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very so often, you come across something so good online that it stops you in your tracks, forcing you to read and re-read again and again. @crazyredchestnut’s recent post on Instagram did just that. We can’t say it better, so here are Amy’s words, direct from her must-follow Instagram account @crazyredchesnut:
In the equestrian industry, being soft is one of the bravest things you can do. There is this odd stigma in the equestrian industry that in order to ‘produce’ good horses, a rider/ handler must be firm, dominant, and ‘show who is boss’. Traditional training approaches often utilise escalating pressure, aversion to stimulus, discomfort, stress or pain to make a horse do something. Don’t be fooled by how harsh these words sound. You make think that I’m only
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taking about the people who very obviously do this and are generally called out for being abusers. In reality, these traditional concepts – based around harshness – are rampant through every discipline, level and country.
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