Spring 2014 Hoofprints & Happenings Newsletter

Please enjoy the latest copy of my spring newsletter!

FINAL April Group Conference Call

April 26th 10am-10:45am PST

"Clarifying communication between Humans and Horses"

 Even if you cannot participate for the entire duration, you can still register and enjoy replaying the recorded call at a later time.

 The first week's call, "Raising mental availability in Humans and Horses," and last week's "Humans having Intention," was a great success and I had lots of positive feedback from both sessions. If you missed out, you can still register and hear the recorded versions.

Remember, you must REGISTER in order to participate and/or have access to the calls and/0r the recorded playback of them.

For details and to REGISTER 

Spot available in horse trailer

Private trailer leaving sw AZ in early May heading to n. ID. This is the 11th year I'm doing the semi annual trip. Private layover facilities at either end available. Please email me with pick up/drop off locations for a reasonable quote. Available for equine, mule, donkey, goats, dogs or cats!

Group Conference Call April 19th- Don't miss out!

Reminder: Group Conference Call Saturday April 19th 10-10:45am PST "Humans having intention."

Even if you cannot participate for the entire duration, you can still register and enjoy replaying the recorded call at a later time.

Last week's call, "Raising mental availability in Humans and Horses," was a great success and I had lots of positive feedback.  If you missed out, you can register and hear the recorded version.

Remember, you must REGISTER in order to participate and/or have access to the calls and the recorded playback of them.

For details http://www.learnhorses.com/Conference%20Call/conference_call_to_register.htm

Timing & Energy

A lot of my teaching you'll hear the repetitive theme of using appropriate timing and just enough "energy" to influence a change. A client shared this video at a clinic this weekend and it was a fantastic example ... http://youtu.be/8SEP_GJKlL0

April Group Conference Call Reminder

Group Conference Call REMINDER: bit.ly/1shkPoO Sat Aril 12, 19, 26 10-10:45am. Don't miss out! All calls recorded so even if you can participate you can always replay call at a later date.

April Group Conference Call Series

Please join me for my new group conference call series! 

 

Date & Topic:

Saturday April 12^th 10-10:45am PST         
Mental Availability in both Horses and Humans

 

Saturday April 19^th 10-10:45am PST          
Humans Having Intention

 

Saturday April 26^th10-10:45am PST           
Clarifying communication between Humans and Horses

 

How long is each call? 

Each call will be 45 minutes and each one will be recorded so that if you are unable to participate during the entire call or if you’d like to replay it at a later date you can.

 

How does it work? 

After registering (see below) you will be provided detailed instructions for calling and participating.  It will be a relaxed discussion based on the designated topic followed by Q & A from participants time permitting.

 

Does the call cost anything?

I am charging $5 via PayPal.  The conference call is long distance so call charges are according to your telephone carrier.   

 

How do I register?

Once your payment is made via PayPal you will receive a confirmation number.  Email me the confirmation number from your payment, and I’ll email you the conference call information.  That’s it!

 

Can I register for all three calls at the same time?

Yes, click the PayPal link below and you will can pick your payment option for one, two or all three calls.

 

Reminder notices

I will send out reminder notices to participants the Monday and Friday before each call.

Thank you for your participation.  I look forward to speaking with you soon!

 

For details and registration please visit http://www.learnhorses.com/Conference%20Call/conference_call_to_register.htm

Experiemental Interaction with your horse...

I am the first to admit that I’m quite resistant to most “step by step” methods of training.  I find that although what/how you ask something of your horse may “seem initially clear” with a one, two, three type of instruction, due to the focus of the end goal, it also limits a person’s perspective in seeing what is ACTUALLY happening in what I call “real-time.”  Often the horse doesn’t act/react as shown or explained in the article or TV show, and the person is at a loss as to what to do next with their horse.  If there is a lack of understanding as to the how whats and whys someone is doing something with their horse, it leaves a lot of room for miscommunication.

Spending time with my horse…

 Some of you may recall, I have a horse "Pico" who I unintentionally acquired (don’t we all) as an orphaned three month old colt. I’m not a "pretty horse" or "specific type" of person, but he was scraggly, gangly result of an unintentional breeding, and his tiny QH body was not much to look at. I kept him close to my athletic, graceful thoroughbreds and Warmblood horses hoping that their coordination, height and athletic ability would somehow rub off on him through equine osmosis. It did not!

