Van Tallum Boerderij

05/03/2024

New kids on the block!!!

08/03/2023

Endurance horses, dressage lessons...

10/02/2023

26/11/2022

Tierpoort outrides.

28/10/2022

THE DREAM THAT MANY WILL NOT UNDERSTAND:
My horse is my personal dream.
One day when I am very old and when I can not walk anymore, it will be in my heart as a trophy of my memories.
I met people who taught me something and have the same spirit and I met others that I'm glad I forgot.
I got wet,
I felt cold,
And I felt warm,
I was afraid,
I fell,
And I stood up,
I even hurt myself, I have been broken,
But also, I laughed out loud inside .
I spoke a thousand times with myself.
I sang and shouted with joy like a madman,
And yes ... sometimes I cried.
I have seen wonderful places and lived unforgettable experiences.
I often made unplanned jumps that even Oliver Skeete would be proud of; other times I made jumps full of terror.
I stopped a thousand times to see a landscape.
I spoke with perfect strangers, and I forgot people I see every day.
I went out with my demons inside and returned home with a feeling of absolute peace in my heart.
I always thought how dangerous it is, knowing that the meaning of courage is to advance even feeling fear.
Every time I go up to my horse I think about how wonderful she is.
I stopped talking about it to those who do not understand, and I learned to communicate with other riders.
I have met some amazing people I now call friends because of my horse.
I spent money that I did not have, giving up many things, but all these things are not worth even one special moment with my horse.
He is not a means of transport or a piece of iron with wheels, it is the lost part of my soul and my spirit.
And when someone says to me: "You have to sell the horse and you have to be a more sensible", ... I do not answer. I just swing my head and smile,
A horse..... only the person who loves them understands it.
May God bless my friends and all their horses...
And the adventure continues. .

Photo owned by admin.
Horse, pony and rider posters and memes

11/10/2022

Training with the girls starting their Endurance journey.

24/09/2022

21/07/2022

Cowboy Mount!
I think we need to practise this a bit more!

21/07/2022

Isn’t that the truth 😂

13/07/2022

Winter Lessons

30/05/2022

Consideration vs Consistency
I am a big fan of the current shift in Horsemanship. I see an overwhelming move towards an empathetic approach which takes a horses nature, psychology and behavior into account.
Much of this approach is centered around connection to our equine partners. My personal belief is that more focus on connection will not only make the lives of horses better, but also improve rider safety and, in most cases a horses performance.
A few months back I said something along the lines of 'connection is considering your horse in every request we make of them'. Seems pretty straight forward. Mark Rashid wrote a great book called 'Considering the horse', which I have been recommending for years. As always, there seems to be a big but (just the one t on the end)... I think some people misunderstand what consideration means. Yes, we need to consider all the things mentioned above, natural behavior, natural habitat, all the things that drive a horses fears, but it doesn't mean we simply avoid crucial training because a horse will be scared.
When raising kids we should also consider our kids, but when they want to eat ice-cream for breakfast lunch and supper we need to consider their health as well as their desires. When they want to punch the neighbour's kid because he didn't wave back at them when they waved we have to consider their social development as well as the hurt that drives their anger, not to mention the neighbour's kids well being.
We need to remember consideration is not just considering their motivation, it is also considering their future adaptation to the human world we have put them in. We still need to get communication in place, and acceptance of some challenging experiences. We just need to do it with empathy without blaming them for their fear or reluctance. I once heard Buck Brannaman say 'Be firm in what you do, be gentle in how you do it'. I am not sure it's his quote, but I love it. The gentle way is the consideration, the being firm is the consistency. One without the other will result in an unbalanced horse (or kids for that matter)

20/05/2022

Tierpoort outrides.

20/05/2022

25 years since she last rode a horse.
Retirement: a new chapter in an unfinished story.

20/05/2022

Little ones riding off-lead in the big arena! Fearless little rascals!

12/05/2022

Little rascals riding on their own in the big arena!!!

05/05/2022

I DON’T KNOW YOUR HORSE…
…But I do know horses. Here are a few things I’ve learned that should help most horses, most of the time, with whatever problem you may be having.

DO LESS:
Whatever it is, just do less. Expect less. React less. Use less strength. Less contact. Less pressure down the rein/rope. Less pressure from the leg. Less driving from the seat. Less noise…

GIVE MORE:
More patience. More time. More benefit of the doubt. More rest breaks. More reward. More still. More quiet. More variety. More length to the neck…

DITCH YOUR EGO & LET STUFF SLIDE:
Your horse isn’t trying to get one over on you, (or if he is, ask yourself why he feels the need to). What you think is naughty behaviour is usually just an attempt to communicate something: Discomfort, distrust, uncertainty, anxiety, fear, none of which require ‘telling off’…

COUNT TO TEN:
Be in control of your own emotions before you try and control your horse’s emotions. Once you let your emotions change, the whole dialogue upon which your training is based, changes…

IT TAKES TWO TO ARGUE:
So rather than asking for something that goes against your horse, start by asking for things you’re already pretty sure the horse is going to give, and go from there. (This one takes a little figuring out but is totally worth it!) N.B.: Common sense required!…

EVERYTHING IS MADE UP OF THE BASICS:
More advanced work is simply an arrangement of the basics taken care of simultaneously…

NEVER DISCOUNT PAIN:
You can never truly ‘rule out pain’ as a cause of unwanted behaviour. No matter how much money you spend, or how good your vet is…

REST DAYS ARE AS IMPORTANT AS TRAINING DAYS: Overtraining can be just as damaging as under preparing. Horses only have so many jumps/steps in them - use them sparingly…

BREAK IT DOWN:
Most issues can be solved by taking a step back, breaking the issue down into smaller chunks, and taking care of those chunks one by one…

TAKE YOUR TIME:
You’ll get there much quicker if you do. Cutting a corner will only come back to bite you in the ass sooner or later…

ONE FINAL THING…
Horse training is subject to the same laws of physics as everything else. You can’t argue with either anatomy or physics, no matter how many medals you’ve won. Train with this in mind, because there isn’t a single instance where an unyielding or strong rein contact will benefit your training, or your horse…

05/04/2022

So cool!!!

08/03/2022

So full disclosure: I think I enjoy these lessons more than the kids do!!!
Just loving their little victories!!!
This was the very first time we even tried this.