The negative side of positive reinforcement, which I can BARELY live with (waving with sarcasm-sign), is the fact that Batman can choose whether he wants to play with me or not. Oh my God, I should never allow my horse to choose for himself, that makes him so difficult to deal with! (Waving with sarcasm-sign again) He is communicating with me and everything :O This is how yesterday turned out:
Batman, you look sleepy. Wanna lie down?
Down on the grouuuund, yes?
Batman: NOPE.
Nope nope nooooooouaaaaaaaaaahpe.
“Batman, let’s lie down!” “Nooooooooooooooope”
(Actually a bit creepy)
So yeah, yawning is the only thing you are capable of today?
No, I can kiss grumpy Matildes as well!
And who can say no to that?! :D
And yeah, I guess you deserve the carrot you know I’m hiding in my hand, Batman… :D
Horses should always be allowed to decide what they wants to do every now and then. They should also be allowed to say “no, I feel like I want to do something else today”. It is not our task to boss them around simply because we are humans and horses are horses. When you use force as a training method, you are also ruining every chance of two-way communication between two individuals.
Peace, love and Friesian hugs,
Batman & Matilde
(Reminder: Horses might yawn to express pain or discomfort. Batman yawned in this situation because I taught him to do it on cue, and he often do yawn, or smile, when I give him another cue, but he wants to do something else.)
3 comments
I completely agree! :D Just one question…in what circumstances would yawning indicate discomfort and/or pain? Isn’t it more a sign of comfort and relaxation…
Yawning in horses is pretty similar to yawning in dogs. Dogs yawn when they are stressed or don’t know what to do. My dog yawned after she couldn’t reach the popcorn bowl that was on the table when she tries multiple times. My dog also yawned when she was trying to tell me something but I didn’t understand. (I did later find out that her toy was underneath the couch!)
You know, at first I wanted a Friesian, then an Andalusian, then a Warlander, then an Andalusian again, then a Norwegian Fjord, then now, after seeing this breed again, a Friesian.