"In order to be more ethical we need to teach principles and values, not methods or magic solutions to equine problems. Values that guide our very interaction with equines and lead to a more ethical path." ~ Ben Hart
Firstly, have a read of the below quote. It really resonated. It's one of the most sensible, intelligent statements on horsemanship and indeed life, that I have ever read...
"How do we create sustainable, ethical, safe, equine partnerships?
Ethical.
We first have to consider that none of us are right or more ethical because we are all capable of becoming more ethical. {Comparing individual methods against one another} lead us into the false illusion that we are as ethical as we need to be rather than seeking improvements in our individual training or methods, that further progress us along the ethical road.
We have to accept that we are doing our best in this moment, but always open to the fact that I may not be as ethical as I could be and certainly should be in 10 years time.
In order to be more ethical we need to teach principles and values, not methods or magic solutions to equine problems. Values that guide our very interaction with equines and lead to a more ethical path." (Ben Hart)
This statement led me to thinking about where we are today, and that there was a need to clarify and review our own methodology. So here goes...
We didn't start with liberty and connection, or with our horses' optimum welfare in mind. We started as 'normal' horse people. Over the years, some of the things we were doing clearly weren't making our horses as positive or content as we thought they could be, and certain training methods weren't making us happy either. We attended clinics and workshops, some of which we thought helpful, some not so much. We asked more questions and expanded our thinking.
We were invited to come in as 2 of 9 founding members of a charity that rescued wild born horses from around Western Australia for ten years. We trained and rehabilitated horses. We then bred for a few years. All of these things opened our eyes to the reality of equine behaviour and response. We formed our own opinions and perceptions. Our values and ethics changed.
But some things are still the same. We still use certain basics because they work. The horses 'get it'.
So yes, we started (and still start) with basic connection and halter training. With online/lead training - foal handling, ground games, walking out and about, educating some horses to saddle, social riding, shows, town training, employing other wonderful trainers if required...all these things FIRST, before tool-less 'liberty' walks and paddock shifts employing trust and focus and energy. (Well we use those too but also online.) Why? Because this is the real world.
We can't guarantee that something won't happen to us tomorrow, and our horses might end up with someone else. Someone who doesn't have the horses understanding and trust. We're practical romantics. We're thinking of our horses. They need to be able to be handled by others, in 'normal' ways.
A couple of our older wild born rescues are not easy to float load. They prefer trucks. One won't load at all. She panics. (Past trauma.) It's our responsibility, if something happens (and here it's likely to be a fire), to try and get her and the others to safety, even if we have to walk her/them out.
But at least we have a plan. It's written down and there are (phone) numbers on the wall.
We also have a couple that don't like being trimmed. (Again, past trauma.) Fortunately, with our rocky/gravelly soil and the large paddocks, they are able to self-trim most of the time. This is the reality that we continue to work with and do our best with. Positive reinforcement training methods help. So does patience, understanding and an awesome barefoot trimmer/podiotherapist who helps Kevin with trimming our horses.
It's really essential to contact and build relationships with kind, ethical, understanding professionals. These days they actually aren't that hard to find. As Ben Hart touches on in the above quote, we should always strive to learn more, and do better by ourselves and our loved ones/animals.
As for our Wadi Farm herd, we took on a number of 'special needs' cases originally, because we had the land and the willingness to do so. We built our knowledge over time. The horses taught us a lot! It hasn't been easy but we've got most of our wild born rescues to the point where they can be treated and handled. As a result, they now also help us to help humans and other horses. We love the connection, and for their sakes, we couldn't just leave them to live an unhandled life in the paddock.
I've been asked if we just started the horses at liberty, if any have never had a halter on. No. I would love that to have been the case, but in our world here, we need our horses to be able to be handled by others, just in case. Let alone visitors and clients. Let alone if there's an emergency. So yes we started from scratch and learned along the way.
Perhaps on thousands of acres, already wild horses could be left wild, and managed accordingly. Indeed, there are some places in the world where that can and does happen. Which is wonderful. But not here.
Your horses are your responsibility. Do the right thing by them. This includes health care and training - which can be as kind and stimulating and different and as positively reinforced as you like.
But don't assume that 'freedom' on any property, no matter how large, is true freedom. Such a thing rarely exists in the wild anymore, let alone in our human world. Additionally, please don't assume that a domestic horse who has been traumatised or badly trained should be left entirely to it's own devices or sold on, unless it's to someone who is seriously able to help. That doesn't help the horse. (It might help you, but not the animal, because you are leaving them stuck in a state and just handballing a potentially dangerous problem.)
We do what we can to allow 'freedom', using our land, mutual respect and consent/choice as much as possible, but we also have our 'non-optional social convention' days, for health, welfare and sometimes training.
If you have a sentient being 'in custody', you need to provide for that being in the best possible way that you can, for that being. Not for you or your needs, but for that being's needs.
Don't use a misplaced sense of wanting to 'love' your horse and 'let it be free' as an excuse not to do right by your horse with regard to health and welfare in your area. Because (and let's be brutally honest here), that desire is much more likely to be your deep seated need, not your horse's. Horses are herd animals. The herd provides boundaries and security within the 'free' world. Horses need the the company of other horses. They find reassurance in herds, just as most humans do. If you don't believe the extent of these subtle but very specific boundaries and security/synchrony provided by a herd, you need to go and watch a wild herd in action.
Need. It's a powerful word.
Our horses here express themselves because they know exactly where they stand and they feel safe to do so.
So...I guess what I'm suggesting is that you examine the quality of the liberty you impose. On yourself and your horse/s. Examine it closely.
Personally, I've always preferred quality over quantity.
Be as kind, consistent, and caring as you like. Learn to understand equus. Learn the best and most stimulating methods of care and training that you can, for your horse's sake.
Here's to us all levelling up a notch. 'Every day, in every way...'
🙏❤️🙏
