Because the "Champions of Animal Training in the Circus" who the anonymous individual insinuated that we should be grateful for have, I assumed been very busy pointing fingers and getting their facts straight I have never mentioned little gems which I have noted for many years like Wikepedia definitions. There are so many things like this that most are not aware of as they are busy telling each other what they want to hear. There was a mad dash for the door, to be the first one to "set them straight" because they had the nerve to say Clyde Beatty was a wild animal trapper like Frank Buck. But that's all right keep crawling around in the 1930's as a standard of excellence. That should help todays issues disappear like magic.
A circus horse trainer, it was pointed out recently referred to spurs as "hooks." What a poor misstatement. I have never seen a horse "hooked" with spurs. I compare a hook to spurs often as a mean to help people understand the purpose of a hook. They both apply pressure to illicit a certain movement or direction. When a hook it put under an elephants chin, contrary to what most think, you are not "pulling" him to you, He is moving away from the pressure and coming in your direction. Just like a snaffle bit. You are not pulling him, he is moving away from the pressure on the oppose bar of his mouth. How many "experts" don't know that would stun you.
Google in riding spurs and see how many pages you get. Google in Elephant hook, or Ankus and see how many pages you get. Yet it is a tool used for hundreds of years and still used today, yet it is a mysterious object.
Here is Wikepedias definition of spurs: A spur is a metal tool designed to be worn in pairs on the heels of riding boots for the purpose of directing a horse to move forward or laterally while riding. It is usually used to refine the riding aids (commands) and to back up the natural aids (the leg, seat, hands and voice). The spur is used in every equestrian discipline. There are rules in most equestrian organizations about spur design, use and penalties for using spurs in any manner that constitutes animal abuse. "Note the word "rules" in this statement. That's the same thing the Circus has for the use of spurs, hooks, whips, and sticks. Right? That's a "standard" that we seem fearful to address. Zoo's have, rodeo has, equine clubs have, yet it is a fearful subject for the circus. Making a patsy statement like some organizations have done in Europe, "here what we suggest", or here's how our members promise to do it" is not a damn standard.
Here is Wikepedia definition of an Ankus/elephant hook: The ankus or ankusha (sometimes called bullhook, elephant hook, or elephant goad) is a tool used in the handling and training of elephants. It consists of a hook (usually bronze or steel) which is attached to a two- or three-foot handle. The hook is inserted into the elephant's sensitive skin, either slightly or more deeply, to cause pain and induce the elephant to behave in a certain manner.
With respect to ERD's, I think if we just referred to spurs and elephant hooks as EDD"S(Equine/Elephant Directional Devices).
Thursday, August 7, 2008
If something is shrouded in mystery, you will never get people to understand it.
Posted by
Wade G. Burck
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17 comments:
Anything you mentioned can be used minimally or excessively, and we've all seen both. Anyone, who has been around for more than a day, who says otherwise is a liar. In some instances they are more effective when used minimally if they have previously been used in a heavy handed manner. The lightweight golf club ankus used in presentation is not the ankus used in the barn.
Ian
That last Wikepedia explanation of an ankus seems right on the money.
You certainly can't expect the ordinary person to know anything about the bullhook or how it is used. Its not a common household object. In the same vain, if they don't understand how it is used, they should not curse it.
Like most things in life, the bullhook can be used correctly and otherwise.
There is one on ebay for sale right now. Dion
Dion,
That Wikepedia explanation is not even close. That is not what a bull hook/ankus is for. It's use is exactly like the use of a spur. And neither are for inflicting pain. I posted the two explanations to illustrate that there are things out there like that, and we are more worried about whether Clyde Beatty is referred to as a big game hunter. Also to illustrate that like anything else in the "hands/feet of the wrong person they can be misused. Some industry's accepting that sad fact, for the future of their industry's have set a standard/rules, and are not concerned with protecting pal's as much as protecting the future.
Wade
Dion -Wikipedia is so frequently proven wrong, and has been discredited on so many occasions, that thinking people would not use it as a source of definitions.
The entry on the ankus [or hook, as we call it in Australia]displays a depressing ignorance of the true purpose of this eesential instrument.
Wade - we've discussed the need for industry Standards many times before.
In Australia we have found them to be essential for some of our own people to lift their own game and for some of our opponents to start to understand just what we do and why we do it.
It is unrealistic to expect every animal act owner to improve or every animal rightist to want to understand us.
But, until someone gets the ball rolling and a number of your act owners band together to set out the basics, you will have no clearly definable justification for what you do.
Harking back to the past all the time is just bullshit from the circus people and bullshit from the ARs.
We should always be aware of our past and even proud of some of it. But the need for action is here and now and should not be obscured by what used to be.
