A typical day going back out to the pasture. Leading level EXPERT! Subaru of America, Inc. is becoming the new ranch rig 😎
Quinn is a 6 year old warmblood who joined my program at the beginning of the summer. He came with some feet in rough shape, and behavior that very well could be labeled as “uncontrollable” or “neurotic” (more on that later!) He was on a 4 week shoeing cycle and quickly developed the quarter crack that you see in the picture before coming to me. The “after” pictures were taken on the 3rd 8 week shoeing cycle. Properly understanding the mechanics of the foot make a HUGE difference! No foot, no horse! I am very thankful for Joe at Iron Horse Hoof Care relentlessly sharing his passion and knowledge of hoofcare and keeping the horses in my program healthy and sound. Stay tuned for the rest of Quinn’s story… it’s going to be a redemptive one in many ways 💛
Every once in a while a great horse comes along that makes us trainers look good. Here are some clips from Aero’s first saddling… EASIEST. THING. EVER. He’s a neat horse and has a great personality, but this has proven to me how well it works when we prioritize keeping their nervous systems functioning well throughout the training process. It may take patience upfront, but it sure pays off in the long run. As Warwick always quoted to me…“when we change the way we look at things, the things we look at change”
One thing I’m big on incorporating into my program is exposing my horses (when they’re ready for it) to outside stimuli in order to teach them how to regulate their nervous systems in all circumstances. I want them to actually be okay with it, not just handle it. As you can see here, Mo is having quite a run around and Loki isn’t real bothered!
HALTER BREAKING
It is widely accepted in the training industry that all horses will have a reactionary response, or brace, in them of some sort when a pressure is applied. A brace starts in the mind and is demonstrated by the body, as a result of a response to stimulus. The common horsemanship quest is the matter of how small we can get that reaction (brace) to become.
Given that horses are prey animals, they rely heavily on their fight or flight instincts for survival. Training philosophies are typically formed around these instincts using methods of pressure and release. IE in the case of halter breaking a young horse, a pressure is applied, a fight or flight reaction happens, and the pressure goes away when the reaction stops and the correct answer is “rewarded”. The common belief seems to be that all horses will react that way in some sort, that is how they are wired. And there will inevitably be a fight of some kind during the process.
But what if we looked at the whole situation differently? What if they are reacting in such a way because that’s the only viable option we are giving them? What if we changed the way we ask the questions?
When I observe horses interacting in a natural herd setting, their instinctual method of communication with each other is not pressure and release, or fight or flight reactions, but the language of intention. Survival skills and reactions start from a threat of safety, whereas communication of intentions start from a net of safety. They need the herd dynamic to survive, and without a communication tactic the herd would be useless.
So, when we approach our horses with a method that is going to create a survival reaction first, and a thought second, there is ALWAYS going to be an aversion to that, because it stems from a threat of safety. it’s just a matter of how small that aversion can become.
Or, we can teach them to understand our intentions first, and THEN react accordingly, like they do naturally in a herd.
My c**t Beau isn’t going to be cowy at all… 😉 100% homegrown, grandson of Smooth As A Cat out of my reining bred mare. More updates on this guy coming soon!
Spending some time in Colorado this month learning how to trim and shoe horses! Proper hoof care is crucial to the horses well being, and I’m excited to be expanding my education and learning a new skill. Thank you Joe McClellan of Iron Horse Hoof Care for taking the time to teach me!
Had another great weekend of shoeing and trimming horses with Joe McClellan of Iron Horse Hoof Care. As a result of wholistic training AND getting their feet set up properly, my horses have been standing much more relaxed and at peace. Both aspects really go hand in hand, and it’s neat to see the progress!
THE C**T CONNECTION
There has been silence on the social media front as I have been hard at work prioritizing new goals and developing a training program that better serves my clients and the equine industry as a whole.
Even though the name of my training business is “Kendall’s C**t Starting”, many of the horses who have gone through my program have been older horses with some sort of behavioral issue that needs fixing. While I do enjoy helping these horses and their owners, I have found a common theme that many of them come to me with- a story of the tears shed, or the bones broken, or the money thrown down the drain on issues that shouldn’t even be an issue to begin with.
Whether that’s more training to fix a behavior as a result of someone else’s ignorance in the starting process, or vet bills to correct a rather extreme issue that’s a result of human ignorance as far as general horse care goes (properly setting up the feet, meeting the horses physical and emotional needs, etc).
Through these experiences, I have realized that there are two major sides of the horse training coin, and both require resource expenditure of some capacity to obtain the goal.
~You can either expend your resources to fix a training problem, or you can expend resources to start one right in the first place
~You can either expend your resources fixing a health or soundness issue, or you can expend resources doing proper preventive care from the beginning
Both are hard, and both require some form of investment. But we get to choose our hard.
With that said, I am excited to announce the launch of The C**t Connection program. The main focus of this program is c**t starting and young horse development, with the goal of investing my resources and skills to create an environment that produces physically + mentally sound horses from the beginning, FOR the people in the equine industry that have the same desire!
I will still be taking horses that don’t necessarily fit the c**t starting de
A warmblood mare, a stud c**t, and a herd of sheep all occupy the same area. And the punch line is… nothing happens 🤯
No draw reins or mechanical devices were used in the making of this video! Training the mind, then the body, allows the horse the use his body correctly, to the fullest potential