Pico was on the slow track in his physical maturity to the point that up until he was seven years old I still found myself calling him "my colt." His face didn’t make him look much other than three years old.

After years of finally learning to "just say no" I have managed to dwindle down my herd to just one horse and one pony, and low and behold, Pico is the last I have.

As the old saying goes, "the cobbler’s children have no shoes," sadly (though not to Pico’s dismay) I honestly never put the "time" into my own horse. (For more of his backstory you can visit a previous blog "Confessions of a horse trainer."

But fast forward to present day and this winter is the first time I have consistently been riding Pico. I’m sure 90% of it was mental, but somehow I felt the time had come to put some quality time into my horse. A client who had leased Pico last winter had inquired about him recently and I was surprised at my genuinely enthusiastic response about riding him.

It seemed that though his lack of natural ability would never allow him to be one of the dreamy rides of my equines past, he was fun. Turn on a dime, halt to "sort-of-gallop" speed (I joke he is my "standing horse") in just a few steps.

I can pick oranges from his back and I can navigate him through the obstacle course of baling twine "gates." I can swing a rope off him or ask him to move laterally across poles, I ride him into/onto anything (porch, bridge, trailer, etc.)

Out of the herd of nine horses grazing in the pasture at any given time, I can call his name and he picks up his head, whinnies and comes trotting over. I do haunches in, to a spin to jumping over a log without batting an eye. I find myself finding a bit of the "teenager feel" with him that matches is personality.

A young child can climb up on the wheel well of the trailer and Pico will patiently swing around and sidle up as close as he can and waits patiently as the youngster scrambles aboard. I can tap his leg and he’ll bow quietly or I can sit on him and open my trailer tack room door, lean inside and grab my rope bag and pull out one, build a loop and swing a few times.

As much as he is stiff and naturally awkward thanks to bad conformation and a slight club foot, he makes me smile. His scrawny frame leaves much to be desired when riding bareback and those who are interested in the "swirls theory" would have a heyday inspecting his goofy coat. His mane and tail were why they invented false hair for horses, and his quirky moments make those who meet him smile.

He is the horse I’d ride straight off a cliff, or straight up through chest deep snow when unexpectedly encountering a summer "patch" high up in the Rocky Mountains. I can trail blaze and clear trail on him and jump him over anything I see even though he is not naturally the bravest of creatures.

The horses who arrive for training are most enthusiastically greeting by Pico whose second main goal in life is pretending to be the herd boss. He picks on the Shetland pony (literally dragging him around) when he can, and yet will stand quiet and patient next to an ailing horse. He is happy to be led by a pint size human, always respectful spatially and careful not to knock them over.

This past fall as I made the trek south, I overnighted in Pocatello, ID. I pulled into their fair grounds after dark and as I removed his halter I realized it was the first time he’d ever been in a stall, in his entire life!

He’s the horse you have to make sure the trailer door (on anything, anywhere) is closed; otherwise he’ll load himself up always ready to go, whether alone or with company.

He’ll push cows or round up horses; he’ll pony or be ponied off of towing three or four youngsters behind him.

He still has plenty of areas I could fine tune and improve, and certain things I know he tolerates but would rather not do or partake in.

Mostly at this point, I am realizing that for all of my "talking down" about him, in the end he makes me smile and I find myself truly having fun when I ride him. He is bringing me back to a time I’d experienced long ago when all the horses with human problems didn’t exist, where anything was possible with my horse and "playing" with/on my horse was the norm.

We’ve reached a point in our partnership where I feel free to experiment and he feels free to try, without a defensiveness or worry. I feel and can "hear" the conversation between us during each ride.

He’ll never be great at anything, but he has developed into the horse that I can do anything with. For those who remember the children’s story, "The little train that could," I feel like for me, it should be like, "The little horse that could."

He is a great example of finding pleasure from an "unexpected horse." For all of you who may or may not have experienced a "Pico" in your life, I wish you get the opportunity to do so at some point!

Sam

 

Winter 2013/2014 Hoofprints & Happenings Newseltter

Please enjoy my latest Hoofprints &Happenings Newsletter filled with LOTS of info! http://www.learnhorses.com/newsletter/H%20&H%20Winter%202013_14.pdf

Live Radio Interview

Just got notice to those folks in the north Idaho vicinity! I'll be doing a live radio interview focusing on Alternative Horsemanship with Samantha Harvey. It will be hosted by Gary Lirette on Tuesday Jan 21 at 12pm PST which will be broadcasted on KSPT 1400 AM and KBFI 1450 AM- be sure to tell all of your horse friends and tune in!

