Alternative Horsemanship™ with Samantha Harvey the Remote Horse Coach shares horse training and horseback rider coaching, philosophies, and approaches she has developed over three decades. Offering horsemanship clinics worldwide, distance horse coaching instruction, equine consultations, equine re-education and rehabilitation, colt starting, and lessons. Follow her #alternativehorsemanship on all social media platforms.
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Showing posts with label horse training Samantha Harvey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label horse training Samantha Harvey. Show all posts
Client feedback... Success over time
Over the past few days I've heard "feedback" from clients both in the States and abroad. If you've ever read anything from my blog, website or posts on FB, you'll quickly realize I do not offer the "quick fix" or "easy answers" in my approaches to helping horses feel better about life. It is slow, intentional communication, and often it requires a rebuilding of the foundation of the partnership, in order for the rides to be successful.
I always say I try to teach and offer "tools" in how we communicate with our horses so that clients don't "need me", but rather they can assess, think through, and then help their horse through scenarios in order to have a positive, confidence building outcome for both the horse and rider.
I LOVE hearing stories of success; not because "my way" works, it isn't about me or the ways I've found work, it is about owners/riders being open minded enough to put their own egos aside, and to BELIEVE their horses when they are troubled, when they ask for help. Time and again, those who support their horses through uncomfortable moments, rather than challenge them through them, see amazing, long lasting changes.
So "Good on you," as I say, to those folks dedicated to being open to having an honest conversation with their horse, patient enough to respect what the horse is saying, and kind enough to search within themselves to how best to help their horse.
That is how we reach those almost perfect moments of being completing in sync with our equine partners, and it makes it all worth it. Happy riding!
I always say I try to teach and offer "tools" in how we communicate with our horses so that clients don't "need me", but rather they can assess, think through, and then help their horse through scenarios in order to have a positive, confidence building outcome for both the horse and rider.
I LOVE hearing stories of success; not because "my way" works, it isn't about me or the ways I've found work, it is about owners/riders being open minded enough to put their own egos aside, and to BELIEVE their horses when they are troubled, when they ask for help. Time and again, those who support their horses through uncomfortable moments, rather than challenge them through them, see amazing, long lasting changes.
So "Good on you," as I say, to those folks dedicated to being open to having an honest conversation with their horse, patient enough to respect what the horse is saying, and kind enough to search within themselves to how best to help their horse.
That is how we reach those almost perfect moments of being completing in sync with our equine partners, and it makes it all worth it. Happy riding!
Sending your horse to the Horse Trainer: Things to consider
The idea for this blog has been in the back of my
mind for a while, but the other day as I was about to cross-post a different
blog on a blog directory, three titles of articles written by other folks caught
my eye. Each of their blogs was
mocking/sarcastic comments about horse trainers and their cliché attitudes
towards clients. Sadly, there was a lot of truth in what was being written.
Pain in horses- an unaddressed common denominator
Pain in horses- an unaddressed common denominator
Let me preface this blog by saying I am NOT any of the following: veterinarian, equine nutritionist, equine dentist, farrier, equine chiropractor, equine naturopath or any other medical-related equine professional.
What I am is an equine professional who sees/handles hundreds of horses a year of varying ages and breeds, with differing degrees of training and exposure/experience in both competitive and pleasure disciplines.
Unwanted scenarios- opportunities for improving your partnership!
Many times when folks are working with horses, they’d like
it to be a relaxing, enjoyable experience.
Yet often horses and humans need to build a quality partnership in order
to achieve a rewarding ride for the both of them. What most riders forget is that no matter how
“trained” a horse is, they are still looking to their rider for guidance,
confidence and boundaries. They are a
herd animal and they are deciding if they or their rider is the “leader” of
their herd.
The horse will question the pecking order of the herd the
rider and he create, but it may not seem apparent on calm, ideal days. When circumstances beyond our control arise,
and stress levels increase, typically only then do we as riders start to realize
that perhaps the quality of the partnership we share with our horse is not as “ideal”
as we would like to think.
As I’ve mentioned in past blogs, if you give most riders the
option, they will do everything they can to avoid a confrontation or
uncomfortable scenario with their horse.
Horses often realize this and have mastered becoming fantastic “people
trainers” as I say- teaching the human how to work around them in order to
avoid any conflict. The ideal for me is that
the horse asks “What would you like?,” and learns to work around the human.
The idea to write this blog came up as I went to work a
horse this morning. I spend my winters in
the desert, where one would think life is a lot more boring than my summers
spent in the inland northwest, but actually that is not the case. Down here near North America’s largest sand
dunes we have wind, (it took ten years before it occurred to me that ALL of that
wind was what built the sand dunes), and when I say wind I mean sand-blasting,
scary-discarded-trash blowing, tarps constantly flapping,
scary-animal-dashing-from-citrus groves, horse-tails standing
straight-out-to-the-side kind of wind.
