Wrangler Jayne's Horsemanship with Heart

21/10/2025

Very good point!

As someone who owns three red horses, let me be clear, their colour does not define who they are!

I’m so tired of seeing red horses’ behaviour, discomfort, or communication dismissed and blamed on their colour.
More than 75% of our herd is red, and not one of them behaves a certain way because of it.

Yes, the genetics have been studied. Researchers have looked at the MC1R gene that creates red coats, but no credible evidence has ever shown that coat colour determines “attitude” or temperament.
Despite decades of genetic work and several studies testing it directly, not a single paper has found that the red gene (MC1R) affects behaviour or temperament.
What shapes behaviour is experience, environment, and well-being, not pigment.

Attributing temperament to colour is like blaming personality on hair dye. It ignores the real causes: pain, stress, arousal, and learning history.

If you expect a chestnut to be fiery, every flick of an ear looks like “proof”. That’s how bias works.

They’re not red “attitudes”. They’re red horses communicating.
Stop blaming colour when what’s really missing is understanding.
Pain, stress, and experience shape behaviour, not pigment.

See the horse, not the myth.

08/10/2025

What I've been explaining to people about the difference between a rope halter that fits properly and a web nylon halter with buckles ... and - the knots are not over the nose to create 'pressure'!!

26/09/2025

DO HORSES REALLY ENJOY BEING TOUCHED, OR JUST TOLERATE IT?

Touch is part of almost every interaction we have with horses – grooming, routine handling, tacking-up, vet visits, even a pat after a ride. Touch is also a routine feature of equine-assisted services, yet surprisingly little is known about how horses themselves experience it. Do they actually enjoy it, or does their experience depend on having the choice to engage – the freedom to say yes, or no?

A recent study compared two situations using therapy horses who were regularly involved in equine-assisted services. In the ‘forced touch’ condition, horses were tied up and touched continuously on different body areas (neck/shoulder, body, hindquarters) using patting, stroking, or scratching. In the ‘free-choice’ condition, horses were loose in a round pen and could only be touched if they chose to come close enough.

The results showed clear differences. Horses showed more stress-linked behaviours – oral movements, restlessness, and tail swishing – when touched without the option to move away. When free to choose, they often carried their heads lower (a sign of relaxation) and spent over half of the session out of arm’s reach. Stroking was more often linked with relaxed, low head carriage than scratching or patting, and touches on the hindquarters produced fewer stress responses than touches on the neck or body.

The researchers also looked at how the horses responded to different kinds of people. Around experienced handlers, horses were more likely to hold their heads high and showed lower heart-rate variability – signs of vigilance or anticipation, perhaps expecting work. In contrast, their responses with less experienced people were generally more relaxed.

Touches on the hindquarters were linked with fewer stress behaviours, while touches on the neck and body produced more tail swishing and less relaxed postures. Horses were also more likely to lower their heads – a calmer signal – when touched on the body or hindquarters than on the neck.

Why does this matter? Horses in all kinds of contexts – riding schools, competition yards, therapy programmes, or leisure homes – are routinely touched and handled. These findings show that the manner of touch, the part of the body involved, and above all the horse’s ability to choose whether to participate all shape how she/he/they experience the interaction.

The welfare implications are clear: allowing horses more agency in how and when we touch them may reduce stress, strengthen trust, and make interactions safer and more positive for everyone.

For me, the sad part of these findings is that horses are rarely given a choice about when or how they are touched. And many people don’t recognise when touch is causing the horse stress.

Study: Sarrafchi, A., Lassallette, E., & Merkies, K. (2025). The effect of choice on horse behaviour, heart rate and heart rate variability during human–horse touch interactions. Applied Animal Behaviour Science

18/09/2025

Much, more than an 'actor', Robert Redford cared for the earth, animals and truth ... what a legacy he left for us all. A rare gem of a human being.

Today we pause for a moment, because one of the great storytellers of our time has walked on. Robert Redford has passed at 89, in the mountains of Utah that he so dearly loved.

Many will remember him as the dashing actor of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid or All the President’s Men. Others will honor him as the founder of the Sundance Institute and Film Festival, where so many young voices first found their way into the circle of cinema. But for some of us, his voice carries another weight—he was the narrator of Incident at Oglala, a film that dared to speak truth about Wounded Knee and the struggle of Leonard Peltier. Redford did not need to lend his name to that story, but he did, and in doing so he helped carry our voices into places where they were often ignored.

He was more than an actor. He was a man who used his gifts to fight for the land, for the rivers, for the forests, for the stories that might otherwise have been silenced. He stood for the environment when few in Hollywood dared, and he reminded the world that art is not just entertainment—it is responsibility.

The kêhtê-ayak (elders) tell us that when someone departs, their footsteps do not vanish. They become part of the trail for those who come after. Robert Redford’s trail will not soon fade. It winds through the canyons of Utah, across the stages of Sundance, and through every independent film that found the courage to speak its truth.

May his memory be a teaching. May his work continue to ripple like stones cast into the waters. May we remember him not only for the roles he played, but for the courage he showed in telling stories that mattered.

Mîkwêc, Robert Redford. You walked in two worlds—Hollywood and the natural world—and you left both better than you found them.

—Kanipawit Maskwa
John Gonzalez

27/08/2025

Quote for the Day: The Universe is always sending you inspiration, just have to listen and allow.

26/08/2025

Sharing as it's certainly relevant!

𝗥𝗜𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗣𝗛𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗦 𝗜𝗡 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗥 𝗣𝗢𝗖𝗞𝗘𝗧

While on a clinic some time ago, and again at a competition yesterday, I noticed a rider carrying their phone in their rear (right) pocket while riding.

This should be avoided at all levels.

Placing a phone in the rear pocket is likely too:

1) Significantly affect the function of the rider’s seat
2) Compromise the effectiveness of the rider’s seat aid
3) Induce/create rider asymmetry
4) Lead to uneven loading of the saddle and horse
5) Compromise rider-horse interaction

Although carrying a phone while riding can be useful for safety and other purposes (apps), alternative locations should be considered.

Image of a rider sitting on a pressure mat with their phone in their right back pocket.

Note: sharing as an observation. We have not shown this experimentally (yet).

21/08/2025

You won't find a more honest horse, than a wild horse. These two, captured out of Australia's high country (Mt Kosciuszko) are no exception: lightening reflexes and honest, direct feedback about everything!

20/08/2025

When you trust 'that end' you feel happier, safer, more confident and trusting. Take the time it takes to build a respectful relationship with the back end of your horse and if you need help, consider asking a natural horsemanship educator

18/08/2025

Horsemanship is the art of mastering our own movements, thoughts, emotions and behaviour. Not the horse's.

13/08/2025

Arriba was a young stallion when he came to me - this beautiful Crabbet Arabian with whom I developed a deep relationship through building trust, confidence and respect. He was the horse that everybody loved. Simply Magnificent.