Sweetwater Ranch Antelope Valley

11/01/2024

10/29/2024

Rachel Trani
Maybe we need to get a custom Rachel mask for anybody who babysits your child L O L

10/29/2024

10/28/2024

New Research Shows Horses Have 'Super Intelligence:'

Horses are far more intelligent than most people realize, with cognitive abilities that place them among the smartest animals.

They have demonstrated skills in problem-solving, emotional intelligence, memory, and learning that rival those of many other species. For example, horses are known for their cleverness in opening stable doors or untying knots, showcasing their capacity for strategic thinking.

Emotionally, they form deep, empathetic bonds with humans and can sense feelings like pride or shame, often mirroring their human companions' emotions.

Their impressive cognitive skills also allow them to recognize symbols, communicate preferences, and adapt to complex situations, such as responding to commands in therapeutic environments.

One study even revealed that horses can adjust their communication based on whether humans are aware of hidden food, increasing visual and tactile signals like looking or nudging when their caretakers were unaware.

This ability to understand and respond to the knowledge state of others—previously thought to be unique to primates—illustrates the sophistication of horse cognition. Horses actively attempt to communicate with humans in much the same way they would with their herd members, making horse-human communication a true two-way street.

While horses may not match the intellectual capabilities of elephants, they are often considered more intelligent than dogs or cats in some areas, excelling in equine-assisted therapies where their sensitivity to human emotions makes them invaluable in psychological treatments.

10/27/2024

The Saturday morning group riders went out for a nice trail ride today. 

10/26/2024

Mark your calenders for the 2025 show season. Our 2025 season will be going back to Sunday shows, all shows will be WRHA approved and all rules will follow WRHA rules, if the rule can't be found in the WRHA rule book it will follow the AQHA rule. All shows will have day awards, but we will still offer series awards, you will have to sign up for them, they will be given in each division that has 3 or more riders. Judges have not been confirmed, but I will post them as I get conformation from them. We will still offer the Walk Trot classes for 12& under, and Open Limited, if you ride limited you can not cross enter into 3 gait classes.
Here are your dates: March 16th rain date 23rd. April 13th, May 4th, June 1st.
See you all in the spring.

10/25/2024

I would really encourage all my students who are interested in jumping with their horses to compare this rider with most of the modern videos we see. This is classic old school over fences equitation. An absolutely beautiful ride! The fact that the rider also happens to be 70 years old. Makes it all the more impressive.

10/25/2024

My day began with loading 10 bales of hay into a borrowed pick up truck because mine is in the shop and I had promised to loan hay decorations to the Childrens Center.

I admit to being rather pleased with myself that that I was able to load up this truck and then help unload it.

And then in my morning lesson with Rene and Desi, the horse that I thought would never have any quality of dressage style movement suddenly delivered this trot! It is completely unforced and we’re working around MIM which is the new name for PSSM2 and he just continues to shine.

At the end of the day working with Robin and Meredith on their Gymkhana and enjoying a beautiful sunset. Not a bad day. 

10/24/2024

The transition between seasons, with abrupt changes of weather and temperature can increase a horse's likelihood of developing digestive distress or colic.

Here is an article with some handy tips for any horse guardian to remember. Ear TTouch, Belly lifts, and the gas point can be excellent tools to have at your disposal while you are waiting for your vet and/or banamine to take effect.

Over the decades we have received countless letters from guardians who have used some of these techniques to help alleviate colic symptoms, often crediting them for saving their horse's life. These exercises are never meant to replace vet care but do provide effective, non-invasive techniques to use while you waiting for help to arrive.

https://www.ttouch.ca/2020/09/27/coping-with-colic/

10/24/2024

This is a wonderful explanation of why slow and easy and deep breathing will make a horse naturally calm around certain people

Bring that calm energy to your relationship with your horse and everything is easier

SLOOOOOW DOWN!

SLOW your walking down to 1 step per second with and without your horse next to you.
SLOW your hand movements down as you touch or do things.
SLOW your talking down.
SLOW your breathing down.
SLOW your pulls and pushes down on the leadrope.

SLOW to FLOW!

Humans are WAAAAY to fast for horses and this is one of the leading causes of reactivity and opposition reflex in horses.

Speed = stress.

Let me teach you what speed does...

When the brain perceives a threat, it causes the body to release the stress response hormone cortisol. Cortisol levels and speed go hand in hand.
Cortisol provides the body with the fuel it needs to flee a scary situation or fight against it.

The thing with the mind-body relationship is that the brain feels an emotion such as fear, which create a physical response in the body, but the body can also move at a certain speed or in a particular way and create an emotion in the brain. It can be reverse engineered.

This is how special the intimate relationship is between the brain and body.

The other thing to remember is that, collectively as a social animal, when speed is noticed by another mammal (no matter the species), it alerts the unconscious brain to threat.

