Horse training is an essential aspect in the development of horses as human partners in livelihood, leisure and sports. Horse training methods can be as diverse as the number of horse breeds that exist today. But the endless list of horse training methods can be largely traced to two basic philosophies.
The two viewpoints that influence horse training methods are intimidation and inducement. The intimidation viewpoint stresses that the trainer should use brute force to break the horse's wild character as it is subjected to domestication. On the other hand, the inducement school of thought prefers compassion; training using pacifying gestures rather than painful coercion.
As the two viewpoints in horse training are clearly at the opposite ends of the spectrum, neither can be completely accurate. But like most training methods in any activity, a horse training method that is mapped out as a combination of the two principles will most likely provide the correct way of training horses.
Horse training methods shouldn't be solely based on tradition. Centuries before, pain and brute force had been the heart of horse training methods. Many people find that hurting horses and making them run in senseless circles around a post until they are dead tired has been effective in teaching tricks to and training horses. Though this kind of training regimen still exists today, many quarters in equine societies around the world have opposed this method and instead formulated a more compassionate approach in training horses.
Today, as a hybrid of the two extreme approaches in horse training, a more humane and milder approach has evolved and is fast becoming a standard in horse training methods. Trainers today try to communicate with horses and also learn how to reach out to the horses' needs. However, this new trainer-horse relationship is still based on the same concept of reward and punishment; in that, while the trainer may be kinder to the horse, he or she will not hesitate to reprimand the animal when it gets stubborn and unyielding.
Truly, an effective horse training method is one that leads to a better behavioral mindset for the horses. Domesticating a proud beast from the wild is a hard thing to do. But taking the easy way out by beating up and abusing horses may do more harm than good in the same way as too much affection may turn them into lazy bums. A great horse training method should have the ironhandedness of a military training camp and the gentleness of a spa saloon.
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