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11/10/2024

Nickle. Just because.....

11/09/2024

Why work a horse in bad footing?
To start with, I prefer no lunge line for the warm-up (if one is necessary) so that a horse can find his footing without my interference pulling him off-balance. Gavi has some excess energy today from standing in his shelter during the 2-day storm...best that it is burned off in the lunge!
For the ride, I'll stick to walking and leg work only. My arena is half frozen, standing water and super slick, it's not worth getting a horse or rider hurt.
So why do this work at all? I only want to send a horse home knowing that he has a strong sense of self-preservation. If a horse can't self-regulate in bad footing to keep himself safe. why would I think he has the sense to keep us BOTH safe?
I'm happy to say that Gavi was extremely sensible under saddle. No spooking or rushing, very careful, no nonsense in the slippery arena. Good job Gavi!

11/09/2024

I slowed down some post-storm-Gavi-giddiness while lunging today. He is quite the athlete! Despite the AWFUL arena conditions!

11/06/2024

One of the things that Gavi's owner needs to be proficient with his using a lunge line. She has concerns about lunging him outside of a round pen so as we wrap up the final 9 days of Gavi's training we are adding this to our routine. He was great today and really didn't misbehave or test me despite a lot of up and down transitions. A few helpful tips for lunging:
1. The whip follows the horse and is carried lower or higher depending on how much "pressure" you need to keep the horse in gait. In general, the whip "chases" at hock level when the horse is responding correctly.
2. When the horse is too close, the whip can be used, pointing or shaking, at the horse's barrel to move the horse away and make the circle larger.
3. USE YOU VOICE as the first level of pressure, saying what you want: Walk, trot, canter, whoa....etc. When the horse is doing something right, use "good boy" as positive reinforcement.
4. When you ask the horse to stop, you stop! Lower the whip and expect the horse to stop, IN PLACE. After the horse has stopped, you may call him in, if that is what you want. I don't do this, I like a horse to stop and stand, quietly, without coming in.
5. I hold the line in my leading hand and the slack and the whip in the chasing hand for safety reasons. Holding the line with just one hand makes you more apt to have it pulled away. Never wrap the line around any part of you!

I suggest you start lunge line training in a small space, for the safety of the horse and the rider! The goal is to free-lunge as it's safer for all!

11/06/2024

The trail course is pretty complete now...and everybody really likes challenging their horses with all the new obstacles! Janet and Rose have no trouble with the mailbox, but Gavi gets a little frustrated and finally decides to just close the box himself 😆. Molly and Krishna do a nice job and are considering careers as mail carriers 😉. The gate reflects the horse and rider's ability to work together. Gavi and his owner are improving and are off to a good start but still have some work to do closing the gate. Molly and Krishna take it slow and get the job done. GREAT DAY for all the horses and riders! Oh, and Nickle was there too, but he just packed around the videographer.

11/06/2024

THIS is a boring video. And that was exactly the goal! Gavi had two days off, so it was a great opportunity to see how he would behave if I just crawled on the saddle with no lunging or warm-up. I think it's important to see how a horse behaves fresh...although I know many trainers don't post these video, we keep it real here! GAVI WAS GREAT.....a fresh Gavi is a good boy!

11/06/2024

My plan was to take a screen shot of the four of us today...but the video was so great I decided to just post the whole thing ❤️

11/06/2024

LOOK WHAT ARRIVED TODAY! The trail course just got an XL upgrade thanks to Sarah and Ray!!!!

11/03/2024

Waiting...

11/03/2024

Trail training day! I'm not sure who likes it more Gavi and Rose or their riders!

11/03/2024

Elm tree eradication program

11/03/2024

I love how Rose ditches the gullible boys at the end!
Very rare to have the horses in the pasture on November 2nd, and even more rare to have Nickle and Rose without sheets!

11/02/2024

Sometimes horses are naughty, even when you do everything right. OR ARE YOU? When things don't go the way that they're supposed to, start by asking yourself "WHY did they do that"?
Most often you'll find that in the horses mind, the reward for the behavior that we consider "bad" is bigger than the reward for the behavior that we consider "good"! Always check to make sure that you're giving big rewards when temptations for the horse to do the "wrong" thing are present! Resist the urge to resort to force (ie spurs used incorrectly, untimely/heavy rein yanks) before thoroughly problem solving.

In training language all this means is: APPLY PRESSURE, GET A RESPONSE, GIVE A REWARD.

Applying PRESSURE mean seat, leg, hands, voice. Pressure can be actual touch, verbal pressure or perceived pressure.
The RESPONSE you get is the actual maneuver you asked for; whoa, walk, trot, canter, side-pass, stop, back etc...
The REWARD is given when something is done correctly, AND/OR an effort is made that is admirable. The REWARD IS THE RELEASE OF PRESSURE!

In the beginning, the release of pressure is BIG and IMMEDIATE. But as training progresses, the reward is much more subtle, and can be delayed. It's a secret language between you and the horse and can be as light as just breathing out or moving a finger.

Sometimes horses are naughty for other reasons:
Baggage from previous rider/handlers that you didn't create but inherited. Problem-solve with a good trainer/instructor.

Calories! Fat ponies feel good, especially when the weather cools off. They may act up or be "frisky" when you just want to walk quietly. A fat horse is not a good thing. Those calories reservoirs make warm-ups longer, make focus difficult, and potentially increase risk of injury to both horse and rider.

