TAKING RESPONSIBILITY
So much is averted and avoided by not taking responsibility for yourself/actions. People love to take responsibility for all the good things or even things that sound bad that actually make you look good. So and so abused this horse and it's _____ so I'm having trouble trying to fix it. This horse ______ so it threw me off because _______. (blah, blah)

Now, I'm not saying that this stuff isn't true or doesn't happen. But, let's analyze the difference between the following two sentences.
1. My horse threw me off.
2. I fell off.

Yep, in both cases you hit the ground and it probably didn't feel so great for any number of reasons. But, if the fact is that your horse did what you said, i.e. stopped really short because you yanked back on the reins in your own panic, and you flew over his head because you were up and out of the saddle, the horse didn't throw you off.

You fell off.

But, "I fell off" sounds so much worse, doesn't it? Saying my horse threw me off retains your ego and sadly, frequently allows you to not get your skills better because, after all, it's not your fault!
I'm not trying to crush anyone's ego, here. I'm trying to help you get better and if you don't think it's your fault, you won't be in a hurry to fix it. You fell off. SO WHAT!
The only real "so what" is that you are looking at it from a viewpoint that will not benefit you. Really! You will not benefit from telling yourself you're better than you are and it was your horse's fault. This story spin is easy. The truth? Difficult. But, that doesn't change the reality of the situation. If you can say to just yourself, "I fell off" you're on your way to fixing it.
There are so many different situations and causes for the various ways we end up on the ground, but analyze truthfully or ask someone who was watching what they saw, to see if your idea of what happened is in line with an outside view. It happens so fast sometimes and skills and perception get out of whack. Ponder, will it really kill you to admit, even just to yourself, that you fell off? If there was someone watching that knows horses, they'll know anyway that you fell off and didn't get thrown off, so... Don't go looking for corroboration. Hopefully, that someone watching can give you a more accurate account of what happened so that you can work on fixing it. If you don't believe you have anything to fix because it wasn't you... ? I'm not even saying that you're not trying to fix things every time you get on. I'm sure you are. However, be/get more precise with your assessment of yourself and horse so that you can precisely focus on the points that will help you stay on top. There is an art to riding ( The Art of Riding, Book 5, sadly well away in publishing time but started) well. It's not just staying on.

Bucking may or may not be a different story. If the horse was bucking because that's what he does for whatever reason and you can't stay on, it still doesn't necessarily mean he threw you. If the horse really wants you off his back that's a different story and we're not talking about that here.

SPOOKING

Is there someone out there who likes riding a spooky horse? Anyone out there who likes sitting on a horse whose hair tingles under you and feels like a bomb ready to explode? Anyone out there who likes having a horse jump right on you because something to either side or behind or in front spooked him and your 12 square inches of real estate seems to be the best place for his 1100 pounds to be?
People... this will NOT take care of itself. If you don't tell horse that isn't how it's going to be from now on, it will not stay like this. It will get worse! And Worse!
If you take the time to re-train you and your horse to not spook, it will continue to get better. But, both of you must consistently challenge each brace and thought process in the beginning. And the beginning isn't a specific time frame. It's until it's good. Then it's a maintenance deal, but the more you maintain it, the less you have to.
Your approach to de-spook training is so important. If you approach it wrong, you will cause the horse to get more worried and more spooky. Ask someone if it's not working for you.

I was a judge for one of the obstacles on the ACTHA competitive trail ride in Bumblebee the past Saturday. Huge turnout, 95 or so riders. Always interesting to watch what the riders and horses are doing. Some of the handling/bits/attitudes are distressing to watch, but, all in all it's enjoyable. But, it's interesting how many people tell their horse to do the wrong thing and don't know it. I score the horse higher if he is doing exactly what the person asks even if it isn't what the task is supposed to look like because he is following the direction. But, then I score the rider lower for asking incorrectly.
Some people are jerking their horse's head with their rein coming across their belly button and on toward their opposite shoulder and wanting horse to step over with the front feet, yet the technique with the rein and body position they are using is directing the hind feet and causing a turn on the forehand instead of the required turn on the haunches.
I just have to sit there and watch. I'm not sure how to get the word out about the skills needed to operated horse feet. There should be a way for people who don't know they don't know this to find out.
Suggestions????
Maybe a judges corner on an ACTHA newsletter. I'll look into it.

