✨A Collection of Knowledge✨
✨A Collection of Knowledge✨
Collection is a word used often in the horse world, especially in higher-level training and riding. It can also be referred to as “rounding”, or being “on the vertical”. While there are many definitions out there, not all of them consider the horse’s physiology and biomechanics- correct collection is ultimately healthier for the horse’s overall well-being, and incorrect can be detrimental.
So, here’s my take on it!
We all know horses are big animals. They have unique skeletal and muscular structures all intertwined together with tendons, joints, ligaments and so on. When we ask a horse to “collect”, what we’re ultimately asking is for that horse to use their body versus just simply tote it around.
Think of it like a cross-country runner. A trained runner knows how to use their entire body to keep themselves in balance to run to their fullest potential, whereas people like me and possibly you too who never trained can also run, but don’t have that understanding of best HOW to. While everyone can run, us average folk probably won’t last as long on the track as someone trained and conditioned will! Just as a horse who doesn’t have the knowledge and conditioning to perform athletically will have trouble “holding their frame” and moving in a collected way.
Collection starts small, usually on the ground with some basic exercises and at a mounted stand-still to help teach softness and suppleness, and tasks and speeds gradually increase to help build strength, balance and overall confidence…not only physically, but mentally as well!
When we talk about “the vertical”, what we mean basically is head/neck position. Think of it as a certain amount of straightness- a slightly arched neck with more of a parallel headset.
Envision a strait parallel line in front of the horse, ground to sky. The horse’s head and nose should land right on that line, creating roundness and allowing for more power.
One Step Closer!! 🥳
One Step Closer! 🥳
This fence thing has been quite an adventure lol, but I am soooo thankful we’re finally on the homestretch.
Mom and I spent close to 9hrs today nailing up 150 boards on the 50 posts used for the visitor’s side of the pasture, and Dad helped some, too..
The finally touches needed are going to be super easy- just sawing off the overlapping board ends and setting the boards better with screws. Then we run the single strand of electric over top, run the 4-strand electric on our side and hang the last gate and WE. ARE. SET!
It looks quite hillbilly right now yes, but once tidied up it’ll be much better- this is the rough copy!
We chose to off-set the boards (2 inside, 1 out and switch) for added stability, and because the rest of the farm’s boards are already out up like that from the previous owner too.. May as well make it all match!
So excited, and super thankful for parent’s help and for my cousin Mike for drilling fence post holes for us and David Lockhart for letting me borrow his 3pt auger! I had a couple other people offer to help too, and they’re equally as appreciated for simply offering!
It’s a team effort, I said before and I’ll say it again because it’s true- this wouldn’t be happening if not for the epic people I have in my life!
I just love you all! 🩵
✨ Slow and Right ✨
Walker is a horse I’ve actually known for a long time, and he was always a favorite of mine even way back when I first met him! So when I met Shelby and saw he now lived with them I thought it was pretty cool to stumble on him again, much less having the pleasure of helping Shelby and Krista with him!
He’s always been a super mellow kinda guy, but he had gotten quite forward-minded when he came to them. He was a prize-winning polo horse for some years prior to them buying him, and it seemed like full speed ahead had become his normal thing now (I can totally see how he’d make a great polo pony, the guy can flat book it and he’s a super smooth ride!)
Shelby, Krista and I have been working the last few months on helping him come down off that constant adrenaline rush when being ridden, help him in knowing that he doesn’t ALWAYS have to run, and help him to remember his natural background and slow down his mindset again.
Yesterday was by far the softest and slowest he’s been since I started helping with his journey with them, and I couldn’t be more proud of the progress these guys have all made together!
Walker was given an amazing foundational start in Parelli all those years ago when I first knew him with his old owners (who loved him dearly!), so to see him be able to come down off the constant adrenaline high he’s been stuck in and reconnect with his old training ways was really cool. He was the farthest thing from what’s been the typical “riding a ball of rubber bands” yesterday, and he really took his time to think through where his feet were and what was being asked of him. Being able to stop and stand still was a huge win, too!
Shelby and Krista, I’m so proud of you two! You’ve been doing so great with him- he’s a very cool, special little horse and it’s so awesome to see him thriving in another great home! Keep up the epic work!! 🩵
✨A Walk to Remember✨
When I got Roc a few years ago he had some major confidence issues with anything or anyone being behind him from past abuse. He has come such a long way in those years, and I’m beyond proud of him!
