Does all the nice talk, giving grain, brushing, blanketing, putting boots/shoes on, etc...Does doing all these things make up for all the pain we cause our horses?
I find it funny that as a society we go out of our way to make our horses more comfortable within their everyday life, but then we are quick to cause pain when we train.
We are willing to spend thousands of dollars on a saddle that fits so we don't cause them pain, but then we are quick to put on spurs so they respond to our leg. What do spurs do, well they cause pain. But somehow it is okay for us to spur the horse to cause pain, but lets make sure the saddle fits. Not only do we use spurs, but we use bits and sometimes they are really severe bits. So once again we have gone out of our way to ensure the comfort of the horse, only to cause discomfort in another way. I guess one could argue that an ill fitted saddle can cause more harm, and yes, they are right. But I also know that I have seen some horrible wounds from bits and spurs. You don't even have to be heavy handed to cause pain with bits though since they sit in the mouth. Why is one type of pain more justifiable than another? I personally prefer the riding experience be painless for my horses. I want a good fitting saddle, no bit and no spurs. I don't want to trade one kind of pain for another.
Another thing we do as a society is spend thousands of dollars on hoof care to make sure the horse is sound. We buy shoes and boots of every style to make sure they can carry us without soreness. But then we turn around and yank on their mouths with bits when they take a wrong step. Again why do we find this okay?
Apparently pain is okay and justifiable as long as it is the name of training or the horse doing something we want. We don't want them to be uncomfortable while they hang out in their pasture, but it sure is okay when we are making them do something we want. Why is that? Does the pound of grain we give them at the end of each ride make up for yanking on their mouth? Does it make up for mentally stressing them out and proving to them that you will hurt them unless they comply with you?
And if you think you don't fall into this norm. Really think about it and I bet you will find that you are wrong. I know because I was you. It has taken me a really long time to come to terms with this. Take Navi for example...I make sure she is fitted in a fly sheet to protect her from sun burning, but just last year I was quick to put metal in her mouth to make her softer. There ya go...I was guilty of it. I didn't want her in pain due to sunburn, but to cause her pain to make her do what I wanted was sure okay. Not now, no more for me, there is another way.
I could give you a long list of past examples from my time with my horses. But currently I can say this I have given up my bits, spurs, and whips. Okay so I still use my stick and string, but it is for targeting only. I do no apply pressure with it. I just bought a new halter made of mule tape. It is super soft and doesn't have knots like my rope halter. I am trying everything to get away from pain caused by me.
This applies to both physical and mental pain. Watching a horse run frantically around the round pen scared to death is horrible to see too. While we are not physically touching them at that point we are scaring them. If we weren't scaring them we would use this technique out in the open where they were free to leave. But we don't do this in a big open area because it is all based on making the horse fearful and teaching them there isn't a way out so they may as well listen to you. Correct me if I am wrong, and prove it to me by using this technique in a 100 acre pasture. Even if you think your horse is calm while round penning, go out and do the same thing outside of the round and then see how calm your horse is.
Pain and fear are considered okay as long as we are doing it in the name of "training", but you wouldn't put your beloved horse in with another horse that beat it up all day would you? So why is it okay for you to cause the same fear and stress?