Be Open to the Possibilities.
Having a plan is great. But, it frequently means you miss what is actually happening in the moment that is a precursor to what you would need to accomplish the very task you were meaning to do in the first place.

For example: You're approaching a jump. Horse is bracing laterally on the turn and picking up speed (which means he braced vertically against the bit, too!) Yet, because you decided to jump, you continue. You may get over the ump, but... getting over that one jump isn't really the answer.

Getting over jumps well is the answer. Now, you don't always have to stop going over the jump, but certainly take time to remind horse how you'd like the approach to be afterward. If you don't take care of this, you are then telling horse that how that just went down is correct. After all, you didn't ever say so. What else are you telling horse is fine, when it's not now you would really like it?

Softness and willing response vs. bracing and malicious compliance. One keeps getting better, one keeps getting worse.

Tom Dorrance must have had great reasons for not being famous. He didn't approach any horse matter in a way that the average person wants to "get something done". And most people don't want to start where they need to start. So, I'm guessing he only worked with someone who was open to not knowing and was interested in finding out.

Now, I'm not going biblical on you, it's just that everyone knows this verse - Ask and it will be given to you, search and you will find, knock and the door is opened to you. Nowhere does it say - tell yourself and everyone how good you are and you will be.
Every day with horses is one heck of a learning experience. Every nuance, movement, non-movement, notice what you notice. You don't have to DO anything, but notice, be aware and wonder.
You will not get to be a horseman without constant learning. There really isn't a get to. It's a constantly changing awareness of what is. Then, you can do stuff and see what happens.

Per the comment on prepping ideas for veterinary needs.

It's an old saw and is in my book, but I also understand that the depth of the concept is frequently not understood. Will your horse do as you ask forward, backward, left, right, up, down or stand still WHEN you ask?

If we even ask this question of ourselves, we get to the do as you ask and then aren't very precise about the answer. But, the second part of the concept is WHEN you ask.

If a horse does what you ask because he was going to do it anyway, or it's convenient for him, or it's not a big deal, no difficulty or stretch, that isn't what we're going for here. Will your horse do it when he doesn't want to?

This takes time setting up situations where you can test horse's responses and test your own skills, observations and knowledge. While you don't need to have the exact experience that you may encounter down the road, it certainly helps if you take every opportunity that arises and make up others.

Taking every opportunity encompasses a lot more from the person in awareness and a lot less of making opportunities. This is because all the little things that horse does that person does not correct/teach are where the opportunities are. A step here, a shift in weight there, put this foot here, no, not that foot and don't shove me with your nose when you're irritated. You can pin your ears and swish your tail, but not for very long. Only as long as I see that you're trying to figure it out. Do you have to? How can you get out of this? You don't understand. Yes, horse those are perfectly fine questions for you to have and contemplate. I'll wait. Well, ready to give it another shot? Well yes, we are working on this. No, not that foot. No, not there. That wasn't it. Nope, not that. I'll wait. But, I'm going to keep asking and only helping you with a small clue every so often if I think you really don't UNDERSTAND. I'm not going to help you much if you're just being difficult because you think you can out persist me.

ALL this can happen just walking over to where you were going to tack up. If you tack up without fixing these slights, they will carry over to the ride where you might have a bit more trouble with them once you're mounted. Even if you don't have trouble that day, when the chips are down or the vet is there or some other crisis arises, right when you really hope that your horse is going to do as you ask WHEN you ask, horse is going to say, "well, I rarely do as you ask, why would I do it when I REALLY don't want to"? And horse's response is right. Why would he? It, of course, is a matter of trust and respect along with time spent earning both that contributes to cooperation and accomplishment.

