I Hate Your Horse

About to Fail...

2010-12-10T02:38:00.001-08:00

OK, I know it's been awhile so let me catch you all up on what's been happening before I get to the posting :D So I've been training and showing and giving lessons like it's going out of style. (Which is a very good thing in this economy.) Just staying busy busy, but always looking to be busier :D

Ok so here we go. Today on Failblog!!!!

Me personally? I love the fail blog, I think some of the posts are funny as hell, however, here is why I find this one less funny and actually disturbing...

This is a handsome, athletic horse, who I can only assume, is probably worth a pretty penny or two, so why oh why is there ZERO leg protection on this horse?? Even if the horse isn't worth a dime why for the sake of the horse are it's legs not properly wrapped? A Cross country horse without proper protection? Wow. Now I'm not saying that wraps or boots will protect from a broken leg or something more severe, but why not be safe than sorry? Properly fitted Boots can and do add support to joints, tendons and muscles and also can protect against scrapes, scratches or serious gaping, puncture wounds from jumping over natural fences that could produce slivers or splinters. ESPECIALLY when you your horse clips it and grinds it's legs all across the wood...

Anyway, I promise not to be a stranger anymore! So comment on the post, or tell me what you've been up to for these fine winter months!!!!

Sooo Riddle Me This...

2010-10-06T23:30:00.000-07:00

So My brother is a professional book publisher and distributor (he owns his own company). He wants me to write a book on training and basically do a series. So one book on Stallions, one book on breaking, etc. etc. So I'd like to hear feedback on what type of books you would like to see out there. I know a majority of books on horses are pretty darn generic and they don't teach a lot, but the basics. So I'm taking ideas!!!! Let's hear 'em!!!!!!!!!!!

Miley, you're killing me. And Blue Jeans...

2010-09-19T21:58:00.000-07:00

One of the things that has always pushed my buttons is when I see in a TV show or movie people Horse back riding. Not that it's a bad thing, unless it's BAD RIDING!!! So I'm watching a good friend of mine's kid and she loves Hannah Montana. Well of course, what pre pubescent teen girl doesn't??? So the episode of Miley almost losing her horse Blue Jeans. So the episode starts out with her riding Blue Jeans and she's trotting and SLAMMING on his back. Ummm OUCH!! Then Blue Jeans gets hurt bla bla bla and when we go back to Blue Jeans he's still in his BRIDLE!!!! Laying down in his bridle and reins. Ummmm I do believe that is one of the 10 horsey commandments. NEVER LEAVE THE BRIDLE ON YOUR HORSE. WTF??? I've seen snippets of other episodes too and she always leaves the halter and lead rope on her horse, then walks away.

Now why would I possibly have an issue with this?? It's a stupid show... Because it's a STUPID SHOW that girls watch and will probably think that is a GREAT way for people to A. Ride their horse by flopping on it's back. and B. To leave the bridle and reins on their horse at ALL times. When it's sick, when it has a snack bite, and especially when you are a retarded Disney brat or you follow the example of a retarded Disney brat.

This is NOT in any way a good example for anyone, it's disgusting and really pisses me off. If you can NOT set a good, realistic example with ANY type of animal on TV or movies, then do NOT DO IT!! Or get a god damn professional out there. Ugh Grrrrrrrrrrrr....

Anyway I HIGHLY encourage you to watch this vid. It's part of the show that shows Blue Jeans laying down and a montage of AWESOME riding skills...

HAHA Training is Fun Derp!!!

2010-08-13T02:31:00.001-07:00

Hey HEY~~ Wowzer it has been a busy few months EEP!! Showing like a mad woman, moved to a fancy pants new barn, getting ready for POA Regionals... YEAHHHHHHH!!! So On Craigslist, OF COURSE, there was a girl who posted and ad for training and this was her picture (Although I think that's actual a Dude in that pic). I'm sorry but this makes me laugh and want to scream at the same exact time... Um... First of all what exactly does this picture prove? Well, by looking at it, it tells me that your horse really isn't that impressed and that I should change the name of my blog, from I Hate Your Horse, to Your Horse Hates YOU!!!! Hmmmmm That may be a sweet idea for a new blog... Anywho... here is another picture from her ad. Cute horse... Cute little girl... OH WAIT A MINUTE!! She's not wearing a helmet, or even SHOES!! Awesome!!

OK, now look. I have many pictures of me standing on horses backs and doing silly things as well. BELIEVE me. But, that isn't something that I would use as an advertising picture, and it's typically at the owner's request. Why is that? Well, because some people want to know just how far you can push their horse.

Beside the point... *sigh* She's only charging $35 an hour, which is a middle of the road price out here in Seattle, but people like this really take away from up and coming TALENTED trainers who are trying to make a name for themselves. From what I've seen She has ZERO talent. and less common sense. So here's the scenario... Someone calls her and she comes out to "train" their horse and OOOP! Big shocker, she's a complete TOOL!! And screws up the horse or as will most likely happen accomplish JACK SHIT! So Client is unhappy and possibly soured by young, up and coming trainers and then another trainer comes in and says "Oh I can fix that that, but it'll be 70 billion dollars,. Will that be cash or CASH???" ICKE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Moral of the Story is PLEASE, I'm all for young, talented people who want to train to follow their dreams, but for crying out loud, apprentice with a trainer for awhile, or be an Asst. Trainer to a credited Trainer. I was an apprentice for a long time and for many different trainers. I earned my stripes and put in my time so to speak. I did the grunt work, rode the rank horses, busted my hinney everyday from morning to night and I loved every minute of it! It makes me a much better trainer and gives me TONS of references!! Just because you've been around horses for X many years does NOT make you a CREDIBLE TRAINER!!!

Anywho, I found humor and headdesking in it all at the same time and figured you'd appreciate it too. So what's been happening for you guys this summer???? Let's hear it Oh and I have the comments on moderation approval, which I hate, but have no choice cause Doucher's can't seem to keep their lame porn off my blog. All of your comments will be approved so don't worry about that... Happy Horsing to ALL!!

OK OK

2010-07-09T03:28:00.000-07:00

Nevermind changing the comments was shit, it's back to normal now. Comment away!!!!!!!!!!

Little Side Note

2010-07-02T02:23:00.000-07:00

So I had to change the comment posting, only to people who follow the blog. *sigh* Too much GARBAGE gets posted into the comments by people who have no name and leave ........................... that as their comment. I know it's a link that goes to something, but it's garbage, could be a virus and I want to protect my readers. Sorry for the pain in the ass, hopefully I'll be able to change it back soon. For a good example look at my last post and go to the comments...

Pale Horsemans Question...

2010-06-21T03:07:00.001-07:00

OK, so basically her horse will not respect her space while lunging. OK, go get a DRESSAGE WHIP and keep Nell on a 6 foot lead rope. Short is good for this exercise. So, begin lunging her as if things were normal and have your dressage whip on hand. To start with turn it around so you're holding about 6 inches down from the tail. It'll be too flimsy if you don't hold it like this. Now, begin to lunge and ask for the whoa. If she does not stop immediately one hard snap on the lead rope. If she still does not stop smack her in the chest with the whip and ask her to back up a pace or two. Begin again. Now, if she faces you, poke her in the chest with the whip, if this doesn't work than turn the whip and wave it in front of you at belly button level, smacking her in the chest. When she takes a step back, good girl. Do it again and ask for 2 steps back and make sure she STAYS back from you until you invite her back into your personal space.

OK, back to lunging Make sure you have a SOLID halt from a walk, then move on to the trot. Go from the trot to walk and if she doesn't slow down, then try wiggling the lead rope. Step a little in front of her shoulder and increase the wiggle if she still won't slow. She still doesn't slow don't show her your whip. Still nothing? Make her HALT and back her up. Ask again. Repeat with the canter as well. If she stops at the gate or stops at her sweet spot. MAKE HER WORK!!!!!!!! Back her up, lunge her on a tight circle, make her hate the spot.

If, when lunging or walking her around she bumps into you keep your whip handy, turn and face her and swing your whip on front of you and make her back up. If she hits you with her shoulder smack her or poke her in the shoulder with the handle of the whip and make her move that shoulder.

Rinse aaaaand Repeat. Seriously. Repetition is key. Go slow, don't get frustrated, be patient. Let me know how it goes. You know I always have more up my sleeve ;)

OK, Let's Do Some Answers!!!!

2010-06-08T21:30:00.000-07:00

Rachel~First off if, He's only been under saddle one month he may still be getting used to the bit in general. Also, make sure the bit is not to thick in his mouth. You can try tightening up the bridle a notch or two, or begin to experiment with other types of snaffles. I like snaffles with copper rollers in them it gives the horse something to do without chewing per se'. He may just need time to adjust to the bit also :)

Tangerine~ Rope Halter!!!!!! Use a rope halter on her and a nice strong lead rope Take her to a round pen and hold on to her with your equipment, saddle, pad etc, in the middle of the pen. While holding her, slowly begin to re-desensitize her to the equipment. Get as close as you can and when she stands still walk away and get closer than walk away until you can get the results you want.

If that doesn't work then snub her up close to something very sturdy and safe. Somewhere she can not hurt herself. and Slowly begin to re-desensitize her. The closer her nose is tied to the post, the less likely she can hurt herself, because she can't get the ooomph behind her to hurt herself. It's very frustrating when you know your horse is used to these things and suddenly refuses. The idea is to NOT get mad or react to the mare. Make it seem like it's no big deal. Not stressful just a simple saddle pad getting put on. If that doesn't work take her to the round pen and try to get the saddle pad on her, if she still refuses, make her work and hard, let her know that standing and getting a saddle pad put on is easier than working.

Ashleigh~ Oh that's a tough one but no worries. I have a gelding who is similar to that. Many options for you though. he Might need 24/7 turnout with just a shelter or at least don't lock him in his stall anymore, or try putting toys in his stall, lick-its or a jolly ball. He may need more work, it is possible. Also try tying him in his stall and keep him tied until he relaxes, you know leg cocked, licking lips, lowered head. This will teach him that standing can be relaxing also. Give him lots of praise when he stands quiet, but also don't be surprised if he paws, whinnies and isn't to crazy about it first. It can be time consuming also, he may need to be tied for a half hour to an hour. Maybe longer. The minute he gets quiet and relaxes though, he gets praise and reward! When he's quiet go ahead and let him loose again. Or try locking him OUT of his stall for a few days. Sounds like your guy may just be very bored.

Check his grain too and hay, make sure he's not getting anything too "hot."

Rebecca~ Do a lot of desensitizing work on the ground and in the saddle. If you use a grain bag to sack her out on the ground then once your in the saddle sack her out again. Do small little things, like walking by a pole with a plastic bag on it, walk her over poles, make any obstacles you can and work with at home. The truth is, is more miles and more desensitizing will go a long way. Also remain confident in the saddle, she'll read it and also be more confident. Baby steps will go along way too, lots of praise and always set her up to build confidence no matter how small the task you're asking. Lots of riding miles will go the farthest, she needs experience. Lots of trails rides will help to, go out with a more confident, seasoned horse and that will help a lot!!

Grocery Girl~ You're on the right track. But instead of his stall, take him to an arena or round pen or even the field where he gets turned out and work with him there. Swing the lead rope all around him touch him if you can, Desensitize the heck out of him with the lead rope. ALSO!!! Have a halter on him and use a second spare halter to practice de sensitizing him with that. On and off, touch him with it. If you have a halter and lead rope on him already while working with a second set of halter and lead rope, it's much easier on you. Bring treats out with you and give lots of praise when he relaxes. The reason you need to get out of the stall, is because he knows he has to be caught in his stall, he has no where to go. But, if not fixed soon, his anxiety could become dangerous especially in closed quarters. lots of on and offs, and swinging it around and touching him with it. And lots of patience.

KL~ Ooooh my mare HATES CLIPPERS LOL!!! You are absolutely on the right track though. Love your round pen!!! Ahhhh for a ticklish horse, like my mare is I simply twitch her. I grab a little bit of her nose, just enough and hold onto it. It's a distraction more than anything. Gets her mind off the clippers. Once you clip her and she stays still for say a minute, then slowly begin to loosen your twitch, or grip, if she won't stand still tighten up again, Do this and she'll soon learn to stay still. Unfortunately it's hard when they're ticklish, just like it is for us. She can't be punished, or trained to not be ticklish, BUT we can definitely teach her to hold still for a few minutes while we clip. :) Stay consistent and you'll see results in NO time!!!!

OK, OK, It's Been Awhile. Q & A TIME!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-05-26T02:21:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm busy as ever with clients and training and love it to death! I also added a new addition to my family, a 110lb Akita. LOVE HIM!!!!!!!!!!!! My dream dog! Nothing like a 110 lb kid to keep you on your toes lol. He's been with me for a little over a month now, got him from a fantastic shelter from down in Portland, OR. OK, I'm rambling like a giddy, new mother, So let's kick start this!!!

Let's do some Q & A... Post your questions and I'll get 'em answered!!!!!!!!

Pride and Prejudice

2010-04-14T00:47:00.000-07:00

So I was at a show this last weekend with a student and her horse, both of which I've trained. Her horse, let me mention, is a purebred Arabian. This was the last of a series competitions and this horse and her owner were on POINT. No complaints everything is looking sharp. So far she and her horse are ranked 3rd overall in the series. So she begins her classes and the first few look good and she's placed decent, but then. THEN suddenly she starts to dip in the rankings.

Nothings changed, nothing is different, except that suddenly a couple of Paints and QH's and Appy's come in to the classes. No biggie right? WRONG-O. Now a couple of these horses were well deserving of their high places, but others were not. So why wasn't the Arab placing anymore? My student, obviously confused keeps asking what's going on and once I learn who the judge was it hits me. I've shown under this judge quite a few times with my Arabian and let me tell you. He will NOT hardly even LOOK toward an Arab... It was like we suddenly didn't exist. He'd glance over for a split second and that was it.

So my student asked me to take her horse in couple of classes so that she could sit back and watch. And sure enough the judge wouldn't look at us. I went into a bareback class and when the announcer called for 5 steps back, I was literally right behind the judge and he didn't even turn around. This was in a class of only like 5 or 6 horses! So for my next class I did many, many circles around the judge and put my self slightly to the inside of the rail staying near this one very nice Appy. Forcing the judge to have to look at me. To no avail... We did not place well. Even the spectators were commenting on why this mare wasn't placing when she had cleaned up so nicely at the other shows??? EVERYONE was baffled, so at the end of my last class, I dismounted and asked the judge for some advice on this mare. And his response was the biggest cop out response I've ever heard. He said "Keep her more steady..." Steady??? This mare is Steady Eddy!!!!! *Sigh* I'd rather he just told me that Stock horses rule and Arabs drool, because we all know that's what he was thinking...

In the end it was still another good experience for the mare and her owner. Although her owner was miffed, they still came out as 2nd overall in the show series, even with this slight little hitch... It was a great learning experience for them being greenies of how the system sometimes works. Plus they got to keep their Pride, despite the Prejudice...

Backies

2010-04-01T20:47:00.001-07:00

OK, I know it's been awhile and I apologize, But I'm back! I had surgery on my jaw and was slightly out of it lol. New post coming out tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You Should Know Better

2010-03-15T22:05:00.001-07:00

So another Blog FHOTD, did a posting about a trainer whose student showed in the green horse class with an obviously NOT green horse and of course... Won the class, pissing off a lot of people!! Which brings me to another little point... And that is people, not just trainers, but a lot of people in general who show at local shooling shows, little piddly ones, where pasture pony's can be brought in to have fun and completely clean up and feel good about themselves...

You know EXACTLY who I'm talking about too, not the people who are getting their green horse albeit a very nicely trained, one used to showing, or the people who just like to be decked out and look nice and have a nice horse, but the people who have OBVIOUSLY perfectly trained, been to world's, so on and so forth, god's gifts to the horse word horses. They come and clean up and act oh so proud of themselves. I've seen countless BNT's do this ALL the time!! And yes, they do show in the green horse classes and yes they do cheat the system like a son of a bitch... And yes it does look really really tacky.

Bringing an experienced show horse to a schooling is fine, please don't get me wrong, if the horse is A. Getting ready for the show circuit or B. is owned by someone who is just getting into horses.
But, having a huge sense of accomplishment when your "A" system or circuit horse beats little kids on their old bomb proof horses. No I don't think so....

I used to compete against this one girl who had an very nice paint and she would clean up all of the schooling shows, but never show beyond that, because she knew then there would be REAL competition... She knew she could kick the crap out of us who were on green, nervous, just learning horses and was afraid to go beyond that because she would lose. It never did and never has stopped any of us who were there for experience from having a good time and being proud of our young ins, but it does get REALLY frustrating and all fr the sake of a ribbon...

Being proud of yourself for placing high in a class is great, but not when you know you are a million strides above everyone else, that's just a MAJOR Fatty Fail... Any showing pet peeves from you guys??? Let's hear them!!!!

Scram with your Scams

2010-03-03T20:49:00.000-08:00

So a poster (Barb) pointed out I should do a little piece on scammers and boarding. Phew there is a LAUNDRY list of scams out there people try to pull. OK, let's start here...

Boarding. Craigslist is FULL of scammers, be wary of ANYONE who sends you a request to board from out of state and weird things, like, "I'll put the money in your account and if you could transfer it to so and so's account to pay for shipping, bla bla bla...so on so forth." NO Do not do this EVER!!! Meet the people or have them send a responsible Representative! Also if possible get cash only. Make boarders sign CONTRACTS that state that you as the barn owner/manager have the right to sell the animal if the owner defaults on board for X amount of time. With the economy the way it is, I wouldn't be surprised if people would pay a months board and then never come back for their horse. Get reference too and call THEM, so if the owner does ditch out you have someone to call. If the horse is registered, get a copy of the papers, that way again if the owner bails you can contact prev. owners/breeder and see if they want the horse back...

Now as far as you looking for a boarding facility, ALWAYS check it out in person at least a couple times! Make an appt the first time you come, but the second time you visit, just show up, that way you can really see the facility for what it is. Never compromise your horses safety and health for cheap board... Never except excuses on why there is no hay on the property or why water buckets are empty, or FILTHY!!!! You can even ask to speak with current boarders and maybe previous boarders about the place to see what they think. Local feed stores and tack shops may also have insight on specific barns and their reputations. Also if you contact a boarding facility and they want you to send money via the Internet, do not do it. Go to the farm and put the deposit down and what not.

Just remember, if it seems to good to be true, or you just get an ill feeling, GO WITH IT!!!!! CL is CRAWLING with people who think their oh so uber smart and will try to scam the pants off of you. There are plenty of people who own horses, LOCALLY, that need boarding that the last thing you need to do is deal with a scammer who is out of state or even worse out of the country.

For Paigeley

2010-02-15T23:02:00.000-08:00

Here was a question she left me on the last post...

trainer x i have a question about lunging
we have a roundpen at my barn so i usually lunge in there without a lunge line. my horse continually cuts the circle and stops. when she stops if i get close she tries to kick my head. I've had a couple of close calls with that one. when she does stop i go to her side then use the lunge whip to get her moving again. When she cuts the circle nothing I've tried can get her back on the circle until she gets to the other side of the roundpen, she always cuts at the same spot in the roundpen. I've tried running towards her, whipping her over, getting really close to her on that side, none of it has worked. help please???

