Do you have a question??
What questions do you have about horses or horsemanship? Things like the āright wayā to catch or halter you horse, maybe a tip for some kind of groundwork exercise, or even a general health question. Comment or shoot me a message and Iāll see what I can do to answer your question in a short video. š
Recognizing the need we have as riders to truly understand what we have control over in regards to horses. This exercise is key in letting go of micro managing and becoming good at allowing the horse to gain responsibility. I am only in control of my mindset of what this horse id doing and our speed in this exercise, and he is in control of where we go and his reponse to my cue for speed.
Mindset is such an important factor with horses. Both for theirs and especially ours.
Enjoy your horse!
#ksequinecalifornia
Basic equine care related discussion this Saturday evening from 6-8 pm at 21922 Two-Bar Trail in Palo Cedro. $20/ person, kids 12 and under are free.
Trailer Loading Problem Solving and Demonstration
Hi folks! I will be having a trailer loading problem solving and demonstration on Saturday September 30 from 5-7pm at 9555 Fern Crest Dr in Palo Cedro.
Iām excited to share my knowledge and experience in applying my training methods in this area. I will have a demo horse and will go through the steps of what I do to prepare a horse to load in the trailer, as well as problem solve with an open Q&A about trailer loading with your horse. I will use my demo horse to mimic many scenarios horse owners face and walk you through how I go about problem solving these issues.
Some snacks and water will be available. Bring your own comfy chair, a note book, all your questions, and your desire to learn!
$20 for adults, $10 for 13-17 year olds, kids 12 & under are free. Pay at the door with either cash or a payment app.
You can sign up here or come last minute:
https://form.jotform.com/221747541716155
9555 Fern Crest Dr, Palo Cedro is a private facility tucked back at the end of their road.
Feel free to come early to ask some questions, and I will hang out after the event for an hour to answer any further questions.
I look forward to seeing you all there!
I have two other educational evening events the Saturdays of September 16 and 23. Those events are from 6-8pm at 21922 Two Bar Trail in Palo Cedro. Topics are how a horse thinks and how that helps us with Desensitization, and a groundwork overview and why getting the groundwork good is so important before riding.
Some Thoughts on Desensitizing
Here is a young horse that came to me 2 weeks ago after throwing his rider a week prior. This is my second time saddling him (he has about 45 rides up to now) and I wanted to show you folks a part of my desensitizing process that helps a young horse be prepared for ridden work.
Some of them donāt need much of this and others need more. This fella needed more than he had had before coming to me. I donāt want to do so much of this that the horse loses all life or feel to things bumping his side because Iāll need that sensitivity when I engage my legs to move him. But, he is so extra sensitive to it that he gets quite bothered and needs some help regulating his nervous system in this area.
I start by flapping the stirrup and keeping up with it until he goes from a flight either back or sideways and goes forward. At first I donāt care if itās a very bothered or rushed forward because I will shape that. But those initial steps forward are his release from the scary stirrup flapping, not letting him fulfill his idea that blowing sideways or freezing into a back up are the answer. Once he is able to move forward when he is bothered by the stirrup, I will keep flapping it until he relaxes and softens a bit. Then I repeat until he realizes that he can walk forward calmly and then stop calmly and slowly.
In between each time I release I allow him time to process and let go of tension so Iām not encouraging him to build on his adrenaline and flight mode responses. This is a crucial element of anything with horses, and so very vital to good desensitization work. Iām not perfect about this but I try to leave them relaxed and having helped them work through their fear.
Iāll be going into to more detail about this Saturday during my evening educational event at 21922 Two Bar Trail in Palo Cedro from 6-8.
Iām looking forward to speaking about this topic! See you there!
This video shows this horse's process of going from the Sympathetic Nervous System to the Parasympathetic Nervous System. We had been sitting like this for about 2 minutes before he started exhibiting signs of letting go of his tension.
His initial response to the let down is rubbing his nose on his leg and head shaking, ending with him scratching his ear with a hind foot that allowed the process to finish by licking and chewing for several seconds.
I will be talking more about this process during my first educational evening Saturday, September 16th. This first evening I will talk about the neuroscience behind how a horse thinks the way it does and how we can use this knowledge to better train them.
I look forward to meeting you lovely folks. Enjoy your horse!
It can be terrifying to share videos on the internet on how to train horses. People can take it the wrong way and then also blast the human for doing something wrong.
So Iāll say right now that I missed my timing a couple times and that I should have removed my flag a bit farther and that I need to work on how this horse feels about shaping around me on the circle (that video will be released in a day or two as we get to it). So there, I know Iām not perfect but I want to share a few thoughts with you folks.
This video shows how I help a horse become desensitized to something coming to them from above while they are moving. Such as a blanket, saddle, or a person. Doing this while standing still is good but it is equally important to have them become comfortable with it while they are moving. Typically a horse will do one of two things when I first start doing this. They will scoot forward and away from me, or they will freeze as this colt is doing. He had frozen a bit quicker the first few times I did this but I wasnāt videoing at that time. What typically occurs after I move the horse forward out of the freeze is they will kind of lurch forward, which this colt does. Some of them wil jump forward even, or snort and blow as they do.
The horses that move away from the flag by going sideways or forward rapidly are recognized as being bothered and are worked through that reaction in a variety of ways. They become good with the flag approaching them from above because the human can obviously see that they are bothered.
But the ones that freeze are just as bothered but they have a different response and are frequently missed. As I begin tapping this horse with the flag to encourage him to move forward it takes quite a bit of tapping to achieve this. As I tap he flinches each time but stays frozen until he canāt handle that pressure and moves forward. If I were to take away the flag the moment he stopped loving he would think that is the correct response to
Some thoughts I recorded this morning on an exercise I use to help horses connect with humans and the flag in a positive way. This is great for all types of horses; and particularly good for hard to catch horses, horses that have been over handled, horses that get over stimulated easily, and any horse that will be with a human physically but mentally they are somewhere else.