People just want to get on. Sadly, getting on isn't as much fun as it could be if horse did what person wanted. This doesn't make horse bad or wrong. Not at all. Just a horse. Person doesn't take the time to be precise and horse is aware of every lapse of precision because he gets points for it.

I'm not sure I'm all that fluffy compared to the last post. The same thoughts and issues keep re-surfacing, duh.
When one is first learning to ride and have a horse, there is so much that you don't know. It's impossible to learn it all in a short amount of time. Becoming a horseman takes years, no matter how good your instructor is. And if you don't have a good instructor or you don't have an instructor at all, you could conceivably ride/have a horse for 60 years and still be a beginner rider. While you don't know what you don't know, it's what you don't know that just ain't so that can really get you into trouble.
Who wants to spend a life in trial and error when someone can show you? You're still going to have a lot of trial and error anyway, but most of it will be that if you don't have someone helping you. How many of you would be proficient at math on your own?
Take lessons, read, watch videos, watch horsemen, watch idiots (it's important to learn what not to do!!)

Foundation work
Boy, this is a tough one. People's egos get so in the way of foundation work. Seems it's so much better to canter and stay on and feel that that makes you a much better rider than it is to BE a much better rider by being so good at every level of movement with the horse.

Saddles don't help you become a better rider very fast or very well. People who have ridden for years have no idea how bad their balance is and how NOT with the horse they are because they never sat on a horse bareback. Try it and see. If the horse takes one step and you're swinging all over the place, maybe you're not as good as you should be. If you can't feel comfortable walking on a loose rein all over the place without you BEING all over the place, you're just not that good. And if you feel that you are, then your ego is more important than your riding. And what about trotting or cantering? Ouch. That's harsh. Maybe, but maybe it's not harsh and is just what is.

Maybe I'm cranky today or maybe I've just had a lot of people this week wanting to do things to and with their horse that they haven't prepared for. Either way it doesn't change the issue. The ways of the ego are detrimental to your riding.

Horses, cactus and people.
Most people want to avoid anything that could go badly. Avoid anything that MAY upset the horse. Avoid anything that may get them in trouble. Avoid TRAINING their horse to stay out of trouble. Teaching horses about cactus isn't really that hard. I don't recommend doing it mounted, however, I have on many occasions. Unless you have the stupidest horse on the planet, they are better about the learning than you may think. Don't shove their nose on it, simply present it for them to inquire about. If you've done a good job teaching your horse how to investigate new adventures and objects this goes well in most cases. They also need to learn about as many types of cactus as possible. Horses don't have a cactus book and don't care that it's in the same family. They need to be introduced to all the cactus that you have available or can find.
When your horse is in a frenzy and/or bolting through the terrain is not the time to go "Look out for that cactus." Of course, if he's listening at all (oh, but he's not because he's bolting), he would still be saying "What's a cactus?"
Do your homework before you need it. Get your 12' rope and let them investigate while you're not too close. Or, if your horse is pretty good about knowing that the real estate that you're standing on is never the place for him to be, you can do this right next to horse. But, do do it.

Youngsters.

Many people who are breeding/raising horses say they want to let the horse be a horse. They don't want to 'do/train' them until they're 2, 3 or 4. Yet, unless that foal is out with a herd, YOU are training him.

Leading the foal with or next to it's mother to the turn-out paddock and back, getting the halter on the horse and feeding IS training. Are you only looking at one side of the training? Is being nice a good way to train manners? WOULD THE OTHER HORSES IN THE HERD TREAT THE BUGGER THE WAY YOU ARE WHEN HE MISBEHAVES???? NO! No herd leader is going to let a foal shove his chest or shoulder into him or run ahead and then kick out at him, or rear up and swing his hooves at him. If you do, he's the power figure. This isn't rocket science yet people are reluctant to take care of this. A horse rearing and striking or kicking at you??? I hate when that happens.

If you never shove him away, or shoo him off you, or let him shoulder in to you, or step on you, you are training him to be aggressive and dominant. This will make your 'real training' that you're waiting years to do so much tougher.