The last couple months though I admit he’s regressed on me a little bit, and it’s completely my fault because I haven’t been doing anything with him.. He’s resorted back some to his fearful ways, so we’ve been working on remembering he still does have confidence, he’s safe and always will be and that nothing has changed other than just taking a vacation! 😉
We went for an evening walk along the loop trail on our property tonight, and it was the perfect opportunity to work on some confidence building with things behind him out of his view again..
Baby steps adding in some approach and retreat type moments in the right ways with the right timing, in a calm and confident way, led to his first time ever “semi-ground driving”. I’m so proud of him! 💜
Patience is such a huge key to all of this, as is keeping a sense of humor and not taking things personally- when your horse tells you they’re uncomfortable with something, just say “ok!”, work through it and carry on. Don’t let it frustrate you or make you angry, that only makes the horse feel more uncomfortable too, and adds to the stress!
A confident leader (and by that I mean someone willing to take charge but does so in a fair, calm and dignified way) is so important especially for horses like Roc. Find the moments where a change is made, and reward big time for it! Make things a little bit harder each time you try again, and eventually you’ll be well on your way to big progress!
Swimming Lessons
Y’all, listen…I love every client of mine (horse and human) dearly, but today’s “lesson” was by far a total favorite!
Promise was absolutely scared of the creek 10 minutes before this…then I had to make her leave before she shriveled up like a raisin. 😅
Might I add she had to walk through a very large bridge culvert pipe to get to here, too?! She’s one special little filly! 🩵
✨Confidence in Curiosity✨
Horses are very sensory-dependent animals, relying on their acute senses to keep themselves alive.
The most sensitive of their 5 senses is touch.
The horse’s entire body is as sensitive as our fingertips- which makes sense if you think about it. That famous line in Yellowstone quotes it well:
“That horse can feel a fly land on its back. Imagine all it's feeling from you. Every emotion, every thought. If you're thinking it, you bet he's feeling it.”
Their whiskers are especially important to them because the horse is a monocular prey animal…their eyes are positioned on the side of their head, so they can see almost 360* around except for directly in front of and directly behind themselves.
While this is impressive, not being able to see in front of themselves is why a horse’s whiskers are so important. That’s they’re line of information intake for things in front of them- they’re “fingers” so to speak. When a horse is exploring a new environment, nosing around every possible space, they’re not only smelling but also feeling.
The ability to touch links directly to curiosity in horses. It’s they’re strongest sense, so of course they’re going to rely on it when it comes to the new, scary, and possibly dangerous things! It’s also why we need to keep this information in mind when we’re with our horses, especially when training or introducing something new. If a horse is showing curiosity towards something new, allow them to nuzzle it, lick it, smell it, see it, touch it….allow them to SENSE it, but especially allow them to feel it.
Peep Ace searching the saddle pad in the video below.. Ace had a couple days a few weeks ago where for some reason he was flighty when it came to being saddled, especially when the saddle pad was put on. I allowed him plenty of time to check it out while I held it, but again it just wasn’t ok with him.
I laid everything out on my truck and knowing he’s alrea
Patience, Persistence, Promise…these three things go a long way! #TakeTheTime #TwinHeartsHorsemanship #TrueHorsemanship
I’ve posted about these rockstar students of mine before, but I’ve had the pleasure of working with Jessie and her two horses Ace and James since around August last year. This is James, a gaited Rocky Mountain gelding. We have been working a lot on groundwork with the boys as well as starting with the basic foundations of Liberty, but this was the first time in a year or so that James had been ridden.
We had multiple people riding around us at different speeds, talking to each other throughout the arena, and so much more stimulation for this horse to have on his mind on top of the fact that he was being ridden for the first time in a while….and he did fantastic! A few things I want to highlight about the short snippet of this ride, because there’s some good learning moments here!
Even with James being nervous and walking away with me while mounting, I still continued on, held my balance and we worked through it.
I could’ve gotten down as he walked away, but here’s why I didn’t- he hasn’t been ridden in well over a year. I know this horse, I know his “type” and I know that me getting down, drawing him to me and restarting the mount up process would’ve clicked in his mind as a start of a habit, thinking that walking off is ok and it would get the rider off his back and draw out the process. He would see it as a type of avoidance to riding, to listening to me and what I ask. Not only that, but it would’ve built up that high energy in him more by playing that back and forth game of mount, dismount, mount, dismount. Neither of us were in danger here, I made the call that hanging in there with him was best. I asked him to give me his attention, he bent in ever so slightly to me, and I climbed on and we continued. Ace being there helped with this but I still would’ve done the same if he weren’t.
