Horse Playground

The philosophy behind Horse Playground products:

The whole idea of the playground is to shift our way of thinking about our relationship with our horse from one of a master and a servant to one of mutual respect through leadership. This paradigm shift is happening in all aspects of our society - we see it in the workplace, in parenting and in even in politics. Our favorite definition of leadership is the ability to affect behavior to accomplish a goal.

And while horses are not people, they are social animals that have leaders of their herds. The leaders get to be leaders as long as they are the strongest and bravest horses in the herd. If you can convince your horse that you deserve to be his leader, your influence on that horse’s behavior is limitless.

We found that using the playground sped up the process of gaining our horses’ respect as their leaders. We are not horse professionals, but amateur owners who struggled with getting a new horse to give us the time of day. She was naturally dominant and unlike any horse we had encountered before. In desperation we turned to a “horse whisperer,” a local cowboy trained in natural horsemanship. He did wonders for both her confidence and ours and got us started. But it never seemed to go as well when he wasn’t around. To get past this, we decided to try building some playground equipment. The results were amazing. This bully of a mare became fearful when near a new element, but we rewarded each tiny step she took toward the equipment. The time we spent working with her fear instead of against it built her trust and allowed her to accept us as the leaders. The playground equipment made the difference for us in understanding our horse. Horses and humans are opposites. Their natural keys to survival are different. Humans tend to move in straight lines and horses tend to wander (except perhaps at dinner time). Horses are constantly on the alert for dangers and are naturally skeptical in new situations. In contrast, humans approach life with a general confidence that they will not be eaten. Horses have large eyes that are best at detecting movement, as well as have great hearing and sense of smell. Humans rely on excellent color eyesight in 3-D with much weaker hearing and sense of smell. Horses are much more tuned into the physical world and are constantly reading their surroundings and the body language of those around them. Though humans use nonverbal communication, it is based primarily on facial expressions. The face doesn’t mean as much to horses, they are instead looking at positioning and communicating with energy.

We believe the common ground for horse and human can be found at the playground. The elements help to create a common focus. Because the elements are not always used the same way each time, the horse has to learn to interpret your directions to know what action you want them to take. Do you want your horse step on, jump half-way over, sidestep, back up into or onto or over; at a walk, at a trot, at a canter or lope? Every time you use a piece of equipment in a new way, you are connecting with your horse and increasing your common vocabulary. And a common vocabulary is the cornerstone of a strong bond between human and horse.

Other types of playgrounds

Children’s Playgrounds
Playgrounds for children are ubiquitous and an integral part of how our children learn how to get along with others and develop physical and social skills. Although the first playgrounds only appeared in this country just over 100 years ago, playgrounds are now required by school systems because research has shown that they are more than just exercise for children. Playgrounds give children a chance to solve problems, building their cognitive abilities and confidence. It is also a place for children to learn social skills by interacting with others. The discussions children have about how to use the playground builds understanding between children, creating their own common ground.

Dog Playgrounds (Dog agility)
Dog agility competitions(a course of obstacles for dogs and handlers to navigate) began in 1978 in England and now have over 30,000 dogs as registered competitors in the United States (according to the US Dog Agility Association -www.usdaa.com). . Although the obstacles are relatively easy for anyone to train their dog to complete, to be competitive and have the dog complete the course with no touching or treats while racing against the clock takes a lot of skill and practice. Dog agility handlers often talk about the bond that this work creates for them with their dog. Because the dog is looking to them for direction, the communication they build on the course carries over into every interaction they have with their dog.

Why not playgrounds for horses?