TradiE-Questrian

01/04/2025

'You've had one years experience 30 times over'.

🚩 in trainers and coaches is saying 'I have x amount of years experience in horses' to assert themselves.
Green flag is 'I have x amount of years building my toolbox and expanding my knowledge'.

18/03/2025

Step 1- pick up the leg
Step 2- pull the leg back

How cool is this dude! Today's session was something else 🦄

18/02/2025

This video is so cool and amazing for so many reasons!

This is a prime example of a horse that has excellent proprioception, a great balance of curiosity and caution and an owner who is a bridge between the horse and the environment.

This is the horse you would lable as the reliable horse that never let's you down.

Let's start with the owner being the bridge. Notice how she's not screaming, calling her horse back, making 'woo woo' calming noises? She's just there, quiet and calm (probably sh****ng herself on the inside. I know I would be!) while the horse investigates? She's trusting her horse to respond appropriately to this situation. Being the bridge leads into the horses sense of self preservation, caution, curiosity and proprioception.

Cautious horses without curiosity generally flee and avoid situations.
Curious horses without caution generally approach stimuli without consideration of its environment, often resulting in getting hurt.
Proprioception is awareness of oneself, self movement and body position. Proprioceptors are a sensory receptor in the muscles, tendons and joints.

With a good balance of caution and curiosity, good proprioception follows.
This horse is able to preserve so much energy, it's body is telling you what the mind is thinking, and you can almost anticipate the horses next move.

This is a horse that has been mindfully trained with someone who took the long way to a short cut!

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1BNyBVGnhi/

17/02/2025

Join me on my study journey on equine sports massage therapy 🐎 As I learn, I want to share.

Consideration of the Horses Back

The horse's back is where we sit, and it wasn’t evolved to carry excessive weight. It holds a lot of weight when ridden and is responsible in assisting the transfer of information of balance, stability, movement and flexion between the hindquarters and the front of the horse. The condition and confirmation of the back influences how the horse carries itself and the rider and influence on the other muscles. The spine has a complex network of muscles, vertebrae, ligaments, and tendons that need constant manipulation to ensure correct formation and growth to help keep the horse in optimal health and increase the longevity of their ridden career and life.

The back of the horse connects to other areas such as the neck and hindquarters. It can be considered the bridge of the horse, passing information from the hind to the front and visa versa. The back needs to be supple and free moving for the horse to carry itself in a frame without force to build up muscles correctly to avoid unevenness in the horse. The hindquarters need to have free range of movement in the back to drive the horse forward, step under itself and work off its hind end. The head and neck are what the body follows so we need the back to be strong and aligned to carry out the task whether it be jumping, dressage, cattle work, barrel racing, cart, and many other disciplines.

Confirmation of the spine impacts the performance, soundness, longevity of their career and comfort in retirement. The longer the back, the more movement between the vertebrae, the weaker the back. Long backs are often sought after in dressage and jumping horses for the flexibility and range of movement, so it is important that the back, barrel, wither, and loin sections are all in proportion. Another area where confirmation needs much consideration is the lumbar vertebrae. The loin gives the horse the range of movement to bring power from the hind quarters. The more the horse can engage the hind quarters, the freer moving the front will be. Too long in this area can mean weakness in the hind and too short can mean restrictive movement and flexibility.

Although a shorter lumbar may mean stronger, it can also reduce the use of the hind end, making the horse work hard on the forequarters. The horses with shorter backs should be encouraged to stretch and lengthen their backs early in their working career because the dorsal spinous processes are smaller in short backed horses. Discs sit between each vertebra acting as a shock absorber, making these vital parts of the horses back. When short backed horses do not stretch and lengthen themselves out, the space between the processes can close up and lead to bony changes such as kissing spine.

At rest, standing and grazing, the front bares the most weight on the horse so it’s important that we can build muscle and encourage carriage from the hind. Too much use of the forequarters can create a lot of lameness in the front and weakness in the back, limiting the horse’s range of movement and performance.

Looking deeper into the back and beyond the workload, the back also supports the weight of the internal organs. The health of the tendons, ligaments, muscles, and discs are equally important as the confirmation. The spinal cord is part of the central nervous system that runs through the vertebrae with a complex network of the peripheral nerve systems that branch out along the spine, relaying information back and forth from the back to the brain. The skeleton as a whole supports the body and provides somewhere for muscles to attach, therefore muscles, ligaments and tendons should be kept in optimum condition to help protect and preserve the spine and condition the back appropriately to the individual horse.

20/01/2025

'Casual handling' the performance horse.

You want the top performance horse or the futurity horse so you can win competitions. You want the top performance horse for your child to compete successfully but most of all, you want that top performance horse because it's educated.

