Inquiry Paper:

How are horse training and the education system related? Are they relatable to each other at all? Many people would probably say no, but horse training and teaching in a class room are similar in a lot more ways than most people realize. Throughout my journey of inquiry I have learned that although people believe that horse training is just pure repletion and requires no effort or cognitive input from the horse, their mentality on the subject could not be any more inaccurate. I have found that in our education system we have different styles of teaching students. This is also true in the equestrian world as well. In class we have learned about the various types of teaching techniques that teachers use. The main two teaching methods being the banking method and the problem posing method (Freire) can be related to different styles of horse training as well. As discussed in class the banking method is solely repetition. There is no critical thinking involved and is really nothing more than the teacher standing in front of the class and spitting out information and then expecting his/her students to regurgitate the same information later on a test. While on the other hand the problem posing method is meant to present a problem or an idea that requires detailed thought and time to help solve the issue at hand. This method was meant to make students think more critically and thoughtfully about different ideas and techniques to handle a certain problem. Based on the knowledge I have obtained in class and my other research, both secondary and primary, I have found that some of the techniques used by trainers can be related back to the education system. I have been able to relate the vaquero and some of the older, more traditional styles of training with the banking method in our education system. This is due to the fact that they both use a sense of continuous

repetition and in a sense almost drilling the information into the pupils minds. The whole idea behind the banking method and the vaquero method is to show the information to the student over and over until it becomes almost like second nature to them and they can just regurgitate the information back. For example, the banking method in regular schools can be seen when a teacher is giving a spelling test or something that requires memorization. You repeat the word and its spelling over and over until the student gets it and is able to repeat the word come test time. This is seen as well in horse training. Take event ridding for example, the horse is given a map of the course by the trainer, the course is repeated over and over until the horse just automatically knows which direction to go after each obstacle, almost to the point where he wouldnt need a rider and could probably still run the course correctly alone. Sometimes this method, although fairly basic, can be some of the most beneficial. I learned in a personal interview that sometimes we need to just go back to basics to make things work in our favor. I just like to stick with the basics, nothing really fancy. Theres no need in making things complicated for the horse and stressing it out. There is nothing wrong with having a routine with your horse; in fact this is the only training style that has worked for Cody and me. (Vickers, Emily. Personal Interview. 25 April 2013). The same idea goes for natural horsemanship as well. Many of the training activities are presented as games but are actually techniques to force the horse to think critically to try and solve the task that has been presented to him/her, but to the horse it seems like nothing more than just playing games with their trainer and getting rewards for having fun. With natural horseman ship you have to have that connection and understanding between the horse and the trainer for it to fully work. Natural horseman ship is not meant to change the horse and make the trainer responsible for its actions and thinking. There is nothing wrong with the way horses are, and

natural horsemanship has been shown to help trainers go to a totally different level with their horse and achieve amazing results. This is due to the fact that it helps the horse and the trainers communicate in a way they can both trust and feel comfortable with each other, breaking down walls that would normally hinder the learning and growth as a team (Parelli). I have been able to relate this natural horsemanship style of training with the problem posing method that Freire discussed. This is evident seeing that both require the source of a problem and the use of critical thinking coming from the student to try to get to a certain outcome. An example to help make this idea a little more clear may be when your teacher gives you a word problem on a math test and you want to make a good grade on the test, you have to really read and think about the problem and explore multiple options in order to get the answer correct and making a good grade on the math test. The same goes for training, a horse may want a treat but there is a ball and many other obstacles in his way. How is he going to handle the situation? Freak out and spook and not get the treat, or think of a way to get around all the obstacles without getting hurt and still getting the treat at the end. Some people may think this is just common sense but most people dont realize that horses are prey animals and spook very easily, making it difficult for them to think straight when foreign things are around them, thus making it a clear sign that critically thinking is most defiantly involved in this type of training. As I learned in one of my other interviews, this style of training can be extremely beneficial to horses in various ways. Natural horsemanship saved Savannahs life without a doubt. After her accident she was scared of absolutely everythingI almost gave up hope until I started this training and now shes literally a completely different horse! She has learned what to be afraid of and what not to not to mention she finally listens to me now when I give her a command. (Bannister, Jennifer. Personal Interview 29 April 2013). Most people would probably agree that the problem posing

