Vanessa Johnson's

Right vs. Wrong

2011-06-29T10:42:00.000-07:00

Horses aren’t born knowing what is right and what is wrong. All they know is what they’re allowed to get away with. If you allow your horse to be pushy and disrespectful, he will become pushy and disrespectful. If you teach him to yield and move away from pressure, he will be respectful because that’s what you’re allowing him to do.

Important thoughts

2008-02-22T16:09:00.000-08:00

There is a purpose and a meaning behind each thing you ask the horse to do.
I see many people get on their horses and they let the horse wonder around and take over, then when the rider askes the horse to do something he takes you for a ride. You have to have a meaning and a purpose when riding. It dosent mean that you have to have a tough ride, it just means to look where you want to go and direct the horses feet there.

The horse learns not to be particular if the rider is not particular.
This is very similer with what I said above, if you let the horse go where ever he wants, first you are not being particular on where you want to go and second the horse will learn to zone out and not be particular on how he walks, moves and he will be less willing to work with you. So go where you want to go, ride the speed you want to go and be particular, even when you take a break.

The five easy pieces

2008-02-08T15:03:00.000-08:00

By teaching your horse in small, discreet units, you can avoid confusion, frustration, and even fear that results from training with a nonsequential system of conflicting commands. You'll be able detect developing physical problems early: A horse who usually does Easy Piece four, the hip exercise, with no resistance but suddenly gets sticky and agitated to the left is likely telling you that something over there hurts. Check his back and left leg for soreness or swelling, and you may avoid a crippling injury.

Five Easy Pieces will allow you to teach your horse to travel "in frame". What's frame? It's a general term used by horsemen to indicate that a horse is traveling efficiently, with his body positioned in such a way that he can easily maintain his speed, pace, and position. A good way to think of frame is to imagine it's your horse's posture.

If he looks like a crabby teenager - slouching, neck jutting forward, shoulders haunched, and shambling along - not only is he unpleasant to watch, he's not showing any grace or athletic potential either.

By dividing the horse's body and physical mechanics into easily trainable zones, we can pinpoint the exact source of a frame or 'posture' problem, and concentrate on fixing that problem before it compromises our horse's performance. A horse's body and brain form a complex system, but if we can guide that system by working with discrete zones of the horse in basic exercises, we'll build the foundation of learning, conditioning and obedience that is the basis for all advanced training and high performance.You and your horse can learn my Five Easy Pieces in an area as small as a box stall, with simple equipment, at a walk, and see immediate results.

The five easy pieces:

The first easy piece is to teach your horse to yield to nose pressure. For this exercise, we walk in a small circle and gently pull the horse's nose to the inside, using slight contact with the inside leg to help the horse maintain a correct vertical frame. The instant the horse yields to the pull of the rein, release the pull. This exercise teaches the horse, that he must let his nose follow the most gentle or subtle pull on the rein. It teaches a horse, and later reminds him if he forgets the rules, that he should always be anticipating movement of the reins, and that he should instantly respond by yielding to the cue. By teaching the exercise in a small circle, your horse will also begin to swing his outside front leg over the inside leg as he turns, because it's more efficient and comfortable than taking a bunch of little crab steps. At the same time you'll be teaching your horse to turn, pivot, or even spin.

The second easy piece helps you to isolate and control your horse's shoulders. Whether you decide to have your horse lead with his shoulder on a sweeping arc or a diagonal line is not important, but having him initiate the movement with his shoulders is. He shouldn't go sideways with his head, ribs, or hip leading, but should deliberately move his shoulder in the direction you indicate with hand and leg cues. Contain your horse's momentum, or forward energy, with your hands, and generate momentum by asking your horse to move away from your leg. If you want to engage your horse's right shoulder, keep your left hand steady, press with your left calf, and be sure your right leg is completely away from his right side, to create an open doorway to the right for his shoulder to move into.

The third easy piece is to side pass your horse to the right and left on an imaginary line perpendicular to his body. It's similar to exercise two, but instead of leading off with his shoulder, you want your horse's body to stay straight. Like the shoulder exercise, you'll use hand and leg aids to guide your horse's momentum, but try pressing your leg further towards zone four, your horse's hindquarters, to move his body at a ninety degree angle- exactly sideways. Try to keep his body straight and use your right hand and left leg to guide him to the right and to keep him positioned. Remember that your hands guide the energy of zones one and two, and your legs control the energy of zones three and four. If your horse starts to side pass crooked, think about how to correct the problem: if his front end is leading, you need less hand and more leg, and if zone four, the hip, is in the lead, you need to use more hand and less leg power to restore your straight line. Don't worry about what your horse's feet are doing; concentrate on moving him sideways with all the zones lined up straight.

The forth easy piece isolates and moves your horse's hindquarters. Like the previous two exercises, you'll use hand and leg cues to generate and channel the horse's momentum so that his front end remains still while his hips pivot. If you want to move your horse's hip to your left, you'll lift your left hand to restrain his left shoulder, then use your right leg back on his ribcage to create energy and channel it through the open doorway to the left that you've created by keeping your left leg completely away from his left side. If you move your horse's hips even one baby step to the left, then ask him to lope.

The fifth easy piece tests how well you have done with your horse. He should have a good frame and it soft and responsive. This exercise is like the first one, but you are going backwards. Your horse will tell you if you have not completed an exercise fully, and therefore you need to go back and fix it.

Motivating the Lazy Horse

2008-02-03T08:34:00.000-08:00

Think of things from your horse’s point of view, how does life look from his side? What’s in it for him? Is he as excited about going riding as you are? When a horse is not nervous or afraid, sometimes what emerges is a rather laid back horsenality, one that has decided that hanging out with his pasture mates and all the grass,is way more attractive, less stressful and fun than going riding. These horses are often called lazy or stubborn, but really they are just unmotivated and the normal approach of spurs and whips just makes them mad.

Rather than resort to mechanical approaches,use psychology to motivate the horse. When you know what makes your horse tick, you’ll have fantastic strategies to apply that will get him running to meet you at the gate! Find out what is important to your horse, because there’s a lot to learn about horse psychology. Its all about how to motivate the lazy horse so you can have a calm, fun ride, without all the frustration these horses are good at causing!

Wont stand Still

2007-08-08T20:19:00.000-07:00

It can be so frustrating when your horse can’t stand still. He circles, invades, pulls, even rears up. Sometimes it can even be a bit frightening, after all, humans are small in comparison to the size of a horse!

There are two things that can help your horse want to stand still and it’s probably the opposite of what most people do.

Instead of holding him tight and jerking on the halter, give him more rope and get him to move more! It’s called reverse psychology and it works.

Give your horse at least four feet of rope, put your back against a wall or fence and then play the Driving Game, sending your horse quickly from one side of the fence to the other. When a horse is full of adrenaline, holding him close makes him feel claustrophobic and panicky. By giving him more rope you stop aggravating this feeling.

When a horse needs to move his feet, the more you try to stop it the worse it gets. So do the opposite… get him to move his feet faster than he wants and pretty soon the adrenaline comes down and all he wants to do is stand still. This can take a little time if it’s an extreme horse, but even though a few minutes might feel like an eternity to you it’s a drop in the bucket of time where a horse is concerned. Take the time it takes.

Oh… and don’t let him go in circles. The fact that he has to go back and forth, faster than he wants is the secret.

So the horse invades your space

2007-08-05T20:21:00.000-07:00

When your horse barges into you, runs over you… there are only two emotions that can evoke: Fear, or Offense. And yet, most people meet that action with one reaction: a big, hard jerk on the halter. Frustratingly though, it doesn't work. That horse keeps on invading, keeps on running you over.

Before you can solve your problem you need to know WHY your horse is doing it. There are really only two reasons a horse will invade your space; FEAR or DOMINANCE.
It’s natural for a scared horse to crowd you because that’s how they survive in the wild… the safest place is in the middle of the herd! Dominant horses on the other hand are pushy. They move others out of their space. So is your horse tense and reactive… OR is he calm and deliberate, pushing you around?

Once you know which one it is you can have the appropriate response: jumping jacks will keep a scared horse out of your space without upsetting him; and backing your dominant horse up by wiggling the rope. Teach the horse to respect your personal space.

Some Key Principles of Natural Horsemanship

2007-04-15T19:01:00.000-07:00

Here are a few things to remember when playing with your horse:

* Ground work is essential and comes before riding. This builds communication, confidence, and respect that is essential for safety in the saddle.

* Emotional Fitness. Learn to control your emotions, especially anger. When we lose it, we lower ourselves in the horse’s eye as a competent leader. This comes with time and is harder for some than others.

* Do what other horses do. Take time and just watch horses interact. I learned so much about being a good leader by watching Grace.

* Respect and Learning is a two way street. Horses learn from humans and vise versa.

* Don’t use mechanical force for control. Tools should be minimal and afford discomfort rather than pain. Fear will overcome pain when a horse is scared. Remember, the brakes are not in a horse’s mouth, but in his head.

* Spend time just being with them. Set aside time to just sit with them while they’re eating, be involved with their play, gently stroke them while they’re laying down; Anything that doesn’t include an agenda.

* Don’t make them stand still. When a horse feels he really needs to move, we allow that. However, it is on our terms and we may ask them to circle, go backwards or sideways. Eventually he figures out it’s easier to stand still and it is his idea. They learn it is their job to stand when needed and this has led us to be able to do everything at liberty. This includes hoof trims, baths, grooming, saddling, wound or medical care, sheath cleaning, etc. Even the colts learn this at an early age.

* Be upfront with what you are doing. Never try to be sneaky when dealing with your horse. They always know and then lose trust in you. We don’t hide halters behind out backs, bride them with food, or tell them something will not hurt when it will. A good leader can be trusted.

* Put principles to purpose. Once something has been learned, find a job or task to put it to use. Horses get bored very easily and just like us want a reason to do it.

Make it fun not work. Use your imagination to incorporate obstacles, turn some music on and have Fun. Your horse will appreciate it.

Some pictures of my colt

2007-03-09T22:09:00.000-08:00

Jack Olena, my colt that I am breaking and training

The keys to having a successfull day with your horse

2007-03-09T21:56:00.000-08:00

There are many days where the horse is not doing what we wish for them to do and as humans we tend to make assumptions that its the horse's fault. Now if we take a moment to sit back and wonder why things are happening the way that they are, we might be able to figure out why the horse is being this way. Horses are just like humans in the fact that they have emotional days, we need to respect that and not to take such blame on the horse. If you do feel that the horse isn't doing what you want it to do, one, either do light work(something that you know that the horse can do easily) or two, rethink what you are asking of the horse, he may not enough skills to preform the maneuver. If that is the case go back to simple steps that the horse does understand and ask for more perfection before going on. Its very important to listen to what your horse is saying to you, for hes the one that's letting you ride him.

Trailer Loading

2007-01-15T14:44:00.000-08:00

AHHHHH trailer loading!!!!! Many people and many horses hate the trailer loading thing. Have you ever experienced that the horse runs all over, needs 20 people or so to push it in, takes for ever, and many other things that owners hate about trailering their horse. It doesn't need to be that way if you use Love, Language, and Leadership in equal doses. Both you and the horse will become much more confidant, willing and the bast part of all, your horse will want to be in the trailer. There really is no trick except reverse psychology. Horses know that trailers get them from place to place and that usually the hauling means work at the final destination. Like going to a show or long road trips some thing like that, but has one ever had the idea of just taking the horse for a trailer ride? Many horses are expecting to go some where and doing work, or to be in the trailer for long periods of time. This is using reverse psychology because most horses are expecting the trailer experience to be this way but if you turn it around and not go any where or go for too long, your horse will start thinking that maybe being in the trailer is not such a bad idea after all. I am not saying go out and drive around with your horse for ever or every day, but to switch things around for the horse so he is always guessing whats next instead of anticipating of whats happening next.

The levels of your Comport zone

2006-12-05T20:04:00.000-08:00

First we've got the comport zone were all is fine and dandy, but as soon as one goes beyond that point, sensations start to occur. These are leaning sensations and should be kept long enough for your body to get used to the new feeling. Like if you were riding a horse for the first time, and was having trouble with balance, that would be a new sensation. Now if you just got off like to seconds after you got on, then your not allowing your body to change for that event. Then there's the zone that you move out and stay longer in that zone allowing the body to have time to change. One does not need to be there for an excessive amount of time but a change needs to occur in the body that says ok I'm not going to die. Then take the pressure back of to your comfort zone and try it again maybe later that day or event the next day, depending on how strong the sensations were. No need to over do it though to make sure to listen to your body, but again the only place that one learns is going outside of your normal comfort zone. If you have stayed outside of your natural zone for a while, sensations such as feeling dizzy or exited occur, this is very normal for the first time of doing some thing new, and your body is trying to tell you to stop because it knows your zones better than you do. that's why people get those fears right away of no I don't think I want to do that because I'm scared. Now that's your body telling you that so if its something that you want to do then think about these comfort zones that I just talked about. Listen to your body, but at the same time, overcome it if you wish to do something new.

