Are You Overwhelming Your Horse?

 

This isn’t about repeating something mindlessly over and over. Repetition can do two things, it either causes your horse to mentally shut down and check out – seemingly quiet – until you change

something and he “suddenly blows up,” or you continue putting him in overwhelming scenarios that overwhelm his mind (i.e. then the spook happens.)

Decreasing Human Fear and Diminishing Spooky Horses

Horses have tugged at the heartstrings of the human race for centuries. There is something awe inspiring about the emotional connection we share with horses. That idyllic partnership is far easier imagined than experienced, with unexpected challenges and steep learning curves along the way.

Humans Creating Defensive and Dangerous Horses

 "Leggs" 

Horsemanship: Spatial Pressure and Release

This week's theme of learning about, with, without the horse continues with this video captured this past year at my summer base at The Equestrian Center, LLC in Sandpoint, ID.

Horsemanship: Spatial Pressure and Release

I often have "help" from the deer, moose, bear, wild turkeys (who always insist on arriving when I'm getting on a colt for the first time,) and other critters. Of course, the domesticated cats also enjoy participating.

Even though this video is "cute," it is really a great example of spatial pressure, how little it takes to "send" it, and how strong it can be felt!

Do you have any animals who "help" you when you're working with your horse?

Horsemanship: Continued learning for the Human

How often do you continue to practice learning with, about, without your horse?

This picture was captured a few years back at Horsemanship clinic in California. It was a Demo Day where the 15 participants learned WITHOUT their horse. Demonstrations, discussions, exercises, etc. were all taught.

Horsemanship: Learning to Observe the Horse

A session of Learning 

 I'm always talking about being an observer of the horse. Often incredible things will unfold before you. 

Horsemanship Webinar: Mechanical vs. Mental Engagement

 

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.