Mark Langley Horsemanship

31/08/2024

This week Mark Langley dissects the detail in Leading and how to get it right when it goes wrong: giving insights and training advice on into how much pressure to use; why a pony refuses to lead after a while; and how to get a horse to follow feel, not just our cue's so they stop when the feel stops...

31/08/2024

DAY 5 of the Young Horse Starting Clinic: this is Minnie, a mare we bred. Great to have her back here and to see her all grown up!

30/08/2024

DAY 4 of the Young Horse Starting Clinic: Maisie is a horse that has come up from VIC to be started on this clinic. I have worked with her at previous clinics. She was at the stage that I had sat on her and was ready to be ridden and started properly. Her owners have given her the nickname is "Gazy-Maisie" - because she has a strong, long gaze that can be hard to break at times.

Today we had a really nice ride - she let go of her paddock friends and the yards, and was able to search in many different and new directions, both in and out of the arena, whilst under saddle. She was also quite centred - she was able to process as she was moving, instead of locking on.

It is super important not to micro-manage young horses. At the start, I only made one direction unavailable; soon enough, when she let go of that direction, she was easy to point in any direction without feeling that she was anchored.

I am really happy with how she is going.

29/08/2024

DAY 3 of the Young Horse Starting Clinic: Meet Pye, short for Seirios Dutch Pyrois or Flaming-Dutch-Fire (what a name!) a young gelding who is here to be started but also to learn not to push so much. His owner has been run into by him and with a big boy like this, that's a worry for anyone. When he has strong thoughts he has no awareness of boundaries or personal space. And when he gets an idea, he can use his big frame as a bulldozer and push through pressure.

Apparently he started his life like this, barging his mum when he wanted, and getting milk when he wanted. Interestingly, despite his lack of awareness of boundaries, he has a very soft side, that is quite easy to access.

We are making some good progress with his visual awareness around myself and his owner, and we are starting to make some changes in the way that he understands the pressure of the ropes and long reining. I certainly got a little bit of sand-skiing in today!

I was explaining to his owner that I would not ride a horse that get's oblivious to boundaries when it gets a strong thought. No matter how quiet they may seem. Some of the quietest horses that I have met at clinics can be the ones that have been the most difficult to let go of a strong thought.

28/08/2024

DAY 2 of the Young Horse Starting Clinic: this is a rescued Brumby. He has been hard to catch previously. Like most horses that have come from the wild or not been exposed to a lot of people, they can be very sensitive to people and their energy moving around them. At some stage also in his earlier training, he had some round penning - which wouldn't have helped with his paranoia about energy. These photos capture part of the lesson were I wanted him to be able to cope with people coming up to him with steady energy.

28/08/2024

DAY 2 of our Young Horse Starting Clinic: This little mare is going really well. She had my saddle on her for the first time, and lead with it and with long reins, coping with understanding the feel and people at her sides and above her.

She was originally, quite a dull horse - but her owner has been to several of my clinics and has been getting her ready for this clinic. She's done a great job - the mare is showing great awareness, perception and flow. She is showing confidence to explore and she was quite loose and mobile when we stood up in her stirrups either side.

27/08/2024

RIDING OUT ON TRAIL: Something I don’t get to do a lot of any more with my clinic schedule, is long hours in the saddle. Growing up, I was lucky enough to do a lot of long distance horse trekking. I would spend my school holidays either helping my father on regular 6 day horse treks in the New England or exploring trails from the New England, across the Great Dividing Range, to the coast. Sometimes it was just Dad, myself, a spare horse and the pack horses.

Getting to ride through the Guy Fawkes National Park; seeing big mobs of wild horses and chasing the stallions off; tending to and living with the horses, was something that I took for granted at the time – but now I look back, I realise how lucky I was to have done this.

From a young age, I had to know all the skills needed to be in the wilderness - from tending wounds, to shoeing a horse, and managing energy and fatigue in the horses.

In these days, Dad used to buy horses from the sale yards to trial out for the string of trail riding and trekking horses. The fancy education then was, “Why don’t you ride this one, son? I think you’ll be okay”. Most of them were okay, but they were usually the standard heavy in the reins, jig-joggy, apprehensive horses. Some were bolters.

We used to run the entire herd in (25-30 horses) in off the mountain, down to the yards.

One early frost morning, Dad asked me to ride one of these new horses. I don’t think I helped much – I ended up being pretty much just a part of the herd – riding this out of control horse as it just ran with the mob, oblivious to me!

By the time I got back to the yards, Dad had to help me open up my hands off the reins because they were so cold.

That horse was probably one of the first bolters that I rode.

