Emily Tasker Balanced Horsemanship at Fox Hill Equestrians LLC

11/07/2024

Why do we put people on horses before they know how to handle them from the ground? This is my new eye opening question I’m asking myself AND the horse community. Here’s Belle teaching Emma SOOOO much about riding without being in the saddle.

Hmmm maybe I’ll just overhaul my whole program someday

11/06/2024

I wonder what would happen to us as horsemen if we were all started with a loose horse…. Here’s my 3yo doing “liberty” with her pony. Which mostly consists of her needing to control her body and emotions (when she really just wants to pretend she’s me and wack the ground with her whip), her going to much or too little with her body language and having him go the other way, and her just wanting to hold his halter and drag him places.

She’s learning so many LIFE lessons… and her pony is a saint.

How often do YOU “work” with your horse not attached to you?

What lessons do you learn when you need to exist with no attachment?

10/29/2024

How often do you take note of when your horse takes a deep breath?

How about when they blow out?

Do you hear when they calmly lick and chew?

Can you aid them to do any of these things on cue?

How often do you hold your breath?

How often do you sigh?

Do you get where I’m going with all of this? We need to look for and take note of calming and settling behavior. We need to know if there are things that cause our horse to hold their breath, what causes them to breathe again, etc because then we can become more aware of how they’re experiencing the world and connect to them better.

The best trainers train from a place of connection. In this season of dragon taming- find ways to connect and ground both you and your horse 😮‍💨

10/23/2024

Yesterday I got to join a great group of trainers to dive deeper into proprioception with Andy Thomas founder of Testt

Thank you Erika for making this day possible! I’m looking forward to some more tools to play with in our next clinics

10/19/2024

ENGAGE THE SLING BEFORE YOU DRIVE FROM BEHIND

baby race horse getting thoracic sling engagement 😊😊😊🧡🧡🙌🐴

You can see how in the before picture this horse appears collapsed into the ground. His feet are splayed and chest is wide and soft and looks like it is falling into the ground. This is called ‘columnar loading ‘ it means that the horse is loading into the ground like a building, it is the opposite of ‘tensegrity’ which implies a balance of the compression elements giving you suspension and recoil. If your not using your tension elements and just start collapsing into your front end the only way you can really hold yourself up is by tensing through the elbow and thus splaying your front feet.

This baby is 1 year old, never been ridden and already is collapsing into the front end and is losing the ability and desire to engage and lift the thoracic sling.

There is no pectoral activation in the before. He is wide and collapsing in front. For a race horse this is a posture that will make him prone to injury because as he fixates this way it will be more and more difficult for him change and get his front end out of the way.

In the meantime those folks that don’t believe in spinal flexion of the thoracic spine will insist on driving into this braced, blocked, fixated front end that is now being stabilized by the elbows that will externally rotate and brace and a activated brachiocephalicus muscle which will further contract trying to stabilize the neck trying to prevent further compression as the hind end is driven into a front end that is locked down and collapsing into the ground.

I learned in vet school that when there is much opposing discussion about things it usually means none of the answers are correct.

If you cannot lift and engage your thoracic sling so that you have the ability for suspension and recoil as in tensegrity please do not think that driving into it is the solution. If you want your horse to feel like a motor boat you have to have the lift first and then you can drive into it.

Yes you need drive but the road must be open

If you don’t have lift the drive will cause more compression and collapse, creating more dysfunction.

Does that make sense ?

So the answer is your need lift for the drive to have a place to go otherwise you just drive into a brace.

The horse on the right has an engaged thoracic sling. This only took about an hour and this particular little fellow still had a lot of restrictions that will need follow up. But it’s a start - he can now get his front end out of the way allowing for hind end to come under instead of around.

He will be able to push off the ground instead of collapsing into it allowing triceps activation and development.

He will be able to open up his rib cage and breathe deep fully expanding into his diaphragm and creating internal lift to his back. His waist will lengthen, lumbar spine align and psoas relax creating movement to the pelvis and softening the angle so the hips now in alignment can push back at the ground with their full power.

All this in an hour.
All this from re training your nervous system out of dysfunction into function
Lift your sling to lift your back.

