BlackHorse Horsemanship

17/12/2024

17/12/2024

“Too much” groundwork????
Is it a thing???
Sorta. Yes. I mean, not really,…
but for you maybe. 😜🫣
I’ve heard of trainers saying “you’re doing too much ground work with this horse” and while that’s not ACCURATE I definitely know what they mean…..
They are referring to a person that knows kindergarten level ground work at best, nagging and drilling a horse that’s ready for high school or college ground work.

Too often people have such limited knowledge of groundwork that they don’t realize how much they are baby talking to their horse. If you’re not sure how much to do, do the things you know one or two times each direction, and if your horse does it to the best of YOUR ability, move on. 
And, of course, putting time into increasing your groundwork knowledge is absolutely time well spent  

16/12/2024

“If the pain was deep you will have to let it go many times.”

~ Yung Pueblo

Image by Dorota Kudyba from Pixabay

16/12/2024

👌❤️

15/12/2024

Stanley and Bertie, supper in the barn tonight 😍

15/12/2024

The sky was just incredible tonight 😎❤️

10/12/2024

Discussed this very topic in today's sessions ❤️🤠

The difference between relaxation and centeredness -

The goal for many for their horses is calm, or relaxation at all times. That can sound like a good goal, and a kind one - but ultimately, unfair and really quite impossible.

If we factor in the world at large, we realize quickly that being calm requires environmental control - can we really be calm in the face of all emergencies? Can we be calm if our friends horse has bolted, if the barn is on fire, if there is some factors outside our control?

What we ask the horse, in order to be calm at all times, is really to ignore the environment, and to flatten a nervous system and body designed for survival into only one mode we find acceptable.

Relaxation often is lost when energy or external input is brought in, and relaxation offers us no avenue for higher energy movements. A very relaxed horse cannot have the power required for upper level movements - no athlete is supremely relaxed in their endeavors

They are very focused, energetic, and alert

BUT

They should not be anxious

That is the different between relaxed and centered

Centered does not require calm, but can be calm when appropriate. Centered is the horse’s ability to have an adaptable nervous system, molding itself to the necessary requirements of the moment and the environment.

A centered horse can find balance even in moments of high energy or adrenaline, and is able to calm down when appropriate.

It is not appropriate to be calm in a barn fire. We need adrenaline to manage our way to safety - but panic doesn’t help. Therefore we need energetic clarity.

And this has to be taught by a centered person.

It’s easy to teach a horse to “relax” by controlling the environment fiercely or teaching them to tune out. It just requires repetition.

But a centered horse requires the education of a centered person- one who is highly aware, disciplined, attentive, and constantly engaging in appropriate dialogue with the horse - not micro managing, but guiding.

The first is easy to sell - it sounds good, makes people feel good, and requires very little of a person with high reward societally.

The second is a harder sell because of the work load involved, the self discipline and improvement, and low societal reward.

But, you gain the trust of a horse through low and high energy situations both. And that is what a true horseman aspires to.

09/12/2024

08/12/2024

Thought for the day.
I see too many people who think that forward is about the speed their horse’s legs are moving at.
Forward is not necessarily fast. Even a good walk is forward. Forward should be relaxed rhythmic and with a good length of stride.

08/12/2024

It never ceases to amaze me.

The wine mums of the internet will lose their minds over a hoof growing out a temporary lamina wedge (which, once grown out, results in a perfectly normal hoof).

Yet those same people will happily applaud horses in the show ring, show jumping, or other disciplines where the horses are clearly suffering from chronic hoof issues – contracted heels, shriveled frogs, atrophied digital cushions, and sky-high heels.

Even worse, some of these horses are competing in so-called “remedial shoes.” It’s baffling. If a horse’s feet are in such poor condition that they require “remedial” measures, why are they being competed at all?

P.S: there’s nothing remedial about remedial shoes, just futher damage, imbalance and deformity

04/12/2024

"Trade your expectation for appreciation, and the world changes instantly."

- Tony Robbins

Art Credit: Natalia - Painted Bliss Art
https://www.etsy.com/shop/PaintedBlissArt

03/12/2024

👌🤠❤️

“Balance is a topic that is often discussed and something that was said to myself a long time ago was: That feel brings you timing, and timing brings you balance. As our feel develops so do many other attributes.
When the horse gets out of balance their emotional stability is compromised.” - David Stuart

03/12/2024

To those who own shod horses: how many of you give your horses a break from shoes for a few months each year?

Not long ago, this was common practice and even recommended by farriers. Today, however, it seems horses are kept shod continuously, often for their entire lives.

Has this knowledge been lost due to a lack of education and understanding? Or have we prioritized year-round performance over the long-term well-being of the horse, ignoring the potential harm this practice causes?

It’s always shocking to see a fresh set of shoes nailed onto feet that are severely damaged and compromised. Who is agreeing to shoe these horses, and why?

Why aren’t hoof care professionals recognizing the clear connection between shoeing and the deterioration of the hoof? Are they aware and simply indifferent? Are they pressured by owners to keep horses “sound” and in work? Or is it purely financial, driven by the desire to sell another set of shoes?

Shoes can mask a multitude of problems, making a very lame and sore horse appear “sound” and functional—but is that truly the right thing to do?

A horse that is only sound with shoes is not truly sound.