Heron Pond Farm

10/19/2023

Sunrise yesterday morning 💗💓🌸

06/24/2023

🌈

06/17/2023

03/27/2023

Rocky is back at HPF and ready to get to doing what he does best!! Teach kids how to ride!! He recently scored at 75% + 74% at a LPSDC Virtual Show winning one class and narrowly missing 1st in the other!! He’s an excellent boy! Call 360-821-1623 to set up lessons! Located in Port Townsend, Washington

03/25/2023

Your horse is not giving you a hard time, he is having a hard time.

When we shift our mindset about the behavior of our horses from that of negativity (he's being bad, being ignorant, being stupid) to difficulty (he doesn't understand, he's physically unable, he's anxious, he's confused), we're able to break the cycle of punishing the behavior and instead start helping our horses overcome their struggle.
This can, and should be applied to even the smallest of tasks such as:
Standing square - physical discomfort and/or imbalance, regardless of whether it stems from the body or feet, could make this seemingly simple task impossible for the horse.
Haltering - Pain in the poll, dental issues, tension, pinched nerves or discomfort anywhere around the head/neck could make even wearing a halter painful.
Picking up feet - Again, any imbalances or dysfunction in the body could make it seem like your horse "doesn't like" having their feet picked up/held up, but in reality the horse either physically can't offer you the foot at all, or for more than a few seconds.
Grooming - Biting, shying, pinning ears while grooming are clear indications of discomfort in the body, and can even be warning signs for ulcers.

We've said it before and we will say it again, regardless of how simple of an ask you believe it to be, every answer your horse gives you is the right one. That doesn't mean it's the answer that you want, but it's the answer you need in order to help your horse, and most of the time it's a pain issue, not a training issue.

Not to mention, letting a horse "buck it out/sacking out" is in no way a form of training. It is dangerous, it is abusive, it is as far from training as bicycles are to F1 racing. With social media full of abusers "training" horses by flooding them and calling it desensitizing, to jumping on a horse nowhere near ready for a rider and causing the horse to panic and risk injuring itself and the rider, we as an industry need to call out the BS.

02/10/2023

Horses can’t think like people and that’s okay.

They don’t have the brain anatomy to understand complex human concepts like respect and even if they did — respect as humans views it varies from culture to culture. They cannot possibly begin to understand respect as we define it and it’s unreasonable to expect them to do so.

They can’t willfully recall the past or look into the future like humans can. They do have excellent memories and can retain information but need certain stimuli to trigger previous memories rather than being able to freely recall the past or plot for events in the future. Since they are flight animals, living in the moment is much more advantageous to them.

Why must they need to have similar cognition to humans to be viewed as intelligent animals deserving of our respect?

Why can’t we appreciate them for the creatures they are and learn something from their level of presentness and sensitivity?

It is okay that they can’t think like us. It requires more adaptability on our part and asks us to leave aside the preconceived notions we carry in human society.

Humanizing horses enables us in our lack of desire to adapt for the sake of the horse but it’s damaging to the horses.

When we misrepresent their brain capacity and ability to understand human concepts, we cause harm by allowing people to rationalize high levels of punishment on the basis that the horse can understand how they’re “wronging” their human and is doing it intentionally.

So, we need to stop doing that because we are lying to ourselves to secure our own comfort at the expense of our horses.

The studies on equine brain anatomy and cognition tell us a very clear story.

Our horses’ capacity to learn from trial and error and be taught skills that us humans view to be “manners” or “respect” speaks for their ability to learn but we need to take ownership on our perception of horse behaviour and how it colours our view of them.

Human perception is not everything.

We can be wrong and are frequently.

Equine behavioural science helps to hold us more accountable by seeking to define what is the horses’ perception rather than allowing human bias to run the show. While bias can still exist, there’s more accountability in this than anecdotes.

Horses don’t think like us.

They shouldn’t have to.

02/07/2023

02/06/2023

We have this thing, we human doings, of pushing a horse into more of what he does not like, or is finding difficult.

We see the ridiculousness of such thinking when we put ourselves into the hotseat. Having all my molars drilled into by the dentist is not going to make me love having my one cavity fixed, any more. Struggling with squats or lunges, feeling the invisible tweaks of pain in my knee, is not going to feel better after five minutes, rather than thirty seconds.

And yet, we will force the ungainly or unfit horse to canter longer periods. We will ask the stiff or reluctant horse to rein-back three more steps. We will continue to ask the horse to go ‘on the bit’ when he is telling us that he is finding it extremely difficult. What is it about us that is always wanting more, when clearly, the horse is already struggling mightily?

Instead, learning to reward amply and to quit—when we are given one or two steps of the almost-right response—otherwise known as ‘try’—is where the kindness and empathy comes into play. This is also the sweet spot where our horse willingly and visibly begins to improve.

I am ashamed to say that it has taken me most of my lifetime to really grasp this. Turns out, riding is nothing like learning to play the piano.

“Once more, with feeling!” isn’t the kindest or most empathetic response, as it assumes that the first effort just wasn’t good enough. Perhaps this is why so many of us no longer play the piano…? I dunno, it’s just a thought.

02/06/2023

Motivational Monday
"It does not matter how slowly you go, as long as you do not stop." ~Confucius

www.HorseTeacher.com

01/18/2023

❤️❤️❤️

A week ago today I swung my saddle onto the back of a five-year-old quarter horse under the watchful eye of Tom Curtin.

