Methven Equine Centre

23/06/2024

What a difference 2 months of track life, proper feeding, exercise and love makes!
Lynda Connolly what a great job your doing to Kura ( aka Colin).

01/05/2024

14/04/2024

Life on the track.

Kura arrived in a rather obese state two weeks ago, he is now on the track system with ad lib hay and minerals, a little grass as he's not showing any grass issues. 🤞 He trots 4 km per day behind the quad bike to shift some weight and is walking around the track, settled into track life admirably.

17/02/2024

About this time each year, it's lovely to track the physical progress of these three beautiful horses. All now in work, in varying capabilities. They are schooled, go hacking and swim to keep them in top condition.

05/10/2023

Betty

05/10/2023

Boss

05/10/2023

First dip of the season
Lindsey Roberts

24/04/2023

When your learning shoulder in on a new horse because your own horse is sitting on his arse at home! Lynda Connolly riding Betty in a lesson with Jean Harris

23/04/2023

TRAINING FOR SOFTNESS - Part 1

I was asked a question about the process of teaching a horse to be light on the reins. But before I answer that question I have to talk about a couple of things.

This first part is going to get a little cerebral. But I believe it is important to understand because understanding how to teach a horse softness MUST start with understanding what is softness. So forgive me if this first part gives you a headache. The next post (part 2 in a few days) will outline more of the practical principles involved in teaching softness.

Firstly, I make a distinguish between “lightness’ and ‘softness’. Many people think they are the same thing. But not me. So here is how I define the difference. Lightness is a physical response to pressure. That means a horse will move how we want when we apply a small amount of pressure. On the other hand, softness is an emotional response to pressure or feel. That means a horse will respond to a small amount of pressure AND feel emotionally comfortable with it. To add to the distinction, lightness usually involves avoidance or fleeing from pressure, whereas softness is most often when a horse goes with the pressure. A soft horse will feel comfortable and give to a light pressure. But a horse that is only light won’t feel emotionally comfortable and will be trying to escape pressure. There is very little value in teaching a horse to be just light but teaching a horse to be soft should always be our goal.

I know that explanation might take a little bit of thoughtful analysis, but it is a distinction well worth understanding.

The second thing I believe we need to understand is that the process of teaching a horse to be soft will depend on the baggage a horse carries. For example, I most likely would approach the process differently with a very young horse that was inexperienced with the idea of yielding to a feel than I would with a more experienced horse in which training had created bad habits.

I am going to attempt the impossible task of explaining these ideas by using a single example of teaching a horse to lead from a feel on the lead rope. I’ll leave it up to you to figure out how to apply these principles to train a soft levade in your horse.

The first step is to distinguish between knowing if your horse is leading from lightness (ie, yielding to a small amount of pressure but with ill feelings) or from softness (ie, yielding to a small amount of pressure and with okay-ness).

A horse is always trying to do what it is thinking. So softness comes from a horse having the same idea to do the thing we are asking it to do. Leading with softness means the feel on the lead rope motivates the horse to think that it has better ideas than to stand still. Once the horse lets go of the thought to stand still the lead rope then helps the horse to think that going with the feel of the lead rope is a better idea. It’s not that standing still is a bad idea, just that going with the feel of the lead rope is a better idea.

On the other hand, lightness entails obedience where the horse follows the feel on the lead rope because it thinks NOT going with the feel is a bad idea and will result in more trouble. So it goes with the feel of the lead rope because it worries not moving is a bad idea instead of thinking moving is a good idea. It’s a subtle but extremely important difference. Lightness involves worry, but softness does not.

There are a few ways to know if your horse is responding from lightness or softness. In principle, the transition from an old thought to a new thought is the most obvious. For example, people often think that softness is about how little pressure from the lead rope or reins or rider’s legs is required to evoke a change of thought. But these movements can cause mental and physical tightness and rushiness because of the horse’s ill feelings.

