Showing posts with label horse training Samantha Harvey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label horse training Samantha Harvey. Show all posts

Anticipation in the Human when working with the Horse

One of the greatest challenges humans have is the anticipation of "what will happen" when with their horse. There is a fine line of being aware of your surroundings, and things that are occurring at the moment, but to also not fixate on these and the potential outcome.

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!

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