David Jeffers Horsemanship

08/04/2023

The Horse World needs to stop using the word “Respect” when they really mean “submission”. Respect is given not taken.
Can we just move past this idea. It’s holding the horse industry back.

07/17/2023

HORSE PROBLEMS

I wish I could say it this was the first time . But I’ve been working with a horse with some emotional issues .

I worked through his emotional , coping skills, Built up his resilience so he becomes less alarmed about new things but also he calms down quicker . This is in all things. He’s become quiet minded from a once tense snorty defensive horse.

I couldn’t believe people were riding him like this and not improving the situation.

Finally I got to the re-saddling phase and he was a bit touchy about that. BUt I worked him like I do , from the premise that no buck is a successful saddling. I make sure my horses are standing relaxed and not frozen and if they need to move , I’d rather know it. Movement is just a pressure release valve for an uncomfortable horse. He got much better the third time than the first two days I’d saddled him. No buck either but then again he’d been ridden.

I could tell by the way he moved with saddle that he was having some low level feels since his response to drive aids suddenly got lighter..

I worked with him standing square and steady as I pulled on the horn and weighted the stirrup. It took a bit but then he got good for mounting.

At this point I thought before I get on I should work with the bit from the ground and make sure he responds the way I like, since these previous owners seemed to have skipped a lot of steps.

Finally I got on. Man his steering was a mess . And suddenly he’d forgotten some of the basic things a riding horse should know. He bends but too rubber necky. I was working a bit to get some good drive and motion down to his feet. Trying to pick up the reins and apply a little bit and get a step backwards was a chore. He’d sling his head up and plant his feet.

My god, this horse is a wreck , these folks skipped so much. I need to get off and work a bit more on the ground with that bit and also a hackamore and try to smooth out the kinks..

So reluctantly I call the new owner. Hey , I just want to confirm that this horse has been ridden… i rode him yesterday and he seems like he’s never been ridden before….

Well , he’s been ridden NOW!!
Apparently, I just put the second ride on an unridden colt!!🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

06/04/2023

Trailer loading

Just me being a smart ass.
When your friend is having consistent issues with trailer loading so you work with her horse and explain it’s not a trailer loading issue. It’s a communication issue. Cues and signals “can” represent pressure or even an adversarial attack. When the horse is met with pressure from the trailer and increased pressure from behind , within too tight a confine, it can take on andversarial feel. This triggers a defensiveness in the horse resulting in resistance , an unwillingness to load and bad associations with the human. Soon, that increase in pressure becomes a cue of things to come and the horse gets better at self protection. The human mistakenly sees this as resistance and a lack of cooperation and meets the horse with more pressure and a chain of events becomes a pattern. Soon, increasing feel of pressure, the human and/or the location will become cues that trigger defensiveness and a lack of trust in the humans intent.

Humans mistake this as refusing to load but really the pressure is what the horse is bracing up against. If someone offers enough pressure the horse might “give in” or resist harder. This can create an illusion of success and cause the human to continue to repeat this approach. But it is not the problem. The approach is the problem . Continuing these kind of tactics and attitudes toward the horse damage the partnership with the horse. Keep THAT in mind when you are focused on the goal or getting your way. Always, time is the best approach because we are building something greater than a horse that loads In the trailer. We are building a relationship with the horse. Your approach should create confidence and trust and ease defensiveness . Those are the obstacles that you have to address to smooth the way to good loading habits. Worry about the language and relationship first and your horse will follow you anywhere. The horse only wants peace in the valley. Offer him peace before he makes a mistake not as a reward for submission. The horse should not have to earn peace. You would not teach a child by creating a stressful learning environment. Everyone deserves a safe learning environment.

10/28/2022

So sorry to hear about the passing of Don Edwwrds

Share Memories and Support the Family.

10/11/2022

I think we should really discuss and define what is really being a follower versus gentle compliance?

Are we really allowing our horses to be voluntary followers, or are we really talking about obtaining compliance in the most gentle way.

Other animal trainers have moved to the next level. I think the horse industry should be pushing its growth and evolution to expand in greater directions.

With more humility , I think we can challenge our own methods and grow more and gain better results.

This is not a criticism but a challenge to explore a deeper level of training and interaction with horses. The further we delve below surface or superficial training methods the more our feel and connection with horse can grow. There is more to the relationship with horses during training than compliance however, subtly it is enforced.

