Fearless Horsemanship

Fearless Horsemanship Horse Training/starting, lessons, hoof trimming, livestock paddock design (equiculture principals)

Bringing this boy back into work. The lovely (and sometime stubborn) Trevor. Transitions are a big thing that is often o...
11/10/2023

Bringing this boy back into work. The lovely (and sometime stubborn) Trevor.
Transitions are a big thing that is often overlooked with pleasure horses but they can make a big difference to the enjoyment of your ride. Asking for a transistion to trot/canter without any head throwing was todays lesson and an hour in we had the message. Smooth transitions were a lot easier than being asked to start again. There is no need for fear or anger when asking, you are simply teaching them to give you the correct answer by not accepting the wrong one.

Simba!! Such an amazing boy, so willing to work through all the crazy things we are asking him. Like strapping some anno...
14/08/2023

Simba!! Such an amazing boy, so willing to work through all the crazy things we are asking him. Like strapping some annoying squeaky leather seat to his back and wanting him to just be cool with it 😂 He is now a pro at tacking up and doesn’t bat an eyelid. Sorry for lack of video, dropped my phone that I use for editing so hopefully will be back to it next week and I’ll do a few catch up videos. We are up to riding around the round yard and working on reigning cues to get them solid before we move any further to avoid overwhelming him.

28/07/2023

Simba - week 2
Bit late with my video this week 😊 went to a Mark Langley clinic which was amazing. I love learning from other trainers and I would highly recommend Mark to anyone wanting to experience a type of horsemanship that brings everything back to basics and makes so much sense for both horse and owner.
Simba is doing so well. We should be getting ready to start the backing process in week 3. Enjoy.

17/07/2023

Simba - week 1
This week was all about feel, feet and float.
In my opinion these are the 3 most important things to train any horse, young or old as these 3 things allow us to give the care we need to keep our horses happy and healthy.
Feel - Simba is learning to respond to the rope rather than just following my lead. Responding to pressure allows you to ask the horse to move in many different ways and you need to make sure they understand this concept from everywhere on their body, not just their head.
Feet- Simba is now lifting his front feet and allowing me to clean them out. He will offer his back feet, but is not yet ready to keep them there. As a side note - make sure your horse is balanced before asking for a foot (standing square for the front and ‘resting’ the required leg for the back)
Float - Simba is now happy to walk up the ramp and place his head in the float. This is a big trust exercise for a horse as you are asking him to walk into a big box that limits his sight and renders his flight response useless. Start small. Always allow retreat. Don’t apply pressure when in the float. You want this to be a relaxed place. Ask from outside and then leave it upto the horse how far they want to go. Having food inside the float works as a reason for them to want to go in but the more you leave the choice up to them, the easier they will find it to chose to push themselves.

Looking forward to seeing where Simba has progressed to in another week!

16/07/2023

First halter and leading session with Simba from earlier this week. Still a bit sticky on the backing up but he works really hard to understand what is being asked.

Working with these beautiful boys today. The paint has had an issue with throwing riders so we did a few sessions workin...
07/06/2023

Working with these beautiful boys today. The paint has had an issue with throwing riders so we did a few sessions working through some back pain by releasing the tight muscles and also going through all the cues I was going to be using to eliminate confusion, then it was all about getting him to relax.
The Arab has a tendency to be very forward moving and this ahead caused him to be a little ‘front heavy’ and unbalanced so we worked on keeping him engaged through lots of unexpected turns and stops.
Todays session ended with an amazing trail ride. It’s so good to watch the horses excel when you meet them where they are at and work on the understanding so that they can push through whatever is holding them back.

Having some fun with the quirky Alakai today. Still working on float training with him. Went through the float loading s...
21/05/2023

Having some fun with the quirky Alakai today. Still working on float training with him. Went through the float loading steps and had him comfortable walking on and off but he does not like to be tied in, so we are working through the same stages but getting him used to being hard tied at each stage.
It is important to identify the thing that makes them nervous and then find a way to make that part easy for them without adding to much else to think about. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box for new ways to make it easier for learning to occur. Every horse is different and so may take a bit of creative thinking.
Taking time for amusing selfies is also fun 😋😜

08/05/2023

Working on staying calm with the forward, stop and backward cues with the beautiful Trinket today.

03/05/2023

Float training - getting on the float

A few things I do not talk about in the video but are also really important:

- When going through stage 3 and 4 it is really important to make sure the back feet are getting up on the ramp before they continue onto the inside of the float. This reduces the chance of them ‘stretching out’ and getting in a position where they feel more vulnerable.

- Teaching your horse to walk past you is a great aid to float training as it enables you to ask your horse to walk on without the need for you to be in the float. This is also the precursor to teaching a horse to self load.

- Don’t be afraid to back up and ask your horse go back a stage if you feel they are getting overwhelmed.

- Make sure you float is as open as you can get it for the first 4 stages. You can then start closing sections but with will talk about that in my next video ‘staying on the float’

03/05/2023

Harness training this spunky little man… the most important part is teaching them to stop and stand relaxed.

25/04/2023

Introducing a new horse:
Today we had a beautiful 6 month old Clydie filly brought to us for some training so I thought I would put up a video on how I go about introducing a new horse.
First of all I make sure the new horse is comfortable in their environment before bringing in the established herd.
In this instance a brought my paint gelding close on a lead but in a separate paddock. As soon as the new horse showed calm interest, I removed the halter. This is important as it means that the horse does not feel restrained or trapped.
It helps if they can be in separate paddocks so they are able to get away if necessary. Once they seem comfortable, I open the gate but leave both areas accessible so that there is plenty of room.
If you are going to have food around, make sure it is in a large enough portion so that all animals can access without being bullied.

The beautiful Evie is looking for her forever home. PM me if you are interested. More details in comments.
18/04/2023

The beautiful Evie is looking for her forever home. PM me if you are interested. More details in comments.

This birthday girl had her first lesson this week with her amazing birthday present ‘Romeo’Catching a horse in a big pad...
14/04/2023

This birthday girl had her first lesson this week with her amazing birthday present ‘Romeo’
Catching a horse in a big paddock was the first task of the day. Teaching a horse to be easily caught works on the same principle of most horse training; the release of pressure.
Walk up to the horse in a calm, but confident way. If the horse moves away simply follow at a walk. Never run! As soon as the horse turns to face you, stop or take a small step back - taking the pressure off. This will teach the horse that in order to stop the pressure of being followed, all they have to do is turn and face you. This is not a quick fix, and could take a bit of time, but it has worked for me time and time again and does not stress the horse out as they feel they have some control over the situation.

Evie’s trying bit less today!! I ride all my horses with a bit less bridle, and while I am more than happy to train with...
28/03/2023

Evie’s trying bit less today!!
I ride all my horses with a bit less bridle, and while I am more than happy to train with a bit, I’m always keen to give each horse a go without one. More often than not, the owners are surprised at how quickly their horses transition and how much control the rider still has.
Evie was no different. A few stops and turns and she had the idea and we were off cantering around the paddock.
If your not sure how your horse will go and are not prepared to buy a bridle until you find out, just give it a go with a halter. Tighten the nose band to reduce slipping, clip your reigns (or 2 short lead ropes) to the cheek loops, and practice stopping and turning. 😊

Services:Re-trainingYoung horse startingRiding lessons Hoof trimming Land management and paddock design. (Equiculture)
21/03/2023

Services:
Re-training
Young horse starting
Riding lessons
Hoof trimming
Land management and paddock design. (Equiculture)

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