Is a horse untrainable for Riding

2006-12-03T23:59:00.000-08:00

I had the best discussion with some one over the last few days about if a horse can never be trained to be ridden. It all started with this one individual who was asking about her mare that she was getting saddle broke. she was having a hard time getting the horse to accept her being on, and so she got rid of it. When I heard that I was like whoa that's not the horses fault. So I replied and said that theres no such thing as a horse that is untrainable. Then I got the response of well now how many horses have your trained. I replied its not how many horses I have trained, it's the results that I get with that one horse. Then it went on again saying that they have taken that horse to some very professional trainers and even they couldn't get the horse to be trainable.
Ok first let me tell you that horses are doing what they need to do to survive. Survival comes first before anything else and this is way horses have leaders in a herd. If they didn't have one then there wouldn't be any issues cause the horse isn't afraid of anything. So by understanding horses behavior and such we can prove to them that us humans are even better than their horsey leader.
Second, its the humans fault that the horse is behaving this way. Horses don't say oh I'm going to make this tough and what not, they learn by how you act and teach them.
Third, what good is it to take the horse somewhere else to have it trained? I do agree that there are many great trainers out there, but not very many good horsemen. I like to use the example of a baby sitter. So your parents go out and have a baby sitter come to take care of your kid while your gone. So theres to kinds of baby sitters, well three. One is the one that doesn't care what you do and what not. Two, some one whose telling them what to do all the time like homework and bed times and such. Then you've got the one that's in the middle. suggesting that you should do homework, but if you want to play that's fine. So depending on what kind of a person you give your horse to will either have a great time with you and want to see you every time, or your horse will hate them and make things worse. I mean have you noticed that horses tend to go to other people besides their own owners. Your horse is showing you alot when going to other people for compfort it means that your not showing your horse that he can rest and be safe with you and seeking comfort with other people because he knows that there not going to make him work.
So by having your horse sent off and then coming back to you, your only teaching the horse that you really have no clue what to do with him and so hes never going to change for you. So why not build a relationship where you and your horse want to be together and him not looking for options out and getting substitutions.

The zones of the horse

2006-12-01T08:07:00.000-08:00

When playing with a horse, many people say shoulder or hindquarters when trying to explain something. Horses have five parts to their bodies refered as zones. Theses zones give a better definition of were to be when playing with your horse and it also can give one a better sense of what the horse is doing with its body.

Zone 1: from the nose band of the halter stretching out for a mile and a half in front of the horse. It physically involves his muzzle and his personal space in front of him.

The Delicate Zone: around the eye area, the zone from the nose band up over the ears to the head piece of the halter. It's a delicate area and needs to be treated with care.

Zone 2: from right behind the ears to the break of the withers, the little dip right in front of them. Essentially it's the neck and chest and the end of the zone makes a diagonal line to the point of the shoulder.

Zone 3: from the break of the withers to the point of the hip.

Zone 4: from the point of the hip to the top of the tail.

Zone 5: from the tail head stretching out a mile and a half behind him."

It might make it easier in some cases to use the zones to pinpoint where problems are (touchy or non responsive areas) or to describe the areas that we need to stimulate to ask the horse to move.

Some great books for horse lovers

2006-11-10T18:42:00.000-08:00

Every horse lover should own these books;

Move closer Stay Longer by: Dr. Stephanie Burns. A true book on Stephanie's adventures on with horses. This is a great book for those who are still un confidant around horses. This is a story about fear.It is about understanding one's behavior and working with it to your best benefit. Fear is not the problem. It is responsible for your safety and ultimately your survival. The problem is an inability or lack of willingness to take action. The combination of the bravery strategy MOVE CLOSER STAY LONGER and the motivation strategies Stephanie presents in this book will enable you to interrupt the mechanisms that fear uses to interfere with the actions you want to take.

True Unity, by Tom Dorannce. This book is a several time read in order to really understand the message that is being said. Every horse lover/owner should at lest read it. All I'm going to say from the book is, "What I know about the horse, I learned from the horse." Tom Dorrance

The Revolution in Horsemanship, and what it means to man kind by: Robert Miller, Rick Lamb, and a forward by Hugh Downs. Let this book fill your mind with many new ideas thoughts and questions. The book starts way back in the day were horses were restrained for saddling and there was no effective communication. Then it takes us to a time of were things all started to come together. with influences by one person a whole new world opened a whole new revolution as we see it today.

The Soul of A Horse by: Joe Camp. A wonderful complement book to most all of these other book authors. A must read!

For those interested in animal behavior, here is a great book. Introduction To Animal Behavior by: Roland Siiter. This book primarily covers the behaviors of mammals and primates. A must for anyone who wants to get into the studies of animal behavior.

Learning Their Language by: Marta Williams. Almost everyone has had a moment when they’ve felt a strong connection to an animal. Animal communicator Marta Williams says this is the basis of animal communication and it’s a skill anyone can learn. Williams’s background as a scientist informs her logical, step-by-step approach to learning the “language” of animals — a process combining mental imagery, visualization, deep listening, and tuning in to one’s intuition. Also includes photographs, a basic primer on intuition, chapters on troubleshooting and transforming self-doubt, this guide of practical advice and proven techniques are interwoven with inspiring real-life accounts.

Attiude

2006-11-07T21:06:00.000-08:00

There are more ways a person can be handicapped than to be robbed of physical abilities. I've seen able-bodied people in much worse shape because their attitudes are disabled. The four most handicapping words in the English language are can't, won't, don't and yeah-but.

Don't be handicapped by your attitude. You can be anything you want to be. The only things stopping you are negative thoughts, fear, doubt, and lack of self-belief. Or, you might be overly concerned about what others might think, especially once you begin to act or think differently from your peers.

One of my favorite sayings is, "What other people think of me is none of my business." And guess what, other people don't really think about you that much. Too much potential is hampered and lost because people don't believe in themselves. You have the right to be as great as you can be. In fact, take it as a responsibility. You should develop yourself to your full potential or you are wasting your life. Find your talents and nurture them. There are hundreds of personal development courses around today that do a lot of good. The Parelli program, using horses as the metaphor, teaches us so much about developing positive human qualities.

Hang around people with positive and progressive attitudes. Don't talk with people who tell you that you can't or shouldn't. If I'd listened to all the negative, fearful, insecure or jealous people who told me I shouldn't do what I wanted to do, I would never have done what I have done. Successful people with positive attitudes will always support you unconditionally. Take only the advice of people who have the qualities and achievements in life that you admire.It takes guts to change patterns, but the rewards are so worth it.

Our horses need us to be the best we can be.

To become a horseman there are six keys. The first of those keys is attitude.

Bits

2006-11-06T19:20:00.000-08:00

Many people see me riding my horse with out a bit, and they ask You don't need a bit to control your horse????????????? What in the heck are they thinking, if I am not using the bit then, then no I don't need a bit to control my horse. I am not going to use the bit for decoration. In many of my classes, the teachers require that a bit should be used, and then again they are talking about how to develop a better feel with your horse and respect. Let me tell you, having a bit in their mouths is not going to get either one of those if not used at the correct time, or used correctly. Lets instead focus on this thought.Will you ever really need to use a bit? The answer to this question is a simple no. But, had the question been asked, Will you ever really want to use a bit? the answer instead would be yes, you probably will. I do use the bit alot on my horse, but not in terms that I need it and she can't listen without it. Its like anything Else, as long as your ground work is great and your horse can be responsive to your legs in the halter, the bit should just help you to go on step further in the program. The bit should be used as another friendly game object. Can he take the bit with his head down, hold it in his mouth confidently, yield to it. Don't use the bit to make the horse do things, but to help suggest. Now lets talk about some other things. what is Desire vs. Necessity?
The difference between the two questions is the choice of words, need and want. Do you need a bit to control your horse or do you want a bit to improve and refine your communication? There is a big difference.

The impact of whether you use a bit for control or communication can be significant concerning your enjoyment, harmony and performance with your horse. If you intend to just pleasure ride on trails and only ride once in a long while, you will probably never need a bit. If you ride actively, play sports or compete, your horse will actually become frustrated and bored unless you challenge him with continual refinement. It would be like keeping a child in kindergarten classes until he is a teenager.

Bits are a mystery to most people. The most common misconception seems to be; the bigger the misbehavior, the bigger the bit you need to correct it. I, on the other hand, teach people why they really don't even need a bit to control their horses. In most cases it's a revelation for the person and a relief for the horse. My entire program is dedicated to sharing my knowledge, understanding and techniques in order to help people become horsemen. Horsemen are half horse and half human. Once you become a horseman you know how to ride with an independent seat, have hands that close slowly and open quickly and are able to teach your horse how to overcome his natural instinct of Opposition Reflex. Until you have mastered these skills, a bit is the worst thing to put in your horse's mouth - any bit.

Many colts are started with snaffle bits in their mouths. I thought it was important to teach them to respond to this even before they had accepted me or had been taught how to follow a feel anywhere on their body. Finally, I realized that I was messing with one of THE most sensitive areas on the horse's entire body before I had properly prepared him. The two most sensitive places on a horse are the appetite and where the apples come out. If you don't believe me, try putting the bit under the horse's tail. The inside of a horse's mouth is a very delicate place to be.

Now, I look at it from the horse's point of view. I ask myself, "Is the horse mentally, emotionally and physically prepared for a sensitive form of communication like a bit?" As a result, my skeleton for starting horses became this:

1. Accept the human
2. Accept the saddle
3. Accept the rider
4. Accept the bit

It is important to follow each step, in order, with every horse and to take the time it takes to be thorough with each step.
The purpose of the bit?
What is the purpose of a bit? For many people, a bit is primarily a set of brakes.If these brakes don't work, then they get a bigger set - something with more leverage, a thinner and sharper mouthpiece, or maybe even a twisted mouthpiece. Whatever it takes to get the horse stopped. Unfortunately, the most common piece of advice given in regard to problem horses is "Get a bigger bit!"

For people who think like horsemen, a bit is strictly a communication tool. It is intended for sending a subtle message to a sensitive place on the horse, in a sensitive way in order to elicit a willing response. For people who do not know or understand horse behavior, bits are used as brakes. They continually have to invent mechanical tools and contraptions to come up with stronger and stronger brakes. Most of the time these torture devices only make the horse more out of control and dangerous to ride.

Let's look at different bits for a moment and divide them into two categories: Communication Tools and Torture Devices.

Communication Tools
Snaffle Bit (without shanks)
- Jointed mouthpiece
- Ring snaffle / round ring, D ring, egg butt
Curb Bit
- Texas origin
- California origin
- English origin
- German origin

Torture Devices
Long Shanks (6" or more)
Jointed Long Shank Snaffle
Jointed Short Shank Snaffle
Tom Thumb or Argentine Snaffle
Twisted Wire Snaffle
Gag bit
Fish Back Snaffle
Mule Bit
Double Snaffle
Slammer Bit
Springsteen snaffle
Chain Snaffle
Ring Bie (Chileno)
Spider bits
Scissors bits

In short, a torturous bit is any sharpened, twisted, multi-jointed, one-sided, thin mouthpiece, nose piece and lever shank with a curb chain or worse. A good way to identify a torture device is to consider the designer's thought process as he made it. Was he likely to have been thinking, "Nah ah ah, this will MAKE him do it!" Look at the difference in length of these two lists. So few of the bits available today are really designed for communication purposes. Some might argue that they are communicating with one of those torturous bits - they are communicating to the horse to stop! Pulling harder with a bigger set of brakes is not the answer though. Eventually, the horse gets stronger, duller or smarter and figures out a way to do what he wants anyway. What happens when you run out of stronger bits?

I believe most horse people are kind people. I think the only reason a kind natured person would ever put one of theses torture devices in the mouth of a horse is fear. After all, who wants to be on a runaway horse? If pulling on the reins is the only way that a person ever learned to stop, slow or turn a horse, then it seems logical to get a stronger stopping, slowing and turning device if the current one quits being effective. What people really need is more knowledge - stronger savvy, not a stronger bit.

Savvy means Safety
Man is essentially a mechanical thinker. If he can't budge abolt, he gets a wrench with a longer handle for more leverage. He applies the same thought process to the horse. If the horse won't do something, man seeks to overpower him by using more and more leverage. When the leverage quits working, the horse is often deemed too dangerous and sometimes destroyed. All someone had to do was think like a horse, instead of thinking like a human.

Horses run off or bolt out of fear. It starts in the mind, goes through he body and down the legs to the feet. Once the horse is this frightened then the rider is essentially riding scared feet. Most of the time it doesn't matter what bit is being used in the horse's mouth he can't be stopped. I've seen horses with huge shank bits, martingales and nose-bands stick their chins on their chests and go! When prey animals get that emotional and think they need to save their lives, they will run through anything, painful or not.

The only bit that can control a horse's emotions is a "bit of knowledge". I want to share the knowledge I have, this savvy, so that people don't have to resort to the "bigger bit" kind of thinking. I like the "bigger brain" approach.

Lateral Flexion / Vertical Flexion
The best way to stop a horse is to teach him "lateral flexion". This means you can use one rein to ask your horse to bend his neck laterally to one side and smell your foot. This is a vulnerable position for a horse because he knows that he can't run away. His flight is inhibited.

When first teaching a horse lateral flexion, it's best to use a soft rope halter like my Horseman's Halter. This type of halter is harder for the horse to push against and lighter on his head when he doesn't push. Don't be surprised if you find some resistance the first time you try to teach your horse lateral flexion. Remember to teach! Don't force your horse to comply. Teach him, little by little, by asking with fingers that close one by one. Give a release as quick as you can when his head comes around. Teach him to hold this position for longer and longer.