Please don’t drive into your horse if he cannot engage his sling and definitely do not back these horses up !!

10/05/2024

I’ve had a trying year with OnCore…. We’re making headway and lately my rides have been great and pretty productive. But we only had about 2 weeks of not being super awkwardly stuck in a growth spurt and now he feels like I’m riding down the Geronimo slide. 🛝

I’ve also had a busy week with some extra emotions floating around and so I’ve been working hard to find quality time for riding.

So I’m hitting the road this week. I’m working hard to remember that this IS productive. For both of our mental/emotional health. He needs to grow, ring work is hard when you’re built upside down at the moment, and winter will be coming soon enough.

How lucky am I that this is what it looks like when I turn right or left out of my driveway. 🍁

10/02/2024

I’ve been thinking and talking a lot over the last few years about how/ why people struggle to just be in the moment.

A lot of us adults laugh it off as a “wouldnt that be nice” and kids look at me like “wtf is that?” But doesn’t that make it all the more important? Isn’t that a huge problem?

Our horses are in the moment all the time. Why can’t we just stop and be ok with not “being productive” while our horse eats some grass? Or why can’t getting on and riding just to end with our own body/ soul feeling better be enough? Cant we be ok with not overly caring if our horse gained monumental training concepts sometimes?

I used to laugh and say that “taking my well behaved horse for a trail ride was just my time to answer emails” and good lord do I wish I had some of those hours back now that I’m a mom and rarely get to ride out of the ring. (Because you know, I’m riding and momming at the same time and littles dont stay where you put them while you’re out for a hack)

So I’ve been consciously trying to BE THERE. When I’m there.

I took this picture after realizing I HAD NO WHERE TO BE. And I was BY MYSELF. I groomed her and went to put her back but then realized I had more time. So I took this and put my phone away and just settled into the sound of her munching grass and feeling of sitting still. It was so much more productive spending time with her like this than anything else I can think of.

Take a sec today…. Let the world spin while you stand still (or ride peacefully)

09/30/2024

Take your horse out of the arena.

It’s easy to think your horse is well-trained when confined to the arena. But once you step outside—whether it’s on the trail or just around the farm—gaps in their training become obvious. Removing the comfort and familiarity of the arena reveals these weaknesses.

One strategy I use to address this is starting groundwork outside the arena as soon as possible. It’s often a different experience lunging a horse outside, where distractions and natural draws constantly test their focus. You’ll likely notice a difference in their behavior, as external elements challenge their concentration.

To truly develop a great horse outside the arena, you need to practice in that environment. Pushing their boundaries builds trust and strengthens your partnership.

Of course, you could skip the groundwork and go straight to riding. However, I prefer to stay on the ground for a more thorough training approach. While groundwork may be physically demanding (hello cardio!), I find it more effective to address issues from the ground before transitioning to under saddle work.

09/24/2024

This is LONG overdue (sorry, life gets in the way sometimes!)

Congratulations to Erika on the purchase of Mason!!!! I am so excited for this pairing- a genuinely good person now has her first horse…. A genuinely good horse 🥰

I’m super excited to say that Mason will be staying here and I get to be a part of their development!

Thanks to all who helped make this match happen!

09/01/2024

What does “love” look like to you?

Here’s a picture of a mouse that our barn cat brought to her kittens. Now, I know that calling this love might be anthropomorphizing it…. But bear with me.

These kittens get fed regularly. They are happy and healthy… but their mom brought them a mouse because instinctually this is how she shows she cares for them.

This is how CATS show they care.

Do horses bring presents to their babies?

NO.

So why do we (humans) give a million treats and sparkly brow bands, and chandelier ceilings to our horses?

Horses show they care by making others feel safe. My 2 old men take turns napping while the other stands guard. Paddock mates groom each other extra when it’s been a buggy day. The leader of the herd shows they notice what the others are scared of and then flicks an ear and goes back to eating to show everyone else they noticed but aren’t worried.

If you want your horse to know you love them… make their bodies feel good. Make their tack fit well. Be the most balanced, least burdensome rider you can. Show up with authentic emotions. And groom until you’ve scratched their itchy stops.

