Red Hawk Ranch

06/22/2024

A recent study, conducted in Japan, compared various methods for cooling horses after exercise in hot and humid conditions. Thoroughbreds were exercised until their pulmonary artery temperature reached 108°F. The time until the pulmonary artery temperature returned to

05/02/2024

It is rare anymore to see a Trainer take their time with a young talented horse. These are the Trainers we should be flocking to... not the ones with the full barn of horses at shows.

Why trainers PUSH horses TOO FAST

Klaus Balkenhol explains, "Although breeders have created a better horse, the market has created a demand for a stronger, healthier, more powerful horse. It's easier to sell a horse that looks
like a carefully developed eight-year-old, and not like a three- or four-year-old just beginning his career. If you force it, you can get a three-year-old to physically look like a developed eight-year-old. Too many colts remain stallions which, if approved, promise breeders higher prices as three-year-olds. Now 250 to 300 young stallions are presented each year, when only 40 or 50 will be approved.
Few breeders have the sense to geld the yearling stallions and leave them on the pasture to mature naturally. Instead, yearling stallions are brought into a stall, fed too much grain, and at three, look like six- or seven-year-olds. They have muscle mass, but not enough bone structure to support it. They look mature from the outside but aren't . . . and when started to work, degeneration sets in. Competitions also create pressure to push horses too fast as competitions are now scheduled throughout the year without any breaks."

Common Mistakes In Pushing Too Fast
Tightening the noseband: "A horse resists by sticking out his tongue. Tightening the noseband too much puts pressure on the nose and on the poll. If it is necessary to tighten the noseband very tightly, then something has gone very wrong in the basic training of the horse. The horse cannot be relaxed, the first step on the training scale," warns Klaus.

Specializing too early: "Drilling every day in the indoor arena is too intense for the young horse. It's very important, especially in the first two years of training, not to specialize the young horse. Training should include a variety of activities, including trail riding, which is good for the mind as well as building strength with hill work. It should include jumping, either free or low jumps under saddle, including small natural obstacles on the trail, and cavaletti. A variety of work will allow the horse to stay mentally fresh and to enjoy his work. Only when the horse is happy can dressage become art."

Not checking tack frequently: "Saddle and tack need to be checked constantly for proper fit and adjusted as the horse's body changes with growth, and as his fitness improves with the
training. If the noseband gets too low, for example, and the skin between the noseband and the bit is rubbed and becomes sore, this causes the horse discomfort and loss of relaxation.
Regularly check for sharp edges and bit problems in the horse's mouth and teeth."

Working too long: "The goal of our training is to build the horse's mind and his muscles. Suppleness and relaxation require adequate muscle strength. strengthening requires both contraction and relaxation. Blood flow and oxygenation occur when the muscle relaxes. If the muscle is kept in a constant state of contraction, it loses power and strength, and actually becomes smaller.
Frequent rest periods, especially for a young horse at a free walk on a long rein, are necessary. The rest periods are not for a rider's fatigue, but to allow the horse to stretch and relax his muscles. The rest breaks will give you a completely new horse. This is the systematic gymnasticizing of the horse."

Riding when the horseman is tense: "Horses are particularly sensitive to the rider's mood. A rider shouldn't ride if she is under undue stress or doesn't have the time to ride. If the rider has a bad day, give the horse a rest day or go for a relaxing trail ride; don't work in the arena. The horse mirrors the rider's mood."

Not praising the horse enough: "The horse must perform from joy, not subservience. Praising a horse frequently with voice, a gentle pat, or relaxing the reins is very important to keep the horse interested and willing. If the horse offers piaffe, for instance, because he's excited, praise him for it. You shouldn't stop the lesson at that point nor make a big deal out of it. If you don't want piaffe, quietly urge him forward into trot, but you should NEVER
punish him for offering the piaffe.

04/21/2024

Horsemanship means putting the horse 1st... even when everything you have been working for is within your grasp.

Statement from Skylar Wireman on withdrawing Tornado from today’s final round at FEI World Cup Finals:

I have made the very difficult decision to withdraw from the final round of the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup Finals. Tornado, my horse is 100% well, sound and fit and I would like to explain why I have withdrawn. I came here knowing this would be an incredible learning experience and hoped to be competitive. I am at the start of what I want to be a long and successful career as a jumping athlete and to compete against the very best in the world has been an honor, and I have learned so much. I hope I have proven that I deserved to be here and that I will give my all to jumping clear rounds and being a winner. While I want to ride every round and grow my experience level, I care deeply about my horses. I love Tornado more than anything.