method of teaching is most beneficial since it forces you to think critically but I think sometimes people tend to forget that not everyone is the same. This goes for horses as well, more trainers think that using natural horsemanship is stepping into a new generation and that it is better than the old, stuffy traditional way of training but just like people, horses are not all the same. From former knowledge, I know that there are different learning styles such as visual, auditory, and kinesthetic (Farewell, Family Education) and depending on which one a student has, can effect what teaching styles work and do not work for them. With that knowledge it poses the question of whether or not horses and their trainers have to go through a similar situation. This leads me to the other part of my research, which is driving my inquiry, is how each learning style affects each group and what the similarities between the two groups are if there even are any. What motivates a particular horse? Food? Attention? Play time? It could be a number, as well as a combination of all of these things. The same question can be asked about a human child. What is the driving force behind his or her learning and success in school? Surprisingly I have found that humans and horses may not be so different after all. As well as observing different horse training I observed several 6th grade class rooms to try and make a connection between both groups. After a few hours and a few different subjects and teachers it was very clear to me that not all students responded the same or as well to certain teaching styles as others did. For example some kids did exceptionally well in classes where they used the banking method such as music class or when learning new material for a vocabulary or spelling test, while others seemed bored or disgruntled because they either already knew the information or just was not interested in the topic at hand. While on the other hand some of those children exceled when it came time to really put their thinking caps on and explore and think critically about new solutions and ideas to help solve some of their problems. These children seemed to fit

right in in their technical classes and science classes that had material that required more thought and analyzing and problem solving. This was also evident while I was observing the different horses and their trainers. They were kind enough to show me how their horses acted during their normal styles of training and also took them to different levels and showed me how they reacted when they tried to introduce different training styles to them. Some were more accepting and cooperative than others but it was clear that each horse handled the situation differently in their own way. Throughout my entire journey of inquiry I questioned whether or not humans and horses could even be related and put into the same category or if it was just a random stab in the dark, but after my research I have found that it is evident that we are not the only ones who have different ways of learning. Based on this recent finding, it has made me wonder if what we are currently doing in our education system is right. Most of us have grown up in the same education system with the same rules, same teaching styles and same results. I have seen that people put so much time and effort in trying to figure out what works best for their horse and the relationship between the trainer and horse and how to make it better and more successful and it has drawn my attention to the question of why havent we done this with our own education system? There are so many resources and programs to help improve your horses performance, whether it be in showing or just trail ridding, but why do we not have such a variety of resources to improve our students performance in schools? I dont learn the same way you do. I have always had a weird way of learning new things, but its my way and it has always worked for me so why would I dare force my students to learn something a certain way? Ive been in their shoes and it can be miserable trying to learn something in a way that does not make sense. You might as well be trying to fit a round peg in a square hole, it just does not work. Thats why I try

to present the information in as many ways as possible to try and help them understand the material better. (Higginbotham, Amy. Personal interview. 29 April 2013). After having that conversation with my mother and completing my research for this paper it proved that I was able to answer my inquiry questions. Yes it is obvious that different styles of horse training can be related to different methods of teaching and yes there is proof that both horses and humans react differently to each style/technique of teaching. Throughout this experience I was able to answer so initial questions I had concerning education but by digging deeper into the vast subject of education itself it has left me with some other lingering questions pertaining to our own education system we have in America. Until this inquiry paper I had somewhat of a blinder on to other important topics that can and are heavily affecting our education system today that need to be addressed and potentially changed for the betterment of our future education system, children and society.

Works Cited Page:

Bannister, Jennifer. Personal interview. 29 April 2013. Ferwell, Terry. Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic Learners. Family Education. Web. 6 April 2013. Higginbotham, Amy. Personal interview. 29 April 2013. Natural Horsemanship-The Parelli Program. Parelli Natural Horse Training. 2011. Web. 13 March 2013. Sheppard, J.F. Spur Training. Cruz Bay Publishing Inc., 2013. 16 March 2013. Training-Common Sense Horsemanship. Natural Horse Supply. (1999): n. pag. Web. 16 March 2013. Vaquero Silhouette. Kigers De Los Californios. n.d. Web. 20 March 2013. Vickers, Emily. Personal interview. 25 April 2013 Wilson, Jayne D.,Herdy,Amy. Natural Horsemanship. My Horse Daily. Web. 13 March 2013.