>>>> What they learn from each other, how to be accepted in the herd, how to
social with other horses, how to move in different terrains, what to eat and
not to eat etc is so valuable that no human training can compete with that.
As I've said before, when I 'work' with my young ones (birth to maybe two
years old), I might 'work' for one colt or filly for 10 minutes a day, five
days a week. ('Work' might include something as basic brushing a baby,
which they generally like to have done. It might involve getting them used
to me checking their teeth, or picking their feet or pulling burrs from
their manes...or it might include a little leading lesson...) It might be a
little longer on rare days, but often it's less. But there are 10.080
minutes in a week, and if I work for them even 10 minutes a day for seven
days (and I doubt I've ever done that much) that would still leave 10,010
minutes in a week for them to learn how to be accepted in the herd. Any way
you look at it, the time I spend with them is TINY compared to the amount of
time they spend with other horses. Even if I worked with them an HOUR every
day (and I can't IMAGINE doing that much with a baby), that would still
leave over 9600 minutes per week with the herd. There simply isn't any way
that I can compete with the percentage of time that they spend with other
horses, so I'm a little tired of hearing that. That's simply no excuse for
not spending some quality time with the babies. On the other hand, it's
amazing what a baby can learn in just 5-10 minutes per day, maybe 10-20
times per month. It's much easier to be flexible and responsive if you
spread the little bits of training in over time. Plus babies are generally
curious and they LIKE to learn.
>>>Icelandic horses are considered very intelligent but that could also be
bad sometimes because they easily learn how to get away with things that we
do not like....
Children CAN be spoiled too. Should we avoid handling our own kids, lest we
spoil them? Or do we use good judgment and teach them rules and respect
from the very beginning?
Karen Thomas
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.5.484 / Virus Database: 269.13.1/982 - Release Date: 8/31/2007
5:21 PM