But being out on the trails, and all that time spent on a horse’s back, gives me a lot of good memories.

I know some of you are wanting to get out on the trails and are stuck with some troubles. Once you get there, we all have access to beautiful places to ride in, and if you can prepare your horse well, the riding out will build your horses confidence and your connection as you rely on each other.

More and more people that I am helping at clinics are starting to be able to get their horses out further from home – as opposed to constantly managing a stressed horse.

All of my work that I do with people, gives horses more confidence and understanding, which enables them to cope with different environments. Building these things are key to helping an anxious horse out on the trail.

The journey begins where you both feel safe – not out on trail. Building skills and understanding in your safe place prepares your horse to manage themselves better once they are away from home.

24/08/2024

Expert Horseman Mark Langley delves into the reasons behind horses getting anxious on trail rides - and how we can help reduce this. With practical tips on what you can do to regain connection, help your horse to overcome it's fear and improve confidence or just get them to move forward - this is an...

21/08/2024

What I am trying to figure out in my first lesson with a horse at a clinic
---> Clinics 2025 will be released 14 Sept 9.30am

17/08/2024

Sometimes we need to do things around our horses that might appear to be loud or intrusive or sudden or scary - like waving a flag or a rope or making a sudden movement or noise. It a part of horse training that if used correctly can offer a Change of Thought; and if used wrongly, can be REALLY detr...

15/08/2024

NSW - VIC - QLD - SA - WA - New Zealand - USA 2025!! Clinics for next year are soon to be released. If you get my emails I will be sending you the dates soon. Hope to see you on a clinic!

I don't just connect with horses - I help horses to feel better in education.

My decades of teaching have taught me quite a few insights into horses - you can expect me to draw on my skills to show you better ways of being around and teaching your horse so that your horse can improve its understanding, confidence and trust in you.

In turn, horses open up, become more engaged in their surroundings, and real progress can be made that improves everything from their behaviour to their performance.

14/08/2024

All you need to know.

Get my emails to get notified when they are released.
(https://www.marklangley.com.au/free-training-tips)

10/08/2024

Horseman Mark Langley gives insights on two things that he commonly assesses in horses to assist in focusing his help: how much curiosity or how much caution they may have. This episode explores his insights into these characteristics, detailing the background behind what causes each one, their impa...

07/08/2024

Be first to know of my 2025 CLINIC DATES + WHEN + WHERE I will be teaching. My clinics are open for anyone to book on. Suitable for all horses and everyone - whether you are new to me; new to horses; have lots of knowledge but just want to get on top of a particular problem or improve something. I'm here for everyone. Make sure you get my newsletters - and you'll be first to know of my clinic dates + when they are released.

Get my newsletters here: https://www.marklangley.com.au/free-training-tips

06/08/2024

I recently had a Whaler at the clinic who was a serving stallion for awhile and was started but the owner came to the clinic with her horse as she was concerned about one of the diagnosis's from her vet, which was that he may have nerve damage which is inhibiting his proprioception and control over his hindquarters.

To me, he presented as a horse that had been trained through Drive-Draw and desensitise and I believed his freeze and stiffness through his body and muscles was a taught response.

I after doing a bit of self-awareness proprioception work on him, his system came alive.

What was quite funny was when he started to become aware and use his body again, he would hold a hind leg in the air for sometimes more than 10 seconds at a time.

After doing these lessons and improving his leading, his ability to move very slowly, loosely and softly became what I call "cat like" and at the end of the clinic we got him to lead through tightly spaced drums.

It was great to see him process and understand both visually and through feel where every part of his body was and how to move it accordingly to his surroundings without any rush or lack of confidence.

A lot of horses that I meet need constant bodywork because of the amount of tension that they are carrying all the time.

It is essential to understand and look for answers to helping the freeze that affect a horses body in such a negative way.

Fix the mind and you may not need as much body work.

03/08/2024

Horse Expert Mark Langley discusses treats used with animals, particularly horses, and their impact on the animal. He also offers helpful advice for a horse that reserves it's trust for one person only and how others can help to overcome their fear of people. These questions come from MLH Online Mem...

03/08/2024

The group that I was recently working with has been really excited to see the initial analysis and adjustments to the way the horses are processing information; searching and opening up.

It’s quite nice to see the instant enthusiasm in people when they see positive changes in their horses mindset + posture in a short space of time.

I find the first day of a clinic can be a little overwhelming for some people but super satisfying with plenty of psychoanalysis and unlocking.

>> Make sure you get my emails + training tips to get the Clinic Release FIRST!
>> Get them here: https://www.marklangley.com.au/free-training-tips

01/08/2024

Improving Softness + Mobility with a Dressage mare: Just one of the recent training videos that I have just added to MLH Online.

