NOTE: This blog has been reproduced without change or correction. (Sourced from Ross Jacobs’ Blog.)

The regular readers among you will already know that I have strong views on training. I don't shy away from criticism of what I believe is poor training. Some folks have accused me of unprofessionalism by being publicly critical of other professionals. But I don't see my role as protecting the egos of any of us. My purpose is to do what I believe is in the best interest of horses and horse people and if that means being not so politically correct, I'm okay with that.

But the questions then remain what is poor horsemanship and how come it flourishes?

The world is full of poor horsemanship. In fact, I think there is far more bad horsemanship around than good.

In my book, bad horsemanship is any horsemanship that does not benefit the horse. I know that's a pretty general definition, but it does adequately cover my definition.

So what does it mean to benefit a horse?

Given that we are talking about riding and working with horses and not simply watching them romp in a paddock for the rest of their days, I think the term "benefit" is a hard one to define.

To me, if I'm going to work with a horse I feel that the way I approach the horse can only benefit him if I do not harm him either physically or psychologically or emotionally. I can't compromise those variables and still be practicing good horsemanship. In some part it comes back to my slogan of "keeping the horse inside the horse."

So good and bad horsemanship doesn't come in labels like natural or traditional or Australian or Native American or Mongolian or Kel Jeffrey method or whatever. It doesn't come with a special saddle or lead rope that helps you identify the type of horsemanship. It doesn't come with a certification from a well-known training system. You can't recognize it because it has the stamp of approval of a famous trainer. Those are not the things that identify good or bad horsemanship.

Of course, you may have very different notions of what is good and bad horsemanship. If so, I'd really like to hear about them. But if you are still trying to figure this part out in your search to be a better horse person, then I urge you to take as much time as you need to be sure of your own philosophy in this matter.

I believe that the fact than many people are still trying to come to terms with their own ideas about what is good and bad horsemanship is in large part the reason why there is so much bad horsemanship.

When I look at YouTube under the search terms "horse training", I see probably 90% of videos demonstrating horsemanship that fit with my definition of bad horsemanship. Perhaps even more. How can this be? Am I so far out of touch that I am the one that has got it wrong? I guess that could be. After all, when you are in a very small minority group you have to consider the possibility that you are the mad one and not the rest of the world.

But then I see that even the bad trainers think the other bad trainers are bad, so what's with that?

This is where I come to the crux of the matter. If you want to know if a trainer or style of horsemanship is good or bad, ask the horse – not the human. People have agendas that have nothing to do with what is most benefit to a horse. Humans want to win ribbons, receive praise from others, get a task accomplished etc - none of which a horse could give a rats about. So you can't be making judgement about these things based on the agenda of people. You can only make a reliable judgement by understanding the horse's point of view about what he is experiencing in the training. You have to be able to read how a horse feels. This is one of the biggest hurdles people discover in their journey into good horsemanship. It's hard and it is never ending – any married man understands what it is like (joking!). I think it is because it is so hard that bad horsemanship flourishes around the world.

I am aware that my blog can sometimes come across as very negative because I talk so much about examples of bad horsemanship I see around me and on the internet. It bothers me that I am not more upbeat and positive about the horsemanship I see. I hope it will change over time as more people become aware of how they need to approach their horsemanship to most benefit the horse.

Now that I have all that off my chest, I thought I would show you an example of good horsemanship. It's Warwick Schiller working with a horse that bad about being worm pasted. I like the way Warwick approached the problem, but I especially liked that he left in the bloopers.

Comment: Ross's career with horses began at an early age with a weekend job at a Sydney riding school. He soon took an interest in dressage and show jumping and quickly discovered many owners wanted him to compete on their horses. He began breaking-in horses during his mid-teens. At university he undertook a science degree and later was awarded a doctorate in physiology. During this time he continued to educate horses and compete at a high level in the show jumping arena.

Subsequent to being awarded his PhD, he pursued research interests overseas in North America and Europe. While living overseas he continued to work with horses on a casual basis.

After several years overseas he returned to Australia and shortly after substituted his academic and research career for working full-time as a horse trainer in Victoria. In early 2003, he met Michèle Jedlicka from Kansas at a Harry Whitney clinic in Arizona. They were married at the end of that year and the partnership extended into the business of training horses and teaching at clinics together. They moved to Delungra in northern NSW in April 2011 where he focuses most of his time teaching clinics, writing and enjoying his horses.

NOTE: To organise clinics or video appraisals you can go to his website: goodhorsemanship.com.au

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