People trained by their horse- learning to work around our horses

When I come across individuals who are experiencing difficulty in earning their horse’s respect, both when on the ground and when in the saddle I try to review with a student how they catch, lead, go out the gate, groom, mount, etc. their horse, to search for where the unwanted behavior is beginning. 

Here are some common remarks:

I let him graze while I shut the gate, so that I can shoo off his pasture mate.

I have to tie him at ___________ so that he won’t paw or worry about _____________.

I have to mount him here; otherwise he might try to __________.

I have to hide the halter/bribe with treat, so that he doesn’t run off.

I have to put him in the horse trailer ______________ so that he doesn’t cause a problem.

You get the idea.  In all of these scenarios, the horse through unwanted, dramatic and perhaps dangerous behavior, has “taught” the owner how to avoid a “situation” by pacifying the horse and by limiting the human’s requests or expectations of their horse.

All too often, the horse does not initially “come with” problems; but when trying to be nice to their horse, owners unknowingly are teaching their horse how to take advantage of them.  In the beginning the horse’s behavior may not seem “all that bad” but it can soon evolve to the point where the horse has become unreasonable or difficult to deal with.  And in many situations, people don’t search for help until the horse has caused harm or scared the human.

A lot of horse owners have limited time with their horses and many people are not exposed to multiple horses and so their perspective and understanding is limited.  I on the other hand more often than not am “called in” AFTER worst case scenarios have occurred and see how the inconsistency of owners’ interaction with their horses can create major problems.

I cannot recall how many times over the years as I try to offer students an overview of their behavior (or lack of) and link together the seemingly “separate” incidents their horse has presented, that an owner has commented that they are realizing they are behaving the same towards their dog, children and spouse.

I often use the analogy that if you had a child who asked for something and you replied “No,” but if the child kept persisting until you finally “gave in” and said, “Yes,” you have then taught the child to wear you out with future requests, until you give in to their desires.  The same goes for horses and owners.

A combination of a lack of awareness and understanding, not being equipped with quality “tools” to communicate with their horse, and often due to time constraints, rarely do horse folks follow through with an initial request of their horse.  So just as with a child, the horse quickly learns how to “wear down” their owner, until the horse gets what it wants.

The following are a few of what I have found to be underlying issues contributing to dangerous horses:

The owner’s initial desire to be their horse’s “friend,” rather than leader.  Many cases of trying to be nice, often lead to the human being taken advantage of.

Owners not understanding that they can have a “standard” when they work with their horse, such as the horse being respectful of the human’s personal space, learning to wait patiently, physically responding softly to a human’s communication, etc.

Humans are distracted whether it is from stress of life, work, family, etc. more often than not the person is not mentally present when working with their horse.  And the animal senses it immediately.

A lot of people tend to live in the “gray area” rather than operate in the “black and white-ness” of horses.  A horse is either mentally and emotionally okay or he isn’t.  When he asks for guidance, direction or support, and the human offers a “gray answer” it doesn’t help the horse believe in the human’s leadership, and so the horse takes over in decisions made and with his actions.

Often in dramatic scenarios human try to react passively, this doesn’t help the horse.  And many humans don’t believe a situation can get as dramatic or dangerous as quickly as it does.

People often misinterpret what is typically classified as “bad, stubborn, and resistant” behavior displayed by a horse, when really the animal is asking for help.

So the next time you experience or hear of someone complaining about their horse’s unwanted behavior, take a moment to assess both the person and horse from the beginning of their interaction on any given day.  You’ll probably start to notice certain behavioral patterns in both the person and horse, which can often hold the answers of what needs to be initially addressed in order to get a change in the horse’s behavior.

The moment to address the unwanted behavior is not when the horse is at his peak of emotional and mental stress, but rather when he is still reasonable and has the mental availability to “hear” what the human is offering.

It does take thought, effort and experimentation to learn how to influence changes in our horses which people tend to resist trying.  But if you keep offering the same communication in the same way, your horse is going to keep “answering” with unwanted responses.

Good Luck,

Sam