Reactive Riding - Horse Help & Tips

 Reactive Riding

When people sit down in that saddle their brain tends to focus solely on themselves. Instead, if they treated their horse-like they were "on the same team" and told the horse what the PLAN was ahead of time, the horse would have a better chance of offering the desired response toward the rider. 

Improving Rein Management Skills- Decreasing unwanted Equine Behavior

 

Rein Management Skills

Join Alternative Horsemanship for this live stream discussing many of the common rein-handling issues riders have creating unwanted equine responses.

Saturday, March 9th, 5pm pst
Replays available

Click HERE to join the Locals Community and participate in the semi-monthly livestreams for Subscribers.

Spring Preparations for Upcoming Horse Riding Season

Preparing for the Spring Riding Season

Looking ahead to the upcoming riding season, whether you ride for pleasure or are a competitor, you can strive to offer a supportive partnership towards your horse. I will touch on two concepts that you can start considering, without even having to battle the outdoor winter conditions!

Tips for Improving the Equine Partnership

"Letting Go" to Feel of the Horse

Learning the commonly taught mechanics to work with a horse from the ground or how to ride can be a challenge. It is also what most folks limit their horse education and goals to, with no understanding of the horse or his behaviors.

"Letting go" of one's emotional chaos, hopefulness, unreasonable expectations, and mental distractions before being in proximity to the horse, allows acknowledgment of what the horse is experiencing during the interaction. This then gives the human guidance on what needs to be addressed to help the horse better.

"Letting go" of self-imposed or society's traditionally taught hurried, repetitious, patterns, have-tos or "horse training rules", allows for unexpected Opportunities that can often become trust-building experiences between the human and the horse.
The more we learn to "let go," the more present in the moment and available we are to observe, experiment, and adapt which is then mirrored in the horse's willingness toward our requests.

New Year, New Horse Goals, and New Intentions by Alternative Horsemanship

New Year, New Horse Goals, and New Intentions

Human Intentions influence everything - creating either a positive or negative outcome with the horse.

I often hear people fixate on the long list of all the things they don't want their horse to do, rather than focusing on how they will help their horse accomplish human goals.

Horse Rider Mindset Motivation

Mindset Motivation
I often share this quote as I work to educate folks to be more supportive of the horse.

So much of what dictates the quality and success along the horsemanship journey is based on the openness of the human putting themselves "out there" to be present. 

No critique or judgment towards themself. 

Letting go of comparing oneself with what "others" are doing. 

Horse Skills & Tips : Breath and Tension

 Tips for Resetting your Breathing and Releasing Tension at the Halt

Without realizing it, many riders hold their breath quite frequently when interacting with or riding the horse.

This unintentional simple act creates continuous containment of the horse due to the rigidity the human then carries in their body causing constant chaotic, miscommunication with the horse.

Connecting the Groundwork with Horseback Riding

Connecting Groundwork and Riding

One of the challenges in offering instruction is to communicate clearly with students AND horses. As I overhear, read, or watch many “horse training” sessions/clinics I find that there’s a general lack of “connection” in the student’s ability to understand how the “here and now,” especially in how the quality of their groundwork is, relates to their future ride.

Empathy and Equines

Empathy + Horses = Weakness

There is a constant human imposition upon each other and horses...
Unrealistic ego-based demands without having accountability as to how a person's clarity of thoughts and intention, quality of communication, adaptability in energy, accuracy of timing, and everyday mindless interactions, are constantly "teaching" horses unwanted responses that people then criticize and chastise the equine for.

Horse Rider Tips- Anticipation and Unwanted Equine Behaviors

The urgency of the stories in our head...
So many good-intentioned equine enthusiasts unintentionally get pressured and distracted by the "story" of
*last time...
*that one time...
*what if...
*what others think...
*I hope...

Rider Skills Finessing the Feel Livestream

 Refining Biomechanics Part 2

Finessing the Feel

Discussing limiting contributors that affect the rider’s ability to have sensitivity, awareness, and availability towards the horse's communication. 

Watch the Livestream in the Alternative Horsemanship Locals Community 

Saturday September 23rd 9am pst

Watch Now

Replays Available

PC Cassandra Kendall Art Bonita 

4 Horse Rider Tips with Alternative Horsemaship

 4 Horse Rider Tips

Are you breathing?

When riders focus they tend to hold their breath. Talk. Tell your horse what you are doing (literally, it also helps you keep track.) Sing to him or whistle. Anything!

Breath is the most underrated aspect of interacting with our horse. It affects our softness and specificity, mental clarity, muscles, and the effectiveness of our aids.

Horse Rider Tips

 Tips for Resetting your Breathing and Releasing YOUR Tension at the Halt

Without realizing it, many riders hold their breath quite frequently when interacting with or riding the horse.

Improving your Horse Skills 5 Physical Assessment Opportunities

 TOP 5 Physical Assessment Opportunities

Of yourself, any time you work with your horse, but especially if you feel out of your "comfort zone."

When learning or experimenting with a new way of communicating and interacting with the horse, people can unintentionally develop intensity in their facial expression, tension in their posture, increased energy, and tight movement.

Horse Rider Tips Are You Gripping?

Horse Rider Tips
Are you Gripping?

Many folks think whether in the competition arena or riding for pleasure have misconceptions as to what being balanced in the saddle is. I recently had a slew of questions about this and thought I'd share a brief version of the beginning of finding balance in the saddle.

Horse Rider Tips- Assessment Opportunities

TOP 5 Physical Assessment Opportunities

PC: Cassy Kendall

Of yourself, any time you work with your horse, but especially if you feel out of your "comfort zone."

When learning or experimenting with a new way of communicating and interacting with the horse, people can unintentionally develop intensity in their facial expression, tension in their posture, increased energy, and tight movement.
Without meaning to, as a person is trying to mentally assess, process, and physically coordinate their communication with the horse, they may also be conveying unintentional signals to their horse.
This adds unnecessary confusion when attempting to change old patterns in the interaction.

Horse Problems- TOP 5 Unintentional Interfering Human Behaviors

Horse Problems: Interfering Human Behaviors

As folks are learning with their horse or experimenting with a new way of communicating and interacting, they can unintentionally develop intensity in their facial expression, posture, energy, and movement.

 
Without meaning to, as a person is trying to mentally understand and physically coordinate something new with the horse, the human through their own behaviors may also be conveying unintentional signals to their horse.

 
This can add to the confusion between horses and humans when attempting to change old patterns of how the interaction between them has been.

So here's a checklist for My TOP 5 Physical Assessment of yourself any time you work with your horse, but especially if you feel out of your "comfort zone."

4 Horse Rider Tips to improve Equine Partnership

Alternative Horsemanship with SamanthaHarvey the Remote Horse Coach shares these 4 tips to improve the equine partnership.

Spring Time Safety and Prep Checklist for the Horse Enthusiast

Spring Horse Preparations

Every spring after cold, dark winter folks starts getting excited at the prospect of the upcoming riding season. For most people in the inland northwest, there is a major decrease in the amount of ride/horse time during the winter months. Below are some ideas to help safely get you back in the saddle!