Sleeping Willows Horsemanship

31/08/2023

Keep on learning . . .

29/07/2023

Did you realise that your horses kidneys move?
That with each breath, they move approximately the length of a vertebral segment?
That in a single day, with your horse breathing normally, they will move on average 1.6km?

Why? Because they are connected to the diaphragm (as well as other things) via fascia and ligaments.
Look where they are located.. right under the back of your saddle. Poor saddle fit, unbalanced riders (any rider really but unbalanced is worse) will put pressure on this area and because where they are innervated from this can cause the restriction.

A classic sign of kidney restriction is the fidgety horse, that won't stand still. They are reactive and sore to pressure over the tops of the last ribs and it's firm, no give.
Combine that with restrictions at TH 15, 16, 17 and 18, and a change in pelvis angle.. and you will have issue with movement and attitude.

That sore back may have nothing to do with the muscles....
Something else to think about....

Photo: Merck Veterinary Manual (not motivated enough to draw my own tonight sorry).

21/07/2023

The Vogelherd horse – the oldest known sculpture of a horse. It was crafted in woolly mammoth ivory with flint tools over 35,000 years ago in southern Germany.

Visit https://bio.link/museumofartifacts

21/07/2023

18/07/2023

14/07/2023

Not a complaint, its just the truth. :)

06/07/2023

A true horse person never blames their horse!

09/05/2023

09/05/2023

As an added, aside to the post that I made about stereotypical behaviours below, I just want to remark on the fact that if I were to stable my horse Milo excessively, I can almost guarantee that he would become a very aggressive and dangerous to handle Horse.

If this were to happen, it would not be an indicator that he is just a dangerous and aggressive Horse, it would be an indicator that the management is not sufficient for him to behave in a manner that people may like him to.

I think that it is very important to recognize the fact that many horses that we meet that have significant stress issues and end up being aggressive or “Mean” are simply reacting to the neglectful management practises that they are under.

Many horses can withstand neglectful management without resorting to the same level of aggression or problem behavior, but it is not an indicator that the management itself is adequate, some horses are just simply more resilient than others.

Milo is able to cope in the way that he does because the management that he is under allows him to do so. If I were to start neglecting his needs, I would see a negative change in behaviour as a result.

It’s important to attribute abnormal behaviours to the environment that the Horse is in, rather than just framing themas if they are solely related to personality.

Happy horsesdo not spend a ton of their time being aggressive and engaging in behaviours that display signs of displeasure.

The notion of this has only been created due to the high prevalence of stress behaviours we see in horses, and the number of aggressive horses that we see as a result.

It is far easier and more palatable for people to attribute aggressive behaviour in Horses to the Horse just being cranky, or another personality trait, but that doesn’t make it true.

A miserable horse that is displaying aggressive and miserable behaviour is simply an unhappy Horse.

We need to not normalize distress signals and attribute them to personality because it does these horses a disservice and seeks to blame them for how they respond to inadequate management.

There should never be an expectation that animals should have to cope well with neglect. It is our job to provide for them if we get them. And the lack of ability to do so should only reflect on us.

We should not continue to condone industry, mindsets that expect horses to cope with inadequate management or vilify their behavior if they cannot.

19/03/2021

Mares aren’t always well liked and for the same reasons strong women aren’t.

Opinionated? Those opinions are not without good cause and maybe you can't figure them out or maybe you just don’t like her opinion of you. Change it and she will always be on your side.

Stubborn? She just won’t let you bulldoze her. Treat her with respect and her resilience will be an asset to you.

Difficult? You just can’t handle her. You don’t have what it takes.

Stick with geldings then, and leave the mare for someone who understands her and appreciates the same qualities society has subtlety taught you not to like.

Here’s to mares, to strong women, and to those who CAN and DO appreciate them!

~ The Evolving Equestrian

19/03/2021

If you and your horse are connected, and they see you as their leader, try yawning around or at them. They will almost immediately let their breath out, start licking and chewing, and possibly yawn back. Your body language means everything to your horse.