OK, some of you may not like the answer I'm about to give. If you don't that's fine get your damn head kicked off. Anywho moving on.

So, Paigeley, this is what you need. A halter preferably a rope halter but anything can work, a lead rope, a crop (short whip) and your lunge whip. She needs and MUST learn to respect your space.

So lesson 1. Get her the HELL out of your space!!!! Inside the round pen with her in her halter and lead rope and you holding your crop take a step towards her. If she does not move out of your space poke her with the butt end of your crop. Still no move??? Poke harder. Still no move??? Give her a nice smack. When she moves, praise and do it again. Do this from all areas. Step into her by her shoulders, from her front facing head on and the hind quarters. She MUST yield to you when you move at her.

Lesson 2. This is the one that can be tougher. Still in her halter and lead rope begin to lunge her, while your holding the lead rope and your lunge whip. When and if she stops attempt to use the lunge whip to encourage her to move on. If she won't and she begins to charge or kick at you, You have every right to kick her ASS. OK, here is an example. Your lunging to the right and she stops and turns into you, you are holding the lead rope with your right hand and the lunge whip in your left. Start hitting the ground on the left side (your left cause she's facing you, her right) if she doesn't move hit the ground harder, if that doesn't get her moving then start hitting her in the rump and side to get her to move away from it and moving on in her circle again. IF and this is a huge if, she dares to charge or kick out at you, smack her in the sides and rump with your lunge whip until she moves on again in her circle. If she charges you swing that whip in front of you at her chest as hard as you can. If it hits her OH WELL. Charging, rearing, kicking, biting, etc. Is grounds for you to kick some serious ass!!!! Once she backs off of you, begin again calmly. Get her moving into the lunging circle, if she stops, encourage her to move with the whip and repeat the process. The reason, by the way, that you are keeping her in a halter, is because it is easier for you to control her head and hopefully teach her to round pen properly.

OK, now because there is not really only one way to things let's say this doesn't work. So she's lunging and she stops and turns into you, yank on your halter and back her up fast and hard and at least a quarter to half the round pen in length. If she doesn't want to move forward then we'll make her move backwards, either way she's going to learn to that she is going to move come hell or highwater. After you've backed her up ask her to move on again if she stops, repeat. The idea is to make the wrong thing 100 times more difficult than the right thing. Horses hate backing up, going forward is much easier, but sometimes your horse needs to make that connection in it's own head.

OK, always start at the walk and when she lunges correctly at the walk then ask for the trot and etc. both ways. Once she is doing well on the lead rope, use a lunge line and then nothing, just the normal round pen. IF she goes back to her old ways, use the lead rope again. She HAS to know you mean business and kicking is a huge NO NO!! I hope some of this helps. Let me know how it goes and if you need anything else. If this doesn't work, I've got more tricks up my sleeve. LOL

Chase Me

2010-02-04T20:13:00.001-08:00

So I started giving lessons to this young girl and typically what I like to do first is watch my student work their horse as they do every day. So I can see where they're at and where their horse is at. A mini evaluation so to speak.

So she begins to lunge her horse and I notice that she is chasing him around the lunge line, to the point where she is RUNNING literally all over the arena. I ask her what she's doing and she says that she went to a Big name Trainer Clinic and he said that when lunging you need to move as fast as your horse. Ummmmm no.

That's a big, huge, fatty no no. You should NOT have to work harder than your horse when lunging it. The horse should be respectful and NOT tug on your hands when lunging and should be just fine lunging in a set circle. Lunging is one of those things that should still be work for the horse, but not as much for you. Lunging is not to let your horse run bat shit crazy in circles. It should be controlled and productive. If your horse gives out a buck or two, no biggie, but then bring them back down to earth and back to work. Running after your horse is not doing a darn thing, except wearing you out and your horse isn't learning anything either, ESPECIALLY to respect you.

She was surprised when I took out one of the younger training horses I'm working with and had him lunging on a nice quiet circle, listening to all my commands appropriately. She couldn't believe you could lunge a horse that way. *Headdesk* which brings me to another little side point.

Use common sense. Would you chase your darn horse around while lunging, completely exhausting yourself and leaving your horse, ignoring you and probably laughing at you? No. So use your gut instincts or feel free to explore other successful trainer's techniques. Or if you like running around a deep sandy arena, well then have fun....

So What Can I Have??

2010-01-24T00:53:00.000-08:00

Here is a posting I saw on CL. It's supposed to be a "fancy" stable in West Seattle... All I can say is WTF, but here it goes anyway.

"Rare opening in lovely West Seattle stable. 10X12 stall with 10X20 foot "patio" behind. Daily turnout in mud free paddocks with grass paddocks in season. 70X160 covered arena with 70 wall of mirrors and lighting. Board fences. Two wash areas, both with hot and cold water. Dressage instruction and clinics available. Three feedings daily. Vitamins and wormers supplied. Small friendly stable with maximum of 10 horses. Pretty gardens with vegetables and flowers. We limit horse size to 16 hands and do not take thoroughbreds. Reply to ad for further details."

Soooooooo it's a dressage barn, but the maximum horse size is 16hh?? What kind of dressage horse do you suppose you'll find under that??? And no TB's? REALLY?!?!?! Again another popular dressage standard. So I guess you can have a pony, or a Quarter horse (not that that is a problem, but come on!) as your next dressage prospect, but apparently that's it. No Warmbloods or Tb crosses, nothing with long floaty legs, heaven forbid it be too tall???? And can you define exactly what a "Patio" means for my horse? Oh perhaps the patio is just a little bit of turnout, buuuuut then why couldn't they just say that instead... Hmmm I'm at a loss. Oh well at least they have "Pretty gardens with vegetables and flowers." But that's about it. *headdesk*

Let My Face Go

2010-01-18T21:07:00.000-08:00

At an evaluation tonight of a new student and her semi green horse I watched them ride around and around and I saw the same thing time and time again. Her horse would drop his head and she would yank his head up. I finally had to stop her and ask her why she was doing this? She answered that her horse would occasionally buck going into the canter. Well, OK, that seemed like a decent answer except that she was just trotting. So as she kept going I started to tell her to release her horse's head when he dropped it. She was hesitant at first, but I assured her he was just trying to stretch down.

After a few times I noticed her horse started to relax and really stretch neck down. Every time she tried to jerk his head back up I told her she was sending him backwards in his training. Now granted she is a little gun shy due to the fact her horse has bucked with her, but he was legitimately just truly just trying to stretch his neck and back, which would eventually help us encourage his head set.

So how can a rider, any rider, tell the difference in if their horse is just stretching or prepping for a buck?? A buck will begin with pinned ears, and a humpy, tense back. You may feel him tense in the bridle a little bit as well. He may kick out as a warning and start tossing his head. A buck is also more common during transitions, especially into the canter or lope.

When a horse is stretching, this will typically occur at the walk or a long trot, he will just gradually drop his nose down and may even bring his head up or down a couple times. Always allow your horse the option to stretch if you can. You'll feel that his back and neck will be quite relaxed and he should have a soft and supple jaw and mouth. He may even stretch or extend his gaits a little too. Once he is done stretching or you need him to bring his head back up, make it a soft gradual lift with your hands and reins so he doesn't feel you are jerking his head back up. That will only cause a hard mouthed horse and horse who doesn't or won't drop his head anymore...

Welcome Welcome!!

2010-01-14T10:54:00.000-08:00

Welcome to 2010! Whew I have been one busy person so far. I just moved to a new house and finally had Comcast come out and give me my Internet!! WOOHOO!!! So we are up and running for some new blogs now!!! How was all your holidays and your New Years starting out???

Happy Holidays!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-12-24T13:14:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays to all of you and yours!!!!! I'll see you after the New Year!!!!!!!!!! May you all be safe, happy and full of horse hair!!!

Twos or Threes????

2009-12-16T23:49:00.000-08:00

One of my general rules as a trainer (and this is just personal preference) is I do not break horses that are under 3. But, allow me to specify. I will sit on a 2 and half yr old. I may Even walk them around the whole entire arena, but as far as trotting, loping, long rides or anything more intense than walking a large circle, it is all saved up for the 3 yr olds.

This is something that I find is always on heavy debate. Some people are OK, with breaking a 2 yr old, I am not. Too me they are still too young, their brains and attention span are not quite there yet. Their knees and joints to young and fragile, their backs not muscled up or strong enough to support too much riding. Again this is all MY preference.

The other side of the story is that racehorses can be broke anywhere from 18 months to 2 yrs. As well as some futurity horses. Some of them seem to do fine with it. A lot of those horses may also retire young as well to be a farm Stud or Broodmare.

So what's the verdict here??? Are we 2 or 3?????

Ritter Me This

2009-12-07T22:58:00.000-08:00

The text below is from Dr. Ritter's yahoo list "ClassicalDressage"The question:what IS a good rider? One that looks good? There are plenty of good looking riders who are not effective.

One that is effective? Maybe they don't look so good though? What about riders who can take a ruined horse and make it better but is still only average.... is that a good rider? What about riders who can influence the horse with calm, assertiveness... are they good?

Guess the question is -- are they easy to spot? Can you go to a show or demo and say right away -- that's a good rider?

Dr. Ritter's response:That's a good question. I think the answer is somewhat personal. To some extent, it's a matter of your own quality standards and of what's important to you. To some extent, it's relative to the rider's age, experience, physical limitations, etc., because somebody can be riding very well, considering where s/he came from or how little instruction s/he has had, but in absolute terms, this person may not be a very advanced rider. Some riders are very good with certain types of horses or with solving certain types of problems, without necessarily being an Olympic calibre rider. On the other hand, somebody can be a very successful competitor at the upper levels, without being a good horseman and without being what I personally would consider a good rider.

I personally think that a good rider has to have a variety of skills. A good rider and good trainer are synonymous to me. Somebody who can taxi a made horse around a test without training the horse to that level may be a skilled technician, but s/he is no Rider.A good rider must have a good seat, i.e. effective, supple, balanced, strong when necessary, and pleasant to watch. Part of a good seat is good timing and coordination of the aids.A good rider has to have good intuition, good feel, equestrian tact, and an understanding of the horse's psychology. That's an absolutely indispensable skill.A good rider is a thinking rider. The rider has to have a certain academic understanding of the subject in order to be able to diagnose correctly, i.e s/he must be able to identify where a problem originates, and to choose the right course of action based on this diagnosis.A good rider is creative and can think of several solutions to every problem.A good rider can find individual solutions for each situation and is not limited by "what the books say", because every horse has his "own book" that the trainer has to write.A good rider should be able to train any breed and any personality type, although every rider has preferences, of course.A good rider has to be able to know how much is fair to expect of any given horse on any given day. S/he has to know when to demand a little more, when to be content with the effort the horse is making, when to change the subject or the tactic, when to reward, when to reprimand, when to ignore something the horse did, and when to quit.A good rider needs to know and respect the limitations of the horse in order not to demand anything the horse is unable to deliver.A good rider has to be able to choose a methodology that is time effective, so that it doesn't take 100 years to get to GP, but that also preserves the horse's physical and mental soundness. A good rider has to be able to make a little improvement in the horse every day, so that the horse feels and looks better at the end of the lesson than at the beginning, and so that there is a visible improvement from week to week, month to month, although there will always be little ups and downs from one day to the next.A good rider develops the horse's musculature and makes him safe, dependable and enjoyable to ride.A good rider is his/her own toughest critic and has self discipline.A good rider recognizes and fights the urge to give in to his/her ego. That's something that every rider is faced with. No exceptions.A good rider perseveres in spite of inevitable setbacks and disappointments.A good rider is always sensitive to the horse's needs.A good rider rides for the horse, not for the audience and does not use the horse as a vehicle for self-aggrandizement. In other words, a good rider does not exploit the horse's talent and generosity.A good rider puts the horse's well being above everything else.A good rider is always trying to learn and improve his/her own riding and understanding.This is a high standard, and there is probably nobody who can live up to it all the time, but these are the things that I look for in a good rider, and they are goals we should all strive for ourselves. Many riders may be good in some of these areas, but bad in others. The best riders combine many of these qualities in themselves, but nobody's perfect.Notice that I don't place that much emphasis on movements, because somebody may be able to ride all kinds of tricks without fulfilling many of the other points in my list, which I consider much more important. And you can find riders who may not be able to ride very advanced movements, but who score very high in many of the areas that really count.

Written by Dr. Ritter www.artisticdressage.com

Laying Down on the Job

2009-11-30T23:00:00.000-08:00

So living here in wonderful Seattle means that in the winter time blankets and rain sheets are a must!!! So I pulled out my Paint mare to take her for a spin and got her all brushed really nice and tacked up, then we head to the arena. I do my normal groundwork with her so she can let a bit of steam off and then I get on and proceed to do some walking flexing, circles, side passing, just little things to turn on her thinker.

Well at the moment her thinker was somewhere else. We were walking a nice circle and she lowered her head nicely, I figured she was stretching down or sniffing some horsie calling cards. She had her head all the way down and without she just laid down. Just like that, no warning. No pawing or circling, just laid her big 'ol booty down. It really took me a second to think about what I was supposed to do LOL. I'd seen horses lay down before with riders on their back, but have never been one of them. My mare laid down on her right side so I kicked out my right foot and dove/clambered over her and got the hell out her way. She attempted to roll, but with the saddle found it too difficult and once I had my wits about me I chased her up off the ground and sent her off to work. After a few minutes when I was done laughing hysterically, I proceeded to mount my horse and try this whole silly riding thing again....

It was truly a humorous and un-nerving experience all at the same time. I promised my mare that tomorrow I would let her roll FIRST, before I tacked her up and rode her. I guess with her winter fur, the moisture and her blanket she was a little itchy and needed a good scratching, just preferably not with me on her back.... I feel I can now say I've been through 99% of horse craziness. Bucking, rearing, bolting, falling and now laying down on the job....

I know some of you out there have your own stories of something silly a horse has done to you!!!!

Trust Me It's Just You

2009-11-24T21:48:00.000-08:00

I love when people tell me that their horse misbehaves, or bucks or bites ONLY them. These are the horses that I work with and then I have my advanced students work with so that I can evaluate if it's the horse's issue or the owner's. Nine times out of ten it's the owner. The horse will usually not misbehave if you really make it do what you're asking and gain it's respect. I worked TWO horses today with that same deal

The first one is a well broke mare and the owner couldn't get her to lunge and then once under saddle couldn't get her to move out. So I worked with her for 10 minutes then we were soon loping around the arena. The owner gets so frustrated as to why she can't make her horse obey her and I tell her the same thing every time. STAY CONSISTENT and DO NOT TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER!!!! If you want her to move make her move, if you want her to lunge, do not give up until she does what you've asked of her, only then can she rest and get praise.

The second one is a more timid owner with her first horse, same idea she had to make her horse lunge around her, but she wanted me to do it first. So I showed her what to do and how nicely her horse was responding, the I had her take over and her horse was ALL over her. I showed her again and again, but it was something she couldn't grasp. It's OK to tap your horse on the rump with a carrot stick if you need too!!!

Our horses are not made of glass, they will not break or get hurt the way I train (I can't speak for every trainer), but the tasks I have them complete and will have my advanced students have the horse complete will not harm the horse in anyway. It can be MORE frustrating to an owner when they see that their horse goes better for someone else, but it's because when it's your own "sweet, precious, baby horsie" you have trouble making them behave. Some owners just can't bear to discipline their horse. BUT Respect for YOU as the owner and the herd leader is IMPERATIVE to the safety of you and your horse. Sometimes that means your horse may need a spanking, sometimes your horse may need to sweat and sometimes you may need to push a little bit harder, but in the end the rewards will be 100 times greater and you'll both be able to enjoy each other's time and company.

Warning: Stupidity May Cause These Side Effects...

2009-11-16T23:46:00.000-08:00

One of the things that really gets me as a horse trainer is other trainers allowing their green, inexperienced students to do certain things and use certain equipment. Not only is dangerous, irresponsible and extremely STUPID, but it can wind up with someone or a horse getting hurt. Now, as a horse trainer, when I see these things I have to turn a blind eye to it. It's not my place to get involved or say anything, although damn I'd like too sometimes LOL.

Draw Reins~ not only do I try not to use them, but I'll be damned if I EVER would let a student of mine use them. You can very easily get your horse to flip over on you if you use them incorrectly.

Spurs~ Prince of Wales spurs or blunt ended spurs, hmmmm that's debatable, but spurs with an actual rowel, no way, never. Inexperienced legs can grip on a horse's side at any moment and if they're wearing spurs then OFF you go. Improper usage of spurs can lead to bloody sides and sores. They can make a horse dead sided and 99% of the time when a greenie rider wears spurs their horse takes off and then the rider falls off or they rip on the horses mouth and get upset or scared because the horse"bolted." Noooooo, the horse did what you told it too.

High Ported/Shanked bits~ Nope, wouldn't happen. Inexperienced hands with a bit like this is asking for disaster. Bloody mouth, rearing, evading the bit, hard mouthed, all products of inexperience. All products of disaster.

Whips~ Most bats or crops won't do too much, but longer whips and dressage whips if not used properly may lead to your horse bucking, bolting, diving to the side, they can leave welts and more. Emotions can play a big role too, you get peeved at your horse and haul off and crack him a good one *head shake.* Ugh, what more do I really need to say?

What a lot of people don't quite understand is that it takes time and patience to learn the proper ways to CAREFULLY use certain pieces of equipment. You don't just begin using spurs because you like the way they sound or you think you're a cowboy cause you're not, you're a poser who is endangering yourself, others and your horse. Time and patience... Always remember that you have to learn to crawl before you can walk and that's OK. We ALL started there. None of us popped out of the womb wearing spurs on our heels or a crop in our hands. Once you've learned how to properly and safely use certain tools, they can become extreme valuable, but do your time and your research first.

Blocking

2009-11-10T01:04:00.000-08:00

Ahhhh as a trainer I get to meet all different types of people and especially with older people they all say the same thing!!! "I remember when I was younger I used to ride ANYTHING! With no tack, helmet or bridle, no boots, just flip flops and shorts. But, now I'm terrified." Even when I've solidly trained a horse or have students ride one of my broke horses they feel the same way, still nervous.

So at what age or milestone does that mental block set in??? Is it because you feel you don't "bounce" as well? I don't bounce well and hate coming of too LOL!!! Is it when you get married and have children? Is it when you're 40???? When do we stop taking risks that we used too?? Even though now we have helmets that are amazingly tough and correct and body protectors...

More importantly how do we overcome it???? People who have had horses in the past and are re-riders seem to have the biggest issue. No one's asking you to gallop in an open field bareback in a halter like you used to when you were a teen, just to simply get on a nice solid horse and ride around in a secure soft arena. Yet it terrifies people, even people who may have never even really had a bad riding experience...

For me I always suggest a lot of ground work exercises, leading and lunging exercises. Maybe even riding a nice horse on a lunge line while an instructor or friend is helping you. Little things that build that confidence back up.