Start at a stand still and work up to where you can ask him to bend to a stop from a walk, trot and eventually a canter.

Going from Normal to Natural too quickly can be hazardous, so I prepare my students by having them (and their horses) learn the 7 Games on the ground first. Then they teach their horses how to bend to a stop. Many of my students find they have more control without the use of a bit, Their horses are less defensive and less afraid of being hurt in the mouth. Some students with certified runaways can now ride their horses bridle-less! They are proof that it is not the "bigger bit" that was required, but more knowledge as in a "bigger brain".

It is important to understand the validity of both lateral and vertical flexion. Lateral flexion is a dis-empowering position, using one rein to stop a horse by "disengaging" his hindquarter. Vertical flexion is an empowering position, using two reins to "engage" the horse's hindquarter. When a horse flexes vertically, he gets powerful over the backbone and down to his hindquarters. You do not want vertical flexion in a scared, disobedient, disrespectful horse! More physical power to the horse only fuels the negative reactions. This is where people get into trouble using bigger bits as brakes. Once your horse is mentally and emotionally under control, you do want vertical flexion for slide stops, extensions and higher levels in dressage, reining, roping and cow working.

Lateral flexion requires one rein to be used at a time. A halter and lead rope, a soft rope hackamore or a jointed snaffle bit all are perfect for this. A curb bit cannot and must not be used for lateral flexion or it will really cause problems for your horse.

Vertical flexion requires two reins used absolutely equally, preferably with one hand. In fact that is why the curb bit was designed. It was intended to leave one hand free for working with cattle or fighting soldiers in battle. In some dressage teachings, the curb bit reins are held in one hand while the snaffle reins are held separately in each hand. In other words, there will be three reins in one hand and one rein in the other.

Most horses I see ridden in the curb bit are really not ready for it. The horses still have too much Opposition Reflex. They are not really mentally, emotionally or physically prepared to yield from the unique feel of a curb bit and port mouth. They may have a difficult time carrying their heads vertically because they haven't learned how to gain relief from the port and the curb. They don't understand it and that can make some horses extremely claustrophobic. Sometimes, a horse will actually turn his head the wrong direction from the turn because he doesn't understand how to respond to the feel of a supporting rein across his neck. An uneducated rider can cause the same result by using the reins independently instead of together as one. Often these horses have been decreed "ready" by show association rulebooks which state that horses should be ridden in the curb bit by the age of five.

Whether the horse is 3, 5 or 15 years old, I don't think he is ready for a curb bit until he has been properly prepared. The proper preparation of getting the horse's Respect first, then Impulsion and then Flexion (Lateral then Vertical) has been so overlooked or nonexistent that bits have become nothing more than a cruel control mechanism, any bit.

When to Use the Curb Bit
Although you never need to use a curb bit, you can choose to use one for greater refinement, vertical flexion, straightness and collection if that is how far you want to advance with your horse. When Respect, Impulsion and Flexion are in place, the slack will hardly come out of the reins and the feel in the horse's mouth will be soft and delicate. Then, you know your horse understands his responsibilities and what the reins mean. That is the first sign that you may be ready for the curb bit.

I think it is cruel to use a curb bit before the horse (and rider) are ready for it. The consequences of disharmony are ten times what they would be in a snaffle bit. In my teaching program, I ask my students to wait until after they graduate Level 3 before they use a curb bit. By this time the natural order of Respect - Impulsion - Flexion is in place for the horse and the rider has developed the feel, timing, balance and savvy to use it.

A Bit of Education
There is a natural order to developing a horse's mouth (along with the rest of him). It goes: Horseman's Halter, Natural Rope Hackamore, Jointed Snaffle, Leather or Rawhide Bosal then the Curb Bit.

The Horseman's Halter: I use a soft rope halter to teach horses their responsibilities on the ground first. Through the 7 Games they learn how to yield from pressure and follow a feel. It is ideal for teaching lateral flexion on the ground first.

The Natural Rope Hackamore: I start riding horses in my Natural Hackamore because it is an ideal soft rope over their nose. The main purpose of it is to help teach your horse lateral flexion and work through his Opposition Reflex. Once the Opposition Reflex is no longer an issue, horses will understand and readily accept rein communications. First teach one rein, then two. The best advice I can give is not to hurry. All of my Level 1 and most of my Level 2 tasks can be accomplished in the Natural Hackamore. Refinement comes as more harmony is developed. Late in Level 2 is a good point to introduce the horse to the snaffle bit.

The Snaffle: As with the hackamore, the jointed snaffle is primarily for lateral flexion. Now that you are using a bit for communication instead of for mechanical control, you can expect better responses with less effort by using the bit.

You should steer away from any straight bar snaffles because they do not flex like the jointed variety when asking for lateral flexion and can disturb the horse's mouth and teeth. I prefer a loose ring snaffle that is neither too thick nor too thin and made of sweet iron. I find that horses enjoy the taste and the loose rings allow the bit to swivel and adjust. Jeremiah Watt makes my snaffles by hand.

The Bosal: At this stage I introduce a braided leather or rawhide bosal. I like to put this as optional, because you could go straight from the snaffle to the curb bit. Allow me to take a moment here to briefly define "bosal" (pronounced bow-sahl) and hackamore because the terms often create confusion. The word bosal denotes the nosepiece, whereas the whole headpiece with the bosal attached is called a hackamore, or generically, a bit-less-bridle.

If you choose to use a bosal, the thick, high quality rawhide or leather braided piece should suspend over the horse's nose to encourage vertical flexion.

The bosal works in two ways. First, it offers relief when the horse yields vertically because it hangs away from the nose. Second, the reins join at a point below the horse's chin, so the communication comes from underneath. It uses the same principle as the curb bit and encourages the horse to bring his head into vertical. The idea is not to pull on the reins to achieve vertical flexion, but to teach the horse about giving a soft feel. Vertical flexion and "soft feel" are advanced subjects. For now, it is just important to know they exist even if you are not ready to ask for them.

The Bosalito is a tiny bosal, like a miniature version of a rope hackamore, that is used with a curb bit to combine lateral and vertical flexion, much like the English Bit and Bridoon. It can also be a fantastic transition between the bosal and the curb bit.

The Curb Bit: The term "Bridle" was traditionally used to describe only a curb bit such as the Santa Barbara, a California style bit. The term "Bridle Horse" denoted a "finished" horse that could be ridden with flawless perfection in such a bridle. Today, obviously, the terms are used more loosely.

Here we split into two distinct styles, English and Western. In English terms, the curb bit comes in two forms, the Pelham and the Bit and Bridoon.

The Pelham is available jointed or straight mouth. Since this bit has a shank, stay away from the jointed variety. The Pelham is one bit that has both snaffle reins and curb reins attached to different areas of the bit. I don't think this bit is objectionable, but the Bit and Bridoon is more effective because you can completely isolate the bit and curb action.

The Bit and Bridoon is actually two separate bits fitted into the mouth at the same time and used with double reins. The Bit is a port-mouthed curb bit with shanks and the Bridoon is a small snaffle. You can isolate the use of each bit by using one set of reins or the other. It is very much like the traditional use of the Western Basalito (mini bosal) and the curb bit.

In Western terms, the curb bit comes in many forms. There are a few excellent bits to be used at the right stage of training and with knowledgeable hands.

The best Western curb bits originate from either Texas or California. Most of the Texas bits have a fixed shank and typically a lower port in the mouthpiece. California bits usually have fuller and higher mouthpieces and incorporate "loose jaws" or shanks that are able to swivel.

Within the Texas and California style curb bits, the mouthpieces can vary. Fixed shank bits, such as the typical Texas style, need to have at least a medium port to give the horse tongue relief. Without a port, some horses will feel claustrophobic and won't be able to handle the curb bit The swiveling capacity of "loose jaw" shanks can alleviate the need for a port.

Another feature of California bits is something called a "cricket". The cricket is a little roller with ridges, set in the center of the mouthpiece. The horse can rub it with his tongue causing it to make a clicking noise that sounds like a cricket. It was designed to give the horse oral gratification while letting the horseman know the emotional state of his horse.

Generally, horses adjust more easily to the Texas style bits. While a lot of horses really like the California style bits, it takes more horsemanship knowledge to be on the controlling end of one. You need to be able to keep some feel on the California bits or they will move too much. With too much movement, the horse can get mixed messages and get dull.

The "Spade" mouthpiece was originally fashioned from a spoon. The smooth, rounded part of the spoon rests against the palate and encourages the horse to position his head on the vertical. When the horse carries his head in this manner, the spoon comes away from the palate and the horse gains instant comfort.

On any style of curb bit, English orWestern, the shanks should only be four to five inches long - maximum! Anything over six inches creates too much leverage and gets into the torture device category.

Earn the Right!
Earn the right to use a bit. Learn enough to diminish Opposition Reflex in your horse before ever putting metal in his mouth. Work on your Equine Relationship Skills on the ground to eliminate the prey - predator barrier. Learn about the natural Riding Principles such as, "one rein for control, two reins for communication." Develop an independent seat so you can keep your hands still and use them independently of your legs and body.

These are the responsibilities of the rider. As a horseman teaching people to think like horsemen, I want you to know the pre-requisites for good results. Whenever you have a problem, check the horse out from the inside, mentally and emotionally. The more mentally and emotionally fit and in tune you get with your horse, the fewer physical behavior problems you will experience.

In fact, when most people look to a bigger bit because they have problems, I go backwards to a non-leverage bit or to no bit at all. I use either a hackamore (please note that I do not mean a mechanical hackamore. I mean one of soft rope), or a Horseman's Halter.

A bit of education will go a long way for both you and your horse. The whole question of bits and bitting is a science and an art. Many go in search of the right bit for the right horse for the right purpose. My advice is simply to become a horseman. Through knowledge, you will understand not only what bit to use when, but the entire process will become less complex. You will see it more from the horse's point of view and this will give you the real savvy that's required.

2006-11-05T20:38:00.000-08:00

It sure would be easier if I had a hammer to nail this up!
Boy it sure would be nice if I could just go over there for a moment!
It would help if I could get this finished real quick!

These are all things that make the question seem like the other persons idea. Have you ever asked some one in a hurry to go grab that thing or to move out of the way? Well think about it, horses feel the same way. If we just say move over there and back up 20 steps, then do this, it's rude! Horses need time to proses information just like humans do when we get that kind of response from some one. So instead make our idea become the horses idea.
Lets say you want to go to the left when doing the circling game. First think what you want then suggest to the horse that going left might be good, then leave him along for a few seconds to see what he does. If hes intending on going left the don't do any thing, just leave him be. He will become much duller if you micromanage him to go to the left. Soon he will be more confidant and go that way just as you start to think it.
And if he has no intentions of going that way or goes the other way, don't let him go that way, but don't beat him up for it. Help your horse to understand that going that way is suggested and keep pointing it out to him nicely. Use your phases if needed to help him understand, but don't do too much.
This can also go with spoiling your horse by micromanaging it, doing every thing for the horse. If you tell the horse what to do every step of the way, then you don't have savvy. Smart horse or a really pushy dull horse, what do you chose?
Happy trails!

Horses Are Not Pets

2006-11-04T11:00:00.000-08:00

There was clinic this week at the barn that I attended to. It was so wonderful to hear all the things that I have been trying to explain to others. There was a huge discussion on how many horses are spoiled (and its true). Many people try to treat horses like a dog, and horses will jump into your lap if the opportunity arises. I even didn't realize how much I was spoiling my mare. This all goes back to the subject of habits, focusing on one main point and ignoring the rest. Horses, you cant do that with, one needs to be there in the time present. My horse became rude when I started to pet her alot in her stall so she thought that it was OK to nip and nudge at me for more, so I thought how how sweet. I feel like banging a pan over my head!!! After I realized this I didn't do it as much with her and she became made at me, starting to shove me around, it became dangerous. It took me weeks to get her respect back for me to be in her stall. Any way horses don't pet each other in herds, and here we humans are like awe lets cuddle and let me pet you. Have you ever seen horses do that out in the field? Hope not. when horses give comport, they go up to the shoulder of the other horse and just gently touch the shoulder and leave, they don't stay there and keep going. Its annoying to horses if one stays and does that, I mean try if for yourself with another person. Just go up to him/her pretending that the\y are a horse and start scratching all over and cuddling with him like one would do with a horse. This is what horses feel and its invading their space. Leave them alone, they wont die. This then leads into other issues of if they are asking you to rub them all over and how much is too much. What I like to do is if they ask nicely, then I will rub scratch him like five times more than I should. Like I said earlier, horses just tap their nose on the other horse, so I might rub him five times then quit. If you go till your tired, your horse is going to get quite bossy, as this is what happened to my horse. This doesn't just apply to just petting the horse, it has to do with every thing with feeding being the most dangerous if your horse is spoiled. If your horse is rude while in your presents, its most likely that you've spoiled him in some way and should be fixed as soon as possible.

Assertive and Aggression

2006-11-03T21:14:00.000-08:00

A horse kicks another horse that comes up behind him.
An impatient farrier thumps a horse in the ribs with his rasp.
A person leading a skittish horse gives a few good jerks on the chain across his nose.
A horse lunges at another horse and bites him on the neck.
A trainer ropes a horse by the leg and brings him to the ground.