IMPROVING SOFTNESS + MOBILITY in a dressage mare
>> Watch to improve hindquarter yield, collection and body control in a positive way

IN DEPTH RIDDEN TRAINING TIPS for creating desire + Perpetual Motion
>> Watch to understand how to gain Perpetual Motion
>> How to help a horse get back in balance
>> Helping a horse who has had too much lateral flexion

FOUNDATION WORK on a worried horse that has been driven
>> Watch to learn how to create caution
>> Improve trust in guiding pressure

CREATING RESPONSBILITY in a mule
>> Helping a mule that can get distracted and push through people
>> How to create Personal Space
>> Creating more importance when we are relaxed

Plus the recent Q & A sessions Answering real horse training questions with insights and training tips!

Access all my +600 training videos for just $16.99/mth + Learn how to train with Positive Affects! https://www.MarkLangley.com.au/join

30/07/2024

Being able to help horses gives me a lot of satisfaction. I also really enjoy seeing the dedication to the horses that some of my students have. I've just finished two 3 day clinics at Burong near Winchelsea, VIC - and one of my students came to both clinics, with her horse that I have worked with before.

He’s a big Clydesdale cross - a gentle giant. When I met him he carried a lot of anxiety about the pressure that people can present to him. He had the normal sort of drive based training when he was started (sending around in circles; disengaging the hip etc), and this groundwork made him more worried about having people around him and close to him as he was quite scared of their energy.

So we spent a lot of time teaching him to trust guidance and become a lot more comfortable with people behind his eyes.

It was great to see him at this clinic as his owner had been working on his fear of people; energy and pressure since the last time I saw him - so well in fact that I was able to ride him on the first day.

And he felt so confident at carrying me that I was able to work him and then have the owner ride him.

Seeing him carry a nice soft confident forward walk/ trot and process all the different horses coming in and out of the arena and change of dynamics in a confident and calm way, was wonderful to see.

Good on you, Andrea for creating a horse that felt just as good being ridden as hanging around you on the ground. He looks like he’ll cope with life now in a healthy way.

27/07/2024

Horse expert Mark Langley shed light on how to help the horses that can change when the energy increases - or, as he calls them, the paranoid horses. He offers advice for some new training approaches to help a 2 yr old who can get aggressive when asked to increase the speed of what he is doing; and....

16/07/2024

Some photos from my time in Virginia. Thanks to Paul Vosteen for the photos!

13/07/2024

In this episode expert Horseman Mark Langley gives advice for a horse that won't take a single step backwards. Plus training advice for a horse that runs back to the barn with its owner; and rugging tips - how to do this safely, if you feel the need to rug. Learn more effective solutions and trainin...

13/07/2024

This month I have some great videos for you! Lots on Legs! 🦵Have you heard of Perpetual Motion? This is something I aim to get in horses - they carry themselves without us needing to constantly push them on. I have an EXCLUSIVE video for you explaining this including some KEY parts on How and When to use legs + rein positions for movement: a video from one of my recent Master Classes!

I've also added:

- Helping a horse who was over sensitive to legs to trust the legs (snippet in the video above). This was a horse who was very worried about legs. She had previously been ridden in spurs and she had very strong forward thoughts as soon as she moved. I take you through how we got her comfortable with the legs and following the feel of them without worrying.

- Improving a lethargic movement: How I use the leg and rein to help a lethargic horse pick up its feet better.
>> Watch to learn How I use my legs and reins to improve balance + awareness

- Spatial Awareness: How to create awareness of our space with a worried horse and help them to relax. This horse was not sure where to be. He wasn't centred and he was continuously looking around. Here's some ideas on what to do to provide clear boundaries and help a horse like this.
>> Watch to Find out how to ground yourself + Learn how to help an anxious horse who is not sure where to be

- Improving Leading Exercises: Feedback on a Member's video as she works an older horse that has strong pull back thoughts. In depth ideas for improving accuracy in leading exercises.
>> Watch to find out where I would stop and do something else or ask for a transition.

Plus the recent Q & A sessions This month's questions include advice for helping horses that run back to the barn ; one that won't go backwards at all; how to introduce a horse to a rug; helping a horse that rears randomly; and tips for helping horses that don't like something - from fly spray to things coming towards them.

MLH Online starts at just AUD $16.58/mth
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+ send me a Video for my Feedback
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7 day FREE trial! Join at https://www.MarkLangley.com.au/join

08/07/2024

I help lots of different horses - but on a recent clinic, I was able to help 2 older horses that hadn't had the chance to feel good in all their years of service.

