I can only take partial credit for the ideas I propose on this page None of the things I write are completely original. Some of the ideas come from what I have heard from mentors. My experience and my critical thinking skills lead me to choose the ideas I agree with and those I reject. Even the ideas that seem to derive from the brilliance of Ross Jacobs stand on the shoulders of other people’s ideas. All have been tested and gotten a thumbs up from horses I have worked with. Occasionally I even come across trainers who have borrowed wisdom from me or people I know - sometimes word for word. That’s wonderful. I am glad ideas are being shared.
But I ask, are there new ideas and principles about horsemanship still to be discovered? Where will the new, original, and innovative ideas come from?
We have been working on figuring horses out for around 5,000 years. What I believe today and what has influenced my horsemanship started 5000 years ago. But is there still more to discover?
If so, where are the new ideas going to come from? If we haven’t got it all figured out after 5,000 years how much longer is it going to take?
In 100 years or 1000 years, what more will we have learned that can help us better understand horses and horsemanship? How far will horsemanship have evolved in that time? Or will we still be arguing about rope halters versus web halters or negative reinforcement versus positive reinforcement?
I hope the learning is not over. I hope we will continue to evolve to be better guardians of the horse as time marches on. Our horses deserve no less.
