Starting Point Equestrian, Pittsboro NC

12/16/2023

obstacle course night!

12/12/2023

11/30/2023

Yes! I have also experienced the same thing. Students get a horse that is too much for them and the student either shrivels up and their interactions with this horse get less and smaller, or they get out of horses all together.

There is no shame in replacing a horse that is too much. I recently rehomed a horse I've had for 6 years because I've changed. I'm older and have some health issues that were starting to cause me concern with this horse that was very reactive.

~Kaye Handlon

11/30/2023

If you have been interested in our Pony School classes for a child between the ages of 6 and 8, fill out this poll! We are taking requests to start a new class. 🐴👧🏻🧒🏼👧🏽

https://startingpointequestrian.com/pony-school-6-8-year-poll/

11/23/2023

We are now accepting requests for enrollment for our Pony School class for 6-8 year olds!

For general info about Pony School go here:
https://startingpointequestrian.com/kids-pony-school/

To fill out our day & time poll go here:
https://startingpointequestrian.com/pony-school-6-8-year-poll/

11/23/2023

We are now taking requests for
𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐏𝐨𝐧𝐲 & 𝐏𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐂𝐥𝐮𝐛 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝟒-𝟓 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐬

For general information about this program:
https://startingpointequestrian.com/pony-and-pals-club/

To complete our poll for the new day & time go here:
https://startingpointequestrian.com/pony-school-4-5-year-old-poll/

💥HOMESCHOOLERS - contact us if you are interested in creating a class just for your group.

11/23/2023

I have not created much original content for the Starting Point FB page in the last year. Truth be told moving, and starting a facility from scratch, has been exciting but exhausting. The pandemic didn't help.

Slowly things are falling into place. One thing that has revealed itself to me during the last 18 months is how we fall into patterns and habits. When we first moved into our new house, after living in the previous house for 18 years, I found myself seriously on the struggle-bus (in a first world problems kind of way) trying to teach my body where the right light switches were, and which cabinet the dishes were in and which had the glasses.

Now that the barn is done and I don't have to operate out of our garage I'll have to establish new patterns and routines around the farm. In the year+ I've been working out of our garage I have worn paths to the pasture from the west side of the house. The barn is on the east side of the house, so it will require learning a new routine and creating new paths.

The same struggle is there when you are learning new skills or improving on the skills you already have. When things are new, or when things change, its a bit more work in the beginning. You have to walk through that deep grass often and regularly to wear a path that is easier to travel on. And this is how a skill becomes acquired in your neural pathways.

So don't get down-hearted by struggle while pursuing something that has piqued your interest. Learning to do things right, and doing the right things, takes time. It takes repetitions.

So here's to enjoying the process of creating new pathways in your life.

~Kaye
(photo: Brian & Kaden)

11/18/2023

Tonight in our Pony School class for 7-10 year olds: learning how to wrap a pony's leg, and riding straight lines and turns. We're so grateful for our fabulous 🐴 ponies, Lucky, Pixie and "Stickley".

❤️🐴

(kids faces blurred for privacy)

10/25/2023

10/22/2023

One of the things you see in highly skilled horse people, regardless of their chosen equestrian discipline, is that they universally seem to have fluid body language and calming voices with horses.

They move very smoothly, and it makes horses calmer.

Conversely, when people speak far too loudly with piercing or shrieking voices and their body movements are stiff and jerky, it promotes tension and sometimes panic in the horse.

Horses are masters of body language and recent experiments have proved how well they process our human expressions and postural changes.

It is important to recognise that these do not qualify as true ‘language’ in the proper semantic and conscious definitions.

These are innate tendencies in horses to react to certain postures and behaviours as a result of their social nature and the fact that they evolved as prey animals in the most dangerous of all environments: the open shrub and grassland environment.

In this environment, prey animals are practically always visible to predators making them very aware of stealthy or jerky body language.