I came here with a horse that is 10 and is very much still learning and his welfare will always be at the very heart of every decision I make. Without our horse we are nothing, and they put their complete trust in us. Tornado was a rock star in the 1st Round of the World Cup Finals finishing 10th amongst the legends of our sport. He jumped his heart out in the 2nd Round on Thursday. Tornado is inexperienced at this level and having studied our round on Thursday and talked extensively to my coach and many others whose opinions and experience I have high regard for, I will not risk his welfare or his future in the sport by asking Tornado to jump a course he might not be quite ready for. The course today will be big and technical but fair for this level of competition: I knew it would be but I knew Tornado and I had the potential to jump it; that potential is still there but we need just a little more experience to realize it.

I am so grateful to those that have supported Tornado, to my family Shayne Berridge-Wireman , my groom Alicia Marie, my coach Peter Wylde and the USEF who have put a warm blanket of support around all of us here in Riyadh. I look forward to representing the team in the future!

10/16/2023

Carl Hester wisdom:
“If you can create what we try to create, without heavy hands, without hanging onto the rein, if you can do it with self-carriage, then it looks beautiful. It’s this word, expression, which is a dangerous word because once you put expression into it, like heightened suspension and things like that, then if you have got the wrong rider, or a rider who doesn’t ride with an independent seat, then they use their hands and that’s when you get that horrible looking, jerky dressage. It is something we really work on, to be able to create it, without going over-board.”

10/05/2023

About ten years ago, give or take, the NEDA clinician at U-Mass Amherst was Klaus Balkenhol, the legendary coach of the German gold medal dressage team.

One thing that he said changed forever my opinion about the concept of "warmup."

Klaus said that when he gets on a horse, whether out of a stall or out of a paddock, he always just walks calmly for a MINIMUM of ten full minutes. He joked that you need to time this with your watch, because ten minutes will feel like 20.

He also said that as the horse learns that this will ALWAYS be the case, that the first ten minutes, AT LEAST, will be calm walking, every single time he is mounted, that the horse will learn to start out with less anxiety about the upcoming work.

Then, after the walking, Klaus said that the initial trotting should be to establish forward rhythm, and only after this is obtained should the rider gradually take up more rein connection.

Klaus said that too many riders (I think he was directing this at me!) think of the warm up as something to be gotten through and dispensed with swiftly, so that they can get to the "real" work. Klaus reminded the audience that the warmup is just as integral a part of the "real" work as any other part.

Guilty as charged, sir. But I have reformed! Thank you!

09/30/2023

08/03/2023

Gerd Heuschmann asks, and answers the question:“If you block the loin area, then the front legs come out and the hind legs don’t follow. Then my question is – is this trot?"
Carl Hester and Uthopia show us the suspension phase of a true trot:
https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2021/01/gerd-heuschmann-in-australia/

11/23/2022

I way too much in a hurry as an adult learning to ride dressage. It was only at retirement age that I (finally) learned what I missed...

When you enter the horse world, you might not really know what you’re getting into. Here are the top 6 essential lessons that I’ve learned over my years of horsing around.

11/12/2022

Horse shoes are still found, 100 years later, by farmers and walkers in the area of fighting at Verdun in France.
To still be finding so many shoes from the war horses is testament to the absolute carnage of this particular event.

Photograph by Olivier Saint Hilaire.
Credit: Army Equitation

09/15/2022

Anyone who doesn’t realize these beautiful souls have hearts and emotions and families has simply spent no time with them or paid attention. We had to euthanize Ajax this afternoon. It was gut wrenching, heart breaking and a loss that will never be filled. Quarter Quarter - on the right - loved this big draft gentleman. He was one of a kind amazing and gentle and taught this little man all about being a horse. So I wanted him to be able to say goodbye to Ajax and find an understanding in his own way as to why he was going to be gone and never come back. I didn’t want Ajax to just “disappear” and Quarter look and cry for him as I have seen happen with others.

