I worked for several years at the Disneyland Resort at the Circle D Corral. In that time, I saw many changes happen in the horse training program.
The horse industry is rife with traditionalism—that is, people tend to do things simply because that is the way they have been done before. No one is quite sure when such-and-such a practice began, but every single person is dang sure that such-and-such a practice is, without doubt, one-hundred-percent correct. What if such practices do not work well, do not work at all, or produce less than optimal results? Well, most people continue on in their ways, blind to the results because they operate from their own inexact thinking, instead embracing prejudice, bias, and self-interest as Russell indicates.
We happened to be fortunate enough to have what I can only describe as a progressive horse trainer—a young woman who was willing to throw out not only her own personal biases but all those of her predecessors. She was willing to challenge everything that was being done with the horses in order to determine what was and what was not working.
One of the many changes she made was in the use of bits. Drivers use bits to communicate their wishes to the horses—mostly for turning and stopping. Some people argue that bits are control devices, used to force a horse. However, this is arrogant, ineffectual thinking as no five ounce piece of metal can literally force a one-ton horse to do anything.
The trainer discontinued the use of check bits. This was met with no limit of confusion and consternation.
Check bits are a second bit added to a driving bit. The check bit’s mouthpiece is very thin, creating an uncomfortable pressure in the mouth when applied with force. The force is applied through a check rein, that either lays over the horse’s face or alongside the horse’s neck, hooking to the saddle of the harness. The check rein can be tightened or loosened to achieve differing pressures in the horse’s mouth. If the check rein is fit tight, the horse will not want to rest his head (or drop his head) against the uncomfortable pressure of the bit. This, in a way, temporarily does force to the horse to carry his head and neck high. It is believed that his head and neck set produces a particular movement in the horse’s body—particularly in his legs. Theoretically it creates a high-stepping, knee-snapping action.
Check bits, however, are never used in pulling horses—horses that pull a plow, heavy machinery, or a stone boat or sled in competition. This is a matter of mechanics and physics. A horse cannot pull a heavy load if he cannot drop his head and shoulders.
Prior to this new trainer, both check bits and check reins were used. While they were not tightened to the same degree as in hitch horses, they were still used. Most interestingly, not a single person working at the barn could explain why they were being used. It was simply what was done with draft horses (or at the least the draft horses they had been exposed to in Southern California).
At that time, there was also a high incidence of collar sores (a deep, festering sore produced by a poor fitting harness or irregular pressure points caused by the harness) and bit sores.
The trainer was quickly able to determine that check bits, although traditionally used, were not necessary and even harmful to the Disneyland horses, whose job more closely resembles that of a pulling horse and not a hitch horse. There was no need to create the high-stepping action. Furthermore, these horses needed to lean forward to start the street car rolling—an action which had previously been impeded by the use of a tight check.
Once the check bits were discontinued, not only did pulling performance increase, the incidence of collar sores and bit sores decreased to zero. An interesting side effect, there was also a significant reduction in the amount of horse slips and falls—apparently due to the improved physical mechanics of being able to engage in the head, neck, and shoulders in a downward fashion while starting a load.
Even though these improvements were evident, even obvious among a herd of approximately twenty-five draft horses, many of the Cast Member railed, demanding a return to the use of check bits and reins—deeming them necessary. What a perfect example of clinging to personal biases while completely failing to accept the trainer’s exact thinking.
What could possibly be the motivations of such people to reject the discontinuance of checks? It is highly plausible that such individuals felt personally threatened as in the horse industry is it idiomatically accepted that the person with the most know-how is supreme and dictates to others. Proving habituated tradition in this case was nothing more than harmful pointlessness was indeed a harsh blow to not just the egos of the railing Cast Members but to their status among the human group of relatively-termed horse experts. Bertrand Russell was most likely a fan of thinking outside the box.
No comments:
Post a Comment