I'm not over there so I don't really know how it works with you guys. But over here, it started with just a couple of us. We formed the Circus Federation of Australia, we engaged a vet with some exotic animal experience to draft a set of Standards for us and we went on from there. Some more act owners joined us as we went along and some never joined us. But, because we started to talk with a more unified voice and because we had a professional document to adhere to and to quote from, we started to gain some respectability. Standards of animal care and keeping definitely improved big time but there are still no real trainers here. However, the ones who do play around in the ring with cats [for example]don't do anything that anyone could take offence at. There are no elephant acts left in Australia now but that has as much to do with our lack of ability to import new animals as it has to do with our lack of trainers.
So - who's going to get the ball rolling over there?
Of course Wikepedia isn't always right. That would be like me saying I'm always right.
However, in this case, I stick by my assesment. If the bull hook isn't to get the animals attention in a big way, why not use a simple cane?
DION
Steve,
I believe there are untold thousands, we have some here on the blog, who spent a short time long ago on a circus, which was "notorious" for their animal husbandry/handling. Because we did not historically police the industry, and shrugged our shoulders at how some operated, because they were our friend, or family, many of those individuals who left after a short time, assumed what they had seen/witnessed was the norm. After all the "he's my pal stories" had spun them into a revered legend. Look at the animosity if somebody points out something suspect. The adage "bitting the hand that feeds you" or "disgruntled employee" are only excuses to avoid the facts. Even today a "travesty" will be patched with, "well they sure took care of the equipment" as a means to inflate a friends qualifications, or "he was sure a good welder," or she was cute and charming," all the while dancing around what had been done to the animals.
There are a number of "fan" organizations in the world. Possibly one of them, who are experts sent in the definition of what a hook is. I suspect an individual such as this. As self appointed expert. If it had been a radical I suggest they were rather kind in their description.
Wade
Dion,
As spurs are not a means to get an animals attention in a "big" way, neither is a hook. It is to place a pressure point on a certain part of the body, lifting the ribs, pushing the ribs, moving the hip, moving the shoulder, etc. etc. Contrary to misconceptions that the circus elephant industry has propagated and the unsuspecting public has accepted, the smaller the hook the less severe. But I suspect the one's saying that knew as little about the pistons and camshaft as the ones listening.
The smaller the pressure point the more intense the pressure. A 12 point spanish roweled spur is less intense then an single shaft dressage spur. Because the 12 spanish rowel is "big and very visual" it is assumed it is harsh.
Try this. When I was taught "pressure and the use of spurs" I was told to take my hand and 4 fingers and push them and rock them on my ribs like a roweled Spanish spur. Now take one finger and push and rock it against you ribs. Now take an unsharpened pencil and do the same thing. Now take a stick pin, and do the same thing.
Dressage spurs are not cruel and neither are 12 point Spanish rowels. Some dressage spurs have a rowel on the end, as the horse ridden is "hyper sensitive" to a standard centralized pressure, and reacts wrong.
Many using a hook have no idea what it is for, all they know is that somebody told them, or they watched somebody do it a certain way. Worse is they bought it, and own it. And there are some who do it right, and have know idea why it is working, and then there are some who do it right and also understand why it is working.
Wade
Steve,
The success of the Elephant Managers Association, is there were very few "owners" involved in it. When it was first formed many "elephant trainers" didn't agree with them, but joined because it then perceived them as "valid". Any standard set by "owners" will be suspect from the conception. The Veterinarian you mention, I assume was one of the best exotic Veterinarians in Australia? A board of directors who set the standard of equine industries are elected individuals who take all suggestions into advisement and then set a standard. Pad your nest, and you are unelected. I am not chiding ERD's or the organization. I am applauding it. As there were/are no Joe's Alligator Farms or the Sunset Animal Park in the setting of their standards we can only assume every decision made and standard set was for the benefit of the animal with no consideration to the bottom line, or who could afford big new facilities.
Wade
My opinion of AR people has changes over the years. I often think that it would be like aliens whose only experience with child rearing has been through news stories of horrific abuse. Then, it is natural that your opinion would be child rearing=equals abuse. We'd like to think that we are intellectual enough to believe that we won't fall for the "all Mexicans steal" mentality, but everyone has there own prejeduces based on things we have read or heard.
My opinions are based on the 20 years I drifted in and out of the business. Frankly, my digruntled attitude comes from a feeling of betrayal. Before I began working in circuses at 17, I was an absolute fanatic and read probably every English language book on the circus, especially animals. Nothing I read prepared me for the reality.
Now, admittedly my last season was in 1996, so I don't know how things have changed. But, I will say that every thing that the business claims is exactly the same as they have always claimed. So, why should I believe it now? From the infrequent 'exposes' that pop up, it doesn't seem to have changed a whole hell of a lot.
If the ankus is merely a guiding tool as it has always been claimed, that certainly has not been my experience. Of course, I've seen it used as such, but I have also seen the consequence of it's sever use. Why should I believe that it is now used as a guide, when that very recent clip from ADI shows the opposite?