I’ve experienced wind in other notorious places such as
Texas and Wyoming- and of course the ever present wind in Patagonia, but
somehow the wind here in the Arizona desert has extra elements of “scariness”
in terms of horses. Add in the fact that
this is the produce capital of world during the winter, so heavy duty farm equipment
randomly appears at various times. There’s
also a marine base and I’m near the flight approach/take off path; military
personal from all over the world come here to “practice” and so it is very
common to have a “Top Gun” show as a daily occurrence. Nothing like getting on a colt for the first
time with the horse’s body literally vibrating from the sound of six F18s
flying low and overhead.
Then of course there’s the sheep. The town here is a mixture of new and old,
traditional and modern. Often after
several cuttings of alfalfa hay have been raised, herds of sheep are escorted
down the main roads (herded by a few men with flags, a couple of dogs, a ram
and a goat,) and will randomly appear in an old hay field with three strands of
temporary hotwire fence strung up. A few
days later they’ll be moved on to another field. That’ll get every horse in the barn to stand
at full attention and often they display physical feats of aerial acrobatics as
if trying out for the Spanish Riding School
In this desert, there are no mountains in sight. Any activity happening can often been seen
and or heard from miles away; to the A.D.D. horse you can imagine how
distracting that might be.
Anyhow one of our wind storms began brewing last night and
by this morning the sky was thick with sand and debris, the trees were bent
over and the air was heavy with the horses concern. Most people avoid heading out to work with a
horse on a day like today, but for me, I see it as an opportunity. Just as when I look to buy a horse I want to
see the “worst” side of the horse rather than the sales pitch, when I’m working
with a horse, I’m looking for opportunities to create a solid citizen. I’m not striving for the “perfect” ride, but
rather to be there to help and support him experience a naturally scary
scenario and perhaps influence a change in his brain and emotions as to how he
perceives the chaos around him so that he learns to react in a physical
respectful, calm and safe manner.
Because the horse is a prey animal, the natural instinct
when unsure is to run. But my job is to
teach the unnatural response of, “Stop, think, and ask what the rider wants,”
then offer a physical movement. This not
only decreases the chances of a dramatic reaction from the horse, but also
builds confidence in him and the fear switches to a curiosity as to what is
happening around him. Changing from the
instinctual fleeing to curious mode literally allows more “time” for
communication between rider and horse, a mental participation from the horse which
in turn creates a physical softness.
This builds his confidence emotionally and mentally when a situation isn’t
ideal.
So rather than “challenging” the horse to be obedient on a
scary day, I would rather break down the “scariness” of it all- starting on the
ground. Rather than trying to avoid what
may be bothersome, I will break things down and ask the horse to only mentally
consider one or two things, and then offer ways for him to find softness in his
body, brains and emotions, so that he can figure out how he really feels about
something. The more he learns how to
think while I’m on the ground working with him, the more this increases his
confidence while I’m in the saddle.
The other part of avoiding the less than ideal circumstances
is that people are taught that things cannot get “ugly”- by this I mean many
people have the goal be striving for the ideal ride. But often the ground work during less than
ideal scenarios, such as when a horse mentally and emotionally is falling apart
needs to be addressed so that the horse can learn how to let go of feelings of
concern, worry and fear. If he is taught
to “stuff” those emotions, they will continue to build inside of him, even if
on the outside he is appearing as being obedient. It will only be a matter of time before all
of those pent up emotions come out physically dramatic.
I on the other hand I would like an honest “response” from
the horse for whatever he feels. That
being said, there are spatial and behavioral boundaries that need to be established
before the scary day along with effective communication aids, so that when the
horse becomes brainless and reactive, the person has a way to help the horse
work through the stress, rather than reprimanded him for not behaving. As I say, embrace the tantrum, but don’t
leave him in it. Help the horse “get” to
the other side. Remember the physically
dramatic behavior is a reflection of the horse’s brain and emotions. Change how he feels on the inside, the
behavior on the outside will decrease in dramatic, dangerous reactivity.
Every time a horse starts to get bothered and a person
critiques him or instead uses it as an opportunity to build his confidence can
detract or contribute to the quality of long term partnership and physical
behavior of the horse. Unwanted
behaviors/insecurities/worries/fears do not randomly disappear. Attempting to “desensitize” the horse through
repetitious behavior may temporarily work for that scary tarp, but it is only
teaching the horse to tolerate the scary tarp, rather than changing how he
feels about it. The day you move the
tarp, it’ll feel like you’ll have to start all over again. Instead, change how he feels about the tarp,
then it will not matter where the tarp is.
