I frequently hear this question or am asked by students or other equine enthusiasts struggling with having a goal, direction, or unsure of what to focus on during their horse time... the answer is always the same, "Refinement." Irrelevant of if you ride for pleasure or are competitive (or if you only work with your horse from the ground,) every interaction is Opportunity for improving your and the horse's skills.
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Horse Problems- "What should I focus on next with my horse?"
I frequently hear this question or am asked by students or other equine enthusiasts struggling with having a goal, direction, or unsure of what to focus on during their horse time... the answer is always the same, "Refinement." Irrelevant of if you ride for pleasure or are competitive (or if you only work with your horse from the ground,) every interaction is Opportunity for improving your and the horse's skills.
"What should I focus on next with my horse?"
I frequently hear this question or am asked by students or other equine enthusiasts struggling with having a goal, direction, or unsure of what to focus on during their horse time... the answer is always the same, "Refinement." Irrelevant of if you ride for pleasure or are competitive (or if you only work with your horse from the ground,) every interaction is Opportunity for improving your and the horse's skills.
Horse Learning Goals Tips and Insight by Alternative Horsemanship™
Horse Goals and Looking ahead to New Year
A lot of people have a lot going on in their lives, and limited time with the horse. I suggest to students to get a journal (no, you will not be writing pages and pages) to "track" their equine interactions. Writing experiences, thoughts, questions (it doesn't have to be coherent to anyone but you) can often help "organize" some of the chaotic thoughts and questions one may have about their equine interactions.
Horse Tips: How will you help the horse succeed?
Often horse folks have a laser focus on task accomplishment rather than assessing if they have the necessary "pieces" to fairly ask something of the horse.
10 Horse Tips to improve the Equine Partnership
Goal Fixation vs Clear Communication
10 Questions
One of the most overlooked aspects of why people and horses are having issues is because of the lack of human clarity.
Horse Interactions : Human Goals vs Quality Partnerships
Goals vs Quality
It is very easy to fall into a pattern of setting goals and getting fixated on accomplishing them to feel successful with the horse.
In more scenarios than not, the goal is frequently prioritized over assessing if there's quality during the interaction with the horse.
I will often hear people excitedly telling me about how much they have accomplished with the horse.
Then as I watch their equine's behavior and see things like: chomping on the bit
pinned ears
tails swishing
fidgeting or excessive movement
"grumpy" faces
physical tension
rigid nostrils
wide eyes
inability to stand still (mentally and physically)
avoidance at being caught/ led/ tacked/ loaded into the trailer loading or mounted
or if every time the halter is removed the horse goes running off
New Year, New Horse Goals, New Intentions
New Year, New Horse Goals, and New Intentions
Human Intentions influence everything - creating either a positive or negative outcome with the horse.