Whisper Training

22/03/2024

Yep

11/02/2024

08/02/2024

15/01/2024

Doing the basic things with excellence is a key aspect of good horsemanship. It’s amazing how much less bothered and more connected horses can get by us being really thoughtful about how we do basic things like leading, grooming, and tacking up.

17/12/2023

Attention, jumping coaches: it's time to halt the teaching of children to use a whip whenever a horse hesitates in front of a jump.

Children do not naturally harbour a desire to kick, hit, or yell at their animals. These behaviours are either observed or instructed by those who should know better. This generation of riders is being explicitly taught how to be angry and abusive, perpetuating a cycle that must be broken.

Consider this scenario: You witness a child walking a dog on a leash. As the child turns towards some stairs, the dog stops at the bottom step. The child forcefully kicks the dog in the ribs, yells "GET UP," and hits it with a whip. Outrageous, right? Yet, when the same scenario occurs with a horse, it often goes unnoticed.

This normalised and accepted practice is alarming. Picture it applied to a horse in a photograph. Understand that it does not contribute to the safety, confidence, harmony, or balance of the horse or the child. Once these abusive "techniques" become automatic habits, they are challenging to correct. It's time to intervene.

Why did the horse stop in the first place? There are numerous reasons: underprepared, over-faced, tired, sore, lacking clarity, rider unbalanced, horse unbalanced, wrong pace or line, and many more. None of these reasons are helped by angry and abusive riding.

Yelling, hitting, and frightening the horse further lead to nobody having fun, nobody feeling safe, and both people and horses getting hurt. Our sport deserves better representation in the media.

Here are phrases we should abandon:

"Make him do it"
"Don't let the horse win"
"Always discipline a stop"
"Don’t let him get away with it"
"MORE LEG!"
Replace them with:

"Prepare, then prepare some more"
"Reward the smallest try"
"Breathe"
"Wait"
"Feel"
"Trust"

Children do not naturally desire to mistreat their animals; they learn it from those who should know better. STOP IT! Let's break this cycle and create a more compassionate and effective approach to jumping coaching.

17/12/2023

Could not agree more!

Attention, jumping coaches: it's time to halt the teaching of children to use a whip whenever a horse hesitates in front of a jump.

Children do not naturally harbour a desire to kick, hit, or yell at their animals. These behaviours are either observed or instructed by those who should know better. This generation of riders is being explicitly taught how to be angry and abusive, perpetuating a cycle that must be broken.

Consider this scenario: You witness a child walking a dog on a leash. As the child turns towards some stairs, the dog stops at the bottom step. The child forcefully kicks the dog in the ribs, yells "GET UP," and hits it with a whip. Outrageous, right? Yet, when the same scenario occurs with a horse, it often goes unnoticed.

This normalised and accepted practice is alarming. Picture it applied to a horse in a photograph. Understand that it does not contribute to the safety, confidence, harmony, or balance of the horse or the child. Once these abusive "techniques" become automatic habits, they are challenging to correct. It's time to intervene.

Why did the horse stop in the first place? There are numerous reasons: underprepared, over-faced, tired, sore, lacking clarity, rider unbalanced, horse unbalanced, wrong pace or line, and many more. None of these reasons are helped by angry and abusive riding.

Yelling, hitting, and frightening the horse further lead to nobody having fun, nobody feeling safe, and both people and horses getting hurt. Our sport deserves better representation in the media.

Here are phrases we should abandon:

"Make him do it"
"Don't let the horse win"
"Always discipline a stop"
"Don’t let him get away with it"
"MORE LEG!"
Replace them with:

"Prepare, then prepare some more"
"Reward the smallest try"
"Breathe"
"Wait"
"Feel"
"Trust"

Children do not naturally desire to mistreat their animals; they learn it from those who should know better. STOP IT! Let's break this cycle and create a more compassionate and effective approach to jumping coaching.

28/11/2023

27/10/2023

https://youtube.com/shorts/oHXXI7ozMq0?si=NT7keFMnhWyJjH2u

19/10/2023

Anyone know of any field board openings in Warrenton or haymarket, Virginia area? Self care would also be ok. Looking for a client who just bought a 13 yr old mare. Must allow outside trainers & have at least a basic arena or fenced in place to ride. Mare has been living in a mixed herd and owners say she is easy going and gets along with all her field mates. :-)

19/10/2023

11/10/2023

Anyone have an equine vet recommendation for the Brookneal, VA area (Campbell County) about 3 hrs south of Warrenton?