So ANY idea why certain people can mentally block themselves from something they so desperately desire??? Is it just in our nature? Our genetic makeup? Our survival instincts kicking in???? That once we hit a certain point in our life we start to become more fearful ?? This one is a puzzler....

Personality Plus

2009-11-03T22:38:00.000-08:00

So a friend of mine and I were talking the other day about a horses training issues vs. personality quirks. Example: an Arabian mare I have in training is snotty, feisty, and pins her and curls her lips almost all the time. While she never bites or kicks or even threatens to do so, the owner just knows that this is her mare's personality. Another example: When I cinch up my Show gelding he will pop up and do mini rears in the cross ties, even though I have always tightened his cinch gently and slowly, but once you let him pitch his fit he is the Golden Boy!! A Perfect angel!! So where is the line between personality and training?

Well, it's a fine line and here it is. A personality quirk is something that just IS you're horse. Something like the specific way he may toss his head while playing or even stomp a foot of impatience. A training quirk is when you're horse is doing something dangerous, like nipping or kicking out, striking etc. A personality quirk is also something that you can accept as being a part of your horse, where as a training issue is something that you can not accept and that is fixable.

Sometimes it can't be fixed though and the horse's personality traits are too strong. My friend used to own a mare a long time ago who threw the most beautiful foals and was a wonderful mother, but she was sinfully mean and would literally try to kill a person who came anywhere near her. After many many trainers and thousands upon thousands of dollars the mare had to be put down. The mare was just a sour angry mare it WAS her personality, there was NO changing it...

So what are some quirks your horses have? What can you or can't you deal with???

Think Light

2009-10-26T21:42:00.000-07:00

I have the pleasure of working with a beautiful Arabian mare. She's talented and smart, cranky and lazy, but an all around good girl. She's been stared several times, but never finished or really left in consistent training, so we have started from almost scratch....

Her lope to the left is really coming along nicely, her lope to the right is a bit harder for her go into and instead of running her into it, I am going backwards... Well, sort of. We are working on TONS of trot to halt to back to trot transitions. TONS of them before I ask her for the canter. Why is that??? To rock her back on her haunches. And it works beautifully!! I make sure she goes from a nice working trot to a smooth halt, then 2 or 3 steps of backing, then a halt, then she needs to trot off. This exercise really gets the horse thinking light on the forehand and has them more rocked back on their haunches. Sooooo after several of these I then ask the mare for a lope going to the right and BAM! She picks it up like gold!!!!

A lot of people forget simple exercises that really can fine tune a horses gaits and transitions. I even showed the owner a before and after. Before was me just asking for the lope with zero preparation. The mare had a rough time in the canter departure. Then I did my exercise for about 7-10 minutes and then asked her to lope, pretty soon she was departing from a walk. Once I had her brain thinking light on the forehand, the rest was a breeze.... It was a fabulous ride tonight....

SWEET!

2009-10-26T01:11:00.001-07:00

OK, We are back up and running and there will be a brand spanky new post for up tomorrow!!!

GRRRR

2009-10-19T01:17:00.000-07:00

My Computer is down so I'll be posting as soon as the booger is working again.....

Dun Spookin'

2009-10-14T23:17:00.001-07:00

So a reader sent me an email about her horse spooking and bolting only at one end of her arena, even though both ends look IDENTICAL! So here was my reply to her.

"OK, so when a horse is "spooking" at something you need to address why? Sometimes it's simply because they can LOL. Since this seems to be your horse's issue this is what you need to do. First off lunge him down in that area right next to the end he spooks at. If on the ground he is fine and it's simply when you are mounted then what you want to do is make the situation harder than it is. Example: He bolts you stop him and back him all the way back up to where he first took off. Or if he takes off pull him into the wall he is spooking at and do circle after circle walking hm as close to the wall as possible. The idea is to always make the WRONG thing HARD for them and the right thing easy. He'll soon learn that it is becoming wayyyy too much effort in his part to keep bolting. Another option and this is a REALLY good one is if he bolts, KEEP him running. HARD!!! Make his lungs do the talking. Run run run run run him around your arena until he is huffing and puffing. Again Wrong thing hard. Then finally when you ask him to walk stop him at the end he spooks at and see if he'll walk calmly by.... Let me know how it goes for you. Keep me updated :) Sorry for the delayed response LOL!!! "

Today's lesson happens to be one of my FAVORITE motto's... Always Make the WRONG thing hard and RIGHT thing easy...

Confidence is Key

2009-10-11T23:17:00.000-07:00

When you're a horse person who has lost confidence in your ability what are you supposed to do? Well, it just so happens I am currently working with a lady who lost hers... Her horse started kicking out and charging on the lunge line. She was terrified. Every time her horse did that she had him put away immediately. So I went out there and did a wee bit of butt kicking and then showed her EXACTLY how I did it.... Her fear was that once I left her horse would start up the tude again on the lunge. So I have her doing simple things with her horse that she can not fail at. Walking, backing, grooming, tying. Picking up his feet. Just some basic ground control.

The idea is, is when a person loses their confidence to make it so they can not be set up to fail. By doing some simple things that she feels she can handle appropriately, she is slowly starting to regain her confidence back... And that's what it takes, slow simple steps, without the fear of the big "FAIL" clouding her head. It's been several days and while I'm going back out there twice a week for awhile for lessons, her confidence is happily on it's way back up :)

Horses and Heartbreak

2009-10-08T00:13:00.000-07:00

You can't fight the inevitable, even when it's at it's most painful... Last night we had to put down the barn owner's mare. She was 28 yrs old. Most likely she had some sort of kidney or liver failure, with a bit of colic. After 7 hours of walking, 2 buckets of water and mineral oil and many injections, it was time... She was panting and sweating and we all knew she needed rest.

The owner had owned this mare for 22 years. She was her everything. She was there before the kids, the husband, she was her best friend. 14 years ago the mare gave birth to a filly who 8 months later succumbed to colic and died. It was said that even though she was pregnant again, she never got over the loss of her filly... She had a colt a few months later who now has become one of Western Washington's fasted patterned horses in his division. No one can touch him and his Dam was no different. A few years ago, while on the beach the her owner was riding her and her husband was on her current speed horse. They decided to go for a run and before he knew it he was eating sand being kicked up from the mare and her beloved friend. She never slowed down and taught countless children and adults how to ride. She was a one of a kind mare. The kind of horse you can only dream to have...

When it was time, we walked her to where she would be buried and he son screamed out for her, the horses all looked somber and it was a clear chilly night. Every star in the sky was visible and the moon light up the pasture. The vet injected her and she laid down with all the grace she'd had while she was alive. We said our goodbye's and left with red eyes and broken hearts... Death is funny that way. Though we try to be brave when we put our beloved, trusted friends out of their pain, the pain suddenly consumes us instead.

Last night at 11:45 she finally joined her filly in Heaven. Today was a gorgeous fall day with a beautiful sunset and we laid her to rest behind her pasture. She's always been the Matriarch of the farm and always will be. We'll always feel comforted knowing she's looking over us, running through lush green fields with her darling filly and feeling no pain...

Fight For It...

2009-10-04T21:28:00.000-07:00

Oh fun fun... It was another auction Sunday and it was PACKED!! There were a lot of horses, some really nice and some that were beyond sickly, starved. Here's the deal... My biggest pet peeve of the whole darn thing...CLEAN up your damn horses!!!! Do not bring them to the auction dirty, filthy, with 4 inches more hoof than they should have and STARVED!!! You are not doing your horse any justice by not riding it in either, or at least put a saddle on it. You want to sell your horse, I get that and you probably want to make a buck on it too. So get off your fat, lazy asses even a week prior to the auction and do some work with your horse. Get a saddle on it, give it a bath and a nice hoof trim. Yeah cause know how hard it is to pick a brush for crying out loud. Give these horses a FIGHTING CHANCE to get a god home for god's sake!!!! People are oh so worried about slaughter and the kill buyers. Well hey, they are just doing their job, as nasty as it may be, but it is more the horse OWNER'S fault than anything for bringing their rag tag, dirty, gangly, un trained (Let's halter break the horse's people!), horses to the auction... Makes me SICK!!! Ugh... End Rant...

Yes, Horses Are Smart

2009-09-30T00:46:00.000-07:00

So I acquired a new client who will be starting with me soon, but first she needed me to come out and evaluate her horse. A BEEFY monster of an animal. He was a stallion until 2 years has been broke and ridden a lot, but one day the current owner loosened the saddle after a ride and the saddle slipped under his belly causing an insane blow up. Ever since then the horse will blow up once the saddle is on OR one the rider has gotten on.

So I went out today and we took him to the round pen and tacked him up and it was good, no blow ups, so I took the saddle off and re tacked him and we were good, no blow ups. So I put one foot in the stirrup and hung off him and no blow ups. I was impressed at first. So I repeat that a few times and then I start to get obnoxious, kicking out my legs and hanging off his side (If he started bucking I didn't want to actually be in the saddle) and sure enough he goes to blow up. So I push back, grab the lunge whip and chase his little honey buns around the round pen until he stopped bucking and was gasping for air.

Once I asked him to whoa I brought him back into the middle of the round pen and we started over with no problems. I was swinging off his sides and kicking out my legs, just as I did before he blew and you know he just stood there. Why? The owner was baffled... Why the sudden attitude adjustment?? Because when he bucked with her or around her she stopped him and put him away. There was no repercussion, with me it was that he was going to be gasping for air. John Lyons put it best when he says that a horse may not listen to you, but he will listen to his lungs. And when the lungs start burning they'll do anything to not have to run around like ever again. And you know what, it works almost everytime. Bucking=running til I say he's done.

I Told her everytime he bucked no matter what, if he was in that round pen, to chase his buns around and around and then start back over rom where he started bucking. If she stayed on top of this for about a week straight she'd probably never have another problem like that again. Horses are very smart. His saddle fits perfectly, she's a good rider, it's just that he got away with being a stinker beasue he got scared once and then learned it meant no work. Not anymore buddy LOL!! Not anymore....

I Was Unaware of This...

2009-09-28T01:54:00.000-07:00

So I have a big gorgeous TB gelding. He is by Affirmed. Yes, THAT Affirmed. He is a floaty gorgeous mover and gets looks where ever he goes. A Great show horse and loves to jump. Recently he's been plagued by awful abscesses that wouldn't go away, my farrier thought everything looked OK. So I continue to soak and soak and treat and treat his little feet. Everyday. I thought about putting shoes on him thinking that would help, I contacted my vet, but nothing, no one had any answers.

So one of my good friends came out a few days ago and looked at how TB was walking and she said to me just as plain and simply as could be.... "He has Laminitis and needs to get to a stall ASAP." Laminitis??? That's freaking on it's way to being FOUNDER!!! How can a normal horse of 10 years of age be foundering?? He isn't over weight, isn't on lush pasture, What the hell????

Well, I'd never dealt with a foundering horse before. EVER. So little did I know that there are SOOOO many different kinds of founder and laminits. I took Big Boy up to my friends house where he could be monitored 24/7 and in a HUGE stall... Easily a 20x20. Her very good friend who is a natural barefoot trimmer came and confirmed that he does have laminitis. She put pads and an equi cast on both front feet and instantly he began to feel better.... So obviously I wanted to know what on earth could have caused him to get laminitis and she simply said...."Anything. He more than likely had a metabolic upset and it threw his feet into a tailspin." Thankfully, They are taking AMAZING care of him and he just eats happily and can finally relax. His hooves are growing new sole and he gets turned out 3 times a day for a little at a time. His mood has dramatically improved and he is truly happy now!!!

Who on Earth would have thought???? Certainly not me.... It terrified me even as they were telling me "It'll be OK, he will recover, we caught it in time!" Ugh, talk about some stress.... While he is recovering beautifully and I am ever so grateful for the help of my friends, it worries me to think that I'd missed that and that he could have really gotten some serious damage done to his hooves and legs. It was my "Oh Shit!!" Moment of the year!!!! So has anything like this ever happened to you??? And always know that even if your vet and farrier are out of ideas, a friend may hit it on the noggin for FREE!!! LOL

Falling

2009-09-24T23:05:00.000-07:00

Well it's the start of Fall time and it's cooler and starts to get darker soon so a lot of people put there horses away for the Winter... Giving them the Winter off to let their horses relax, mostly because we feel it's too darn cold to get our butts out and riding. Winter time can be a great time for hacking around and just actually riding for fun... Not thinking about anything in particular just exercising and riding around.

The best and easiest way to get through the bad weather, is to plan events with other barn friends. Plan a jumper night, or a game day. Do mini clinics where you all ride and have your peers critic each other and help each other out. Have a broomstick polo game or go to some Winter schooling shows.

Just because the weather is turning doesn't mean we have to stop having fun!!! So get warm and get out there. What actvities do you enjoy in the arena???

Honesty is the Best Policy

2009-09-23T00:18:00.001-07:00

I came across this dream horse ad and WHOA... The owner seems a wee bit upset!!! Horse bucks and kids ruined him.... Hmmm that is quite to the point and I respect that immensely, but how do you stop it before it gets to that point??? Before someone "ruins" your horse??? He's a young gelding at 7 and already ruined???? What would you say if someone was riding your horse the way you didn't like???? Are you the shy type who would just blow it off or say would you say something??? Me, I'd say something... I've spent too much time on my horses to let them get trashed...

Here is the ad... I copied and pasted it for privacy

Small Companion Horse
Location:
Olympia, Washington 98507
Breed:
Appaloosa
Date Foaled:
2001
Gender:
Gelding
Height:
14.0 hh
Weight:
700 pounds
Color:
Grey
Other Coloror Markings:
brown and black
Temperament:1=Very Calm...10=Very High-Spirited
Unknown
May Trade:
No
Registered?
No
Reg. Assn:

Reg. Number:

For Lease:
No
For Sale:
Yes
Asking Price:
$1 (US)
Horse Skills or Potential:

Notes:
Small appy gelding. Eight years old. Bucks. Very sweet but not honest. Would make a nice companion horse to another horse or maybe a pack horse. He is wonderful to ride as long as your mind is on him. When you take your mind off he knows and bucks like a bucking bronc. Free to good home. He is a sweetheart. Beginner riders have ruined him.

You're a BIT of an idiot

2009-09-21T01:04:00.000-07:00

So I came across an article that at first started off really nice and informative and then just went south FAST!!!! Here are some excerpts that I found to be extremely disturbing....

"However, sometime during the training process, a horse will need to be lightened up even more. Especially the older horses that are being tuned up or re-trained.So to get the job done, I’ll go to a twisted-wire snaffle. Either the regular or the thin twisted-wire.
These twisted-wire bits have some “bite” to them and will convince even an older, hard mouthed horse to respond and lighten up." Um, NO BUDDY!!! You can get a horse light without a double twisted wire thank you!!!

He says running martingales don't work so instead "If you want to try a piece of equipment that DOES HELP a horse learn to give to your hands, supple-up and flex at the poll… use a German martingale" Again I'm going to have to say a big fat no thanks.... Um... Why is it other trainers can get their horses to flex without the use of this crap??

Oh here's a gem... "Another bit that I sometimes use to lighten a horse up is a “draw” or “gag” bit. On some horses this bit works great. The reason is because it works on different pressure points than a regular snaffle bit." I've already headdesked so many times at this point my skull is bleeding....

"Most horses, I’ll ride with the 8” shanks. The super sensitive ones, I’ll ride with the 7” shanks." OK, is this a joke now??? Is someone just screwing with me???? 8 INCHES???? That is NOT necessary!!! "The correction bit will get a horse responding well" Uhhhh, yeah have you seen them??? They have ports so high they'll tickle you're horses brain...

Oh and for the love of hell... "I’ll use a curb chain with this bit that has more bite to it than the usual one that I use. Usually, a dog-chain curb works well." Oh yes, cause that's what you need to give the bit MORE F-ing Bite.... Yes these were ALL from the same article...

With so much info on the web, it's hard to choose what is good and what isn't?? Well, to solve any dilemmas I'll put it to you this way... Trust your gut, if you don't like it, don't use it, ask a professional or several professionals, get some opinions and GIMMICKS, stronger bits, or training aids will NEVER replace good solid training in the first place.

Top 10

2009-09-17T22:55:00.000-07:00

This was sent to me via an email and I thought it was too good not too share!!!! Enjoy!

10. Drop a heavy steel object on your foot. Don't pick it up right away. Shout, "Get off, Stupid, GET OFF!"

9. Leap out of a moving vehicle and practice "relaxing into the fall." Roll lithely into a ball and spring to your feet.

8. Learn to grab your checkbook out of your purse and write out a $1000 check without even looking down.

7. Jog long distances carrying a halter and a carrot. Go ahead and tell the neighbors what you are doing - they might as well know now.

6. Affix a pair of reins to a moving freight train and practice pulling to a halt. Smile as if you are having fun.

5. Hone your fibbing skills: "See, moving hay bales is FUN!" and "No, really, I'm glad your lucky performance and multimillion dollar horse won the blue ribbon. I am just thankful that my hard work and actual ability won me second place."

4. Convince yourself that being bucked off 7 times makes you a "REAL RIDER"

3. Borrow the US Army's slogan: Be All That You Can Be -- bitten, thrown, kicked, slimed, trampled, frozen...

2. Lie face down in a puddle of mud in your most expensive riding clothes and repeat to yourself, "This is a learning experience, this is a learning experience, this is ......."

1. The number one exercise to become a better equestrian is MARRY MONEY !

Break Down...

2009-09-15T22:53:00.000-07:00

So we ALL know that craigslist and dreamhorse are FLOODED with cheap/free horses. We all also know that it is due to people have no jobs... Or are cutting back on "hobbies." But is it unreasonable to think that horses can be affordable???? Let's play the breakdown game... These are AVERAGES for the PNW area... You own 1 horse. This is your cost.

Board $250 x 12 = $3,000
Hay $70 (a ton usually last 3-4 months) x 12 = $840
Grain $30 (2 Bags) x 12 = $360
Hoof trim $35 ( $60 for front shoes or $100 for 4) x 6 = $210
Wormer $7 x 6 = $42
Teeth Float $120
Vaccinations $80 x 2 = $160

Your Grand Total is $4732 a year. It comes out to roughly $394 per month. All averaged out. NOW here is where it gets super fun!!!! A lot of people offer boarding for CHEAP!!! Pasture board for $100, so that cuts your boarding costs and HAY cost if the pasture is decent. If your horse is an easy keeper than you can get good, nice local hay for $3.50 a bale. You buy wormer in bulk it can be as low as $2.99 per tube. Split farm calls and vet costs. Buy Vaccines in bulk and split cost between barn. Don't feed grain. So let's try this again.

Board $100 x 12 = 1200
Hay $21 (local) x 12 $252 or $35(Alfalfa/timothy/orchard) x 12 = $420
Wormer $2.99 x 6 = 17.94
Vaccinations $35 x 2 = $70
Trim $35 x 6 = $210
Teeth float $100

Now you're at roughly $2017.94(with hay) or $168.16 per month or $1849.94(with local hay) or $154.16 per month.... I'm sure there are even MORE costs that can be carefully finagled so long as your horse is and REMAINS healthy. So... A measly $168.16. Huh... And we have all these abandoned, starving horses. I understand that people have bills and families and other responsibilities, but our animals are our responsibility too... Pretty sad.... Pretty Sad when you actually break it down...

