recognition learning

MY experience is - the only training going on IS the language of very very few words. Such as "go". Everything else is boundaries and synchronicity. Yes, there is a 'learning curve' in the beginning. The horse needs to go forward ...... even one step - not to avoid the unpleasant - but to start the conversation. "It's not what you do, but what you do after what you did" The 'response' to the first step IS the 'reward'. While riding that 'looks like' recognition. When the horse takes the first steps in walk - the rider matches, reflects, keeps caught up with each step so that the horse literally recognizes himself (his walk) in the rider. Even the human legs hanging on his sides reflect this synchronicity. To move up to trot - the rider "stops" riding the walk and "says" - "go" and immediately reflects the movement of the trot ........ and so on and so on. It takes no more effort (or cue) to turn a horse than it does to turn your own two feet. I'm not sure when we turned communication (and dance) into such a "subject/object" thing. It isn't even airy-fairy ..... it is very hard work and takes a very long time for the HUMAN to learn this. The horse learning is minimal - the physical gymnastic it quite impressive - hard work. I worked (and learned) hard - so did my horses - but they never did it alone and there never did it on command or to avoid ........ anything "worse".
This is a statement about my experience and not a criticism of yours .......... except maybe ALL the emperor's have new clothes.


 http://horse-charming.com/2015/07/09/the-emperors-new-clothes/