So the next time you have an opportunity in a less-than-ideal
circumstance, of course prioritizing your safety first, perhaps experiment with
approaching your horse’s concern with being a supportive influence, rather than
a critical one or just avoiding the situation all together.
Good Luck,
Sam
Spring is here, now what?
Here in the Pacific Northwest many horse owners are lucky
enough to keep their horses at home and have the opportunity to “just ride”
whenever they would like; though the ease of accessibility is awesome, it can
often become an “isolated” experience without other equine enthusiasts to share
ideas, thoughts or experiences with.
For horse folks that are not competition motivated, or are not
focused on basic education with a young horse, I find that sometimes those who
ride for pleasure experience a “gray area” in regards to the direction they are
taking with their equine partner.
A person’s lack of direction can create patternized routines
and rides, which is when a horse learns what to expect with each human interaction.
This can lead to resistance from the
horse the day the person decides to “suddenly” change the routine. The routine can also lead to boredom for
horse and human; how many times would you be interested in doing something over
and over again? Without intention and
clarity in a person, it is difficult to create a quality partnership with their
horse. A person’s lack of mental
presence also conveys to the horse that he is “own his own” as far as
leadership goes. This can lead to
problems and unwanted behaviors in the future.
At the other end of the spectrum sometimes “overly” participating
in large group gatherings can be overwhelming for a rider and their equine
mount. In trying to expand their equine
associated acquaintances sometimes busy social activities may not be
appropriate depending on a horse and rider’s experience and abilities.
So what can you do?
Here are a few ideas…
1.) Every two
weeks “add” one small new concept, idea or thought to YOUR knowledge base
regarding anything equine related. This
can be read, watched, and/or heard. You
don’t have to “totally get it, understand it or want to use it.” But it will be something new for YOU to think
about. It can take a long time of
“mulling something over” before you can have an opinion about it.
In this day and age media allows us the opportunity to see,
hear and read things we would never have had access to in the past. Take advantage of it. It could be as simple as watching random amateur
horse videos on YouTube, auditing a local competition or volunteering at a
horse related gathering.
2.) Take a
lesson (whether focusing on ground work or riding,) or better yet if you can, first
audit a lesson with a QUALITY instructor.
Remember just because someone can ride well, does not mean they can
teach well; take your time in finding a suitable instructor.
Lessons sometimes have the stigma among pleasure riders that
they are only needed if the person/horse is “having a problem.” Instead they should be thought of as a great
opportunity to get an equine professional’s assessment. The instructor may offer appropriate and
specific ideas and suggestions for future improvement in you and your horse.
To get the “most” for your money, find someone to video you (have
them practice filming moving horses ahead of time. The video should be recorded in close
proximity to the instructor so that when you watch the video later you can hear
what the teacher is saying in relation to how you see yourself riding. Being able to review the video multiple times
may help you better recognize problems, and continue to improve upon them in
the future.
3.) Find a
riding buddy. I don’t mean someone you
will brainlessly gossip with when you ride out on the trail, but rather someone
with similar horse related interests, approaches and goals who you will
ENJOY spending time with.
I cannot begin to tell you how many times when a client is
explaining a past scary or dangerous riding incident, in hindsight folks
realized that the manner in which they “handled” (or didn’t) the unexpected
scenario was partially or completely based on feeling “pressured” from direction
and instruction by good intentioned but not experienced enough fellow riders.
Find a pal to who shares your equine related approach,
enthusiasm and goals to help you both stay motivated and safe. There are always notice boards at the local
feed store, Co-Op and online are plenty of websites (horse and non horse
related) where people can search for others with similar interests.
It might take a little time and effort, you may have some
“misses” in searching for potential riding partners, but eventually you’ll find
at least one person who will share your enthusiasm.
4.) Sometimes
especially with younger horses and older riders, owners tend to send their
horse away for a spring tune-up, which can definitely be helpful. BUT I also try and explain to folks that if
you are not on the same page in understanding how your horse is being worked
and how the trainer uses their aids to communicate, even if the horse returns
home “tuned up,” you as the owner often are not.
Sadly every year owners invest a lot of money into their
horse’s training thinking they will have a “finished product,” not realizing
that they too must learn what their horse is learning. Otherwise within a few days often there is
miscommunication, frustration and deterioration in the relationship between
human and horse.
Hopefully these ideas can offer you realistic, attainable
and affordable options to help jump start to your riding season and improve the
partnership between you and your horse over the long term.
Have fun,
Sam
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