A Whole Page To Explain A Simple Procedure

I confess, I don't get this one.

I was reading in a PNW horse magazinelet (that's bigger than a pamphlet and smaller than a real magazine, I just made that word up!) a fellow's article about keeping your horse off you while leading or standing around.

He took the whole page to explain a simple procedure of popping your horse in the shoulder and growling at him with a short "NO!" and then the appropriate body language that tells your horse you mean business.

Don't get me wrong, I respect this guy but I'm suspecting he's playing to his readers, clients or whomever by going overboard with the explanations. I know that a lot of newspaper writers get paid by the inch and so will inflate their articles. I know, I've been a newspaper author/columnist in the distant past.

But it brought home to me how everything in this day and age has to be explained to the nth degree without any true feelings between the horse and rider. The rider/handler has to be told what to do instead of developing and relying on instincts and learning each horse is different but not so different that most training ideas will work on most horses. Then you need to learn to tweak your training to fit the horse. If you have to tweak too much, then you need another horse or find a different area of horses to be in.

But, back to my original thoughts, a whole page??? Just to get a horse to move over. He addressed the idea that 'some' people might not be 'comfortable' in pushing their horse over, I can't remember the exact wording, and I thought, then what in hell are they doing with a horse in the first place?? They would rather get stepped on, I guess, but at least they'd feel good that they didn't push their horse over.

*scratches head*

Even on a lot of my horse boards, the tone and flavors are changing. People need to feel good about doing something with their horse and make it way tooooo hard rather than, say, pop the horse in the shoulder and problem solved.

Welp, I'm going to keep doing this blog and saying what I know works but I may be seriously out of date now.

Whatever happens, just get out there and love on your horse and then go for a ride!!