This is excellent and a must read for anyone who is a student of  Natural Horsemanship.  Dr. James Warson is a retired Neuro-Surgeon and horseman who now uses his knowledge to help horses and riders throughout the country.  He is also the author of The Rider's Pain Free Back, For more very enlightening articles by Dr. James Warson and information on his book visit: thinlineglobal.com/blog/

The sooner the better

In today's horse world, the operative concept is “natural horsemanship” This concept involves a light handed approach to training and being with horses, abandoning some of the older more punitive methods. The idea is one of the  development of a learning relationship over time in which the human tries to understand horse thought processes and uses this understanding to guide the horse into desirable  behavior patterns. This is a monumental task, since a human on a horse's back arouses the instinctive fear that the horse is about to become the entree on a predator's menu. Dedicated clinicians like Dr. Robert Miller have recognized the importance of  imprinting at birth and continuing the association and learning during life. Here's the science of why he's right, and why you don't just turn out a weanling and “get to him” via breaking techniques when he's 4 or 5.

The brain is the most marvelous of all our organs. It not only grows in size during childhood, but also grows in the connections between nerve cells. If you take a child or a very young animal and don't expose them to stimuli over time, their brains average about 20% smaller than those of stimulated animals. With an electroencephalograph, we find that there is about 15% less electrical activity in those smaller unstimulated brains. This is all because stimulation produces responses, and these produce both electrical and anatomical connections. These connections can be seen microscopically as dendrites, finger-like projections from the ends of nerve cells through which they “talk” to other nerves. One of the reasons why learning takes time is that these networks take time to grow physically. The reason why your horse learns to respond quicker the second training session is  that this “highway” construction has begun. Once the brain has developed this plasticity, bad behavior patterns can be remodeled, so long as the stimulus is not so close that it triggers the undesired behavior. Some stimuli can't be overcome. The phrase “pass the buck” comes from cavalry riders who sought mounts in the wild. They would not try a horse with the scars of a previous mountain lion attack, because they were always unrideable. They would pass on that one, or “pass the buck”. We don't inflict this experience on our horses, but some, like sacking out, do nothing but imprint resentment and hostility. Exercise your muscles and you develop strength. Exercise your brain and you develop knowledge.

We ask a lot from a horse's brain. It's about the size of a 6 ounce soup can, but it is a mammalian brain nonetheless. Your horse's brain grows both physically and in complexity when you stimulate it responsibly. Positive contact and reinforcement through acceptable rewards can produce learning and  enlighten both horse and human. Don't underestimate the horse's intellect. Remember – they're smart enough not to bet on humans. Keep riding.   JSW