That is the first red flag that got my attention. First off, this method of training is both a danger to you and the horse. The horse panics and tries to escape any way he can, can hurt himself by pulling back hard against the wall to the point of neck injuries, can loose his footing from thrashing around or can hurt you by kicking out because he now thinks of you as a predator that just threw a mountain lion on his back. This method teaches a horse nothing but to fear you. This is the side of horse training I hate. All it does is create a horse that no longer see's you as a safe leader but a threat.So average cowboy joe used this method, got the crap scared out of him and starts questioning his training abilities. Instead of changing his training techniques to actually desensitizing the horse to a saddle without scaring him he created this!
After watching the video I had quit a few questions running through my head:
1.) So you want me to tie a horse to a harness rigged cart with wheels that has a leverage device around his rear to take away ability to stop or resist anything that may scare him? Hmmm... Thanks but no thanks. First off, what is this teaching the horse? Surely its not teaching him to think and trust you because as soon as he bulks you pick his butt off the ground and make him do it anyway! I'm sure the horse will eventually get used to this contraption but is he really learning anything? What happens the first time the horse is ridden out of this thing? Ever taken a green horse that has only been ridden in a round pen out into a new environment for the first time? Well let me tell you, its a whole new ball park and you will soon find most young horses are out of their comfort zone and need to be retaught/ brushed up on saddling, mounting and responding to you. Some do great but others act as if you have fed them a pack of wolves!
2.) If you got tired of tying your horse to the wall and created this thing for saddle breaking, why are you telling me my horse needs to be desensitized to being saddled or wearing a harness before being put him in this thing? I thought that was the whole point of this contraption!
3.)What happens when I mount this horse for the first time and the horse becomes afraid and starts to panic? O that's right, you still hold on and pray like hell that your butt sticks like velcro to the saddle. There is just one little thing, you see those bars on the side of this thing? You leg is going to get smashed if that horse should move from one side of this cart to the other. I have had my legs hit by panels, trees and who knows what else while riding but this cart looks to be a lot more dangerous simply because the horse has nowhere to go except back a forth. He cant push the cart forward and he can't change direction because the cart will just drag him forward anyway...
I'm done ranting for one afternoon. I just can't believe trainers anymore. This is why I train my own. I have tried tons of different methods over the years and have my own way of doing things but I have never wanted to saddle break a horse by tying them up because its not just about getting them used to a saddle or teaching them to accept pressure around their cinch area. Its about teaching them to listen and respond to me before they panic, to always look to me for leadership and most important, to learn I will never set them up for failure or throw a scary mountain lion on their back and simply walk away!!