They find the nature of certain types of stimuli aversive, such as:

Magnitude: The magnitude of aversive stimuli.

Novelty: The novelty of aversive stimuli.

Multiplicity: The multiplicity of aversive stimuli (e.g., sound and visual stimuli combined).

Proximity: The proximity of the aversive stimuli.

Randomness: The random appearance or occurrence of the aversive stimuli.

Movement: The movement of the aversive stimuli, especially if it is erratic or advancing towards the horse directly.

Always try and think about your body language. Is your posture consistent or do you inadvertently give mixed messages? Consistency is important to horses!

✨This is an excerpt of the book Modern Horse Training: Equitation Science Principles & Practice, Volume 1 - which is available on the Equitation Science International website for purchase.

10/20/2023

What are the reasons for being afraid to ride a specific horse?

Having the right horse to ride makes going to the barn the best part of the day, while knowing that you will be white knuckled with nervous anxiety makes it a misery, yet many people live with some degree of fear every time they get on.

So what makes one horse “right” and another one “wrong?”

It seems to me that there are three main direct causes, and a fourth indirect cause created by one or more of the original three.

One---If a horse is high energy and exuberant, it is likely to bounce and bound around, more inclined to spook and play, and all that can create rider tension.

Two---If a horse is nervous and anxious, it is likely to exhibit similar behavior as the high energy horse, but coming from a different place.

Three---If the horse is green, untrained, or poorly trained it may have a decent temperament, but not know how to respond to signals from the rider.

But whether the horse is high with energy, nervous with tension, or simply green and untrained, all three of these will set up a chain reaction. As the horse acts in ways that scare the rider, the rider, if already inclined to be nervous, will most likely tense up even more, will get even tighter, maybe get rough in an attempt to contain the horse.

The rider tension will trigger horse tension, and things go from bad to worse in that chain reaction, also often called a snowball effect.

Some riders will choose to stop riding altogether. Some will choose a different and more suitable horse. Some will go along month after month, year after year, riding in fear.

Some will send the horse to a trainer to “fix,” and this may or may not work, because the horse may go well for the softer more confident rider, but revert right back when the tighter, tenser rider resumes riding.

This whole right-wrong horse situation is one of the most common yet most intractable pieces of the human-horse relationship. No adult can decide much of this for another adult, but adults can and should decide for kids by making wise horse choices for them.

10/05/2023

PONY SCHOOL 🐴 (Pittsboro)

We are ready to offer our Pony School program for kids ages 4-5.

Class days and times have not been determined yet, but we're open to week days (stay at home / home school) or week days late afternoon / early evenings.

Pony school is an alternative to the typical 45 minute riding lesson. The focus in our program isn't just about riding, it's about total horsemanship; safety, ethology (what makes a horse a horse), horse care, ground handling and basic balanced riding. Despite the photos, we welcome boys (my younger son was an avid rider in his youth, and my husband is an avid rider).

We are not a sport-competitive facility. The teaching & learning cycle is done with the mindset of exploration and for personal growth.

We have a fully enclosed and insulated indoor arena for year round classes.

PROGRAM INFORMATION:

- Classes are for 2 - 4 children, with two instructors and 1 or 2 ponies.

- Class time depends on the number of children in each class, but will run from 45 minutes to 60 minutes.

- Most sessions will include riding, but some classes will not. Other activities include using games / play to learn about horse care, horse behavior, etc.

- Cost is $35 per child (per class).

REQUIREMENTS:

- We do not / can not teach therapeutic riding, for physical, mental or emotional impairments. Children should be cleared by their physician to participate in typical sport type programs offered in school.

- Children will need a minimum of a well fitted bicycle safety helmet. Safety helmets (ASTM-SEI) for equestrian use can be purchased once parents can see the child's committed interested in horse activities.

