It's good to see that I'm still stirring the pot :-). There are quite a few comments coming in (not via this blog's comment system unfortunately).
It seems I need to clarify myself. No wonder, with all the rambling I'm probably a bit unclear at times. So here we go...
I said I like to take things slowly with horses, as I like them to be not just OK, but happy around me. I said I always ask politely first when I ask for anything. In most cases, that's enough and they follow my request. I said I only increase the pressure when necessary, and only as much as is necessary.
What I did not say is that I enjoy putting pressure on a horse or that a lot of pressure is necessary to achieve most things. I did not say I like to yell at a horse, nor that I like to use strong body language to get my point across.
These things I do if and when necessary only.
So to those who who still think I'm a cruel and uncaring meat-head who likes to beat up on poor horses, I say this: Wear your pussy-footsy hats proudly. There are lots of horses in this world who do not have the good fortune to be owned by caring people like you. There are lots of people who don't have the means, time, good fortune, education or possibilities to be so kind to their horses. You and your horses are lucky to live in relative luxury and in enlightened times. Good for you and good for your horses. Keep up the good work.
I'm looking forward to retiring from horse-starting and horse-training. When that happens, and I'll have my couple of beloved horses only, I will no longer need to do anything other than gently. When people stop sending me a horse that they can't handle themselves, don't have the experience to start under saddle themselves or have allowed to pick up scary habits, then I will no longer need to raise my voice or use loud body language. I guess I'd like to be like that right now!
However, between economic necessity and requests from people to work with their horses, I guess I will go on handling and riding unknown quantities and known problem horses. And while ever that's the case, I will continue to go as easy as possible and as hard as necessary to ensure that these horses are given the best chance to be someone's beloved riding horse.
Hope that makes sense.
Yvonne, Greg and I had a lovely ride today on Flamenca, Darah and Carlos respectively. Lots of toelt for Yvonne and I :-) How nice to just go for a ride and enjoy the horses and the landscape. The weather was beautiful and the view magnificent. Photos here.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Friday, December 4, 2009
different look
Yvonne told me the white on black writing is too hard to read, so here is the blog with a new set of clothes.
Yes, it's boring and I'll change it for something far more nice when I get the chance.
Enjoy.
Yes, it's boring and I'll change it for something far more nice when I get the chance.
Enjoy.
being confronting
When I woke up this morning, my thoughts as usual involved horses and jiu-jitsu :-)
I gave a lot of thought to the concept of the mental pressure, or stress, I put on a horse during training. And how horses react to that pressure. The Arab mare we are working with at the moment can't tolerate much pressure at all. Mental pressure that is. I'm not yet talking about physical pressure, though there is a little of that obviously. Say for example, I put my finger on the mare's chest to ask her to back, there is small amount of physical pressure. But there is, at least for a flighty sort of a green horse, much more mental pressure involved.
So the first point that comes out of that is that if my system relies on removing pressure as instant reward for wanted behaviour, I need to remove the mental pressure as well as the physical pressure.
How much mental pressure I apply to a horse is a function of how it perceives me and it's current mental state. One physical step towards a horse can be either no pressure at all (or even an invitation to some!), or it can cause enormous mental pressure if I approach a scared horse. Particularly, where it's retreat is restricted because of a yard fence or a rope I'm holding that's attached to the horse.
To be able to accustom a horse to things, let alone begin to teach it something specific, I cannot avoid exerting pressure. There will be stress.
Stress of course is a word with very negative connotations. But think on it, there is no development in anything without stress. If I don't stress my bicep muscles through exercise, they won't get stronger. If I don't stress my brain trying to learn something, my knowledge will remain static. If an economy isn't stressed, new industrial developments aren't necessary. The same applies to horses. The envelope needs pushing for development to take place. Stress, unless it's unrelenting or way too much, is a good thing.
So now let's translate that to horse training. I see my job as horse trainer (well, educator or teacher is better, but let's use trainer as that's the term everyone uses and knows) as someone who applies pressure in appropriate doses to achieve a learning effect in a horse. I need to know how and when to apply pressure and when to remove it in a timely manner.
Back to the Arab mare...