Quarter spent over an hour trying to get Ajax up. He pulled on him. He bit him. He pawed him. He pushed him. He whinnied at him. Over and over for more than sixty agonizing minutes. When I or his mama tried to move him away or console him he laid his ears back, bared his teeth and pushed us away from Ajax’s body. He was guarding him and wanted nobody near. Finally, he fell to the ground next to Ajax and cried. I don’t really care if anyone believes a horse can cry, this little man did and it has left me sobbing for three hours. Deep, guttural wails of grief. And so he lay, until his mama finally forced him to his feet and we were able to move him out of the riding arena so we could take Ajax away.

The lessons we could learn that are right in front of us that so many simply can’t see. This is family. This is grief. This is love. It just looks different.

01/06/2022

This article was updated Jan. 5, 2022, to reflect Kraut's participation in the 2018 World Equestrian Games (North Carolina) and 2021 Tokyo Olympics. The horse that took Laura Kraut to the next level in grand prix classes and her first internatio...

11/25/2021

To my mind, one of the greatest culinary inventions for aiding and abetting foxhunting families has been the self-basting turkey. It most certainly has been a boon to our ménage, as Thanksgiving Day on our farm is noted for being a miracle of logist...

11/20/2021

What a great story!

Horse trials come and—more often—go over the years, usually becoming casualties of encroaching urbanization or the sale of a farm. In New England's Area I, Huntington Farm’s annual horse trials, held since the 1970s on the picturesque 205-acre...

11/20/2021

If you give a kid a pony...

If you give a kid a pony, they will need a saddle to go with it...

You’ll buy them the best saddle you can afford and then they will probably want a bridle and a saddle pad and some boots too…

Then they will probably spend hours begging you to go to the barn even though there are other things that you need to do. They will insist and their insistence will win.

And when they get their first show shirt, they’ll need a belt and spurs and a hat… And a TEAM, a Barn Family… And then, life as you know it is over.

No more lazy weekends or holidays for you, my friend. You will see more sunrises than you ever thought possible. Every spare minute will be spent hauling kids and dogs and boots and tack all over tarnation for hours to practice for their sport. The sport that will drive their very passion.

And your house will be a mess. And your car will be dirty. All because you gave a kid a pony…

Your weekends will be spent freezing to death or burning up as you hang out in the barn or arena. And their weekends will be spent gaining confidence and friends and learning new skills that will stick with them for the rest of their lives. They’ll be having fun and getting dirty… So dirty that you will be doing laundry in a whole new way - possibly at times involving a pressure washer.

And you’ll be there the day they learn to lope, the day they win their first ribbon, win their first class, get their first Circuit Championship… And you will be SO proud. The other parents will Congratulate you… But you know, it’s the hardwork and determination that they have invested into this pony that deserves the congratulations. As a team, they have done this…

And right before your eyes, your little one will be transformed from a small fry who be bopped along on that little pony with their little bum bouncing out of the saddle into a little horseman. And you will be proud… So proud.

When you give a kid a pony, you give them more than just a four legged furry friend. You give them a sport, a talent, hopes, dreams, and friends - friends who become family, a place to learn about life, room to grow as a person where they can push themselves to their very limits, and bravery, and courage, and memories…
Oh the memories that will last a lifetime. And a LIFE. They will have ALL THESE THINGS simply because you gave a kid a pony…

Because you gave a kid a pony, you too will develop new lifelong friendships, developed solely from the same passion for the sport and the love of your barn family and team.
You will root together.
And cry together.
And laugh together.
All because you gave a kid a pony…

Then one day - years from now…
They will be in their room and a picture of that pony will catch their eye.
When they look at it they at it they will know instantly that when you gave that kid a pony you gave them a childhood that they will never forget. They will realize that everything YOU gave up along the way… was worth it.

All because you gave a kid a pony…

~ Anna Ingram Knowles

08/29/2021

Wow! Great job!

The U.S. Para Dressage Team finished with the bronze medal at the conclusion of team competition at the Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.

07/14/2021

Wonderful to watch... but sooo difficult to teach a horse unless they are started with this understanding from day 1.

TRY FREE FOR 10 DAYS

05/04/2021

CAN HORSES SMELL FEAR?

A recent study suggests horses may be able to smell human fear when presented with their body odour.

Researchers at the University of Wrocław presented twenty-one Thoroughbred and Arab horses with body odour samples collected from humans who were either happy after watching a cartoon, or frightened after watching a horror film.

Before watching the films, the humans had spent a couple of days only washing in unperfumed soap and had not smoked, drunk alcohol, eaten strong-smelling food, or performed any strenuous exercise so that their scent would be as neutral as possible. Whilst watching the cartoon or horror films the human subjects had sterile pads in their armpits to collect their body odour.

