I just watched a DVD of the Road to the Horse.
A revolution in horse training it isn’t.
At the end of the event, not one of the horses could even walk a circle in a confident and relaxed manner.
There was an obsession with harassing horses with tarps, flags and ropes.
It went on and on to the point where the horses were dripping with sweat and very confused.
Horses were continually terrorised with flags and tarps.
No matter what the poor horses did, they couldn’t win.
If they moved, they were chased until they stood still.
When they stood still, they were chased until they moved.
One trainer even tied a tarp to the horse’s tail.
There was no rhyme or reason to any of it.
It’s time everyone started to think about every horse’s well-being at every stage of his training.
It’s time for all horses to be trained without chasing, bucking, fighting or being harassed with flags and tarps.
Horses should never be chased to the point where they’re distressed and dripping with sweat.
There’s absolutely no need for this to happen to any horse at any stage. It’s just cruel and unnecessary.
And for the record, there’s no such thing as desensitisation. Frightening horses will never get them ‘used to’ anything.
Horses must be taught to accept new things without being frightened.
Understanding this is the biggest breakthrough any horse-person can make.