Body Movin' We Be Body Movin'

2009-09-14T01:10:00.000-07:00

So my APHA mare, is ULTRA light and sensitive.... To a fault.... While I had the greatest weekend with her trail riding, I learned a valuable lesson on said trails. She sucks at staying straight and you know what? That's my fault... She has no shoes on so I tired to keep her in the middle of the trail which had grass and soft dirt, but she wouldn't stay on it or stay straight. I realized that I'd lost control of her body.

So today, I worked her in the arena and to the left she goes great, stay on the rail, flexes really nice to the inside, respects my leg. To the right, she's a train wreck. She bulges HORRIBLY!!! She cranes her neck to the rail and swings her body out, only at the trot though. So I bring her back to some body moving basics at the walk. Circles, serpentines, then I start walking her and turning her towards the rail for the turn on the forehand. Then I start on some roll backs and things are going smooth...

I, then put her back on the rail and OVER emphasize her bending towards the inside. I want to see her right eye the whole time down the rail while her body stays straight. If she thinks about turning to the inside the she gets my inside leg tapping on her ribs, to push that gut back over. Why do I do that??? Because she bulges to the inside of the arena, so if I discipline her by making her almost making her "bulge" to the outside, or towards the rail, then walking straight with her ears, shoulders and hips in a line will be glorious release. She's so sensitive and light, that it doesn't take much now to keep her straight.

Now we do the same exercises at the trot, rollbacks, turns on the forehand, circles, serpentines. She still is bulging at the trot so I repeat the same exercise. I put her on the rail and turn her head to the inside so I can see her right eye, while keeping my inside leg on her as block from her turning in... Soon enough we are trotting up and down the rail in straight lines.

Your own leg and hand control is essential in teaching a horse body control... Every horse, be it a show horse, jumper, western pleasure, trail horse, cutting, dressage, etc... MUST have fluid, consistent body control and movements. Tomorrow we'll begin in shoulders in/out, haunches in/out and leg yielding for more body control.

Sooooo.... What The Hell is This???

2009-09-09T22:23:00.000-07:00

It's a horse, a mutt horse, that has it's own breed... It's called the Blazer horse. And yes, it confuses me.... here is a link so you can learn all about it. It's mostly a QH Morgan X. At least that's what I got out of this site so far... http://lonestarblazers.com/traits.aspx The requirements of the breed are pretty similar to AQHA. Except it's not an AQHA horse, it's a Blazer....

I wonder with horse people sometimes, I mean don't get me wrong every breed started from somewhere and is a mix of many breeds, but do registries like this just pop up so you can pretend to have a registered horse? For example, The American Warmblood, it's sort of a breed, mostly just a mutt though....

What do you think of breed registries like this? Do they hinder or help? Do they encourage more backyard cross breeding, or give everyone a chance to have a registered horse???

I Would Go To War With Him...

2009-09-06T22:06:00.000-07:00

Had such a BLAST on this trail ride!! I got a call on Saturday from a student of mine and she asked if I wanted to go on a trail ride before it started down pouring. YEAH NO PROBLEM!!! So I grab the Avenging Uni (AU) and she tacks up her Appy and away we go!!!! So we are going through the woods and her Appy comes across a hooded sweatshirt lying on the ground and he snorts and sniffs and AU starts snorting too although he doesn't know why LOL!! So Appy man freaks and spins, AU freaks and spins and they both try to run away. They get about 4 steps and we stop them and we are dying laughing, so we get them back up to the hoodie they sniff it and start eating grass around it... So we move about 5 feet and Appy turns around and starts snorting again, this time at a mud puddle. UGH, they are acting so retarded LMAO!!! Totally feeding off eachother. Oh and they've been on this trail a hundred times!!!

So me and my friend are talking and with all the snorting and ridiculous actions our horses are giving us I say to her, "You know they used to use Arabs as War horses. I don't think I'd take AU into a damn war." I mean we all know of Marengo right?

So we continue on and all is good until Appy man starts snorting again, so I urge AU into the front and while he is a bit tense he is being pretty faithful and of course we must make fun of Appy man for the Arab being braver!! ;). We get through that part of the trail and there is an open part so we go ahead and lope for a bit and suddenly Appy man ducks into the bushes, shying away from a damn branch on the trail LOL! Oh man, I swear at this point our horses have tried to dump us no less than 7 times.... So I halt AU and again we are dying laughing again!!!

We continue some more on the trail and we get to another AWESOME field and decide to lope again. So we get going and all is well, we get to the end of the field and Appy slows down and I realize that I only have one rein. My other rein broke and we are full steam ahead.... So I sit on my ass, gently pull on my one rein, as if I had 2, and say "Whoa." And like a champ, AU stops. Like a gentleman. We are like one when we ride, him and I. Even though he can be a total goofball, I would go to war with him...

A-D Barn Style

2009-09-03T23:29:00.000-07:00

So I received an email today from a woman wanting to have her horse trained and shown English Pleasure. Not a problem. A Can DO! But, then towards the bottom of the email she was stating how she wanted the facilities to be a certain way, style, basically borderline high maintenance, which made me think of this.... In a horse persons life there are certain barns, facilities, that I am now going to put into a classification system.

The A+. This is the premier facility. Has anywhere from 50 to 80+ boarders. This is the place that is $800+ for boarding ONLY. These facilities are more dedicated to one specific discipline. Dressage, Hunter/Jumper. They have 20 workers, their barn floors could be EATEN off of.Their stalls are 15x20 with sold iron bars and metal so the horses can not crib away at the stall. The horses get turned out for maybe a few hours a day and the pastures have beautiful loafing sheds. The stalls and pastures are cleaned and picked several times a day. Brand new equipment. Premium hay and grains, feeding 3-4 times a day. Their pastures and fencing are primo and in brand new condition. This is a place where the horses don't really get to be horses because the pasture may get torn up, or the $150,000 horse may throw one of his $300 shoes. This place has EVERYTHING! Hot walkers, maybe a track, trails, just to the NINES!!! This is a place that we all dream of owning. Rolling lush fields, white fences, immaculate arenas, yes ARENAS, more than one. All Olympic sized. Ahhh very drool worthy!!!! Most of us will never board here.

The A. A Nice facility. Has around 30-60 boarders. Hard to know everybody. Also more specified to one discipline. Western pleasure, dressage, H/J. It looks a little older, may have some scuffs or marks in the wood, but they keep it nice. Pressure washed, nice pastures, probably running about $400-$500 for boarding. A decent covered arena, good sized. Good hay, a few workers a clean nice place. The horses get turned out for maybe a half day to a full day (MAYBE). The horses could be turned out in small groups of 2 or 3. Has some tack lockers, hot cold wash rack, grooming stall. Good equipment, property is kept up on, nicely.

The B. A Working Facility. Around $250-$350 for board. A nice covered, tilled arena, round pen, 12x12 stalls, offers both full or partial care. Usually has 15-30 boarders, more of a close knit friends type of place. Nice hay. Trails. Hot/cold washrack, cross ties, a shared tackroom. Smaller sized pastures, but nice. More set up for breaking and training horses. Well kept, decent equipment. this is a bit more diverse. Western pleasure, reining, cows, jumping, gaming, etc. These are nice places and happy horses. This is where 80% of us end up.

The C. A Small Facility. Typically $150-$250 for board. This has a few stalls, nicely kept, an arena, not covered, a few pieces of equipment. You supply your own hay. Self care or partial care. Has on 2-3 boarders. It probably has one or two pastures that the horses share. Nice quiet down home place.

The D. A Homeowner's facility. A piece of property, maybe a stall or two in someone's back yard. $100-$200 for board. Probably self care, maybe partial. Has only only 2-3 boarders. You supply your own hay, the horses run together in the pastures. May or may not have stalls. No arena.

I have experienced every single one of these places except for the A+. And in fact as a trainer, I worked my way up from a D, to where I am now, HAPPILY at a B. I LOVE IT!!! I think it is the perfect place for what I do. Now there is NOTHING wrong with any of these places, it's all personal preference... So Where are you now??? And where would you dream to be????

Who On Earth Would Use This????????

2009-09-01T00:58:00.000-07:00

I think we all know what War Bridles are... If you don't it is a rope bridle that works by wrapping the rope and tying a knot on the underside of a horse's chin. The pressure is ALL put onto the lower jaw... Yeah not fun....But it gets worse!!!

There is another bridle that some people use as a method of restraint and yes some still ride in it, and it's called the "Bonaparte" or "Cherokee" Bridle... It works by not only having the rope wrapped around the lower jaw for pressure, BUT ALSO puts pressure on both the top and bottom gums of the horse!!!! YEEEEEIKES! They say it can be used for really "rank" horses and stallions that need to be taught a lesson *Gulp* Or for horses receiving medical treatment... Um.. OK, When the rope or reins are pulled it immediately puts pressure on the gums, lower jaw and poll of your horse... I swear I am really unsure of who could, in good conscious, use this. Light hands, soft hands, this is devastation waiting no no ASKING to happen....

Bad For Business???

2009-08-30T23:26:00.000-07:00

So a close friend of mine (a Male) has an on again off again relationship, with a girl who works at his barn. They are both younger, around 20 or so, and they have the type of relationship that is very typical for that time on your life. They are infatuated with each other, but fight ALL the time, which wouldn't be a huge deal EXCEPT that he works and trains horses and deals with clients all day long. Again, it shouldn't be a problem, but here we go... She gets jealous if any other clients are women, doesn't matter how old or young they are. She always wants to go out and party and not work and not let him work or give lessons, she makes snarky comments to the women clients, you can hear her in the background, if you're on the phone with him, yelling about "Get off the phone! Who is that? What's SHE want?"

So a friend of mine who is a client of his, had to have a come to Jesus meeting with him. His GF's meddling in his training was becoming quite distracting to the client, the girl tried to put my friend on a horse that hadn't been ridden in 2 months to see if she could scare her... He was basically getting drug down by her and it was showing to everyone, especially his clients.... She FLIPPED out at the show we were at, because he was helping his students and not paying her any attention. She also hangs all over him when he is in the middle of a conversation with someone other than her. So when is it enough? When you can't even concentrate on your clients???

Trust me, it is HARD to find a balance in training and relationships. Horses take up a good part of your life even when you're not a trainer!!! But when someone actually starts to jeopardize your career because of immaturity, there has to be a line to draw somewhere right??? Ahhh for those of you who think there is no drama or excitement in horses, it is nothing BUT Drama LOL!!! Our advice to him was to figure out what was important to him. Money making clients? Or a GF (sort of) who makes his life difficult. If he wants both, great, but keep her far far AWAY! Not a good idea to mix business with pleasure... Not at all... *Head shaking* Ahhh Venting is good...

Answer TIME!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-08-28T00:29:00.000-07:00

Texasnascarcowgirl, and Others wondering about Herdbound issues.~ This is probably one of the tougher of the horse problems that we all have to deal with from time to time. So here we go. A horse is naturally a herd bound animal so you are technically fighting against nature when training a horse to be OK, with going away from the herd. It is also a LONG training process so be prepared. First off, your horse needs to be able to look at you as a herd leader so when you separate him from his actual horse buddy he is OK with it. This can be established by groundwork. Lots of lunging for respect and leading practice, backing and stopping when you stop etc... Practice this in his PASTURE with the other horse there. Make him focus on you with both eyes and ears, don't let his head wander or bend away from you. Make him work so darn hard in his pasture that leaving it and his buddy will actually be a release... Take him out and then give him a bit of grain or some carrots, then walk him around away from the pasture. Every time he diverts his attention AWAY from you and back to home, make him WORK... Herdbound issues require a lot of patience and leadership on your behalf. Also if it's possible try to switch your horses around every couple days so they don't get attached to one single buddy. You can also use a string of hotline to divide the pasture so they can see each other, but not be in together. And Yes Tash, I'll be more than happy to come out and work your herdbound pony :)

Smazourek~ First off, a rubber bit or gentle snaffle. Bit the horse up and the ground drive them, gently pulling them to the right or left. For example if you're teaching your horse to go right then pull on the right "rein" and do not release the pressure until the horse gives to the bit and turns to the right. Asking for the stop s the same thing say WHOA and apply equal pressure to both reins, don't release until the horse has come to a complete stop. You can also use split reins and stand beside your horse and practice the same idea. Stand beside him by the wither area say on his left and have your right hand over his back or saddle holding the right rein and your left hand holding the left. Basically "ride" him from the ground. Walk along side of him and work the reins. Control your hands softly and quietly and release when your horse gives to the commands.

Cierarosaline~ These are 2 relatively easy fixes :) For the drifter set up a vertical at a comfortable height and then take 2 more ground poles and set the ends on the vertical and set the other ends on the ground, have it come together in an almost pseudo "V" shape, this will make a visual for your horse to follow. He MUST go straight to the jump this way. Also practice lots of flatwork and teach him to listen to your legs. Do a lot of haunches in, out, Shoulder in, out, side passing etc... That when we he starts to drift to the left you should be able to use your left leg to push him back over. I even made a nifty (horrible) Drawing of how to set up the jump.

For the squirmy one, take him back down to a comfortable height and and practice trotting over it then halting afterwards. Keep the trot slow and controlled and relaxed. If he gets anxious then halt him and make him wait. Then walk him up to the fence, turn around and repeat. Halting is good because it teaches the horse not to ASSUME, To relax and to LISTEN carefully to you. Do this a lot at the trot, than the canter. For your flatwork, practice a lot of half halting. Your horse needs to be calm and quiet when approaching fences, if he is squirmy and drifts from side to side, set up the same grid ad work him through it. Also lots of body control exercises :) AS far as liniment I LOVE Absorbine GEL. I think it sticks to them better. I apply it to the legs, shoulders, neck, back and rump muscles.

Paigely~ First off Ground work Respect :) Lunging, making her switch directions, stopping, backing all that fun jazz. NOW, here is a NEAT trick I learned from my horse as on trail rides he likes to slam my knee into stuff. Pull their nose around. So if your horse is trying to rub you off on the left then pull her head to the left. She won't smack her own head and she'll bulge her body to the right a bit thus protecting your legs. Also for arena work keep her in the middle of the arena off the rail. If she tries to drift to the rail push her back over towards the middle or on the ground work her right next to the rail so close that she may rub into it. Make the rail a "Holy Crap I have to work too hard when 'm on the rail." Place. :) And yes, I'm going to make another awesome picture!! HOLY CRAP I Suck at drawing with paint LOL....

Tash~ Get a saddle pad with some grippy rubber material on the bottom. Also I use girths with the same type of grippy neoprene material. So I'm gripping in both places top and bottom. A breast collar may also help a little, but the sticky pads are the BEST!! I use one and I love it! My Arab is SUPER round and slippery and when I use this pad my saddle does not MOVE and it's a treeless!!! :) They sell them at Del's for about $45

Spotmesomecolor~ I actually have an Appy in training right now that had similiar issues. He's 6 now and has finally bulked up to his normal adult size. If your horse a high in the wither area than try to find a saddle that is a bit higher in the Gullet area. Horse go through different growth spurts in different areas until they finally level off at around 6 (depending on the breed). Keep using the gel pads to keep her comfortable and also if you have a tack shop that allows you to actually haul your horse there, then get a pro saddle fit. Doesn't mean that you have to BUY, just try on some saddles to see what will work best for your mare. Then it's on to craigslist!! Also bring your own saddle and have them look at how that fits her as well... Get a couple of opinions too. If you can't haul her anywhere then use the coat hanger trick. Take a coat hanger and bend it to the shape of your horses wither and shoulder area. Then trace the shape onto a piece of cardboard, cut it out and take it to some tack shops... She has probably gotten a bit more narrow due to the fact that your exercising all the baby fat away now, she will build back muscle and fill out so don't worry. Right now, just keep her comfy and try to find a saddle that provides a good fit... :):):)

If some of my answers aren't clear enough feel free to email me... Sometimes I think way faster than I type LOL! And Good Luck to all of you! Tash Let me know when you want me to come out! :) Again I apologize for my horrible drawings that were done on Paint LMAO!! I'm not an artist hahahaha!!!!!

Q & A Time!!!!!!!

2009-08-26T22:57:00.000-07:00

I think it's that time again... So Lock and Load...Everyone has until 11 PM Tomorrow to post their questions, then I'll answer them in order... WOOHOOO!!!!

Weighed Down

2009-08-25T23:43:00.000-07:00

I have a lot of "Non Horsey" people ask me this question; "How much weight can a horse carry???" So I found this totally AWESOME article that answers just this question. Some people think that being bigger is a bad thing, BUT being too waif like can also create problems, the horse can ignore you or attempt to walk all over you cause of strength and light weight. We have a nice gal at our barn who is so light and thin that her horse sometimes blows right through her commands and ignores her. So it does go both ways. I personally get a little thrown off by this question (that is code for annoyed) only because ANYONE can enjoy horses, big, small, tall, whatever. I just have to remind myself that non horsey people are not as gifted and brilliant as us horsey people and that they can be a little ignorant :P

Courtesy of http://www.frontrangefrenzy.com/ridinghorses/how-much-can-a-horse-carry.html

"When asking the question, "how much weight can a horse carry?" you often hear a response similar to "it depends on the breed of the horse, its conditioning and conformation, how far and how long you will be traveling, the horse's bone structure, the type of weight the horse will carry (for example live [rider] or dead weight [gear]), weight distribution" and so on. So with this sound advice from your fellow horsemen, surely you now have a much better idea of how much weight your horse can carry. No? Of course not. Though your colleagues are correct in stating all the above factors, you are still left in the dark without any guideline on how much weight a horse can carry. Can my horse only carry 80 pounds, or is he capable of carrying 300 pounds?

Fortunately some very smart horsemen over the years have come up with a few methods for us to calculate a starting point to help determine how much weight a horse can carry. One very simple guide is to take the horse's weight and divide by six to give you the total weight, including rider and tack, the horse can carry. Given this, a 1200 pound horse could carry up to 200 pounds.

Another quick and popular method is to use the 20% rule. You take 20% of your horse's body weight and the result is the amount of total weight your horse can carry. For example, a 1,000 pound horse should easily carry 200 pounds of rider and tack. The 20% rule typically applies to competitive or otherwise "hard" riding. For pleasure riding, many use a 30% rule, so this 1,000 pound horse could carry 300 pounds for shorter pleasure rides.
Measuring a horse's cannon bone is used by some in determining the approximate weight a horse can carry. A measurement is taken around the circumference of the foreleg, just below the knee. Add together the weight of the horse plus the rider and tack, and divide this sum by the cannon bone circumference measurement. Then divide that result by two. A number between 75 and 85 is good. If the number is over 85, you probably need a larger horse. Using this method, I measure the circumference of the horse's cannon bone and get 7.5 inches. The body weight of the horse is 1,150 pounds and the rider and gear weigh 235 pounds for a total combined weight of 1,350 pounds. Divide 1,350 (total combined weight) by 7.5 (cannon bone) and I get roughly 185. Divide 185 in half and my final resulting number is 93. Using this calculating method, I either need to lighten my gear or get a larger horse to get the number down to around 85.
Some horse and rider guidelines where carrying weight is concerned:
Pick a horse with bigger cannon bones, wider loins, shorter back
Avoid using heaving saddles and only carry necessary gear
Make sure the horse is conditioned for the type of riding you doing
Keep proper riding posture and balance
Give the horse a break on longer rides - get off a while and let your horse rest
Avoid riding in areas where footing is not desirable - such as mud, deep sand, asphalt
Avoid letting the horse trot or canter
The maximum weight a horse can safely carry does vary by the breed of the horse and how hard it's worked. There is no absolute rule about how much weight a horse can carry, but generally speaking the lighter-framed the horse the less he can carry. A well conditioned horse or a stout horse can generally carry more. Some breeds are bred to carry heavier weights like the Quarter Horse, Arabian or Icelandic Pony. Riders with good balance also make weight load less of a problem."

