Alternative Horsemanship™ with Samantha Harvey the Remote Horse Coach Articles and Advice Blog

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What to pay the equine professional: A horse trainer/riding instructor's worth

A topic in recent times is the "cost of equine related lessons"...

Becoming involved with horses is a physical, financial, time consuming, mental and emotional investment.

In terms of buying a horse, there is a common notion that because a person can pay the initial purchase price and maintenance fees, they now will have a rewarding experience.

But what about the investment in the rider's education? Though there may be an emotional connection with a horse, there is nothing natural about people understanding horses or how to communicate with them, never mind knowing how to ride them. This is a crucial part, a fundamental necessity, that is frequently overlooked in a partnership.

Below is my perspective from my personal experiences.

I feel that our society somehow doesn't see monetary value in someone's knowledge/experience/skill set, unless they have gone through the mainstream educational system- i.e. law school, medical school, etc. For those occupations, for a limited number of years of schooling, folks can charge anywhere from several hundred to several thousand dollars- AN HOUR. And no, their services are not typically only for one hour, but often many hours and on going consulting, surgeries and trials, etc. After which, whether you survive the surgery, win the trial, etc. you literally winding up "paying for it" for years or even a lifetime.

But when it comes to a pleasure sport/hobby/interest- because it is for fun- somehow there is less "value" in the instructor's knowledge. I'm sure there's always some crazy abnormal scenarios, but typically, your yoga instructor, martial arts instructor, dance teacher, tennis pro, golf teacher, etc is going to be charging less than several hundred dollars an hour. Even for those jobs or careers, there are often defined courses, educational programs, etc. to justify the cost of instruction.

And then you come to the Equine Industry. I might offend a few folks, but anyone who has real world experience recognizes that for all the University courses offered with equine focused degrees, they aren't worth anything when it comes to getting hired in the horse industry within the USA.

That means as an equine instructor/trainer, your value, your experience, your knowledge, skill set, has to be attained, achieved, continued, through creative, unique, self-driven yearning/desire/hunger for "finding" (literally) other equine professionals to teach you.

This often includes things like being a working student for years (think slave labor), or if you do find a paying job- very labor intensive jobs with very little direct instruction/pay, inconsistent schedules with no room for a social life/family/financial stability, and many other sacrifices all in the name of becoming a better horse person.

I recently had to write a bio on myself, and as I started listing my experiences from the last 25 years, ranging from riding under Grand Prix jumper and Dressage trainers, working under Olympic Gold Medalists while based in Europe, riding at race tracks, working on ranches starting colts, riding horses on sheep farms in South America, clinicing with some of the best horseman from around the world in a variety of disciplines, riding hundreds of horses I've that have been teachers in themselves, plus the thousands of hours I've spent honing my craft as an instructor, trainer, communicator, clinician, lecturer, and published contributor.

So, how do you put a "value" to that? What is my "worth?" In the USA, there is a huge discrepancy depending on location and services offered; I know I can charge double what I charge in remote Idaho if I head to CA or FL or MA.

Putting the value of the knowledge shared and taught aside for a moment, what about covering costs for the liability and property insurance for the facility, the maintenance and upkeep of the "gorgeous setting" folks enjoy their lessons in, or maintenance and care for the lesson horses? What about the hundreds of other tasks that require effort, intention, labor, money and energy that there is no direct "payment" for? What about the time-consuming correspondence via email and phone where folks take up your time, often not leading to future income. Web design/upkeep, blog posts, newsletters, accounting, office work, none of which you get paid for.

So the next time you find out how much a training session or lesson costs with a quality instructor, pause for a moment. Yes, you may be looking to do horses "just for fun." Please keep in mind the professional you are seeking to learn from has probably sacrificed and lived an unforgiving, unrelenting life full of financial stresses and physical labor, to acquire and hone their skills and abilities to share that with their students. It may be difficult for you to relate to, but perhaps think of it as learning opportunity in a condensed version, without all the personal sacrifice.

And by the way, sitting on 1,000 lbs of an emotional, prey animal, being "hopeful" that you will figure it out is not the safest choice. Learning can be a healthy, positive approach that stimulates growth, improvement and solidifies the equine partnership.

Even us professionals do not reach an "end point." Every horse, every student is an opportunity for us to improve what we offer the public.

Spooky and highly reactive horses

End of the week thoughts... Someone was asking about a highly reactive Thoroughbred and how fix his spooking issues, even after he had been at a trainer for two months.

Here is my answer: I agree to rule out potential physical issues first. Then let's change your focus. What if the spook wasn't the issue, but the symptom? What if we started assessing the horse from the moment you arrive, and watch his initial mental and emotional state?

So many horses are starting a session with a defensive, reactive mental state, and often because they are so stressed on the inside, their brain is far away from their body. Rather than acknowledging or putting value to this, often folks try to make the horse physically move more and faster, thinking this will get the horse's focus.