The horse took a few concerned steps as my stirrup swung over his back. I looked up to see Tom’s grin under the brim of his hat and he said,

“You were thinking about saddling that horse, weren’t you?
You need to think about that horse while you saddle him.“

Last week I spent the week with Tom and his wife, Trina. I noticed a reoccurring lesson throughout the week.

The everyday activities I have done my whole life with horses took on a new meaning. “You were thinking about brushing that c**t, you need to think about that c**t while you brush him.” And, “you were thinking about bridling that mare, you need to think about that mare while you bridle her.”

Tom said, “No matter what you do, never forget that horse”.

So there I was, playing cowboy for a week, learning about c**t starting, riding young horses, checking cattle, but deep inside it all, learning how to be with a horse in a very intentional way.

It’s a sort of contract, you see. You’re not demanding that your horse give you their attention without an even exchange. Asking a horse to bring their attention to me now feels more like saying, “Remember I’m right here, thinking about you… In exchange can you think about me?”

The gift of Tom’s c**ts was that they already knew the feeling of being kept in mind, and they were good at telling me when I’d lost track of them. The calm that came over these horses when I thought of them as I went about my daily routines was just wonderful.

All it took was being mindful of their existence and attentive to their needs. We typically have some sort of goal with our horses that can provide a wonderful sense of purpose, but the goal is meaningless if we lose track of our partner in the process.

I hope in reading this you can be as inspired as I am. When you go out this week and do whatever you do with your horses, whether it be jumping fences, working cows, dancing in a dressage arena, chasing hounds, etc, see if you can go about your business with purpose, but never forget your horse.

~ Justin

📸 Erin Gilmore // Erin Gilmore Photography

01/16/2023

//Friday Fact - Displacing humans//

Because horses are so adept at learning by negative reinforcement, trainers need to be careful that the horse does not learn to successfully displace them in any way through its actions. For example, the horse may, by accident, move their head toward you causing you to step away. This is inherently reinforcing for the horse and it is likely to learn to start pushing you away and displacing you. This is also why under-saddle, a stable and consistent body position is fundamentally important in every style and discipline of riding. Top-level coaches are very aware of just how adept horses can be in learning to displace riders even to the point where they can learn to tip the rider’s seat to one side.

Here are more examples of inadvertent negative reinforcement in the horse:
▪️ You apply your rein aid and your horse rears, causing you to fall off, thus removing the pressure
▪️ The horse makes you tilt forward in the saddle and loosen the reins when it reefs, therefore reefing is rewarded
▪️ You remove your hand when the horse is head-shy or leg-shy
▪️ You touch a foal on the rump and it responds by kicking out and running away, so the first lesson the horse learns may be to remove people

This is an excerpt from our latest textbook, "Modern Horse Training: Equitation Science Principles & Practice, Volume 1", available to purchase from our website: https://esi-education.com/shop/

01/03/2023

Stunning sunrise over the farm today, Happy New Year!! May all your wishes come true for 2023!!

12/21/2022

School Horse lessons available! It’s not too late to get a last minute stocking suffer for Christmas! All ages welcome, located 10 mins from downtown Port Townsend! Pls contact Kim McGuire 360-821-1623

11/13/2022

Now available: Dry stall boarding at Heron Pond farm. Stall w/run or paddock with shelter. You bring your feed and bedding, we clean the stall and feed 4 times a day. $400 per month for stall with run. $350 for paddock with shelter. Horses are turned out daily. Enjoy the use of the 200'x80' arena with sand and rubber blend footing and excellent drainage that allows us to ride all winter long. With the Olympic discovery trail at the end of the driveway this is equestrian paradise! Contact Kimberly McGuire at 360.821.1623

10/28/2022

Love this! ❤️

“When you first start to learn about how to teach horses to be soft, balanced, relaxed, and forward, you will feel a little overwhelmed at what it takes…

Your friends might be out on their young or green horse, or older horse with history, charging about in groups.

You will be walking squares, and side passing, and getting that back up just a little better.

Others will be out trying to force their horse through something, trying to beat the clock, or impress a judge.

You will be correcting slight balance inconsistencies, whilst walking, trotting, and loping on a loose rein.

Some will be reefing their horse to a stop, hauling on it for a turn, and spurring it to go, trying to work a cow.

You will be helping your horse to better understand that accepting the bit, and following a soft feel, is much better than avoiding it, or leaning on it to protect himself.

Riders you know might be trying to make their horse go near something they are worried about, and you will be busy teaching yours that something is ok.

They will be focused on blaming the environment or the horse’s past for their failings.

You will be busy working on what needs working on with the horse you have in front of you.

One day, you will see them running the energy off their rushy, braced, confused, tolerant horse so they can ride it… from the back of your soft, relaxed, confident, brave, balanced, energetic, sound, amazing horse.

And you will know how to improve on that, not make it worse.

There is no magic training, or magic equipment.

That is all.

***

Ok, that is not all.

Those others that I talked about will probably tell you how fortunate you are to have lucked upon a horse with such a great temperament, or that you would find things different if he were a hotter breed.

Chances are, most of them won’t even know enough to recognise the way your horse carries himself or moves as an improvement.

Don't expect any praise.

Your enjoyment should come from your own sense of achievement, and the fact that riding horses that operate like the one you trained is addictive.”
- Ian Leighton

Remember, slow is smooth, and smooth is fast…

09/26/2022

Aerial view of the farm! I spy a tiny dot in the arena!