- Children need to wear fully covered, well fitted shoes that will protect their feet from being stepped on, and will allow them to function in an athletic way in a farm environment. Well fitted, well constructed athletic shoes (sneakers) are acceptable for this program. Please do not send them in 'fashion' boots with high heels, or stuff rubber boots (wellies).

- Comfortable pants that allow athletic movement and cover the child's entire leg is a must as stirrup straps can pinch bare skin. Comfortable shirts that are appropriate for the weather and school type sports are acceptable.

To get on our list for days / dates / times please message us with an email address.

To see more info:
https://startingpointequestrian.com/kids-pony-school/

10/02/2023

"I ask for less than my horse can give: thus it is easy for him, and it becomes something beautiful. If we ask for too much it is more difficult for the horse to fulfill our request, and we instead invite from him resistance." ~ Mark Russell

09/23/2023

Horse peoples commitment to believing dominance theory / “Alpha” theory despite the lack of evidence showing it to be a real thing is an incredible thing to watch.

There is currently very little, if any, evidence suggesting that horses have a static herd hierarchy in natural environments and that even IF they did, that said hierarchy would apply to how they view humans.

The man who initially perpetuated alpha theory with research on wolves later rescinded his enter belief system due to said study being impacted by the stressors of the domestic lifestyle in addition to the fact that wolf packs are generally family groups, meaning that the older more experienced wolves did take on leadership roles to educate their younger pups… but not for the purpose of exerting dominance.

Now, horses are not wolves but similar findings have been reported.

Much of what is viewed to be attempts of asserting dominance in domestic horse herds is actually resource guarding.

A horse guarding a PERCEIVED lack of resources, this does not mean that the resource actually has to be lacking

Reduced space, infrequent hay feedings, environmental frustration and general stress can increase the aggression we see in domesticated horses.

In feral herds, horses don’t spend much time engaging in aggressive behaviours because such behaviours are expensive physically and risk injury.

Sure, we see lots of photography and video of this happening but those tend to be the more “exciting” shots and thereby more popular, not necessarily more common.

Even in instances where feral stallions are actually fighting, it isn’t an attempt to be the “alpha.” It is attempt to protect and/or secure resources such as breeding rights to mares, space etc.

In addition to this, young horses, especially male horses, will practice fighting behaviours in play and this can be mistaken for real aggression.

Dominance theory is used by humans to label horse behaviour as “naughty” or “disrespectful” which is then often used to justify use of physical punishment.

The issue with this is that much of the behaviour we label as dominant behaviour from horses towards humans stems from fear, frustration, confusion, pain and general stress.

Escape behaviours are merely a horse trying to evade an undesirable situation, not an attempt to exert dominance.

Horses are natural peace makers and would generally prefer to not put up a fight.

But, so much of horse training in the human lens involves disciplining fear based behaviours, creating more fear and then blaming the horse for responding with stress.

We create the very types of environments that make it more likely to see what we perceive as “dominant” behaviours and then blame the horse for it.

The vast majority of undesirable domestic horse behaviours are directly caused by, or at least contributed to by, human influence.

So, it’s about time we reflect inwardly, get with the times and accept the fact that research doesn’t support the idea of dominance theory.

The level of attachment people experience with this theory despite the lack of evidence I think speaks for how desperate many of us are to justify our use of force in horse training.

It is such an odd hill to die on and the level of ferocity that people who speak out on the myth of dominance theory are met with I think exemplifies the crux of the problem: a desire for complete control at any cost rather than a desire to understand and communicate.

Communication and partnership will get you a lot further with horses than dominance, despite what much of traditional horse training may have taught you.

Here is a good fairly recent study on dominance pertaining to horse training: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0737080617300059

“Highlights
•
It is unlikely that horse–horse social status translates to analogues of human–horse interactions.

•
The concept of leadership as advocated in many training manuals proves to be unreliable in the horse.

•
Horses' responses to training are more likely a result of reinforcement rather than a result of humans attaining high social status and a leadership role.

