An apology To Carolyn Resnick
Published by Cari Zancanelli under Carolyn Resnick, empowered horses, horse training, horsemanship on 1:31 AM
The last post I published was to state my disillusionment in the book Naked Liberty by Carolyn Resnick. I had not yet read it, and based on things posted by others on the web I didn't think I wanted to. I was, however, WRONG. I hereby apologize to Carolyn Resnick for my short-sightedness. It is, however, the result of today's horse training market being flooded with all kinds of information both good and bad. It has made me increasingly skeptical! (I have removed the post I am referring to here - no point in leaving it up if it's not true!)
It's clear to me now that the review I read (that made me not want to read the book) was written by someone who either didn't understand or who didn't read the entire book. As I said in my post, I really shouldn't have passed judgment until I'd read the whole thing. I have now read it and was pleasantly surprised. I mentioned in the last post about how I constantly look for the book, the method... this book was very close!
Naked Liberty is about Resnick's early experiences with her own horses and culminates in her study of wild horses. The premise to me, from reading the jacket, was bordering on hokey. After all, Monty Roberts claims to have studied wild horses too... in an oddly familiar sounding account in many ways to Resnick's. (I suspect he borrowed aspects of her account for his own.) However, I found Resnick's writing easy to read, interesting and humble. She gave herself a pat on the back when deserved and also admitted to fault when she made a mistake. The book is largely anecdotal and experiential, including three summers observing and finally being accepted by a band of wild horses.
With everyone and their brother claiming to "speak the language of horses" and to use "natural horsemanship", whatever THAT means, I avoid trainers who make these claims anymore. I have also tried to read Linda Kohanov and others of that ilk, which were too complicated and so very self-important. So please forgive my initial skepticism. Many horse folk are egotistical and trying to sell their own brand of training methods, which are really nothing new when you come right down to it.
Again, I will say it, I was WRONG about this book! Resnick has a very grounded spiritual quality that blends well with a scientist's curiosity and attention to detail that encourages experimentation. The result is a way of understanding horses that includes friendship and connection as well as setting boundaries and shaping behavior. She was neither too tough or too soft with her training methods. None of us want to be accused of being too "touchy-feely", nor do we want to be seen as demanding and rough. There are few trainers/authors who walk the line so well as Carolyn Resnick.
More to follow on the finer points of her method - until then, check out her blog which is very enlightening:
Carolyn Resnick Blog
It's clear to me now that the review I read (that made me not want to read the book) was written by someone who either didn't understand or who didn't read the entire book. As I said in my post, I really shouldn't have passed judgment until I'd read the whole thing. I have now read it and was pleasantly surprised. I mentioned in the last post about how I constantly look for the book, the method... this book was very close!
Naked Liberty is about Resnick's early experiences with her own horses and culminates in her study of wild horses. The premise to me, from reading the jacket, was bordering on hokey. After all, Monty Roberts claims to have studied wild horses too... in an oddly familiar sounding account in many ways to Resnick's. (I suspect he borrowed aspects of her account for his own.) However, I found Resnick's writing easy to read, interesting and humble. She gave herself a pat on the back when deserved and also admitted to fault when she made a mistake. The book is largely anecdotal and experiential, including three summers observing and finally being accepted by a band of wild horses.
With everyone and their brother claiming to "speak the language of horses" and to use "natural horsemanship", whatever THAT means, I avoid trainers who make these claims anymore. I have also tried to read Linda Kohanov and others of that ilk, which were too complicated and so very self-important. So please forgive my initial skepticism. Many horse folk are egotistical and trying to sell their own brand of training methods, which are really nothing new when you come right down to it.
Again, I will say it, I was WRONG about this book! Resnick has a very grounded spiritual quality that blends well with a scientist's curiosity and attention to detail that encourages experimentation. The result is a way of understanding horses that includes friendship and connection as well as setting boundaries and shaping behavior. She was neither too tough or too soft with her training methods. None of us want to be accused of being too "touchy-feely", nor do we want to be seen as demanding and rough. There are few trainers/authors who walk the line so well as Carolyn Resnick.
More to follow on the finer points of her method - until then, check out her blog which is very enlightening:
Carolyn Resnick Blog
1 comments:
I have read a bunch of her stuff and it helped me a lot with my horses.
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