Are these acts assertive or aggressive?
Horses learn much better when one doesn't use aggresive force and/or fear. Everyone knows there are times you have to get firm with a horse. How you do it, the attitude you have, the emotion behind it, the circumstances, and the kind of result you have in mind are what make the difference between being aggressive or being assertive.

What is the difference between being aggressive and assertive?
Aggressive has synonyms like forceful, defiant and coercive.
Assertive has synonyms like insistent, compelling, confident, positive and urging.

Some synonyms for assertive do include the word "aggressive", so what I would like to do here is differentiate between the terms according to the treatment of horses.

Where horses are concerned, punishment, vengeance, or using intimidation and force to get results is what I would call aggressive. To be assertive, you may need to get firm, but without being angry, frustrated or scared. The big difference is an attitude of justice that always gives the horse an opportunity to respond and find the positive outcome.

Most people have a hard time understanding the difference between aggressive and assertive because they see how horses are with each other: biting, striking, kicking, breaking the skin, sometimes even breaking bones. Although this looks aggressive to us, it is just assertiveness from the horse's perspective. The difference is that one horse knows another horse is not out to eat him, just to dominate him.

There is a pecking order in every herd which establishes different things such as who drinks first, who eats first, who gets to stand with who and so on. The pecking order is challenged on a daily basis and especially as youngsters get older or new horses are introduced into the herd. The alpha or top horse in the herd needs to re-established his position constantly by being the most assertive (in this sense, confident and insistent), the bravest, the quickest, the strongest and the fastest thinker.

People who are aggressive with horses will often defend their position with comments like "I couldn't hurt that horse, horses hurt each other a lot more every day". From a physical perspective, that's probably pretty true. But from a mental and emotional perspective, there is a big difference to a horse between another horse coming after him and a predator coming after him. Horses cannot handle aggressive action from people (predators) because they think people want to eat them, not just dominate them. A scared horse that believes his survival is threatened will do anything to defend himself if he cannot escape. He'll strike, kick, charge or bite. He will do whatever it takes. In my experience horses are not prone to viciousness, they would much prefer to run away.

I have found that most of the bad experiences people have had are because the horse is afraid, frustrated, confused or just bored and looking to play some dominance games.

Horses can take a huge amount of pressure from another horse because the pecking order is a natural part of herd behavior. They were born with an innate understanding about dominance games and they have played them with other horses all their life to establish who is the strongest, fastest and smartest horse. If horses feel threatened in the wild, they'll herd up and protect each other. They look to the alpha, or strongest, most dominant horse to direct and protect them.

When a human puts pressure on a horse it's a whole other story. A horse (prey animal) sees pressure from a human (predator) as life threatening. He wants his herd, he wants his alpha, he wants to save his life. Even though we might argue that horses have been domesticated for thousands of years, what we must never lose sight of is that domestication has not altered the innate belief system of the horse. Horses have ensured their survival for hundreds of thousands of years by listening to mother nature as a prey animal. Even if you personally don't eat horsemeat, thousands of people do. Horses are programmed to recognize life-threatening predators such as lions, grizzlies, dingoes, hyena, wolves, coyotes and humans.

Try to imagine what it would be like as a prey animal? Picture you and your friends walking through the Amazon jungle in an area known for its cannibalistic tribes. Would you feel a little tense? Would all your senses be heightened so you could perceive the approach of a cannibal? Your survival would depend on early perception, the speed of your reactions and the ability to get away from the danger. How would you react to a rustle in the bushes, a sudden or unusual noise, a movement detected in the corner of your eye?

Let's say that one of your friends is the leader of your group. He is calm, confident, experienced and athletic. You trust him. Every time you hear something scary, you might look at your friend. How did he react? If he still looks calm, it calms you down. What if he got wide-eyed and tense, what would that do to your sense of security?

Suddenly, cannibals jump out of the bushes from all directions. You run as fast as you can with all your friends, only to wind up caught in a cage at their camp. You stand there all night long, scared out of your wits, knowing you're going to be lunch.

The next day, you are singled out into another cage and one of the cannibals tries to approach you. He seems friendly and soft, but you know he's a man-eater so you keep your distance. Adrenaline is pumping through your body so hard your nerve endings are screaming. All your senses are incredibly heightened. It seems like you have super hearing, super feeling, super sight, you even have superhuman strength and endurance. If that cannibal came within striking distance you would let him have it in every way you knew how. It's you or him, that's all there is to it.

Although you don't know it, the cannibal had singled you out because he wants to befriend you. Unfortunately, he is not able to convince you to stand still, so he goes for his rope. He swings it and catches you by the ankle. What are you going to do?! You're going to panic, struggle, kick, scream, try to get it off with hands and teeth. You're going to fight for your life, you're not even thinking. You have to react from pure survival instinct! There is no time to think! The ropes keep coming until they are looped around your whole body and you are brought to the ground, trapped and terrified. Once you are rendered completely helpless, the cannibal approaches you and your spirit has one last chance, you're not going to give up. You try to bite. You scream obscenities. The cannibal smiles, lifts his arm and his whip over you... and gently, lovingly strokes you. How long would he have to do this for before you believed, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that he was not interested in eating you?

This is how horses feel. The experience you just had would be akin to the experience of a horse that had never been touched before. Not all horses are like that. Most of them have been handled from birth and they've learned that they don't have to be terrified all the time. Nature tells them, however, to still be suspicious and on guard. Just as you would be living in a town of cannibals. It takes very little to scratch the surface of a horse and bring out the prey animal's protective instincts. Put yourself back in the cannibal's camp, even years later it wouldn't take much to make you think that the cannibal had changed his mind and was going to kill and eat you after all!

Mild aggression vs. strong assertiveness
There are degrees of aggression as there are degrees of assertiveness. What's really important is to examine the emotion behind the action. Aggression, to any degree, is ineffective with horses because even if you get a desired result, you lose the horse's respect and trust.

Some examples of mild aggression would be pulling on a horse as you lead him in order to keep him under control or smacking him across the nose when he tries to bite you. The horse feels your anger or frustration and it does one of two things:
1. It increases his insecurity and erodes all chances of a trusting partnership.
2. It develops resentment and not only does the behavior not go away, it gets worse if the horse begins to retaliate.
An assertive way to deal with the same examples would be:

A horse that is pulling you around when you lead him:
Give him a loose rope and allow him to wander. Every time he passes you up, spank him on the hindquarters without getting mean, mad or flustered, turn and walk the other way. It won't take many times before the horse realizes he is causing the consequence and will stay respectfully behind you or at your shoulder.

A horse that bites and nips:
Have eyes on the back of your head. When he comes to get your arm, flap your elbow like a wing a few times, without looking at him and without any negative emotion! If he tries to bite your rear, bend your knee and lift your foot in his direction a few times. He'll run into you a couple of times and soon realize he caused his own smack in the mouth.

Assertive, non-emotional, responses work for two reasons:
1. The horse experienced negative reinforcement, which is very differently from punishment. Negative reinforcement is instantaneous and the horse recognizes the consequence was a direct result of his action. Therefore, he blames himself and not you.
2. He couldn't push your buttons and get you mad! If you think horses don't do this, you've got a big lesson coming your way. Once a horse has overcome his innate fear of people, he will play games with you as though you were another horse. He figures if you are OK enough to be in his herd, then the next step is to see who is in control.

A horse will trust respect you if you can think quicker, are more athletic, stronger and braver than he is, and if you can stay mentally, emotionally and physically in control of yourself. Going back to the cannibal scenario, remember what qualities your leader had and how you relied on him. Physically, we may be no match for a horse. But if we have the right attitude, knowledge, tools, techniques, savvy and experience, we can earn a horse's confidence and respect.

Learn how to get firm without getting mean or mad
The trouble with getting assertive is that most people are not emotionally fit enough to get firm without getting mean or mad. When people see me getting firm with a horse, they sometimes assume I'm being aggressive because they cannot imagine themselves getting firm without losing their temper. The whole secret is having an attitude of justice. Justice means there are small consequences for small things and big consequences for big things. Consequence does not always mean physical contact. In most instances you just need to know how to cause a horse to be uncomfortable mentally, emotionally or physically when he is doing the undesirable thing.

My mother was a great example of using assertiveness. When I was teenager lazing on the couch and replied with a disrespectful "oh, alright." when asked to take the trash out, she would just tip the trash right over my head and never take the smile off her face. She'd say, "Son, this trash is going out with you whether you like it or not. You have two arms, two legs and one mouth which means you can say 'yes ma'am with a smile, stretch your arms out and hustle over here to take it out." She knew how to make me very uncomfortable without ever having to hit me! To this day I knock on the door with hat in hand and, after kissing her hello, I ask "Hey mom, do you have any trash that needs taking out?"

It's a sorry thing to see someone whacking on a horse. Where knowledge ends, violence begins. Although some people seem to get a perverse pleasure out of intimidating horses, most find themselves smacking, jerking and yanking out of pure frustration. They just don't know what else to do.

What I teach, more than anything else, is how to become more mentally and emotionally fit around horses. I try to help people understand where the horse is coming from so they can act appropriately, and learn to have infinite patience. Most people run out of patience in less than four minutes. Horses know this and they learn to play on it as they get older. After they get over being scared (usually by the time they are over 12!), they learn how to make monkeys out of people. All they have to do is persist with their behavior for longer than four minutes and they win.

The four phases of firmness
A simple way to keep emotions under control when having to get firm is to distinguish four phases of firmness and use them until you are effective. Let's look at how a horse might do this when he's going to kick
phase 1 - the horse lays his ears back, wrinkles his nose, gives a hard look
phase 2 - he tosses his head and lifts his leg
phase 3 - he kicks out without making contact
phase 4 - he kicks out again and makes contact

Before the horse kicked, he gave three strong clues that the kick was coming. Other horses can usually avoid getting kicked because they pay attention to the impending signs and get out of the way. People get kicked all the time because they are unobservant of the warning signals.

How can we use phases the way horses do? One of the first things I teach is to use some kind of rhythm, like kick your leg up in the air three times. It's hard to maintain an angry emotion when you have to do it three times. Same with doing jumping jacks if a horse barges into your space. Do it a minimum of three times without approaching the horse's space, so he has the chance to get out of your space and realize how much better it is not to invade it. To lash out, slap a horse or kick him in the belly is perceived as aggressive by the horse because it is sudden and there is no warning that the horse can reliably detect.

In the photo you can see an example of my "Schwiegermutter Look" (which means mother-in-law in German!) It's the "leave my daughter alone and get out of here before things get worse" look. I cannot physically put my ears back, but I can still make the same face and convey the same threatening message with my body. It's the behavior that precedes any biting, striking or kicking that's about to come. So when I want to drive a horse backwards, drive his hindquarters or front end away from me, I'll use this look as phase 1. For phase 2, I might lift my hand. For phase 3, I'd swing my rope or a stick. For phase 4 I would make contact (not necessarily strong) in the appropriate spot, the one that makes sense to the horse. Then I would relax and start again. Horses are very perceptive. They notice and learn very fast what happens before what happens happens and pretty soon, the horse needs little more than a firm look to yield without question and, more importantly, without fear.

Knowledge is confidence
When you know you can be effective, it helps you remain calm, unconcerned and able to maintain the horse's perspective. The question to constantly keep in mind is whether you doing it to the horse or for the horse? As long as you never cross the line into aggression, your horse will learn to respond with respect and without fear. It's better to have a program of prevention than to punish the horse when you think he's wrong. Once you really understand the horse psychologically, you will see that punishment is never appropriate because you can't blame a horse for acting like a prey animal.

Horses are simple once you understand them and once you have savvy. If you truly invest yourself in learning about them, not just how to sit and hold the reins and what leg to put where. If you learn what makes horses tick, what's important to them, how they think, why they do what they do and how to gain their trust and confidence, you'll never get frustrated or run out of answers again. Work on yourself so you can enjoy your horse.

Some savvy sayings to help you stay sane!
The attitude of justice is effective.
Be effective to be understood, be understood to be effective.
Punishment doesn't work for prey animals, but a program of prevention does.
Cause the wrong thing to be difficult and allow the right thing to be easy.
Don't make or let - do cause and allow. Know the difference.
Walk a mile in your horse's shoes.
I've never seen it take longer than two days!
Be polite and passively persistent in the proper position.
?Be as gentle as you can, but as firm as necessary. When you're firm, don't get mean or mad and when you're gentle, don't be a wimp.
Don't bribe 'em with carrots. Don't hit 'em with a stick. Find the middle of the road.
Don't get mad, get even....tempered.
If your horse wants to bolt... there's probably a nut loose in the saddle.
Don't be a big jerk on the end of the lead.
Don't act like a predator: become more mentally, emotionally and physically fit.
When in horse-ville, do as horses do.
Think like a horse.

A few things to remember about horses

2006-11-02T21:19:00.000-08:00

Heres a few things to keep in mind when your playing with your horse.

