Persistence vs. Insistence

Betty and I worked with Morgunn and Sugar yesterday and today, Thursday. Because of the hot days, we're starting about 7:45 in the morning and working with them for about 45 minutes to an hour. Both Sugar and Morgunn had pretty good days - not perfect - but decent.

We're trying to apply some of the learning from both the clinic I attended and the principles in the books we have just read (and reviewed on this blog in the last week or so).

One key principle from the book is the idea of persistence versus insistence. In the past, we rode with the idea of insistence - insisting the horses do a certain thing based on the cues we were giving them. We didn't realize it, but we were trying to ride with control over our horses. We might have gotten some obedience from them, but not a trusting willingness to work with us.

Persistence is based on the concept of giving the right cues, the cues you want the horse to respond to, and letting him learn how to respond and believing that the horse will eventually figure it out. The concept is not one of control, but one of believing that the horse will learn how to respond to consistent and appropriate cues - and in giving him the freedom to experiment we will develop a willing partner rather than an obedient serf.

Insistence is short-term thinking and action - do it now - whereas persistence is long-term and requires much more patience on our part.

The book we read told how the author, at a clinic, watched Bill Dorrance work with a horse with trailer loading issues. Bill worked with the horse for several hours. During that time, the author said she saw four different times when she would have gotten the horse to step into the trailer, but Dorrance chose not to do that.

At the end of Bill's time working with the horse, he still had not stepped into the trailer. When Dorrance discussed his work with the clinic participants, he said there were several times when he could have gotten the horse to step into the trailer, but that was not his goal. He said his goal was to have the horse feel good about stepping into the trailer when he did.

He never insisted the horse get into the trailer which most people would have said was a good, but short-term, goal. Dorrance persisted with his goal and belief that the horse would eventually load into the trailer and, when he did, he would feel good about it. Definitely a longer-term goal - and one we would all like to achieve.

Achieving long-term goals with our horses require us to give up our short-term, insistent thinking for a longer-term persistence and a whole lot more patience.

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