Blog – Page 70 – Horse Savvy

Picture Quote 5 – ‘Listen to your horses ideas…’

Published on July 18, 2016

Communication is a two way thing and to have a great connection to your horse you need to listen as well as talk. This might mean that you don’t do exactly what YOU want at times but you will get to do your thing with a better attitude if you allow your horse to have their say about something or to allow your horse to have some input on what you do together.

We need to watch and understand if the horse is saying something to us. We can see this by watching and learning how to read their body language for any tenseness or relaxation in their eyes/ears/neck/nostrils. It can also show in their back, stomachs and whether they’re calm and rhythmic in their gait or choppy and tight or whether their tails are quiet or swishing.

Horses talk more with their body language so it’s up to us to learn how to use our own bodies to help create more harmonious silent communication. If we learn body shaping dynamics to create our ‘conversations’ then the horse will ‘read’ and see what we are saying very well, with this and breathing/energy concepts we and our horses can become so connected we’re not sure who is leading who in the horse/human dynamic.

Picture Quote 4 – ‘In Horsemanship….’

Published on June 29, 2016

YES….our horses are our teachers and we need to learn to LISTEN to what they’re saying to us. Their feedback when we ask something of them is the part of the conversation that is crucial to how we interact with them. Whether that feedback is positive or negative we need to take note and learn how to have more positive conversations. Is the feedback telling us we asked the question correctly or incorrectly for them? are they saying that they do or don’t like something? Are they saying they understand or is it saying they don’t understand?

I like to think of it as going over to my best friends house. I always try to take something to the meeting, it’s polite and nice to give and receive. I always try to have time to have a ‘catching up’ conversation with my friend, say hello to the rest of the family and animals and then have a conversation about what we’re going to be doing, where we are going etc. This is called communicating and it takes two or more parties to have a conversation.

For me, it’s the same when I visit our herd, or when seeing friends or students herds too. I introduce myself, ask them how they are doing, check them out by stroking them all over, taking in whether they’re relaxed or anxious and then asking if they want to be connected to me in that moment. If they walk off I ask again but make sure I ask in an even softer way maybe, if they’re anxious I do my best to find a way to introduce relaxation into the conversation so that they realise they can be calm and happy around me.

So, to learn what our horses are trying to teach us we need to really listen to what they are saying through their body language and find ways to have more harmonious conversations and a willing partner in our equine pursuits.

Shelley – HorseSavvy

Liberty Challenge 10

Published on June 26, 2016

Beginners: start online in walk then trot
Intermediates: go to neck rope in walk or trot
Advanced: work at liberty in walk, trot or canter
Fun: try riding it (w/t/c)

Challenges Online/Liberty/Ridden:

Front feet & back feet in hulahoops (or walk over)
Trot over poles on tarp
Trot/canter through scary corridor
Jump
Trot through weave pattern
Transitions through narrow corridor (walk in/halt/backup/trot out)
Walk/trot over bottle bank
Walk/trot fig 8
Walk/trot through curtain
Trot through arch or jump hoop jump
Sidepass over or near an obstacle
Walk through water feature
Ground tie (immobility/halt) and extreme familiarisation with objects around horse

Liberty with Solly

Ridden with Solly

Tips:
Try and test all the obstacles to make sure you and your horse know what to do at each one, make sure you reward for the slightest try and as you advance you do more with each obstacle, either stay longer, transitions or all at a higher gait throughout.

Once you know what to do with each obstacle then put them together as smoothly as possible as a course (if online then keeping a ‘smile’ in the rope as much as you can).

Set it up the best way for your area so it doesn’t need to be in this order or this shape.

Do not push your horse through or over things, accept what he gives you and teach him more as you go along. Repeat as often as you can for a horse that is a slow learner and make sure you mix it up often for a horse that gets bored quickly.

Remember it’s supposed to be fun….for you AND your horse 🙂