Howlin’ Revival Horsemanship

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Howlin’ Revival Horsemanship

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Training through classical principles and biomechanics for horses & humans of every discipline
Approaching Horsemanship through holistic & horse-first practices

12/05/2024

Holistic care of horses is species appropriate care of horses.

Yes, it means lots of group turn out, it means forage-based or forage only, it means training with biomechanics in mind, and it means maintaining a natural and healthy lifestyle for the horse.

Holistic care of horses IS NOT neglecting the basic needs of the horse.

It is not over feeding, or feeding the wrong stuff.

It is not under feeding.

It is not providing inappropriate turnout conditions.

It is not neglecting regular hoof care.

It is not pushing the horse in training sessions inappropriately.

It is not neglecting veterinary care.

It is not something that should be harmful to the horse. Period. End of story.

Holistic horse care is HORSE-FIRST care.

Absolutely we should take their nature into consideration, but this does not leave room to be negligent.

Providing this lifestyle for the horse should be the foundation of a relaxed horse. If the horse is not relaxed or is unhealthy, there is something that needs to change.

Listen to the horse, he will show you what he needs.

12/04/2024

Schooling to the weight aids, and the hand OR leg (not hand AND leg) should support the movement.

I like to be able to do something else while I ride, or atleast have the option to.

If we consider the purpose of cavalry or even the californio style, there’s is a job to be done. Sometimes that means riding with one hand and having a horse so aware that the weight aids is all that’s needed and support from the leg or a single point of rein contact is just that, support.

11/29/2024

I am most grateful for my greatest teacher, The Horse.

They are the most insightful guides in life, and for that reason I will always choose the path of a life with horses.

No amount of gain for the ego is worth losing touch with the lessons from The Horse either.

So in today as I reflect on the idea of thankfulness and gratitude, I will always first pick The Horse. I will choose a path of life long learning. I will choose a path of discipline. I will choose a path of artfulness as well as mindfulness. I will choose a path that is driven by ethics. I will choose a path that demands my heart and soul.

I am forever thankful and forever grateful to my greatest teacher, The Horse.

11/24/2024

This horse has been super fun to work with so far! I wanted to share some of our progress from our session today.

Unfortunately I do not have any pictures from the first few sessions we had because she was unable to stand still. She showed quite a few anxious behaviors which manifested through her posture as well. This mare was pushy, which is not helpful to maintain a healthy posture and reinforced her forehand heaviness. There is very much still evidence of this throughout her body, but I’m pleased to share the progress that we made in our session today.

The picture on the left is the beginning of our session. I actually had to ask for her to be held for that picture because she just couldn’t stand still. She was anxious and it shows. This posture would allow her to flee should she need to with her nervous system being in “just in case” mode.

We worked primarily at liberty in the beginning. We worked on voice cues and rhythm in the various gaits. It was wonderful to see her enjoy working at liberty. There was an element of excitement that I hadn’t seen from her before. Next we worked in hand and considered the shift of weight between all four legs as well as straightness work.

The picture on the right was taken after our in-hand work. It’s amazing to me how much longer her neck and back got in a short amount of time! I’m really impressed with this awesome gal. I’d also like to mention that in the second picture she was ground tied. We were actually able to ground tie many times throughout the session which was fantastic because she began to be more comfortable and relaxed.

Through considering her nervous system first, these changes are possible. She moves better and is more willing and relaxed.

I am so excited to continue to work with such a cool horse! She offers a lot and latches onto the little changes which makes building on them that much more exciting.

11/23/2024

We are merely students in the presence of masters,

Horses are the best teachers; a good horseman is simply the horse’s translator.

11/23/2024

Can the horse step out of balance or make a mistake but maintain willingness, relaxation, and joy to work?

Can the horse still look for guidance in these moments?

Does this even matter?

Absolutely it does!

The way that the horse recovers when taking a step out of balance or making a mistake through learning is absolutely important. The horse should maintain a positive mental state even when training is not perfect and throughout finding balance.

I care very much about my horse’s mental state throughout training. I want it to be as positive as possible throughout. School is fun!

