Bit of multi-tasking this afternoon. I needed to trim Pennys feet so took the opportunity to put the bridle on Mr again so he can get used to it while eating some yummy lucerne hay. Bit of passive training like this is so beneficial plus gives him a feed to keep his guts happy before I do some other work with him later this afternoon 👌
Trust - it's a 2 way street.
I see it all the time, a rider goes to ask their horse to move off and the first thing they do is gather up the reins THEN ask the horse to move. Why? Do they not trust their horse enough to just walk off quietly? Do they not trust their own skills enough to be able to quickly intercept any potential shenanigans the horse may come up with?
We want our horses to trust us, to be confident with us but we must trust and be confident about them too. We need to have the skills to be able to get to our horses feet at a moments notice, this alone will help build your confidence.
I understand being ready and all but if you can't trust your horse enough to simply walk off without gathering your reins up first then there's something wrong.
I learned a lot from last night's session with my horses so tonight..... I worked on a few things.
I worked on using my seat and leg more and tried to leave my hands and thus Pennys head alone as much as I could. When I did pick up on Penny I was a bit more conscious of the feel I offered and the response I got. Still need to work on this softness when moving the front around the hind but that will come.
The other thing I worked on was putting a bit more life into moving Elle on and seeing how Penny handled it. In the past it would have taken quite a while to dial Penny back down from a bit of energy but this afternoon she came right back to me 😁
Certainly been an interesting exercise which has highlighted a lot of good stuff we have going on and some areas we need to work on. Bit by bit this horse and I are finding our way, it's taken a while but then again there should never be a time line or limit on training so it is what it is. Celebrate the progress you make no matter how long it takes to get it.
I've got a good friends young horse coming to be started soon and I'm planning on using Penny to help me during the process. Usually for this sort of thing I'd use Elle but given how quiet the young horse is I figured it's a good opportunity for Penny to step up and give her a job to do. This afternoon I did a bit of a test run and moved Elle around in the round yard off Penny.
For Penny this was another confidence building exercise and she nailed it. This is a horse who is bottom of the pecking order, gets anxious in high energy situations, used to be petrified of the flag and wasn't too long ago that she would lose her mind with the western saddle on. This afternoon she moved a very dominant horse around with me riding her in a western saddle using a flag to move a horse who threw a lot of energy our way and she kept her cool the whole time 😁
I'll do this a few more times with Elle and Penny as there's a few things I want to get better with Penny and goodness knows it will do both horses the world of good.
Ask your horse to step up sometime, even if you don't "think" they're ready they may well surprise you.
Penny and Rip both agree..... the
Rubber Brush from Hairy Pony is amazing 👌 Buy one, your horse/s and dog/s will love you for it.
Just because the gate is open doesn't mean you have to go through it.
A good thing to practice with your horse is opening the gate in the area you're working and then continue working as though the gate isn't open. Often times your horses mind will go through the gate well before it's body so it's a good thing to practice not going through it until both your minds and bodies go through together.
Embrace the training opportunities when and where they present in less than ideal training conditions 👌 I don't have an arena which limits what I can do in some areas but causes me to get creative and see what I can do with what I've got. Sometimes the best thing we can do for our horses is have a little bit of imagination.
This horse used to be really unsettled in the mouth and would chomp and chew on the bit something chronic..... USED TO! Sure I tried a few different bits thinking that would be the quick fix but had to come to the realisation that this wasn't about the bit, this was about my horses mind, the feel I offered on that bit and taking the time to get things right. She still has moments of chomping and chewing and she's not always this soft but those moments are slowly getting less and less. It wasn't too long ago that every time I thought about picking up on the reins she would work her mouth. It's been a long haul getting to this point but far out it's been worth every second 👌
One of the big aspects of the trimming clinic with David last weekend was tuning in to the feedback from the horse on the trim (which is why cadaver feet weren't used as, well, dead horses can't let you know what feels good). I'll admit, I was sceptical that a horse could really let us know what foot they wanted us to do next and the whole tuning in thing, yeah, I was sceptical big time.
Then I got to thinking about how horses can communicate with us that they want their butt scratched. Once a horse knows that you will scratch an itchy spot they'll very quickly start presenting that part of their body for a scratch because it feels good. I thought about the station horses out at Gunbalanya that I "taught" to tell me where they wanted a scratch. I'd hang out with them with a curry comb, wait for them to scratch their belly or hip then go and shove their nose out of the way and start scratching that spot for them, didn't take them long to clue onto THAT game!
With this in mind why couldn't a horse do the same thing with their feet? We look for slow blinking, licking and chewing, sighs, overall softness in the body, big yawns etc etc when a body worker or chiro works on our horses so why not look for the same thing with their feet? Unfortunately with their feet they can't point to a specific spot (like they can with an itchy part of their belly or rump) and say "hey, that sharp pointy bit.... can you knock that down a little as it's not overly comfortable to stand on?" so it's up to us to look at the foot differently and assess what may or may not be comfortable and respond accordingly.
I think we have been conditioned over the years to thinking that the horse doesn't have much feeling in their feet when in actual fact they do🤔 When I was working on big Simon this morning I started removing some built up dead frog material in the central back part of the frog (aka central sulcus) and Rodney, who was holding him for me, remarked that he was stretching his neck ou
"Oooooh that's gooooooood" Penny is Territory Pulse Services newest fan that's for sure.
Hot tip..... scratch your horses.
Giving your horse a good rub and scratch has benefits far beyond making them and us feel good, it gives us an opportunity to check so many things.
You can feel for skin abnormalities. Does their skin feel smooth and elastic or rough and dry? Does their coat feel soft and sleek or rough and dry? This may indicate something is lacking in their diet, if they flinch away from touch it may well be the start of rain scald.
Check for muscle soreness. I regularly give my horses a good scratch where the saddle sits, most of the time they absolutely love it which is a great indicator that my saddles are fitting right and the work we are doing is beneficial.
You can see where the horse is at mentally. It can be very difficult to find the itchy spot on a horse that lacks confidence or is shut down. If you can't find any itchy spots keep trying as your training progresses and hopefully they'll let their guard down and show their appreciation. The upper inside of the back legs and the belly button are great places to start, they are hard to reach places for the horse and I haven't found many horses who don't pull a goofy face when you scratch them in those 2 spots.
Check for gut health. One of the signs of an unhealthy gut (for example ulcers) is the horse can be touchy around the belly. This is a big one I regularly check with Penny, especially now that she is on a high grain content feed. She has had moments when she has been snarky about being touched around the belly. Some horses simply may not like being touched around the belly so it can be hard but it's certainly something to be aware of.
So scratch your horses people and see what you can find.
🎥 recent gut health check with Penny...... pass ✅️
Some days you saddle up and get serious while other days you leave the saddle and bridle behind and ride just because it's awesome to be able to sit on the back of these magnificent creatures.
Bit of post trim loving for one of my most favourite horses on my trimming schedule, Freckles 🥰 He's a funny old horse this one, so much personality and very much enjoying retirement after many years playing polocrosse at quite a high level. Love him and his best mate Bobby, 2 kind old gentlemen.
Want to stay in the good books with your farrier/trimmer? Start by doing this 👇 as soon as they arrive and don't forget the belly (like I did in this video). Highly recommend Absorbine Ultrashield, Virbac Flyaway, Troy Repel-X, something heavy duty to keep the bugs away to keep the horse steadier and prevent your attending professional from copping a hit to the eye from a tail.