•
Knowledge of horses' natural behavior and learning capacities are more reliable in explaining training outcomes than the application of dominance and leadership concepts.”

09/06/2023

I was talking to my students that every horse and rider are unique, but the one thing that is consistent throughout every lesson is that learning cannot occur without relaxation. Without relaxation, there is no point in attempting to train. Horses are prey animals and are programmed to be concerned about their own safety. A tense horse is worried they are not safe. We have to understand this. The horse may be afraid of his surroundings, or separation from their herd, or maybe they are in pain and it isn’t obvious to their rider yet. Anything that makes the horse uncomfortable will make them concerned about their safety, and no learning can pe*****te that fear. A relaxed mind can learn. A tense one cannot.
In my book "Dressage in Harmony", on page 12, I write that muscles are found in extensor-flexor pairs. A tense horse tends to contract both extensor and flexor muscles at the same time, thereby tightening and stiffening the joints through the action of the opposing forces. A truly relaxed horse will have every muscle relaxed from the poll to the tail, moving in regular rhythm and responding easily to all the aids, and the hoofprints are light. The rider can take up the reins or give the reins, and the horse will maintain his rhythm without running away. This must be true of all three gaits. A relaxed horse is not stiff, nor tight or frightened. Only when relaxed will the horse show brilliance in the movement.
If a horse is tense, you may have to dedicate the entire ride to achieve a relaxation. Some horses are more prone to tension than others. If your horse has an extremely high sense of self preservation, it takes enormous patience by the rider. Horses are programmed to be concerned about their own safety, and are hoping you will show them the way to a more secure state of mind. With repetition, the horse begins to believe in their rider. They begin to learn there is a better feeling out there that the rider will help them get to. The time it takes to get to a relaxed state becomes shorter over time.
When the horse is spooking, do not get too close to the scary thing and "give" to help unwind the tension. This can take great courage on the rider's part, but holding a tense horse tight creates even more tension. The "give" helps the horse's neck to soften and lengthen, and relaxation eventually start to migrate through the horse’s body. The horse recognizes the rider will not "trap" him and will not force scary things upon him. That builds trust, and trust creates relaxation.

09/01/2023

Yes! Each student will set the pace of their learning. If I have one that thinks they are ready to "go higher" and I don't see the skills there, then I cycle them back around and get deeper roots on their skill set before letting them go taller, so they don't fall.

💥

Teach the student that shows up.
I’ve gotten what some have referred to as “difficult” students… the slow thinkers, the dyslexics, those with shockingingly minimal proprioception, the nervous over thinkers, the physically challenged,…
Whatever. I teach them the best I can. They learn what they learn. It’s not my job to decide if their speed of progress is acceptable or not- that’s up to them! If they are happy and having fun, and they keep showing up, (and yes, pay their bill) then I keep teaching them the absolute best I know how!!!!
I’ve had students that progress [what to me feels] painfully slow at first, but then things click and, like grass growing, you can’t see it, but there it is!!! Some are slow thinkers but fast learners. Some have a challenging learning style that pushes me to become a better teacher. Sometime kids show no RIDING progress, but parents rave about how the child is better behaved and a better listener for 1-2 days following their lesson- that’s progress!!!! Who cares if they still bumble around in posting trot, and can’t figure out diagonals. Sometimes adults struggle for awhile until they get strong/fit enough and then suddenly make a big leap. Sometimes fear issues can hold someone back for what feels like forever, but then they “suddenly”, after a year of repetition, break free and find their confidence.

Progress isn’t linear, and sometimes we are using the wrong metrics to measure success anyways. If two hours at the barn is the only time a parent isn’t worried about their child taking their own life, than who cares if the kid doesn’t want to trot and is content steering at the walk.

Sometimes us pros think “good” students have to be like us- athletic with big goals, and dedication to spare. But not everyone is in it for that, and that’s okay- I’ll meet them where they are and teach the best I can… using THEIR metrics- not mine.