Through this the horse builds confidence and trust. Even when things aren’t perfect, the situation is still under control and everything is okay. They need to know this.

I think many riders don’t pay close attention to how their horse mentally recovers from missteps but I think that level of awareness at that moment is critical.

Some Saturday thoughts to chew on this weekend if you’d like!

11/20/2024

In order to fill space, there must first be the creation of space.

This was a thought tonight during my in-hand sessions. It’s often a thought during my in-hand sessions but it’s also a theme throughout riding and handling for me as well.

If the horse is to step laterally in-hand, there must be space to do so. Truthfully, if the horse is to work at all in-hand, there must be space to do so.

Our posture and position matters to the horse for communication and maintaining their natural sensitivity. It takes quite a bit of self awareness and self discipline to begin down that road ourselves. It can be pretty tricky!

It’s easy to want to micromanage and get in their space too much which can cause confusion to the horse, tension, and brace. Then we want to fix with the hands or leaning in with the shoulders amongst so many other things.

But the horse is waiting for us to just breathe.

I often think about in-hand work like dancing with a partner. I don’t want to step on any toes, I want to carry myself with lightness and consistency, maintain rhythm and awareness amongst so many other things.

It can often be difficult for the horse to be working WITH us if we don’t allow them to due to our own lack of awareness.

But to fill space, we must first create space. If I would like a shoulder-in, there MUST be room for the shoulder to move and allow the horse to maintain confidence throughout the movement.

Balance before movement mentally, emotionally, and physically. Then, balance throughout movement mentally, emotionally, and physically.

11/10/2024

A fine horse is made in the details! Some transformation pictures over the past year!

11/09/2024

We had a special delivery of from RW Farms last night!!

Big shoutout to RW Farms for keeping the girls shiny and happy. They’re even getting all dappled with their winter coats which is awesome!!

Good forage is essential to the total foundation that a horse needs to perform at their best. It’s absolutely essential that forage makes up the majority or even the entirety of a horse’s diet. Feeding quality makes a massive impact and although I’d love to say my grooming routine keeps the gals sparkling, it is all truly thanks to good forage and plenty of it!!

11/04/2024

A pretty sleepy face after our session last night!

We began to explore jaw mobilizations and learning to let go of tension and anxiety. Not only do jaw mobilizations set an excellent foundation in educating the horse on the bit, but it also starts towards other releases through the hyoid chains.

When horses are processing these very physical and often emotional releases it’s absolutely the top priority to give them a safe and comfortable place to process this. Although it may be easy to get impatient, letting the horse take all of the time they need is important.

When work is done for the benefit of the horse soley, it’s important to listen to the horse at every step. This means being aware when to give space, being aware when to begin again, being aware of when the session may need to end, and being aware of what movements do what and how they are helpful and applicable to the horse in the moment. This being said, we primarily stayed halted in our exercises and that’s okay. There does not always need to be big movements to have a successful training session. Success in training isn’t measured by everything that got done, but it is measured in how the horse experiences the session and if they end it better than they began.

Happy Monday, friends. 💙

10/31/2024

🔹Transformation Thursday🔹

While this is not by any means the finished product, I want to share pieces of progress.

Over the last week and a half Bordeaux has been starting to come back into work. My goal is to create a foundation of trust, relaxation, and stability.

The picture on the left is her a few months ago. Not really in work and just living her life as a member of a big herd.

She struggled with stability. She struggled to trust that I had her best interest in mind when it came to teaching her new movement patterns. She got by any way she knew how and was definitely not open to suggestions.

The picture on the right was taken last night. I had given her the space to find her own way of standing after our session. This was the result. A horse who was relaxed and beginning to find a new way to stabilize herself.

I am kind of amazed at how willing she has become. She seems to ask me “what are we going to do today?!” when I bring her out of her pasture. This element of relaxation and willingness goes a long way in helping the horse create a more healthy posture and better movement.

No, this is no where near the finished product, but there’s something to be said for progress.

A good posture for the horse is an appropriate posture for the horse. I don’t expect her to immediately have the posture of a finished classical horse. But I am happy that she’s open to allowing me to help her find stability.

Thank you Bordeaux for being an amazing partner along this journey. 💙

10/30/2024

“𝑾𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔.”