03/10/2023

💚💚💚GRASS!💚 💚💚💚Grass is amazing! With the help of sunlight and good growing conditions( prime temperature, water, fertilizers, sunny weather) grass is able to convert it's stored sugar and starch to fiber, which is a friend to our horses' digestive tracts. Knowlege and management of the grasses within our pastures is very important to our horses' continued good health and the pasture's ability to be healthier for them to eat. This is especially important to our "special needs" equine friends who suffer from complications from health conditions such as obesity, insulin resistance, PPID and laminitis. INTERESTING GRASS FACTS 🌱Grass shorter than 3-4 inches in length is the highest in sugar and starch content. "Little niblet" grass, that has been grazed or cut close to the ground can contain more sugar than you think! 🌱 Grass 6-8 inches tall (in good growing conditions) usually is the healthiest for horses to graze on as it has more fiber content vs sugar/starch. 🌱Grass that is taller than 8 inches that is forming seedheads will also be higher in sugar content. 🌱Grass that has higher fiber content will give your horse a more "full feeling" and more prone to hopefullu naturally stimulate them to "eat less".🌱Grass accumulates sugars and starches(it's fuel to grow) when exposed to sunlight and this process(on a sunny day in good growing conditions) peaks in the late afternoon. 🌱Grass has it's lowest sugar content at night during growing season. It uses its stored "fuel" from the daylight hours to convert it into fiber growth at night. 🌱Grass that is drought stressed(lack of water during growth months) can have higher sugar content than lush pasture. Even when the tops are crackly and dry the grass plant is storing it's fuel for growth in the lower portion of the plant waiting for growing conditions to improve. 🌱Grass will not convert the stored sugars and starch into growth at night when the night time temperature cools 40 degrees or lower. So in early spring and again in fall, grass will maintain it's sugar/starch content at night and in the morning hours during cooler months. 🌱Grass responds to freezing conditions(especially the killing frost of late fall) by "locking" the sugar content into the grass plant. This peak sugar content can last several weeks. 🌱Grass grows best on healthy soil. Have the soil in your pastures tested.🌱Grass in pasture grows better when rotational grazing is practiced(when that's possible).🌱Grass that is "drought resistant" and grasses known to contain less sugar content may benefit your pasture when you reseed.🌱 Each horse/pony/ donkey/ mini horse/ mini donkey is different and has different nutritional requirements especially our "special health needs" individuals. Some have different eating habits- some are picky and won't overeat and some are gluttons and will eat everything in sight! 💚 Dr. Amy or Dr. Steve are happy to give advice reguarding:💚Amount of time per day and what time of day for grazing?💚Type of pasture or living area to keep your horses on ( pasture or dry lot with hay)? 💚When to withhold pasture and when to slowly introduce it again in Spring and Fall 💚What type and quantity of hay or grain to feed?💚Probiotics? 💚 Supplements for specific health needs?💚 The use of well fitting grazing muzzles?💚 Daily exercise...how much?💚No matter what it's always necessary to provide clean fresh water in good quantity💚 Good planning in all areas of your horses health management program can help with your horses' continued good health FROM NOSE TO HOOF TO TAIL!💚💚 we are happy to help💚

23/09/2023

Awesome demonstration and fantastic these riders are learning this at such a young age!

23/09/2023

Horse peoples commitment to believing dominance theory / “Alpha” theory despite the lack of evidence showing it to be a real thing is an incredible thing to watch.

There is currently very little, if any, evidence suggesting that horses have a static herd hierarchy in natural environments and that even IF they did, that said hierarchy would apply to how they view humans.

The man who initially perpetuated alpha theory with research on wolves later rescinded his enter belief system due to said study being impacted by the stressors of the domestic lifestyle in addition to the fact that wolf packs are generally family groups, meaning that the older more experienced wolves did take on leadership roles to educate their younger pups… but not for the purpose of exerting dominance.

Now, horses are not wolves but similar findings have been reported.

Much of what is viewed to be attempts of asserting dominance in domestic horse herds is actually resource guarding.

A horse guarding a PERCEIVED lack of resources, this does not mean that the resource actually has to be lacking

Reduced space, infrequent hay feedings, environmental frustration and general stress can increase the aggression we see in domesticated horses.

In feral herds, horses don’t spend much time engaging in aggressive behaviours because such behaviours are expensive physically and risk injury.

Sure, we see lots of photography and video of this happening but those tend to be the more “exciting” shots and thereby more popular, not necessarily more common.

Even in instances where feral stallions are actually fighting, it isn’t an attempt to be the “alpha.” It is attempt to protect and/or secure resources such as breeding rights to mares, space etc.

In addition to this, young horses, especially male horses, will practice fighting behaviours in play and this can be mistaken for real aggression.

Dominance theory is used by humans to label horse behaviour as “naughty” or “disrespectful” which is then often used to justify use of physical punishment.

The issue with this is that much of the behaviour we label as dominant behaviour from horses towards humans stems from fear, frustration, confusion, pain and general stress.

Escape behaviours are merely a horse trying to evade an undesirable situation, not an attempt to exert dominance.

Horses are natural peace makers and would generally prefer to not put up a fight.

