Instantly obvious to any rider is the loss of balance! Ahhhg! CRUNCH.
But that is not so much what I want to write about here. It is the loss of balance as a culture. I am seeing more and more new riders with very little physical balance. The slightest move left or right and voila, they […]
Nothing like a week of steady rain to, well, rain on your parade of plans you had for you and your horse. But all is not lost, or at least it shouldn’t be. Look at that rainy couple of days as a chance to spend some “quality” quite time with your horse. Take those articles […]
It came up the other day again, “What was the “Best Way ” to put weight on a horse?” Well, you first need to clarify the concept before answering. By best do you mean the fastest, the healthiest, or in some cases the cheapest. Also what kind of weight, fat or muscle?
We had a fun lesson yesterday and I say we, because my wife Jan and her 18 hand Clyde/TB cross Portia joined us. I was working with a young lady who has developed a fear of her new horse, one that is a bit hotter than she should really be riding, but that is the […]
This idea seems to be very difficult for some people to not only understand but more importantly to apply to their horse. When training any horse it is very import to know when to quit, maybe not for the day, but especially for a specific exercise. Most people quickly get the idea of rewarding the […]
Natural Horsemanship has been a very effective and successful marketing approach, but being the contrarian I am, I take exception to it. There is nothing “natural” about the relationship of men and horses, in fact, it is quite “un-natural,” an urban myth, marketing hype.
I have been struck recently by the comment that I have heard repeatedly the past few weeks, “I just do not have your patience!” I do not think of myself as a patient person, I always have too much to do and too little time to get it all done. What people are failing to […]
Ever wish you had such a prescription for your horse as they get upset or “begin to loose it.” Well, there is one or more of these “prescriptions” and they are not pills, they are what I call safety patterns. When I start a young or new horse I always start with something simple, so […]
I am recently reminded again how many people have problems with either their horse or dog because they never taught them how to succeed in our world. Yes, our world, because we bring them into our world of fences, barns, stalls, wash racks, shoeing stands, mounting blocs, trailers, etc. Never in my life have a […]
I had a fun morning this past Tuesday working with a horse that was “hard to load”. I was chatting with the owner while I worked the horse on a twelve foot line for a few minutes, a simple turn and face, walk, trot and a few halts and I asked him, “Ever try to […]