The best ponies are the desensitized ponies!
When a rider tells me at the beginning of the clinic "I haven't loped much and I'm nervous about it."
The worst thing I could do as an instructor at that point is to worry about leads, legs, outside rein, etc etc. The fastest way to wreck someone's confidence is to throw too much that don't understand at them at once. I don't care where you go or what you do, just lope that donkey! We can refine and make it pretty later!
These horses started the day like bats out of hell. Our riders needed to work hard to get them thinking and relaxed.
Becca recently acquired Boo, a sensitive and reactive 6 yr old QH gelding. He was saddled and ridden by his previous owner, but we always apply safety first!
I LOVE watching a student gain confidence at the lope on a loose rein!
My late night helpers. But are they working hard or hardly working? 🤔😍
🎂
What a nice BIRTHDAY surprise from Downunder Horsemanship!! 🎂
Some of our participants Cruising at the trot!
Cruising at the walk, trot, and canter is crucial to a horse's foundation. Too many riders micromanage their horses' feet, always telling them where to go and at what speed. By cruising them around on a loose rein, the horse learns to be responsible for their speed. Gas pedal and brake FIRST!
For detailed instruction on how to 'Cruise' with your horse, download the app and watch under Fundamentals or book a Private Lesson with an Ambassador in your area!
Get yourself a Danny!
Get yourself a Danny!
Danny's first saddling since last year!
Meet Danny!
Daniel is one of personal horses that has been on the back burner for awhile. He’s now in boot camp to set him for the rest of his career as a riding horse. Follow along to watch him go through the Fundamentals!
Donkey Basketball
This is what happens when you do too much desensitizing and not enough sensitizing exercises. 😂😂
Herd mates
Horses are motivated by four things:
1. Safety
2. Comfort
3.Food
4.Stimulation
In that order. Above everything horses want to feel safe. Because there is safety in numbers, horses often don't want to leave the barn or their herd mates.
Evening feeding at our farm includes our bunch of crazies.
Morning feeding is the same, except it includes cats 🐈.... Many many cats 🐈🐈🐈🐈🐈🐈
Saddling ❤️
An important note that Kristin really stressed to us at the Academy was "everything you do is showing us how professional you are; how you saddle a horse, how you bridle a horse in front of us, etc is all contributing to whether you have what it takes to represent DUH."
**Remind me to tell you my "bridling" during testing story at some point 😅.
If you want to improve your horsemanship, always be looking for small details you can fix or enhance. ❤️
Method trained ponies!
What attracted me most to the Method is the focus creating safe horses!
I don't allow my daughter anywhere near a pony or horse that hasn't been put through the Method. This is her beloved Quarter Pony, Tuggy (or whatever his name is this week 🤷🏻♀️😜).