1. Consistancy/Persistance
2. waiting/Patience-both sides
3. Be firm, yet fair-not cruel > Protection > Reconize the horses feelings
4. Be a partner-not a dictator > respect
5. Recognitions of small tries > Reward the thought
6. Confidance and Knowladge
7. Management > Health and nutrition
8. Speak in horseez > communication that is understood by the horse
9. Recognize that horses learn best slowly
10. Recogninze the horses need for self preservation > Mind, body, and spirt
11. Keep it fun and exiting for the horse > don't do same thing every day
12. Push the limits > but don't over do it so both of you become too frusterated beyond your knowladge
13. Love, Language, and leadership > The seven games
14. You can't get hurt
15. The horse can't get hurt > unless your not preparing him for success
16. Horse must be calmer at the end of your playing session than in the beginning
17. One of my favorite quotes by Ray Hunt is " You're not working on your horse, you're working on yourself."
18. Don't look for hardness in your horse, istead look for softness
19. Don't make your horse do anything, let him find it

Riding more Natrually for your horse ( Fluidity concept )

2006-10-31T21:07:00.000-08:00

Savvy is all about: focus, feel, timing, balance, and an independent seat naturally combined.

Riding is nothing more than the mere act of not falling off. What this means is a good rider is someone who can stay on a horse no matter what he does, and probably look quite good doing it.

When you let your horse be the judge, he's going to have an entirely different perspective of what a good rider is.

How is your riding style, where your legs are, how straight your shoulders, how upright your back and whether you stay on or not are not important to your horse. He is going to judge you by feel.

Are you in harmony with his back?

Are you in time with his feet?

Do you zig when he zigs and zag when he zags?

Are your hands steady?

Do you grip with your legs?

Are you stiff and resistant or do you flow easily with him?

Are you truly balanced?

The truth is, most people are not in harmony with their horses. If you were to ride without a saddle and try not to touch your reins, you'll have the facts right there. I believe the main reasons people are not in harmony with their horse are 1) They have not learned to ride bareback well, and 2) They do not know how to be a good passenger.

Normal riding lessons often start in the saddle with a rein in each hand and contact on the horse's mouth... Sit straight, heels down, hands upright... Now kick him to go, steer him to turn and pull him to stop.

It is almost impossible to do all this and get in harmony with a horse when you've not had much experience with horses, and yet that is how most people learn to ride.

Something you hear about is having an independent seat. I define this as not gripping below your knees or using your reins for your balance.

There is no closer secret than that between man and horse, and I'm telling you that your horse knows immediately whether you have an independent seat or not.

Let's look at it naturally. You have to learn how to move with a horse. It's as simple as that. I teach people to take a passenger lesson so they can learn how to find their balance without the complications of reins, steering and trying to maintain a hand and leg position. Let the horse teach you.

Take a Passenger Lesson

This is not as easy as you might think, so if you are considering going out to try it, let me give you some of my perceptions.

First, most people have trouble relinquishing the controls to the horse. We spend much of our time around horses with the belief that we need physical control, and to let go of this can, at first, be terrifying for some.

So, saddle your horse and get yourself in a round corral. The size should be appropreete to your fear level. The more concerned you are about doing this, the smaller the area. You can always graduate to a larger area.

Prepare: practice bending your horse to a stop.

This is also a test for the horse. Most have become so used to being held back that they don't know what to do when they have their head. You could allow your horse to do anything he pleases or you could set some parameters such as, "...you can go anywhere you like as long as you stay in the walk."

If you ask your horse to do this at the walk and he can't hold gait by himself and breaks into a trot, smoothly lift one rein to stop him. (It is far more effective to bend your horse to a stop because this disengages the hindquarters. Pulling on two reins actually engages the hindquarters.) If he slows down, ask him to walk again after he breaks gait. In this way your horse learns to maintain the walk himself.

The next clue is to become aware of your reactions to your horse's movement. Quite probably you will find that subconsciously you'll try to control the direction he takes, stiffening your body when he goes to turn, speed up or slow down.

This lesson is about learning to turn loose to your horse. See what it takes to follow him exactly, through those turns, zig-zags, and gait changes. You'll learn a lot about how you really feel to the horse then.

Bareback riding is the most natural and effective way to develop an independent seat. You have to get in harmony or you don't stay on!

Take passenger lessons regularly. Both of these activities really will help you get into harmony with your horse, develop your riding and "feel," and prepare you to be a more natural rider for your horse.

I wrote an article about fluidity earlier on and about passenger lessons. Go back to those for more in depth.

Become a Natural Horseman

2006-10-30T21:03:00.000-08:00

Most people are flabby!

.....I don't mean physically, I mean mentally and emotionally!

Have you ever had a house predator sitting on your knee, purring away, and then a dog walks in? "Choink!" In go the claws! But what happens just before the claws go in is the hole under the cat's tail gets tight!

I believe there is an anatomical connection between that hole under the cat's tail and his claws! The same applies to humans..... the biggest house predator in the world!

When a humans emotions get tense or scared, the hole under their tail gets tight and their hands slam shut. They grab onto the reins or the lead rope and affect the horse's emotions.

I've seen more rope burns and people go sand skiing because they can't control the hole under their tail. It is this same lack of emotional fitness that leads to the use of martingales, nose bands and tie downs. When the horse gets tight, his head goes up, his back hollows and he wants to escape. If you then hold him back, his attitude wants to go faster than you allow his feet and he will displace his behaviour into an open mouth, switching tail, prancing feet and high head - hollow back frame.

I call these artificial aids "poor excuses for bad hands and not enough knowledge". Most people don't know what is going on in the horse's mind and what they have or have not done that affects the behaviour.

We have to learn to become more emotionally fit for when our prey animal decides to act like one. When he gets emotionally bothered, we have to stay emotionally cool. If we can control our emotional reactions we can learn to have hands that close slowly and open quickly. These are the best hands around horse and it seems that innately, people know this. The only trouble is, they work at getting steadier hands when the real secret is steadier emotions.

The more you learn about the psychology of horses and about their behaviour, the more emotionally fit you become because of what the knowledge offers you. The more you develop your horsemanship skills naturally, the more safety you will enjoy around horses and the better you will handle and be able to ride them.

There are two kinds of people in this world: horse people and the other kind!

Then there are five kinds of horse people: naturals, normals, nuts, nuisances and nerds! I see them all over! Do you know who else categorizes people this way? Horses!

Horses know, from the moment they see you approach exactly which category you fall into . They will categorize you as dangerous or non-threatening. If you are perceived to be dangerous, the horse will react out of self preservation. He'll be unpredictable and in many ways dangerous to you. If youare perceived as the latter, then the horse is going to try to dominate you. He'll do this by pushing on you, pushing on your leg aids, pushing on the bit and resisting rather than cooperating with your wishes.

Horses make a living out-thinking people. Horses as prey animals are programmed to do the opposite of what predators want. Our biggest challenge is to prove to the horse that even though we look and smell like a predator we really are not. You see, when horses get scared, they don't think you are going to hurt them. They think you are going to kill them.

Don't be fooled into thinking that the horse is a domesticated animal because inside every gentle horse is a wild horse, and this is the horse that hurts people and can even kill in self defense.

Horses have three major instincts: they are perceptive to danger, fly from fear and are gregarious to the herd. If we want our horses to start acting more like partners instead of prey animals then we have to turn their wariness into perceptiveness for our communication, the flight tendencies into impulsion and the gregariousness into bonding with the human.

To become more emotionally fit is not just something you work on when you are around horses. You need to work on yourself continuously. It doesn't mean you stop reacting to things, but more that you have control over how you react, especially "the hole under your tail" and it's "anatomical connection" to your hands!

A Natural Horseman has to learn to think like a horse in order to be able to predict reactions. Understand that the horse usually reacts out of instinct and self preservation so punishment is out of the question. Their motivation comes out of a desire for comfort and the avoidance of discomfort, so we have to learn how to take away and give back comfort at the right times if we want the horse to respond.

We also have to help our horses become more emotionally fit... a gallon of horse sense for the human and an ounce of people sense for the horse. By gradually exposing your horse to more and more, helping him to live through his (to us) irrational fears is how we'll develop this fitness.

Most of us are conditioned to stop if we startle or disturb a horse...... "no running, don'tmake sudden moves or noises!" This is sound advice if your horse has not been helped to become braver around people because it will help prevent injuries. But, what you need to see is that a horse that reacts like this is dangerous in the human environment. He is unpredictable to most people, but if you know horses, you'd know it is entirely predictable. You would also know that you have to help him become more mentally and emotionally fit. This is not the job of a trainer, this is your responsibility as your horse's leader!

Another key that I can give you is to know about the process of desensitization through habituation.

This means that you continue the stimulus that is worrying the horse while he is worried and you quit when he quits. It is such a simple thing to do if you can make sure that you don't quit while he worries. Horses learn from comfort and discomfort. If you stop the stimulus while he continues to worry and dance around he will think that this is what he is supposed to do!

Think in terms of desensitizing your horse. Prove to him that there is really nothing to worry about and he will quickly learn to trust you on this especially if you remain emotionally calm throughout, and you can allow your horse to drift. This is where your emotions and hands must not get tight. The tighter you hold on and try to stop your horse from moving, the more claustrophobic and distressed he will become.

For example, start jumping up and down in front of your horse and keep on jumping until he stops being scared. If you think this is going to make your horse worse then you don't understand the psychology of horses! You need to prove to him that he will live through the experience. When he stops, you stop. You'll be amazed at how quickly your horse will learn to read that you are not threatening him. He'll start blinking, twitch his ears and lick his lips! This tells you he's learned something profound that will lead to a change in his behavior.

Horses can read people like a book. Become conscious of your body language, expression and intention so you can teach your horse to read your actions and intentions and to know whether or not he should be worried. A horse needs a leader - calm, controlled, focused. It is up to us to learn how to become this kind of leader for our horse and even more importantly, how to be his teacher. Then we can teach our horse to become our partner.

I want to see the age-old principles of horsemanship come back, not just riding, but a level of savvy that translates into everything we do with horses. This is why I travel so extensively teaching the principles that are so old they are new again, so simple that even adults can do it!

It is my dream to help people have more fun with horses, more safety and achieve more than just mediocre results, to become so good with horses that even their horses think they're good with horses.

Making new habits & Breaking the old

2006-10-29T14:11:00.000-08:00

Many people are trying to get better habbits, but old habbits keep them from doing what they wish to do. This also has to do with confidance. Many people that i see are doing so well with what they are doing, till something happens. After that ist like they go right back to there old habit of not wanting to do it or afraid of doing it. so lets talk about a gew things that might help some one to break old habbits and make new ones. What are habbits? Habits are those things that you do without thinking things like:
setting the alarm
cleaning your teeth
doing the laundry
feeding the dog

What should be a habit?

Only those activities that you either want to do for an extended period of time, like many months or years, or activities you want to do frequently - say one or more times a day even if for only a few weeks.

Why would we want something to be a habit?

The most significant consequence of NOT making something a habit is that these activities would stand a good chance of not getting done, either because we forgot about it or because, having remembered, we lack the ability to motivate ourselves at the time of the remembering to take the action.

It takes energy to remember and then motivate a new action. Habituated actions are far less energy consuming.

Think of the benefit, if in addition to having habits for the mundane chores in life, you also had a habit of getting up a few minutes earlier in the morning. Perhaps a habit of eating a proper breakfast, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, saving a little money every week, paying your bills on time, drinking water throughout the day, staying in touch with friends, exercising, stretching, reading a little everyday, relaxing, writing in a journal.

Imagine you actually did these activities without thinking about it or without the hemming and hawing and mucking about in your mind that goes on when trying to decide to initiate an action.

The core strategies for building new habits.

Unless you have observed your own behaviour while learning it is unlikely that you have made explicit the wonderful capability you have for creating new habits.

Many people I meet do not know that learning like this is even an option. What likely comes to mind when the subject of habits is presented is of all the bad habits they have that they are behoved to break!

To create a new habit there a only a few steps and these are steps we all possess the firepower to do.

1. You have to decide on what you want to be a habit. It is important that you be as specific as possible. A habit of drinking more water is problematic whereas a habit of drinking 6 glasses a day is easier to install.

2. You have to set up triggers to help you remember the action at the time you want to do it.

It is hard to install a new habit if you keep ending up at the end of the day remembering that you were meaning to take the stairs at work instead of the elevator.

During the time before the action becomes a habit (perhaps the first few weeks) you will need to use external triggers or reminders. Make it easy to remember what you are trying to do.

Alarms, notes, friends to call you, rubber bands on your wrist, padlocks or obstacles.

Rituals support remembering - do it in the same place, same time, same surroundings if possible for the first few weeks.

3. Once you have remembered you have to be able to motivate yourself to act. Before we discuss how to do that we should discuss the issue of repetition.

Installing new behaviours of any type take repetition over time. How much repetition and for how long depends on what it is you are trying to install.

I was very happy I had a good set of strategies for making new habits when Grace turned up in my life!

One consideration is the size of the action. For simple habits of short duration - getting up earlier, making lunch for your children the night before, doing a load of laundry every morning, saving small change everyday, riding your bike to work, writing in a journal - you would do the entire action. For activities of longer duration you will need another step.

Let's say you want to go for a walk every morning for one hour. Great habit, but hard to do because of the component of length of time needed. To install these types of habits is to understand that the habit you need first is to get up and get out the door. The thought of an hour walk can undermine your best efforts to fight the avoidance strategies from kicking in. You can circumvent this by installing the habit of getting up in the morning and heading out the door.

