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You know, there are some who despise her, and maybe for good reason (I've never met her that I know of, but she does originate from the same area that I do, so I MAY know her and not know it), but every now and then she sure hits the nail right on the friggin head.
Fugly Blog
Seriously, I try to make room for the NH'ers, too. It is a big world out here, after all. And many of the beginners and newbies who normally would let a trainer do EVERYTHING and not even bother to get to KNOW their horse....well the NH videos can help them play games and gain confidence. I want to be a fan of anyone who is spending quality time with their horse. But, then, like Fugs pointed out, sometimes one of them NH'ers comes along and just burns my a$$, and this is one of those times.
Thoughts????
I have mixed feelings, but was a little turned off by the "OMG ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!!!" stance that she took (although I know that's her style). Mostly I'm not really all about the shock collars (didn't know they made them for horses, hear about them frequently for dogs). The reason I'm not really for them is because people don't put the time in to learn how to appropriately use them. You have to be so sensitive, even more so than our other training tactics. The shock itself though, really, who of us doesn't use an electric fence? Do we realize that there's a chance they could get caught in the fence, cornered against the fence by an aggressive horse, etc. and we might not even be there to help. I don't like kicking chains either, which she condones, so I chalk it up to a difference of opinion, but not too serious!
ReplyDeleteI love Fugly, though I know there are a lot of people who don't. I like her no-nonsense attitude and no-holds-barred approach, which I think is nice and ironic because that's exactly what many people don't like about her.
ReplyDeleteA lot of acceptable vs. unacceptable horse training practices do come down to a difference of opinion, as gaitedgoals pointed out. Regarding the shock collars, however, I made a comment on her post that may also illustrate the difference between shock collars and electric fences. Shock collars, in my opinion, are just going to create sneaky horses. Have you ever tried to train your cat using a spray bottle? They learn pretty quickly that they can get away with things when you don't have that bottle in your hands or you aren't around. Since I'm pretty sure my horse is way smarter than my cats, I don't think it would take him long to figure out that it's only "bad" when 1) the shock collar is on and 2) I am watching. A fence, on the other hand, is (ideally) always on and it doesn't matter if someone is there or not, so they learn to stay away from it as a general rule.
Finally, just an observation here, but even if both things deliver the same result (a shock), one is a natural consequence, and the other is a punishment. If you know anything about psychology, particularly child psychology, there is a big difference between the two and the type of result each gets.
Yeah, I'm sorry, but there is no comparison between an electric fence and a shock collar. A horse has control of whether or not he is shocked by the fence (don't touch it). You are playing God by putting a collar on him which delivers a shock to his system at YOUR WHIM. And, all that aside, how is that Natural Horsemanship, by ANYONE'S definition?????
ReplyDeleteFor the record, I believe it's wrong for dog training, too. If you can't get the dog trained up, find someone who can. If you have an aggressive dog, don't take it out socializing!
Same for horses. If you can't train a horse up, find someone who can. If you have an aggressive herd member, isolate him! You don't get to control personalities to that extent...it's playing God. JMHO.
I agree with Fugs 110% this time.