Gartland Horsemanship LLC

10/25/2024

“I put my foot on the block… can I get a cookie?”

10/18/2024

Some days are for napping and just hanging out.

10/16/2024

Come join us for a fun filled day of learning!!

Please join us at the farm on December 7 for a day of fun and education with Ashley Gartland 🐴💕

10/15/2024

I had some really cute assistants while I was teaching this weekend 🥰

10/07/2024

Metta says scratches are definitely a prerequisite to riding!

10/06/2024

Beautiful day for a trail riding lesson!! ☀️

10/05/2024

Maizie is growing up! First day with the ba****ck pad! 🤩

10/04/2024

Decker and my mom enjoying a nice ride in the setting sun.

10/02/2024

Why go around the mounting block when you can go over it instead?!

09/23/2024

These two wonderful horses were at my farm with their owner this past weekend, getting some private study time with me. We had a lot of fun, and they made some great progress towards their goals!

09/23/2024

“Just a trail ride”

It’s trail riding season here in New England, which means I repeatedly hear the phrase “I just want to go trail riding”… which is often followed by the story of their most recent trail riding adventure that didn’t go as well as they had hoped.

Trail riding is a big ask for your horse, especially if you are heading out alone. Make sure you set yourself and your horse up for success by preparing appropriately. Here are some things that I put on my checklist to know if my horse and I are ready to head out on the trail:

1. We can ride in the arena on a loose rein, including making turns and downward transitions.
2. We can ride backwards and sideways with minimal effort.
3. My horse can stand still for mounting on both sides.

There are other things on my checklist as well, but these are the big 3 that I’m constantly checking on.

Next time you plan to head out of the arena, remember that it’s not “just a trail ride”. It’s a big ask of your horse, and they need to have the skills and the confidence to say yes.

Happy Trails!

09/21/2024

Need help on your horsemanship journey? I travel throughout Southern and Central Maine teaching natural horsemanship lessons, giving you the chance to make progress with your horse without worrying about trailering to a new place. I currently have openings in my fall schedule, and would love to welcome some new clients. Message me at (207)590-8900 to take advantage of this new client discount!

09/18/2024

It’s a beautiful morning for playing with horses!! What are you and your horse up to today?

09/16/2024

It’s weekends like this one that make this job so much fun!! Thank you ladies!!

09/14/2024

It’s a beautiful day for a clinic! I’m at Wildflower Equestrian Center in Durham getting set up for a 2 day “Start of a Partnership” course. Hope to see you there!

09/05/2024

Yes! Your thoughts and your attitude play such a significant role in your interactions with your horse. Be careful of your thoughts.

It's Up To You, and Your Thoughts...

How you talk about your horse matters, because it reflects how you think about your horse.

How you think about your horse matters because it is the starting place from how you see your horse's behaviors, responses, and needs...
.. and this will influence how you engage and work with your horse.

▪️"He's just spooking to get out of work."
▪️"She's just a snarky mare."
▪️"He's just lazy and doesn't want to respond to my aids."
▪️"She hates the whip."
▪️"He just doesn't want to do it."

How do you relate to a horse if you're coming from that perspective?

Those are all negative words that come from a negative bias, and they make it seem as if the horse is plotting against us or unwilling to work towards a productive relationship.

Their brain simply isn't capable of working that way because of its construction and function.

It's in the horse's very nature to synchronize and work together as a unit/group/herd/partnership for safety.

How about throwing away those limiting thoughts and replacing them with thoughts that reflect awareness, and offer actual insight to show our understanding of the situation and needs of our partner, the horse.

Replacing those thoughts above with more appropriate thoughts might look like this:

🔸️"He's tense or worried about something, and it's distracting him from the work."
🔸️"She's sensitive, and I offer my aids or requests in ways she thinks are offensive."
🔸️"He doesn't understand my aids clearly, or is maybe weak and unable to properly respond."
🔸️"She was never properly introduced to the whip, so I need to help her to reduce her anxiety."
🔸️"He just doesn't understand yet."

How do you relate to a horse if you're coming from that perspective?

The whole idea I'm trying to get at is that we need to drop our defensive negativity bias. Even in our basic thoughts towards and about our horses, because they have a tremendous influence on how we relate to them. This influences the success or failure of our partnership.

It up to you... and your thoughts.

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