You also don't need to justify it ✌🏻
Equestrians are probably the hardest working people I know and some of the last people who know how to rest.
And I should know... Because I'm one of them! 😅
One thing I always have to remind myself of when I hesitate to hit pause is that you feel comfortable with what is familiar because familar is often safe.
The opposite is just as true - you feel uncomfortable with what's unfamiliar because unfamiliar is often unsafe.
So if mindful rest is not familiar to you, it's going to feel weird! 😬
But if you never familiarize yourself with how it truly feels to rest, it'll never feel safe.
You deserve to make yourself feel safe just as much as I know you want to make your horse feel safe.
And neither of you need to earn it. 💕
It is REALLY freaking hard not to compare your journey to the next person's! ✨️
Yes, comparison is surely the thief of joy, but to some extent, it's completely normal.
Comparison allows you to take stock of where you are, where you've been, and where you want to go. It can be a great way to measure growth! 🌱
Comparison can inspire you to try things that gave others a certain desirable result. It can be incredibly motivating! 🏃🏻♀️
Where comparison becomes a problem, though, when you become hyperfocused on what you think you "should" be doing rather than doing what feels right for you and your horse or beating yourself up when what works for someone else isn't working for you. 🙅🏻♀️
You and your horse are on your own unique timelines. 💕
You each have your own unique superpowers and areas for growth (which you wouldn't be able to name without some level of comparison!). 🦄
Give yourself and your horse a little grace.
Know that you're right where you're meant to be.
Know that there is always something to learn from the situation you're in.
And know that so long as you have your horse, you have something to be grateful for. 💖
If if feels wrong, it probably is wrong for you! ✨️ So often you're conditioned to push down your questions and gut feelings when your intuition is trying to guide you away from what's not meant to be and toward what is. I want to challenge you to tap into those feelings and honor them rather than casting them aside. Your intuition is a universal gift that will guide you faithfully like nothing else, no matter where you are on your horsemanship journey. I promise you'll feel empowered by trusting yourself. Your horse will feel the shift in you, too, rather than feeling the conscious or unconscious resistance that comes from you following a path that is not your own. You both deserve to experience that peaceful and powerful magic. ✨️ #thepositivepony #positivereinforcement #positivereinforcementtraining #positivereinforcementhorsetraining #clickertraining #clickertraininghorses #horse #horsetraining #horsetrainer #forcefree #forcefreetraining #horsemanship #naturalhorsemanship #equestrian #groundwork #ethicalequestrian #ethicalhorsemanship #ethicalhorsetraining #relationshipbeforehorsemanship #clickercowgirl #clickercowgirls #intuitiveequestrian #intuitivecowgirl #intuitiveequine
Be a partner, NOT a dictator! ✌🏻 I guarantee that if you start viewing and treating your relationship with your horse more like you do with your spouse, best friend, [insert someone you truly care about here!], you'll start to experience some major breakthroughs and deepen your connection with your horse! Not sure where to start? Here are a few suggestions: ✨️ Honor their feelings ✨️ Do things they want to do ✨️ Be open to their suggestions ✨️ Be present when you're together ✨️ Let go of unrealistic expectations ✨️ Set healthy boundaries ✨️ Face adversity using a team approach ✨️ Give them the benefit of the doubt ✨️ Be dependable ✨️ Have fun together | If you're not already doing this, give it a conscience thought next time you're with your horse! 💙
🥕 Food manners for success! 🥕 One of the biggest reasons I see people struggle with (and sometimes give up on) positive reinforcement training using food rewards is that they often skip the basic foundation of teaching food manners. There are two major keys to success when it comes to teaching horses with positive reinforcement and they both are tied to how your horse has been taught to accept their reward! 🔑 Use the lowest value food reward your horse will work for! For a vast majority of horses this means simple forage pellets! They offer a ton of benefits while not overwhelming and overexciting your horse like sugary treats do which is what leads to mugging and/or frustration. The other key to success? 🔑 Feed your horse their reward where you want them to accept it! Don't want your horse to mug you for food? Don't feed/reward them in your personal space! This helps the horse learn that they will receive the reward not by being all up in your business but rather by staying out of your bubble. 👉🏻 Want more positive reinforcement horse training tips? Make sure to follow me! 👈🏻
Welcome to my world 🖤 My mare, Annie, gets excited to see the side-by-side we use to clear our pasture of poo and deliver hay with and approaches it with curiosity rather than fear. She always greets me in the pasture, whether that's the first time I'm walking in or the tenth. She loves being a part of the grooming process and scratched on. And she is developing into such a solid citizen under saddle through short, positive rides that I design to set her up for success. All of this, and similar success with my students, is fueled by the power of positive reinforcement training! ✨️ Share my account with a non-R+ equestrian or cowgirl and let's spread the cookie pushin' love! 🖤 #thepositivepony #positivereinforcementtraining tivWelcome to my world 🖤 My mare, Annie, gets excited to see the side-by-side we use to clear our pasture of poo and deliver hay with and approaches it with curiosity rather than fear. She always greets me in the pasture, whether that's the first time I'm walking in or the tenth. She loves being a part of the grooming process and scratched on. And she is developing into such a solid citizen under saddle through short, positive rides that I design to set her up for success. All of this, and similar success with my students, is fueled by the power of positive reinforcement training! ✨️ Share my account with a non-R+ equestrian or cowgirl and let's spread the cookie pushin' love! 🖤 #thepositivepony #positivereinforcementtraining #positivereinforcementtraining #positivereinforcementhorsetraining #clickertraining #clickertraininghorses #horse #horsetraining #horsetrainer #forcefree #forcefreetraining #horsemanship #naturalhorsemanship #equestrian #groundwork #clickercowgirl #clickercowgirls #ethicalequestrian #cookiepusher #adayinthelife #adayinthelifeofahorsetrainer #positivereinforcementtraining #positivereinforcementhorsetraining #clickertraining #clickertraininghorses #horse #horsetraining #horsetrainer #forcef