Instead, they're "filling" their horse's cup of what he can handle, until when it is too full, and then "all of a sudden" the horse spooks, explodes, etc. It wasn't all of a sudden.

If you slow down and watch, so often even in the most "boring" scenarios the horses are living in a state of constant mental stress, even if they aren't acting big and dramatic. The little bit of hurry in their walk, the busy-ness with their head when standing still, the constant movement or swinging of their hind end when groomed and tacked, the tension in their jaw, neck and back as the saddle is put on, the inability to stand for mounting, the pulling or heaviness on the lead rope or rein, etc.

None of those seemingly insignificant unwanted behavioral issues are physical resistance.

They each are signals as to the horse's fear, worry, anticipation, etc. When he is bothered on the inside, he'll get physically more dramatic on the outside. And yet, folks are taught to ignore the busy-ness, "oh, they just do that", or reprimand it- lunge, desensitize, etc.

What does this teach the horse? When he is having a problem, or is concerned, he either is ignored, or reprimanded and may even have more pressure forced upon him at the moment of his discomfort. So what happens in the future?

Each time that horse's cup starts filling, does he look to the human for guidance? No. He "handles it" by getting bigger, faster and increasingly frantic, as he reaches a point of being overwhelmed. I see it ALL the time. Doesn't matter the breed, training, background or discipline. People are "taught" to ignore the horse until they can't.

What if you slowed down and addressed the horse's brain first. Help him learn to literally look where he is going (folks are amazed how many horses never literally see what is in front of them due to anticipation), before he moves.

Reassess his understanding, his concept of pressure and how you'll communicate with him from the ground. Can you influence his brain, then movement? Does he mentally check in with you or his brain a half mile away from his body? If he isn't mentally able to hear you, and he's defensive towards how you communicate, his stress will continually increase, and the more overwhelming the world becomes, hence the spooking, bolting, fleeing a lot of horses show.

This isn't about repeating something mindlessly over and over, in fact that does two things, either causes them to mental shut down and check out-seemingly fine- until you change something you ask of them and they "suddenly blow up", or you continue putting them in overwhelming scenarios that blow their mind.

So perhaps, rather than focusing on the obvious- his movement, start to zero in on the subtle nuances your horse is offering in regards to his mental and emotional state, find a trainer who can help address that, teach you how to have a conversation with the horse, believe the horse when he shows initial concern and learn how to support him thinking through all his worry and bother, and physically the horse will offer to soften, relax and decrease his defensive reactivity- without you "making" him doing anything.

This isn't a quick fix. It requires a commitment and mental presence from you, it causes folks to reassess everything they thought they knew about horses. But in the long run you end up with that confident and fun horse and you both enjoy the partnership.

Holiday Season Gifts!

Wishing everyone the start of a happy holiday season- let there be many rides through the snow! Looking for the perfect gift for that horse lover? We offer gift certificates for a variety of scenarios. Please message me for details!

All the right ingredients...

Temps quickly dropped in the Pacific Northwest and summer is over... still enjoying the slightly warmer days now that the smoke has mostly cleared out from a night of rain.

The pictures below summarize some of what I do by NOT following trends, disciplines or otherwise... sidepull, ranch roping saddle, helmet, English saddle on ponied horse, Dressage arena, woods?!?

They are horses first, then focus on a specific discipline. Clear communication first, then refine the specific task asked of the horse.
Someone yesterday asked me to Define what exactly it is that makes it different in what I do compared to everybody else.

I explained it this way:
I'm looking to create mentally available horses, so that they participate in a physically soft and willing manner in all that we may ask of them.
Many horses are taught to go through the motions, are taught conditioned responses through endless repetition, but there is a lack of mental presence or willingness. Whether it is a pleasure horse or competitive horse, if the animal is always mentally checked out, how soft will he be towards your aids, how willing will he be to do things that are asked of him, and how quickly will he constantly be looking for an "escape" option if mentally he wants nothing to do with the human?
It is an ongoing journey to work towards refining ourselves and creating a partnership with the horse.

An analogy I like to use:
Let's say you were going to bake a cake. If you did not have all the correct ingredients and the proper measurements of those ingredients, no matter how many times you put the cake mixture in the oven, it would never baked as it should.

The end product would never come out as you wanted. And if the only thing you did was keep adjusting the temperature at which you were baking a cake, you would keep getting different unwanted outcomes.

But what if instead you went back and checked your ingredients list and realized you had missed something.
Even something that seemed minor such as baking powder, and yet had such a massive effect on the rise of the cake, the texture of the cake, you'd realize how such a small amount of said ingredient would have such a big influence on the final outcome of the cake.

The same goes for our partnership with our horses.

