Some quotations that I like - thought-provoking, funny, sad - many not related to equine behaviour, but I hope you enjoy them and pick up a few
useful ideas.
Firstly, a few from Bill Dorrance, who had a truly wonderful turn of phrase, a great sense of humour and real depth of knowledge about horses
"It’s really quite amazing what a horse will do for you, if he only understands what you want. And it’s also quite amazing what he’ll do to you if he
doesn’t"
"It’s real natural for the horse to feel like you are in his way when you actually are in his way"
"I always thought a fella took a better picture if there is a horse in there someplace and, generally speaking, you’d want to be sitting on that horse"
"Struggling with a horse can sure bring out the less attractive self-preservation aspects in him, and we’d rather he didn’t need to rely on these when
we are anywhere near him"
"horses that aren’t supple have had help from the human getting that way"
And a collection of quotations from a wide variety of people...
"The horse never seems to learn much when he is afraid, except to be more afraid" Leslie Desmond
"There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man." Winston Churchill
"They say princes learn no art truly but the art of horsemanship. The reason is the brave beast is no flatterer. He will throw a prince as soon as
his groom." Ben Jonson
"A Horseman should know neither fear, nor anger." James Rarey
"Most horses will go out of their way to try to be dependable for you. The problem is, before that can happen, they first have to be able to depend
on you" Mark Rashid
"I have the utmost dedication and concentration . . . Oh look! A horse!" Anonymous
"It is care, not expensive stables that make a good horse." John Lyons
"It is the difficult horse that has the most to give you, and that you can get the most out of." Lendon Gray
"if knowledge of how horses learn and the principles of training that come from that learning theory were embedded in horse training, horse welfare
would improve vastly, riders would be safer and performances would surpass anything imaginable" Dr Andrew McLean
"Once the horse is dead nothing, not even films, can reproduce the sensation felt when the horse is seen in movement…after the horse is no more,
only those who have admired him keep a remembrance of his quality in their hearts, which is gradually effaced by time, and others who have not
seen him know him only by romanticized tales, recounted, and sometimes embroidered, by those who truly loved him" Nuno Oliveira
"If the horse is well balanced and free from physical and mental contraction, all movements can be termed classical" Nuno Oliveira
"the true rider feels for, and above all loves, his horse’" Nuno Oliveira
"If a horse (or rider) is tight in his mind, his body simply will not function smoothly" Geoffrey Hattan
"Until you have his mind, you have no hope of controlling his body" Geoffrey Hattan
"Lightness is not abandoning the horse. Lightness is leaving the horse at liberty on parole after he has been given the position and the action"
Jean-claude Racinet
"the definition of contact is communication, not domination, and communication is a two-way thing" Perry Wood
"aim to have the contact as light as it can be, but as firm as it has to be" Perry Wood
"never ask the horse to do something if you don't have time to wait until he does it" from memory, believe this was Marthe Kiley-Worthington
"Most of the data stemming from so-called horse gurus originate from their own personal, and thus subjective, experiences. Many of these
observations do not bear up to scientific scrutiny and can really only be seen as anecdotal rather than scientific in nature" Marlitt Wendt
"You must reward the slightest concession as if it was full submission, because it will certainly lead directly to that" Alexandre Guerin
"The main pitfall in training is to focus on the effects rather than searching for, and changing, the causes" Etienne Beudant
"Passive emotional coping frequently characterises chronic stress resulting in disengagement, decreased vigilance, hypo-reactivity and quiescence.
The heart rate and blood pressure may lower and the horse frequently appears dull. In such situations, trainers may mistakenly believe that the
horse is now more accepting of current events, but the quiescence is actually a result of inescapable stress and lack of control" Paul McGreevy
and Andrew McLean
"We must not take all of the horse's faults to be vices; since most of the time they come from ignorance and often weakness"
Francois Robichon de la Gueriniere
"There is a common thread throughout the history of riding: Equestrian Art has progressed every time it has substituted intelligence for force -
abolishing instruments of coercion and simplifying material resources, searching for causes instead of focusing on their effects, getting ever closer
to identifying the deep-rooted nature of the horse" Philippe Karl
"It is my opinion that as much, if not more, damage is done to horses’ backs and necks through incompetent lungeing than in any other aspect of
training. This is especially the case when lungeing over fences, because if the trainer is too far behind when the horse takes off or lands it
inevitably results in the horse receiving an almighty twisting jerk in the head and neck. This not only causes a misalignment of the vertebrae and
possible lesions in ligaments or muscles but also can dramatically undermine the horse’s confidence in jumping." Geoffrey Hattan
“It is calmness, calmness and nothing else, which converts disordered jerky gaits into smooth, flowing ones. Here is one very important phase of
training in which there must be no struggle. A teacher must first get the confidence of his pupil, then evince kindness, gentleness and a will that
though calm is inflexible. This is the immutable and sovereign law of teaching, whether the pupil be man or beast." Etienne Beudant
useful ideas.
