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Symbiotic Horsemanship - Kayla Jager

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Martin, MI
Symbiotic Horsemanship - Kayla Jager

I am a horse trainer and instructor passionate about saving horses and helping people succeed with their own.

11/19/2023

Kirsten reached out to me in September for help with her late-start mare (Laney ). She was trying to rehome the mare, feeling she needed a more experienced owner, but since the mare didn't understand pressure and couldn't be loaded by multiple prospective buyers, she didn't know what to do with her. All of Laney's trailer experiences had been negative, explosive, and in one instance caused injury to the mare.

With just a few lessons and much practice on Kristen's part, we re-explained pressure, worked on timing, and taught Laney how to learn. Look at this mare offer solutions in a calm and relaxed manner with minimal ask!

They've since fallen in love and they may get to stay together. ❤️

10/17/2023

Lesson nights like tonight make this tough career/lifestyle worth it.

Stephanie earned her first bridleless ride on Esmé, and her excitement was palpable. After her first halt I had to tell her: "We can talk about how excited you are afterwards, but right now you need to stay calm." So blessed have Esmé as my lesson horse.

Then there's the dream come true of Audrey and her pony Goldie, who has been entrusted to us from the amazing rescue Hoof & Heart of Southern Michigan . As we've been getting to know Goldie for the last week and doing groundwork and riding preparation, Audrey has never once asked "But when can I ride?"

Nothing better than helping dreams come true with my own dream come true. Just another Monday night.

09/13/2023

From the first day of her journey to today "wild child" has transformed physically, mentally, and emotionally. She can be caught consistently, groom, tie, pick front feet (still finishing backs), lead, halt, back, working on wiping with fly spray. No kick, no bite, no running you over.

But most importantly, she can receive care. A 15 year old feral can receive love, care, and attention. In the grand scheme of the world, wild child is not that important. But she represents something that is - no matter where we are in life, we are all worth the same help and Grace. She did her best to discourage me early on, and in the last few months she's had several instances where she told me NO. But I didn't escalate with her - I just stuck with her calmly and showed her I understood her internal battles. I think many of us do.

07/15/2023

How much does applied contact / bit pressure affect stride length? …. This much!!!

There is a huge difference to applying contact to the reins VS the horse coming up, through and onto its own contact. Applying strong unforgiving contact can hollow the horse and inhibit the hind leg action, riders often then have to resort to excessive forward to keep the horse going.

The connection from “hyoid to hind leg” involves the sternohyoid to sternum through the diaphragm to psoas major.

To see the videos of this in action check it out on our patreon (this one is from todays live feed dissection).

https://www.patreon.com/bonesbrainsbodiesbehaviours/

07/11/2023

Compare & Contrast

Today (3 weeks post trim) vs pre trim

07/02/2023

Little Spartan man is on his way home to Ohio! I couldn't ask for better buyers! He will be happily trail riding with a little arena work with his new mom (walking video) under the guidance of a compassionate dressage trainer (trotting).

Spartan has had a long journey, and there were people who met him on that journey who said he wasn't worth it, or he'd never be successful. But his owner and I saw his potential, and saw what he could be someday. We just had to find people who could see him that way too!

We all have that potential. Not everyone will see it, and that's ok. Like Spartan, many of us experienced people who treated us badly and didn't give us the support we needed. With time and healing, we WILL thrive again. And someday our value and potential will be more obvious, just like Spartan's.

06/06/2023

Audrey is working hard on her position! Lovely to see Esmé offer a bit more than her "kid proof shuffle"!

04/28/2023

Spartan has been back with me (last spring he was completely restarted) for TWO weeks and he's learning to use his body better! Still more strength training to go, but lovely to see some nice moments coming through. He is also searching for the perfect home!

03/16/2023

Notice the dropped spine on the right...

03/15/2023

First mounting on our Lily Bouquet (Laura WOF x Niagara YES). She's a few weeks from 3 years old, a hair under 14.2hh and still growing!

01/26/2023

Train your eye!

01/26/2023

Finding his balance ONLY through liberty. No ropes, no reins, no lunging gear, no martingales, no side reins.... Just exercises I could teach him at liberty with +R. Rethink what's possible!

Top photos March 25, 2022
Bottom photos today, January 25, 2023.

01/17/2023

Humans are so much smaller than the horses they work with, yet even a STUBBED TOE makes us take several strides with compensating muscle patterns. Much more a real injury.

After a full day of chores, a grocery store trip, and 4 lessons, I'm lying on a heated mattress pad trying to get my back muscles to relax. I've chosen this life, and this is my journey.

But horses don't get to choose when we pull them out and require them to perform. I went to a demonstration of a Michigan trainer this weekend, and one of the horses was inconsistently limping. "She's not interested in connecting with me, so I'm going to make it harder for her to not choose me," they said as they chased her. Even today, someone sent me an ad for a horse for sale, and at the canter the horse was "drifting" in the hind-quarters, trying to find a comfortable position to execute what was asked.

Know your horses well enough to recognize pain signals, and then respect them. Then go the extra mile and rehabilitate the compensation muscling!

Address

Martin, MI
49070

Telephone

(269) 509-2808

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Videos

Kirsten reached out to me in September for help with her late-start mare (Laney ). She was trying to rehome the mare, feeling she needed a more experienced owner, but since the mare didn't understand pressure and couldn't be loaded by multiple prospective buyers, she didn't know what to do with her. All of Laney's trailer experiences had been negative, explosive, and in one instance caused injury to the mare. With just a few lessons and much practice on Kristen's part, we re-explained pressure, worked on timing, and taught Laney how to learn. Look at this mare offer solutions in a calm and relaxed manner with minimal ask! They've since fallen in love and they may get to stay together. ❤️

First mounting on our Lily Bouquet (Laura WOF x Niagara YES). She's a few weeks from 3 years old, a hair under 14.2hh and still growing!

Nodar & Valarie showing their progress! Liberty was made for horses like Nodar, who once given the choice would rather not interact with humans. They are now having a blast together working on several signals, but just look how engaged he is! So proud of Valarie for her hard work and commitment to growing together!

Valarie & Nodar's first liberty lesson! #icelandichorse

September 24

October 2

Laura is the best unicorn 🦄

Starbucks has gone home to Hoof & Heart of Southern Michigan ! We really enjoyed her at Riverbend Farm & Stables LLC and can't wait to see what incredible things she does in her future. ❤️