AHS Horsemanship

16/08/2024

For my fellow barn owners/ trainers out there!

Lessons learned long and hard in the horse business as a professional..

1. It's easy to fall in love with your customers. They become a family who you spend a lot of time with. However, in the end they will do what's best for themselves. And, for you and them, those paths may not be the same. Prepare to get your heart broken. Keep business and personal relationships separate.

2. People will not always trust in your experience and will second guess you. They will think they know better because they read it in a book, or saw it online. Don't try to be all things to all people. Do what you are good at. Run your barn in a way that you can sleep at night knowing that you did right in your mind by them and their horses. The clients opinion of that may be different than your beliefs, but you have to live with choices that leave you at peace. That may mean confrontation, hard conversations and even asking people to move on for your own peace.

3. Horses are easy 99% of the time. It's the people who come with them that make things complicated.

4. Remember that horses need to be horses.

5. People will always judge you, and have opinions. The better you are, the more haters will have opinions.

6. Success isn't measured by ribbons and show placings. It's measured in happy animals and the quality of their lives.

7. There is always an exception or quirk that doesn't " follow the rules" in horse care. Do what works, not what the books say works.

8. When you get annoyed by seeing somebody's car pull in to the barn, it's time to let that person move on. Your barn should be a happy place. It literally only takes one bad sour apple to ruin the whole atmosphere and dynamic in a barn.

9. Let it go.... if someone moves on don't be upset by it. Ignore what they say. Don't take it personally. Every barn is not a good fit for every person.

10. This is a business. If a person or horse isn't working for you, or the compensation isn't offsetting your cost, it's time for them to go. The exception to this is your retired horses, see #11.

11. Horses only have so many jumps, so many runs, so many rides. Don’t waste your horses. Teach your students they aren’t machines. You owe it to your retired horses to have a safe, comfortable and dignified end. Your schoolies worked for you. When the time comes they can no longer do that, either give them a pleasant retirement, or put them in the ground where you know they are safe. Do not dump them at auctions or onto other people where you are not 100% sure that they will be cared for.

12. There is no shame in euthanasia for a horse owner. Always better a week too early then a second too late. Do not judge anyone for their reasons for doing this.

13. Most clients fall Into two categories. Those who are "high maintenance", open in their opinions and will confront situations head on. The second is the quiet type who will not say a word and will not openly talk with you about their expectations or issues. You have no idea they have a problem until it's too late. The people in between these two are the clients you want. They will be long term and make life easy.

14. Know your worth. KNOW YOUR WORTH. Your time and experience has a monetary value. Don't do things for free, even if you like the person. Every bit of time or effort you give to clients has value. So when you don't value your effort, neither will a client. They will come to expect "freebies", which always leads to resentment from someone.

15. Be honest. It's not always easy. But in this business it takes forever to build reputation and seconds to destroy it.

16. Remember horses are dangerous. Always use your best judgment and air on the side of caution when working with horses and students. Their lives and your own life can change in an instant.

17. Get paid up front. Keep good records. People don't go to the grocery store and ask for food they will pay for next week. Good business practices keep everyone honest and sets boundaries for clients.

18. Normalize passing on price increases. Service industries, especially ones like ours always "feel guilty " when raising prices. You are not there to subsidize someone else's horse habit. Prices have been going up on costs, so should your fees.

19. The buck stops with you. Your employees mistakes fall back to your responsibility. Always verify and check on important care aspects of daily activities.

20. Make time for family and rest. Too many of us get burnt out from the stress of expectations in this industry. In the end, boarders and students come and go. Your family is who you will have left.

Thanks for reading my thoughts. I hope it can help support some of you feeling burnt out, and maybe help some people who are starting out in their journey into this industry.

Written by Rhea Distefano

13/08/2024

11/08/2024

“Jack is doing really well learning how to canter after spending his first 8 years being told not too! Today we had a lesson and I had my first canter. It was awesome!!! Amanda from AHS horsemanship has helped me get him to trot not pace , keep his cool (ie, head down when trotting) and to listen to the leg so we can go sideways to open gates etc. she has been wonderful for us!

