as the same horse.” The owner blurted out without breathing.
”What do you think is the reason for him flying away like that?” I asked as he took the time to inhale. We had in our previous sessions been over the four main reasons why a horse does not do as it is asked and that is why I asked. ”I think there is something physically wrong with Blesi, because he respects me as he has always done. Also I have not changed anything in the way I use the control ”buttons” by the seating so he understands quite well what I am asking him to do” he said in one long breath. ”What about the trust, is that the way it usually is?” the teacher asked. ”Blesi’s eyes are now like he feels unsafe and like there is a mixture of fear, pain and disappointment” Blesi’s owner said and added with a concerned face.
”The trust will decrease if this continues, and will then disappear and distrust will start to form. This must then be physical as I thought and told my travel buddies. I will not do what they advised me to do.” Now there was certainty in the voice like when you suddenly realize something. ”What did they advice you to do?” I asked. ”They are very experienced horsemen and have much more experience than I do. They have had a number of horses through the years and go for long horse trips in the summers so I started to believe them about how to cure the flying away tendency. When I objected at first they laughed at me and talked about ”MaggiLar” syndrome Blesi’s owner said.
”So what did they advice you to do?” I asked again curiously and the answer was ”Get a whip and beat out its attitude!”
Do you always diagnose correctly the reason why your horse does not do as it is asked? If so; only then you can act accordingly, otherwise a bad thing will get worse.
With regards
Magnus Larusson
He had taken a couple of riding lessons with me a few months earlier to improve his riding skills with his horse Blesi. Blesi appeared to me as a calm and balanced horse who trusted and respected his owner, and the trust and respect was mutual.
”I have problems with my Blesi” the owner said when we had dismounted our horses and common salutation was completed. He has started to run off with me. He has never done that before until now, he started it on this horse trip" he continued. ”I could not handle him; he stuck his nose in the air and ran straight forward." This was rather uncomfortable but I was able to stop him by running him into a fence. In the next three days when I rode him he flew off each time, not as soon as I got on back but after a while without any warning. It did not matter if I was ahead of the horse herd, or in the rear or in the middle – he just ran heedlessly. ”I do not recognize him as the same horse.” The owner blurted out without breathing.
”What do you think is the reason for him flying away like that?” I asked as he took the time to inhale. We had in our previous sessions been over the four main reasons why a horse does not do as it is asked and that is why I asked. ”I think there is something physically wrong with Blesi, because he respects me as he has always done. Also I have not changed anything in the way I use the control ”buttons” by the seating so he understands quite well what I am asking him to do” he said in one long breath. ”What about the trust, is that the way it usually is?” the teacher asked. ”Blesi’s eyes are now like he feels unsafe and like there is a mixture of fear, pain and disappointment” Blesi’s owner said and added with a concerned face.
”The trust will decrease if this continues, and will then disappear and distrust will start to form. This must then be physical as I thought and told my travel buddies. I will not do what they advised me to do.” Now there was certainty in the voice like when you suddenly realize something. ”What did they advice you to do?” I asked. ”They are very experienced horsemen and have much more experience than I do. They have had a number of horses through the years and go for long horse trips in the summers so I started to believe them about how to cure the flying away tendency. When I objected at first they laughed at me and talked about ”MaggiLar” syndrome Blesi’s owner said.
”So what did they advice you to do?” I asked again curiously and the answer was ”Get a whip and beat out its attitude!”
Do you always diagnose correctly the reason why your horse does not do as it is asked? If so; only then you can act accordingly, otherwise a bad thing will get worse.
With regards
Magnus Larusson
