Diffusing Unwanted Horse Movement

Thought I would break down a short clip from a horse that arrived for an assessment. This was taken in the first session.

This particular video is a fantastic example of why most folks don't have accurate or quality steering, and shows so clearly when the brain and body are disconnected, what happens in the physical movement.

Evolving journey of Horsemanship

Some days everything may go as planned and then there are days where nothing seems to be able to be accomplished. My personality is to "will" things to happen, but it has taken a lot of years and intention to realize that wasn't going to work when it came to the horses.

A personal challenge was learning how early I could recognize within ME if there was a horse that was close to the imaginary line of becoming curious and interested in life, versus him mentally bailing and continuing to be defensive towards the human, and to not try to "make" him commit to a change.

Haltering the Horse - Setting the Standard

Haltering the Horse - Setting the Standard

We've talked about how the "ride" begins when you think about going for the ride, and learning to "leave" the reality of daily stresses and demands behind as you show up to be with your horse.

I've mentioned the conversation starts with how your horse approaches you to be caught, whether in a stall or pasture, which is a great time to assess his mental focus and "tells" you what you might need to address before you even catch him.

Today I want to talk about the act of actual haltering. Use this "simple" act as a way to practice being clear and intentional in your haltering which will spill over into all that you ask of your horse.

Haltering is a wonderful time to notice if you are task fixated or quality focused. What does that mean?

If you have a horse that is willing to come over to be caught but dives into the halter, looks away from you as you attempt to slip his nose into the halter, pushes into your personal space as you are doing up the strap, and you allow the horse to do these behaviors, on multiple occasions, you are task fixated.

This means, that your goal is as long as the horse doesn't "leave" (with his feet,) you're willing to accept however he chooses to present himself and interact with you, as long as you can eventually get the halter on.

So if this is the starting point for your "conversation" with the horse, how do you think the horse will respond to you and how much will he address you respectfully if this is how he is approaching initial interaction with you?

What will the leading him, tacking him, mounting him, and ride feel like?

Horses are searching for and offering constant feedback, as that is how they communicate and "survive" in the herd. If they are trying something, such as being disrespectful with their head, avoiding you with their thought, and you do nothing to address this, if your goal is solely to get the halter on, you have set the "tone" or standard for everything else that you will ask of them.

You have unintentionally told them they can ignore you, physically push into you, and dictate how future interaction between the two of you will be.

So by doing this, you are creating "more work" to get your horse to listen and it is the beginning of the "begging" the horse or as many folks do, "working around" the horse.

Seat Bones and Centered-ness in the Saddle-

Many times folks don't realize that they are sitting crooked in the saddle. If they are off-center in the saddle, they tend unintentionally to "grip" or create a brace on the side that they are less connected with the horse. This lack of centered-ness affects the communication, timing in the use of an aid and the quality of the ride.

Critique vs Positive Alternative communication with the horse

One of the themes at a recent clinic in Oahu was discussing a positive alternative vs. a critique in our communication with the horse.

Most riders focus on what they don't want and attempt to "block," drive or reprimand the horse in a moment of unwanted behavior.

Adaptability with our horse while maintaining our Standards

As I'm gearing up to head out across the ocean to my next clinic, I was thinking about my own "preparations" for myself and what I'll be teaching to the mixture of Western, Dressage, and Eventing participants.

Seeing the Details- Learning Horse Behavior

Have you ever wondered what the trainer is seeing? How the trainer seems able to recognize things your horse is about to do and you still felt like you were being taken by surprise? In the last few days I've posted a few short video clips of very specific moments of horses here in training. My goal is to help folks learn to refine what they see and how to interpret the horse's thoughts, current behavior and that what is about to happen, before it actually does. Join us in the group for Q & A to help improve the partnership with your horse! Click HERE

LIVE Q & A Alternative Horsemanship Videos

Every Friday I've begun presenting a LIVE series of 15 minute videos titled- #FifteenForFriday -addressing a multitude of aspects of my Alternative Horsemanship theories and training approaches.  If you'd like to join me, head on over to the Alternative Horsemanship Facebook group.

Learning to read Horse Behavior

People tend to fixate their visual focus on one or two body parts of the horse, which limits what they see. As they work with the horse, whether the animal is loose or on the lead rope, people need to learn to be able to "zoom in" and out and scan the entire body of the horse.

Refining Ground Work with the Horse

Refining Ground Work with the Horse

Whenever I show up to work with a horse I go through a mental checklist assessing things such as:

• Where is the horse’s mind today?
• How is the horse looking/feeling in his postures, breathing, and movement?
• What was the feeling or energy he offered when greeting me in his pasture or stall?
• Does he seem mentally available as I ask to halter, lead, and stop at the gate?

Bolting Horse and other Unwanted Behavior

Someone recently inquired about two scenarios where she came off her horse, seemingly not through the fault of the horse but rather her own imbalance, but that the horse's overreaction- to bolt to the neighbors property, jump their fence, etc. was quite dramatic. She was inquiring about how to fix this behavior.
Having not seen the horse or knowing their history, here is my initial take on this common scenario.

Improving your Equine Skill Set

Improving your Equine Skill Set

Everything that we do in life requires different skill sets. Unfortunately, when it comes to horses, many folks approach it as an "I bought it, I should be able to do it." But the reality can turn out quite different.

One of the challenges for both pleasure and competitive riders is prioritizing the time and having the mental clarity to build their skill set when it comes to their horsemanship.

Fear Limiting our Horsemanship

The fear of "getting it wrong" can overwhelm people into doing nothing. Avoidance is a common "tactic" with both people and horses. The mental anticipation by the human can interfere with their ability to be present for their horse, having thoughts such as:
"Last time I tried to ___________ my horse __________ and I don't want that to happen again."
"What if my horse _______, then we won't be able to _______, so I better not ________ to cause an issue."

Information is a wonderful tool for advancing and improving your relationship with the horse. If for a moment we set aside the cliche "good" or "bad" categories when thinking about our experiences, and instead saw them as more information to make better-educated decisions in how we approach working with the horse in the future.

Re-educating the dangerous and abused horse

This youngster had arrived after a rough initial start then eventual rescue. There is a big moment when familiar things such as tack is presented and a horse has the opportunity to be near it, while loose, that they will display how they really feel about it. In this case, preparing to tack while she was loose, feeling confident and relaxed, was quite the progression from the horse that couldn't stand still and was fleeing constantly when I first met her. It isn't about her obediently standing, it is about her offering to present herself in a confident, quiet manner, trusting and trying.