Rewild Equine

He used to really struggle with the skinny bridge and we worked on it today for the first time at our new digs. Even though it was a little wobbly, he did great as long as he didn’t rush:) it’s good to be back at it!

Actual audio of my training session😜

It’s that time of year again check on your horse friends they’ve all been working their hands to the bone. 💀😅

Ground driving with no tack! Sound on:)

We have rhythm ladies and gentlemen! The combination of rhythm and relaxation in the trot is a sign of improved strength and coordination. We have been on a long slow journey of meticulously building back his core strength and this trot tells me we’re headed in the right direction. Also here is your sign to not delete the ugly early photos and videos. I’m on the hunt to find his early ugly hollow trot to compare with but so often we (I)delete those things because we aren’t proud of them… They’re important to hang onto to help reinforce ourselves on how far we’ve come. also let’s continue to normalize the improvements that with longer and move in non-linear ways. #horse #horses #horsesofinstagram #lexingtonky  #draftcross  #drafthorse #ahorsenamedben #painthorse #paintdraftcross #spotteddraft  #epmhorse   #horsefitness   #clickertraining #horsetraining   #horserehab #rehabbinghorses #horsegirl

Today is our 5 year anniversary of our life together😁 happy gotcha day Finnick!!!! #horse #horses #gotchaday #horsesofinstagram #lexingtonky  #equestrian  #horselover   #finnickthehorse #horsefitness  #clickertraining      #horsemanship #forcefreetraining #dressage

Sometimes external motivators come from unexpected places. Turns out my herding dog is less of a herder and more of a herdee. #finnickthehorse #draftcross #dogandponyshow #drafthorse  #intrenzenstudents    #functionalmovement  #horsefitness  #clickertraining #horsetraining

Don’t get me wrong, I think the information about recognizing stress, pain, and discomfort based on our horses facial expressions is incredibly important and more education and information like this needs to get out into the world. Much like everything it’s never the whole picture. When the horse has choice and autonomy we can allow ourselves to be less concerned with what their face is showing us because the horse knows they can stop or say no. This is where we need to be incredibly accurate and how we respond to Horses saying no and be very honest with ourselves about whether or not our horses do actually have a choice. For me though moments of relaxation are pleasant they are rarely the things that bring me joy. The things that I enjoy doing most are often challenging and effortful. When I am concentrating my face is far from happy or relaxed. Again I think it’s great that we’re starting to understand that horses are not all “enjoying their job” just because they are compliant but I also don’t feel like weaponizing a lip wrinkle or ear flick is productive either. Especially without understanding the context. I think it’s fine to ask questions and be curious as to why our horses are doing what they’re doing and continue to examine & refine how we offer autonomy but facial expressions just scratch the surface. I for one would give up a life of pure relaxation for a life of adventure, challenge, & desirable difficulty. It’s the reason why our no longer hunter gatherer selves have turned to sports, hiking, & exploring. Movement is such a huge part of what we & they were created to do. Although the need to roam for food may no longer be there, there is still a desire for challenge & nature. Adventure is calling! #horses #intrinzenstudents #horsefitness  #clickertraining #horsetraining #clickertraininghorses #positivereinforcement  #horsemanship #forcefreetraining #autonomy

Today I had an epiphany while watching Wells climb the pile of squishy things. His less than ideal movement has served him his whole life. Its not ideal as far as being adaptable, agile and in particular for carrying the weight of a rider it has gotten him through to this point. Change from routine usually requires a catalyst. We got creative and adaptable during the pandemic because of constraints and there Are likely things each of us will hold onto even when those constraints are gone. The same with movement. Wells hasn’t needed to super self organize because he hasn’t *needed* to. Giving him autonomy in climbing squishy mountain, making it fun and rewarding put his body in a position where his parked out and somewhat hollow stance was no longer serving him and so he adopted. As he strengthens the neural pathways to this type of self organization it will begin to trickle into his every day life even when the constraints of an unstable surface are not around. THIS is the magic of the constraints lead approach combined with reactive neuromuscular training. If we want horses to be adaptable they need a reason to adapt. That reason should come with autonomy and choice always or it doesn’t come from a place of adaptation it comes from a place of fear and survival. When we can create these scenarios for our horses in low risk ways we make them resilient to the high-risk’s world. What are you holding onto that *has* served you but maybe is wearing out its welcome? Could it be time to Adapt? #horse #horses #draftcross #intrenzenstudents  #horsecrunches #horsefitness #horsept #clickertraining  #forcefreetraining #constraintsledapproach #reactiveneuromusculartraining

