Matt Hendricks is a Jordan Brasser Horsemanship certified 3 star behaviorist and 4 star instructor.
I do everything from c**t starting, to lessons, to problem horse development.
Happy birthday to the horse who started it all for me. I couldn’t have asked for a better partner. He’s been there for me and with me through so many c**t starts, working with problem horses, demonstrations, teaching seminars, clinics and lessons, trail rides, and just every day life. He has always done a good job helping, and we have always improved together. I do my best to take care of him as well as he has always taken care of me. Happy birthday Murray. 😊
Seriously Murray 🤦🏼♂️😂
Remember to take time to just hang out with your horse as well as play with them. 🥰
It’s easy to focus on all the things you want to do with your horse, and a lot of those things matter and are important. At the same time though, remember that sometimes the most important thing for your horse to be able to do well is… nothing. Sometimes just being responsible and standing still is the most needed thing.
“The most important thing your horse can learn how to do is stand still.” - Jordan Brasser
As we enter spring, here is a look back at some fun things from the last few years. Never stop learning. You can always get better. Your horse will thank you. 🤠
Liberty should be more than just something fun to do with your horse. When done naturally, liberty really help create a connection with your horse and helps you develop a good relationship with your horse. It really helps you and your horse learn to work with each other instead of against each other, and it really gets your partnership off on the right foot.
Welcome Annie Mae (the 2 year old bay filly at liberty). 😊 I bought her last year, but she has been at a friends house until now, so I haven’t done much with her. This was the day she arrived, shortly after I introduced her to Murray and Melody. I’m excited to see how she develops as she grows up! 🤠
Tack can be really important, and at the same time very unimportant.
For instance, making sure your saddle fits and allows your horse’s back to move properly is important. If your horse is uncomfortable, then getting upset for behavioral things that could be caused by that isn’t good.
On the other hand, if you are a good horseman, you could do more with a rope halter with tied up lead rope reins than most people could do with the best tack ever made.
I always enjoy showing people in real time what you can do with a horse at a seminar. 🤠 This was at the start of my session with Fergie where I got her to connect to Murray and I and have her learn to follow along side us and move with us instead of keep her distance. By creating that mental connection with a horse where they choose to be with you at liberty, not with bribes, but with a relationship, you can get the horse to really want to work with you and everything else you go to do with them later will be much easier.
Throwing the reins over your horses head is easier than you think. Don’t let the technique of switching from side to side stop you from enjoying the benefits of practicing riding with just one rein such as:
- Learning to not pull back with both hands at once.
- Learning not to oversteer.
- Improvement with using each individual rein when you do have two reins.
The better your horsemanship is, the better your horses will be. 🤠
Apparently the more experienced horses thought this filly needed a pep talk before the event.
A horse should be just as light in a hackamore as they are in a bridle and vise versa. Each tool has advantages and disadvantages depending on what you are doing and how advanced both you and your horse are. Learn how you to use both well, you’ll be a better horseman for it.
When you take off the halter and lead rope, you’re only left with the connection and relationship that you’ve created with your horse. When you add a bunch of grass and go outside all the fences, you’re asking your horse to still prioritize you with a whole new level of distractions.
One of the keys to being able to progress with your horse is being able to accurately direct his feet.
Horses have trifocal lens in their eyes. This means that they see close up out of the bottom of their eyes, mid range in the middle, and close up out of the top of their eyes. This means that you look differently to them on the ground, vs when you are in the saddle. That is one of the many reasons why I like to work with horses from a saddle horse. It allows the horse to get comfortable with seeing me above them and receiving direction from above before I get on their back to ride them.
Playing out in the fields with my 3 year old filly Melody and Solstice. Creating a connection with your horse so they want to work with you is so important. It allows you to do things as one with them instead of fight them when you are riding. Be your horses partner, you won’t regret it.
Your horse should follow your direction because you move as one, not because you forced him into it by pulling on his face. By learning to ride with your seat, your use of reins for things like flexion and collection will become way better.
What is the closest way you can get to communicating with a horse the way another horse would communicate with that horse? It doesn’t get much more natural than playing with your horse at liberty while horseback. That is one of the many reasons why I prefer to start c**ts from horseback.
Happy birthday to the horse that started it all for me. I wouldn’t be where I am today without him. He’s always taken care of me when we’re doing a job together, and I always do my best to take care of him. He will always be my first horse. Happy 10th birthday Murray.
When your horse becomes truly light, a whole new world of possibilities opens up. 🤠
I’ve ridden this filly for about 3 and a half months. She has already helped me start several c**ts, work with problem horses, perform in a liberty seminar, can be ridden bridleless, and much more. She is always fun to play with.
Interact with your horse in such a way that he can’t help but to choose you and want to be your partner. 😊
I will be performing and teaching pairs work in Jordan Brasser Horsemanship’s liberty seminar today. I’d love to see you there.
https://facebook.com/events/s/jbh-liberty-seminar/344682417595107/
This is Melody, a 2 year old APHA mare that I just got. This is only the 5th or 6th time I’ve played with her. She didn’t know much when I got her. I’m happy with how she is coming along.
Jordan Brasser Horsemanship
I was playing with one of the training horses tonight in the round pen at liberty and the sky was beautiful at Jordan Brasser Horsemanship.