Thank you so much Amanda for your patience and skill in getting Jack doing so well (& teaching me too!).” 😃
‘Jack’ Standardbred X pacer Harness racer

10/08/2024

Having a little trot poles and cavaletti session with haflinger Chia, whos been recently started under saddle 😃

09/08/2024

Jack and his mum having their very first canters together! 😊
Jack was a pacer in harness racing for 8 years. And then sadly ended up at the dogger yard at the end of his career until he was rescued and given a new lease on life. We’ve been working on trotting calmly without pacing and teaching him to canter. Considering how long he was a pacer for he’s done amazing. Such a lovely boy! 🤩

07/08/2024

Thought for the day:
I still get asked regularly if I can take a young or green horse to further it's training.
Often as not the request includes a story about how everything was going ok but then one day outside pressures caused it to act up.
The request is generally to enhance it's knowledge or change their mindset so that they can handle all types of scenarios and be calmer and better behaved.
Often these requests are never attached to an aside like "can you teach me how I should handle and ride a green or inexperienced horse?".
The onus is all on the horse to be able to carry (no pun intended) the rider through any situation that may arise and keep them safe.
That is too much responsibility for a young or green horse.
Your horse needs some support and help while it gains experience.
Regardless of your knowledge of horses or riding or a particular discipline you may find a green horse a challenge if you are inexperienced with them.
Many older horses can be much more forgiving of mistakes and have more experience of the world.
It takes more than a stint at a trainers to make an experienced horse.
Often there is a way through but it takes the help of people with the experience. Hands on help.
It also takes a little fortitude and the ability to not make your horse feel trapped with your hands or legs no matter what occurs.
Most of what is called acting up would not have occurred at all if the rider had acted the way the horse needed them to.
The first thing that it takes is the recognition that to ride young or green horses you may need to have yourself trained.

22/07/2024

A while ago, I was sent a pony for schooling that had napping (not wanting to go forward) and contact issues.

Upon its arrival, I did a through check over of its body and quickly found wolf teeth present (which cause major contact issues) and a bony change in its knee. Because of its wolf teeth, schooling was pointless at this stage, but I also wanted to investigate the knee further before doing any more work with the pony.

When I asked the owner if I could have the pony flexioned and xrayed by a vet, she told me that the pony was only going to be a kids pony anyway, so the knee wasn’t a concern for her. Yet the pony was showing significant napping behaviours, a behaviour that only presents when a horse associates major discomfort with what is being asked of them. And I had a strong feeling that, like most poor behaviours, the issues for this pony were pain related.

Because I wasn’t prepared to work with a horse I didn’t think was structurally sound, I paid for x-rays myself and the findings weren’t good. The pony had several bone spurs in the knee and substantial arthritic changes. More than enough findings to suggest that ridden work was extremely uncomfortable for it and retirement was the kindest option at that stage.

Sadly, this is an issue I see frequently when working with horses with behavioural issues. Most commonly, an owners first ‘go to’ is to have the horse ‘trained’ through the issue, but most of the time the problems we deal with as riders and handlers are not a training issue, but rather a discomfort or pain issue. Sure, a dominant trainer can override the issues for a while, but it doesn’t actually fix them and it severely affects the welfare of the animal in the process.

Before a behavioural issue is addressed through training, the horse should be well evaluated by an expert; including having their teeth checked, feet rebalanced, tendons flexed, legs and spine xrayed, scoped for ulcers, eyes checked, blood tests, seen by a chiropractor or body worker, properly saddle fitted and bit changed and then an assessment of the rider should be made to see where mistakes might be happening in their training. Even if nothing is found in these checks, you cannot rule out deeper pain issues such as adhesions, tumours, muscle tears, reproductive issues, misalignments, digestive issues etc. which can be nearly impossible to find without an autopsy or highly specialised appointments.

At the end of the day, horses are extremely willing and forgiving animals, so if they keep expressing poor behaviour, it is just because the cause of that behaviour has not yet been diagnosed and fixed. We always try to live by the statement, ‘Find the solution, don’t punish the symptoms.’ All behaviour is a form of communication and it’s our job to figure out what our horses are trying to say.