Taking a moment to get the youngster to understand NOT in my space is so important and since you're there anyway, don't be lazy or misunderstand your motives in not taking care of it. You are not a leader if a 5 month old colt is making you move your feet. Giving direction to a movement is leadership in training and a must to avoid injury (mostly to you). Teaching the foal to give to pressure instead of learning that the person gives to pressure is imperative as the older it gets, the stronger and tougher it gets. The un-mannered foal grows into an un-manageble 5 year old who now breaks things, bends fencing, tears up the trailer, etc.

Take care of it as the herd leaders would and set yourself up for success later.

There seems to be some confusion regarding softness and giving of the head (the horse's. There's no confusion about people. They're just hard headed. HA!). I believe a horse's head and neck should be for the most part, soft and flexible. Give a light feel. Put it in a place that I would like it to perform the task I'm getting ready to ask for.

The confusion comes in with the assumption that the horse's hindquarters need to be engaged and driven forward for the head to soften. This is not to say that you don't want this dual occurrence, just that the hindquarters aren't necessary to achieve a soft feel of the head. This really is two requests. Yet, why shouldn't the horse's head give and go??? What if you are standing still and just ask the horse to give to the left? Is bracing acceptable?? NO. So softness is what you're going for. But, since you're standing still you don't need to engage the hindquarters. What if you have the horse on line? You still may want a soft give in, down, left or right. AND you don't want the hindquarters to move. So, they aren't part of the same movement and the one request of the head doesn't necessarily require the other participation of the hind.

I was thinkin'.

I say this a lot to my students. Once a husband and wife team that I was working with stopped me when I started with it and said, "These are the three words we really hate to hear coming out of your mouth. It's always something we don't want to think about or do."

But, for me these are the three most exciting words. They fall into the same category as problem vs. opportunity.

When things are going well OR when things are going not as expected, hmmmm....is a good thing!

Oddly enough, the more this path is traveled, the more either way isn't a bother. As the quote by Krishmaurti says in my book (Curbside Service, Change the Way You and Your Horse Think About Each Other), "The secret is, I don't mind what happens."

So, lets say you're raising a foal for the hunter futurity. It's 7 months old. I was thinking... it would be fun IF you could have the horse perform in the yearling class without a halter. Not that you have to or should, but if you could.... how good would your class go if you then just followed normal protocol and had a bridle on???

What if... you took off your bridle during the class and your horse still won????

Avoiding potential problems:

Is a great way to run into them in a 'way big' manner.

You simply can't avoid problems with horses. Your best bet is to cover as much ground with spooking, manners, movement, behavior, skills, knowledge, etc. as possible so that when an issue comes up, you and your horse are able to get through it.

Push those buttons. Set up, cause the very thing you don't want to have to deal with (under controlled circumstances) so that you can get it out of there.

Expectations - Why so low?

Horse stumbles over and steps on and bumbles thru poles on the ground. Person thinks poor soul has so much trouble and can't do more until it can go over those twigs without bumbling.

Horse is thinking - this isn't even worth the effort so who cares.

Person is now scared to ride horse over these twigs because person doesn't want horse falling with person on.

Horse is okay with that concept.

Person would get horse a whole lot better by asking horse to jump over 55 gallon drums (on line). Even 6 mo. old foals can easily jump these barrels and it gives horse enough of an obstacle to put in a little effort. Let them bumble over or hit them if horse wants. Make them immovable then the next time they'll try a bit harder. People are frequently amazed at how nicely their horse jumps.

I had a guy over doing some work at my place today and he was taking some branches out to the alley before he left. I was on the other side of the property. Turns out, he didn't close the gate to the pasture and within seconds after he pulled out of the driveway, I had 4 horses galloping out the gate down the alley and out onto the street.

I ran to grab halters, leads and strings and the horses had luckily, stopped to nibble in a patch of grass. One of the horses is a relatively new arrival and has never been 'around' the outside. This can at times present the worst scenario because this horse could have incited the others to dash down the street. And it's a busy street!!