But, so much of horse training in the human lens involves disciplining fear based behaviours, creating more fear and then blaming the horse for responding with stress.

We create the very types of environments that make it more likely to see what we perceive as “dominant” behaviours and then blame the horse for it.

The vast majority of undesirable domestic horse behaviours are directly caused by, or at least contributed to by, human influence.

So, it’s about time we reflect inwardly, get with the times and accept the fact that research doesn’t support the idea of dominance theory.

The level of attachment people experience with this theory despite the lack of evidence I think speaks for how desperate many of us are to justify our use of force in horse training.

It is such an odd hill to die on and the level of ferocity that people who speak out on the myth of dominance theory are met with I think exemplifies the crux of the problem: a desire for complete control at any cost rather than a desire to understand and communicate.

Communication and partnership will get you a lot further with horses than dominance, despite what much of traditional horse training may have taught you.

Here is a good fairly recent study on dominance pertaining to horse training: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0737080617300059

“Highlights
•
It is unlikely that horse–horse social status translates to analogues of human–horse interactions.

•
The concept of leadership as advocated in many training manuals proves to be unreliable in the horse.

•
Horses' responses to training are more likely a result of reinforcement rather than a result of humans attaining high social status and a leadership role.

•
Knowledge of horses' natural behavior and learning capacities are more reliable in explaining training outcomes than the application of dominance and leadership concepts.”

06/09/2023

Do you know what this is?

THIS is the reliable lesson horse who now needs bute for pain management.

THIS is the incredible jumper whose joints are arthritic.

THIS is the trail horse who would cross anything but he can't see well anymore.

THIS is the on purpose foal who became unmanagable because she was raised by ignorance.

THIS is the racehorse who won $400,000 but is 7 now and can't run like she used to.

THIS is the backyard, child's pony who ate too much green grass and foundered.

THIS is the free horse that the trader tricked you into thinking he was giving an excellent home.

Do you know what this is?

THIS is a picture of the product of people who were raised in a disposable society.

People, do NOT consider that an auction is a viable option for re-homing your horses.

This herd of horses, many like what we mentioned above, were in a holding pen headed to inhumane slaughter.

Kinder to put them to sleep then to ever let them end up here.

And while it is too late for these, it happens often, and you can make a difference by being committed to your horse through his life and until the end.

If your horse is not healthy or living a high quality of life, and if you can't keep him, then euthanize him.

If horse slaughter offends you, encouraging a lifetime commitment to owned equines is how to make a significant dent in it.

08/08/2023

Anyone else? 🙋‍♀️🙋‍♂️

07/08/2023

Let’s bring an end to this industry!

26/07/2023

Yoga is excellent cross-training for riders and an amazing way to strengthen community!

Message me to host yoga classes at your barn for your friends and clients!

23/07/2023

For all of my friends that own, train, or care for horses. This is a MUST READ...

What is the longest a horse can safely go without food?
Answer from a veterinarian-
More and more I see horses and ponies stood for long periods of time with no hay or haylage. Usually under the guise of a “weight control diet”. So how long can a horse be without food before damage is done? And what damage is done?

For those with a short attention span, I’ll give you the answer to begin with - 4 hours, maximum.

Why?

Horses are grazers. They are designed to eat constantly. They have no way of storing their acids and digestive enzymes, they’ve never needed to. They have no gall bladder to store bile and their stomachs release acid constantly, whether or not there is food in the stomach and intestines.

A horses stomach only holds approximately 8-15 litres. Depending on the substance eaten, it takes on average 4-6 hours for the stomach to completely empty. After this, the acids and enzymes start to digest the inside of the horses stomach and then the intestines. This causes both gastric and intestinal ulceration. It has been estimated that 25-50% of foals and 60-90% of adult horses suffer from ulceration. But I won’t go into detail about this, there is a lot of information around about ulcers.

So is that it? Are ulcers the only concern?

No, having an empty stomach is a stress situation for a horse. The longer they are starved, the more they release stress hormones, cortisol predominantly. Cortisol blocks insulin and causes a constantly high blood glucose level. This stimulates the body to release even more insulin, and in turn this causes fat tissue to be deposited and leptin resistance. Over time this causes insulin resistance (Equine Metabolic Syndrome). All of these mechanisms are well known risk factors for laminitis and are caused by short term starvation (starting roughly 3-4 hours after the stomach empties). Starving a laminitic is literally the worst thing you can do. Over longer periods, this also starts to affect muscle and can cause weakness, and a lack of stamina so performance horses also need a constant supply of hay/haylage to function optimally.

Let’s not forget horses are living, breathing and feeling animals. We talk about this stress reaction like it’s just internal but the horse is well aware of this stress. Door kicking, box walking, barging and many other stable vices and poor behaviour can be explained by a very stressed horse due to food deprivation (we all have that Hangry friend to explain this reaction). Next time you shout or hit a horse that dives for their net, remember their body is genuinely telling them they are going to starve to death. They know no different.

