Joel Meyers Horsemanship

30/07/2024

CAN A PROBLEM EVER BE FIXED?

Problems with a horse are not fixed because we want them fixed. For things to change with our horse it must begin with things changing with how we work with our horse.

“You don’t help the horse if you don’t help the owner.”

This is the basis of clinics. Clinics are intended to educate riders, not horses. All the magic needed to address problems with our horses happens at home with the new knowledge we gained at a clinic. Nothing at a clinic is aimed at educating a horse. It’s all about educating the rider.

But why? If we can help fix a rider at a clinic, why can’t we fix a horse too?

It’s because a horse’s old patterns of response are never eradicated. They are never wiped from a horse’s brain. They live on inside a horse forever. You only change an unwanted behaviour by subduing the ill feelings that triggered the behaviour and replacing those feelings with ones of safety and comfort that lead to a new way of responding.

Nothing is fixed or eliminated. We just overlay new patterns over the top of old patterns.

With training, we can reshape the way a horse responds to our questions. We can show it a better way. A safer way. A more comfortable way. But if we allow the old ill feelings to resurface again, the old unwanted behaviours will resurface hand-in-hand.

The better the training, the deeper we bury the old patterns. It may seem that we have fixed a problem because we did such a good job of making sure the old feelings that caused the problem don’t come to the surface. But they are there and will return if we revert to our old patterns.

We can’t let our guard down. We can’t assume our horse is ever “fixed”. That would be a betrayal of our horse. It is not the horse’s responsibility to bear the burden of always being emotionally centred and being the horse we want it to be. It is not invested in doing what we want. A horse is only motivated by what response it perceives will lead to safety and comfort.

Ross Jacobs

25/07/2024

"You've got to be awake and alert every minute, every stride, because you're working with something alive that thinks and feels. He makes decisions. If we're not there to help him, he may make a decision we don't want him to make. Then we blame it on the horse. But, I grant you, it's not the horse's fault." - Ray Hunt

25/07/2024

Unpopular opinion: Know when to back off.

Horses are not machines. Make sure you find a trainer that knows when to push, and when to back off.

Get yourself a trainer that pays attention to your horse and their needs.

Some horses are such people pleasers, such hard workers, so trusting and willing, that they'd follow people into their own breaking point; and the wrong people will push them past it.

Make sure you find a trainer that recognizes the limits in your horse and doesn't try to experiment with their mental or physical soundness for faster results.

Like it or not, sometimes days off teach your horse more than constant daily pushing will.

They cannot speak, but the right trainers can still hear them. Make sure they listen.

- Good Secret Horsemanship
Photo : Jess Meyers riding ,Miller's Touch NTF " Miller"

16/07/2024

"There is something in the generous and selfless love of an animal that goes straight to the heart of the ones who have often tasted the false friendship and fragile fidelity of people..." ~Edgar Alan Poe

15/07/2024

"If things start going wrong, stop! You don't try to go through something bad and come out good. When the horse gets "troubled" and you put pressure on him, that's just like dumping gas on a fire. What we want to horse to do is probably a good idea, but the way we are presenting it isn't worth three rotten eggs. The basic idea is good. Its the approach, the application, that is terrible. So again, it is how we approach the situation - how it is presented." ~ Ray Hunt

11/07/2024

“It’s the control of the feet through the mind that a person [should be] after. If you’ve missed that on the ground, [from] the start, why you’ve missed the part that means the most to the horse. The person should be focused on getting the best possible connection with the horse on the ground - through feel - if they want to have those parts of the horse available to them when they ride."
—Bill Dorrance

05/07/2024

“The human will let the horse down by putting a time limit on it. Taking extra time is a shortcut in the long run.” - Ray Hunt

03/07/2024

02/07/2024

"On a green horse, one that's kind of troubled, I might let them cuddle up to me because it's not a disrespect, they're looking for some support and comfort. But then gradually I know part of the process is that I put him back on the end of the led rope and say, see if you can stay out there and still feel my comfort from out there. But I won't ask him to stay for long. I work my way toward everything I get in small increments, a little bit at a time." - Buck Brannaman on Building Confidence

22/06/2024

Some good information on these hot days.
Horses and humans stay safe out there.

16/06/2024

HAPPY FATHERS DAY
ENJOY YOUR DAY!

JOEL AND JESS MEYERS

16/06/2024

There is no quick fix in our sport. Not a sharper bit, not a bigger spur, not a quick injection to numb the pain, no drugs, no doping. We are dealing with a living creature. With a heart, a soul and a body we are responsible to take care of the best way possible for the long run. Be a horseman first, then an equestrian athlete.

21/05/2024

“When things don’t work out as you’d like them to, then back off and don’t let pride and ego get in the way. The horse doesn’t know how to do what you’re asking. The human labels it ‘He doesn’t WANT to!’. Do not put a time limit on it. Encourage what you’re asking to become his idea.”- Ray Hunt

21/05/2024

13/05/2024

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1194346225273569?mibextid=Hn3EexMF1WhlYZLE

28/04/2024

This is Cowboy. A 17.1 hand Dutch Warmblood that I have been slowly bringing back into work after 2 years of lameness issues. Friday was the day I took advantage of the nice weather and worked in the roundpen at liberty. I did ride his lovely canter.

21/04/2024

Horses I have the pleasure to work with.

14/04/2024

Consistency is Key
Keep it Simple

14/04/2024

A TRUE COWBOY/COWGIRL NEVER BLAMES THEIR HORSE.

24/03/2024

To all our clients, family and friends.
Due to rising costs.
We will be increasing our prices for training and trims effective immediately.
Private Lesson $75.00 hr

Group Lesson(2 or more) $55.00 hr.

Trims will be $65.00

Thank you you for your continued support and understanding.
Joel and Jessica Meyers

02/02/2024

31/12/2023

To all our clients, family and friends!