An alternative means of testing if a horse is light or soft is to interrupt them in mid-thought and see how much trouble that creates. For example, what happens if I apply a feel on the lead rope for a horse to walk forward 3 steps and back up 2 steps with no halt in between? If the horse has soft thoughts the transition from forward to back will weigh almost nothing and show almost no sign of resistance or anxiety. But if the horse is only light, there will be signs of resistance and worry in the transition (eg., change in posture or backing crookedly) even though you apply only a small amount of pressure or feel.

One last thing I want clarify is that ‘softness’ and ‘soft feel’ are not the same thing. Many people (including professionals) confuse the two concepts. I don’t want to take more space on this topic except to say that soft feel is much closer to lightness than softness. It is not a substitute for softness and not something I teach or put much thought or effort into.

This is a very brief and cursory explanation I believe we need to understand how to train softness in a horse. I could go on in much more depth about these concepts. However, now that you have a rudimentary understanding of lightness and softness, the next post will try to cover the principles of teaching softness to a horse.

NEXT: Teaching Softness - Part 2

Photo: Bent Branderup riding a horse that displays softness in the levade - your next project 😂.

03/03/2023

Abscess and seedy toe on arrival. And 6 months of corrective foot care, life on the track and proper nutrition. Still away to go but no longer hurting.

03/03/2023

The beauty of horses doing what they want

03/03/2023

Arrived in Sept and lots of steady corrective schooling to create a well rounded relaxed easy horse.

10/01/2023

The parotid gland is the hidden indicator of training quality and here is why.

03/01/2023

02/01/2023

When I hear someone say, "My horse deserves a better rider" it breaks my heart a little bit.

Because you know what?

Recreational riders are the BEST thing that has happened to horses worldwide.

DON'T feel bad for not competing, or working your horse everyday, or that so-and-so is riding at a higher level than you are.

DON'T feel guilty if you don't want to show.
Or jump higher.
Or jump at all.
Or canter.
Or even ride!

What matters TO YOUR HORSE is that their physical needs are met and their mental and emotional well-being is cared for.

And caring is what most amateur owners can do better than ANYONE else.

Most horses don't NEED or WANT to be ridden at a professional or competitive level. With few exceptions, most horses left to their own devices just want to hang out in the field with their friends eating.

It's great to want to improve your communication and riding skills.

And If your goal is to do more athletic and difficult things, then yes, you owe it to your horse to learn to be a good dance partner and pilot for him

AT THAT LEVEL, BUT...
.. No one sets that level but you. And you CAN be good for your horse at ANY level.

No shame, backyard horse owners!

You shall inherit the earth.

By: Kendra DeKay

01/01/2023

New kid on the block.. lots of work to do..but that's the fun bit!

29/12/2022

Please keep your old horse or let them go with dignity and love written by Shishana Barnhill

“Know that old gelding of yours? You know, the trusty gelding who taught you to ride. We all have one in our pasture. He was the first horse you trusted with your kids. Everything this horse has done has had a purpose behind it.

Now his joints are starting to show arthritis from all the learning you two did together. He probably has slowed down and need a little extra food. Your family is ready for something with a little more speed and he doesn’t fit the bill. So you convince yourself you are letting him go so he can help teach another child. In your mind, you see him happily trotting down the road with a sweet little girl on his back.

In reality, that little girl will ride and love him for a few years. However, she outgrows him. He’s even slower and she’s ready to run. Her family is not bonded with your horse like you were. They sell him to the inexperienced family down the road.

This family knows nothing about horses. They don’t know how to feed an aged horse. He looses weight. Soon it’s so bad they keep him in the back pasture where no one can see him.
Finally, they take him to a sale.

No one at the sale wants a neglected, aged horse. So he goes through the ring and sells for $400 to a killbuyer. The killpen is where I find him. I know nothing about his history and nothing about his health. All I can see is the wisdom and pain in his eyes. I take him home.

As much as I love what I do, I would love to never see one of these poor old guys again. It breaks my heart to know that this is the story of so many animals out there.

So please, please keep your aged horses. If you can no longer afford them, lease them to a friend or put them down. No one deserves for their life to end this way.”

Edit: The beautiful words and original post can be credited from Shishana Barnhill ❤️❤️❤️

Original post: https://www.facebook.com/101801225006953/posts/426365432550529/?d=n

28/12/2022

Too hot for much else today!