19/07/2024

Standardbred ‘Jack’ ex pacer/trotter here to learn to canter under saddle. Jack would generally go straight into the pace or a very fast trot and get more anxious the more pressure that was put on him. It’s obviously drilled into them in harness training to never canter.
So I just started with trails where there’s not as much pressure straight lines and lots more room. We started by using hills as he’d be more inclined to naturally want to pop into a canter, then I’d start adding an aid that he’d associate (you can hear me cluck just before he canters), And use lots of praise. Then on less steeper hills then eventually on the flat. He’s picked it up pretty quickly doing this and much less stressful 😊
I’ve had to just go with him for the most part so far, as Tom Dorrence says ‘first you go with the horse, then the horse goes with you, then you go together’.
Therefore when he’d break into canter I’d have to just let him go as fast as he needed to. He’d often lunge into it and then get his race on a bit, but I didn’t want to pull him up or slow him down when he’s done what I wanted which was canter. If I then pulled on him it wouldn’t teach him much except that when he canters he gets pulled on. One thing at a time. I’d then just go with him, lots of pats, say good boy ect then slowly bring him back down once he’s understood. He took quite a bit to pull up at first and then would jig jog a bit and get worked up. But the more we work on this the better he’s getting.
Now hes starting to understand, we can start to work on slowing it down a bit, half halting ect

16/07/2024

This is so important when people buy a new horse and may jump to conclusions that ‘the horse was drugged!’ Or ‘not as advertised’!
The same goes when horses arrives somewhere new for training. It can take them weeks to settle in to their new environment, new routine, new people ect, some settle very quickly.

But it’s a real thing that as a trainer I am very conscious of. In the first few weeks I may not see the horse in the same way the owner does at home. At least until they settle in and we get to know each other.

I find once they start to feel comfortable and confident then their ‘real’ personality may come out. If there were previous problems, as why the horse is coming in for training, those same problems may not present themselves until the horses is settled. For example, Thats when they drop their gaurd and feel confident enough to challenge.

Same goes if a horse is fine at home but very nervous and anxious for a while due to the ‘new home syndrome’. That may present challenges that may not normally be there. After hes given the time he needs to settle, then he relaxes into his new surroundings and routine ect and then may blossom.

Sometimes that takes time though and it’s best to have patience in those situations. The more the horse experiences different locations, people ect, eventually the more adaptable to it they will become.

"New Home Syndrome"🤓

I am coining this term to bring recognition, respect, and understanding to what happens to horses when they move homes. This situation involves removing them from an environment and set of routines they have become familiar with, and placing them somewhere completely different with new people and different ways of doing things.

Why call it a syndrome?

Well, really it is! A syndrome is a term used to describe a set of symptoms that consistently occur together and can be tied to certain factors such as infections, genetic predispositions, conditions, or environmental influences. It is also used when the exact cause of the symptoms is not fully understood or when it is not connected with a well-defined disease. In this case, "New Home Syndrome" is connected to a horse being placed in a new home where its entire world changes, leading to psychological and physiological impacts. While it might be transient, the ramifications can be significant for both the horse and anyone handling or riding it.

Let me explain...

Think about how good it feels to get home after a busy day. How comfortable your favourite clothes are, how well you sleep in your own bed compared to a strange bed, and how you can really relax at home. This is because home is safe and familiar. At home, the part of you that keeps an eye out for potential danger turns down to a low setting. It does this because home is your safe place (and if it is not, this blog will also explain why a lack of a safe place is detrimental).

Therefore, the first symptom of horses experiencing "New Home Syndrome" is being unsettled, prone to anxiety, or difficult behaviour. If you have owned them before you moved them, you struggle to recognise your horse, feeling as if your horse has been replaced by a frustrating version. If the horse is new to you, you might wonder if you were conned, if the horse was drugged when you rode it, or if you were lied to about the horse's true nature.

A horse with "New Home Syndrome" will be a stressed version of itself, on high alert, with a drastically reduced ability to cope. Horses don't handle change like humans do. If you appreciate the comfort of your own home and how you can relax there, you should be able to understand what the horse is experiencing.

Respecting that horses interpret and process their environments differently from us helps in understanding why your horse is being frustrating and recognising that there is a good chance you were not lied to or that the horse was not drugged.

Horses have survived through evolution by being highly aware of their environments. Change is a significant challenge for them because they notice the slightest differences, not just visually but also through sound, smell, feel, and other senses. Humans generalise and categorise, making it easy for us to navigate familiar environments like shopping centres. Horses do not generalise in the same way; everything new is different to them, and they need proof of safety before they can habituate and feel secure. When their entire world changes, it is deeply stressful.