She is here to learn to be a riding horse and all that goes with that. To that end, we have a limited amount of time at our disposal. This is the real world. Her owner isn't a millionaire who can afford to pay me for years of training and I'd like to get her done before I go old and grey or before she dies of old age. So there are some outside constraints which influence my decision when and where to apply pressure.
I've said in previous posts that it's largely the horse which dictates how long this process takes, and that still holds true. However, it must be within the framework of practicality and do-ability. Simply put, if this mare cannot learn to be a riding horse within a reasonable time frame, neither her owner nor I can afford to continue. That's the cold, hard facts. Reality.
I gave a lot of thought to the concept of the mental pressure, or stress, I put on a horse during training. And how horses react to that pressure. The Arab mare we are working with at the moment can't tolerate much pressure at all. Mental pressure that is. I'm not yet talking about physical pressure, though there is a little of that obviously. Say for example, I put my finger on the mare's chest to ask her to back, there is small amount of physical pressure. But there is, at least for a flighty sort of a green horse, much more mental pressure involved.
So the first point that comes out of that is that if my system relies on removing pressure as instant reward for wanted behaviour, I need to remove the mental pressure as well as the physical pressure.
How much mental pressure I apply to a horse is a function of how it perceives me and it's current mental state. One physical step towards a horse can be either no pressure at all (or even an invitation to some!), or it can cause enormous mental pressure if I approach a scared horse. Particularly, where it's retreat is restricted because of a yard fence or a rope I'm holding that's attached to the horse.
To be able to accustom a horse to things, let alone begin to teach it something specific, I cannot avoid exerting pressure. There will be stress.
Stress of course is a word with very negative connotations. But think on it, there is no development in anything without stress. If I don't stress my bicep muscles through exercise, they won't get stronger. If I don't stress my brain trying to learn something, my knowledge will remain static. If an economy isn't stressed, new industrial developments aren't necessary. The same applies to horses. The envelope needs pushing for development to take place. Stress, unless it's unrelenting or way too much, is a good thing.
So now let's translate that to horse training. I see my job as horse trainer (well, educator or teacher is better, but let's use trainer as that's the term everyone uses and knows) as someone who applies pressure in appropriate doses to achieve a learning effect in a horse. I need to know how and when to apply pressure and when to remove it in a timely manner.
Back to the Arab mare...
She is here to learn to be a riding horse and all that goes with that. To that end, we have a limited amount of time at our disposal. This is the real world. Her owner isn't a millionaire who can afford to pay me for years of training and I'd like to get her done before I go old and grey or before she dies of old age. So there are some outside constraints which influence my decision when and where to apply pressure.
I've said in previous posts that it's largely the horse which dictates how long this process takes, and that still holds true. However, it must be within the framework of practicality and do-ability. Simply put, if this mare cannot learn to be a riding horse within a reasonable time frame, neither her owner nor I can afford to continue. That's the cold, hard facts. Reality.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
training, respect and public perceptions
The Arabian mare I mentioned in a previous post is receiving some attention on a couple of equine forums. Yvonne often writes little reports about the interesting horse personalites we encounter and how we work with them. She also takes photos and puts them up on the web for all to see. They include the good, bad and ugly which can happen, and are edited only to make them clearer to see. We've also uploaded a few video clips to youtube, mainly in response to questions asked on those lists.
It's great to get some feedback, and we've had some very interesting and constructive comments back from the lists and privately. Due to feedback received, I thought I'd start a series of posts here which might answer some common questions that arise.
I didn't set out or plan to be a professional horse trainer. I've always started my own horses and I rode and competed a lot until a few years ago. Then I was offered work on a horse stud and that work included starting horses there. That was the really the first time I was paid for working horses. Since I left the place three years ago, I've been asked to start and train other horses. Some are horses which I sold as weanlings, but most are unknowns to me.
I used to start horses on my own but these days I have the luxury of help from my friend Yvonne. As starting horses is inherently dangerous, and I'm sometimes here on my own, having someone present is a safety issue in case something goes wrong. Also, there are so many times when an experienced person standing next to a horse when I do things (like get on for the first time) will prevent the horse from getting bothered in the first place. We bounce ideas off one another, we tell each other stupid jokes and sometimes we just go riding together.