Are you only at your job for the money? 👀 For real, though! Even if you *love* your job, are you seriously telling me you're going to do it for free? The universal reward for people is money, whereas the universal reward for animals is food! That's why positive reinforcement trainers almost always toting around loads of various value food rewards. 🥕 But here's the best part - the animals aren't just in it for the food! 😱 They actually learn to love YOU because they associate you with good things and being rewarded! My relationship with my horse, Annie, has never been better since implementing positive reinforcement training. She knows I'm on her team and am going to reward her with something she actually wants for a job well done. I want that magic for you and your horse, too! ✨️ So break out the treats and see for yourself how R+ can help skyrocket your relationship with your horse today! 🚀 #thepositivepony #positivereinforcement #positivereinforcementtraining #positivereinforcementhorsetraining #clickertraining #clickertraininghorses #horse #horsetraining #horsetrainer #forcefree #forcefreetraining #horsemanship #naturalhorsemanship #equestrian #groundwork #rewardyourhorse #clickercowgirl #clickercowgirls #happyhorse #friendsandfood #relationshipbeforehorsemanship
How to help your horse ENJOY bridling! 👇🏻 Before you do anything else - do your best to make sure that your horse is feeling well! They may be trying to tell you that something is physically wrong by rejecting the bridle. This means checking their teeth, their TMJ and facial nerves, checking for ulcers and body soreness, and evaluating tack fit at the very least for any points of discomfort, knowing that this can always change day to day. I don't believe it's possible to fully rule out pain, but we can do a lot to ensure that our horses are feeling their best. With that aside, we can teach our horses to use start buttons through positive reinforcement! You'll see I offer Annie her bridle to "touch" to let me know that she is ready to accept being bridled. This is her bridling start button! I don't cue her, I just offer the bridle and allow her to tell me when she is ready. When she touches it, I reward her and take it away, then offer it again to ensure she really means yes. I'd also reward her if she turned her head away from the bridle as that is her clear signal for saying she isn't ready yet. I reward her no and her yes so she knows I'm just looking for her to respond and will respect either decision she makes! Then I open up the bridle and wait until she chooses to put her head into the noseband to know she's ready for me to finish putting the bridle on. You'll see it doesn't take her long and then she stands patiently while I finish up. And then I reward again for the finished behavior! Note this video is sped up 2x but this whole process only took about a minute. It's so worth it to make our horses comfortable with what we are asking of them! Because she associates the bridle with something good (food rewards), and the real option to say no, she is more likely to want to engage positively with it. Making these positive associations is how you help your horse learn to enjoy situations they may struggle with. Give your horse a choice, respec
It may not look like much, but...
Annie has yawned with me either in the arena or in the aisle every single day since we started working on her posture and discovered a whole new level of zen. I took this video Sunday evening after we did our homework and ended with some liberty play.
We had our first session with Balanced With Betsy last Thursday, and I've been at the barn each day since then. So for those keeping track (because I am!), that is four consecutive days of yawning and tension releases.
We didn't even work on our homework yesterday as it was a rest day for a bodywork appointment, but Annie was still so relaxed in a way I was not expecting.
She has come so far since we came into each other's lives through positive reinforcement and now with balance through movement to address her posture. Between all of that and being at the barn we are at now, our bodyworker agreed she's like a different horse.
Had I not seen all of this first hand, I might not have believed it. But my horse is comfortable in a way that she hasn't been before, and for that, I am so thankful.
I'm forever grateful for Betsy Vonda and Celeste-Leilani Lazaris of Wild Magic LLC for sharing their knowledge. Their work is making a difference, and it truly speaks for itself.
👉 Does your horse know their left from their right? 👈 Annie sure does!
"Block" is one of Annie's favorite cues! 🖤 Probably because all she has to do is hang out, but she's a rockstar at it nonetheless! 🌟 Standing quietly and patiently at the mounting block is such an important skill for our horses to have for our safety and to set the tone for our rides. #positivereinforcement #positivereinforcementtraining #positivereinforcementhorsetraining #lima #operantconditioning #clickertraining #forcefree #forcefreetraining #horse #equestrian #horsetraining #horsetrainer #horsemanship #naturalhorsemanship #groundwork #clickertraininghorses