Willow Farm Horse Training

10/07/2023

Morgan is slowly working towards getting on his back. He is being such a good boy and looks so handsome in his western gear!

10/02/2023

29/01/2023

Here is the link to the add for this sweet boy https://www.dreamhorse.com/ad/2242084.html Please spread the word if you know anyone who is looking. More video clips are posted in the feed below.

Buckskin AQHA Quarter Horse Gelding, Wellbred Buckskin Quarterhorse - Allround Sporthorse in Oregon. DreamHorse.com is the premier horse classifieds site with horses for sale, lease, adoption, and auction, breeding stallions, and more.

02/01/2023

It's a bit wet to jump but obviously this guy is happy to pop over anything.

02/01/2023

This horse is very brave. He walks through water and happily pops over ditches and logs.

02/01/2023

Halt and rein back

02/01/2023

Left lead canter transitions.

02/01/2023

Showing flexibility and bend as we transition to the left rein.

02/01/2023

Trot to canter to walk transitions on the right rein.

02/01/2023

Working Cruizin Double Jack on the lunge with the chambon to encourage him to stretch down and develop his top line. He is very responsive to voice commands.

25/11/2021

This handsome boy is getting so big! We have been slowly getting him used to his blanket. Today we buckled it up for the first time and left it on for about 15 minutes. He didn't react too badly and quickly settled down.

18/08/2021

A progressive training plan with key areas to focus on will have a big impact on you and your horse's competition performance

14/08/2021

This boy has come so far and is growing up so fast!

12/08/2021

Follow these basic guidelines when introducing new horses to your herd:
* Vaccinations and worming ✔
* Seperate paddocks untill acclimated ✔
* Large safe supervised turnout✔

31/07/2021

Merlin's mum is a "bossy kicker". This is an excerpt from an article in Equismagazine.com on "Why Horses Kick."

"Message: "I'm the boss around here."

When a horse kicks to tell you he's in charge, you've got a serious problem. In the wild, kicks are used as a last resort to enforce the herd hierarchy, which is necessary to keep order and establish breeding rights. When a horse tries to gain dominance over a human handler, however, it's a sign that bigger training issues are afoot: The horse has learned, somewhere along the line, that intimidation is an effective way to deal with people.

Bossy kickers tend to be dominant mares or geldings. They posture and threaten before they kick with pinned ears and "mean faces." They will usually aim their rump toward you and c**k a hoof before letting a kick fly. Unlike horses who kick from fear, they do not try to escape a situation before they kick; they respond to things they don't like with a threat. These horses may be aggressive in other ways, such as lunging over their stall doors at passersby. They also tend to have little respect for the personal space of others, crowding handlers in a stall or barging past them while being led.

Typically, bossy kickers act this way because it works for them. At some point they got what they wanted--usually to be left alone--by threatening to kick or actually kicking someone. It doesn't take long for this lesson to be learned. I once rescued a 3-year-old filly who kicked whenever you asked her to do anything she didn't like. Even at that young age, she had learned she could make humans fall in line by letting her hooves fly.

Reforming a bossy kicker can be very difficult. If you have the time and inclination, you may want to review the very basics of training, possibly with the help of a professional trainer, to reestablish the ground rules of hierarchy and personal space. Unfortunately, for many older horses, kicking is such an ingrained resistance that this approach isn't successful.

Punishment is another way of letting a bossy horse know that you are not intimidated by kicking. Some horses, particularly those who are testing the bossy kick for the first time, can be corrected with a tug of a lead shank or smack of the palm and a sharp word to remind them of their manners. Other horses will respect a tap with the crop on their hindquarters, but it has to be delivered instantly to be effective and you'll need to make sure you are standing out of striking range.

Indeed, I cannot stress enough how risky it is to punish a kicker. It requires the ability to read a horse's body language quickly and accurately and consistently mete out the appropriate punishment, no more and no less. Because of the precision and risks involved, I recommend that you entrust this assignment to a professional trainer.

25/07/2021

On Friday we headed out of the arena for the first time and into the great unknown😱After a shaky start, Merlin figured it out and trotted quietly alongside his mama. Such a good baby!

15/07/2021

First ponying lesson. Two months old and already a superstar!

24/05/2021

Working with our bag of tricks - halter, fly mask, fly spray, brushes, hoof pick, and blanket - what a little super star!

16/05/2021

Just because he is too cute for words and I haven't posted for a while🥰 As you can see his teeth have come through which means he has become very nippy. We're working on teaching him that fingers do not count as food!

10/05/2021

Mama and baby fully reintroduced back into the herd.

01/05/2021

Sometimes I'm not quite sure who takes who for a walk😆 Most of the time Merlin is awesome and then every now and then he decides to shoot forward with Rach in tow. It's hysterical to watch her taking giant steps to keep up. I'm just waiting for the face plant, but so far she has managed to hang on come hell or high water.

01/05/2021

These first few weeks are critical as Rachael works with Merlin getting him used to different experiences like the halter, fly spray, grooming tools, lifting his feet, and having his face and ears touched without throwing up his head

25/04/2021

Today we introduced a new horse to mom and baby's little "herd". Roxy is the foals grandma. We started by placing her in a neighboring paddock for the morning untill they were all relaxed with one another. We then introduced her into the paddock on a lead and allowed Lady to have a sniff and squeal. When everyone had settled back to grazing we took halters off and kept an eye on things untill we were sure no one was in danger.

25/04/2021

Progressing with training to lead.

25/04/2021

First leading lesson with a halter and lead line.

28/12/2020

Take two...