Keep the walk short in the beginning, say ten minutes. Do that everyday for a couple of weeks until that habit is firmly installed. Then expand to the hour of walking - that will be the easy part. Also, by doing this you add a wonderful natural motivation component - that of anticipation. We are highly motivated to do things we are denying ourselves. So, if you say ten minutes a day, don't do twenty minutes. You will bungle the motivation that comes with anticipation.

This goes for any habit that you are creating that is being built over time - like doing 20 push-ups or a hundred sit-ups or saving money.

Start very small, get the habit of starting handled, then build. This also applies to habits that have multiple actions. Let's say you want to begin preparing food at home, instead of always eating in coffee shops on the way to work or ordering in for dinner.

This is not just a single faceted action. We have to install habits for checking what's in the fridge, stopping at the shops, getting from the lounge into the kitchen, preparing the food, preparing for cooking, doing the cooking, setting the table, cleaning up.

Any one of these actions could keep you from succeeding in installing this large habit!

Each new action requires motivation and there are a lot of opportunities to quit before dinner is ever made. A second consideration is the number of repetitions. An action you will take everyday or even many times a day will take only two to three weeks to install. An activity that you will only do once a week but have decided should be a habit because it is something you want to do for a long time can take up to twelve weeks to install. For instance, taking the kids to the library every Saturday or having one night a week without television may take awhile - why because it is easier to forget, there is less repetition and it is a larger activity that can more easily engage our natural avoidance strategies. But that is not to say that it is not worth the effort to create these types of habits.

Installing a habit is not energy free. It costs you the commitment to the action for the few weeks it takes. It is a 'whatever' it takes to not miss (of course, if you do miss - don't beat yourself up, life is long and there is more than enough time to get it right. You learn from each attempt. Just make the next attempt now, not later).

Some things to help may include;
Asking a friend to come by every day to do it with you.

Promise yourself a reward for each action.

Find someone you would not want to disappoint and make a promise to them.

Think hard about how bad you will feel if you do not do it.

Remember why the habit is important - what is the long term benefit.

Notice every positive step and change, no matter how small!

Make it hard to not do - set up obstacles and barriers so it is almost impossible to not do.

Block your on-going movement.

Or, make it easy to do - put it in your path.

Delay the decision to not act - tell yourself to just start and then decide if you want to continue.

To break a habit make what you are doing very hard to do.

Remember to pat yourself on the back for every success in the right direction no matter how small.

Notice and acknowledge what is working

Spend the time you beat yourself for not doing what you should be doing by doing what you should be doing.

Look for the smallest of improvements in your actions.

One less is one less, one minute more is one minute more.

Celebrate all successful behaviours no matter how small the change.

It all is in the right direction and changing behaviour is hard.

Acknowledging what you have done

Get off the fear of looking silly. It is not useful and none of the people who care about how you look are going to be important to you in the future. Don't make decisions that relate to getting what you want be dependent on the thoughts of others.

DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO DO THE TASK FOR THE FIRST FEW WEEKS.

This is NOT EASY, but the reward is worth it. In a few weeks you will be doing it WITHOUT THINKING ABOUT IT. IT IS JUST SOMETHING YOU DO LIKE FEEDING THE DOG.

Make the bad stuff hard to get to
and the good stuff easy!

It's easier to start your exercise if you sleep on the treadmill.

Putting a $2 coin in the bank everyday is an excellent new habit challenge!

If you truly want a high quality learning experience to bring these strategies into practice in your life you can participate in the
Labyrinth online course.

You can participate from anywhere in the world.
Strategies in action - here is how it works

You want to start carrying a bit of cash and not using your credit card.

Make it hard to do. Freeze your credit card in a block of ice.

You want to walk or jog each morning to start your day, but by the time you get up and move around you don't feel like it.

Make it easier to do. Sleep in your jogging clothes, socks included, shoes optional.

You want to stop biting your nails, but don't remember that 'til you're doing it.

Make it hard or uncomfortable to do. Coat your nails with bitters, put bandaids over the ends, put a sugar free lollypop in your mouth.

You want the habit of waking up 20 minutes earlier but keep pushing the alarm snooze.

Make it hard to stay in bed. Move the alarm, set the lights on a timer, set the TV on a timer.

You want to learn to save money for a long term goal, but never get to the bank and it always seems too small an amount so you spend it.

Get in the habit of putting a little bit first. Start by putting a 2 dollar coin in a bucket in the kitchen.

You want to think before you grab something from the fridge.

Make it easy to remember and hard to do. Put a padlock on it - and give the key to your spouse so you have to ask - you'll remember, and you will think!

You want to walk the stairs at work but keep taking the elevator.

Make it hard not to do. Tell everyone at work and ask them to say 'booooo' to you if they see you in the lift. Don't worry they won't ever have to be embarrassed to say it, because you won't get in the lift if you did.

You want to fold the clothes, but they sit in the laundry out of sight until you walk in there next time.

Make it easy to remember and hard to not do. Take the laundry and put it on the dining table, the lounge, in the bathroom sink.

You want to stretch while watching TV but once you sit on the lounge you don't move.

Make it easier to do. Move the lounge into another room and put a mat on the floor.

You want to move more, your annoyed at your inactivity.

Make it easier to do. Take your TV remote to work and leave it there.

You want to drink water through out the day but forget to go to the cooler or can't be bothered.

Make it easier to remember and do. Get a jogger's water bottle and belt.

You want the habit of walking an hour everyday.

Create anticipation for the desired behaviour by denying the opportunity to do more. Start small walks for 10 minutes everyday 'til it's a habit, then expand the time, slowly.

Take the challenge

I would like to challenge each and everyone of you to install a new habit. One that may be useful, but more importantly to learn from the experience of using these strategies. You might pick up on one of the examples above or choose something unique to your own desires. I would like to encourage you to then initiate another action.

This is a valuable tool for achieving some very important life goals, like maintaining your health, your flexibility or your finances. Keep it simple for the first go. It is just to learn about the process of creating a habit. Once you know how, then you can tackle bigger things.

I would like to suggest just a couple of key thoughts to take away.

The only way to fail to this is to fail to initiate the first action.
Have fun challanging your self!

How interesting

2006-10-28T18:23:00.000-07:00

So I had an animal communicator speak to my horse a few days ago, but before going into that let me explain why I had this done.
First, my horse has had a swollen hock for quite some time now and the vet just said that she was allergic to something, so I went home and looked up her symptoms. It turns out that my horse is allergic to the dusty environment. But the swelling hasn't been getting any better, even with the medication that my vet had given me a few weeks later. The swelling seems to be moving up her leg as well. Second Grace has been making her squealing noises lately at me, especially when were in her stall. She has never liked confined areas so I thought that it might be due to that. And lastly I felt like she was getting bored with the things that we have been doing. I didn't know if she was having fun with me or what. So this is when I started looking into an animal communicator.
I had her ask Grace how she felt about her environment and if she was enjoying being with me. So the response that I get was; she doesn't like it here and wants to be on more acreage with grass. I was afraid that she was going to say that, but I new it was going to happen, seeing that when I had her in a stall during the winter time back home, she would make those kinds on noises and threatened to kick me. The communicator tolled me that Grace really loves being with me and that Grace wishes that I could spend way more time with her and as I did last summer at home. Grace also stated that she wanted to do more with me which made me feel so relived. And as for that swelling Grace said that it was infected, so I am going to get a different vet that will look further into her leg problem. It doesn't seem to effect grace too much when I ride, some times though she does limp. Since Grace whishes to be on more acreage I am trying to take her out as much as possible and let her move around freely or riding her with out failing my classes.
I thought how interesting that I was able to kinda intemperate her behavior and have the communicator say the same thing, just more in depth about those issues.

Knowing when to move on

2006-10-24T20:22:00.000-07:00

Do you ever find yourself doing the same exercises with your horse? I do all the time and it kills my horse. Going off my leg is the biggest thing that I find myself paying more attention to. Going off the leg of course is very important and especially if you plan to ride someday with no strings attached. Think of it this way; first learning an algebra problem, then doing the same one constantly every day except with a little twist to it. I mean you get board of doing it no matter how your doing it your getting it done, and then your getting asked again over and over. With this case your horse is just so board of doing it the he/she becomes worse at doing it. I also find my self really board with doing that over and over again, but yet I continue to work on having her move off my leg. How interesting, I find it.
So What I think happens is that we get way too focused on the end results of riding. (Mine being that my horse with out attachments that I am pushing her way too much). How many of you truly find that happening, no matter what your doing? Yes we need a goal to work towards, and yes I have reached that goal with my horse of leg cues, I still keep going. So next is to see how well it goes with no strings attached, and guess what she does great. We as humans need to get over the fact that just because we can do it, that we should over use it. I was doing a exercise for my teacher the other day, and he asked me to spiral down word. So down I went, but my horse was slow at it, because I had been over using that tool so there for it became ineffective. I had to go back later and redirect it. So don't get too exited that since your able to do one thing that you should do it all the time.

What a great feeling

2006-10-19T20:44:00.000-07:00

My recent ankle injury required that I didn't ride horses for a few weeks till it got better. This drove me crazy of course. So with my horse I continued our journey on the ground(though there was nothing to really practice seeing that we have done every thing on the ground already). I set up some jumps for her and she did so great that I really didn't know what to do next. I couldn't move around too much either, so it was pretty boring for both of us. So over the days I would take her out to play ( just did circling game, of course witch she is great at) so she could just move around. Being couped up in the stall made her be more exited about playing with me during those times. She would always be asking me if we were going out to move around, and most of the time I would say no. My ankle hurt too much to do any thing. One day she was so exited, but in a playful way that she was still able to pay enough attention to me. (Most horses would go of in their own worlds and ignore the commands of the human). That I think is one of the real benefits of this program. even though your horse is hipper, he still has enough respect for you to listen. So as I was doing the circling game with her there was this one cone in the arena. I had know intention of asking her to go over it, because it takes so much leadership and trust to go over such a refined thing, and takes a while to achieve doing things like jumping over a single cone with out going to one side or the other, or jumping over a single barrel. I was kinda day dreaming when I suddenly realized that my horse was gliding over the cone like as if she had been doing it for years (or like she was ready for the challenge). I was so shocked at what had happened that I just about started to cry. All the people in the arena at that time looked at me in amazement. I ended on that note for the day. With that I knew that I have been doing all the right things with her, and that I have horse savvy. YEA!!!

Leadership

2006-10-17T12:02:00.000-07:00

This is were the horse wants to be with you rather than being with his horsey friends. Have you watched horses out in the fields playing? One horse is the dominate horse, telling others to move out of the way, or go there or do this. Once you start developing a communication system and using the seven games you will become the leader. Once you have mastered the games, and have done them on horseback, (always start on the ground)you will have gained the dominance role. The first part of gaining leadership of having the horse respect you. Soon you will have a greater understanding of how horses think and feel about situations.
Horses have a split brain, meaning that one side in the prey animal side, and the other is the thinking side. The right side is the prey, while the left is his thinking side. Say that a horse is afraid of a plastic bag, their instinction would be to run (right side). But if one has the proper leadership techniques, than the horse will start to think about the situation ahead and use his left side of his brain.

Language

2006-10-16T11:34:00.000-07:00

I have seen many people spend a great deal of time training horses to do things for them. But when an issue arises, people tend to blame the horse, even though it was their fault. they become so wound up in wanting their horses to do things right, that they start to make the horse work harder, thinking that it will solve the problem. In some cases this is necessary, but proper knowledge and leadership is needed. Remember that horses are prey animals and that they will run away from fear. Kicking, yelling, shoving, and forcing them around into harmful situations, hurt the relationship. Though your horse may end up doing what you wanted through the forcing, he ends up being frustrated and confused, Many people only use excessive amounts of force when they too get confused or frustrated, so that's why understanding about the horses nature and becoming a better leader will help you so this wont happen. Horses deserve to be treated just like humans, and not get punished for doing the wrong thing. We want horses do become smart animals and by punishing them right way and telling them what to do every single second will only make the horse worse. Horses don't understand the human language, so it's the owners responsibility to learn the language of the horse. The seven games that i have posted are what horses understand and this will have the horse wanting to be with you in a matter of days, rather than fine I guess I will be with her.

Tools

2006-10-06T12:00:00.000-07:00

There are a few tools that I like to use in order to develop a better communication system with my horse. Now these are not tools that should be used to abuse the horse or say that my horse cant do it with out this tool, these tools are a safety net. One day you will not need the safety nets and you are able to work at liberty, ( the art of working with no strings attached). I like to use:

A carrot stick: not a whip, but an extension of your arm, for I can pet a horse with it, I can teach a horse to not be afraid of having his legs, ears, and other defensive spots touched. I can use it to teach a horse to yield from physical pressure (Porcupine Game) or implied pressure (Driving Game), and teach it faster than if I use only my hands. I can attach a 6-foot Savvy String and extend my reach to 10 feet'.

A rope halter: halter is thin enough to encourage the horse not to lean on it, and soft enough to feel comfortable.

