JPS Horsemanship

21/12/2024

This c**t is something else 😅

We had to stop by Tractor Supply Co. to pick up a few things yesterday, which means Duke got to go in with us!

He walked in like it was just another day for him, he wasn't bothered by anything and cruised around with us, it was like I was walking around with a dog 🤣

The only thing he was slightly bothered by were the lines in the parking lot and he was very careful about stepping over each and every one of them 😅😅

21/12/2024

Duke went to the vet yesterday to get his first round of vaccines

It was certainly a less dramatic vet visit than the ones I attended with him within the first 24 hours of his life

He is such a cool little c**t, though

I was expecting some resistance getting into the trailer, the last time we went for a trailer ride we could just lift him in and out, but before I could even suggest for him to get in he leaped right in and went straight to his haybag to eat.

We stopped to check on him halfway there, and he nickered to me then went straight back to eating, not bothered at all.

Once we got to the vet he jumped right out of the trailer and was ready to check out the new place he was at, completely unbothered about the new place he was at. So, we walked around and did some exploring while we waited for the vet.

The vet came out and checked him out, then gave him his vaccine, besides for not liking being poked with a needle, he did great an we even got compliments from the vet about his good behavior. So overall the appointment went well and he is doing great. Duke also got to meet quite a few of the staff there, they came out to visit him (because who doesn't want to say hi to a cute baby horse, lol.)

After the appointment I loaded him up, and he went straight to eating like nothing happened.

I'm so proud of this little guy ❤️

20/12/2024

19/12/2024

Learning the art of doing "nothing"

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Duke is pretty good about coming off of pressure and ties pretty well because of it. He gets tied to the trailer as I groom and he stands nicely for me. However, sometimes, it's the distance that causes some stress for him. Like if I walk off too far he'll try to follow me and when he can't you can clearly see he gets a little worried and will even nicker for me. (Where I was standing in this picture is about his threshold for how far I can walk of before he starts to get upset)

I had to refill his haybags so I needed him to stand tied for a few minutes as I did so, and that means I needed to go out of sight and into our haybarn which he doesnt care for, but instead of just tying him and leaving him to stand and stress I did a few things.

One, I checked in on him often, showing him I'm still right there and I haven't left.
Two, I talked to him while I was out of sight.
Three, I would walk back over occasionally to give him some scratches
And four, I gave him a haybag to occupy his mind

This helps a lot

I want tying to be a good thing and as low stress as possible and I would like to build his confidence around it. He is still very much a baby and I don't expect much of anything from him, so I'm okay with taking the extra time to make sure things go smoothly

❤️

14/12/2024

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13/12/2024

Just wanted to share, Duke and his mama Delilah

05/12/2024

Hello everyone!

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I've purchased a few bits from them now and I can't recommend them enough! The bits are all well made and they have really been keeping the horses in mind with their designs (which is so important to me and I absolutely love that its important to them too), plus the horses also seem to really enjoy them, so it's a win win for everyone!

Go ahead and check them out

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Explore Cavalon's wide selection of handmade bits.

19/11/2024

Thinking about wanting to do anther educational talk on bits in the near future..... would anyone be interested??

18/11/2024

It's okay to rethink the equipment we use, it's okay to advocate for the horse

I’ve never liked headgear on a horse aside from a bridle; but in starting up my body work practice and being around a lot of high-level equines I’ve grown to like them even less. 👎🏻

Tie downs, bonnets, and draw reins all strengthen the wrong muscles in a horse as well as cause major restrictions in their body. 💥

Aside from restricting maximum extension (which directly correlates to stride length and speed) these forms of head gear also

🚫Lock the A/O joint
🚫Create a 5 car pile up in the c-spine
🚫Drop the horse on the forehand
🚫Overload the lumbar spine
🚫Paralyze the pelvis in flexion
🚫Cause continual micro trauma to the body leading to eventual lameness 🩼

I understand why people may turn to a tie down but they are a quick fix to temporary problems. Lack of balance, coordination, or too much speed may seem like a good reason to use restrictive head gear however the better choice would be slowing down and building the horse’s strength slowly. 🐢

If that’s not enough, these tools are often used even more inappropriately than intended. Tie-downs too low on the nose, draw reins with curb bits, and all bonnets should be burned in my nerve-release-practitioner-opinion. 🔥

Heck, even a heavy hand can cause all the problems above.💪🏻

I recently took a tiedown off a horse and was astonished with the decline in his topline health after wearing it for just a few months.

Give me a 🙋🏼‍♀️ in the comments if you wanna read the case study and see the before and after photos. 📸

15/11/2024

Delilah was certainly having some fun with me the other day

I took her out to do some groundwork and when I asked for a simple walk, she decided prancing around with her head in the sky and her tail up was the correct answer (its those arab genetics she has 😅), so I let her prance around and get some energy out, as long as she was being respectful, no harm done

After a moment we just did some exercises to keep her attention on what we're doing and she eventually settled and we got some good work done.

I didn't want to shut her down and make a big deal about what she was doing. In my experience it only makes it worse. Having a more high strung horse myself, sometimes he just needs a minute with no expectations, and because of that I always try to make it a point to allow the horse I'm working with some time to just be a horse and to get themselves together. It helps

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Pictures of this sweet girl after she calmed down a bit ❤️😌

15/11/2024

Duke being confident and walking out ahead on our short trip down the road and back 😌

12/11/2024

Baby shenanigans with Duke 🥰

09/11/2024

What do you do when you have a horse whos afraid of cows and you get invited to a cow clinic with your favorite clinician/horsemen?

You go, of course

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I first just want to say that I am so grateful for Cody Deering and there is no other person I would trust to work with my gelding in this situation. I am so incredibly thankful for him and his skills as a horseman, he has helped me so much with my gelding and my own skills.

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Duck, has been scared of cows for what feels like forever now. He was so scared of them that he would start shaking at the just the smell of them and would absolutely attempt to go through whatever barrier he could, including fencing, to get away from them if he could see them. This clinic was no exception.

I watched Cody completely transform my horse. He went from terrified and wanting nothing to do them, to pushing into them, to following them on the ground, to later working them under saddle, to trying to chase, bite, and stomp them. It's like something just clicked and he figured it out all thanks to Cody

It was such a dream come true to finally work him on cattle and for him to be as cowy as he is, I swear I was smiling the whole time.

Once Duck understood he can move them and chase them around, it was game on and I'd pretty much drop the reins and let him do his thing.

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Also please ignore the low quality pics, these were mostly either super zoomed in or screenshots off a video 😅

23/10/2024

Don't forget I make halters too!

14/10/2024

For being just shy of 3 months, he sure is getting big

Duke is getting pretty good at standing tied, he understands that when we're at the trailer he stays put while I walk back and forth.

I also had Duck babysit for me, as you can see he wasnt thrilled and was sure to remind Duke of boundaries 😅

05/10/2024

Look who's learning how to stand "tied" like the big horses 🥰