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: Mental Approach

 "I have to..." vs. "I get to..." 

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.