05/06/2024
Yes this! And yes to keep it going, so much to learn, our journey towards understanding never ends
Circa 2022, but relevant as we question how to reconcile the wisdom of classical training with some of the its abuses, horses and peopleā¦
STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF FLAWED GIANTS
In our attempts to evolve forward in our horsemanship, I think itās important to neither idolize nor demonize those whoāve come before us.
Martin Luther King, Jr. told us that āThe arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice,ā and the same is true for the universal truths in horsemanship.
We may get bogged down temporarily in refusing to acknowledge science, or holding onto pseudoscience, or refusing to acknowledge the truth in tradition, or holding onto traditions which no longer serve us, but overall, we are moving forward.
One thing that can give me a bit of whiplash having a diverse community on social media, is the differing perspectives on horsemanship systems such as Clinton Anderson, Parelli, etc.
Perspectives range from them being āsissified horsemanship,ā to them being downright āabusive.ā
Parelli was a big foundation influence on me in my younger years, as was Clinton Anderson, to a smaller extent.
John Lyons and Monty Roberts, too.
Nowadays, itās common for these to be considered abusive in more āenlightenedā or āwokeā horsemanship circles.
But when I was growing up, in rural Nebraska, they were looked down on for the opposite reasonsā¦
Because they were for āsissies.ā
Because they were for āmiddle-aged women who donāt know how to ride.ā Their words, not mine. A lot of ageism and sexism there.
But if it wasnāt for stumbling onto them when I was in my teens, all I would have had to learn from were people using running Wās, twitches, hobbles, etc.
Parelli gave me an incredible foundation of being open to horse psychology, whether it ended up being pseudoscience in the end or not, being able to ride in a halter instead of going to a bigger bit when I had problems, and just basic safety like cinching in three stages, getting my horse mentally right before I got on, etc.
Thereās a lot to unpack here; itās not as simple as the label of āabuse,ā as much as I disagree with some of the tenants in these systems and evolved away from them.
At the end of the day, they were stepping stones for a lot of people to get away from truly abusive methods, and the history of horsemanship will show that they were part of the evolution forward.
We donāt have to agree with them, but we canāt pretend they werenāt part of the bigger picture.
Same thing with Monty Roberts.
I donāt do join-up in that style anymore, but when I was a kid, it was a big deal, and it was a lot kinder than what the cowboys around me were doing.
Thereās no getting around that weāre standing on the shoulders of giants, flawed or not.
Some of us remember what it was like before, and it gives us a little broader perspective and appreciation.
Best not to lose impulsion in our evolution, here.ļæ¼
As with riding, the answer is, keep it moving forwardā¦