Take away: Weigh your options and know your horse- sometimes it’s best to hang in there and go with it than it is to try to fix it r
Having a good foundation on a horse is the most important thing you could ever do for them in training. Sure we all love the fancy tricks and snazzy maneuvers and stuff, but building a horse’s confidence up so they can not only feel comfortable being a good citizen and following direction, but also be confident in themselves to handle any given situation with a solid mind is absolutely invaluable. It’s also what gives you the chance to build up those fancy tricks and snazzy moves! So where does this foundation truly start? On the ground.
Everything we do with our horses on the ground transfers directly to what we can do with them in the saddle. A horse that understands how to yield their hindquarters on the ground will know how to do so under saddle. A horse that understands the concepts of pressure and release on the ground will understand our riding cues more clearly. Mastering things on the ground is also super important for situations where you may be ponying another horse, such as in the video of Roc, Candy and I below. It’s important for the horse you are ponying, as well as the horse you are riding.
Roc has a solid foundation of groundwork under his belt, understanding how to yield parts of his body that are being asked to move, as well as how to back up when asked. Candy also has this solid foundation, which is important as she needs to listen and respond to my cues I’m giving while riding her and asking Roc to do what I’m asking him to do. The three of us are working together as one big team in this moment- it’s my job to clearly communicate to both horses what I need from each of them, and it’s their job to respond to what I ask, for Roc to move where asked and back up, and for Candy to move forward and halt when asked. Working together like this resulted in a smooth and safe ride up in the woods with no complications, regardless of the fallen tree across the trail. I did not have to dismount, nor did we have to turn around a
If you put the relationship with your horse first, this is what you get- horses that are happy and excited to see versus horses that you have to chase and corner to catch.
One of the things I’ve seen most in the horse world is the common problem of “I can’t catch my horse.” There are many reasons why this could be, but no matter what those reasons are it all boils down to the relationship you have with your horse. If your horse doesn’t enjoy spending time with you, or relates you to nothing but work, they won’t want to be around you, let alone come to you- A shaky relationship or no good relationship at all will cause this.
This year, I challenge you to take at least one day a week to do nothing work-related with your horse. That’s right, nothing. Simply go out to the pasture or to the barn and enjoy BEING with your horse without ASKING something of them.
Horses are herd animals and rely heavily on the relationship they have with their herd mates, and like us humans sometimes that includes wanting to do nothing but simply enjoy your friend’s company. We don’t always have to DO something. Groom your horse, rub all over them, scratch their favorite itchy places, take them the occasional apple slice, walk out with a book and a chair and sit with them as you read. Enjoy your time in your horse’s presence. Let them know you care about their needs too. In this video I literally gave The Twin Hearts Trio apple slices, scratched their necks, kissed their muzzles and went back inside. I was out there maybe 5 minutes. Practice the undemanding time- this will actually help you build a connection with your horse, and will in turn help you build up to having horses that catch YOU! Then when it comes time to DO things, you’ll have a more willing horse and you can both enjoy things more!
It’s all about the partnership with these animals- remembering that the horse is not a machine but a very sensitive and complex animal with needs that
Sometimes when it comes to our horses, persistency is a big key!
Jessie and James did amazing today amongst multiple different (and a few new) distractions, but they never lost their connection with each other. Here James already had a great Liberty draw to Jessie, but Jessie wanted it to be a little more forward and impulsive. She continued asking, and he eventually clicked in to it, upped his energy to match hers and trotted up to her where he was rewarded with lots of scratches and a big ole hug!
It’s so fun to watch the partnerships grow between students and their horses! So proud🩵
As promised! This is something the kids and I are really enjoying doing.. We are still in the confidence building stage with this, mainly for Roc. He asked me many questions throughout the minute-long video, but the one that sticks out as the most obvious is when I asked Candy for a change of direction- he kept going but looked at me making sure I was just asking Candy and not him as well. When I said “carry on” he continued without a hitch. It’s truly all about energy and where (and HOW) you direct it. Your horses know and I promise you they can feel it.
We kept it short and sweet this time and we didn’t push for too much because we’re still learning and creating some positive confidence- to do that, sometimes less is truly more!
