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

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!

10/18/2024

Hay there! The gals and I have some exciting news! We are now sponsored by RW Farms!!

RW Farms supplies horses and cattle all over the east coast and Midwest with quality forage. They also provide pasture management consulting for farms both large and small.

As many of you know, a holistic and horse-first approach is a priority for HRH. I’m excited to be sponsored by a farm who makes quality their number one priority too.

Thank you RW Farms!!

10/17/2024

Some thoughts on softness.

10/10/2024

Congratulations Annemieke and Manchego for being on the cover of Equine Living in the Bluegrass! And thank you Equine Living in the Bluegrass Magazine for having me as a guest writer this month!!

10/04/2024

“Play your rests”

Whether you are musical or not, it is important to take note of the phrase “play your rests”.

It’s a phrase that can be often heard in my sessions but what does it mean?

Well, to those who are not musical, in the musical sense it means to continue to be aware of where you are at in the sheet music however your instrument must be quiet. Some pieces require more quietly counting than others. But regardless, without the rests the piece would not be complete. In fact in order to make music and art, this requires that each memeber of the ensemble play their notes and play their rests.

What does this mean to horses?

That depends on how deep you’d like to go of course!

At the most basic level that means that we should wait our turn and listen with awareness to our horses. Really taking note of giving them the time they need to process what they’re learning, their environment, us, etc. It’s important to do this to be sure we didn’t skip any notes!

But as we get deeper, playing the rests turn into a natural and essential part of all communication with the horse. From handling to riding and everything in between.

Take note of the horse how he is. Take note of what kind of quiet and centeredness makes us as humans most approachable to the horse. And then, what makes us most easily integrated into their way of thinking and existing.

How can we take the equine experience and make art?

This is all done with the quiet yet observant idea of “playing rests”. It forces us to speak in turn and spend an ample amount of time listening. It opens the door for the horses to guide their education and let go of the human ego.

The horses education is supported just as much, if not more, by the rests we play and with the correct timing. The notes and the rests have equal value to the art we make with horses.

09/27/2024

When we learn to have feel, we are then set free from the shackles of this idea of linear progress.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s a reason horses are trained in the progression they usually are. Especially in particular horsemanship traditions.

But without feel there is no nuance. A fine horse is made in nuance.

A dull rider cannot make anything but a dull horse.

When feel comes into play, the horse has a chance.

Understanding where the horse may need variation or a different approach is crucial. Only awareness and feel can direct the horseman to take this and use it to improve the horse.

This is where so many cycles of frustration are born with the idea that every word should be taken by the letter.

Good horsemanship and good horses are built in the details. They’re built in the discipline of understanding that progress is not the same road in every horse and everytime.

09/21/2024

In-hand dressage is not about the movements that can be done as if it’s a checklist. Instead, it is about the quality and depth of the movement. Substance is important and it is what makes training good for the horse.

09/19/2024

IN DEFENSE OF THE WEIRD STUFF

I used to think that liberty training was cool, but it was only for a select few. I thought “oh it would be so much fun to do liberty with my horses, but it will get in the way of their training.”

Well thank goodness that was far before I decided training was going to be my life long journey.

I used to also think that alternative ways of working with horses was just something that certain people could do. They must not have been very serious about their horses though.

Young Anna had a lot to learn! Oh how I wish I could speak to her myself from this age.

The “weird stuff” is actually pretty good for horses. Even serious competition horses.

Adding variation to a training routine can help the horse both mentally and physically maintain their performance level and even enhance it.

Performance horses often find themselves in situations where they may need to think quick on their feet or have an unbreakable trust in their rider. Going through liberty work, obstacle training, and in-hand work promotes this. When we teach horses to think in new ways it adds tools to their tool box that they can apply in working situations.

Obviously the physical aspect of the job is important to performance horses as well. Teaching horses to maximize efficiency through teaching biomechanically correct movement to horses is a game changer. Taking the time to slow down and make sure the details sparkle and shine really pulls the whole picture together. Sometimes the “weird things” bring out the pieces we miss, or adds a new perspective that can be useful in a competition setting.

I wish younger me knew how important that the “weird stuff” was. I know now it’s not a waste of time at all and is quite essential to a well rounded athlete.

Some of my favorite horses I’ve worked with are performance horses whose guardians give them the chance to participate in things outside of their main discipline. Humans become better partners for their horses, and horse become happier with their humans and their work.

09/17/2024

Today I saw an old friend in a bit with a silver spoon,
The light shining off of it reminded me of the days we would stand on a hillside,
watching the last rays of sunlight over the land

Today I saw an old friend in the Hackamore hanging on the wall,
Its braiding reminding me of of the lessons in precision I was taught,
Leaving me longing to learn the stories and traditions from the back of a horse once again

Today I saw an old friend in the eyes of black cattle,
How they reminded me of the way we danced across pastures,
As weightless as the whoops and hollers that came from deep in my lungs

Today I saw an old friend in the freckled sky,
Reminding me of the nights we’d sit in the cool autumn air,
The only sound being that of you happily chewing on soft flakes of hay,
In the time of year your frosted coat began to grow long

The thoughts of such a fine made horse still brings a tear to my eye,
All of these years later.

09/15/2024

Your pony isn’t the spawn of the devil.

In fact, your pony isn’t any different than a full sized horse. 🤯

Well, other than size that is.

Did you know, ponies don’t have to be sassy, unruly, difficult, and whatever other negative description they so often get? In fact, it’s possible to have a pony be as well behaved as your grandpas quarter horse. No really, I promise it’s possible.

So, why are they so often labeled as little demons?

It’s the very thing that sets them apart from their larger counterparts. Their size!

Ponies are often mishandled, manhandled or even never handled. They get some pretty serious street cred from the effects of humans treating them this way.

When a horse is taught to be dull, they learn to ignore. When humans handle ponies and minis but don’t handle them with the same awareness they do with larger horses, there are bound to be problems.

By mishandling and manhandling, the ponies learn to have the behaviors that they are stereotyped for.

Well what about riding? Why are ponies just so rotten to ride? After all, that’s what anyone REALLY cares about. No one wants to see a child get bucked off.

It’s the same answer. Just because they’re small and thus the perfect size to carry little Sally doesn’t mean that they are automatically tolorant. Especially if they’re already being mishandled by humans.

Just because ponies are small doesn’t make them less dangerous to handle and work with and they deserve the same mindfulness that larger horses receive from humans.

We handle and treat horses the way we want them to be. Ponies are no different.

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Richmond, KY

Website

https://www.howlinrevivalhorsemanship.com/

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Videos

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

Big on diversity in training! Teaching horses to not only be successful at their jobs but successful in their world is absolutely necessary in training programs. #howlinrhorsemanship #forthebettermentofthehorse#equinebiomechanics #happyhorses #horsetraining #horsetrainer #horsemanship #horsetok #horselife #horsemanshipgoals #horsemanshiptrainer#holistichorsemanship #horsetrainingtok #performancehorse #ottbmare #horsemanshiptips #horsetrainersoftiktok #classicalhorsemanship #trailobstacle #horses #horsesofinstagram