Really? Arabs were made for heavy weight??? Hmmmm I'm a little questionable on that one, but still a great article...

The Avenging Unicorn

2009-08-23T21:53:00.000-07:00

I have to say I LOVE showing and being at shows. It is my FAVORITE!!! So this past weekend Me and 8 other people went to the S.A.F.E. Show in Graham, WA. S.A.F.E is a local rescue that puts on a benefit show every year and they are always very well organized, fun, and a great experience for everyone involved!!! PLUS a lot of other local rescues bring horses too and it's amazing to see these horses who were once considered "throw aways" Show and compete. It's so fun too because it's like a big party where we get to see old friends, meet new ones and have a BALL!!!!!

So anyway, my horse was acting like a COMPLETE Jack. He decided right in front of the judge to launch himself into the air and buck, He pretty much did a Capriole, only he's not a Lipizzaner, hmmmmm someone should tell him! LMAO. So one of my fellow competitors and friend gave him the new nickname of the "Avenging Unicorn." HAHAHAHAHA Ugh... Poor Raven. BUT here is the best part, let's go down the list.

My student Tammy and her Appy horse, who I've been training and giving lessons too, placed 1st in an Equitation class and a 2nd in a Pleasure class. WOOHOO Her and her sister got very teary eyed, they couldn't believe it. We were all jumping and screaming for her!!! Here's a pic of Tammy on her Appy.

Maddie my 9 yr old student and her 28 yr old appy mare named Cutie placed 4ths and 5ths in almost every class. It was her first performance show ever! It was a great experience for her and not bad for a first show!!!!!

S&D's horse Sugar ROCKED it at the barrels and Cal Stake class cleaning up with a 2nd and 3rd with our friend Chance riding. Even Little Diamond competed in the in hand trails course!!!

And here's my horse, The Avenging Unicorn himself LMAO!! HA!!! Thanks Cowgirly!!

All in all it was amazing and I could NOT be happier and more proud of everyone!!! They all worked VERY hard for this show and it really paid off! Even the Avenging Unicorn got some love and treats yesterday LOL!! Congrats to every one who attended the show!!!! it was a HUGE success!!!

Stretched Thin

2009-08-21T01:16:00.000-07:00

EEK, this is going to be one hell of a weekend. Tomorrow I have to drive out to Ocean Shores which is about 2.5 hours away to go to a wedding at 1. Then ZIP back to the barn to get my students, my training horses and my own self and horse ready for the show on Saturday. There are a couple of "Show Virgins" going WOOHOO, so it makes things a BIT more stressful. I haven't even cleaned my own tack or figured out what I'm doing I've been so slammed this week with lessons and training. *Sigh* So the trailer will packed up tomorrow night with tack, horses will be scrubbed, last minute lessons and training tweaks will be done, then Saturday all I need to do is hook up, load up and GO!!!!! Will let you know how it goes :)

What's it like when you get ready for a show??? Are you a planner or procrastinator???

Strapping

2009-08-19T01:05:00.000-07:00

One piece of equipment that is tough to work with out is a curb strap/chain, but understanding it is just as important. So What's the deal? Seems simple enough right??

Well let's start with how to use it. On a Snaffle bit, people use them for 2 reasons. The first is to stabilize the snaffle. What it does is holds the rings stationary and securely so you get a more clear connection from the your hands to the bit, it helps because it can keep the snaffle pieces moving around distracting the horse. It also helps the snaffle to not slide through the horses mouth in case of a one rein stop.

The next is the more obvious and that is on a shanked bit, kimberwicke, pelham so forth. So the purpose of these bridles and bits is a 3 way pressure system. The bit itself is your direct pressure, when you pull back on the reins it applies pressure to the chin where the curb strap is and to the top of the poll as well. These can either be GREAT bridles and training equipment or nightmares in the wrong hands, but that's besides the point currently.

Sooooo how tight you attach the strap is a major part on how the whole set will function. Too tight and your horse is visibly uncomfortable and there is NO release of the pressure on their chin. Too loose and your not getting any pressure whats-so-ever. You really want to be able to fit 2 fingers in between the strap and their chin comfortably for proper placement and use. Remember when using to be gentle and allow he pressure to release once the horse has responded to your cues. Under the chin is a sensitive area for our 4 legged buddies so be careful and have fun!!

Ahhhh Monday Funday

2009-08-17T13:09:00.000-07:00

Busy Busy weekend. Went to Wenatchee to watch a horse show, did some last minute shopping for some upcoming shows, getting the truck and trailer ready. Working horses and giving lessons, geez I'm beat... The weather is nice again, it rained for a bit, which was well needed! How was your weekends?

Cornered

2009-08-13T00:49:00.000-07:00

Ahhhh so much you can do with one... Do you realize just HOW much training you can accomplish by using the corner of your arena??? No? Well, then let's get started. First off do you know why corners are so useful? Because they are solid! They have no give. They are 2 pieces of a wall that meet to create a delicious 90 degree angle and your horse has nowhere to go, but where you want him too... OK, now how and what to do with it.

#1. Teach the turn on the forehand. Put your horse parallel to the wall with his nose in the corner, use your outside leg to apply pressure to his ribs and to "push him over." Take ahold of a little outside rein to help guide him as well. While applying pressure of your outside leg, DO keep a touch of inside leg on him so he doesn't think to back up. The idea is to get him to move his body around his front end so he is parallel to the other wall now, but with his nose still in the corner.

#2. Teach the turn on the hindquarter. Again Parallel to the wall on this time with his butt in the corner. Use outside leg as pressure to move his body, again you can use a little rein to guide him if he needs help. This time however use both reins and keep your inside leg off him, so he doesn't think to move forward. Again he should move his body around his hindquarter and be parallel to the other wall, butt in corner.

#3. Use your corners to create and teach a bend. Going deep into the corners will force your horse to bend lest he wants to smack his face into it. Apply your inside leg and a touch of inside rein during the bend, so your horse learns these cues to bend. If he starts to bulge into the corner hold him with your outside leg a little. This will help in executing nearly perfect circles later on.

#4. Teach a horse to back up or back up straight. Again, nose in the corner and parallel to the wall, apply equal rein pressure and squeezing with your calves ask him to back, using the wall as guidance to keep him straight. He he begins to turn his hind end push him back over to the wall with your inside aids and try again.

You would be amazed how much you can accomplish by using the corner of your arena. So many exercises and tools right at your disposal.

Keep Rollin'

2009-08-11T22:19:00.000-07:00

I'm beat tonight. I was up early this morning helping a close friend of mine. She runs a small rescue operation and she found an AMAZING home for one of her horses. An older Saddlebred mare. The mare had been run through the auction several times, was beat into a trailer and severely abused all around. My friend got her, rehabbed her and I trailered her to paradise! The family she went too were some of the nicest people I'd ever met. They were thrilled to have their new horse friend home. They immediately started grooming her and loving on her and invited me to stay for dinner. OH so awesome people! The only bad part was the roughly 200 mile round trip drive for me LOL! I sincerely wish there were more kind people like them, to adopt such a wonderful horse and To my friend, A job well done, She will be forever happy in her new home!!

Colt 45

2009-08-10T00:12:00.000-07:00

"Colt Starting" "Colt Training" Why is it always colt. Trainers train colts apparently. Even big name trainers start colts. Hmmmm This is just one of those terms that drives me MAD! According to Dictionary.com this is the actual Definition of a colt. "A young MALE horse A Male horse not over the age of 4." So what is with using that term to generalize ALL horses. Are you tougher if you are a colt starter? Better if you're a colt starter??? LMAO

"Hi, I have a mare I need to get trained." "OK, no problem we'll start yer colt." HA *snork* "Um, I have a mare." "Yeah I know we'll get yer colt started right for ya."

It's just one of these bizarre terms that I also find very misleading. Especially with training, but it has even been leaking into selling horses as well. COLTS FOR SALE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Come on Colts have balls. Mares and geldings don't. There is your anatomy lesson of the day. It would be just as easy to say "Horse starting and breaking." LOL. It's just one of those things that makes me chuckle and shake my head... Oh the terms we use in the horse world. That's a good as guildings, a pair of rains or lounging your horse.... I thought I would hit 2 birds with one stone today. Make you smile and rant. HA!

Other Woman

2009-08-06T00:03:00.000-07:00

So there is this really nice gal who is a beginner rider at the barn I'm at. She's about 25 and loves horses, so she has decided to full care lease one of the horses on the property. He's a nice gelding, very arena broke, safe and sane. So all in all the girl pays for everything on him ONLY to find out the horse's owner has also partially leased him to another woman!

So tonight me and S&D are chatting with the girl and she gets visibly upset saying she feels she's been taken advantage of and she doesn't feel this kind of lease is fair, she shouldn't have to share the horse when she is paying for a FULL Care lease. And you know what? SHE'S Right!! The owner is getting too greedy and has completely screwed this girl over. The owner didn't even tell the girl that she had also leased the horse to someone else. She found out by coming up to ride and saw the other woman riding her horse. Then she found out the horse's owner had offered the other woman the horse to BUY right out from underneath the leaser...

So we told her if she didn't want to lease that horse and continue to get played that she could ride our horses in exchange for some help around the stable. She was extremely grateful for our help and generosity, but frankly I hate seeing people get treated so unfairly. I'm sure the owner thought she could get away with it because the girl is new to the whole horse thing. Totally unacceptable ...

Please people be aware and if you lease out a horse or are leasing a horse, get everything in writing and have a VERY clear understanding as to what you're getting into. There are more owners now BEGGING for people to ride their horses, that you should never feel taken advantage of or ripped off....

Blood Bath

2009-08-04T00:37:00.001-07:00

Oh wow, I've been slammed this past week!! Horse shows, training, yeeks!!! I'm exhausted! But, being a horse show you hear a lot of people talking about their registered horses, papers and BLOODLINES. and it's made me come to the conclusion, that while yes, bloodlines CAN be important, sometimes they really just don't mean squat! Let's take the Quarter horse, when people tell me "Oh my horse goes back to Doc Bar, or Three Bars." I'd like to say WHO CARES! Find me a QH that doesn't!!! Or when you horse has Doc Bar in it 4 times, YEESH, inbred much??

Yet, a lot of people put a ton of importance into the bloodlines of their horses. I've seen some BUTT ugly, worthless nags, that people think are the greatest horse on earth just because it has "So and So Big Name Horse" in it's blood. Newsflash! You can't ride blood. Just like you can't ride pretty, papers, or color. It has to just be about the horse... Besides That fancy blood isn't going to do you ANY good if you can't use the horse for what you bought it for!!!

When I look at a horse the first few things I want to see is, soundness, temperament and conformation. You can buy a $200 cross bred horse that's quintessentially perfect for you, or $15,000 for a horse that has Mr. Awesome in it's blood, but is a complete train wreck!!

Now, bloodlines are important to know in the case of diseases like HYPP or HERDA, but mostly look at the HORSE first, blood second....

Of course, there are some exceptions to this rule, there always is... BUT, since we're on the subject what are some of your favorite lines?? Whose blood would you want in your horse if you could pick???

Horses and Whores

2009-07-29T23:51:00.000-07:00

So, I may get yelled at for this post, but I could care less. It's 103 degrees in SEATTLE, It has never been this hot we have broken several records today with the heat and I am CRANKY LOL. So moving on... To me, personally, I take riding very seriously, I am a pretty well known trainer in the area and I bust my back to get to get there and keep it that way. So when I see stupid people come into the horse world and try to use their lame ass celeb status, it irritated the crap out of me. Case and point. Katie Price.

She's a former topless model and I'm OK with that, she's a newbie in Dressage and riding in general and I'm OK with that, but now she has come out with her own equestrian clothing for both horse and rider and I want to slap her in the mouth for it. It's TRASH! It does not represent the class and etiquette that makes horses, especially DRESSAGE, what it should be. PLUS in the horse world, Katy is a big, fat NOBODY!!! She has done NOTHING great or even remotely impressive. In this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAyEnZqzkqs&feature=player_embedded of her riding, it is sub par and it is what I would expect a beginner rider to look like. Her legs aren't stable, nor is her hands and arms.

The poor pony in the picture also looks as though it wants to kill itself. Just look at it's eyes! This whole thing is just useless garbage that needs to be burned. If I buy something name brand it will have the name Pessoa, George Morris, Clinton Anderson, or John Lyons attached to it. Not some stupid Porno celeb that has done NOTHING for the horse community except make it look skanky and cheap! So here's a thought Katie, good for you for getting into horse's, but how about we concentrate on learning how to ride BETTER and get off the stupid clothing line that is as useless and pathetic as if it were done by Pam Anderson herself.

It's such trash that I would like to scream at her at the top of my lungs. And in fact, it seems I'm not the only one... Look her up on google "Katy Price Horse." People in the horse world are not thrilled and rightly so. If this is the new wave of horse riders and clothing and tack, then I'm out of here, I'm getting into showing bunnies!!!

I'd Die Without You....

2009-07-28T01:26:00.000-07:00

So, I went on a trail ride with one of the gals from the barn the other day and we were discussing our horses and how I told her that Raven is my Horse Soulmate, He is my life and everything to me. He's crazy and fun and loyal and every time I ride or work him I get a big grin on my face. I can't help it he makes me laugh... We read each other and know what the other is thinking or about to do. I can not work him for a week or two and then jump on him and go. And it's not because he is a solid, bombproof horse, my god he's an Arab Sporthorse, it's just because we know each other, I trust my life with him and I know he feels the same.

So the gal I went with told me the same thing, that her horse was her Soulmate. She wasn't looking to buy a horse when she found him and neither was I when i found Raven, but when you feel that connection its like you know in an instant that you can't live with out them... She'd gone through a few horses before she found him and they clicked instantly.

People told me that Raven would kill me, that he acted stud-like (He's a Gelding), that "OMG HE'S AN ARAB!!!!!!!!!!" Never mattered to me, I knew from the moment I laid EYES on that horse that he and I would be together forever.... This is a pic of me and my guy...

What horse is or was your soulmate? What would you look for if you trying to find the ONE????

Fried...

2009-07-27T00:02:00.001-07:00

It has been hot hot hot here in Seattle! I almost think I've been magically transported to Arizona it's so dang hot. Never the less the training must go on. Although when it gets this roasty toasty I am forced into doing one of two things. First I can ride at night, I'm a huge nightowl so o big for me, or I can train on the trail. OOOOOH just as fun! So what can you do on a trail as far as training goes???

Well, I do a lot of leg work on the trails, side passing around solid obstacles that my knee could potentially crack into if not done properly. Hill work, desensitizing, work in water and streams. Stepping over logs. Working on all three gaits PROPERLY even though there is a lack of arena walls. Ahhhh it's a nice thing!! It breaks the monotony of the arena and gets us out in the wide open. It's great for the horses as well, it gives them something else to concentrate on and see new things. So What do you like to do on the trails???

Oh and here is something I just thought was funny, from cuteoverload.com AHAHAHA It's so cute!!

Rock My World!!

2009-07-23T22:51:00.001-07:00

Oh man AWESOME DAY!!! So I had an Appt with the animal communicator today and it went sooooo well! She hit all the horses spot on!! So here is what they had to say. KEEP in mind she had NO WAY of knowing anything about my horses as I've never spoken with her.

Jag~ Wants to show and be center of attention, calls me his Mom. Sometimes feels misunderstood. Is very teenager like, but SUPER SMART! He knows he's strong and loves running around the arena. He wants to jump. He said one of my saddle pads is too itchy for him and he likes my lighter English saddle.

Raven~ Knows we are soul mates, knows he's my number 1, hates the fly mask and chiropractor. He talked of a scar he has on his leg. He loves where he is now. He likes having the show saddle on. He loves his alfalfa and cookies. Raven has always done this one weird thing. He grabs the back of my coat or hoodie and holds it in his mouth, he doesn't like letting go either, he just sits there with my coat in his mouth not moving. So I did ask her what that meant to him and she it meant I was his!! Awwwwww I LOVE my Raven!!

Sole'~ Thinks she is a princess and wants to show in very pretty tack. She spoke of a scratch she had on her neck that I was putting cream on. She is a total lovebug. She loves when we work with the radio on. She loves her Berry Goods!

Louie~ Wants to feel more special. He will bulk up with more work. Wants to be called King Louie. Likes kids. Feels like second fiddle and low man on the totem pole. He is happy, just wants more attention.

It was such an amazing experience, one that I will do again!!! She really got my horses right on. You can tell that she connects to the horses as well, because of the look on the horse's face. How they look and act with their body, they lick and chew and shake their heads and almost "act" out their thoughts.It's AMAZING!!!!!

Is That an Apt.Complex???

2009-07-22T00:02:00.000-07:00

Or a housing development in the background of these pics. Ahhh craigslist at it's finest of course. PEOPLE!!! Are you awake??? Why don't you guys ever give your horses a fighting chance? I found these pics that belong to an ad off CL. ACK! With so many horses available for sale these days, ads should be nicely written, with nice photos and people who will actually respond to their emails or voice mails. Oh and one more thing. Do SOMETHING with your horse.

Don't say "Oh well, don't have time to train this one (at all, it's as wild as can be). So come and get 'er." Or you're asking for meat buyers, abusers, rodeos (the bad kind), or who knows what else to come by and pick up that horse. Do ground work if you can't train it, or teach it to lunge.

There are TONS of valuable lessons you can teach a horse, even with minimal time or talent. Short post today, I know. Oh and someone buy this damn horse before it slices it's legs off!!!!

Horse Training By Anatomy. Part 1

2009-07-19T22:29:00.000-07:00

Understanding how to train horses starts with a simple anatomy lesson. If you understand how your horse's body works, then you can understand how to train it. Today's lesson is based on weight and the weight distribution of your horse. I have 2 photos that I modified in Paint for a visual understanding.

The first one is of a pick up truck.

We all know where the weight of a pickup is right? If you split this truck in half, as I've done, you'll see a majority of the weight resides in the FRONT half of the truck, making the truck HEAVY on the front end. For example, if you are driving along and then you come to a complete stop, the truck will dive down in the front end temporarily. Why? Because that is where the weight is carried. Now, where does the power and forward motion of the truck come from? From the rear wheels. The rear wheels engage and PUSH the truck forward when we step on the gas pedal. There are many times where we NEED to have the weight of the truck balanced out, where we attempt to get the weight closer to 50/50, by adding bricks or other material into the bed of the truck.

Your HORSE is no different.

