From the Horse's Point of View

Book excerpt: An eye-opening book leading equestrians into a brave new horse world, where we train horses their way, not ours. For years, Andrea Kutsch filled stadiums with spectators as she demonstrated remarkable transformations in “problem horses” using the Natural Horsemanship training methods she'd learned from leaders in the field. But something was bothering her—a feeling that had been with her since her childhood days, watching Icelandics in a field and coming up through a traditional German riding system. Despite the strides made in improving the horse's well-being through the worldwide adoption of Natural Horsemanship techniques, she knew that the methods were still missing something. They still trained horses looking at every situation from the human perspective and were dependent on a trainer's natural feel. This meant that, for the horse, there was stress involved in the training process. In addition, positive results gained by a professional often couldn't be replicated by a horse's owner; what the horse learned from one person wouldn't transfer to others. Kutsch set out to find the next stage in the evolution of horse training. She studied the results of methods she used with thousands of young horses at The Lewitz Stud in Neustadt--Glewe, Germany, the renowned farm owned by European champion Paul Schockemöhle. This provided the basis for what she calls Evidence-Based Equine CommunicationTM (EBEC), a means of reading the horse and understanding the world from his point of view. Here she introduces EBEC and how it can take our relationship with horses and their ability to perform as our partners to a whole new level. Inside find: Myth-busting popular assumptions related to typical gestures made by the horse, such as “licking and chewing” and “lowering the head.” Explanation of how ethograms can be used to map out equine body language and help us attain a clearer sense of the horse's true perspective. Discussion of how the horse's physical and psychological needs must be met in order for him to learn, including what those needs are. Exploration of the difference between inter- and intra-species communication. Introduction to a new reward-and-punishment model that looks at operant conditioning from the horse's point of view. Identification of the need for non-violent communication on the part of the trainer as well as the training skills she must have when working with a horse, and what these light look like not from our perspective, but the horse's. Certain to provide ideas for improving every interaction with horses, whatever your experience or discipline, From the Horse1s Point of View is a conversation-starter for all those looking to take their horsemanship to a whole new level.