Firstly, a few from Bill Dorrance, who had a truly wonderful turn of phrase, a great sense of humour and real depth of knowledge about horses
"It’s really quite amazing what a horse will do for you, if he only understands what you want. And it’s also quite amazing what he’ll do to you if he
doesn’t"
"It’s real natural for the horse to feel like you are in his way when you actually are in his way"
"I always thought a fella took a better picture if there is a horse in there someplace and, generally speaking, you’d want to be sitting on that horse"
"Struggling with a horse can sure bring out the less attractive self-preservation aspects in him, and we’d rather he didn’t need to rely on these when
we are anywhere near him"
"horses that aren’t supple have had help from the human getting that way"
And a collection of quotations from a wide variety of people...
"The horse never seems to learn much when he is afraid, except to be more afraid" Leslie Desmond
"There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man." Winston Churchill
"They say princes learn no art truly but the art of horsemanship. The reason is the brave beast is no flatterer. He will throw a prince as soon as
his groom." Ben Jonson
"A Horseman should know neither fear, nor anger." James Rarey
"Most horses will go out of their way to try to be dependable for you. The problem is, before that can happen, they first have to be able to depend
on you" Mark Rashid
"I have the utmost dedication and concentration . . . Oh look! A horse!" Anonymous
"It is care, not expensive stables that make a good horse." John Lyons
"It is the difficult horse that has the most to give you, and that you can get the most out of." Lendon Gray
"if knowledge of how horses learn and the principles of training that come from that learning theory were embedded in horse training, horse welfare
would improve vastly, riders would be safer and performances would surpass anything imaginable" Dr Andrew McLean
"Once the horse is dead nothing, not even films, can reproduce the sensation felt when the horse is seen in movement…after the horse is no more,
only those who have admired him keep a remembrance of his quality in their hearts, which is gradually effaced by time, and others who have not
seen him know him only by romanticized tales, recounted, and sometimes embroidered, by those who truly loved him" Nuno Oliveira
"If the horse is well balanced and free from physical and mental contraction, all movements can be termed classical" Nuno Oliveira
"the true rider feels for, and above all loves, his horse’" Nuno Oliveira
"If a horse (or rider) is tight in his mind, his body simply will not function smoothly" Geoffrey Hattan
"Until you have his mind, you have no hope of controlling his body" Geoffrey Hattan
"Lightness is not abandoning the horse. Lightness is leaving the horse at liberty on parole after he has been given the position and the action"
Jean-claude Racinet
"the definition of contact is communication, not domination, and communication is a two-way thing" Perry Wood
"aim to have the contact as light as it can be, but as firm as it has to be" Perry Wood
"never ask the horse to do something if you don't have time to wait until he does it" from memory, believe this was Marthe Kiley-Worthington
"Most of the data stemming from so-called horse gurus originate from their own personal, and thus subjective, experiences. Many of these
observations do not bear up to scientific scrutiny and can really only be seen as anecdotal rather than scientific in nature" Marlitt Wendt
"You must reward the slightest concession as if it was full submission, because it will certainly lead directly to that" Alexandre Guerin
"The main pitfall in training is to focus on the effects rather than searching for, and changing, the causes" Etienne Beudant
"Passive emotional coping frequently characterises chronic stress resulting in disengagement, decreased vigilance, hypo-reactivity and quiescence.
The heart rate and blood pressure may lower and the horse frequently appears dull. In such situations, trainers may mistakenly believe that the
horse is now more accepting of current events, but the quiescence is actually a result of inescapable stress and lack of control" Paul McGreevy
and Andrew McLean
"We must not take all of the horse's faults to be vices; since most of the time they come from ignorance and often weakness"
Francois Robichon de la Gueriniere
"There is a common thread throughout the history of riding: Equestrian Art has progressed every time it has substituted intelligence for force -
abolishing instruments of coercion and simplifying material resources, searching for causes instead of focusing on their effects, getting ever closer
to identifying the deep-rooted nature of the horse" Philippe Karl
"It is my opinion that as much, if not more, damage is done to horses’ backs and necks through incompetent lungeing than in any other aspect of
training. This is especially the case when lungeing over fences, because if the trainer is too far behind when the horse takes off or lands it
inevitably results in the horse receiving an almighty twisting jerk in the head and neck. This not only causes a misalignment of the vertebrae and
possible lesions in ligaments or muscles but also can dramatically undermine the horse’s confidence in jumping." Geoffrey Hattan
“It is calmness, calmness and nothing else, which converts disordered jerky gaits into smooth, flowing ones. Here is one very important phase of
training in which there must be no struggle. A teacher must first get the confidence of his pupil, then evince kindness, gentleness and a will that
though calm is inflexible. This is the immutable and sovereign law of teaching, whether the pupil be man or beast." Etienne Beudant
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| Felicity George BSc MPhil SEBC PTC Equine Behaviour Consultant phone : 07884 030533 email : felicity@equinecarecentre.com |