10/30/2024

A good posture for the horse is an appropriate posture for the horse.

Postures change. They change with balance and stability. They change with the nervous system. They change with context. They change with environment.

Striving for self carriage is always ideal, but it takes time to get there.

A “perfect” posture isn’t as important as the appropriate posture.

Happy Wednesday y’all. Make good and appropriate choices today.

10/25/2024

Awareness + Understanding = Feel.
Beginnings of a conversation from the ground.

10/25/2024

Lessons in awareness & lunging

This evening was a good one! Salty offered a lot of insight that I think is worth sharing!

We got deep into the details of awareness this evening. There were many things to think about.

Were my footfalls intentional or lazy? How did this affect her rhythm?
How did the weight of the lungeline feel in my hand and how much slack was there? How did this get signal across to the cavesson?
What happens when I play with my shoulder angles?
What about breathing? Am I breathing? Is she breathing?
Are we working together or do we work at each other?
Am I walking with an appropriate posture? Am I engaging my core?
How about my arms? What happens when I hold the lungeline with different angles in my elbow?
How can I have more awareness? What might I not be noticing?
How is my awareness benefitting my horse?

These were just some of the many questions I was asking myself as we made our way around the arena.

We worked in straight lines. We worked in circles. We made shapes of all kinds.

All of this being said, every detail I changed made a change in Salty. I was intentional to opening up to her feedback while being mindful and disciplined.

Our horses have a lot to teach. How deep do you want to go today? Are you willing to get honest? Can you face feedback without defensiveness?

The details matter to the horse; they should matter to us as well.

10/23/2024

Sunset lunging session this evening with the beautiful autumn colors and a beautiful Salty girl! We are making the most of the last bit of warm weather!

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Richmond, KY

Website

https://www.howlinrevivalhorsemanship.com/

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Videos

A fine horse is made in the details! Some transformation pictures over the past year!

Awareness + Understanding = Feel. Beginnings of a conversation from the ground.

Sunset lunging session this evening with the beautiful autumn colors and a beautiful Salty girl! We are making the most of the last bit of warm weather!

Some thoughts on softness.

It is important to know where the feet are at in order to positively influence the horse's body and make the most sense to the horse in terms of communication. I'm teaching this horse about responding to my seat through working with his feet. #howlinrhorsemanship #forthebettermentofthehorse #equinebiomechanics #horsemanship #classicaldressage

Reeducation of the bit through in-hand work! #howlinrhorsemanship #forthebettermentofthehorse #classicaldressage #appaloosa #equinebiomechanics #horsemanship

Schooling should be joyful to the horse. If it is not, that is the first step we should take with the horse. Today was our first focused training session together. We overcame quite a bit of anxiety and replaced it with relaxation and willingness.

There certainly is no “I” in Team. 💙 #howlinrhorsemanship #forthebettermentofthehorse #horsetraining #libertyhorsemanship

Happy Training Tip Tuesday! 📸ACE Photography #howlinrhorsemanship #forthebettermentofthehorse #horsetrainingtok #horsetraining #horses #blmmustang #quotes

Sometimes I like to do slow liberty work at the end of a session to check in with the horse and how theyre feeling. Sometimes that leads to more lessons learned. #howlinrhorsemanship #forthebettermentofthehorse #horsetrainingtok #horsetok #horsetraining #horsetraining #horses #horsesofinstagram #libertyhorsemanship #libertyhorse #ottbsofinstagram

You've got to work with the horse that comes out that day in order to create the best horse possible. Fighting for the horse you want causes brace. Working with the horse promotes harmony. #howlinrhorsemanship #forthebettermentofthehorse #horsetrainingtok #horsetok #horsetrainersoftiktok #ottbmare #horsetraining #classicalhorsemanship #horsesofinstagram #horses

Horses should be more versatile than what their main job is. It sets them up for success in life instead of only in the arena #howlinrhorsemanship #forthebettermentofthehorse #horsetrainingtok #horsetok #horsetrainersoftiktok #horsetraining #ottbmare #dressagetraining #classicalhorsemanship #horsesofinstagram #horses