08/29/2024

My mind put a few different recent conversations and experiences together today and I thought it was interesting…

I was talking with a fellow homeschool minded mom about how I plan to try and get my kids exposed to as much diversity and “real world” knowledge as possible (because they are white girls growing up with responsible families in NH) and I want them to be able to see beyond their own circumstances.

I’m in a few horsey FB groups that don’t totally align with the way I train but I read a lot of the posts etc.

I started working with a Western trainer with OnCore.

Here’s what all of those things did in my brain (about life and horses): you need to know what you stand for, what your morals and principles are… and then you need to look outside of those. You need to ask “why” about things that might not affect you. You need to learn things from other points of view, maybe just to solidify your own views. You need to talk with (or read) people who don’t agree with you so that you can grow and learn and be an empathetic and realistic person.

No, you should not change your entire training plan because you took one lesson from someone who suggested a different approach. But you should know what works and what doesn’t and usually the only way to know that is by trying.

This might be a total ramble, but I thought it was interesting both that my mind lumped all of this together…. And that (to bring it back to horses) OnCore seems to be doing better after both working with a trainer of a different discipline (with the same core philosophy as me) and reading a few articles that mostly didn’t match my methods but had a couple things that resonated.

Video of my mare following me around 🥰

08/15/2024

Jumping into a long weekend away with the fam like…. 😍 (huge thanks to those helping keep things going while we’re gone!!!)

08/09/2024

Mason is a 10 year old, 17h puppy dog who would really like to be able to fit in your pocket. He’s the type of horse that every trainer wishes for their rider- kind, confident, calm, the same on and off farm, respectful on the ground, no baggage, handsome, and did I mention kind?

Mason started his life on the track, but with a couple slow starts he retired sound and went on to win the 2018 Thoroughbred Makeover with Tik Maynard. After that he spent some time in Florida doing some lower level hunters before moving up to NH. Once in NH, Mason has been owned by an AA who primarily rides hunters but has used him most for fun adventures like to the beach, trail rides, XC, and trail courses. His owner has decided to downsize her herd and since he’s built to go more like an Eventer/ dressage horse than a hunter it’s time for him to find someone else to enjoy him.

Mason is well trained at liberty, can go bridleless, and has spent the last 2 months ensuring that there are no holes in his flatwork under saddle. He has no baggage, and is gaining strength in the 1st & 2nd level lateral work. While his flat work has been the main focus lately, Mason is currently jumping 2’6 which seems quite small for him. With some good educational miles, he should easily go Novice soon and have no issues through Prelim at least. He’s brave and rideable to fences of all kinds. He’s safe for anyone to ride but he would benefit from being in a program that prioritizes straightness, suppleness and correct biomechanics of horse and rider. What he lacks in show miles, he makes up for in personality, rideability, and safety. He will take the right rider pretty far in the show ring, or make a non competitive person one heck of an adventure partner!

I can see Mason most enjoying a home doing Fox Hunting, eventing, dressage, or being an all around good boy for a nice rider. He is up to date on all vetting, wears plain front shoes, had a full set of clean X-rays when purchased by current owner, and likes having buddies in turn out.

JC name: Looking My Way

Located: Barnstead NH

Asking: lower 5s starting with a ✌️

Contact: Emily via PM

https://youtu.be/CPyeLtnj2sI

08/01/2024

Gotta love being able to stick a kid on the training horse to cool him out with a hack down the road and not worry at all ❤️

07/30/2024

We took sales horse Mason for a field trip today and man…. This is just an awesome horse! I’m still gaining confidence XC after a pretty traumatic fall a few years ago (with very little XC riding between now and then to regain that confidence). I just loved being able to tell myself “it’s ok Emily, as long as you don’t just jump off of him, Mason’s gonna take care of it”. My stirrups were too long, my fitness for jumping is nonexistent, and I still knew that if I pointed him at something he not only would go over it, but it would be calm, enjoyable and well executed. I’m truly thankful for horses like this to come through my barn. It’s now my job to find him someone who won’t take advantage of his genuine kindness and honesty.

07/29/2024