I'm always talking about being an observer of the horse. Often incredible things will unfold before you.
Do you have horse behavior questions? Do you want to improve horse horse skills? Alternative Horsemanship™ with Samantha Harvey the Remote Horse Coach shares her horse training philosophy and coaches horseback riders of all experience levels. Offering horsemanship clinics worldwide along with distance horse coaching, instruction, and consults. Visit her horse video learning catalog offering webinars, courses, classes and more. Find her on all social media platforms #alternativehorsemanship
Sleep Deprivation in Horses
Arrived at a client's house and saw this...
I was very happy to see her mares were napping.
It took some experimenting and changes in herd dynamics for them to reach this point.
How often do you see your horse lie down?
Are they always in the same location?
Sleep at the same time of day?
How long do they sleep?
Over the years I've found a major contributor to many unwanted behavioral "issues" can stem from sleep deprivation in the horse.
Many fearful and anticipative horses cannot find a "safe" time/location to sleep, this can lead to a variety of dramatic and inconsistent behaviors that seem unaffected by training methods.
I believe it is one of the most underassessed, and overlooked aspects of the horse's health and well-being.
I've lost track of how many horses I've seen transition into amazing equine partners once their health issues were addressed.
Fearful and Anxious Horseback Riders
This cartoon is what many horseback riders experience irrelevant of the discipline or years of riding.
Horsemanship: Laser Focus versus Quality Interactions
Too often folks have a laser focus on task accomplishment rather than assessing if they have the necessary "pieces" in order to present a specific scenario to the horse.
Improving your Riding without the Horse
Missing time in the saddle?
I've found 50 gal barrels have helped countless students find their seat bones and center.
This has helped them learn to discover and engage the correct muscles to become balanced and what I call "plugged in" when sitting in the saddle.
Practicing while keeping the feet off the ground allows the barrel to reflect the human's imbalance if it begins to roll.
Recently a student posted this,
"How often do we get to take the time to work on the finer details of our horsemanship? Well when its 36 degrees and blowing snow Samantha Harvey of Alternative Horsemanship Remote Horse Coach says its an "opportunity ". I had an amazing lesson today!"
What other non-horse activities or creative things do you do to help improve your body movement awareness and balance?
Opportunities to Improve your Horsemanship
One common word I teach my students is to call ALL scenarios whether initially appearing to be potentially overwhelming, stressful, or less-than-ideal, as
Opportunities. It may be a "simple" approach, but it is amazing to watch the direct correlation in students who are persistent in practicing changing their vocabulary and the leaps and bounds of progress they make in the journey of horsemanship leading to a rewarding partnership with their horse.
Horsemanship and Equine Partnership
This post comes as a result of several recent comments I’ve heard from horse people as they are getting “amped up” for the upcoming spring riding season. Especially in areas of the country that are affected by nasty, cold winter weather, it seems that winter brings on a lethargic feeling, and so instead of the actual hands-on time with their horses, people tend to try to learn via technology, books, etc.
Horsemanship: Misinterpretation of horse behavior and communication
Frequently I've had posts shared with me about how "cute" something is in a horse, mule, or donkey's behavior. Unfortunately, when folks filter their interpretation of an animal's behavior with human emotions, it clouds their judgment in learning, recognizing, or believing what the animal was experiencing and communicate.
How to create Adaptable and Reasonable horses
How do YOU and YOUR horse respond if:
You go into the pasture/stall with a halter in your hand, but don't immediately catch your horse.
You open the gate/stall door but don't go out it.
When you do go out the gate, you stop and talk to someone, instead of continuing on to wherever the tack up area is.
You tack up "wrong"- place your saddle blanket on the horse's neck or rump instead of the "normal" area, or change the order by bridling before you saddle.
You lead from the horse's right side.
Horsemanship- Tack Fit Challenges
Tack fit... or perhaps I should say Mis-Fit. Probably ranking in the Top 3 challenges faced by riders. It is a major contributor to unwanted experiences in the equine partnership.
Challenges or Difficulties with your horse? Improve your Horsemanship
Alternative Horsemanship with Samantha Harvey Remote Horse Coach Empowered Equine Partnership journey. Learn to understand horse behavior, improve your horsemanship, communicate with horses, decrease your fear, build your horse's trust, improve your skill-set, and more.
Horse Rider Help- Anxious, Fearful, Concerned horseback rider
I receive a variety of inquiries every week from fearful, anxious, concerned, and stressed horseback riders worldwide. I've noticed a consistent theme that is diminishing the quality of their Equine Partnership- Mind-Set Mayhem™.
Horsemanship Webinar Series- Mindful Horsemanship Significance
Reminder- Upcoming 3-part webinar series with
Alternative Horsemanship with Samantha Harvey
and Alternative Horsemanship Remote Horse Coach
What: Mindfulness Horsemanship Significance
When: Saturday, January 9th, 16th & 23rd
Time: 10-11am MST or 5-6pm GMT
Sign Up: Learn more and sign up by clicking this link https://bit.ly/horsewebinarseries
Where: Access via my closed group
Horse Webinars: Alternative Horsemanship Remote Horse Coach
Horsemanship Class: "Reading the Horse" Online Course
*Seven Horses * Seven Days *Seventeen Minute Sessions
Presented by
Alternative Horsemanship with Samantha Harvey: Remote Horse Coach
Who: All horse folks wanting to learn to recognize and read the horse’s body language and behavior in order to learn how to work towards creating a respectful and fulfilling equine partnership.
Why should I take this course? Many horse enthusiasts truly want the best for their horses. As with everything, there can be a steep learning curve, irrelevant of how many years that you have been around horses. Every horse has something new to teach us. As a client of mine once said, “You don’t know what you don’t know.”
Ask yourself the following questions- Do you:
Struggle with the “same” issue(s) with your horse?
Feel overwhelmed by your horse’s behavior?
Want to help your horse become more confident?
Feel like your training has reached a plateau?
Experience your horse resisting your requests?
Feel like your horse ignores your communication?
Have a horse that is a “hard” keeper?
Have a horse that has “issues” with every day handling such as with the farrier, vet, trailer loading, catching, tacking, mounting, riding out, or?
Have a horse that is really great, except for _____?
Find out more and sign up by click HERE
Horsemanship Webinar Series: Self-Awareness Improves our Horsemanship
Improving our Horsemanship: The Human
Working with horses sometimes appears like a magic act. We can get distracted by their big, dramatic, unexpected behaviors, unsure of when, how, or what caused them to begin. This leaves folks unsure of how to influence a different outcome or response in the animal.
Mindful Horsemanship Significance Webinar Series
Mindful Horsemanship Significance Series
What: 3-part Horsemanship Webinar series discussing, addressing, and coaching equine enthusiasts how to make long-term changes in regards to:
- Trigger Thoughts limiting our Horsemanship
- Balance in our Behaviors
- Pro-active Participation
When: Saturdays, January 9th, 16th, and 23rd, 2021
Time:10-11am MST (5-6pm GMT)
Where: Closed Facebook group
FAQs:
What if I can't attend all three LIVE coaching sessions? All sessions will be available for review and replay for one week following the event.
What is the learning format? There will be 45 minutes of instruction, and 15 minutes for group discussion with Q & A opportunities.
How will this help me improve my Horsemanship? Whether you're a novice or have decades of horse experience there are always opportunities to refine your thoughts, awareness, timing, and communication with your horse. This series is designed to help you recognize your limiting patterns and replace them with practical and realistic thoughts and actions.
Click HERE to learn more and sign up
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