"Follow Me"
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The video, imo, is a bit deceptive. It's supposed to make you think that the horse believes he's wearing a halter and is being led by a lead rope.
Though possible, a more likely explanation is that horses are natural followers. If the person is seen as a "leader," the horse will follow the person around the arena, lead line or no lead line.
This is a game I used to play with Simon, just to establish leadership and trust with him. I'd bring him into the arena and stand next to him. When I started walking, he'd walk next to me, just like a dog who's learned to "heel." When I stopped, he'd stop; and when I backed up, he'd back up. And when I'd run, he'd break into a trot, or even a canter, next to me.
"What's this called in psychology?"
Understanding equine behavior.
"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08
The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.
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Shame you don't live on the rural route.
One, I have a very good friend who won't get rid of his horses. Guy looks like an old cowboy out of central casting. Probably a quarter indian, 6' 5" without his cowboy hat and boots. At 70, he's been broken up enough over the years, it's getting tough for him to ride. The wife wants him to get rid of his two horses, but he just can't. He raised the youngest one from a foal and broke the horse himself. My friend told his wife not to mind the feed bill, he was keeping his horses.
If for nothing other than to prop up with a cup of coffee and watch the horses in the pasture.
OTOH, there are other things to do with a horse. Or a mule. My vet has a white mule, broke for saddle or harness. Dr. Beth is an attractive blond and she makes a striking figure dressed in period costume, driving that white mule hooked up to her cart or buggy. She does a lot of parades, rodeos and what not.
Even not riding, both have fun with their horses. Er, and with their mules...
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The video, imo, is a bit deceptive. It's supposed to make you think that the horse believes he's wearing a halter and is being led by a lead rope.
Though possible, a more likely explanation is that horses are natural followers. If the person is seen as a "leader," the horse will follow the person around the arena, lead line or no lead line.
This is a game I used to play with Simon, just to establish leadership and trust with him. I'd bring him into the arena and stand next to him. When I started walking, he'd walk next to me, just like a dog who's learned to "heel." When I stopped, he'd stop; and when I backed up, he'd back up. And when I'd run, he'd break into a trot, or even a canter, next to me.
"What's this called in psychology?"
Understanding equine behavior.
@George-K As usual, you are correct I think.
Clever Hans (German: der Kluge Hans; c. 1895 – c. 1916) was a horse that was claimed to have performed arithmetic and other intellectual tasks. After a formal investigation in 1907, psychologist Oskar Pfungst demonstrated that the horse was not actually performing these mental tasks, but was watching the reactions of his trainer. He discovered this artifact in the research methodology, wherein the horse was responding directly to involuntary cues in the body language of the human trainer, who was entirely unaware that he was providing such cues.
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A side note: A horse doesn't naturally want to be a "leader" in the herd. It just wants to know who is, and will follow by instinct. If it accepts you as the leader, it will do these things. If, however, you don't show leadership, it will take up the role.