Your horse naturally carries a heavier load on it's front end. When sliced down the middle, as shown in the photo, you're looking at about 65-70% of the weight in the front half. Why is any of this so important? Because when training, it is important for us to understand how the horse naturally carries itself.

So what does this all mean??? Well, it's the same as with the pick up truck. We desire to have our horse's weight balanced 50/50 a majority of the time, by why is it so crucial to be balanced? Carrying a majority of it's weight in the front end we can run into some major problems while training such as, a horse not picking the canter, lack of impulsion, not trotting out properly, tripping, peanut pushing, hollowed out spine, not bending into a circle properly, refusing jumps, tripping on trot poles and so much more. Really? All this is reliant on how we ask our horses to carry themselves??? YES.

Now while it is easier for a horse to carry itself on the forehand, it is counter productive to us as riders. What becomes of a horse when we have them properly carrying themselves in a balanced 50/50 manner? Engagement of the hocks and hind end, cadence, balanced transitions and gaits, proper jumping, we can ask for extension and collection properly, balanced circles, a round solid frame, advanced movements such as flying lead changes, half pass, shoulder in/out, haunches in/out, pirouettes, trail courses, dressage tests and reining patterns.

Understanding where your horses weight is, is the first step towards making progress in ANY training program or riding discipline.

Holy Dumb A$$ Batman!!

2009-07-16T23:43:00.000-07:00

OK, I have a few simple rules when I train or teach or have working students ride horses for me. One of my main bugaboos is the ever controversial DRAW REINS! I use them, SOMETIMES. My students or clients are NEVER allowed to use them, unless I am there. Why? Because they can be a horse and rider's worst nightmare.

First off, draw reins are not a quick fix in getting your horse to collect and round up. They are never to be used simply by themselves either, because then you have NO brakes and it is just a dumbass idea. In inexperienced or frustrated hands, your horse could get the wrong message and learn that flipping over backwards on you is the only way out.

We as trainers and riders are given tools that can be used for the greater good. BUT, it's the people who do NOT know how to use certain tools that ruin it for everyone and make people think, "Oh draw reins are bad. Shanked bits are bad. Spurs are bad." On and on and on...

In this photo, that I got off of the Bad_Riding Livejournal blog (Which is a very funny blog BTW), this girl is supposedly a TRAINER?!??!?! This is a terrible pic. On too many levels. It's dangerous, the horse is heavy, heavy on the forehand, overflexed, and is only going to learn to brace on those reins and tuck it's chin in lower and lower until FLIP goes the WEASEL!!! Ack... LEARN from this picture! Engrave this pic into your brain that this in my Top Ten Worst Horse Ideas EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ugh, this makes me want to roll over in my grave...

Tell Me Please!

2009-07-15T00:27:00.000-07:00

So I have been playing with the thought of getting an Animal Communicator to talk with my horses. I've received some very excellent referrals from some friends who've said that these people found out things about their horses that they should have NEVER known... Hmmmm kind of makes you think doesn't it? I'm dying to hear what my horses have to say!!! So I think for shits and gigs I may do it....

If you could talk to your horses, what on earth would you ask them about??? OK, let's make this a wee bit more specific. You get 3 questions to ask each of your horses... GO!!!! Here would be mine...

Rav~ You really think you're the S**T don't you??? Are you happy? Do you like showing?

Sole'~ Are you happy? Do you like performing? Do you want more foals?

Lou~ What was it like as a racehorse? Are you happy? What do you want to do?

Jag~ Are you happy? What do you want to do? Why are you so calm?

OK, OK I just pulled those out of my Arse I'd have to give it more thought. But, seriously what are some questions or answers you'd like to know? Have any of you ever use a communicator?

We Be Chowing!!!

2009-07-13T01:04:00.001-07:00

So I just found this site on Facebook tonight and I think it is pretty damn accurate and very helpful! http://beta.my.feedxl.com/ It lists almost all possible feeds and you can input up to 5 horses. VERY HELPFUL!!!!! Which is going to segway me to this.

BOSS!!!! Boss? Yes Boss. Black Oil Sunflower Seeds. Or BOSS. This is quite the new craze apparently in coat and weight management for your horses. Boss, is simply a WILD BIRD FOOD!!! So it is Cheap Cheap!!!! A good friend of mine has started using it with amazing results, however I myself am torn. If you look it up on the web there is about 70% Pro to 30% Neg feedback on it. So, let's discuss it.

PROS!

SUPER High Fat content. Roughly 33% fat. Great for hard keepers.
Cheap
It is an "oil" seed like flaxseed is, so AMAZING for the coat and hooves.
People say their horses LOVE it! So very palatable.
Has Vitamins in it.
Does NOT require a lot to get results. People say only 1 or 2 cups a day for a healthy coat.

CONS!

There has been no official testing done on the effects of it on horses.
VERY high Omega 6 content.
People are worried about the hulls. (I soak mine with my horses beet pulp to soften the hulls.)

To me it sounds great! I bought a small bag and only used a small handful to start. Just to test it out a little. See what my horse's manure looks like tomorrow. If it's being digested properly and so forth. Have any of you used it or heard of it? I DO have a hard keeper and would like him fatty fat fat before winter, so could this be the answer to our prayers? (For those of us with hard keepers.) I've been crazy researching it on the net and the only thing I will admit I find mildy dis concerning is that Boss hasn't been researched yet.... So will the proof be in the pudding?

Eye See......

2009-07-10T00:45:00.000-07:00

So a student of mine is having some trouble keeping her horse balanced. She emails me today and asks "why oh why her horse won't pick up the right lead and why he won't turn correctly to the right." So today I watched her ride her horse today and the problem was so stinking simple. She was looking down. She was looking down to check his leads, looking down to watch his shoulder. Where her eyes went, the horse's body went. When she looked down her horse dropped his inside shoulder.

People don't think about like they should. And subconsciously, we are ALL guilty of looking down at one time or another. She didn't even realize she was doing it. Horses are VERY sensitive to our weight and when our eyes go down, our heads follow, then our shoulders. When you jump your trainer always says look up or look at the next fence, it's because if we were looking AT the fence the horse would say "HEY! What is she looking AT!!! I have all this weight on my forehand and now I'm freaking, I can't jump and, and..." CRASH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Same with barrel racing, you look at that barrel too early and CRASH!

Do this experiment with your horse. Trot around in the arena and just turn your head and shoulders, 99% of all horses IF they are actually paying attention to you, will turn and follow the direction that your weight is tipping towards.

Be AWARE, if you having issues with your horse's body or shoulder dropping in, or if they won't pick up the correct lead (and it isn't medical related) that it's probably YOU. Stay balanced and LIGHT in your seat, keep both of your shoulders level and keep your head up! Watch with your peripheral vision. Another exercise that is REALLY helpful is just plain close your eyes. You'll never feel anything quite like it. After about 10 to 15 seconds of your eyes being closed all of your other senses kick in to high gear. You'll feel their back move, their legs, their mouth. It is an incredible exercise that ALL my students to at one time or another. It helps with balance and helps you to FEEL your horse and not LOOK at your horse.

Crack A Lackin'

2009-07-09T01:05:00.000-07:00

Today was chiropractor day at my barn and oh what that is. Some horses respond really well to it, some don't. One of mine actually kicked the lady's truck when she was putting his spine back in order. I'm usually pretty skeptical when it comes to these things. I mean we've been riding horses for thousands of years without chiro work right???

But alas, I have fallen into the trap as a part of my horses maintenance schedule. I feel it's good for their bodies and I have seen first hand the good it can do some horses. Shoulders back straight, spine aligned, neck popped. Ahhhhh sounds good to me. BUT, here is the part I found most odd. When I asked how to maintain and what stretches or exercises I could do to help the horses stay decent until the next adjustment, the lady told me nothing. That there was nothing I could do. Now I've never used this lady before, but I feel that can't be right. Is it? I mean neck stretches daily are good, and leg stretches, but what else is there? What is anything do you guys use on your horses?? Stretches, aromatherapy, acupressure, oh there is just so much to choose from nowadays!!!

94 And Still GOING!

2009-07-06T23:10:00.000-07:00

These are photos of my 94 year old grandfather (and Dad who's making sure he's safe), who INSISTED on riding my 6 yr old paint mare Sole'. If I wasn't there taking the pictures I wouldn't have believed it myself!!!! Freaking AMAZING! We walked all over the farm, down to visit my goats and my other horses. Sole' was such a trooper and packed him around the whole time! I Love this Mare!!!!!

No Hoof No Horse

2009-07-05T22:42:00.000-07:00

A Horse's hooves, to me, can be one of the EASIEST things about horse care if you maintain and stay on top of things, but, for some reason it's the first thing on a horse that often is neglected... Hot weather of the summer can dry out and crack hooves, muddy weather can cause thrush, soft hooves can get abscesses and on and on and on.

Some horses are prone to soft hooves and that's something that an owner needs to be aware of and take extra care in keeping them healthy. SO, here are some tips and products that I go by in order to keep my horse's hooves healthy and NONE of my horse's wear shoes.

Stay on top of TRIMS, in the summer hooves grow faster, so a horse that normally goes 8 or 9 weeks in the winter may be at 6 weeks in the summer.

Vitamins, my horse's are on Millennium Gold it has more BIOTIN in it, than even Horseshoer's Secret does!!!

Pick hooves before and after every ride. Pick hooves at least every other day otherwise. Check for thrush or cracks, pick out the dirt and rocks that also can jammed up there.

I condition their hooves at least once or twice a week. I use RainMaker or Hooflex. Both products are wonderful!!!

Watch their weight and watch what you feed them. Founder is dangerous!!!

Buy a pair of hoof boots if your horse has tender feet and you ride on hard or rocky terrain.

Epsom salts, iodine, thrush buster and sugar should be kept at your barn for hoof emergencies.

Be aware of your horse and his hooves. Know that white hooves are softer than dark hooves. Ask a respectable farrier if you have additional concerns about your horses feet. A Horse with No hoof is No horse at all.

Light My Fire

2009-07-01T23:20:00.000-07:00

Ahhhhh so with the beautiful fun of the Fourth of July on it's way, it can present quite a problem to those of us who own any animal. Fireworks are loud and scary, they can shake a room, it's a lot to absorb for an animal, especially our horses. So be sure to take some precautions at your farm or boarding facility.

Yes, we like to have fun and go to BBQ's and parties, but CHECK on your horses. Make sure they are safe and calm and in a nice stall. If they're not check their pastures and make sure they aren't trying to run through their fences.

Bring hoses out in case you have neighbors who light off fireworks and one lands in your pasture and lights it on fire. (This used to happen ALL the time at an old facility I was at.)

Have B-Kalm, Calm and Cool, or Ace on hand in case a horse gets too worked up.

Spray your roofing on top of the barn, poop pile anywhere that is super dry and could catch fire. (We do this to my house too, spray the roof at dusk so it's nice and damp.

Give your horses a snack in the early evening to hopefully distract them for most of the fireworks. Most people are done around 11 or 12.

What other safety tips or experiences do you have when the fireworks are a blaze?

Head Banger's Ball!

2009-06-29T22:42:00.000-07:00

Horse accidents are the worst, especially when you have such a great summer or show season ahead of you... I'm sure we've all been there, a horse tosses us into a barrel, jump, wall, dirt, (insert more objects here), but what's WORSE is when it really isn't the horse caused so much as horse operator error. Example, A friend of mine was getting into the saddle and her horse acted up so she pushed and jumped off. Well when she landed on her right leg she landed kind of funny, her ankle twisted and then her knee just popped out ICK! Now, she may have torn some muscles. She couldn't eve get back up to reprimand her horse, which is oh so frustrating. I've done it too, that's how I broke my ankle, I jumped off a horse and landed wrong.

It doesn't even make for a good injury, battle wound story LOL! Things I've also done to hurt myself; tripped on a bucket, a pothole, slid in mud and on rocks. I've tripped over my horse's hooves, my tack, I've gotten tangled up in lunge lines, lead ropes, oh boy how the list could go on...

I'm sure you all have a few good stories to share as well!!! Ahhhh Stupid accidents, but us horse people know how to make it look good! LMAO!!!!

Penny Pincher!

2009-06-28T22:57:00.001-07:00

So horses, by nature, are not cheap to own. And in this economy it pays to be frugal!! SO let's talk about some awesome ways to save MONEY! Here are a few things I do, or have done recently.

I bought a beautiful Circle Y Show saddle off Craigslist for $200. It was scuffed and scratched up. Then for less than $10 I re-dyed it black. It looks AMAZING! Circle Y, look like it just came out of the factory for $210.

I never buy Sand Clear, I buy the Wal Mart version of Metamucil. It's 100% Psyllium, the same thing in the $30 tub of Sand Clear.

FIND your local grain warehouse. Ours is called Xcel Feeds and is a supplier and manufacturer of grain. SO for $14 I can an 80lb bag of beet pulp. Instead of $13 for a 40lb bag at the local feed store.

I extend my grain and enhance the fat content by getting a bag of rolled corn and mixing it 50/50 with my other more "expensive" grain. I use Purina Omolene. (YIKES it's pricey!)

Get a SCALE! Weigh out what you are feeding to prevent waste!

Shop your DOLLAR STORE! Things like garlic or paprika powder for a buck. Mixing spoon, buckets, towels, sponges, hair brushes. All for a dollar!

Shop tack sales and HAGGLE for the best prices. Go to your local tack auctions too!

So what other things do you guys like to do when money is tight? Your Tips and tricks for saving the almighty dollar?

Blow Up...

2009-06-24T23:14:00.000-07:00

Here's your hypothetical question for the month. YOU own a horse that is GORGEOUS! This is the horse you have waited for your WHOLE LIFE!! Your dream horse. Has impeccable ground manners. Is bred to the HILT! Has training that is beyond words, BUT, your horse has a problem... She SOMETIMES rears. She will only rear when you mount. If you get past that part riding her is amazing! It's not all the time, but sometimes thar she will blow. Saddle fit, health problems, teeth, sore back, ALL of this has been ruled out. She just decides she doesn't want to work.

OR... What if they are a bucker??? A Kicker or a biter???

You see we run into problems as riders and trainers of these awesome horses that MOST people would just say "Get rid of them." BUT, you wouldn't necessarily give up on a bad child either would you??? So, how would you handle it if your beloved horse had a bad habit, but was perfect in every other way????

My friends, the ball is in your court... What would you do? Especially when you know deep down inside there is an awesome horse in there...

Leave It To The The Race Track...

2009-06-23T22:41:00.000-07:00

So a lady who boards at the same barn as me works down at the local horse track here, Emerald Downs. And her and I were just chatting as usual and she told me that apparently the new trend for race horses and their trainers is, get this, DRAW REINS! The trainers and exercise riders use them on the horses to supposedly "keep them slow." WHAT?!?! What kind of trainers are these??? Do they not know how draw reins work?? If that racehorse figures out how to touch chin to chest, those riders will not have a frickin PRAYER in stopping those horses, let alone slowing them down. Or hmmmm, they could damage the horses' windpipe Rollkur style, or the horse could rear and flip itself over.... I've never had more of a headdesk conversation in quite awhile lol!! THANKFULLY the lady at the barn was with me on this and we spent a good half hour talking about the disasters waiting to happen! I just can NOT fathom using draw reins on a race horse of all stupid things...

I'm Seething With Jealousy!!!

2009-06-21T22:02:00.000-07:00

I wish, as a trainer and breeder that I could have such rockin' horses! I wish my site was this awesome too! http://hollowcreekhorsefarm.com/Home_Page.html *HEAD DESK* Their stallions are wretched and it appears that the foals they produce are just as bad. They're a conformation nightmare. They're cow hocked, their cannon bones are super vertical, it just looks likes such a mess. And WHY if you have paints are you taking pics of ALL of them standing parked out like a saddlebreds???? Do I hear the gelding bus coming??? I wish...

Ahhh I just ran across this site and thought it was way too good not to share. And yet we still wonder why there are so many unwanted horses out there, when "gems" like these are being bred hand over fist, polluting our already OVER populated horse market with more butt ugly horses that we don't need and that we can't find homes for...

I'm In Bed!!!!

2009-06-18T22:30:00.000-07:00

When training any horse, I will work and school them ANYWHERE on the property. The horse needs to understand that no matter where we are the same rules still apply. BUT, I have a no fly zone too. That is their stall or pasture or wherever they sleep/rest.

What does that mean? It means that your horse, just like us, needs a sanctuary of peace where they can relax without me schooling them more. Being in a tiny box stall and attempting to school your horse can lead to dangerous consequences as well. I will groom, pick feet, or just spend time with the horse in it's stall, but saddling, discipline and arguments are not going to happen.

I know several trainers who actually will tie up a horse in their stall after a workout, which is fine too, it's a quiet place for the horse to be able to absorb the lessons of the earlier day, cool down, and relax.

Let's quickly jump to the other side briefly. IF your horse acts like a little snot in their stall, then you do need to reinforce the need for good behaviour. But, again only use as much reinforcement as necessary.

The point is, is that you do not want their "home" to become a place they dread. Horses, as we all know are sensitive enough without us making it worse. Horses who become too stressed, worrying about who is coming down the aisle way, may not eat or drink, they could get ulcers or who knows what else!!! It's their home, so save the schooling and the lessons for somewhere else.

HOW To Lay Down On The Job

2009-06-17T14:08:00.000-07:00

So in conjunction with my other post I figured I should share with you the HOW TO of laying as horse down. OK, here are the things you'll need... A Western saddle, a rope halter and leadrope and a lariat or soft rope. Now on to how...

Saddle them up in a WESTERN SADDLE and their rope halter. Also you can tie the stirrups up over the saddle so your horse does not get it's hooves through them.
Have your horse step one of their feet through the loop of the lariat, for example we'll use the left leg. Then cinch it up around the fetlock area of their leg. HENCE why you should a soft rope or lariat.
Have your horse lift up it's left leg as if the hoof is going to touch the cinch and put the rope around the horn so it works as a pully system and you can hold their leg up. Do NOT wrap the rope or tie it to the horn, at first your horse may pull and get confused so you want to be able to quickly release the rope and let their leg down if your horse panics.
OK, with their left leg in the air, take your lead rope around the horn from the RIGHT SIDE and again use the horn for leverage. Slowly pull your horse's head to the right and they will slowly go down. They may sniff the ground or "BOW" first. Every time your horse does, STOP, RELEASE and PRAISE them.
Add a little bit more pull onto the halter after they figure out the "BOW" part and they will slowly lay down. Release the pressure on the leg rope and while still holding their head, get down by them and LOVE them ALL OVER!!!!!!! Let them know how awesome they are. Then let them get up and love them some more!!!!!

That's it... it should be smooth and relaxed. My horse at first tried to fight it a bit, but I kept at it and after about 15 minutes she was down flat. This is something that even though it's NEAT it should never be down more than a couple times a week at the very MOST!!!! Have fun and send me PICS!!!!!!!

Laying Down On The Job...

2009-06-16T23:36:00.000-07:00

So while I was in Sacramento, one of the things I really wanted to do was to pick the brains of some of the other trainers. I saw a couple of the trainers have their horses lay down. I've always found that a neat trick, but beyond that never thought too much about it. So one woman trainer, who I became close friends also had her horse lay down, so I had to ask why?