Just something to think about

10/11/2022

Is it acceptable to limit our review of our training methods purely by evaluating the compliance physically ? At what point will the horse world begin to recognize the emotional state of the horse and offered behaviors as the prerequisite for which all others qualities are judged.

10/11/2022

It is time to move our horse training techniques to be shaped by the emotional state of the horse . Can you train a horse in a learning environment where they remain in a state of “peace in the valley” without mental tension or outward displays of unease such as tightness in the Torso and limbs, and gestures of the head neck and mouth. Can you demonstrate that the horse is truly content and comfortable within the process of training and interaction with you?
What does that look like to you?

05/05/2022

It would really be great to see this happen and to start addressing some of the ridiculous accepted practices that have become common place in the horse world..

https://horsesandpeople.com.au/french-parliament-calls-for-horse-welfare-overhaul-at-paris-2024/?fbclid=IwAR1le92OTd6AwQySS2QzoW82bk-qEZSZ_6WknsabXIUw4oTDnlBAEuaTWpM

The French Parliament has 46 recommendations for ensuring the Paris 2024 Olympic Equestrian Events uphold sustainable horse welfare standards.

05/04/2022

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A HORSE WHISPERER. There never has been and never will be. The idea is an affront to the horse. You can talk and listen to horses all you want, and what you will learn, if you pay close attention, is that they live on open ground way beyond language and that language, no matter how you characterize it, is a poor trope for what horses understand about themselves and about humans. You need to practice only three things, patience, observation and humility, all of which were summed up in the life of an old man who died Tuesday (July 20, 1999) in California, a man named Bill Dorrance.

Dorrance was 93, and until only a few months before his death he still rode and he still roped. He was one of a handful of men, including his brother Tom, who in separate ways have helped redefine relations between the horse and the human. Bill Dorrance saw that subtlety was nearly always a more effective tool than force, but he realized that subtlety was a hard tool to exercise if you believe, as most people do, that you are superior to the horse. There was no dominance in the way Dorrance rode, or in what he taught, only partnership. To the exalted horsemanship of the vaquero -- the Spanish cowboy of 18th-century California -- he brought an exalted humanity, whose highest expression is faith in the willingness of the horse.

There is no codifying what Bill Dorrance knew. Some of it, like how to braid a rawhide lariat, is relatively easy to teach, and some of it, thanks to the individuality of horses and humans, cannot be taught at all, only learned. His legacy is exceedingly complex and, in a sense, self-annulling. It is an internal legacy. The more a horseman says he has learned from Dorrance the less likely he is to have learned anything at all.

That sounds oblique, but it reflects the fact that what you could learn from Dorrance was a manner of learning whose subject was nominally the horse but that extended itself in surprising directions to include dogs, cattle and people. If you learned it, you would know it was nothing to boast about.

There is no mysticism, no magic, in this, only the recognition of kinship with horses. Plenty of people have come across Bill Dorrance and borrowed an insight or two, and some have made a lot of money by popularizing what they seemed to think he knew. But what he knew will never be popular, nor did he ever make much money from it. You cannot sell modesty or undying curiosity. It is hard to put a price on accepting that everything you think you know about horses may change with the very next horse.

From an article by Verlyn Klinkenborg 'Death of a Legendary Horseman' - NY Times July 24, 1999 - http://www.nytimes.com/1999/07/24/opinion/editorial-notebook-death-of-a-legendary-horseman.html

Image of Bill is by Steven and Leslie Dorrance - http://www.billdorrance.com/about.htm

05/04/2022

Use dressage for your horse, not your horse for dressage.

There is no such thing as a too slow, too fast, too stiff moving horse. You just don't know how to balance him (yet).

03/17/2022

So some exciting news!!!

I am making arrangements to move into my own barn Around April 1st ,2022.

It will be in the Simi Valley/ Moorpark , CA.

I will post more details as we get closer.

Many of you have known me as a mobile trainer but I actually have always had my own barn until recent years . After moving into a bad situation, I resorted to mobile training to save my business.

Many barns either had Trainers Or didn’t fit the services I wanted to be able to offer my clients particularly sensory training with stimuli and obstacles. I also want a barn that is free of drama where people can focus on learning and enjoying their horses in humane and ethical ways without toxicity.