The good news is that I could act like this was a normal experience and walk up to the milling herd quietly, but quickly, snap my fingers at each one at a time and say 'come here' and they did.

Figuring out how to maneuver all four of them between plants and driveways and cars going by and getting them each back in the gate was interesting but within about 15 minutes of their escapade everyone was back in the pasture.

Of course, this happened at 1 pm in 105 degree heat. Alas, all is good!!

This is a very good reason that it's a good idea to teach your horse how not to spook and run in unfamiliar circumstances, how to be okay with you approaching in a quick manner and to come when called. Ya think?

My horse needs to do what I say.

Why?

Yet, why? isn't even the best question. Your horse needs food, water and sometimes shelter. But, if you are phrasing your wants this way, it WILL affect your results with your horse. And I am not saying that's in a good way. You want your horse to______! But, horse doesn't NEED to_____. Horse wants to ______.

As far as you're concerned, it may be safer for you, you will probably enjoy horse more, you may win more ribbons, if horse does what you say. But, that has nothing to do with horse's needs and as long as you think it, you are not working your way to the solution with the best results either in time frame or productivity.

Thomas Edison said, "There's a way to do it better. Find it!

Figure out how to keep your frustration over what you perceive horse NEEDS to do from getting the best of you. And, figure out how to get horse to think that it's a better idea if maybe he would consider doing 'it' like this.

Frustration never fixed anything.

Low level skills and knowledge aren't a big help either. Use Edison's line as a mantra.

People seem to think it just takes toooooo much time to train your horse to behave well and then stick to it. Yet, for 40 years they'll let their horse drag them around, pin it's ears when you approach or worse, turn it's butt and threaten to kick. And that's normal. Why? If you get someone who knows what they're doing, a lot of that will be fixed in an hour or so. Of Course that's fixing the horse. Obviously, it's the person that takes 40 years to fix.

I'm leaving for Florida to retrieve my kid who is moving to Tucson and we're driving across the country with the box truck pulling the car. So, I'm not sure when I'm going to post next, but I should be home around the 5th or 6th of Aug.

There's a book out now about dogs. It makes the case for them thinking and having emotions. Well, no s#@%!

Horses, too! When I read or hear someone say that horses only react and don't plan or think, I am from that moment on, caused to consider or reconsider as un-true, anything else that person says. Horse steps on your foot accidentally??? Yeah! Shifts his weight, picks up one hoof, directs it onto your 4 square inches of real estate (your toe area) and shifts his weight onto it. Meanwhile, horse is thinking 'oops'? Then, when the unsavvy person yells and pushes on horse's shoulder, what does horse do??? Usually, puts ALL his weight on the offending hoof. Accidentally of course.

An acquaintance was bragging that his wife trained a couple of horses they had. But, he says, "The stupid thing bucked us off every time we got on." Okay, so your definition of trained is....????? and WHO are you calling stupid????

How about the old grade horse in the backyard that rubs the visiting friend off on a tree or corner of the barn?

How about horses (I have one) that can open snap clips to get into the feed storage? Do you ever see a horse breaking into the worming medicine???

If all this is so, is it possible that when you're riding or have a horse on line that he's fully cognizant of HIS possibilities of getting over on you?? Of course.

And, is it also then possible that what you may be able to get from your horse in exceptional results may be more than you're asking or aware of???? Of course.

People expect too much from a horse they have never trained or asked to do something to do it on the first time. And, they expect too little from a horse as to what they are capable of doing.

What would be going thru your mind if a friend of yours walked up to you and head-butted you?

Why do you let your horse do it?

June - I was on a time frame kick. Seems like I could write every post about it.

Question your YOUR your time frames. How much are you allowing horse not to get it? How much is that you being too easy on yourself? It's not that you have to become Attila, just ask yourself if you MIGHT be able to get a bit more from you and horse. And then, how are you going to go about getting it? And when you see the result, can you ask for more? Was it too easy? If so, you haven't been asking enough from either of you. Go for more.

