Someone made a comment recently about training without fear being important.
I sat with that for a while.
I disagree and let me tell you why.
I’ve spent most of my life working with poorly trained backyard horses, horses with baggage, horses who’d gotten confusing messages from people about different things, dogs with a lot of the same issues, wolves in captivity and now wild horses post-gather.
Being in that line of work, study and interest, I’ve seen so much fear that I’ve accepted it for what it is – something to work on.
Fear isn’t something to avoid, it’s something to notice, address, learn from and deal with in a way that on the other side of it well-being and ability to function improve.
It’s also not a training tool. It’s something that can either be there at the start or may pop up along the way.
The things I am concerned about is doing everything in my power to prevent injury to everyone involved, and helping them move past their fear as efficiently as possible because living in fear is a miserable, debilitating way to exist.
It incapacitates the nervous system and drains the body. If we’re afraid enough we can’t relax or think straight, causing mental and physical exhaustion, poor choices, accidents or worse.
During a game with students at school – yep, I get to do fun shrink things at the most wonderful small rural school – a student drew a card prompting them to speak to their take on the saying “There’s nothing to fear but fear itself.” The answers were remarkable because kids are cool like that.
I believe that saying is spot on. I see – and experience – fear of some kind almost daily. Someone being afraid to see a therapist (me in my other life), a horse being afraid of a rope or other object, afraid of touch or water. What am I supposed to do, just drop everything and walk away? Hardly.
If at the end of the session the client is no longer afraid to seek support, the horse is less afraid of or even comfortable with ropes, new objects, touch, water, that’s how I know I’ve done my job and we’re headed in the right direction.
They say change is hard at first, messy in the middle and beautiful at the end.
Confusion, frustration, and yes, even fear, can very much be part of the beginning and middle. It deserves our awareness, not avoidance.
So no, I don’t think training without fear is the goal. Training to reduce or eliminate fear is, and replacing it with confidence, knowledge, respect and trust.
Photos of Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy Ambassador Mustangs Firefly and Goose during their first sessions with the harness, and surcingle with “ornaments” respectively. All things we do towards riding prep. They did great and worked through little bobbles beautifully.
Firefly (darker) may come available later this year as we’re working to make some horses available to those who prefer to bring home a Mustang with more training than just the basics.
Their halter and lead rope sets are from Rowdy’s Ropes