The pads were then presented to the horses and their response to the smell of fear, happiness, or a control (without odour) was recorded.

The research team found that horses showed quite different behaviours in response to the odours. They lifted their heads significantly more frequently and for longer in response to the fear odour and the control, compared to the happiness odour.

Similarly, the horses tended to touch a familiar person that was present during the test more frequently and for longer in the fear condition compared to the happiness condition.

The researchers concluded that the presentation of human body odour from humans in different emotional states is enough to induce different behavioural responses in the horse.

You can read the study here:
Olfactory-based interspecific recognition of human emotions: Horses (Equus ferus caballus) can recognize fear and happiness body odour from humans (Homo sapiens)
Agnieszka Sabiniewicza, Karolina Tarnowska, Robert Świątek, Piotr Sorokowski, Matthias Laska
Applied Animal Behaviour Science (2020) vol 230; 105072

04/20/2021

09/23/2020

It matters.

It matters where your horse goes for training. When I was a young intern with some of the “best” trainers in the world (I won’t share names/barns), this type of raking was more common than not. In fact I really don’t recall a horse in the barn without some sort of swelling, bruising or bloody sides or mouths.

It matters.

I also remember going to the shows with said horses worrying about what people would say… what a ring steward would say… But no one, NO ONE, ever said one thing about it. How did they not see these marks on the horses? Why was no one saying anything? Money? Prestige? I still don’t understand.

It matters.

I left that world as soon as my required internships were up and I never worked for another trainer like that again. The longer I train, the more and more I realize… there is a better way. And the better way can get just as impressive sliding stops, spins or piaffes. But it may cost you a 3 year old futurity. More often than not, if you are a fan of the “better ways”, you are also full of love and empathy for the animal, not just the sport. So you’re going to look for ways to keep a horse sound. Bring them up right. And slow.

It matters.

I want to be a Horseman, not a “trainer”. A horseman respects the horse. Mind, body, soul. We all have to make a living. But as a horseman I am always upfront with people about how I view quick fixes or demanded results. I don’t play that game.

It matters.

We can all keep learning better ways. We can all work to change the industry. We can choose the trainers we send our horses to. And we can alert others to bad practices. Always be a steward to the horse first, sport second. We can all do better.

It matters. These horses matter.

“A relationship built on trust is always stronger than a relationship built on truce.”

*I do not own this photo; I was given permission to use*

09/17/2020

This is just beautiful to watch!

07/23/2020

From a clinic Susanne Lauda and Lynn Randle-Degour organized at Red Hawk Ranch on behalf of the German Sport Horse Association...

“If you have too long reins the hands go back and then you restrict the horse. If you shorten the rein and go forward with the hands then you have more control of the frame.”

Turn the volume up to listen!

Dr. Dieter Schule leads a clinic on judging the Developing Horse Prix St. Georges Test. This series provides many insights into how this test is judged and offers a multitude of tips on how to improve your own ride, with a particularly instructive section on the extended walk.

See the full collection here! 👇
https://bit.ly/dt-ondemand-dieter-schule

07/22/2020

07/11/2020

After all my years with horses, this made me a little weepy...

Following my rite of passage as a horse-crazed little girl, I began riding at age 11. When I was 14, my mother’s co-worker purchased a horse hastily after only a few lessons and quickly realized she was in over her head. Eager to get more time in t...

07/04/2020

Which is your favorite?

We have rounded up some of the greatest, most memorable dressage freestyle performances of all time. Turn the volume up, and enjoy...

05/30/2020

Do we EVER solve this problem?

TRY FREE FOR 10 DAYS

04/20/2020

Congratulations to Kelly McGinn.... not only for the dream (finally!) beginning, but for sharing her dream with others who have been down this path or have dreamed of it.

Maybe she will tell us about the hurdles put in front of her start date and how she and her husband persevered in making it happen...

Meet our newest blogger, dressage trainer Kelly McGinn, who will be sharing her journey as they build the dressage facility of her dreams.

03/22/2020

03/17/2020

Excellent article for its breaking down a difficult but common problem for amateurs...

The Refined Rider - Dressage A horse that curls behind the vertical and leans on the rider's hands is a horse that has learned a bad habit. Fit it now!

03/10/2020

Stay clean!! Or just stay at the barn! :)