Book Review - Of Life and Horses (2)

About a week ago I did a review of the first book that Ann Nyberg Bradley wrote called Of Life and Horses - The Nature of the Horse. Click here to see that review.

I recently finished the second book called of Life and Horses - Cooperation Through Communication. Whereas the first book focused on better understanding the basic nature of the horse, this book looks at how our understanding of that basic nature can influence how we communicate with the horse.

Again, there is way too much content to get into in just a blog post, so I'll share some nuggets as I did last time.

• From the introduction: Ultimately, the human/horse union is one in which our mind controls the horse's body. ... Some riders will attempt to physically control a horse's body, but he knows how to operate his body far better and more effectively than we do. So, in that sense, if we can convey the idea of what we want then we can let him do it. In that manner our aids can remain light, polite and tactful.
  
• From the chapter on the language of communication: When training a horse, there is a distinction between obedience and willing cooperation. It is possible to obtain obedience and/or submission through force, fear, pain, and/or intimidation, but willing cooperation can only be offered by the horse.
  
• From the chapter on underlying intention and expectations: The most important training tools we possess are our underlying intentions and expecations. They are projected through our body language and are how we communicate with the horse. ... It's important to be aware of the feel you present to a horse all the time, because the feel you present will dictate the response/s you receive.
  
• From the chapter on the flip side of the coin: The rider needs to feel what he wants the horse to do, even when the horse isn't doing it - and especially when the horse isn't doing it.
  
• From the chapter on punishment vs. reward: When people punish (correct) the wrong answer they think they are punishing the horse's behavior, but to the horse it is his try - his attempt - that is being punished. If his try is punished enough, he'll quit trying.
  
• From the chapter on first impulse: In our training, the first thing we need to focus on is the horse's first impulse. That is his very first reaction to what we do, the reaction that occurs in the first instant following a request.
  
• From the chapter on persistence vs. insistence: Insistence is our way of controlling a horse. Too often the feel of insistence from the human is met with opposition in the horse. Persistence has a different feel to it. Persistence is about waiting, accepting what is, making a request for a change, and then waiting for the change to happen. Ironically, we often have more influence over a horse when we give up our notion of controlling him.
  
• Again from the chapter on persistence vs. insistence: Insistence arises from a lack of inner composure, a lack of inner control, and a lack in the belief that we will be able to elicit a change. Persistence arises from an inner place of being okay with whatever is happening in the moment coupled with the knowledge that it can and will change.
  

As with the first book, there is so much more than these small nuggets suggest - feel, drive/draw, dominance and submission, point of view, power over fear, anxiety/tension and release, mind to feet connection, the rein aids, primary and secondary aids, balance vs. counter-balance, resistance and evasion, and more.

This book was as good if not better than the first and I highly recommend it to any person who wants to think deeper about their relationship with their horse.