# Is This Really How Champions Are Trained?



## wingsinmoonlight (Aug 17, 2010)

I was watching my two kids take their very first riding lessons, and at the other end of the arena was this mess:

Login | Facebook

I was videoing my kids anyway so I made this too. Made me really sad- I know that I don't know a lot about training, but this can't be right?

Sorry I can't get embedding it to work- it is a facebook video.


----------



## Spyder (Jul 27, 2008)

This is fairly common practice to get the horse to keep its head up.

There are some though that can do this without all the drama but are probably in the minority.


----------



## maura (Nov 21, 2009)

It's pretty standard for halter horses. This looks like an Arab or some type of Arab cross. After they have it absolutely solid on squaring up and not moving once stood up, they'll work on teaching it to reach forward with its head and neck in the exaggerated swan neck popular with Arab halter horses. 

I don't particularly care for it, but there's nothing in your video that makes me want to pick up the phone and call animal control either.


----------



## Citrus (Feb 26, 2010)

I don't see the trainers doing anyting so horribly wrong, only the horse reacting to something the way a child would (throwing a bit of a tantrum)...... all they have on the horse is a halter and some protective leg wraps and a hand whip......


----------



## My Beau (Jan 2, 2009)

Nothing wrong with getting after a horse if he's not doing something correctly. I don't show Arab halter, so I have no idea, and have no place to judge... I think that might be the same situation the OP is in. Plus, in the video you're interpreting what you _think_ the horse is feeling/thinking, what if he's simply testing the handler? They do do that.

On another note, I'm not a huge fan of taking videos of someone without their knowledge (or knowledge of what you're going to do with it), editing them up in dramatic fashion, then posting them all over the internet just to cut the person down... My 2 cents.


----------



## Cat (Jul 26, 2008)

I really dislike videos done in this manner. Instead of as solid section of video so we can really see what is going on, its all broken up with melodramatic writing. There is no piece in this video that is a long enough uninterrupted action shot so we can really see what is going on. 

From what I can see there is nothing horribly wrong. I rewatched the video full-screen and majority of the time the whip is behind her which is considered a neutral position. The couple times I saw her use it, it looked to reinforce a cue the horse blatantly ignored and it looked like she aimed for the chest/high in the leg area. Not necessarily the way I would go about training, but nothing I would freak out over either.


----------



## ShutUpJoe (Nov 10, 2009)

I think I'd be more ****ed off that she's doing that in an arena while children were taking lessons. What if he pulled the lead rope out of her hand and went flying around the arena.


----------



## Citrus (Feb 26, 2010)

How should a champion be trained..... so that the horse can take advantage of you? Sometimes a horse has to be told who is boss... otherwise the horse will become the boss....


----------



## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

Ironically, I absolutely detest halter training in Arabs and yet this is as mild as it gets. You will see blatant public abuse of horses at the Nationals. I had to get up and leave watching Canadian Nationals halter classes. 

I agree I hate the shanking - Arabs are sensitive enough without constantly flipping their head neurotically and "confirming" public stereotype of them. However, at MANY points, the handler is completely neutral and the horse is pitching a full blown temper tantrum, threatening to invade her space, jumping in place and just not paying attention.

I hate halter training PERIOD, but this is pretty mild. If this horse is ALREADY a champion, then he knows darn well what he's supposed to be doing and is just napping about. I really don't see a scared animal here.


----------



## reining girl (Jan 30, 2009)

im failing to see what is so "horific" about this....... its not like she is going full bore at him and whipping him as hard as she can. Look like she is just tapping him, and he is having a fit about it.


----------



## sarahver (Apr 9, 2010)

To answer the question in a simple way: Yes that is how champions are trained.

Would I do it to a horse of my own? No.


----------



## equiniphile (Aug 16, 2009)

This is very, very mild compared to some of the training out there, especially in halter horses. I really don't see anything wrong with this video, but I've been working with horses most of my life and understand the necessity for discipline. The horse has to cooperate, and sometimes it takes a shove with a crop to do that.


----------



## Spastic_Dove (Oct 4, 2007)

My biggest concern is the children in the arena. At one point there was a little kid running loose not too far from the horse. The girl on the black pony walks by with her hands behind her back. If the horse did get away, both these children would not be in a good situation.

As far as the horse, I didn't see any abuse. If he is a champion like you said, he knows his job and he's just deciding he doesn't want to do it today. The owners body position is mostly neutral the entire time like everyone else mentioned. The most important part is that when the horse blows up, she doesn't blow up with him. Nothing about her body position seems tense or stressful to the horse. When the horse decides he is not going to respond to her cues (which she gives softly at first and increases till she 'whips' him) she gives him a swift correction that is appropriate. I never saw him get hit in the face.


----------



## corinowalk (Apr 26, 2010)

I think that was a bit sensationalist, don't you? It was a horse being halter trained. Yup, the girl sure didn't sweet talk him into posing...she didn't *ask* him to pose...she told him to and when he didn't, he was reprimanded. If this is going to fire you up enough to make a video, I fear you may be too soft for the horse world.


----------



## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

I don't think it was horrible. Are you sure it is a good idea to post that on Facebook? If someone tells her about it? Then you will surely have drama at the barn. The horse was being kind of a brat. He did not want to do what he was told and he did not look horribly confused.... I don't see abuse though. Not really...


----------



## Citrus (Feb 26, 2010)

And why was the child running around in the background? Either they were not taught not to run around a riding arena or the child's parent knows the trainer and horse and felt okay with the situation...........


----------