Playing with Solstice and getting her more comfortable at the canter as the liberty horse at Jordan Brasser Horsemanship.
Helping Jennifer learn how to throw a rope at Jordan Brasser Horsemanship.
Murray loves the barn cats at Jordan Brasser Horsemanship.
Grand Rapids, MI
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Understanding the drive line is a really important part of being able to communicate effectively with your horse. If you are asking your horse to do things by putting pressure in the wrong area, then you are only going to confuse your horse, but by understanding where you need to ask your horse for a given thing, you can make it a lot more black and white for him. #horsetraining #horsemanship #naturalhorsemanship #horseman
I usually start with hindquarter yields, but forequarter yields are important too. They are obviously important for various maneuvers, but they are also really important especially if you have a more pushy and dominant horse. You’ll find that horses with that kind of attitude tend to want to lock the front end down and not move it out of the way. #horse #naturalhorsemanship #horsemanship
Hind quarter yields are one of the most important things your horse can learn how to do. Not only for safety, but also because they are foundational for so many other movements. #naturalhorsemanship #horsemanship #horsetraining #horseman
You can teach your horse how to work with you and pick you up when you are mounting. Whether you are getting on from a mounting block, or a fence, or even if you normally get on from the ground, teaching your horse how to do this help them to really be an active participant in the mounting process and learn to be responsible about it. #naturalhorsemanship #horsemanship #horsetraining
Here is Annie, a 3 year old of mine, ponying a yearling with me just to get her used to going down the road. At the same time, it’s giving Annie something else to do other than just walk mindlessly forward. Give your horses jobs. Give them things to do. Give them a purpose. If you can help them see the point in what you are teaching them and help them realize that there is a point to it, then they will be a lot more motivated and will learn faster and do things better, and that, is good for both of you. 🤠
This was Annie’s 8th ride overall, and it was her first ride on the road. If you prepare your horse properly, then things like this don’t have to be a big deal. 🤠
When done well, foal imprinting not only helps ensure that your goal will grow up with a positive association with people, but you can also start teaching them basic things like how to respond appropriately to pressure, to let you handle their feet, etc., that will serve them well later in life. Since horses are a precocial species, it allows them to learn things like this within hours of being born and to be able to retain that for the rest of their lives. ☺️
Here, I was helping Annie learn how to spin better. You can see even when she slows down how she never loses connection with me. Without connection, you won’t get far trying to teach anything else at liberty. The relationship has to come first. 😊
After connection, feel is one of the most important things to develop with your horse. Good feel is a lot of what gets you softness, responsiveness, lightness, etc.
This was Annie’s first time with long lines. She’s a filly of mine who still has more growing to do before I start her. That being said, what I do with her now can help make the riding part really easy when she is ready for it. Long lining with your horse can help your horse become more prepared for being ridden in many ways. With the lines on each side, it helps them get used to that feeling before your legs are on each side of them which can be claustrophobic for some horses. It helps them learn to receive direction from behind the driveline like they will when they are being ridden. It can help develop softness to rein pressure. It helps desensitize them to thing behind them and around them, and it great for introducing them to the feel of a rope running alongside them like if you were dragging something. I could go on, but you get the idea. So if you have a young horse you can’t ride yet, or an older horse that needs more work, don’t underestimate the value of long lining. 🤠
As we enter spring, here is a look back at some fun things from the last few years. Never stop learning. You can always get better. Your horse will thank you. 🤠
[Michigan Horse Expo 2023]First day and first time for Melody in this big arena!👀 Jordan and I brought her along to be a pairs horse with Eclipse during one of his demos, and this was me practicing with her the night we arrived. Because we prepared her properly and and have a good relationship with her, being in a new environment didn’t have to be a big deal. Her first expo was definitely a success! 🤠
Liberty should be more than just something fun to do with your horse. When done naturally, liberty really help create a connection with your horse and helps you develop a good relationship with your horse. It really helps you and your horse learn to work with each other instead of against each other, and it really gets your partnership off on the right foot.
Welcome Annie Mae (the 2 year old bay filly at liberty). 😊 I bought her last year, but she has been at a friends house until now, so I haven’t done much with her. This was the day she arrived, shortly after I introduced her to Murray and Melody. I’m excited to see how she develops as she grows up! 🤠
Your horse needs to choose to be with you whether you are riding or playing with them on the ground. Otherwise you are just going to end up trying to force your horse to do things instead of doing things with them.
Want to find out how good you are? Try a mule. Mules can be just as responsive and soft as horses, and they are even more intelligent. That being said, mules will hold you to a much higher standard and expect you to do everything you do better before they will respond to it.
Throwing the reins over your horses head is easier than you think. Don’t let the technique of switching from side to side stop you from enjoying the benefits of practicing riding with just one rein such as: - Learning to not pull back with both hands at once. - Learning not to oversteer. - Improvement with using each individual rein when you do have two reins. The better your horsemanship is, the better your horses will be. 🤠
When you take off the halter and lead rope, you’re only left with the connection and relationship that you’ve created with your horse. When you add a bunch of grass and go outside all the fences, you’re asking your horse to still prioritize you with a whole new level of distractions.
Playing out in the fields with my 3 year old filly Melody and Solstice. Creating a connection with your horse so they want to work with you is so important. It allows you to do things as one with them instead of fight them when you are riding. Be your horses partner, you won’t regret it.