But surely they spend the night asleep so they wouldn’t eat anyway?

Not true. Horses only need 20mins REM sleep every 24 hours (jealous? I am!). They may spend a further hour or so dozing but up to 22-23 hours a day are spent eating. So if you leave your horse a net at 5pm and it’s gone by 8pm, then by 12am their stomach is empty. By 4am they are entering starvation mode. By their next feed at 8am, they are extremely stressed, physically and mentally.

Now I know the many are reading this mortified. I can almost hear you shouting at your screen “if I feed my horse ad lib hay he won’t fit out the stable door in a week!!”

I will say that a horse with a constant supply of hay/haylage will eat far less then the same horse that is intermittently starved. They don’t eat in a frenzy, reducing the chance of colic from both ulcers and over eating.
Don’t forget exercise. The best way to get weight off a horse is exercise. Enough exercise and they can eat what they want!

Written by Vikki Fowler BVetMed BAEDT MRCVS

A few edits for the critics-

Firstly, feeding a constant supply does not mean ad lib feeding. It means use some ingenuity and spread the recommended amount of daily forage so the horse is never stood with out food for more than 4 hours. I am not promoting obesity, quite the opposite, feeding like this reduces obesity and IR. This can be done whilst feeding your horse twice a day as most horse owners do. Just think outside the box. Hang a hay bag or hay net*is one solution. Every horse/pony and situation is different, but this is a law of nature and all horses have this anatomy and metabolism. How you achieve this constant supply is individual, the need for it is not.

*the use of hay nets in the UK is very very high. I’d estimate 95% of horses I see are fed this way and very very few have incisor wear or neck/back issues as a result. Yes, feeding from the ground is ideal, but a constant supply, I feel trumps this. Again with ingenuity both can be safely achieved.

Final finally 🤦‍♀️ and I feel I must add this due to the sheer number of people contacting me to ask, feed your horses during transport!!! I am astonished this is not normal in other countries! Again in the UK, we give our horses hay nets to transport. We don’t go 10 mins up the road without a haynet and a spare in case they finish! Considering we are a tiny island and we rarely transport even 4 hours, we never transport without hay available. I have never seen an episode of choke due to travelling with hay available. If you are concerned, use a slow feeder net so they can’t take too much in at once.

If you get to the end of this post and your first thought is “I can’t do this with my horse/pony, they’d be morbidly obese”, you haven’t read the advice in this post thoroughly.

Thanks Trish!!

15/07/2023

Don’t feed horses lawn clippings!

Mowed Lawn Clippings= BAD for horses, ponies, donkeys, mules and all our equine friends. Why? Firstly, consider the mowing process. It cuts lawn grasses into moist tiny pieces in large quantity which immediately start to ferment. Horses will grab mouthfuls of this and instead of mixing saliva into the mouthfuls as they chew, the horse will gulp them down quickly. 🐴A large, firm bolus of clippings can cause a blockage in the esophagus(choke)🐴If the large quantity of gobbled down, "already fermenting" grass passes the esophagus, it then enters your horse's stomach. Horses can't "vomit" up offending stomach contents so the fermenting grass gives off gas, which continues to build up. The pressure can rupture the stomach. As the stomach contents move through intestinal tract these gases can cause abdominal pain(colic) and bloating and cause serious colic complications. Continued fermentation can also change the balance of ph and microbes in the intestines which allow endotoxins from the "abnormal" fermentation process to be released into the bloodstream, which can result in laminitis. 🐴 As horses pick up and eat mower clippings that fall into a barren area (like a pathway or dirt paddock) they can also pick up a good deal of washout dirt and sand with the pieces of grass. This can cause a build up of dirt and sand in the gastrointestinal tract leading to eventual and often severe colic. 🐴 Another consideration is that poisonous plants from pruning yard bushes and trees can get chopped up into the grass clippings. Poisonous chemicals applied to your lawn can also be present. 🐴 Grass clippings from your pasture that are cut with tractor/bush hogs where they can dry properly in smaller amounts are generally not a problem unless pasture is lush and green or the cuttings are piled and improperly dried. Mold ( which can cause respiratory and abdominal distress)and bacteria(such as botulism) can easily and quickly grow in such conditions. 🐴 Any of the above medical conditions resulting from the feeding of lawn clippings can be and are often fatal. ***Never feed lawn clippings. ***Never cut grass from your yard and allow large quantities of clippings to be blown into your horse areas. ***Never allow horses access to where you dump your lawn clippings and yard prunings. ***Never allow your horse access to areas mowed with piles of clippings. ***Have a kind conversation with your neighbors about the "Never Lawn Clippings" for your horses. (Photo credit Dr. Amy's Minis💜) Any questions? Please call our office (540)675-1138