Alternative Horsemanship™ the Remote Horse Coach Articles and Advice Blog

Unwanted Horse Behavior: Eliminating the Bracy

Horse Help- Improving your Equine Communication- Eliminating the Brace

Have you ever felt the horse:

Heavy on the lead rope- "dragging" the horse around?

Loading or unloading a horse from the trailer/lorry that you couldn’t “stop” or “move him” to a different place from what he was offering?

The horse would not move out of your personal space when working from the ground?

The horse was resistant to transitions whether being worked from the ground or in the saddle?

The horse is pushing, leaning, heavy, or dragging on the bit/bridle?

When trying to turn in one direction the horse slowly “leaking” the opposite way?

When trying to ride a straight line the horse is constantly “throwing” or “locking up” his shoulder or hip towards the opposite way from which you are traveling?

Picking up the reins and feeling a general “lethargic” response from your horse?

Horse Riding Skills: Indirect vs Direct Rein- More than Mechanics

Rein usage- The Indirect vs Direct Rein Practice

What you'll need:

Chair, desk/table, string ( or something similar such as baling twine, clip-on reins, etc.), strainer/pot with two handles, something slightly heavy- box of rocks, etc.

Attach the "reins" to the handles of the pot or strainer.

Place the box or weighted object in the middle between the pot and where you are sitting- with it resting against the pot.

Sit in the chair with your forearms resting on the table, and hold the reins as you would when you ride with your thumbs up.

The pot is your horse's head. The weighted box is his neck.

Indirect rein:

Starting with your hands parallel to one another, draw the right rein in towards the "middle" (or your left).

Watch the pot's right handle over-rotate to the right and then it will start to move back towards the box.

Imagine if this was the horse; his head would be overturning towards the right and then his neck would be shortening towards his right shoulder. The pressure from his head pushing into his neck would cause a diagonal weight onto his left shoulder, causing him to compensate by moving his right hind leg up under his stomach, and stepping towards his left side to maintain balance.

Horse Training Help- Tying the Equine

In this horse learning episode of the Dear Sam: Horse Help Horsemanship Series, join Alternative Horsemanship™, the Remote Horse Coach, as she delves into the critical topic of teaching the horse to tie. Discover effective techniques that educate horses in a way that builds his confidence and readiness for learning. This episode addresses the shortcomings of traditional training methods that often instill fear and teach the equine to have defensive behaviors. Gain valuable insights to enhance your horsemanship skills and create a more positive training environment.

Unwanted Horse Behavior and Sleep Deprivation

When we say "horse" the initial image in our mind is that of the horse galloping through a field, or some other majestic movement. But there's also the aspect of considering the horse's mental and emotional state, and how that will affect his ability to learn and willingness to participate with humans.

Horse Mirroring Behavior

Sharing a short video of a neighbor's horse mirroring what the client's horse I was working with was experiencing during her session. The more we raise awareness of the horse's mental and emotional state, the more relevant addressing their subtle, reasonable feedback becomes.

The Uncomfortable Topics: Money, Horses, and Future Planning

Looking at the books... The number of established, long-time equine professionals shutting down their businesses is occurring at an alarming rate. Many who are continuing to operate have taken massive income cuts in their attempt to keep prices the same for clients. Many professionals are having to work second jobs to cover horse business expenses.

For anyone who missed February's live events:

Why is my Horse doing that?

Horse Skills: Defining Boundaries without Anger

Please use this LINK to access the videos.

Please note: After a livestream has ended, the original link to it will not work. To view or replay any previous livestream filmed in the current month, you must view them in the Livestream Replay page on The Remote Horse Coach video catalog through the link shared above.

Improving Horse Skills- the Check-In

I often encounter people who are surprised or overwhelmed by their horse's responses. There tends to be a major gap in the human's perception of when/what/how things have occurred rather than an understanding of all the ongoing, continuous equine communication that was ignored, overlooked, or criticized and how the animal's feedback would "tell" the person what behaviors were coming next.

In trying to help people become more aware and considerate of what the horse was experiencing during human interactions, I came up with the idea of the "check-in."

Let me preface this post 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.

Developing the Horse's Confidence

Confidence- just because a horse is going through the motions of "doing things" and is "learning" does not mean that he is gaining confidence and feeling secure from his experiences.

The horse may "quietly" tolerate a situation a few or even many times before he starts to show more obvious signs of stress, insecurity, or fear about what is being presented if he is being coerced to physically comply.

A great example is the famous "wet saddle blankets" theory. Does a horse learn better though numerous physical repetition? If the person is solely focused on the physical movement/tolerance of the horse, without assessing the quality of his mental availability- or willingness- and the softness of his movement, they may not realize that repeating something is actually making things worse for the horse and teaching him to be defensive in the future.

Reading Horse Behavior- What do you see?

Do you assess the horse's behavior after the session?

This horse whose past is not completely clear has experienced enough aggressive training that he is highly defensive toward people. He would appear very "sweet" (as long as you had a treat) and come over and impose to be caught... But once he realized there was no food, he'd leave and avoid all human interaction. If he was troubled on the lead rope, he'd either stop and lock up or bolt off. This is after the second session out in the field. I find a lot of folks want to "see" the immediate warm-and-fuzzy moments with the horse, without seeing the horse learn to work through their anticipation and old coping/default behavioral patterns. This is a good opportunity to practice reading the horse's behavior.

If you're curious about in-depth horse behavior (which is the foundation to every quality equine partnership) please visit The Remote Horse Coach video catalog and click the "Horse Behavior" category at the top of the page.

Pain in Horses- Unwanted Equine Behaviors

Pain - the Unacknowledged Frequent Contributor to Unwanted Equine Behaviors

Many horses and humans live with pain to varying degrees on a daily basis. If you've ever been injured or have ongoing pain, think about the all-consuming feeling and emotional state the pain triggered in you.

Horses don't "just" pin their ears when you saddle, get tight or twitch their skin when you touch them, and move away every time you go to mount. If the horse is showing concern, tension, or defensive, please, BEFORE you focus on the "training" first start with your horse's behavior, and assess it for potential pain or discomfort.

Learning Horse Skills or Tasks Dear Sam: Horse Help

Are you having problems with your horse's behavior? Trying to learn horse skills but getting unwanted equine responses?

Watch this horse learning video in the Dear Sam: Horse Help Horsemanship Series by Alternative Horsemanship™ The Remote Horse Coach that addresses commonly misunderstood and overlooked aspects of learning the horse skills needed to help create long-term changes in the horse's behavior leading to reasonable and safe interactions.

Watch HERE

4 Tips to Improve your Horse Skills

Are you breathing?

When people 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!

Patterns

What's your pattern?

As folks beginning the new year, it is a great time to revisit assessing one's self-awareness to recognize where perhaps unintentional interactions negatively contribute to the horse's behavior and responses.