What is the ACTUAL point of it? What was her reasoning? She told me that getting a horse to softly lay down is an ultimate trusting gesture. The horse has 2 defense mechanisms, it's legs and teeth and when it lays down it has sacrificed the use of both of those things. So her thoughts are that if a horse doesn't trust her enough to lay down quietly, calmly and relaxed, then why would she dare get on it??? Makes more sense to me than just having them lay down as a "trick pony."

I found that to be a decent answer... Not that I'm going to lay down every horse I train or ride, but that could be a way of your horse showing you where you stand LOL!!! She also told me it is NOT something you ask the horse everyday, more like once a week or every couple weeks. So of course I had to try it on Sole' and she nailed it... I was so stinking ecstatic!!! It was just a neat thing to see up close with one of my horses LOL!

So what are your thoughts on laying a horse down. Remember I'm talking about gently and softly laying the horse down, not hobbling it and pushing it over...

Home at Last

2009-06-15T00:14:00.000-07:00

Check Acacia's blog :):):)

To Sacramento

2009-06-09T22:54:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow I leave with Acacia to go to the Mustang Challenge. Check out her blog. She is an amazing girl! I'll write when I return! www.wildacacia.blogspot.com

Getting What You Want

2009-06-08T23:24:00.001-07:00

So I was riding one of my training horses and one of the problems his owner has with him is his lope departure. It's choppy and hurried and just unpleasant. So I was working him today and one of the excersices I use to keep a horse entertained is to do rollbacks, stopping and backing, figure eights, basically anything to keep their minds fresh and keep them on their toes. So I do this so the horse NEVER can anticipate what I'm going to ask and get anxious, which is what this gelding is doing with his rider.

So, I start by roundpenning them for just a couple minutes and I establish that when I cue on the ground, now means now. Every transition must be done with a second or two. I reverse them go the other way and I keep changing things up every minute or so they keep thinking. If I establish the now means now mentality on the ground then being in the saddle and asking for nice transitions should make your life easier.

So I ask him for a nice jog and he's round and supple then I halt him and do my roll backs, and then I halt him again and ask him to walk off, after a step or two I ask for the lope with a kiss and my outside leg. He scrambles at first like he always does, so I let him canter off and then halt him and do it again and again and again. Before you know it, I had him halted he took a half of a walk step, I cued and he NAILED IT! Consistency and his lungs were excellent tools for this lessons. He was tired and couldn't rest til he got it right, hence the lungs. By me being consistent and CLEAR in my cues he learned what I was asking for and did it like PRO!!!

That's the thing about training horses, it takes TIME and consistency. Sometimes you feel like you've done an exercise so many times you feel like you may want to hurl *snork*, BUT, those TWO ideals will get you what you what 99% of the time. TIME and CONSISTENCY! Don't feel like you have to rush, time MAKES horses!

I'm FLYING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-06-07T23:34:00.000-07:00

I found an ad on dreamhorse and it sent me to youtube to see the videos of this horse. The horse is a nice warmblood, BUT, watch this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIy6f-hfm9o of it jumping. Going over EVERY jump for the whole minute and half or so, it flips it's tail STRAIGHT into the air! There have only been a few circumstances where I have seen a horse react like this.

It's nervous. Maybe it is jumping higher than it feels comfortable.
It's anxious.
Or it could have had it's little behind beat to high hell for refusing.

Either way, the video was cracking me up! However, it's important to know that horses use their bodies to the best of their abilities to express their feelings. Tail ringing is a huge sign of agitation, nervousness, being spurred or whipped a few too many times. But, flipping the tail straight up? Judges do and will look at that sort of thing as a negative, so let's hope he is a jumper and not a hunter horse. Aside from the very horsey ILLEGAL tail blocking, there isn't much you can do to fix a tail like that...

Simple Horse, Simple Care

2009-06-05T00:21:00.000-07:00

A Little off topic today, but important just the same. With summer here horse care can change just a little bit than what you do in the winter. Ahhhh everyone waits for summer, the riding, the horses can stay in their pastures 24/7, no stall mucking. BUT, there is an added responsibility in addition to the summer heat. Flies, water, pasture care, etc. Let's try and hit them all. Summer time doesn't mean lazy horse care time, it can be a serious health hazard to your little pony friends.

Flies, lice, ticks, bees, wasps, you name it. Fly spray those babies! Put fly masks or sheets on if your horse is sensitive. Check over your horse for any other intruders as well.
Sunscreen, horses with white eyes or faces get burned BAD! Take care of them when the sun is blazing. They make spray on sunscreen, but I use a baby sunscreen formula for sensitive skin, it works wonders!

Check your fences or if you board NEVER put your horse out in an unsafe or barb wired pasture. You are ASKING for vet bills!!!

Clean your pastures. It's hot out I know, but cleaning up your pasture and trying to help keep it manure free will do wonders! Less flies and bugs, in the winter it won't all turn to a muddy poop mess, and your pasture can regrow. If you can't pick it up then try to at least spread it around, get it out of the piles.

Clean and ALWAYS check your water buckets. It's been so hot here that our horses have been needing water EVERY OTHER DAY! They can't go without water, and dirty water is bad horse parenting.

Clip your horses if they still have a long coat. Summer popped out of nowhere here and my horses still had a long coat and my Arab was rubbing his face RAW! He was hot, itchy, sweaty and miserable. So I clipped him immediately!
Stay on top of your worming schedule! When the horses are out on the summer pastures getting worms can be much more prevalent. I usually use a powerpack wormer at the end of summer just to kill all those little buggers.

Psyllium. Horses are out, eating off the ground, they can be susceptible to sand colic or sand in the belly. Go to Walmart and get non-flavored Metamucil. It's 100% Psyllium husk and about 200x's cheaper than SandClear with the exact same ingredients.

Check on your horse's weight OFTEN. Some OK, MOST horse can not live on pasture alone. Hard keepers will fall fast without their usual supplements, salts, minerals and vitamins. Pasture can mean feeding less hay, but just always be aware of how your horse looks. Shiny coat, healthy weight, etc.
FEET! Check their hooves before and after every ride. (That should be a given, but you never know.) Heat can dry out and crack a horses hooves, keep them moisturized and healthy, IF you trail ride a lot check with your farrier and see if you need shoes.

Watch out for heat stroke, exhaustion and other heat related problems. A Lot of shows happen in the summer and you and your horse need to physically fit and prepared. Take a lot of breaks, cool your horse down with cool water, never cold, let them take frequent rests and let them drink as often as you can. Try not to work them in the hottest part of the day if possible.

Get your spring/summer vaccinations taken care of.

If possible supply them with a pasture with some form of shade. My pasture doesn't have much shade so I added a lean to cover to give them some relief.

Check legs and bodies often, My horses are NOTORIOUS for romping through the pastures and then getting a swollen leg, or a scrape on their side from a tree, or bush.

That's all I can muster up for now! What tips and guidelines do you or have you followed when the summer heat rolls in? How do you keep your babies happy and healthy?

Wild Horse Racing?

2009-06-03T23:51:00.000-07:00

This is one hell of a rodeo sport if you ask me. I couldn't even imagine doing this to Acacia when I first got her. Here watch the video, then come back. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtaEM0r4ACA

A LARGE part of me finds this really disgusting, BUT, there is a part of it that is hilarious! These horses kick the bloody hell of these "macho" guys. The men get drug around and slammed into, it's truly a refreshing scene actually. Unfortunately it still never seems to end well for the poor horses. They never really say what happens to them after the race. 10 wild horses and a team of 3 men see who can tack up and ride a wild horse to the finish line first. It's really just a big fat mess. So why as humans do we find degrading animals and trying to overpower and dominate so appealing???

Well one answer is ignorance. Some people pull out the God card. "Well God put us here to be the rulers of this planet as the dominant species. We are the superior beings" Yeah, and we're doing a fine job aren't we? Let's ask the Ozone or the Endangered species list.

Some people are sick A-holes too and do it just because they can, some do it for show, or for the ultimate Macho-ness.

You know, domesticated or not, sometimes you have to just wonder what goes through the poor horses mind. I try to train as gentle as possible, but sometimes I still wonder how traumatizing it really could be to a horse. To go through what we put them through. And you know they still continue to love and trust us. THAT to me is one hell of an amazing creature. Forgiving and peaceful, gentle and kind. Horses do so much for us and have for all of our human existence, and that's something we shouldn't forget or take for granted. Go out and hug your ponies, if you don't have one, then hug your other animals :):):):) Or I'll give my ponies hugs for you!

Hunter VS. HUS

2009-06-02T23:18:00.000-07:00

So my last post about the WP horse brought up quite a discussion. One I want to open up more. OK, by trade and training I am a Throughbred, Warmblood loving 'A' rated hunter jumper gal. I grew up in that world and I love it! I still do. People would say to me "What's up cowgirl?" or "Oh you're a cowgirl then?" HELL NO! I'm an ENGLISH hunter rider.

Me, personally I like my hunters to be hunters and my western horses to be western horses. The classic look of a nice TB under saddle is breathtaking to me. The horses have a nice head, elegant carriage and cadence. They drive from their hind quarters, oh it's just gorgeous.

BUT, WP riders want a piece of it too and AQHA/APHA offer that, it just looks different. Doesn't mean there is anything wrong with it, it's just not what 'A' system riders are used to. That long and low frame and head. A Very flat kneed trot, no animation at all. They all still ride on a loose rein, not collected at all, well maybe that IS collected to them. They want a piece of the hunter world, but they do it the AQHA way, which is a western horse in english tack.

SO! Here is my question to you. Let's put them head to head. Which do you like better and why? OR, why don't you like one or the other.

Pleasure Me

2009-06-01T01:31:00.000-07:00

My titles probably worry you guys sometimes don't they?? LOL!!!! So I have a new Tri Color Buckskin Paint mare that is my new western pleasure horse. She has only ever had 5 rides on her so basically I get to start her from scratch, and I love it!!! Let's discuss some Western Pleasure Do's and don't shall we!?!? Also some techniques I use to obtain a nice WP horse.

Ahhh the don'ts are fun! These are things that will get you marked down in a show ring, yet I see people do it ALL the damn time! Then they wonder why they don't place!

NO MORE Peanut rolling! The judges have started asking for an extended jog, which peanut rollers can't do because they'll kick themselves in the face.

Shuffling, no more lazy sloppy walk, jog or lope.

The 4 beat is OUT! Cadence and forward momentum is what the judges want to see!!!

No more behind the vertical!

Judges do NOT like the spur stop. Don't do it!

Do not "check" your horse in the mouth using both reins! The judges can see it in the horse's face if it's been checked or is anticipating a check. The horse ends up behind the vertical and looks nervous or agitated!

Here are a couple dos!!!

Lope naturally, a nice 3 beat lope.

When training a horse to stay slow, do circles or do a one rein check, typically to the outside. If you check your horse in the mouth with one rein to the outside it will slow or stop. It can not brace on your hands and reins like it could if you were doing it with both reins. So check it to the outside and they'll learn to slow down without any nasty side effects.

The horse carries it's head slightly in front of the vertical now and with the poll almost horizontal to the withers.

The horse is relaxed and showing cadence.

Keep a relaxed slack rein, but not too terribly slack or it looks sloppy.

To see other riders dos watch 2008 AQHA/APHA worlds shows. That will give you a good idea of current "trends" and what judges look for. Make your transitions smooth and practice a lot! Your horse should always stay relaxed and in frame between transitions. To stop and back up apply a slight pressure on your horse's mouth by lifting your hands a bit, sit deep in your seat, take your legs off and say whoa. Soon you won't need the verbal part.
And of course HAVE FUN!!!!!!!!!! Have more tips??? You know I love 'em!!!!

ButeHead

2009-05-29T00:22:00.000-07:00

So there are a couple people at the barn that I'm at that are into gaming and go every weekend. They're good too, no doubt about it, but last week one of the girls' horse went lame due to an abscess that had popped. She was super bummed about it and had been jamming bute down it's throat to get it sound for the show. Well they took the horse and ran it anyway on it's bum ouchie feet. *HEADDESK* You see one of the "Adult" gamers at the barn pounded it into the girl and her mom's head that if a horse is sound on bute, then they were never really lame in the first place so her horse is fine to run.

WTF?!?!?!?! Are you kidding me! I'm no vet, but that is one of the dumbest things I'd heard. So sure enough they had to bring the horse back on Sunday from the show because the horse was beyond lame.

HELLO!!! If you have a migraine and you take some aspirin does that mean you never actually had one??? Why are people so hell bent on showing and getting points and making it to the top by hook or crook at the expense of a living, breathing, PAIN feeling animal!?!?!?!?!?!

Let the horses heal people! A week or two out because of an abscess is better than months or a year out because you got impatient and made the problem worse. Try running your own feet when you have blister, or a painful callous. Yeah, not so fun is it???

A Lot of people look at me as a very unconventional trainer. I'm young, have tattoos and body piercings, but now I'm starting to think I may be one of the only normal, straight thinking, not going to dope my horses up to win a damn buckle, ribbon, medal etc. horse trainers out there! Hey, if that's weird, I'm down with that!!!

Pissed List...

2009-05-26T23:58:00.000-07:00

Ahhh the horse world is such a crazy place. And an annoying one at times. Here is a small list of things that irritate the ever-loving crap out of me. And I want to hear yours TOO!!!

Craigslist trainers. Just because you can ride a horse AND post an ad, does not mean you're a trainer. Especially at 15.
Selling your horse for $10,000 and the picture you use is the horse with it's back turned, eating, with a winter coat and muddy hair, and you took the picture lopsided.
Snobs. I really could care less how much you paid for your horse, saddle, trainer, clothes, truck, trailer. Go 'F' yourself. And YES, that includes Snobby trainers!
"Rescues" who are actually just animal hoarders.
Always having an entourage of equally obnoxious, loud, spoiled and snobby as yourself people surrounding the rest of us who want to have fun.
Prejudice judges. If you LOVE only Arabs, then you shouldn't be judging a damn OPEN breed show.
Beating up your horse in public of all things! I hate that! I have confronted more people about that crap. OOOOH especially when it's one of those younger riders whose 20K horse in responding perfectly. Spur, jab, rip, yank. UGH!
Kids running around a barn, horse show, anywhere where a horse could kick it's little brains out and the parent is NOT even paying attention.
Having so much bling on you and your horse I need to keep my sunglasses on at all times!

Oh and the list goes on LOL! Let me know what I may have forgotten. This is like super fun therapy :)

Memory

2009-05-24T22:57:00.000-07:00

So, sometimes if I'm not that busy I work part time at a Cemetery/Funeral Home combo... Yeah I've been doing it for YEARS, it's a family thing... Anyway Monday, Memorial Day, is one of the most touching and cared about holidays in my (other) profession. I love seeing the families come by and visit their loved ones, the proud grandparents, inquiring children, flags on all veteran graves waving in the breeze...

Let us ALWAYS honor our Soldiers in every part of the service. Both living and deceased, but tomorrow, let's remember WHY we are so lucky to have had, or still have them in our lives.

UFC Style...

2009-05-20T23:56:00.000-07:00

So I rode my new clients horse today and he did a pretty fair job for how green he is. I got him collected and bending and flexing very nicely, jogging slowly and acting very much like a nice young gelding. All I used on him was a copper D ring and my favorite tool, the running martingale :)

Once I was done riding him the owner was beyond impressed and asked me, "So what should I work on." To which I replied, "Keep your hands LOW." To which SHE replied, "Well the other trainer I take lessons from tells me raise my hands up to get him to lower his head." Sigh, to which I replied, "You're going to have a hell of a hard time with this. You can NOT have 2 trainers telling you what to do. Especially if I'm riding and teaching your horse how to go on MY cues and someone else is just giving you lessons. So you MUST decide what you feel is going to work out for you and your horse."

Ugh... I have no desire to fight it out with another trainer, everyone has their own way of doing things, but when a client is paying me good and in fact BETTER money than she is paying the other trainer, than she deserves to get what she pays for and that is good,sound quality training.

I'll keep you updated... This could get really interesting... OH By the Way... I'm in the blue trunks! LMFAO!!!! ;)

Too High...

2009-05-19T00:14:00.001-07:00

So I have somehow managed to attract another student, not that mind at all, but it always happens when I'm so busy and I'm no good at saying no... This lady has an a Reg. 4 yr old Appy and she is currently taking lessons with someone else and now wants ME to train her horse. So I tell her I want to see her ride so I can see what I'm up against. Um.... If I were her I would ask for money back... it was spooky... Her other "trainer" told her to do lots of circling with her horse to get him soft, OK, makes sense, she ALSO said to bring her inside hand up. UH NO!!!!!!!! The poor woman can't figure why her horse won't drop it's head. Well.... PUT your damn hands down!!! Her other trainer also recommended she ride in twisted wire snaffle. The horse has only been broke for 3 months, come on now! I think she will get lucky with this, as I'll be able to correct everything while the damage is still minimal. HEE HEE

I see a lot of riders, western pleasure being the worst offenders, who think that bringing your hands up is a good way to get your horse to drop it's head. *HEADDESK* Your hands as high as the heavens is not only a very confusing cue, but it looks really rank. Pulling up on the head to get it lowered? If I were a horse I would be VERY puzzled.

Low, soft hands. Nice balanced circles, then while keeping your hands low you can always open your inside rein up a bit while holding the horse in it's bend with you inside leg holding the bend and your outside leg holding the circle. The horse should then relax and drop his head... Voila'! No magic, no harsh bits and HANDS DOWN logical training!!! LMFAO!!!!!!

Hmmm People Magazine???

2009-05-17T23:50:00.000-07:00

So I just got the new People magazine and I'm shocked in a good way... There is an article in there about a boy with autism who is being rehabilitated by horseback (and Shamans apparently), but seriously, HORSES!!! Kudos to you People MAG!!!!! It was a great article. Very impressive. It starts on page 87, of you don't have the magazine the next time your at the store read the article it's a nice story.

Recently as in a week ago I sold one of my paint mares to a family who has a daughter that has cerebral palsy and that was who my mare was for. The girl is 25 and the doctors told her family that riding is the number 1 BEST way for her to build strength in her body!! My mare was so dang mellow, she stopped on a dime was light to aids and was about as bombproof as they come! Some of that was training, most of it was her killer personality! I have a really hard time selling horses as I get super attached to them. I worry about them and that they'll have a great home. In this case I KNOW my mare will be loved and what a great family!!!! They were a match made in heaven! I get updates and the 2 are doing AMAZING!! I guess I sometimes take for granted how well the horses respond to our vibes. Whether we are handicapped or not, they know... And I've never seen anything more beautiful than when the girl wrapped her arms around the neck of my mare and my mare wrapped her head around her...

Sooper Seekretive!!!