I love activities like this because if Wells steps over the pole then we get some good hind end proprioception work but if he doesn’t he usually ends up getting into a more crunch like position. His default is a lot more parked out typically so any time I can tempt him to hold a position where he’s a little more camped under both for balance and abdominal activation I will take it! Sorry for the weird camera angle it’s zoomed out a little bit and you can really see his hip angle and how he still has a little bit of muscle building to do in that area looking from the ground up. #paintdraftcross #spotteddraft #intrenzenstudents #epmhorse #forben   #functionalfitness #antifragile   #proprioception   #horsefitness   #clickertraining #horsetraining   #positivereinforcement

Finnick wanted to work on effortful movement under saddle today. So I did my best to stay out of his way and let him be fancy. #lexingtonky  #equestrian  #horselover  #draftcross #drafthorse  #intrenzenstudents  #horsefitness  #clickertraining #horsetraining #clickertraininghorses #positivereinforcement  #forcefreetraining #autonomy

It is Well. Wells is named after a song that was written in heartache about perseverance. To see how far he’s come and how wonderfully sweet and trusting he is sets my heart soul on fire. If you know the story of how I got him know why that resonates with me. What sets your soul on fire? #horse #horses #horsesofinstagram #lexingtonky #draftcross #drafthorse #ahorsenamedben #painthorse #paintdraftcross #spotteddraft #intrenzenstudents #epmhorse #horsefitness #clickertraining #horsetraining #positivereinforcement #horsemanship #forcefreetraining #horsept #horserehab #rehabbinghorses #itiswell #horsegirl

Finnick was showing off in front of a new friend and though he had climbed on this box once or twice before he had never attempted it with a rider. I was not sure if he would try or not but he rarely turns down an opportunity to show off his strength. #horse #horses #horsesofinstagram #lexingtonky  #bridleless #bridlelessriding #intrenzenstudents    #clickertraining #clickertraininghorses #positivereinforcement  #horsemanship #forcefreetraining  #libertyhorsemanship

This is what 10 minutes of liberty leading looks like. I work on this with him a lot because his Spatial awareness isn’t great. He loves to be right on top of me so I’m working on teaching him to move himself in relation to me at a safe distance. This becomes both mentally and physically challenging and the combination of the two has really helped his body awareness. Because of his past I tend to not do as much of the high energy things with him because he can get fairly anxious really quickly but focusing on Games that involve movement and thinking seem to really be his sweet spot. #LibertyLeading #ClickerTraining #PositiveReinforcement #Proprioception #HorseTraining #ClickerTrainingHorses #libertyhorsemanship

He started to feel so strong and confident recently. Today is the first time we’ve attempted any type of jump that he couldn’t easily try it over. I’m super proud oh how he did. After the first one he lit up and even got just a little fresh which I don’t mind at all from him. The future is looking bright😁

Wells gets a turn with the box, you can see him testing out standing up on it but he’s not quite ready yet. He will muscle his way up there someday soon and it will be epic! He got really confident with our other box which was about half the height but sadly that one did not make it through the winter. #paintdraftcross #spotteddraft #intrenzenstudents #epmhorse #forben   #functionalfitness #antifragile   #proprioception   #horsefitness   #clickertraining #horsetraining   #positivereinforcement

Finnick likes his new box!