Btw- pic is most instructor’s dream student. Quick learner, good feel, knows left from right, memorizes a pattern quickly, brave without being reckless…. But I would be out of business if I could only teach kids like this one. 😉

09/01/2023

I keep hearing Denny Emerson's words of " square pegs don't fit into round holes", especially towards the end of this article.

If a rider is over-horsed it does the rider no good and it does the horse no good.

I spent 24 weeks in Leslie Desmond's online class, and I heard her same more than once (something to the effect of) horses are horses, horses, move. That is what makes a horse, a horse. And so many people try to take the horse out of the horse.

And I would say that's because a lot of people are not equally yoked with the horse they have.

Yes, education can do a lot for the horse- human relationship. But at the core a forward, large moving horse is still going to have that in there no matter how much you try to tamp it down.

The Power of Forwards

The first year I trained with Philippe Karl the main focus was getting our horses really ‘forwards’. I remember this coming as something of a shock as, a) I thought my horses were forwards and b) well, what about piaffe? There was one particular session riding my friend Nikki’s huge moving warmblood, while she was riding her utterly ridiculous WB x Lusitano, with both of us flying around the arena hysterical with laugher (about 3 strides would get you from one end of the arena to the other) with Philippe shouting, “This still isn’t his best trot!’

In retrospect, what I think he was actually doing in those early clinics was checking that the riders were really, really happy about turning loose and going forwards. Would our brain and bodies allow those horses to fly? Because without this capacity in us, and the desire in our horse to Go, Go, Go, everything else was going to be a struggle.

Ultimately, what Philippe is looking for is impulsion not speed. We may have used the speed to get all of us freed up, but what we are actually seeking is impulsion – a desire to ‘go’ even in the slowest of walks. I sometimes meet riders thumping horses along out of rhythm, on the shoulders, believing this is ‘forward’ when in reality, they’re just out of balance. Impulsion is about a mental release in horse and rider - which you can ‘feel’ even in halt

A majority of the issues I notice for horse and rider combinations are a symptom of a lack of this desire to really go. I saw Leslie Desmond talking about this, describing the main mistake people make when starting a young horse is dampening down their natural desire to go forwards. We want to impose control from very early on, so we try to slow their legs down. We think that by getting ‘stop’ installed we will be safe, but actually having forward readily available is much, much more helpful. When a horse bucks, it’s because his front feet stopped going forwards, when he rears it’s because the hinds got stuck. When he naps, you lost forwards all together.

This is an interesting conundrum. You will be far ‘safer’ with a horse that always and easily moves forwards from the very lightest aids, but the controlling part of our brain finds that hard to believe. I have had my own struggles with this – my Lusitano Des can be extremely, er, fizzy, and the desire in me to dampen him down has sometimes been strong. However, after many years of acting as a test tube for my teaching, it is absolutely clear that allowing him to go – Legs without Hands – is THE best thing for both of us when the proverbial hits the fan. And interestingly, (or not to those of you in the know) , the more I let him go, the calmer he has become. There may be some life lesson in there for us mightn’t there?

The thing with getting a horse to really free up and go is that it’s never going to be possible unless you’re happy to free up too. The leg aids are only a symptom of how you feel about releasing and going. If there is a little bit of you on the inside that doesn’t want to experience all of your horse’s power, then your horse’s response to the leg aid is always going to reflect that. You’re both going to have your mental handbrakes on.

If you know in your heart of hearts that you don’t really, really want your horse to go forwards then it might be worth having a little dig around in that. Could you get someone with a really solid horse to help? I know there are great people like Karl Greenwood who offer ‘cantering’ courses, getting you incrementally upping the speed in considered situations on sensible minded horses. Could you have a go at visualising what it would feel like to gallop down a beach, grinning and laughing, enjoying all of that amazing forwards? Could you get some help from a good therapist to help turn that fear into joy? And importantly, have you got a horse whose level of speed and energy you think you actually enjoy? A good friend of mine bravely decided to sell a horse who’s size and power did not suit her, and in his place has a steed who’s stature and speed bring her only happiness. This has been a most excellent choice to make.