If something scared horse 3 years ago...SO WHAT! It's not scaring him now and both of you need to get over it and on with it.

Is it just me???

When people tell me how wonderful their horses are...I don't expect to see rearing, biting, kicking, striking, dragging across the arena, running away/bolting (on line or mounted), going left when the signal from person was right, walking off while being mounted.

People frequently use the word 'awesome' describing their horse to me and then either use the word except... or I ask them to show me what they do with horse and these 'things' happen. Frequently, more than one. So, I'd like to know if that's awesome, what word can you use if, for some reason, horse stops doing one of these things??? Is there a higher word? Could we use a bit of discernment here?

Could we, maybe, raise the bar???

It is hot here in AZ. But, that's a great time to check out whether or not your horse will move each hoof forward, backward, left or right and place it where you want or how you want. This is all relative, of course, to how well your riding goes, but in nice weather, people are more inclined to get on and go instead of getting better at the foundation of going.

Find yourself a spot on the fence under a tree or better yet a mister (water, not man) (of course I could be wrong about that last parenthesis). Of course, everyone has the new book, Curbside Service, and is eager to Curbside their horse. Break it down to the first step. Check your body for parts not in position. Ask yourself if you could do it better with less? Could you get more with less? More? I'm not making typos here. Can you keep successively doing more and getting a better response from your horse?

Toss a plastic lid on the ground about 6-8 feet from the fence you're still sitting on. A. I hope like heck your horse didn't spook when you tossed the lid. But, that's another writing.

B. Start with either front hoof. Doesn't matter just see if you can figure out how to get him to place one hoof on the lid. Remember, you have forward, backward, left, right, close, far, circling (half as you're on the fence). After you get good, pick a specific front hoof. After you get good, try the back feet, either one. After you get good, pick a specific back hoof. After you get good, do it without a halter or rope on horse.

Does your horse enjoy being hosed down in this heat. She does if she comes running when you turn on the hose and then presents all four sides and her butt for you to make sure you get all the parts!

Do not quit on a brace!!!

I so badly want people to enjoy their horses more, that it's sometimes hard for me to remember that I can't want it more for them than they want it for themselves. But, boy it's great to see when person and horse come together and get it and love it!

While most everyone says they enjoy their horse, it's just a lot more enjoyable when they don't do things like the opposite of what you ask, or threaten you, buck, whatever and a lot more enjoyable when you aren't afraid of these possibilities. And, a lot more enjoyable when they are willing to go with you. Do the things you're asking with a good eye and ear. Oooooo...softness, willingness, not bracing! Execution!

Another thing to think about is a quote that Parelli didn't invent, but uses regularly. This applies to any sport and most every hobby or...

Practice doesn't make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.

If you continually allow imprecision and lackadaisical responses, your horse's performance will reflect that. There is no one else to look to but the rider for this.

Then, when you really need precision, your horse has no concept of complying with you since you don't ask for it in a training situation.

After today, it is more evident than ever that Joe Paterno is right.

I'm thinking of making his quote my battle cry. Those of you who don't scroll down a bit here, the quote I'm refering to and paraphrasing is, 'Most have the will to win, few have the will to prepare.'

Why, why is sort of, kind of, close enough, oh well, whenever, whatever, hmmmm, maybe tomorrow, good enough???

I've really buckled myself down for some exceptional results lately. Close is not EVEN close enough and the results and fun have grown exponentially. Of course, we, me & horse, have had some time where we disagreed on the outcome of a request. Of course, horse expects to get his  way and I expect to get mine. Of course, one of the two will come out with the better outcome. Will it be you?

Has horse been winning these bracing battles for the last dozen years?

If so, you can't expect to win everything back in just an hour or two, but if you never jump into the skirmish, there isn't one because horse has already won. Once you start becoming aware of how mental bracing causes physical bracing and how this applies to darn near every single task or request you have of your horse, you'll probably be amazed at the points, skirmishes, battles and eventually the war that your horse has been winning and you thought you were just going for a ride.