They struggle to sleep until they feel safe, leading to sleep deprivation and increased difficulty.

But there is more...

Not only do you find comfort in your home environment and your nervous system downregulates, but you also find comfort in routines. Routines are habits, and habits are easy. When a routine changes or something has to be navigated differently, things get difficult. For example, my local supermarket is undergoing renovations. After four years of shopping there, it is extremely frustrating to have to work out where everything is now. Every day it gets moved due to the store being refitted section by section. This annoyance is shared by other shoppers and even the staff.

So, consider the horse. Not only are they confronted with the challenge of figuring out whether they are safe in all aspects of their new home while being sleep deprived, but every single routine and encounter is different. Then, their owner or new owner starts getting critical and concerned because the horse suddenly seems untrained or difficult. The horse they thought they owned or bought is not meeting their expectations, leading to conflict, resistance, explosiveness, hypersensitivity, and frustration.

The horse acts as if it knows little because it is stressed and because the routines and habits it has learned have disappeared. If you are a new human for the horse, you feel, move, and communicate differently from what it is used to. The way you hold the reins, your body movements in the saddle, the position of your leg – every single routine of communication between horse and person is now different. I explain to people that when you get a new horse, you have to imprint yourself and your way of communicating onto the horse. You have to introduce yourself and take the time to spell out your cues so that they get to know you.

Therefore, when you move a horse to a new home or get a new horse, your horse will go through a phase called "New Home Syndrome," and it will be significant for them. Appreciating this helps them get through it because they are incredible and can succeed. The more you understand and help the horse learn it is safe in its new environment and navigate the new routines and habits you introduce, the faster "New Home Syndrome" will pass.
"New Home Syndrome" will be prevalent in a horse’s life until they have learned to trust the safety of the environment (and all that entails) and the humans they meet and interact with. With strategic and understanding approaches, this may take weeks, and their nervous systems will start downgrading their high alert status. However, for some horses, it can take a couple of years to fully feel at ease in their new home.

So, next time you move your horse or acquire a new horse and it starts behaving erratically or being difficult, it is not being "stupid", you might not have been lied to or the horse "drugged" - your horse is just experiencing an episode of understandable "New Home Syndrome." And you can help this.❤

I would be grateful if you could please share, this reality for horses needs to be better appreciated ❤
‼️When I say SHARE that does not mean plagiarise my work…it is seriously not cool to copy and paste these words and make out you have written it yourself‼️

14/07/2024

Just our resident poddy calf Brandy making cute friends and keeping everyone company ☺️🤎

12/07/2024

“I can’t find any good places to board where they put horses first-“

This is a huge problem. In just about every consult I have where we are seeking a solution for a behavior problem, i ask about husbandry and we almost always find a major problem there. Not to blame the owner- often it is near impossible to find a good place to board where horses get the kind of care they need

To me, it’s non negotiable that horses live outside, in herds, with forage. Yes they’ll be dirty, be in the elements, and interact with horses. This is what they were perfectly designed for -

But I’d like to offer you some perspective from someone who has cared for other people’s horses for fifteen years in some capacity -

For the entire time I’ve been caring for horses where I’m in charge and able to make these choices for their needs and putting them first, I have-

-had clients pull their horses out of training when the first superficial scratch happens (I have had people cuss me out as they load their horse in tears with one very small scratch on their coats from socializing )

-fielded texts from worry stricken owners at ten pm, midnight, 3 am, 5 am, you get the idea… panicking over a light rain, a minor drop in temps, a little heat, some bugs etc. You never get to be “off duty” because at any hour someone’s concern over their horses minor discomfort means your great discomfort

-play musical pastures trying to placate every owner so they can all have the ideal pasture set up (for their desires, not the horses) and just about p**s off everyone in the barn

-had clients livid I didn’t put the horses in stalls for every minor weather event

-had plenty of drama between owners over who’s horse they don’t like for “bullying” their horse in the pasture when it’s usually simply herd dynamics at work

You get the idea. I’m sure every boarding barn owner can back me up on this

I’ve had excellent clients so this is in no way generalizing ALL of them. The excellent ones took me forever to find and I will seriously miss them, but - But the ones I’ve had that were a headache were a SERIOUS headache, the kind that can make you miserable living in your own home.