This is not a big flashy barn. It’s a small quiet environment. I am excited to be back in a barn again and I can’t wait to share more details when we get further along .

01/14/2022

Once she was a miniature horse in a kill pen destined for slaughter. I don’t know the back story and kill pens can be a kill buyers scam. But what I do know is that this miniature horse was pretty fearful and terrified of the world. No one deserves to live in fear. We are a disposable society, we break things or decide they have no value and discard them. All life has value. I don’t believe that she deserved to have her life extinguished. I know that this is not the popular or common view but it should be. She has heart, try, desire to connect. It was hidden but it was there. She deserves a chance.

Due to distance, I have had only a limited amount of time to work with her in the past . Once a week. And still she has made such huge strides . More than I thought I could achieve in such a time frame. Now she gets to spend a month with me. Looking forward to seeing the changes. I am attached to her and grateful to my friend for sending her to me .

I should have explained that the simplicity of this video IS the change in this horse. See all the opportunities to leave me and run. There are quick and dirty ways I could have accomplished this, creating the illusion of success while also creating an unreliable foundation and a weak bond. She doesn’t look fearful , but that again is the progress. Yet her confidence is delicate and easily broken. By going a little slower and guiding her , you have an opportunity to see how much she tries. To go faster , would cause a panic and defensiveness and you would miss it.

10/22/2021

When you think your perspective is correct , all your actions seem justified.

So why do we always address someone’s actions. Why don’t we start discussing your perspective to change your actions?

05/24/2021

Looking back on life as a horse trainer, I can best define my experience as having a higher vision for the treatment and training of horses but lacking the experience and resources to reach my vision. I’ve sought knowledge from many avenues in the horse world . I have always felt something was missing . So true to form I ventured outside the box , AGAIN, for mental stimulation and ideas to connect to horses and horse training. That combined with my own experiences and experiments are finally leading me to a place where I feel proud of the goals I set for my horses in training as well as the criteria I place on myself as a trainer. I have wrestled with uneasy feelings for a long time, knowing that myself, and even those I think of as being on a better path for horse training, are falling short. I could envision the goal but not see the path. This feeling has led me to feel what I have learned is not an uncommon feeling of “ imposter syndrome”

I feel like I’ve made some significant changes and growth in the past couple years. I feel a lot better at expressing the ideas I want to share with the public.

I have made a lot of mistakes. I have regrets. Also acknowledge that you can’t make progress without taking risks.

Equally hard is the knowledge that the public is always critical and unforgiving . Each individual has their own needs to meet through that behavior. For that reason, professionals have to become skilled at shaking off their mistakes and public opinion and staying the course of where they want to progress in their training program. .

Tine money and quality ; pick any two , always comes to mind. The public does not always see what is best for the horse. They buy into a philosophy that some trainer or clinician painted with pretty words . But it can be a false truth and only one perception of the relationship and role between horses and humans and how to interact together. Often I find it is a contradiction or a beautiful lie to justify poor methods. This is furthered by public desire for cheap costs and fast results. I think it has placed an unreasonable burden on trainers to accomplish more at a faster rate for less money or they move on to the next trainer.

I think that the solution lies in re-framing what our criteria is for training and what the process is and what reasonable expectations are for long term goals. I think foundation training should include developing “life skills” and independent thinking framed by encouragement And benefit more than obedience .

It’s not just about better methods and treatment of horses but also having better and more fair expectations of progress and criteria. One example is to stop looking at undesirable behavior as bad behavior or problems. It is an outward expression of the horses feelings and thoughts about a situation. We should strive to change those in a positive way like gaining an ally not an indentured servant.

Just wanted to put some thoughts out there and reconnect with people.

Photo credit: Marc Alt

03/07/2021

As much as I can appreciate a clean cut appearance of a clipped horse . I also believe that horses should have their whiskers! They need them for their everyday life. Trimming them for shows and then being without them the rest of the time when they need them does not make sense to me. I am happy to see a ruling that puts the horses well being first.

New trend ALERT : Whiskers are in! 💁‍♀️

Starting July 1st 2021, all horses that are competing in FEI regulated events are required to have their natural whiskers in tact. With this new rule in place, owners are forbidden from shaving any sensory hairs around their muzzle, whiskers, eyes, and outer ears, unless spoken for by a veterinarian.

What do you think about this new rule?