People frequently tell me that horse was great when they first got him. But, a year or two later, they're pondering getting rid of horse or don't want to ride because they're afraid of what may happen due to misbehaviors of horse now.

Yes, over time, horse is very good at assessing your skills, or lack of them, and taking, for him, appropriate action.

If you honestly consider your horsemanship skills and the training level of your horse, which are you closer to:  A pencil drawing around your hand and fingers that you make a turkey out of? or a Monet?

NOW time frames. As in your own. Keep doing the same type of work with your horse and getting results that you think are a bit of give on the part of your horse and not saying to yourself, "What would I have to do and how long would I have to do it to get my horse to understand that that just isn't enough anymore?"

Honestly, it will boil down to the person. Does the person have enough stick-to-it-ivness to see it through and ask for it in a certain way NOW. The response doesn't need to be good the first time or even the fifth time. Of course, horse will protest the new manner. But, if you don't stick with it, ya got nothing.

10 years of having horse get his way or 2-7 hours of the two of you learning that you can have things your way, too. Enjoy! Get the struggle over (between you and yourself and you and horse) if you're always 'non-confrontational' with horse...you've already lost.

NOW time frames - sounds pushy, doesn't it. Until you really need or want your horse to do something (like turn left) and horse says, "Um, I'm reading the last chapter of Black Beauty. Check with me later."

Unless horse understands the concept of when you say now you mean now, don't expect any great result for any task. You may have mediocre results or less than you like, but you're willing to accept it results, or darn, I wish my horse...    but until you do something about it, too bad.

Do your homework at home so it works a bit better when you're not at home. Put your horse in positions where you would like him to comply and see if he does. See HOW he does. Willingly, 15 times in a row. Or does he do it sort of once and then says, "I'm done with that."??? And are  you done with that?? Because he said so? Because you won't persist longer than he?

I heard a quote the other day from Joe Patino - I'm paraphrasing sort of but...   Most everyone has the will to win. Few have the will to prepare.

Time frames - I'm so pleased with my Peka girl. It's amazing what 7 days in a row of riding her will do. I am delighted with our progress. We've been working so hard at maintaining position, giving to the slightest degree of request or pressure and getting better and better at putting her where I would like her. Moving it up to walk, trot and canter and backup without changing her head position and not bracing,  maintaining the same pace, moving in and out without changing anything.

Everyone I'm working with is working on the same stuff. I'm on a tear! My leg is getting better all the time and it's time we all buckled down and got this done. There is nothing that needs to happen for exceptional horsemanship more than your horse willingly moving forward, backward, left, right, up, down or standing still. Everything...everything falls under this category. It may be jumping a 3'6" fence, barrel racing, competitive trail obstacles...everything falls under this category. So, we may just as well get on with getting it done.

Note to self - musings on the word 'just'.

I came upon a youtube video two days ago. I'm absolutely inspired and could barely wait 'til the next morning to start what I need to do with my untrained heathens to get on that train.

Inspirations like this make me feel like going out right now. So, I keep videos like this handy for those times when I feel I'm too tired riding everybody else's horse to ride my own and to get me started on what I may want to go for today.

It was going to be a secret until I got some work done on it, but I'm too excited to keep it a secret. The Stacy Westfall video falls into this category, too. But, this will be my new preference.

On youtube punch in "working equitation speed test, Beja", then...get to work!

Back to time frames and results - What, exactly, are you accomplishing in your hour on your horse? People learn in different ways, so do horses. The same thing will not work with each horse in the same way. The mantra is "Analyze and Adjust".  What, exactly, is happening now? If I do this......what just happened? Was it something I like or don't? Now what? What if I do this???? Hmmm...better? Or not such a good idea?

I'm always amazed when people tell me how good their horses are. Not that I mean there are a bunch of bad horses out there, because there aren't. It's just people's idea of good is lame. I have prospective students telling me about themselves and their horse and they repeatedly use the term 'awesome' to describe their horse. Well, just what is it that's so awesome? Then they go on to either show or tell me that their horse won't stop, goes the other way when they want to turn, pushes through the bit, reaches around and bites their leg when horse gets mad, spooks, bucks, runs off....etc, etc. Sheesh, if you use awesome for that, what are you going to use if your horse actually whoa's?