One was an older mid-20's arab, who was quite frozen and braced. She ran on adrenalin when she raced and she ran from pressure.

Stress in horses can effect everything, from their digestion to their behaviour.
You may have heard of horses getting ulcers.

A body worker who was on site was able to identify that this mare had spent a lot of her time in the fight-flight sympathetic nervous system. When a horse is in the higher level of this state, it can affect their proprioception amongst a raft of daily functions.

Over the clinic we were able to calm this mare down and get her to process her environment and give a soft trot. She was able to operate and start to find a healthy mindset. She even had a quiet trail ride over the clinic.

The body worker was happy with the training that I had offered and could see that the way I do things helps horses to regulate. The body worker said to her owner that if she continues to train in a way that helps her mare to process and be in a healthy mindset, it will help the work that she was was doing on her nervous system.

It's good to be reminded that horses need to have many interdisciplinary aspects working together for the horse to work well - you can't just have a well fitting saddle - you also need to have their body and feet well aligned - and their minds open. A happy space in their time off is also essential.

I get to meet some amazing horses. Sometimes I look at these horses and I wonder what it would have been like to have had them when they were young, bright eyed and bushy-tailed. Though a clean slate might seem like a good choice, it is so fulfilling to know that you can help a horse in the later part of their life not only become mentally and physically healthier, but they can actually change the way they feel and perceive things; regaining trust and confidence.

Helping a horse to cope better, even after all the years of struggling, is really satisfying.

06/07/2024

A question came in from a MLH Online Member seeking advice for a horse that has had 6 owners in the past 2 years and has been almost destined to be put to sleep. The problem is it randomly rears and strikes. But there is hope and these horses can be helped! Listen to find out Mark Langley's strategy...

05/07/2024

Blown away by this! So great that so many people are finding it helpful.

https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/mark-langley-horsemanship-solutions-for-partnership/id1502361466

04/07/2024

Hello from Greenville Virginia

03/07/2024

So thrilled to be a part of this event! All kicking off this Friday! Pre-purchase tickets go in the draw to win a pair of Scoot Boots!

JOIN US Friday Evening July 5 & Saturday all day July 6 Pennmerryl Farm Greenville, VA Buy Tickets Friday Schedule: 6:30-8:30pm — Mark Langley live demo and Q&A BUY TICKETS HERE Satur…

03/07/2024

Recent article from Florida

https://lakeonews.com/stories/horse-whisperer-visits-okeechobee,66852?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0m_ffqoKo-ULAXxQY1eT5PDpMnpMwtqL0O-8otfF1mAFYKSCU_Y2_qR_k_aem_2QA8nktnBtfduKI1MJKhGg

Australian horse trainer Mark Langley was in Okeechobee County June 28-30 as part of his USA Horsemanship Tour.

03/07/2024

Hi from Florida! And a spectacular venue! One of the horses I helped here in Florida had previously been worked by a very well known clinician. And she had since been taken to different horsemanship clinics. She was full of anxiety; anticipation; and she left emotionally as soon as she started to move. What I was able to show her owner, that she probably hadn’t been shown before in all her years of training, was that it was really important for this horse to know that our energy is okay and that she needed to stop reading / cueing off our energy and body language. That she needed to start to trust and follow the lead rope; and the biggest thing: to not allow her to take one single “hard” step under saddle. I could see that she was angry and intensely worried about pressure and this was causing her to not be present under saddle (have “long” thoughts).

I wanted her to go home and be aware that movement under saddle with anxiety was unavailable. I sat on this mare for quite a while at the clinic to get her to move one foot without worry and without mentally leaving me. If I had her at home, I would sit her on everyday until she could step without being anxious, no matter how slow this process might seem.

The owner was quite excited at seeing some hope: this was a mare that was now older in years and has been a massive challenge to her with a long training history. It is credit to the owner that she was prepared to take on some of my advice after years of being taught the opposite.

Instead of fighting the information, she was happy to embrace it. It is so impressive to me to see people put a horse in front of their ego like this.

Many thanks to Stephany for hosting me here.

Next stop
>> Greenville, Virginia!

4-7 July + Demonstration on Fri night, 6.30pm
Venue: 273 Penmerryl Drive, Penmerryl Farm, Greenville VA 24440

>>> There's still places on this clinic!

Auditors welcome! $30/day cash only

POWERFUL HORSE EXPO: https://powerfulhorse.com/powerful-horse-expo/

This clinic is part of the Powerful Horse Expo running 5-6 July, featuring info from professionals on Nutrition, Hay, Vaccines, Posture, Saddle fitting, Lameness and more. It will be a great event!