Because once you have ridden a horse who’s mental handbrake is completely off – even in the slowest of walks – it’s something that you will become addicted to.

08/16/2023

Creating a basically fit, sound, and ready to go horse isn’t all that hard or tricky if we follow good management practices. And these practices, while not “free,” should be within reach of those who own horses.

What are “management practices?”

Is the horse up to date on his worming?
Are his hooves in good shape, barefoot or shod?
Is he getting enough feed to keep him in good flesh, neither too fat nor too thin?
Does he have plenty of access to clean water?
Does he get some turnout.

These are basics. Now we can add a few fitness goals.

Does his tack fit him, both saddle and girth and bridle and bit?
Can you walk him for about an hour 4 or 5 days most weeks?

If all of these can be answered “yes” then in about two or three months, assuming he was not already in shape when you started, you will have a horse that should be ready to go into whatever work you do in the type of riding you prefer.

You have created a base. How you then proceed from there will take monitoring and good horsemanship.

But if you cut corners and try to build on a horse that isn’t well managed and in shape, think about that old Biblical warning---“Do not build your house on a foundation made of sand.”

08/04/2023

I just read this---“Working hard for something you don’t care about is called stress. Working hard for something you love is called passion.”

But how does that relate to the human-horse interaction?

So some human LOVES dressage/eventing/reining/jumping/whatever. And then passionately pursues that activity with a horse.

But the horse does NOT “love” dressage/eventing/reining/jumping/whatever.” If you think that you are thinking like a little eight year old. Watch horses living free in a natural setting. See what they do. What they DON’T do is dressage/eventing/reining/jumping/whatever.

So now the heart of the matter----Hard work by a horse for something that the horse doesn’t care about is called stress. How can the passionate human cool it down sufficiently so that the stress that the horse feels is at a tolerable level?

So many riders and trainers do not find that delicate balance, to the point that human passion translates into a stressed out horse. Think about that, maybe, the next time you feel the need to drill on your horse.

07/23/2023

Brian Handlon and I rode the horses down the street to buy flowers from our neighbors at In Good Heart Farm

07/22/2023

❤️🐴

"It is not uncommon to see young riders, especially teenagers, boasting about the difficulty of their horse. Some even go as far as provoking the horse's defenses to appear more deserving of having mastered them.

Yet as the saying goes: "It is better to ride a tiger that looks like a lamb than a lamb that looks like a tiger!"

The most beautiful compliment one can give to a rider who has trained their horse is to say that they make it look easy because their horse "goes as if of its own volition".

The instructor must convince their students that the mark of a good rider is not just correcting faults but avoiding them altogether. The true merit is not in dominating the horse but in inspiring it to cooperate willingly. Doing things well and in the right order, without stress and without defense; in horsemanship, lost time can always be regained!"

Luc Pirick

Luc Pirick was an instructor of trainers and amateur riders -- and a wonderful writer. If you speak French, I recommend his books highly:

https://mediatheque.ifce.fr/index.php?lvl=author_see&id=10729

I agree very much with his thoughts below. There is a lot of ugly, aggressive riding on social media resulting in reactive horses that is being presented as good riding.

07/21/2023

Jec interviews Lee McLean from Alberta Canada. Lee likes to approach horse work with an eye on common sense, pragmatism, and fun. She grew up in a ranching family, but is savvy in side saddle, dressage, and other disciplines. While there was probably no end to topics for Jec and Lee, they picked one...

07/02/2023

A recent study, conducted in Japan, compared various methods for cooling horses after exercise in hot and humid conditions. Thoroughbreds were exercised until their pulmonary artery temperature reached 108°F. The time until the pulmonary artery temperature returned to