Finally, pain, real or perceived, elicits responses that might seem naughty, but are based in protective behaviors. These are challenging because riders often think the behaviors are spiteful, lazy or mean. Those horses are rare, or become that way because their needs were ignored or missed.

Naughty horse, or is the rider not listening, can't hear?

11/01/2024

Sarah and her "pretty pony" practicing after today's ride. I'm really proud of Sarah taking on a new horse and not giving up after a few challenging years with a gelding that was not an easy, or always reliable, mount!

11/01/2024

This past spring, Sarah started bringing her rock-steady new gelding "Sundance" for lessons! Her summer homework was to ride him long-and-low on the trails, building topline strength. When she initially bought him, he carried his head high, and hollowed out his back, which was not the best thing for his longevity as a saddle horse. Well, the duo is back today, and they look great! Our work is continuing on the topline strengthening by encouraging Sundance to get off his forehand and stopping square, which engages his hind quarters. The first clip is Sundance and I working on his turn-on-the-haunch. What I'm asking him to do is to shift his weight to the hind quarters by taking a crossover step in the front. The first two attempts are not very good. Rather than respond to my rein and leg pushing him to cross over in the front, he simply takes multiple steps in the front AND rear, disengaging any hindend use and ignoring my leg. But by attempt three, I've blocked any "escape routes" and he searches for the only way left to move...which is way I'm asking; cross your front leg over your other front leg. This maneuver is a large part of Sarah's new homework! In clip two, we start to address the horses' unwillingness to stop with seat and voice and instead "dribble" out the front end and pop up his head (requiring a rein boundary). Breaking it down into smaller peices, we will specifically work on helping Sundance to stop square by expecting that EVERY stop includes squared up legs with a head drop and/or break at the poll. LOTS OF PRACTICE NEEDED ON THIS ONE! The final clip made me very happy! When Sundance was last here his walk-trot transition was not based in potential energy (the energy of position), rather it was very kinetic. He would be asked to trot and then raise his head and THROW IT FORWARD to change gait. That's not correct. I'm encouraging correct position by getting him moving forward on a loose rein and then asking him to trot. AND IT WORKS BEAUTIFULLY! These are stunning walk-trot transitions and both Sarah and I were "wowed" by how well he did what he was asked to do! If you have a horse that needs strengthening you really can't go wrong with quiet, long-and-low trail rides! AND homework practice, there's always practice!

10/31/2024

Gavi's feet today (L), and Gavi's feet when he arrived four weeks ago (R). These are great changes!!!!

10/31/2024

Nickle isn't good at everything...but he's good at growing hair!

10/31/2024

Creepin' it real! Halloween lesson with Gavi and his owner. Rider is absolutely fa-BOO-lous because Gavi is not an easy ride! Gavi's effort though, is spooktacular...with just a little wicked 👻

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Nickle. Just because.....

Why work a horse in bad footing? To start with, I prefer no lunge line for the warm-up (if one is necessary) so that a horse can find his footing without my interference pulling him off-balance. Gavi has some excess energy today from standing in his shelter during the 2-day storm...best that it is burned off in the lunge! For the ride, I'll stick to walking and leg work only. My arena is half frozen, standing water and super slick, it's not worth getting a horse or rider hurt. So why do this work at all? I only want to send a horse home knowing that he has a strong sense of self-preservation. If a horse can't self-regulate in bad footing to keep himself safe. why would I think he has the sense to keep us BOTH safe? I'm happy to say that Gavi was extremely sensible under saddle. No spooking or rushing, very careful, no nonsense in the slippery arena. Good job Gavi!

I slowed down some post-storm-Gavi-giddiness while lunging today. He is quite the athlete! Despite the AWFUL arena conditions!

One of the things that Gavi's owner needs to be proficient with his using a lunge line. She has concerns about lunging him outside of a round pen so as we wrap up the final 9 days of Gavi's training we are adding this to our routine. He was great today and really didn't misbehave or test me despite a lot of up and down transitions. A few helpful tips for lunging: 1. The whip follows the horse and is carried lower or higher depending on how much "pressure" you need to keep the horse in gait. In general, the whip "chases" at hock level when the horse is responding correctly. 2. When the horse is too close, the whip can be used, pointing or shaking, at the horse's barrel to move the horse away and make the circle larger. 3. USE YOU VOICE as the first level of pressure, saying what you want: Walk, trot, canter, whoa....etc. When the horse is doing something right, use "good boy" as positive reinforcement. 4. When you ask the horse to stop, you stop! Lower the whip and expect the horse to stop, IN PLACE. After the horse has stopped, you may call him in, if that is what you want. I don't do this, I like a horse to stop and stand, quietly, without coming in. 5. I hold the line in my leading hand and the slack and the whip in the chasing hand for safety reasons. Holding the line with just one hand makes you more apt to have it pulled away. Never wrap the line around any part of you! I suggest you start lunge line training in a small space, for the safety of the horse and the rider! The goal is to free-lunge as it's safer for all!

My plan was to take a screen shot of the four of us today...but the video was so great I decided to just post the whole thing ❤️

LOOK WHAT ARRIVED TODAY! The trail course just got an XL upgrade thanks to Sarah and Ray!!!!

Trail training day! I'm not sure who likes it more Gavi and Rose or their riders!

Elm tree eradication program

I love how Rose ditches the gullible boys at the end! Very rare to have the horses in the pasture on November 2nd, and even more rare to have Nickle and Rose without sheets!