So perhaps the next time you head out to see your horse you might review if you have all the necessary ingredients to create that ideal ride.

Pressure and release… The missing language of a quality partnership

A majority of unwanted horse behavior stems from the animal responding with defensiveness towards any form of pressure. Spatial and physical are the most common types of pressure people use to communicate with horses. If there is a physical resistance and mental distrust towards pressure, this can lead to a wary partnership between horse and human.

The horse presenting himself to be haltered, working at liberty, walking past a scary location or object are all forms of spatial pressure. Tasks such as standing tied, tacking up, being mounted, and rein/seat/leg aids are all examples of physical pressure.

An overlooked factor in creating a quality partnership is the rider recognizing the horse’s efforts by offering a release. Think of the release as an acknowledgement or “thank you” towards the horse for his effort. It is the only encouragement the rider can offer to horse to inspire him to keep trying.

The timing of the release is crucial and can be offered in a multitude of ways. It can be physical, such as decreasing the use of an aid or slowing the pace; a spatial release could be encouraging a horse to “think through” a scenario. A rider lacking sensitivity and awareness, unintentionally creates constant pressure towards their horse.

Mistrust can begin when the horse complies with the initial pressure, and a rider continues to “take” or demand more of the horse. Eventually the constant pressure with no release is too much for the horse, who begins displaying resistant (fussy, busy, defensive) behavior. If the horse’s movement still appears “manageable,” his concerns tend to be ignored, or worse, the rider’s response is to create MORE pressure in an attempt to “make him” do something or to contain his resistance.

What does this vicious cycle teach the horse? That every time he displays he has a problem, he is going to have more pressure applied to him. Eventually the horse has had “enough” and uses his size and muscle to get bigger, stronger or perhaps more intimidating. The obvious unwanted physical behavior is often the symptom, rather than the root cause.

A common practice is to mask the unwanted behavior, with quick and easy “fixes” such as using more severe tack. Adding equipment, working the horse harder and longer, all forms of pressure, lead to increased resistance from the horse.

Instead it should feel like a respectful conversation between the rider and their horse, not a screaming match. The rider should ask something of the horse with minimal energy and effort, through clear and specific communication. The horse can and should respond in a polite and willing manner.

The reality is that many riders feel like they are begging for the horse to acknowledge them. Other folks’ approach is to “make” the horse do something through physical dominance; this fuels the horse’s defensiveness. Then there are riders who learn to work “around” the horse, limiting what they ask of them to avoid potential resistance or conflict.

None of these methods contribute to the horse or rider’s confidence, trust, respect or partnership. So how do we fix it? With young or inexperienced horses, my philosophy is it is easier to prevent something from happening, than trying to fix it after-the-fact.

Horses are born sensitive, alert, aware and curious. But often by the time you see a horse that has been ridden for a few years they have “lost” a lot of those traits. So what happened? Through no ill will or bad intention, rather a lack of quality equine education, many folks have handled their horses in a manner that has unintentionally taught the horse to ignore them, to be fearful of the human, and to feel defensive towards people in general.

How does this happen? Contributors that tend to quickly create mistrust, misunderstanding and concern for the horse can include but are not limited to:

Professionals who prioritize quantity of task-accomplishment with the horse, rather than quality and confidence-building training practices.

Trainers who feel time/financial/ego pressure to produce results and rush colts or inexperienced horses too fast or hard in their initial education, creating a fear of the unknown.

Trainers sending inexperienced horses home to inexperienced riders who “don’t know what they don’t know,” therefore the rider asks things of the horse that are overwhelming or over-face the horse.

A rider’s general lack of correct usage of aids, creating a constant heaviness (all pressure and no release) combined with continual mixed signals and passive communication.

A lack of physical release from the rider contributes to a mental disengagement from the horse. This is what I consider as overly desensitized horses or mentally “shut down.” They aren’t interested in participating, and they are only tolerating the human, leading to continual resistance towards the rider.

So what if you aren’t working a young horse, but an older experienced one, can he “come back” from the mental stress and physical pressures created by people? Absolutely. It does not take long for the horse to recognize the immediate difference in a “conversation” focusing on refining his interpretation of pressure and release, defining clear boundaries and standards as to what behaviors will work and those that don’t. The more the horse realizes his efforts lead to a release, the more curious he becomes about what is being presented.

Horses can be incredibly forgiving animals, and can quickly adapt to positive, clear and specific communication. Re-sensitizing the horse to being soft on the lead rope, leads to a softer response to the rein. Following-the-feel and softening to pressure, should feel like the horse is “melting” towards wherever you first direct his thought, then his body, whether you’re on the ground or in the saddle. The horse should feel like putty, waiting for you to mold him however you’d like. Being a herd animal, he can be very willing to comply and adapt, if the rider is willing to educate themselves and learn how to support the horse through scenarios, rather than solely critique his efforts.