When I worked at other barns and we had all horses in stalls or in private, tiny paddocks I had barely a husbandry related complaint (plenty about behavior though). Everyone was happy to have their horses “tucked in safely.”

So my point is - doing it right for the horse is not profitable, a huge pain in the rear and a ton of stress (hope you love texts at 3 am), and a giant liability.

I don’t agree with keeping horses separate or confined but I totally get it from a business perspective

So what’s the solution?

We live in a worry stricken, obsessive, results driven, and very litigious society. We’re losing land quickly , losing touch with animal sense, and good places are just harder to come by every day. Everyone is pressed from all angles and there’s no clear villain or hero here -

I think everybody could get a little chiller, personally. But maybe we’re looking at a total societal overhaul. Again, one of those things I don’t see a simple solution for.

22/06/2024

“It’s absolutely mind boggling if you think about it.

Your horse gets absolutely nothing out of being competitive for you. Not a darn thing. Of course horses are bred for specific jobs, or they’re bred to be athletic to a certain degree. However, horses don’t wake up thinking about chasing cans, or cows, or flying over jumps.

They have no idea how much money is added to the pot. They have no idea that this is a qualifier. They have no idea that this is the short go.

And DESPITE us... DESPITE our nerves, our flaws, our incorrect ques, our huge emotions, they get the job done to their very best ability. Even when we fail them by letting our emotions get in the way, they come back and they try again. For US. Whoa. Let that sink in. If only we could all be so understanding.

To think of an animal that is forgiving and flexible enough to put up with the repetition of practice, the intense nerves of the rider, the stress of hauling and still meet you at the gate for scratches is MIND. BLOWING.

If you haven’t done so lately. Thank your horse.

If you’re successful, thank the horses that put you there and made you. Thank the horses that gave everything they had for you simply because you ASKED them to.

If you’re still on the journey to success, thank the horses that made you fall in love with your sport and who have helped give you the confidence to want to learn more and be better.

We can never stop learning as horsemen and horsewomen, and by continuing our education every horse in our future will be better off.

Next time you head to the arena leave your ego at the door and thank your horse!”
~Samantha Roffers

Pic of my ISH 5 year old, Kearney ❤️

21/06/2024

Chia’s first trail 💖

08/06/2024

So, since behavioural issues seem to be the theme on this page at the moment, I thought I'd share one of the biggest learnings I stumbled upon in the last year (I'm a slow learner sometimes) and that is grass issues.

Several times throughout the last year, I've worked with or ridden what felt like were primevil dragons. My lovely, gentle horses were, on some days, reactive, irrational, spooky, mindless and frustrating to work with. Sometimes scary too. And I thought they were just being difficult, fresh warmbloods.

Grass issues didn't cross my mind because I thought that those issues would make them difficult consistantly, rather than good some days, and bad the next. So I brushed it off, even though my sister worked hard to convince me otherwise. Her statement was that toxins make their survival responses and nervous system more sensitive; so if there is no overwhelming stimuli during their work session, they should remain level headed. But if something were to startle them and trigger a stress response... well, hold on tight.

Finally, she asked me if she could feed my effected horses a toxin binder for 7 days to prove her point and I agreed, though I rolled my eyes a little because I truely believed that the issues were age related, rather than from chemical stress within the body. What an idiot.

Well a week later, I got a great slice of humble pie and I learned yet another important lesson. My sometimes sharp, reactive horses quickly became lambs to work with and have been fantastic since, so long as they are on toxin binder.

Now, I can see grass toxicity effects in horses easily. Wide pupils, sharp spooks, high head carriage, irrational responses to tiny stimuli, inability to bring their energy down, inability to think and an inability to handle change of any kind. When you're riding a horse that is grass effected, you will often be on high alert yourself because you subconsciously know your horse is not in a sound state of mind. These rides are not fun at all, and most of the time when you finish the ride you are just left feeling thankful you survived. Well the horse is experiencing the same thing.

