The Power Of Observation
Apr 01, 2024
Happy Easter everyone. I hope you had a beautiful day yesterday. It truly felt like spring here so we headed out to the bay watch the dolphins playing 😍🐬
Spending time watching the wildlife here on the Ardnamurchan Peninsula is one of my favourite things to do. We learn so much through observation.
Yesterday I watched dolphins play in the shallow water of the bay 🐬, a raven and a buzzard have a territorial dispute over the forest 🦅 and two woodpeckers alternatively drum away at a tree in the garden. That's not to mention the long eared bat that seems to have decided 1pm is the best time for hunting over our pond 🦇
Horses, 🐴 like us, are good observational learners, it's a vital survival skill. This can work both for and against us. We can model a desired behaviour (such as stopping and wating) with one horse that knows if well, then it's likely that the others will see this, understand what's required and do the same. Then you just reward that behaviour and you're done!!
Equally though, if a horse sees something undesirable happening with a herd mate, he's likely to avoid the same happening to him.
An excellent reason to make our time with horses as positive, co-operative and horse-centred as possible. Yes there are times when things need to be done urgently, but that's not as often as we sometimes feel. Taking time, removing our agenda and observing how our horse is feeling is a powerful tool in the force-free approach to management.
Have you noticed observational learning in your horses?
Book your free call today to learn more about the Horse Play At Home Learning Hub and check if it's right for you.
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