Denmark Clinic Nov 21
Brooke and I travelled down to Denmark on the weekend to run a horsemanship clinic for the Equestrian Club. We started with groundwork in the morning and ridden in the afternoon. The exercises are designed to build on each other… you can get the job done under saddle, but the groundwork just makes it easier for you and your horse to learn how to move their body, not to mention improving your relationship at the same time. You guys were amazing, you put in the effort and tried new concepts. Thank you for being a great club! Practise, practise, practise and we will hopefully see you all again very soon. 😃
Seb - no hands!
After 3 months with no arena, the upgrade was finally completed yesterday. Seb got first ride with a lesson on Riley, who did not miss a beat, giving Seb an awesome experience of riding with no hands! Even though Riley has been out of arena work for so long, he was like a pro, allowing Seb to learn to rely on his body and legs for steering.
Candi - Roundpen
I think Candi has shown the most improvement over 4 days with my intro exercise ‘roundpenning’. Her behaviour in this video does not make her a ‘crazy’ horse; it is not unusual for a horse who has had a lot of time off, to act this way when not constrained by halter and lead. She is free to really show how she feels. With the combination of her smart mind and consistent training, she joined up nicely.
Kat has been here for 1 week with Float Training. He was quick to learn the lesson and started to crave the float from day 1, but Kat has a genuine worry about being inside the float and this is going to take patient and consistent desensitising to the float. He has come a long way and is trying. Can’t ask for more.
JK Horsemanship had three horses go to WARHA’s Club Day today. It was a great relaxing atmosphere for newbie horses who need the confidence for their first outings.
Saddling Sia
Even though Sia raced a handful of times in her younger years, I still want her to go through the process like I’m starting her, not exactly the same, but I want to check for any holes in her previous training.
Sia has had a few injuries since arriving so the going has been slow, but we are getting there.
Watch the end for the silly bits... desensitising her to quick movements, shouldn’t work in roundpen with obstacles in the way and a potential Chopper Reid ear. 😣
Desensitising Sia
One of the most important things Sia needed to learn, was that she doesn’t always need to react to pressure. Being an ex racehorse, any pressure, especially from a stick, would only ever mean GO. She now knows to read my body language and she can tell whether it’s pressure she needs to move away from, or pressure that she can relax with.
Roundpenning Sia
Sia the Thoroughbred (she had a name change) has started her training. First up, is the roundpen.
My goal is that I choose the direction and speed she travels and that her changes of direction are to the inside. Eventually, I want to draw her in to me and have her follow me wherever I go.
On her first session, she constantly turns away from me, hangs around the gate and wants to leave. Her focus is on getting away, back to the other horses.
6 sessions later, her focus is no longer on the gate and escaping. She now feels a draw to me, instead of the gate, she’s starting to crave wanting to be in the centre with me you can see this from the small circles she’s starting to make around me.
She now travels in a more relaxed way. The biggest mistake I could make with her being an ex racehorse is making her think she’s in trouble for getting a bit lazy. I want to encourage her to relax and slow down.
Michael - Week 1 Training