Now, a big part of my program is ensuring my effected horses (many of my horses are fine) are fed toxin binder each day in their feed. We use Digest Easi which has a mycotoxin binder https://www.npchealth.co.nz/shop/solutions/calming-solutions/digest-easi-plus/ - other toxin binders are also great as long as they include that same product.

NOTE: A toxin binder takes about 7-10 days to take effect, so in that time I highly recommend leaving your horse out in the paddock and not working it. If you do work them while their body is under heightened stress (caused by the toxins), they will often develop negative associations to what you were trying to teach them which, in the long term, has a counter productive effect.

03/06/2024

Just some of the horses I currently have here in training 🐴
A young Friesian, Clydesdale X, Gypsy X, a young Morgan, TB for kissing spine rehab, and a Haflinger. 💖

02/06/2024

First ride with little Haflinger ‘Chia’ 🥰

31/05/2024

Lovely young Friesian ’Quinny’ here for some handling, ground work and pre breaking training. He’s a sweetie and loves his pats 🥰
We’ve been working on light lunging, moving front end, and hindquarters, backing, desensitising to stimuli, bridling, mouthing, saddling, floating, outings, hosing ect.
All great prep to have done while young, before starting under saddle. Breaking it up into parts and having small training blocks while young can make it a much easier process for them, less intense, and have it all absorbed over time… 💖

25/04/2024

An honour to have a horse I trained in The Mounted Police Anzac Parade. (Second on the left)
Lest we Forget ❤️

05/04/2024

Welcoming Zandy & Squizzy who were evacuated from a flood prone area. This rain is torrential and I’m glad to be in a safe zone this time!
If anyone needs emergency agistment feel free to contact me…

29/02/2024

The beautiful ‘Beau’ here for starting under saddle. Gaining confidence out on the trail. 🤩
Just in a halter, bitless as per the owners request 😊

26/02/2024

Love hearing these updates! ☺️

22/01/2024

💞

20/01/2024

Before and after! Some of the property was pretty over run when we moved in, with dense weeds and scrub. So dense we couldn’t see through this paddock at all. There was a dam but couldn’t see it lol. We’ve worked really hard clearing, slashing, spraying and seeding, and we have a nice view of the dam now too 😄

16/01/2024

Good demonstration how to halter correctly
And how not to!

04/01/2024

For those of you who don’t know, or are new to my page I just thought I’d introduce myself and share some of my horsemanship journey with you.

I have been riding since I could walk and I spent many of my younger years in showing, hacking, mounted games and Jumping.

I gained my coaching qualification and have been conducting lessons and coaching for over 20 years now. I worked in a few different riding schools as an instructor and trail guide and then branched out and began professionally training and starting horses under saddle about 15 years ago.

I was extremely fortunate to work for some incredible horse people in many different disciplines. I travelled around the country and overseas with the intention of learning as much as I could and gain the most experience that I could.

I began with breaking in Polo Horses for Berendon & Ellerston Stud. Here it was like a production line, just pumping out horses as quickly as we could. It was a great experience but I craved a different approach to training.

I then moved overseas where I was given an incredible job in New Zealand, breaking/training & handling young horses bred for Hunting & Jumping. I learnt so much from my employer who was an amazing mentor and taught me exactly what I needed to know for her program but at the same time gave me the freedom to just do my thing.

They also operated a 5000 acre cattle and sheep farm so I often took the horses out mustering and as I exposed them to life as a ‘hunter/jumper’ got to explore and enjoy the amazing countryside that is New Zealand.

I then moved to QLD where I had the privilege of working for Ian Francis. Ian Francis has been at the top of his game in reining, cutting & camp draft most of his life and is an absolute icon. I learnt so much in the field of western and having someone like him have faith in me as a trainer meant the world to me.

I then ventured out a bit more and moved to the Sunshine Coast where I trained and competed horses in endurance. Here I worked for Quilty Champion Brook Sample. I was really thrown into it and given lots of difficult horses to work with. I took young horses on their first endurance competitions and lead our team as foreman. It was hard at times but so worth it and had the time of my life.

Brook was an amazing mentor and being the perfectionist that is, brought me to whole new level. At times when it was hard, even just life itself, he was there and he helped make me a better version of myself. I then knew I had the experience and confidence to finally begin my own journey, running my very own business.

I have ran AHS Horsemanship in the Hawkesbury for 8 successful years now… ☺️