I'm all for you liking/loving/enjoying your horse, but a bit more word accuracy will probably help you produce a better horse. If you believe yourself when you say how good your horse is, you're less likely to buckle down and work on making it 'awesome'.

So many concepts to ponder and muse about. Every time I talk to someone more comes up. So, I'm going to start listing subjects I'm musing about and may or may not get into the blood and guts at the moment, but anyone who wants to post an interest and then that will take priority. Either that or I should just stop talking to people! Ha!

Impulsion, lack of, or perceived lack of, or a difference of opinion of how that would manifest itself.

Time frames & results - what is too long to be 'learning' something? How much learning is actually going on? I recently was one of 4 judges for a Challenge for a rescue operation. 7 local trainers each got a horse from the rescue for 90 days. The horses were either thoroughbreds from a breeding mill type deal, or mustangs. Only one had ever raced on the track. At the end of the time frame, there was a 'show' where each contestant entered the arena and presented the results of their work. One of the spectators thought I would have been really impressed with the fact that one horse, on line, moved when his person moved and stopped when the trainer stopped. "Well," I said, "it's nice that that went well, but what did the trainer do with the other 89 days?"

Doing nothing at the right time can be difficult, but also most important.

Dwelling

It's not enough to start doing the right things with your horse, you must stop doing the wrong things.

Bending, suppling, softness, consistancy, why are you asking so little of your horse?

Then there's this BIG one - fears. Fears about your horse, fears about your skills or lack thereof, fears about going out of the arena, fears about being in that big arena, fears about other people, fears about other people's horses, fears about trotting or cantering or...dare I say it galloping, fears about asking your horse to be an enjoyable ride.

So, I'm starting to get a feel for what the heck I'm doing blogging. If that makes any of my students feel better, I suppose that's how you feel in lessons sometimes, eh? Not to worry, I'm familiar with the 'don't know what the...' feeling. Just on different subjects.

But this butt thing...start playing around with distances when your horse is at liberty. Try to throw in some observation time with this when you aren't going to work with your horse. Feeding time, check the water time, put the fly masks on or off, whatever. But, move around an observe when your horse moves relative to when you've moved and which way horse moves. You don't NEED to DO anything. Just become aware of what happens.

I will probably start writing a lot more detail, just figuring out my time. All of this is 'bookable' but of course, you won't be the only one on either side of the story. Everyone thinks they're the only one until I use an example and it's the same thing that happened to them.  Besides, I always change names to protect the guilty. Now, don't let that stop you from posting!!! Give me your thoughts and feelings and if you're leaning in a different direction please tell me about it. 

Horses are big. Why do we ignore a horse presenting us with his butt until the idea occurs to us that MAYBE he's thinking about kicking us if we don't back off?

What would you think if a person turned his back to you as you walked up to talk to him? Would "I'll just rope your head and get some gear on you and then ride" be a likely solution to you? Would you expect the person to forget all about the 'incident' and give you a good ride?

Today I had the opportunity to help some new people realize what their horses were saying with...their butts.

Yes, when you approach your horses out in the pasture and they turn tail and run, you may want to give some thought to that. Why are they doing it? When did it start? How long have I not noticed it? How am I going to change it? What do I do? Where do I move?

Is it position? Respect? Where do I start? What equipment do I need? Is there a better place/area to work in so I can have some success?

I'll be back with some considerations and how's PDQ.

Musings on horses and horsemanship keep my mind going day and night. Why do people do what they do with their horses?  Why don't they know what their horses are doing? How is it possible to not know when you're standing there holding the horse on line or mounted on said animal?

What's the best way to approach the fix?

Where are they on the ladder of their horsemanship and where do they think they are?

Insight into what you're actually thinking under whatever circumstances you want to present are welcome.