Books on horsemanship – Xenophon got it right

Xenophon He was a Greek cavalry officer and military hero of the 4th century BC. C., student of Socrates, historian, author and expert in horsemanship, a man of many talents. His writings on horsemanship addressed proper horse care, how to choose a horse, and warhorse training.

I do not propose that his writings on horsemanship are required reading for horse lovers, but you will find a lot of solid and fundamental advice in them. We can relate more to what Pat Parelli, John Lyons, Cherry Hill, Buck Brannamen, Ray Hunt or other contemporary coaches have to say. But Parelli, Lyons and the others will certainly take their hats off to Xenophon and acknowledge the debt owed to him by all who have followed him.

What makes Xenophon’s work so special and timeless? At least, it’s because what he had to say is based on his love for the horse and his strong belief that the horse’s mind in many ways parallels the human mind. He can take Xenophon’s teachings and distill them into a few “commandments” that, if he keeps them in mind, will take him a long way in working with a horse.

Temper – A fundamental principle of his teaching is “never show anger to the horse”. If we can keep that in mind, we avoid a lot of the problems with horses that we actually often cause ourselves.

Our youngest Fjord gelding, Lars, is a wonderful animal with a stubborn streak (I assume he is of Norwegian descent). Sometimes I find myself grinning at him through clenched teeth and I’ve learned that anger on my part produces zero results or just makes a sticky situation worse. Anger doesn’t work, nor does force. Xenophon taught that horses, like people, respond poorly to force. We will do things when we are forced to, but we will not necessarily do them well; at best, enough to “get by”. A horse that does something by force does it without understanding and it is fundamental in teaching the horse that the horse understands.

The use of force is almost always counterproductive when the horse is in a situation where it is afraid of something. If the horse is afraid of an object, such as a mailbox on the side of a road (he’s been through that already), he should either avoid the object or have the horse slowly approach it. Anger, force, or punishment will only reinforce the horse’s fear. He now associates the bad things you’re doing with the object, compounding his fear of it. We learn this when we first put a bridle on a horse. Trying to force him onto the horse only makes it that much harder the next time.

Trust and Care – Xenophon insists that a horse be well cared for, including food, grooming, proper and clean rooms, and attention. While it was customary in his day for training to be done by a groom, Xenophon insisted that the owner visit the horse daily to ensure its well-being and as a means of building trust by the time owner and horse become partners. “partners”.

My favorite riding horse comes to me instead of running away when he sees the halter in my hand. She associates the halter with grooming, a bit of grain or exercise, and maybe a good walk. I don’t have to chase her across the grass, which would be the case, I’m sure, if she were treated roughly. Even Lars hits the halt, which means I’ve done a good job with anger management when he experiences a stubborn streak. In fact, we are “partners”.

riding – Xenophon taught that the horse should be mounted slowly and the rider should be able to mount it from either side. The horse should be encouraged to carry the head correctly and, once he has done so, proceed with the reins loose. Quoting Xenophon:

“If you teach the horse to go with the bridle loose, to keep the neck erect and to arch it towards the head,
make the horse do the very things in which he himself delights and has the greatest pleasure.

Proof that he delights in them is that every time he himself decides to show off before the horses, and especially
in front of mares, he raises his neck higher and arches his head to the maximum, looking fierce; lifts its legs freely off the ground and throws its tail up.

Therefore, whenever you induce him to behave in the attitudes he naturally assumes when he is most eager to display his beauty, you make him appear as if he enjoys being ridden, and you give him a noble, fierce, and attractive appearance. “.

Now Xenophon was primarily introducing novice horsemen to the purchase, care, and training of horses. war Horse. But with the exception of a few “battlefield” training exercises, almost everything in The Art of Horsemanship applies to our relationship with horses today. Xenophon assumed zero experience on the part of his audience and, as a good teacher would, he heavily emphasized fundamentals.

If you are looking for a book, video or DVD on some aspect of horsemanship or training and have the luxury of being able to review the article in advance, try to see where the author is laying the groundwork for their work. Is there an underlying theme based on some basic principles or beliefs? You will no doubt find this in anything published by Parelli, Lyons, or Hempfling, to name three.

And if you want to explore Xenophon’s world further, several sources are:

Life and writings of Xenophon The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy made

http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/x/xenophon.htm

His work on the art of horsemanship is nicely summed up in
http://www.d.umn.edu/~ebrownin/Xenophonpaper.htm,

Y, [http://angelsfall.eshire.net/horse/onhorsemanship.htm]

For a scholarly translation of The Art of Horsemanship, sometimes difficult to read but written in great detail:

http://emotionalliteracyeducation.com/classic_books_online/hrsmn10.htm

You will get a thumbnail sketch of – http://emotionalliteracyeducation.com/classic_books_online/hrsmn10.htm and at the same time know an excellent reference source on the Internet: Wikipedia; its main page is –

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page