Using Pressure Is It a Bad Thing
There are those that think pressure should not be used with horses as they view it as a bad thing. Pressure is something that horses experience everyday of their lives whether it be physical or mental.
Just watch a herd of horses and you will see they pin their ears at each other which is mental pressure. They will also bite, kick, strike or push into each other, physical pressure.
Horses are into-pressure animals and they need to learn to give to or move away from it. You’ve probably experienced this before where you go to move your horse’s hindquarters away from you and they push back into the pressure.
If you don’t teach them how to give into or move away from pressure then your setting them up to either get hurt or hurt you. Putting a halter, saddle pad or saddle on them is pressure and so is riding them even if it is bareback and bridle-less. I want my horses to understand what pressure is and how to either give to it or move away from it. If your horse gets caught in a fence and don’t understand about pressure they are probably going to struggle and do damage to themselves.
If you want to tie your horse up they have to learn to give to pressure otherwise they will fit the halter and could seriously get hurt from pulling back. For me I don’t view physical pressure as a bad or negative thing unless it is used with extreme force. You can teach your horse to give to pressure easily by combining it with positive reinforcement.
To the people who think pressure is a bad thing they should leave their horse in the pasture for the rest of their life and never touch them or do everything at liberty and never take them anywhere. Teaching a horse how to give to or move away from pressure is a good thing if it’s done the proper way without using extreme force, fear or intimidation. You can teach your horse amazing things using positive reinforcement.
If you want to learn how contact me today (325-261-3360) to set up your lesson or take my online courses.