In Which I Discover Neil Davies

*(Please note:  Since it's been so long since I've posted anything Blogger has changed a bit. I could no longer post to Facebook from this app so I had to find a new app, and anyway these are getting posted to Facebook out of order)

Yes, I know. It's been a very long time since I posted anything. Why?  Things have been murky and uninspired in my horse world.  Most of last spring I was sick with the flu, then pneumonia, then bad weather.  The year before that was the spring of three deaths (Mother-in-law, Grandmother, Aunt).  The energy was gone before summer even shone it's sunny head.  And then it was too hot... ok, that's an excuse.  However, I don't do well in the heat so getting out in the spring is important.  Gives me a head start on things and gets me used to the outdoor temp. I believe that acclimatizing one's self is best done with repeated exposure. 

During the doldrums of the past two years I continued to spend my time reading about horses and training.  My friend Leigh Ann likes to send me articles and things she finds and one of them was a horsey news thing from New Zealand: horsetalk.co.nz.  I think there is a version for the US, etc. but this is the one I get.  They have several guest trainers that write articles and one of them is Australian Neil Davies. The other is Jean Luc Cornille who supposedly has much scientific knowledge to pass on to other horse people but can't write anything understandable.  Between the French interpretations and the scientific terms, trying to read his stuff defies patience.  Reallly, Mr. Cornille, it would behoove you to step off the pedestal and appeal to the common horseperson.  His apologist, whose name escapes me, defends him at every turn by saying that ALL horse folk should be able to understand these "simple" veterinary terms and he shouldn't have to lower himself so that MORE people can understand him.  Right.  Very condescending.  

Anyway, this is how Leigh Ann brought this trainer to my attention.  I looked up his website and liked what I saw there.  I read some more of his articles and decided to buy the book.  The book, I'm sorry to say, is a bit disappointing.  Mr. Davies is not a writer and clearly teaches better in person than in writing, but I will forgive him for that because there is much here to like. 

So for the past few years I've read his articles, started the book and watched some of the videos he's posted.  (If you want to check it out yourself, go to  https://www.fearfreehorsetraining.com/).  

I've read some criticism of him online, but mostly from those who haven't delved in to his material and simply looked at a photo of him riding.  He is not a great rider and he knows it.  One should not try to emulate his riding style! The other negatives are similarly obvious and reveal his down-to-earth nature. His style and teaching manner are not designed to be fed to the masses.  In other words, he's not trying to highly market himself and was encouraged to write articles and the book by a personal fan.  He is NOT Clinton Anderson, nor is he trying to be. The book has some inconsistencies that a better writer could have explained or helped to organize better. I wish he had perhaps written out his philosophy and then stepped back with a critical eye as it needs editing badly! I have since given the book to Leigh Ann to read, so I can't quote directly, but here are some examples.

He says things like: "I have no rules. There are no rules in horse training." Then he says "Always make it pleasant and safe to be with me." Which in my mind is one of his "rules" since he never goes against it (clue: using the word "always"). There are other "rules", such as not getting to the point in any training session where your horse is worked up or frightened.  The goal is not to scare your horse.  

Another thing that Davies tries to do is debunk other trainer's methods.  He likes to read up on other trainers and comment on them.  Sometimes he doesn't completely understand the whole concept.  Like Clicker training - or "treat" training.  He doesn't understand that the goal is to NOT use treats in the end.  He says that if you use treats you will always have to use treats, but that's not true.  Don't allow this to put you off the real message - which is how he trains horses.  Everything else is just his opinion.  He also repeats himself needlessly and to distraction making it difficult to continue reading. 

Those are the examples from the book I can think of right now but not the only ones by far.  

However.... There is much to learn and admire about his method. 
(He says he doesn't have a "method" but he clearly does).  It's very simple (the numbering and order is my own):

1. Always make the horse feel safe and calm with the trainer, "it's safe and calm to be with me", (and by extension, everyone else) by rubbing his head.  The horse associates "calm" and "pleasure" with the trainer. As training progresses, more and more challenging things can be introduced to the horse without causing much fear - which is actual trust and not mere obedience (a la Clinton).  For example, if I trust my husband and we go to the edge of the Grand Canyon where I'm afraid of heights, I can stand next to him calmly on the rim because I know he won't do anything to hurt me (Plus he's afraid of heights, too. LOL).

2. Work with the horse in such a way as to never cause fear - no waving of flags, flapping, "desensitizing", chasing in a round pen, etc. No shouting. 

3. Keep sessions short and positive. It's better to do several short sessions of 10-15 minutes say morning and evening than one hour long session.  Many other respected trainers have said this as well. 

4. Use the least amount of pressure possible. For example, when walking your horse if they lose their focus on you, bring it back by irritating them with the halter and lead - no jerking, pulling or screaming.  

5. The horse must go where you want at the speed you want. The horse must do as you ask. This sounds extremist, at least I thought so, but when applied more insistently rather than increasingly aggressively, it does yield the desired result. I've had better results with this philosophy than the more demanding approach. 

Basically, that is Davies' training methodology.  I liked it immediately, in spite of the negative aspects of his delivery and opinion.  The meat of what he's saying is valid but you have to be diligent and learned enough in training to know when he's right and when he's just being critical. If a beginner picked up his book they might have a hard time actually applying his teachings. It's not a complete package by any means. Watching his videos is much more helpful as he can explain and show better what he's talking about.  

For example, he says that you should rub your horse's head as a means to calm them and reward them.  Watching the video I saw that he rubbed the horse's head for quite a bit longer than I imagined, and much longer than I did it for. That's important because there is no mention in his book about how long to do this.  


So, if you're the least bit curious give this man a chance.  I probably wouldn't buy the book, but he has a subscription video service that I would seriously consider and I get his free blog posts emailed to me.  It's FREE.  No obligation!  If you don't like what he has to say, unsubscribe. He doesn't overly market himself either, which is refreshing. Just keep in mind that he is what he is: a simple horse trainer with a simple, unpolished way of going about it and a deep suspicion of anything hyped up.  We could use more of that in the horse training world!

Tomorrow: Applying Davies' method