We're working with a fair variety of horses. Just old enough to start to fully mature. Mares, geldings and stallions. Straight start from nothing and barely handled to previously started but having problems. Pasos, Saddlebreds, Arabians, Spanish Horses, Icelandics and others. There is never a dull moment. We ususally don't work more than a couple of outside horses and maybe one of ours, so we have plenty of time for every pupil.
Facility wise, we have good basics. A 12 x 16 metre yard made from steel panel (relocatable), and two adjacent yards. There are 3 additional yards (one with crush for pregnancy testing of mares) and a sturdy tie-up rail. And a shed which houses the gear.
I have a good size collection of saddles, bridles, bits, things and more thing. But our daily working equipment is very simple. A selection of rope headstalls which are nice and thin so they can be worn under a bridle. A good weight long rope with beautiful feel. Two lunging cavecons, different weight and feel. A tying up strap and a heavy rope headstall for tying up. A dressage whip. An old roller and a crupper. Two basic bridles with medium thickness snaffle bits. A couple of nosebands/sidepulls with heavy rope reins. My faithful old Syd Hill Superdrafter saddle and a decrepit old Wintec which is the first saddle we put on a horse (because it's light and expendable). Aside from that, we have a selection of thick saddle pads including spaghetti cloths (Easy Clean Go Between).
We do not use sidereins, tie downs, martingals or even nosebands on the snaffle bridles. I hate gadgets. Just the basics. Depending on the horse and the owner's wishes, we might work a youngster in snaffle or training noseband, but they always start off in the noseband.
Yvonne uses Clicker Training and CAT. The latter works very well on shy horses. Clicker Training has good results if used by a knowledgeable person. Clicker training with bad timing is like any bad training and if there is no discipline in taking the food, the horse turns into a mugger monster. While I don't use clicker training as such, I often use a click to mark a particularly good response to a cue I've given, and Yvonne rewards from her clicker bag ;-). I personally use timed releases and voice to reward. Horses don't seem to be confused if we switch from CT to non-CT in one training session. Or from CAT to CT.
My primary concern during training is safety. Yvonne's and mine and that of the horse. Plus any bystanders or participants. I've had enough close calls and actual oopsies. Nowadays, I'd rather upset a horse or person and have everyone stay safe to train another day. I don't really care about salving egos (mine or others') or looking good. I'd rather hurt a horse's or person's ego and stop anyone from getting hurt. This is a very important consideration, as it is truly my biggest responsibility.
Which brings me to comments which been made several times in response to descriptions, photos and videos posted by us. For example a young mare which came here for starting and with the request to sort her muggy, pushy behaviour and habit of literally knocking people over when led through gates for example. This mare wasn't remotely scared of people. I had sold her as a weanling and I know both parents very well, and the granddam. The people who own her are lovely but they were relatively new to horses when they bought her some years ago. The mare had just learned she could get away with being pushy. A bit pushy is ok and needs a minor behaviour tweak. But squashing people against walls, running over them and mugging them for food is a safety issue. It's just not on and needs to be corrected asap.
Knowing the mare had no fear of people and an inflated ego to go with it, I enforced strict rules of behaviour straight from the start. I say stop, she stops. I say go, she goes. I say wait, she waits. Sounds simple and should be. But well established bad habits need to be erased before new good habits can be learned. Rather than waiting and beginning saddle training on a basis of bad habits, I worked through her issues mostly in the first session in the yard. Started at the gate. As I walked through, I made her stop and back up, then we walked half way through again and waited. Then we backed again and walked through until it was all done quietly.
Showing her how to go around on a circle was easy, she is a very smart horse. In no time she thought this was boring and started pushing in towards me. I use very "loud" body language when necessary, and I was certainly loud to send her out. Then we had a discussion about who had the say on when to walk and when to stop. Basically, I figure that if I am to ride a horse, we have to have the command structure well sorted by the time I set foot in a stirrup. It's not about some desire I have to dominate, or that the horse is some slave that has to do my bidding or else. It again boils down to safety. Sure we are a team. I am the leader, not the horse though. It's not a democracy and I can't tolerate backchat. Simply because it's a human world with dangers a horse can't even perceive. Say I ride down the road and I see a truck in the distance. Knowing my horse might get scared, I want to turn him down a side road. Can I tolerate him saying NO? Let's say I know there is flooding forecast and my horse is in a low lying area. I get the float to get him out of there to save his life. Can I tolerate him saying NO?
