Have you ever had a horse step on your foot or kick you? If so, you know how powerful (and heavy and stubborn) a horse can be.
You
may wonder, how can anyone train a large, strong animal like a horse? What allows people and horses to get along so well. Let's ask Chris Hassell.
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| Before training, clean the hooves. (Note the smooth "slider" shoe) |
Chris trains horses professionally. Chris has trained all kinds: nervous horses, stubborn horses, horses that will never compete and those that will be champions.
Chris
says that there are three reasons why a horse can be trained.
First, horses are smart.
Second, horses like to work or play. They want to be doing
something. They don't like being left standing in a corral.
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Third and most important, horses want to please their owners. They will work all day or compete for a weekend, all in exchange for respect, a kind word and a
gentle pat from their human owner.
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| Chris equips Misty with a special halter, called a bosal, and snaffle bit for "kindergarten" |
Chris tries to figure out how horses think. That's her secret power when she trains a horse.
Chris boards each horse that she trains. A
new horse resents her when it first arrives at Chris's farm on Walcott Road. The horse is peeved at being taken away from it's home and is suspicious of Chris. Slowly, Chris gains the horse's confidence. By the end of four weeks, most horses
are having so much fun learning that they don't want to go home.
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