I would love, more than anything to believe that a new day has come, but the line between BS and truth is so blurred, that I don't think I can.
Ian
Ian,
For the last time, I am an individual and what I stated in regards to hooks/spurs is "my practice/protocol, and the practice/protocol" of people I admire. I do not give a damn if they are the most unpopular person in the world, as I do not give a damn if they have a cute ass or charming smile. It is based on qualifications, expertise, and unbelievable results in the gentlest(this is not a pocket full of treats) most demanding(this is not abusing) way. And a friendly demeanor or a psyco demeanor will not give you qualification, expertise, or unbelievable result.
Wade
Wade, I absolutely understand the "about individuals" issue. I also faced that in my small way. The last liberty act I took over was in terrible shape after being out in a pasture for 6 months with very minimal care - rain rot, overgrown hooves, poor nutrition and not to mention that the horses had been sold back and forth several times. I wanted to send you some before and after pictures of when I had them, but Staples charges 6.95 each for scanning.
I made myself a promise that every thing I did with them would be as ethical as it could possibly be, and I'm happy to say that I returned them to the owner in great shape and working 10 times better than they did when I got them. I have also put together more than a dozen other acts from scratch (dogs, ponies, goats, horses and donkeys)and my training style devloped to the stage of being able to achieve better results than I did in my early days, with no aversive methods. It used to friggin kill me to hear how cruel animal training is.
I'm not trying to elevate my experience to that of trainers like yourself, because it is not, but neither can I discount my own experiences around many of the top names in the business of those days.
But, since the circus relys on public perception, and the public perception is of the circus as an industry and not individuals, how do you propose to present individuals as individuals and not a monolithic industry to the public? Would the end of the cirling the wagons around the offenders do the trick?
Ian
Ian,
It all go backs to a standard. What is a trick/behavior? And what is training? How do you evaluate your work or mine, with no standard. Is a tiger trick/behavior a kiss 0 death or a roll over. 6 tigers sitting up on the ground, or one sitting up on its seat. Is a horse trick/behavior a cut back or a hind leg walk, or a piaffe. Elephant trick/behavior with one elephant or 8. Because you can hug and kiss, one are the other 7 going to be as eager to do the same thing?
I am sure a lot of what you would suggest are tricks/behaviors I would laugh at. I am sure if I suggested what is a trick/behavior you may disapprove because I would have to encourage with a whip. You have based your skills on no standard except your own or what you perceived as good. I base mine on Baumann, Gebel, Marcan, Semonit,Knie, Krone, Olds Rossi, Herriott etc. Did you get the most out of each animal with the least amount of resistance? Least amount of resistance does not mean feeding them candy because you don't know how to get them to do some thing spectacular. Least amount of resistance is how skilled you are in getting the spectacular.
I disapproved of things like pyramids years ago when I witnessed felines on wildlife tv shows running at breakneck speed, twisting, rolling, ducking, dodging. I thought, "boy have we retarded these guy's, and haven't even started to tap their potential. That's where 3 hind leg walks, circle leap frogs, corbetts came from. I think it is a shame that somebody discovered an elephant could roll a barrel 100 years ago, and we are still training it today. We should have been there, done that and been onto other more spectacular feats. What is my least favorite horse trick/behavior? A lay down and sit up. Easy as pie, and it makes them look foolish, and not magnificent. Least favorite feline trick, the head in the mouth. Again easy as pie, and again it demeans them and does not make them look magnificent. Least favorite elephant trick/behavior? The hootchy coo, shake em up, dance what ever it is called. In essence any thing that does not make them gasp as the animal ability. No laughing at what they did, and no awwwwww. Save that for the puppies and kittens.
Just an animal trainer/appreciators humble opinion.
Wade
Wade, no doubt you would indeed laugh at the efforts of trainers of my clibre, or anyone not of your calibre, but that doesn't answer the question of how you change the public's perception of industry vs individual. Unless that changes, circus trainers can sit home all summer training fabulous behaviours that no one will ever see.
However, I do agree that horse sit-ups look absurd.
Ian
Ian,
You are missing the point. How do we judge caliber with out a standard, yours, mine, or Snuffy Smith? I never meant to insinuate mine was higher then yours. What standard is used?
First step quit referencing something you saw done by an individual as indicative of the circus. Make sure that you are qualified to pass that judgment based on knowledge and not emotion. We judge Joe Montana, Bret Farve, John Elway, etc. against other NFL quarterbacks, not Pop Warner quarterbacks because we like them better, or Micheal Jordan or Tiger Woods, who are all adhered to a standard.
Wade
You two obviously never saw the Lay-Down-Sit-Up Rex Rossi helped me train Groucho the Zebra. It wasn't easy, and I though he looked pretty damn noble sitting up,,,,lol
Casey,
Not for nothing, but if you had Rex Rossi helping you, it wasn't that hard. And Zebras aren't noble standing on all four's.
Wade
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