03/02/2021

Most of you only see me post about my dogs these days. Rarely do I post about my horses. You know your not doing a good job marketing when people ask if your still training horses. Lol. I’ve even heard a few people with hidden agendas try to say that I’m not training horses anymore, just dogs. I wanted to take a step back despite the backlash and whispers and reflect on my own life and horsemanship. Sometimes you have to take a step backward to take two steps forward.

Some people can talk quite a lot. They self promote with ease. They are far better salesmen /women than me. I don’t want to say much unless I think it has value. And frankly, I don’t really like listening to myself speak .

I feel like I’m reaching a point where I have things of value that I would like to share.

So I thought I’d share this to those that aren’t on my horsemanship page. I plan to get back to it and put up current information , pics, etc. admittedly I have been a serious slacker in the self promotion dept

03/02/2021

I haven’t posted on my horsemanship page for quite a while. I’ve been focused on my life, my dogs and my work training horses. Let me tell you why?

I feel a bit disillusioned by the horse industry and trainers and marketing. There are a lot of things that I feel are either outdated or not true in the horse industry. I feel there are a lot of things that are not truly offering the horse the best deal. I don’t want to train and market myself to the people that want to believe those lies or inaccuracies. I don’t want to shape my business to reflect what the market thinks is the fad today. People today cannot see what is fad and what is untrue when the view out the window is presented by someone else. You have to look at it for yourself and try to see if from a multitude of perspectives and try to decide what is closest to the truth. Maybe you have to decide what is your truth or who you are or want to be.

I want to be a better horseman. I want to provide a better path and a better approach to working with horses and having a better relationship. I want to become a better human being and help others become better human beings through our relationship and passion for our horses.

I make a lot of mistakes. I do things I wish I’d done differently. I am greatful that my dogs and horses are forgiving and give me an opportunity to go in a different direction to find success.

I’ve spent a lot of time trying to better myself through listening to my horses and a lot of self critique. Some days I am so proud of myself and some days I don’t want to look in the mirror. I am hard on myself and I have to work on not letting that affect my training except in a good way. But it is because these horses are my passion. I want to be amazing and I will probably always feel like a tortured artist. Never good enough.

It is true - the more you know , the more you know you don’t know. When I was younger I had so much to say and share and shout out to the world. I was so excited. Now I just feel quiet and reflective. I’ve wanted to spend time gathering my thoughts before I open my mouth and share my ideas. There is a good chance that tomorrow I may change my mind because I find a way to present my ideas to the horse that I like better.

I have looked outside the horse industry for inspiration. In large part through my dog training. There are a lot of similarities in training dogs and horses in spite of the differences. Sometimes you have to look at other areas of life to get new or fresh ideas for working with horses. The dog industry is 30 years ahead of the horse industry, in many ways, in my opinion.

I think there is the idea of being professional and conveying a certain image to the public. I just want to be real and authentic. I want to develop good horses and help people have a better relationship with their horses and be better horsemen and horsewomen with eyes wide open and the ability to know what is marketing hype and what is truly best for the horse. Horses aren’t just my business they are my passion. If I won the lottery I’d still be training horses. I’d just be doing it for free.

There are a lot of trainers out there that I think are training on the surface of the horse. In other words their approach is superficial. The horse has many layers. when you get beyond the mechanics and observe and reflect on not only their physical side but also their mental and emotional side you can start to really develop your feel and relationship with your horse. There will always be people that just see the horse as livestock or a vehicle for their joy and fun much like a motorcycle. But there are people, like myself, that want to have a true partner and relationship with their horse. People that want to give more than they get from the horse . People that feel that the way to having better performance is to give more to your horse not only through feed and supplements and good housing but that you have to give time, thought, compassion, to your horse in your training. And reflect more on improving yourself than the horse. Those are the people I want to be around.
I want a horse that is not only a good performance horse but that has a good character, good coping mechanisms under stress and adversity, resilience, has a good temperament and outlook on his life and the humans around him . I want a horse that feels emotionally stable and content within himself. I want my horses to feel peace in the Valley” no matter how lofty our training goals are. I think when you foster the inside of the horse then the external things like performance will shine through.

My plan is to start sharing more of what I am doing with my horses in training and what I value .

I hope I can provide something new that help all of you get where you want to go with your horses and maybe even someplace you didn’t even know was possible.

I appreciate all of you : Clients, Friends, and Followers .

Have a great day!