So who thinks this is a good idea?
I couldn't open that link. Is it the one where the guy would send his kids
up to do six times more chores to get them to accept the one task he asked
for? I thought that was horrific parenting advice and I don't think it
would make any horse I ever worked with want to volunteer anything. Most
of them would get pretty darned resentful.
What has worked for me in developing, or maintaining, a want-to attitude is
keeping the "work" more like play, in other words keeping it fun. I had
Tosca out yesterday with a very nice Arab endurance gelding who does mostly
50's plus a couple 75's each season. We trotted and gaited and cantered
along behind him up one of the tougher training trails. When we were back
riding side by side on a rare flat stretch, Bev looked over (and down) on
Tosca and said, "She just looks like she loves being out here." Tosca can
actually be a bit of a grump. If she didn't like her job, it would be very
obvious.
Nancy