18/03/2021

The most debilitating accidents and injuries horses (and the people around them) get are often not the fence they get themselves caught in or the failure of tack or leads, but because of sheer blind panic. And having been around horses most of my life, I’ve seen my fair share of grievous injuries that could have been minimized if the horse had been taught to keep calm under stressful or scary situations. This is why my initial groundwork phase, especially with giving to the pressure from hands, ropes, and sticks on legs and neck, desensitizing, and fear management is longer than most, and revisited almost every day. Calm horses who can manage their fear in any situation are much more likely to not hurt themselves or others.

15/03/2021

12/03/2021

16/12/2020

According to Erich Fromm, foremost among psychiatrist-philosophers, love is the active promotion of the well-being of the love object. In this case, the horse. Then, the equestrian should dedicate himself to the horse’s best interests, an attitude that logically leads to a commitment to develop the horse to his full, natural potential.

07/12/2020

Use our free adult horse weight calculator to estimate your horse's weight using body length and heart girth measurements.

30/11/2020

LISTEN TO YOUR HORSE

Horses can only tell us how they are feeling via their behaviour and body language. We need to start listening.

'Misbehaviour' in horses is either normal behaviour that the handler has misinterpreted, or behaviour that the horse is performing as a result of pain, unsuitable management, poor training or any combination of the three.

If your horse is behaving unusually then call a vet as soon as possible to ensure there are no underlying physical causes. If they have a physical all-clear then call a qualified equine behaviourist to help you.

Visit Understand Horses for information about horse behaviour, horse behaviour problems and how to read equine body language.

Post courtesy of Understand Horses course provider Justine Harrison - Equine Behaviourist.

12/10/2020

26/08/2020

Trigger Stacking!

When multiple stressors are present in our horse's lives they become much more likely to react negatively to events and are more likely to display behaviour problems. This is often referred to as 'trigger stacking'.....when several environmental stressors are present at the same time. We all have a threshold of how much stress we can take before we 'boil over' and this is no different for your horse.

The more you can put in place to reduce environmental stress, by providing a suitable environment including turnout, friends and plenty of forage the more you can minimise your horse's baseline stress levels, making them more likely to be able to cope with other unavoidable stressors.

26/08/2020

((Trigger Warning: force, psychological control, and restraint))
There is a “funny” image of a horse who fell down and got her foot stuck on an electric fence, the horse goes dull and unresponsive. Everyone thinks this is a big act of drama by the horse, “haha what a silly horse, she’s only caught a little, doesn’t she know she’s fine?”
Obviously not…

Have you never been so scared in your life that you are frozen with terror? That you disconnect with reality? You imagine its happening to someone else, not you? You just go limp and pray for it to be over quickly? This is tonic immobility, this is such extreme fear the horse feels they have already lost, the monsters are there to eat them, they disconnect with reality. Nothing, nothing, nothing about this emotion is funny.

Often animals who experience this a few times in their life fall into this state more and more quickly. So while running (possibly in fear not play) then falling, a serious sliding fall, and then feeling trapped by the leg is actually a horrifying experience for anyone, it may not have been the horse’s first time feeling this way and fell into this state of shock quickly. Perhaps they were “laid down” by humans, or sacked out, or twitched regularly… who knows. But still. Not. Funny.

https://empoweredequines.com/2020/08/25/learned-helplessness/

For those interested in learning about this here are resources on Tonic Immobility:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19170102/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/tonic-immobility
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00221309.1928.9918019?journalCode=vgen20
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01213/full
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.5127/jep.051915

On laying a horse down:
https://thehorse.com/113141/learned-helplessness-in-horses/

Learned Helplessness:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/8559/7/EP8559_193255_1635_Hall.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwi3zdPx_bjrAhVQQ80KHQjIAvAQFjAWegQIAhAB&usg=AOvVaw0A5q_k7qwzXlrxwVdPNkT2
https://on-target-training.com/learned-helplessness-and-what-it-taught-me-about-training-horses/ #:~:text=Sadly%2C%20learned%20helplessness%20is%20quite,the%20horse%20is%20standing%20quietly.
https://thehorse.com/110232/habituation-vs-learned-helplessness-in-horses/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18569222/

Twitches:
https://www.doctorramey.com/the-twitch-or-youre-going-to-do-what-to-my-horse/
https://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0103-84782016005010101
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327121127_Ten_facts_about_twitches_Three_phases_of_a_twitched_horse

20/08/2020

18/08/2020

Lots of people worry that their horse may be "wasted" so EBTA has produced a guide to help you decide....