Speed is an alarm system in a social system (consciously and unconsciously).

If you walked down a road and everyone started running, you'd find it hard not to run even if you didn't know what the cause was. You are noticing that others are running and in a direction, so you mirror them to increase your chances of survival. You don't need the reasoning part of your brain for this. You just activated your primal (survival) part of the brain.

One other thing to remember: HORSES CAN SMELL CORTISOL. So not only does your speed act as a visual alarm system to your horse, it also acts as an olfactory one!

Would you want to interact with someone who caused you to feel constantly on alert?

These little things are the beginnings of what ripples into chronic stress in both humans and horses.
You spend enough time around someone who is fast in their movement, your nervous system will condition itself to being on high alert.
HELLO 👋 CHRONIC STRESS!!!

Slow your movement down = slow your thoughts down.
Slow your movement down = lower your cortisol.
Slow your movement down = feel connected with yourself, the world and others in it.
Slow your movement down = slow your alarm systems down and eventually they'll turn off.

Slow down so much that it is uncomfortable. It won't be uncomfortable for long, I promise 😉

Happy brain training 🧠
Charlotte 🙂

10/23/2024

This gift arrived in yesterday’s mail. I still am in a little disbelief that practical horseman magazine selected me as one of the top 10 trainers of the year, but I appreciate the sponsorship by Cosequin and laboratories

Not sure when we’ll hear who the actual winner is, but I’m in an elite group of fine horse trainers.

Again, thank you Practical Horseman Magazine

10/14/2024

It’s the most wonderful time of the year when everything is out in the stores! You can find a pumpkin with cobwebs on it wearing a Santa hat 

10/10/2024

Look at the bottom and you’ll see that Monica Whitmer is considered a top 10 trainer in the United States by practical Horseman magazine.

Final results are yet to be announced, but I am honored beyond words and appreciative of my student who nominated me and appreciative of practical horseman magazine, which I have read for many many years.

Anyone who thinks you have to go “down below” to get decent training now you know we have got some quality instruction going on here in the antelope Valley.

🐴Practical Horseman’s Top 10 Trainers of the Year!🐴

Congratulations to the Top 10 trainers of the 2024 Practical Horseman’s Trainer of the Year contest! These exceptional individuals have demonstrated unwavering dedication and expertise in their field.

🌟 We are thrilled to announce the Top 10 finalists for Trainer of the Year: 🌟

Leigh Berman
Andrea (Andi) Bill
Tammy Chipko
Jackie Ericksen
Lauren Griffin
Emma Hainze
Nancy Ligon
Andrea Pfeiffer
Kirsten Priebe
Monica Whitmer

Stay tuned: We'll be announcing the winner soon!

10/07/2024

This is an excellent diagram of how a horses hind leg compares to our foot.

Ever wondered how our anatomy compares to a horse’s? 🧐 Check out this colorful schematic of a human foot and a horse’s hind limb! Did you know that our heel is actually the equivalent of the point of the hock in a horse? 🦶➡️🐴

10/07/2024

At Sweetwater Ranch Antelope Valley we want our riders and horses to be versatile. Minnie is evidence of that!

10/04/2024

Honestly, once you’re past, the age of 20, you are always afraid. But we get on anyway and then we’re glad we did.

“I was scared today.

I was scared to get on, scared to walk out the yard because I had a bad ride the day before. One bad ride, and it made me scared.

I didn’t know why. I’ve had 1000 bad rides. I’ve had 1000 falls. I’ve broken bones and bruised my pride on countless occasions, but today I was scared.

Why? Because confidence is fragile. It takes months and years to build and seconds to lose and yet we are so careless with it.

When we get on a horse, we wear a hat to protect our head. We wear body protectors, gloves, boots...

We pay so much attention to protecting ourselves physically, we forget that our minds are not invincible, and our confidence certainly is not.

Your bank of confidence needs regular deposits, not just from others... but from you. Self confidence is the most valuable currency in life.

When you go to get on, and you hesitate, you falter and you start to ask yourself “can I do this?”, chances are, your account is almost empty.

Every time you laugh and say “oh no, I’m no good” or “so and so is 10x better than me”, you make a withdrawal from that account, and before you know it, your account is empty and you’re scared to get on.

But every time you say “I’m really pleased with how that went” or “I think I rode that really well”, your balance increases.

We need to learn to give ourselves a break, pat ourselves on the back and allow ourselves to feel proud of where we are - after all, most of the time we’ve worked bloody hard to get there!

Recognising your strengths is just as important as recognising your weaknesses. Never allow yourself or anyone else to empty that account.

Confidence is valuable, don’t bankrupt yourself.”

Author- cromwellandlucy

10/02/2024

Not that I’m doing cutting but learning how to work into a herd of cattle is always good information. This is about a deep cut.