If you only want to compete in the arena for ribbons and money, a performance trained horse is the horse for you. All you need is the EXACT same routine, handling, seat, hands and cues as the trainer.

The performance horse is a horse educated to a high level in one discipline. They are an athlete where their performance results are demanded by the judges who want to see the fast gallops, the high and clear jumps, the intense focus of a liberty horse, the big sliding stops, fancy transitions, flashy moves, even if you have your horses drop nose band done up as tight as it can go, other pieces of tack helping keep them 'together', the spurs and the harsh bits in their mouth. We've seen the Olympic horses! They generally have a hard focus on the rider because that is where their clarity and answers are. They perform but how they feel about it is often not taken into consideration.

That top performance horse isn't likely to be educated with a solid foundation.
That top performance horse isn't likely trained to be versatile.
That top performance horse is likely trained with very precise cues.
That top performance horse has likely been punished for asking questions and searching.
That top performance horse has been trained into obedience.
The performance horse won't dare put a hoof wrong while you are riding with clarity and consistency.

That top performance horse is educated to a high level is going to win blue ribbons and trophies 🏆 💙
That's it.

So what is 'casual handling'?

Casual handling is just that. Casually handling the horse without always being conscious of what you're communicating to them, being aware that you're communicating with them at all, generally fumbling with the rope, reins or seat and changing up routine. Casual handling a horse is the ability to be versatile in any environment and situation.

The 'casual handlers' are those of us who are amateurs, non pros, hobby riders and also professionals in a different discipline.
A horse with a good solid foundation should typically be able to cope with casual handling such as change in routine, 'muddy' cues, off timing, different riders and have the confidence to search and work through obstacles that don't quite make sense to them.

You will find that the performance horse has had their strengths built on and their weaknesses suppressed. As the 'casual handlers' who buy that performance horse, it is our job to build that solid foundation and introduce a partnership. Our horses will still try their hearts out for us and they can still win us blue ribbons, we just remove a lot of the obedience and build up their confidence.

You don't need a high level of obedience to make a performance horse and you won't undo their ability to move by helping them to feel better about work.

10/01/2025

Discussion:

Let's talk iron!

Inspired by a recent post and some comments, I thought it would be good to discuss high levels of iron in a horses diet.

Below is a 3 day before and after photo of a 35 year old mare after she was moved onto a property with clean bore water. The lighting on the photo isn't great but you can see the difference in the texture of her coat after 3 days.

Yes, a horse will drink the water, if you don't provide them with options.

Yes, a horse will 'do fine' if you're supplementing correctly or not seeing the health complications.

High levels of iron have been proven to have detrimental health complications on horses and precautions such as a filter system should be considered.

But it's not just the water they drink, it is also the bore water used to water the pasture. It's also the grass they eat.

Below is also a link with information on the effects of too much iron in a horses system. Just because your horses aren't dropping dead from the iron in the water, doesn't mean they're as healthy as they can be.

https://madbarn.com/high-iron-horses/?srsltid=AfmBOorv8TItmB14BurgEM7_dMI-f2_FG9bW4b6WOSgUsNVcm_Ojpneq

08/01/2025

Someone said to me today 'She doesn't do anything with her horses' in a negative tone like it was a dig.

Now I'm frightened to let anyone know I don't do anything with my chickens!

If no one has told yet, you don't have to do anything with your horse outside of providing husbandry

27/11/2024

I heard two things that stuck with me recently. I forgot what the first one was 😂 but I was recently at a master-class with a highly talented horsewoman who attended the master-class with me.
All she said was 'it's sad to not see other horse people at my level here'. She's well within her skill set to say that.

I also saw another post about a recent clinician who is also an exceptional horseman where people (including myself) said they'd absolubtly fence sit but not necessarily participate with a horse. Not because they're 'too good' but because we have enough skill and knowledge to put things into practice at home.

So at what point are you 'too good' to go to clinics as a participant or fence sitter and attend master classes? When you design a program that let's you and the horse speak a human language and write the 'how to frolic into the sunset on horseback tackless for dummies' book.

You get to a point where you decide which method of training you align your values with, whether it be science based or not and this can alter your methods at any point of your training. How much you explore change is determined by your humility.

Does this mean your incapable? Absolutely not. Does this mean you're not as knowledgeable as you thought you were, not necessarily. Quite often is just a different perspective, seeing something much deeper than you originally thought or hearing something differently.

So, at what point did you become 'too cool' to fence sit?