A 12-foot Line: the line is longer than the horse's body allowing plenty of drift, increasing safety, and it helps you start teaching your horse to respect and communicate with you from a distance. This is very important because horses learn through the release when all movement stops. The rope is soft and smooth on the hands and long enough to let a horse drift, reducing the risk of rope burn. This is the rope used to teach the seven games.

A 22-foot Line (for use in Levels 2, 3, 4 and beyond)
This length of line is for advanced ground skills, allowing you to gain respect from greater distances. It is also a great tool for allowing more sensitive or scared horses to drift.

A 45-foot Line (for use in Levels 3, 4 and beyond)
The 45-foot Line is designed to allow you to gain even more respect from greater distances (Level 3), and is ideal for dealing with wild or not started horses (Level 4+). It allows the horse greater drift while communicating your suggestions instantly and clearly.

I have seen many people try to do the circling game with just a lead rope, and they wonder why there horse wont go. 12" allows that right in the middle space where you have control of the horse but yet he can move around. The other ropes are for communicating at longer distances and should be used only for that. Do not start out using the longer rope.

Hoof care

2006-10-04T09:32:00.000-07:00

There is a huge debate about shoes or no shoes on horses. I don't really have a personal preference but I would most certainly go with no shoes on my horses. If a situation came up that I needed shoes I would get them. I do how ever believe that horses can preform with out shoes. Out in the wild some one doesn't nail on shoes, yet the horses have such great feet. They are getting the adequate nutrition, moving around so the extra hoof toe falls off. How can we spend less money on the farrier, and keep our horses feet healthy, or even healthier than out in the wild? If you do decide the bare foot horse, here are a few factors to think about.

First, the right amount of space is required. Though its getting harder every year to find big enough properties. With space the horse is able to move freely giving his feet a natural trim himself. Its like us with our finger nails, if we use our hands alot,it keeps our nails down without having to trim them as much, but if we don't work with our hands they grow. So by allowing space or even a full day turn out will reduce toe growth and keep the horse healthy in other ways as well.

Nutrition: OK this is rally important. Again we are taking horses from their natural environment and sticking them into stalls or other confined areas. They lose all that nutritional grass and plants in the wild that we have to substitute it for them. There's so much stuff on the market for horses that you never find the right stuff that meets your needs. And I can prove this to you. When I first started riding horses, we had about 20 acres where the horses would play eat and drink form a pond. We never gave them supplements or hoof care products, because they were just so healthy from the grass and freedom. We started doing our own horses feet, not using shoes and there feet got so much better. About a year ago, I got my own horse and moved her to an acre of pasture, her feet were fine and i did my own trimming. Now I am in college and my horse is cooped up in a stall with shoes on because she isn't getting the proper space. She is lame and I am giving her so many supplements and hoof care stuff that's just ridiculous. I turn her out as much as possible for her to move around, but since there's no grass and real excitement going on, its not helping. Horses deserve proper space, for we are the ones that using them for our pleasure purposes.

When you have a Level two horse

2006-10-03T20:57:00.000-07:00

• Your frustrations are a thing of the past; you can start having more fun with your horse and exploring how much more you can achieve.
• You can communicate on longer lines, at greater distances, heading toward Liberty (Liberty: the thrill of playing with horses with "no strings attached").
• You know how to develop impulsion - you can slow down the fast horse and energize the lazy one using communication without force.
• You have an independent seat.
• You have the magic of Positive Reflexes: snappy, happy responses.
• You are in tune with your horse-mentally, emotionally, physically.
• You know the simple dynamics of leads and lead changes.
• You have the beginnings of finesse: the soft feel.

After level three is up to you

2006-09-29T21:03:00.000-07:00

After level three is up to you. Professional/Competition: Level 4 and beyond
After completing the foundation levels (Levels 1, 2, & 3) of this program, Level 4 focuses on higher levels of Horsemanship, Different Horses, Young Horses, Difficult Horses, and performance.

Level 4 is for those with professional goals, or for the extremely focused individual pursuing higher goals. It involves greater study time and personal study.

Versatility is not something that can be accomplished in a year. After completing the first three levels, this program will take at least three to four years due to the diversity of the study and exposure to many different types of horses and situations.

Level 5 ~ Unity, Level 6 ~ True Unity
These Levels expand your relationship with one special horse, taking him to ever greater heights, while continuing to develop greater expertise within the categories defined by Level 4 Versatility.
After this you will still need a little guiding along the path, but with more time, experience, and allowing the horse to teach you you are on your own.

Levels 7, 8 & 9 ~ Mastering True Unity
It's what you learn after you know it all that counts... In these levels you'll develop true unity with more than one horse, and this is where natural horsemanship begins to take on an art form.

True Unity with horses is what compels the most dedicated of horsemen. Mental, emotional and physical unity with a horse is something very special. It's not the result so much as who you have to become in order to achieve it.

Level 10 ~ Ultimate Unity
Level 10 is a lifetime study. There is no one to judge you but the horse himself. The ultimate in natural horsemanship is to become one with nature, and the horse is nature in its finest form.

Now, all you have to do is decide how good you want to be, or how good your horse needs you to be!

When you have a level one horse

2006-09-28T20:50:00.000-07:00

• Your horse comes to you, you don't have to "catch" him.
• His ground manners are great; he is willing, cooperative, calm, more confident, compliant, friendly and adaptable.
• He is easy to control; you don't have to use a bit to force him to stop or slow down.
• He is willing to move forward; you don't have to kick or use spurs.
• He stands quietly for saddling, and willingly picks up his feet for cleaning.
• His attitude toward you is positive and responsive rather than negative, moody or resistant.
• You can teach your horse to do new things because you understand how to communicate with him.

When you have a level three horse

2006-09-27T21:01:00.000-07:00

• Refinement, flexion, finesse and collection all start to happen naturally! Here is where you really experience lightness.
• Your aids are invisible.
• You can ride confidently without anything on your horse's head!
• Your horse has mental, emotional and physical collection, not just a "head set."
• You and your horse are the picture of grace and finesse.
• You can teach your horse to run to you.
• You can use the round corral for teaching advanced maneuvers, such as flying lead changes.
• Graceful transitions and snappy departures with invisible aids are easy.
• You can perform lateral movements at the trot and canter.
• You understand riding positions that enhance collection.
• Your horse moves freely "within a frame," without brace and tension.
• You are developing Lateral Flexion into Vertical Flexion.
• You can effectively use Vertical Flexion to add power, suspension and dimension.

NOTE: Level 1 and Level 2 are important prerequisites for Level 3.

Passenger lessons

2006-09-26T20:31:00.000-07:00

In the fluidity article posted earlier, I talked about the passenger lesson in helping me to become in harmony with my horse. So to Just unconfused anyone, the passenger lesson is just asking the horse to be in a certain gait (walk,trot,and caner)and let him go his own way. Do not tell the horse to go anywhere or do anything but just to stay in that gait. This helps one to get in rhythm with the horse and not focusing on other things such as turning and going were you want to go. BE SURE YOUR HORSE IS VERY RESPECTFUL ON THE GROUND BEFORE DOING THIS!! If horse isn't respecting you on the ground you will have a hard time in the saddle because your horse will be going just running around for no reason. The horse should understand that he should stay in one gait and not be freaking out because he is on a loose rain. Remember this is more for you than the horse, but horses do get a great benefits from it. So as soon as you pick the gait you want to go ask for it than leave him alone and start you finding harmony with you horse. Feel his movement and go with it, not faster than he is moving nor slower, but just at the speed he is going at that gait. In the specified gait he can go as fast or slow as he wants, but don't let him change gaits. So have fun, trust your horse, he wont do any thing bad. I would not do this with more than two other horses in the arena or area of working unless they are doing the same activity. Gets real fun then!!! Try it with your eyes closed and really get relaxed, but not too relaxed that you posture goes bad.

Fluidity

2006-09-25T20:23:00.000-07:00

Fluidity is a solution for stiffness; ribs that don't bend; shoulders that don't move; hindquarters that don't work; sore backs; hollow backs; crookedness and poor flexibility... For horses What is a good rider? In my opinion, it's one who can be in total harmony with the moving horse; one who is part of the horse's movement and not restricting it; one who sits naturally (as opposed to artificially positioned), who is supple and flexible, as opposed to rigid or stiff. One who has their own self-carriage and deportment before asking the horse to do the same, is balanced and in time with the horse's energy.

A good rider is a part of their horse and can enhance the horse's movement, not get in the way of it. Adopting a particular posture in the saddle so we look like a good rider is no substitute for the actual skill of becoming part of the horse. Somehow, equitation lessons don't quite help you get the "feel", it's more the look. Many people I've worked with have a very difficult time breaking those hard learned patterns of stiffness in order to become more natural and fluid!

The Pathway to Fluidity

Do what your horse does, and do in your body what you want your horse to do in his. Simple words, but what do they really mean, and how do we actualize this? I've spent years studying how my horse moves, trying to understand what his back does and how to stay in harmony with it. For the most part I started to feel like a part of my horse... certainly more than when I was taking formal riding/dressage lessons. The "Passenger Lessons" made the biggest difference for me;learning to go with the flow and do what my horse did... "zig" when he "zigged," "zag" when he "zagged," slow when he slowed, go when he goes! So let's talk about what the horse does and how we can become a part of this so the whole experience becomes fluid!

The Seven Games

2006-09-23T12:04:00.000-07:00

The seven games are what horses do to each other out in the Field as they play or overcome dominance issues. Many people wonder why horses do that and why they are doing it, so by understanding the seven games and using them one will become familiar with what goes on out in the Fields.
Game One: The friendly game
This sure gains the horses respect for you. If you have ever had a horse that moves when you reach for its legs of somewhere were its incomparable for the horse this will cure it. All you do is rub you had (with a friendly touch) over the horses body. once you hit a spot that he feels uncoftorable to him, just leave you hand right there and go with the horse till he stops, then remove you hand. The secret to horses is the timing of the realise. So if the horse moves and you take of your hand to stop the horse, he will go oh I can make her take her hand off my body when ever I move. So don't realise the touch till he stops moving. VERY IMPORTANT. Once good with that see how many other objects you can rub him with.
Game Two: The porcupine game
This is really a very fun Game that teaches the horse to "yield to and from pressure," while also preparing him to respond to leg and rein aids.We'll also be asking our horse to move in six different directions: backwards, forwards, right, left, and the head and neck: up and down.We're going to be asking our horse to move in these different directions with just gentle pressure from our fingertips. Rub the spot first, begin the pressure with your fingertips, then rub the spot again at the end of the movement.

For example, I want my horse to back up by applying pressure to his chest. I'd rub the center of his chest, apply light pressure with my fingertips while I look in the direction that I want him to move in.At first I'll start with the very lightest pressure. Parelli suggests starting out by applying four ounces of pressure (can anyone give a good example of what four ounces of pressure feels like?) then slowly increasing the pressure about every three seconds until my horse moves (remember, in the beginning just a weight shift is considered a try) immediately I stop the pressure, and rub that spot again.I always look at it as the first rub tells my horse: 1) I'm friendly and 2) I'm going to ask you to do something. Then I'll ask, with my fingertips, then let him know that the movement should end(and he that did well) by rubbing the spot again.
Start out smoothly and assertively increase the pressure until the point where your horse is motivated to respond.

Game Three: The driving game

This teaches your horse to move without any applied pressure.You won't be using your lead rope to cause the movement (you can hold onto it if you need to, but keep the float in it or lay it over your horses neck) instead you'll use a steady rhythm with your open hand or eventually a slight wiggle of a finger or a lean of your body.

I have also thought that it also includes a bit of using the power of suggestion. For example, stand next to your horse's shoulder, facing his hindquarters. Take one big step sideways away from your horse. Bring your arm straight out to the side at shoulder level. Now make a big sweeping motion and point to your horse's hindquarters.

In my experience, the horse seems to finish the movement and you'll see his back end take a step away or at the very least, the muscle will flex. To me, this is the power of suggestion influencing your horse.

Perhaps you'll start by making soft, small motions with your open hand towards your horses shoulder, and slowly increase the intensity of the movement if he does not respond (increasing slowly about every three seconds) until your horse moves. In the beginning you may even need to begin tapping the shoulder. My I suggest even slapping the shoulder if necessary-but I don't think that you'll have that need.

Remember, even it you do have to increase to actually tapping the shoulder, when you begin again, you start with the softest rhythm of your hand without touching the horse. You always start with the softest movement and soon, the softest movement is all you'll need.

Think about your body placement. Where in relation to your horse's eye should you begin your rhythmic movements to get him to move in certain directions? Experiment, see what it takes. Add your clicker wherever you see fit and tell the list how quickly your horse caught on.

"Drive your horse forwards towards something.
Drive him backwards away from you.
Side pass him along a fence left and right.
Cause him to lift a foot up and place it down a single step."

What else can you think of?

Be careful in driving from behind if you are in your horse's "kick zone" and he is not yet comfortable with you there. Remember, gentle movements at first. How can you get even softer? (Just remember the fly that lands on a horses back.)Let me know how it goes!

Game four:The Yo-Yo game

The purpose of this game is to develop a balances backward and forward movements, while developing straightness. To begin, stand directly in front of your horse. You will ask him to keep both eyes on you. If his attention strays you might ask it to come back with a GENTLE tug of the lead rope out to the side of which you want his head to turn back to.

Here is a good time to mention a warning: this is an easy Game to misuse your lead rope in.