Please feel free to comment and ask questions!
Enjoy!
Itās looking like it will be great weather for the equine chiropractic educational event next weekend!! If you are planning on coming please let me know or fill out a sign up form so I know how many to expect to feed.
Hereās a sign up form: https://form.jotform.com/221747541716155
Also, I will having a riding/horsemanship demo after lunch that will run concurrently with the open Q&A with Adam Meyer the chiropractor.
Have a great weekend!
***This event is canceled due to low attendance. I may be able to hold it concurrent with the afternoon portion of the chiropractic event. Details for that being added to the event will be posted soon. ***
Trailer loading techniques and safety
April 22 from 9-11am I will be having an educational discussion and demonstration on this topic. It will be held at the Rocking H Ranch at 21085 Ramblewood Lane between Redding and Palo Cedro.
Who has ever loaded (or tried to load) a horse into a trailer and didnāt feel very confident about the whole situation? Maybe you didnāt quite know the best way to tie the horse in or if you should even tie them. Maybe you werenāt sure the halter they were wearing was proper or safe for trailering. Maybe you couldnāt figure out which side of the horse to stand on when loading and unloading or if you should even be in the trailer with them at all.
Who has ever had a horse freak out inside or around a trailer and later wondered if it could have been prevented or avoided? Maybe the horse wasnāt as prepared to be in it as you thought. Maybe the trailer wasnāt the right size for that horse. Maybe the way you handled the horse during the loading or unloading process caused the horse to be upset about the trailer.
If you have ever had any of the above thoughts or anything relating to trailering a horse safely, I invite you to join me as I talk about this important topic.
I have seen many instances where people have gotten hurt or should have gotten hurt by having a lack of knowledge or a misunderstanding of how to load and unload horses. It is my passion in life to help people be safe and enjoy their horse more than they thought was possible. I have found that I take some of my knowledge for granted in regards to what I consider to be basic safety and knowledge about horses. I want to share my experience and knowledge with anyone willing to listen to me.
I will have coffee, tea, cocoa, and some snacks while I talk about t
A short clip from the clinic yesterday talking about awareness and how that is a big part of being a good leader. Being a good leader will create a safe space for a human and their horse which allows for quality learning. The awareness of the surroundings by the human creates a positive connection with the horse and the horse will relax more because they know someone else is watching for the scary stuff as well.
So many fun and great moments were experienced yesterday. If you participated in any way yesterday, can you drop a comment below? Maybe a sentence that you really liked, a moment that was special for you, or a visual thing that happened you will remember.
Thanks Tammy for taking and sharing this video!
Lessons on the trail with Emily and Modoc, and Heather and Harvey. Fun stuff! First time through water ever for Modoc and first time for Harvey with Heather. Building confidence one step at a time!
Pm me for information on these lessons on trail. 1100 acres for me to share with you and guide you to the next step with your trail partner!
Beautiful evening!
This is what I look for in a horse that is ready to ride. Relaxed and content to stand on a loose rein while I bounce up to the side of the saddle, soft response to both sides (the bobble and tension to the right was due to an off camera child throwing rocks at the metal chute just behind the cameraā¦), and an ability to regain focus quickly after a distraction. Steady under me as I hang off one side, Alex is ready to ride tomorrow.
My videographer was our oldest son, Zeke, who did a fabulous job capturing this nice little video.
Firsts. Theyāre important. At first. Then after time they seem less important. But really they should always be important.
This video is the first ride outside for this coming 3 year old gelding of mine. Itās not the prettiest ride but itās his first outside and his fifth ever ride. Itās not my first ride on him, not my first ride on a fifth day colt, and not my first time outside on a colt on his first ride outside. But itās still important for me to remember that itās still his first. The first experiences are what will help shape him into the horse he will be. My attitude has a lot to do with that. My goal is to offer him the best experience for every time he comes to a first. First saddling, first ride, first time across water with a rider, first time roping a cow, first time crossing a busy paved road, first time being scared by a wild animal on a ride, first time he gets exposed to unpleasant horses at an event, first first firstā¦ even if they arenāt firsts for me. Even if they are things I can anticipate and see happening before they happen. He canāt. Yet. How I prepare him for those first experiences will help him build trust in me. How I respond to his reactions in those first experiences are what solidify his beliefs about me and life in general.
Firsts are still so very important.
Also, I should mention itās the first time my husband has videoed me while he was riding a horse as well. So, again, the video isnāt the prettiest but practice makes better. š
A sampling of what I do with the horses that come to me for training.
āPrinceā came to me with anxiety at the lope and transitions and a distrust of new people. This video was taken on the second day I had loped him (no one was around for the first day and I wish I had had the foresight to set up my phone for a video as it was so great). He had been with me for 3 weeks up to this day. Meaning that I had spent most of our time together building a relationship and giving him the foundational tools to understand what I was asking when we go to the lope, not spending a ton of time āworkingā on the lope (only one day before this video). This candid video shows that while we arenāt polished or perfectly trained, the mental relaxation and physical relaxation come together for a good ride. The pretty stuff comes later, but this is the good stuff that will set āPrinceā up for success for the rest of his riding career.
Thank you Holly Singleton for the video and the opportunity to work with this sweet guy. He is for sale for anyone interested in an older (16) gelding to enjoy on trail (he did great with me!) that has spent many years as a driving horse as well as being a riding horse. Contact Holly at Top of the Line Farms for more info on āPrince.ā
Summer fun with āFlash,ā one of the colts we bought from Oxbow Quarter Horses this spring.