23/11/2024

The power of reading good books is enough to make you restructure your approach to training. Maybe a little, maybe a lot.
Words might not mean a lot to you at one point in your training, but you will have met a horse or two in-between reading books only to find more subtlety or profundity messages.
Obedient horses may win you blue ribbons, but the memory of a horse with spirit will last longer 🧡

04/11/2024

These two beauties are currently in training to find their special humans. 💖

18/10/2024

Testing out the sand for our Liberty demo at Wandering Camp Out Weekend!
This is my second year back and I've been so excited 😁
Can't wait for tomorrow 🦄

05/10/2024

Not my farrier giving me the side eye why I don't practice what I preach on my own horses 🫣

Spice is a rescue horse at Butterfly Haven Ranch. With the owner who is a bit short on time at the moment, I've been given the privilege of working with one of the rescues.

Spice needs a bit of assistance with feeling ok about her back feet being picked up. There are many approaches I have but this is my most common and used approach.

Teaching the horse to pick up the back feet up with ropes keeps you safe, out of the kick zone and provides sufficient clarity to the horse.

After the horse has become comfortable with the idea of rope on its legs, we back the horse up with the rope still around the legs.
The purpose is for the horse to understand that the rope is not for restricting movement and that they are still free to move about normally.

Once the horse is less reactive to the idea of a rope around its leg, we start applying pressure by pulling on the rope to lift the leg and set it down, increasing the time we hold the leg up. I don't let the leg down while the horse is snatching and kicking, I let the leg down when that reaction is gone and can be placed down. This teaches the horse that snatching, kicking and jumping over the place is not the answer.

Why do we want to place the leg down? Think of it similar to a cue. When we place the hoof on the ground, we're telling the horse that we are done with it. The horse is free to stomp, lift, step or whatever it wants to do with its leg. When we go back to picking the leg up, the horse starts to learn to standing and waiting means release instead of pulling and fighting.

We build on this by introducing our hand cue of running our hands down the horses back, firming out grip down the leg, indicating we want them to lift the leg while pulling on the rope.

Eventually we remove the rope as the horse builds confidence, trust and and understanding.

I never advocate for tying the leg up before exhausting every avenue first.
Tying up a leg teaches your horse learnt helplessness and not to think through situations.

22/09/2024

How long does it take to become a good horse trainer?

1 year? 10 years? 50?

What even is a 'good trainer'?

The saying 'quality, not quantity' is true in many respects and horse training is the same. It's not the quantity of time you've spent learning to train horses, but rather the quality of what you learn and apply.

I see people who have been working horses for decades, and don't seem to be able to differentiate between a 'naughty horse' and a horse that simply does not understand.

I see people who have spent 6 months working with horses and have developed the ability to read a horse exceptionally well and produce a more willing and confident horse through their understanding of clarity and feel.

It's important to remember that it's also the quality and influence of our mentors and trainers that have an impact on the quality of the training also.

It's not just the training alone however. It's understanding all aspects of a horse. The biomechanics, the confirmation, the feet and everything in between that can have an influence on the horse overall.

So how long does it take to become a good trainer?
About as long and a piece of string.

13/09/2024

Part 2, same session.

Curiosity is undoubtedly something people are sick of hearing from me 🤣

Curiosity=searching=confidence=trust=Curiosity=searching=confidence=trust.

Following a feel can happen without Curiosity, search, confidence and trust.
That's obedience.

This filly has a good foundation on her, she's just having trouble adjusting from a truck to a float so to help with that transition, we introduce searching.

To help with this particular case, I find her areas of comfort and watch her show curiosity inside the float. What I also look for is a decrease on thinking outside of the float.
After she's quite confident in this area of try, we move up to the next area of try (first video), rinse and repeat.

With enough listening and rewarding that search, she'll let go of her thoughts outside of the float and think inside of the float, feeling confident.

12/09/2024

The answer is at 1:18.

The question? When does this horses thought change?

We need a horse to change their thoughts to build confidence in searching and letting go of thoughts, especially hard thoughts.

When a horse let's go of a hard thought, they feel safe ans curious enough to explore and search their surroundings and they become far more pliable in doing what you ask of them.

When a horse struggles to let go of a hard thought, they'll do what they can to fullfill their thoughts within their means. A bolting horse is a perfect example. A bolting horse has been thinking about going back home since you tacked up and with every rabbit that pops out, the horse is more drawn to the stables until it's had 1 too many rabbits pop out in front of him.

The tricky part is figuring out if the horse is bouncing off the environment, ping ponging off everything or if they are processing as they change their thought pattern. The big give-aways is in the horses body language, time spent fixating on things and where their minds wonder.

This beautiful girl loads up just fine, but the deeper she goes in the float, the harder her thoughts get outside of the float. The homework here is to help her let go of hard thoughts, take her off the float or back her half way off after she's searched in the float to reassure her that there is still a back door in her endeavours to search.

27/08/2024

Marketing 101 😂

534 likes, 48 comments. “The accomodating trainer”