Game five: circling game

PURPOSE: Teaches your horse to take responsibility to not change gaits or directions until you ask.

This is a game that resembles longing, but that's not what it is. It is a Game of intent, dependability and responsibility.

The intent comes from us. For example if we swing our lead rope during the Friendly Game, we keep sort of a neutral feeling inside that asks our horse to stand still and stay with us. But if we need to swing our rope during the Circle Game, our intent changes. We're asking him to move and that asking starts with how we present it to the horse, through intent.

Dependability comes from both the horse and the human. The horse knows what to expect when we ask for movement. There is a pattern we'll always follow regarding how we ask for it. There never has to be a question in our horse's mind of what will happen or if we really mean what we're asking. We are dependable on that, and he will become dependable in his response.

Responsibility: The horse becomes responsible for maintaining gait and we are responsible to always ask in the same way with as much pressure as necessary but as little as it takes and no more.

This is an exercise in which the horse circles around you. You are teaching him to yield his forehand and move out and around you."

A two lap minimum and a four lap maximum is suggested. You'll ask your horse to stop, yield his hindquarters and stand facing you with both eyes "front and center."

This is a very good pre-ride game because you can see if your horse is relaxed, listening and willing to yield his hindquarters.

To begin with you'll want to stand in one spot (later, when you add obstacles you may want or need to walk with your horse while he circles you and negotiates the obstacles). We'll ask the horse to move off to the right "by straightening your right elbow and stretching your right leg out to the side at the same time." This, opens the door, so to speak, to the direction you want your horse to go.

For some horses (who understand your feel through the lead rope) that's all the encouragement they'll need. This is the goal to shoot for.

If your horse doesn't begin to move, swing the tail of your 12' lead rope (held in your left hand) anywhere from two feet in front of his nose to his withers. I personally would just concentrate on the withers and stay away from the head area with this. At this point, you're still not letting the rope make contact with your horse.

One thing that you might try is to practice your precision with the tail of that rope. Tie one end to a post and see how accurately you can swing that rope and touch different areas on the post or fence with the tail. Make sure that you can be accurate with your rope before you start working with your horse.

The horse should take both eyes off of you and begin to look (and hopefully move) into the direction you ask.

If your horse is not yet moving, this is where you decide how you will proceed. I start to let the end of the lead tap the horse. Tapping the withers every twirl of the rope, increasing the energy after about three seconds. At this point you may need to start walking (with intent) towards your horses forequarters while still swinging the rope. Keep walking towards the forequarters until the horse leaves.

Immediately stop swinging the rope and let the rope slide through your right hand to the end. As the horse circles around you, you'll pass the rope from one hand to the other without turning with your horse (note: in the beginning, you may need to actually turn with your horse to add a hint of pressure, letting him know that he should keep going).

So you direct by lifting the rope first, and if you need to add phases, the other hand lifts, then swings the end of the lead. Direct, lift, swing. Always the same order so that your horse always knows how things will go and work.

Circle your horse two to four laps only.

To stop your horse, run your right hand down the rope and hold the end in your left hand while extending your right arm asking your horse to yield his hind quarters and face you squarely with both eyes on you.

In this first phase you can also just point to your horses hindquarters and if your previous games are good (like the Driving Game) your horse will yield his hindquarters at this suggestion and stop.

Phase two asks you to swing the end of the lead rope at your horses hindquarters. We are asking him to yield the hindquarters to stop and face you.

The other phases may include tapping the horse with the end of the lead on the hindquarters and upping the pressure every three seconds until the horse yields. I prefer to slap the ground in the beginning. You may also need to slide your right hand down the rope more to have more of a tail end to get near the horse with.

If your horse stops or breaks gate, you'll stop him in the same way described above and immediately start him off again.

C/T where you see fit, although I would personally look to have them actually complete one full circle first, but I'd like to hear how other people teach this.

Teach both directions. Remember that cantering can be tight with this length lead for allot of horses and you might wait until you begin working with a longer line for that.

Later we can talk about changing directions without breaking gait and adding obstacles.

Game six: sideways

Let's see......Sideways......different from Side Pass.

Includes moving the fore and the hind to the side either by pressure (Porcupine) or the suggestion of pressure (Driving).

All previous games should be good before trying this one.

Start by asking the fore to move one step, then the hind to move one step and work up to combining the movement.

The Sideways Game can seem hard to teach until you think about what it's made of. It's actually made up of things that we've already taught, and in the end, we're blending them.

Years ago, when I taught Dan this Game, I had an awful time because I was only looking at it as a whole and not as a sum of it's parts. It wasn't until I broke the task down into easy pieces, that I became successful.

Clicker training helped me do that too!

So, looking at it in this light, the Sideways Game begins to look allot easier. Your previous Games should be good before you try this one. If you are still working on them, that's okay. Take your time and get them down well. They are your foundation and you want a really strong foundation that you can always fall back on.

Next questions: How will you judge when to combine the two movements? If you choose not to use a wall or fence line to keep your horse from walking forwards, what Game, that you have already taught, will help your horse to understand that he should not step forwards?

This Game I have seen taught where the person is almost chasing the horse. To me the horse was reacting more than thinking. Reacting to fear-and fear inhibits thinking and learning. This takes us back to how well you've taught your previous Games. If you've taught them well you already have a good base of understanding going. And this Game, that in the beginning, appears to be one of the toughest to communicate, will end up being one of the easiest!

I know that everyone who works on it will be successful!

Game seven: squeeze game

PURPOSE: "Help horses to overcome their claustrophobic tendencies. Develop confidence for trailer loading, jumping, crossing streams, passing through gates, into stalls, wash bays, etc."

You might be on the trail and you ask your horse to go through the narrow opening between two trees. Maybe he balks or if he starts through, he rushes it to get out of that tight spot as quickly as possible. This, to me, is the horse just doing what he thinks he has to do to survive.

Deep in his instinctual memory he knows that tight places are unsafe. He thinks, perhaps, that he's being asked to go into a place that he has no hope of escaping from. His instinct as a prey animal runs pretty deep.

If your horse has some difficulties with this Game in the beginning, it helps to understand his point of view.

This is a Game, though, that helps to develop mental fitness in your horse, through trust, confidence and the help of the previous Games.

The final goal is to ask your horse to pass confidently between you and a fence just three feet away.

To do this you're going to direct your horse the same way that you do to begin The Circle Game. If you ask your horse to pass in front of you going to the right for instance. You'll pick up the lead with your right hand and extend your right arm as you draw it across your chest and then out straight from your right side.

With the other hand you can twirl the end of the 12' lead if your horse needs encouragement to move. Let the lead slide through your hand as your horse walks between you and the fence. As his hindquarters pass you, you'll bring your right arm back slightly, bend your elbow as you ask your horse to bend his neck towards you, bring his front end around and step through with his hindquarters so that your horse ends up straight and facing you. As you're doing this your left hand takes the place of your right hand on the lead.

Eventually you can ask your horse to pass smoothly in front of you in one direction, turn, you trade hands, and then ask him to pass in front of you going in the other direction. Always end with the turn and asking your horse to face you.

Alot of things get accomplished in this game: how freely your horse leads up, how well he gives to pressure to walk forward, turn and stop; with the turn you're asking him to change eyes-he pass in front of you seeing you from one side, turns, and sees you with the other; you're asking him for a few steps of turn on the forehand, a few of turn on the haunches. Speaking of this last part, the more smoothly your horse moves through this the more relaxed you know that he is. This is also a great pre-ride check to see if he is bracing at all and would be a good thing to work out before getting on.

Maybe in the beginning, three feet is too narrow a space for your horse, he might still rush through or worse yet bump you while hurrying through. This would go back to what we discussed in the beginning and you might just need to start with the maneuver of the horse passing in front of you and turning towards you without anything else around you.

Maybe then you'll start by standing ten feet from the fence. You might want to start by asking your horse to pass between two bales of hay set ten feet apart first. Just start where you need to start.

Once your horse begins to show confidence with everything, then you can start decreasing the space in which you ask him to pass through-but never ask for something that you're not confident that your horse can be successful with. Sometimes they will still rub the fence and maybe get a little nervous. Be ready and help encourage and support him if need be.

This is also a good Game to do with your horse saddled. If the stirrups hit the fence or push into his side it will be better for him to get used to it with you on the ground and not in the saddle.

Armed with clicker and treats, take your horse for a walk. Lead him through the gate using the same technique. Use your natural environment to lead him around or through obstacles. Stand on a mounting black and play the Squeeze Game from that position.

Expand the Squeeze Game into working with a gate. Ask your horse to stop and wait repeatedly while passing through the opening Incorporate the other Games in this. Working a gate is really just about patience and thoughtful movement. When the weather was too rainy to ride safely, Dan and I spent time working gates from the ground. Then when it came to opening and closing gates from the saddle, we had it made!

Load your horse into his stall using this technique asking your horse to pass through the doorway in front of you as you stand outside the stall. Ask him to turn then and face you.

Love

2006-09-22T13:09:00.000-07:00

Many people love their horses. But the question that I have is, does the horse know how much you love them. Love is way more than just hoping on and ridding them and giving grain and all of that stuff, love is thinking well about your horse. Meaning that you understand his natural environment and what he does out in the wild to survive. One had to be pumped about being with your horse and wanting to communicate with him in a better language that is understood by him. This is where the language and leadership part come in, all making a big circle back to love. So before we talk about language and leadership, one needs to understand the horses nature, and start becoming a horse themselves. I will discuss nature of horses and becoming the horse later. With all of this knowledge, combined, we have developed a foundation called; Love, Language, and Leadership.

Pictures of my life

2006-09-21T14:39:00.000-07:00

Wanting your horse to go and Whoa!

2006-09-19T18:07:00.000-07:00

Horses are so sensitive to the slightes movements in the human body, that we actually end up talking away their sensitivity to our cues (commands)by micromanaging them. I notice this alot when we ask the horse to stop and go especially. Lets for a minute talk about energy. When riding a horse we should use more energy the faster that we them to go and less energy for the slower we want to go. I of en see people kick their horses or using a crop when wanting to go faster, but they are just sitting natural on their horse. For horses they feel what your energy level is and they will be great at going to the pace of your energy, but often so many people don't understand how sensitive they are so they use a crop to get them to go, therefor the horse now loses that concept.
Like when I ask my horse to go from a halt, I lift up my body energy and for trot more energy, and canter alot of energy. Once you start teaching this to horses, it becomes so much easier to focus on other things than having horse horse go or stop. Also something else that works is if when going down from the gait, that you sigh. This tells the horse oh relax a bit OK. The more heavy the sigh the more stop you should have. Try it and see if this works.

Horses Naturally

2006-09-18T11:15:00.000-07:00

Horses are great animals,and all they want is to be treated just like how their friends treat them. So by understanding the horses mind and how they interact with each other in nature, we can use that to get a greater bond between horse and rider. So if one can truly really build a great relationship and communication system between the horse and rider, you can accomplish so much more than one could ever imagine. We should be able to take the time to communicate with them in a language that is understood by the horse, not forcing them just to learn our language. Have you ever taken the time to sit and watch horses play out in the field? How does the lead horse get other horses to pay attention, move, get over objects, and many other things? I have been observing the way horses interact with each other and been using those exact games to better communicate with my horse. I will post a topic about Love, Language, Leadership post later, that covers everything that on needs to get started on for great success with your horse.

What is Natural Horsemanship?

2006-09-17T21:52:00.000-07:00

Many people have never heard of Natural Horsemanship training, or even Parelli Natural Horse.Man.Ship. Pat has been involved with horses at a young age and with winning many awards and comments about his riding, he started studying horses with a different kind of an eye. It's Pat vision that one day the term "natural" will no longer have to precede the word "horsemanship." Horsemanship does not need to be mechanical. With enough savvy, horses and people can achieve fun, excellence, truth and results, harmony, and unity... naturally, through understanding, communication and psychology, rather than force fear and mechanics.
What Pat and his wife Linda has done is simple. They Written down the training secrets that all the other trainers didn’t want you to know about. Pat and Linda, who has done alot of the organizing have put everything in a simple and easy to understand format, provided written and audiovisual material that you can study as if you were learning a new language. It’s all found in a laid out step-by-step instruction guide, with multiple levels that you can progress through at your own pace. But the crucial part of the whole Parelli world is Pat and his wife Linda. Without a doubt they are preaching their own sermon and unlike the insincere all-for-money TV evangelists, they really do believe in what they are talking about.

In order to understand the horses world, we have to understand that horses are prey animals, and because of that they are genetically programmed to flee at the slightest sign of danger. That might be a mountain lion or a stationary rock. What Parelli does is teach you how not to be a predator in the horse’s eyes, but to become more like a horse than a human (a leader). Horses in the wild live in the safety of herds. They have a very dynamic and strong hierarchical social structure, so you have to work at becoming a horse that YOUR horse wants to be around! This is what Parelli makes so simple. However what ends up happening is that most people just want to get on and ride, and the first level of the Parelli training involves copeous amounts of work with you on the ground, so inevitably a lot of people give up before the results can be seen. For those that pursue through Level 1 and then the upper levels, the rewards are fantastic. Can you imagine riding a horse bareback with no halter/bridle/bit, yet still having control and feeling safe?