2009-05-12T22:40:00.001-07:00

So I went to a clinic this weekend with S&D and it was all about starting and restarting problem horses or young horses SAFELY! The guy giving the clinic had been training horses for well over 35 years, he was AMAZING!!! Now, while we didn't learn a whole lot of new things, it sure did help confirm that what I was doing was pretty damn right on! And I like it! He was firm yet kind at the same time, he was like a male more experienced version of me :) There were a few things that he said that totally made sense too! For example he said he was friends with someone who was an assistant of a famous clinician and they were all at the clinic and he was back "stage" so to speak, and his friend said he had to go prep the clinicians horse. He asked what that meant and the answer he got was "I have a couple hours before he (clinician) needs this horse so I need to spend that time round penning the horse, I need that horse dog tired before the clinician works with him." Hmmmmmmmmmm Funny how that works isn't it??? The guy we saw hit the nail on the head when he said " TIRED is your friend! Get rid of the nervous energy so the horse focuses on you! SOME Clinicians like to make people think that they are MAGIC so you'll buy their tapes and gimmicks." I found that to make way too much sense!

Here are some TOP SECRET Tips I think people should know from me (a Trainer) personally.

We (trainers) are not magic. We DO like tired horses, they are our friend!

We HATE getting bucked off, reared off, bit and kicked. We are not made of stone. We bleed and bruise and break just like everyone else. We WILL do whatever it takes to keep ourselves safe.

We decent trainers are constantly fixing the mistakes of "wanna be" trainers. For every 1 good trainer there are 100 other "trainers" clogging up craigslist, saying that they can fix your horse in 10 minutes for $15. You get what you pay for folks!

TIME makes good horses! We do NOT rush our green horses. If they are not ready for the next step, then we wait and fully prepare them for it.

Our training process consists of an infinite amount of training steps to get our horses to our goal properly. Not just 5 steps and your horse is broke.

EVERY horse is different what we do with horse A may not work for horse B.

There are 4 acts of war that warrant severe discipline: Bucking, rearing, kicking and biting will get your horse in BIG trouble with us! Aside from any medical, tack fitting, etc. issues it is NEVER OK for your horse to do these things.

WE still take lessons from people who are better than us, so that we can keep learning.

If you pay a trainer to train your horse, you are also paying for their opinion, for you to ask questions and more!

Our mantra, from John Lyons, to me, to the clinician I saw this weekend believe firmly that Your horse should be RELAXED! That is the key word, RELAXED. Relaxed before you move on to a new step in training, relaxed while working, riding, doing ground work. A relaxed horse is a responsive horse. A horse that will be happy to learn and accept new things.

We LOVE round pens! There small, safe and great for communicated with your horse.

Don't be fooled by gimmicks and fancy products that claim they will fix your horse. TRUST your gut, heart and head. Find a trainer you trust and trust your horse! If you send your horse to a trainer make sure you check up on them and they are healthy, don't look distressed and being trained properly.

We work very hard for our clients and their horses to keep everyone safe, happy and satisfied. When you have a good trainer for you and your horse they are worth their weight in GOLD! :)

All About Trainer X

2009-05-10T21:44:00.000-07:00

TallDarkAndSpotty requested that I talk about me and how I got started in this biz... So I'll try to keep it short and not boring LOL!!!

I've lived in the Seattle are almost my whole life, with a brief stint in Houston, TX. When we moved back here we moved into a nice neighborhood and I met some girls who lived near by who took riding lessons at a local barn. This barn happened to be in the back of another housing development right next to me. So I started going there to watch when I was about really little. Soon, I'd have enough of watching and wanted lessons and my parents said "no way!" Why? Well because I was already in ballet, jazz, basketball, soccer, and softball. LOL! They knew I"d just give up riding or lose interest as I always did. Soon I only played soccer and took ballet. It was time! I knew I couldn't convince them to buy me lessons so I just went to the barn and asked the owners if I could do ANYTHING!, Groom, turn in/out, whatever I just wanted to be with the horses. I did that for a awhile and they offered me lessons in return. Pretty soon though, my remaining activities dwindled away and it was all horses all the time. The barn I worked at was also gracious enough to let me work off show clothes as they had a tack shop they owned as well. I was the luckiest girl in the world!

They soon put me in charge of the "pony from hell" Cheerios was her name and she was evil. She would strike, bite, kick, buck, and was not trained very well at all. She mine and all mine for the riding! I took to her and fell in love instantly, I rode her everyday for hours! I couldn't get enough. I eventually began competing her in all of the "A" rated hunter/jumper shows and the day I retired her from me, was the last day of one of our biggest shows and together we took home Reserve GC!!!

From there the head trainer put me in charge of tuning up all of the barn horses and soon I became the asst. trainer. I was riding and training some of the top hunter/jumpers in the area, every weekend was a show. Life was good, for now. I remember talking to him about me training full time some day and he flat out told me "You're not good enough and you'll never be good enough. You don't have the money it takes nor the talent." Ouch...

I left there shortly after and began training at another facility training their Reg. Quarter horses and Paints. One of which I ended up taking back to my old barn for a show and placed 5th out 21 in a hunter class. It was good enough for me! :) We also went to Worlds a couple times as well.

Soon though I craved my own horse and bought my beloved Raven. I moved to a few other facilities and then settled at one that was looking for a full time head trainer. And that was going to be me! I worked hard for them and proved myself and it didn't take them long to assign me the position. Soon I built MY OWN website, coat with my name, clientele, and reputation. I gave lessons and trained some rank, gnarly horses, but it all paid off.

I eventually had too big of an opertation to stay their so I moved again to my current location which is heavenly! I make sure that I am known in the horse world. Last year I took 4 of my best horses to the first Ride for the Cure ride at another local barn and raised over $500 alone. I am always at the local auction buying horses so I can find them better homes. I am always at local events and support other local reuses as well.

I'd love to find my old trainer and tell him how I'm doing, he'd probably drop over dead. I've competed and trained some high level horses, I've trained some nasty horses and saved them from the dinner table, I've trained kids horses, and family horses for people who were just so in need of some guidance. I encourage people to come out and watch me train as I have nothing to hide and they should know that. Too many trainers love to hide things from their clients. I basically took everything I learned from all the clinics and good trainers that I've trained with and put my own spin on it.

As far as my life, I don't have much of one and I like it that way. My friends are people at the barn and other horse people I know. I do have a wonderful boyfriend who completely understands my passion and dedication to the horses. Sometimes I work part/full time if business is slow. I have a great job that way. I've learned so much about this profession and a lot of hidden truths and lies exposed! You DON'T have to be a millionaire although I'm sure it helps. My parents have always been very supportive and crazy proud of me for what I do and what I've become. *Sigh* This is basically the short version I could talk for hours about this topic and all I've learned and done and I am only 27 years old. Feel free to ask more specific questions if you want :) So that's how I got here although the road was bumpy but, I just kept proving myself and asking. IT all started with a question from a little girl "Do you guys need any help?"

2 More Answers

2009-05-08T10:52:00.000-07:00

I have 2 more questions to answer, the other answers are below this post so for sure check them out :):):):):) All of your answers are there :)

Smurfette: Nice job with your horse! When teaching the flying lead change put a ground pole out in the middle of the arena and make canter figure eights over it. 90% of the time the horse will see the pole and switch it's leads over it. If you have to, make going over the pole over exaggerated at first. Meaning, make your turn sharper when going over it so your horse anticipates the change in direction. If that doesn't work make a small cross rail out of 2 poles and jump standards, something maybe 6 inches off the ground. Then use the same ideas. Watch how you ride too, A lot of riders will try to throw their weight to the side they want the horse to switch to, which makes it almost impossible for the horse to do the change. Ride light and balanced in your saddle so your horse has the freedom to pick up his shoulders.

WolfandTerriers: When practicing over the jumps stay light in your seat and don't lean forward. Don't try to "help" your horse by over jumping for her, meaning when a rider throws them self out of the saddle to "help." Stay balanced and drive her forward with your legs. IF you feel her start to balk, sit in the saddle and squeeze with your seat and legs, grab mane and sail over that jump! A lot of jumping mishaps occur when a horse or rider are too green to really know what they're doing LOL. Also riders who get to "brave" and push their horse over fences they're not ready for. When you get to the course walk her around the jumps and let her see them and when you warm up make sure she is focused on you, attentive to your aids and riding forward and balanced. Sounds like you're going to have a blast! Good luck let me know how it goes!!

Answer TIME!!!!

2009-05-07T22:37:00.000-07:00

OK, here are the answers to all of your questions going in order... And it's a long one LOL

Long Island Five: Ahhh a horse that will not lunge! Here are a few things I would do. FIRST if he isn't afraid of the whip, try poking him with the other end of the whip on his shoulder or behind his shoulder OR find something he is afraid of. Tie a plastic bag on the end of if that will get him to move out. Then start him on his lead rope, it's small and keeps you at close range for prodding him LOL! If that still doesn't work take 2 lunge lines and hook them to either side of the halter, almost like ground driving, and then stand where you would as if you lunging normally. SO what it will look like is one line coming straight from his halter to you, and another line going behind his rump and back legs coming back to you so you're making kind of a 'V' with the lines. Let's say he's facing left. Then he goes to turn into you you can pull on the right line to re-straighten him back out. Also the rope behind the rump MAY encourage him WANT to go forward LOL!!! Also keep your longe whip on hand to get him moving. Last resort, free lunge him for a couple days in an enclosed area, just get him used to the idea that when you say go, he needs to go!!!

Texasnascarcowgirl: GROUND DRIVE HER! Practice backing when you're on the ground, but still using the same techniques. Soft hands, no see sawing, just some direct pressure. The truth is, is that backing is hard for horses and semi-un natural. They position their bodies different and have to use different muscles in order to back up. If you have no issues with the saddle fit or her teeth and it's just her, then backing up MAY have been a punishment for her in a previous life. So ground drive her in her tack and ask for baby steps. When you apply pressure to the bit and ask her to back even if she moves a little, stop and praise her. One step is GOOD for the first couple days. Then ask for 2 and so on. Let her see that backing isn't that scary and that she's still a good girl! If she starts tossing her head or trying to evade what you're asking put a simple running martingale on her when you're working. Next once you get on her keep the same ideas, soft hands when she moves release the pressure, praise her do something else, then come back to her backing lesson, repetition and praise will fix her up nicely!!

Wazzoo: Sounds like you have a heck of a nice horse so congrats!! It sounds like working with him is the same as me working with Acacia. OK, so here's the easy way first. Try brushing him while he's doing something relaxing like grazing, or eating hay or grain. He's relaxed and eating so give it a shot, if that's a no go then we move on the the harder way LOL!! So, to keep yourself and him safe get an "arm" extension. ie: a longe whip, he may be terrified at first, but he WILL get over it LOL! All you are trying to teach him is that whatever you touch him with WILL NOT KILL HIM! You MAY have to tie him up if he's just way too freaked, you do NOT want him to think that running or getting away from you is OK. Tie him to a solid pole or something he can't get hurt on and tie his nose as close to the pole as possible, you don't want him to move away from it like he has been. Let him smell everything you touch him with first and then start at the neck and shoulder, then stroke his back and his rump down to his legs. Once he's fine with that use something shorter like a dressage whip and touch him and love him with it. Next bring a brush to him and let him smell it then try to touch his face or neck with it, if he's way too much of a nervous horse to attempt the touch right away then let him smell it and then walk away. Soon he's going to realize that A. whatever you have in your hand is merely an extension. And B. That you are not trying to kill him. Which they all think at first. Keep praising him and don't be surprised if he tries to get away and pulls with all his might. It's OK, let him regroup and try again. Small steps, lots of praise. He will learn he isn't going to be able to run away more either, which will benefit you when he's broke to ride LOL! If you're stroking his neck with a brush, but he doesn't want you touching his back, that's OK, brush his neck for a couple days and then move on to the back. Do this with EVERYTHING he needs to get used to! Brushes, hoof picks, blankets, clippers, you name it! Pretty soon he'll be able to be brushed and introduced to new things without being tied up at all! :) That's how Acacia started and now she's amazing! OH and when you go to try picking up his back feet don't use your hands at first, tie him and then take a second lead rope and put it behind that leg under his fetlock and gently pull up, so you need to be facing his rump and have ahold of either side of the rope. If he strike out or kicks you want him to do that with the rope and not your face or hands or arms!!

Jillian: Herd bound horses are hard to break of that habit, but the best thing that could've been done would have been to isolate her so she couldn't see anyone. Typically that's not something I'd ever suggest as horses are very social animals, but if she was hurting herself than that's the way to go.

OK, the little bucking horse, this could be tricky because if the he gets angry because kids used to lean on his face then that is definitely what you don't want to do! However, I trained a haflinger that had the same problem, she'd buck when cantering and this is how I fixed it. Assuming you're using a snaffle, use 2 pairs of reins attached to the bit, one set preferably nylon. Ride in a western saddle and then tie up the nylon reins semi tight and hook them over the horn of the saddle, lunge him first and see if he bucks when you ask him to canter all tacked up. The idea is, is when he goes to throw his down to buck he's going to pop HIMSELF in the mouth and learn was kind of a dumb idea and that he did it to himself because you're on the ground!! When you ride him keep it the same. So if he goes to buck he'll pop himself. You want the reins tied up semi tight because you don't want him to be able to get his head down, but you don't want his head cranked up either so he's uncomfortable. If this is not possible, due to lack of tools then do this. When you ask for the canter hold your outside rein up high. say shoulder height. If you're going to the right, bend your left elbow up to your shoulder and hold the rein there with light contact. It'll produce the same idea, if he goes to throw his head down, your arm should brace against that and again he'll have to keep his head up. When you ride him stay relaxed and walk and trot on loose rein for the first couple rides so maybe he'll get the idea that you're not one of those riders who want to lay on his face.

Ponykins: Ahhhh mares, Picky little creatures aren't they LOL?? You pretty much nailed it. She's in foal and feeling protective and hormonal. Mares in foal are concerned about a few things, eating, staying safe, protecting their unborn. If the mare feels like her position, food, baby is being threatened by another, even if she's not, she may FEEL that way, she'll attack. She knows her job is to eat and keep that baby healthy and she'll do it no matter what the cost. Your little filly could just be curious about her, yet that's enough to drive the pregnant mare bananas. You did a good thing by separating them!!! It'll keep them all safe and happier!

Crashedintoblack: First off, get the mare all tacked up like normal, but leave the halter on, use a long lead rope or a lunge line and practice ponying her. Basically, you or someone else rides a well mannered calm horse and you with lead rope in hand make the mare go wherever you go. You do this without a rider for the first couple times so no one gets hurt if she does happen to freak out. Pony her to places that normally make her scared, with her in your hand YOU have control, the owner can even walk beside with a crop in hand to just tap her along if she tries to back away or run from you. You don't want to get pulled off your horse either!! Then do this with a rider on, pony her to all the normal spots, but have the owner giving the cues. You're just holding onto the lead rope for extra protection!. ALSO it sounds like the mare may have some underlying training issues she's trying to avoid. Have the owner practice doing simple things such as halting and walking forward. With a crop in hand if the mare tries to back up the owner needs to smack her HARD, right behind the owners leg. The crop is used to reinforce the leg aids, not to abuse the horse, but you need to get your point across. Also if you're somewhere safe such as an arena and she starts backing up then make it your idea, back her up and keep backing until she never wants to back up again!! Stay relaxed and drive her forward if she dares to back up without you asking for it. Again a lot of reassurance and praise will be needed :)

Sterling: I've known too many horses that were trained that way, with the head held up too high, OK, so here you go, use a running martingale and full cheek snaffle. This martingale isn't as restricting as most others, and will encourage instead of force his head to go down. The full cheek I like because I think you'll need to start doing a lot of circles. Keep his nose slightly to the inside and your hands low, keep good contact on the reins and when he goes to drop his head relax your hold on him if he picks up his head, then again tighten up your contact, putting just enough pressure on his mouth that he'll want to get away from it and drop his head. Lots of circles and drive him forward using your outside leg and use your inside leg to keep the circle nice and round. Keep your hands low and soft, even play with his mouth a bit using a very SOFT jiggle of the reins. Circles will be your answer in getting that head down. Once you take the running martingale off, keep to the circles to get him to relax his head and drop it. Soon it'll be no big deal to him!!

Golightly: Backing is always a challenge LOL!!!! And yes no more RAIN!!! A lot of shows call for backing, so a nice straight, collected back is required to learn.

Heather: My gelding is the same way, he thinks he's mister macho stud horse and he tries to scare off all the others. One thing that I have learned about herd animals and dominant ones at that is if when they are all out in the herd together and you see the gelding chasing the pony, then you go after the gelding and chase him away. The other horses will see that and say "Hey, he isn't so tough anymore! Mom scared him away!" Do that a couple times and should at least help. Your pony will be fine and I understand your worry, however it's all apart of the fitting in and dominance process. Soon your pony will just say "Hey buddy, you can be the boss, but I'm done running!" It can be a waiting game for a bit though...

Clara: Glad to hear your horse is doing better! OK, place ground poles out in the arena to lope over. It will force your horse to pick up his front end and lean back on his rump. Also YES circles are good, if when he 4 beats and you ask him to move out of it he goes faster then pick up your inside rein almost like you're holding him and then when he slows down release the pressure. If he still tries to go to fast keep a hold of that rein and make your circles smaller. Not only will that teach him to get back into frame, but it will stop him from cantering instead of loping. Use a running martingale to remind him where his frame is too. Ride in the round pen if you can and set poles out in there to lope over. In time he will get the muscle back. Walk him up and down hills if possible, even a small hill will make a huge difference. Circles, lots of jogging and trotting will build up some nice muscle and stamina too. If he still won't slow down then ask him to gallop for awhile and then bring him back to lope, if he 4 beats push him out again so he gets tired of galloping and realizes proper loping isn't so bad!! He knows what he's supposed to do, it just may take a little bit of time to get him physically back to where he was. Sounds like your doing good though!!!

PHEW!! That was a long one! If I left anything out, you're confused or need more help or understanding let me know, sometimes I think it's hard to describe certain things as well as I think I do!! LMAO!!

Q & A TIME!!!

2009-05-06T23:08:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I feel as though I may have blathered on long enough. So now it's your turn, Let's do some Q & A. Post your questions in the comment section and then tomorrow I'll respond tomorrow night. Anything, western riding, jumping, horse spooking, shying, rearing, won't take wormer, breaking, lifting feet, trotting, hollowed out, running away, collection, bits, WHATEVER!!! This should be fun and helpful for everyone and it keeps me on my toes LOL!!

A Must See!!

2009-05-05T22:27:00.001-07:00

Ahhhh, it's time for some laughs. So I am an AVID fan of the show Rob and Big, It's a show on MTV about this pro skater and his body guard and all the adventures they have. Well one of Rob's great ideas was to buy a Mini Horse and set it up a home in his Hollywood backyard. So anyway the episode you need to watch is this one. http://www.mtv.com/videos/misc/204646/the-next-level.jhtml#id=1579762

If you get bored or it's not your style then just go to the last five ten minutes when they do the Liberty.

The episode is about them getting Mini Horse back from the trainer because he's a snotty little thing, then they decide to take him to an AMHA rated show. It is HYSTERICAL!!! They have NO clue what to do, how to groom, or how to dress! BUT, they have a BLAST while they're there and it cracks me up every time!!!! Rob even has his the back of his SUV converted into a mini horse trailer!!!

I promise you will laugh your butt OFF!!!!! 2 guys, no horse experience, in Hollywood, with a Mini Horse!!!!!