Could you and your benefit from a Remote Coaching Session with Sam? Find out more HERE

Confidence and Communication for the Trail Ride

This time of year equine enthusiasts are excited to take advantage of the good weather and to enjoy the amazing scenery while riding in nature. One of the many emotional draws towards the freedom of riding is to escape the stresses and realities of jobs, family and daily responsibilities... Because of this draw, folks tend to approach riding trails as a time for relaxation, which in turn can cause them to unintentionally offer passive, after-the-fact communication with their horse.

“Passenger” style riding can appear successful during uneventful circumstances. The “wait-and-see” approach also is used in a variety of scenarios when the rider realizes the horse might be concerned with something. Folks quickly realize that their lack of communication and inability to influence their horse’s behavior under stress causes them to feel at the “mercy” of how ever their horse chooses to respond to a situation.

Between inconsistent terrains, unexpected wildlife encounters, herd behavior among multiple horses on a ride, there is a lot for both the human and horse to mentally process. As much effort and energy goes towards logistics in finding new riding trails and planning adventures with friends, the reality is the least amount of time is often spent on what I consider the most important part of the equation- preparing the horse for a quality, “uneventful” ride by building a solid foundation.

Preparing for riding out is not a matter of desensitizing a horse or practicing riding past scary objects multiple times. The old “wet saddle blankets” theory I agree with to a certain degree; if there is quality conversation during those long trail rides, they add to a horse’s education and build his confidence. If instead each ride is making the horse feel more concerned, the increased frequency/length of ride will only add to the horse’s “spookiness” or reactivity.

A horse’s natural defense is to run when unsure, but if he offers this response, there is usually a “fight” with the rider, teaching the horse that every time he feels fear, he gets critiqued. What if instead we taught the horse the unnatural response that when he is unsure, to physically pause, and mentally check in with the rider, and to willingly hear the rider's instructions as to how to handle/navigate the situation?

This approach is not an easy answer, nor a quick fix, and counters the idea that the primary focus of trail riding is social hour for the human. Tolerating mediocre proficiency in the basics such as steering, brakes, and using a gas pedal that often “sticks,” is not polite nor supportive to the horse, and will add to any insecurity he may have. Rather than feeling like we survived an unexpected moment, if we have effective tools to communicate, we can use it to build our horse’s confidence, decreasing the chance of injury and increasing the horse’s curiosity every time something new occurs out on the trail.

The ideal response to an aid is a soft and immediate “try” from the horse. Often a rider’s aid is received as a critical attempt at blocking a horse’s thought or focus, and creates defensiveness in the horse. His mental stress is reflected in excessive physical movement and dramatic behaviors.

While in a safe environment perhaps take a moment and assess the current effectiveness of your aids and communication with your horse. On a “boring” day, what is the willingness in which your horse participates? Does he present himself to be caught (or run away), is there lightness on the lead rope (or dragging- indicators as to how he’ll respond to rein pressure), is he mentally and physically quiet while groomed and tacked up (or wiggly, pawing, fussing, chewing, fidgeting), can he stand when mounted (without being contained by the reins), is there sensitivity (or hypersensitivity) towards the rider’s seat and leg, is there mental willingness to hear the rider’s opinions during a ride, does he try something once and then just quit if asked again?

What if our standard was happy horses don’t exaggerate an obstacle like jumping six feet over the six inch stream, don’t jig when asked to adapt their energy level to the slower horse in the group, don’t paw if left tied unattended for a few moments, are able to stand still quietly, can ride at the front, middle or rear of the group, are willing to leave the group and ride off by themselves, or anything else we might need to ask of them for the sake of practical and safety purposes?

By supplementing trail rides with short, incremental, quality conversations, the horse could begin to recognize how to mentally and physically “stay” with their rider, without feeling contained. Tasks or obstacles can be a tool for teaching a horse to think through a scenario, but presenting one isn’t about the physical accomplishment of the task, rather the quality of the conversation that occurs to complete the task with slow, intentional, relaxed movement. If the horse rushes through the task, even though he may have complied with what was asked of him, it made him defensive, and then task would no longer be a tool. Slowing down the anticipation that caused the rushing, presenting a task in pieces, allowing the horse the time to think, search and try to address the task with quality, builds the confidence he’ll need for the trail.

Sometimes in order to achieve the most quality, we have to slow down and perhaps fill some “holes” in our partnership with the horse. Rather than feeling like riding out translates into chaos and hoping to survive the ride moments, the more specific and intentional we are in what we ask of our horse, the timing of how we ask it, and the sensitivity in how we use our aids to communicate, will influence our horse’s physical behaviors and mental attitude towards us while experiencing the real world.

Could you and your horse benefit from a REMOTE COACHING session with Sam? Click HERE

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