Now, given that the products from the first scene and the second scene were identical -- from which "scene" sales rep would you purchase or sign a multi-million dollar contract? Methinks the salesman #1 would never be allowed to even park his vehicle within 50 feet of your premises ever again; the very THOUGHT of this guy sends you hair into spiral shoots off your head and your defense adrenalin to begin rushing through your body. But ... the 2nd guy -- well, you really like him. You like the product and you're willing to give it a shot. You end up calling him in 2 days to come on back over to your office and sign a contract.
(OK, I'll wind this up -- I know you don't have alot of time to read this *grin*) ...
See the analogy? Horses are the same EXCEPT they're hard-wired as an animal of prey whose first defense is to run. Run, run, run far away from a forceful, threatening situation. Having a chain over your horse's nose to use for "control" (remember the guy shoving you back into your chair?) and cross tied where he can't move her feet to get away IMMEDIATELY sends him into his defensive mode which is very scarred right now from prior events of which we know little. Having someone slap blankets buckles and blankets all over him while he's tied and chained (pain with a yank for "misbehavior" so she's "learn") til he "settles" puts him through an agonizing few minutes before he realizes he's not going to die. WHY put him through that? Why even begin to think of putting him through that and setting up all his defenses when we're trying to do just the opposite !?!!? We want him to be curious, outgoing, friendly ... he CANNOT do that in the face of blatant aggressiveness and force. That is why I've gone slowly with him, 'introducing' all this stuff to him and letting him learn that he doesn't HAVE to go into his defense mode; that he can THINK his way through as well as he can move away if he's feeling overwhelmed. It takes alot more time and effort to do things this way but I'd much rather have a horse that has learned to THINK rather than to react with hooves, teeth, etc! The more he "thinks" through scary situations the more he'll become "conditioned" to respond with thinking rather than defensive fighting.