I take the leadership and the responsibility for that leadership every time I pick up a rope or rein with a horse attached to it. So when I educate a horse, be it on the ground or from the saddle, then I will be a leader who tries to act in the best interest of the horse. However, that means that if I say go, stop or turn or back, I mean it.
Simply, neither I nor anyone else can afford to have a horse that does not comply with basic requests, such as those. So if a horse arrives here which acts in a way that can be dangerous to me or anyone else, or to itself, then it is my first job to change this behaviour.
In a perfect world, I can achieve this through understanding, kindness and gentle nudging. In the real world, I have time constraints. Firstly in terms of having to justify weekly training fees and getting results. Secondly, in terms of not wanting to spend any more time than necessary around a horse that might hurt me. And quite honestly, there is some horse behaviour which I doubt can be corrected only by gentleness and soft approaches. For example, a horse that nips, a stallion that gets out of hand when you lead him past other horses or a mare that knocks you over when you lead her because she disrespects your personal space.
In those cases, I still ask first. And then I tell. As loud and as clear as necessary, but no louder. So often, these horses react very strongly. Not out of fear, but out of surprise, even annoyance that you are not giving in like all the other humans it's encountered. Sometimes they back right off. So I instantly take the physical and mental pressure away. Instant reward! Sometimes they will not back down and I have to up the pressure. Again, as soon as I get the slightest yielding in the direction I ask, I back off, remove the pressure. Horses are smart, they figure this very fast. Horses, in almost all cases are also happy to have a leader, and as soon as they find a leader they actually respect, they seem pretty happy. It's just that they never had a leader (human) so they took matters in their own had.
I think of it as being assertive so I can re-establish respect. I don't want to dominate or enslave the horse. I want a safe relationship where we respect each other's space. I am as gentle as I can be, but as hard as I need to be to get there.
So to come back to the comments on the mare... Some people watched the videos and they saw me putting a lot of pressure on a horse and they saw a bit of jumping around. I think they interpreted what they saw in the wrong context, namely that they made certain assumptions about the horse's attitude. So where the mare finally backs off when I send her backwards strongly, they interpreted her face of surprise as a face of fear. Ironically, the heavy duty "correctional" part of the early training took no more than a few minutes over a couple of sessions, after that, we could shower the mare with kindness without getting mugged or trampled. She was a breeze to start under saddle. Her owners can handle her with safety these days.
A set of photos or a video only shows part of the story. That is why we went to a great deal of trouble to explain what and why we did it at the time. A lot of feedback indicated approval but some feedback showed clearly that once people make up their mind about something, they are not willing to change it, no matter what. Most of the negative feedback came from single horse owners with limited experience and the professed belief that all in life and with horses can be sorted with endless patience and love. I envy these people in some way, that kind of romantic phantasy is lovely to have. Fortunately, I'm a realist. I have responsibility for my own actions, my and other human's health and wellbeing, and of course for the health and wellbeing of the horses.
I'm sure there are other, maybe even better ways of doing things than how I do them. I'm not an expert (please don't call me that!), or a guru and I'm only human. In the end, the proof is in the pudding and I should be judged by how horses look and feel under saddle when they leave here.
I'm sure I'll think more on this subject, and I'll come back to the Arab mare later :-)
It's great to get some feedback, and we've had some very interesting and constructive comments back from the lists and privately. Due to feedback received, I thought I'd start a series of posts here which might answer some common questions that arise.
I didn't set out or plan to be a professional horse trainer. I've always started my own horses and I rode and competed a lot until a few years ago. Then I was offered work on a horse stud and that work included starting horses there. That was the really the first time I was paid for working horses. Since I left the place three years ago, I've been asked to start and train other horses. Some are horses which I sold as weanlings, but most are unknowns to me.
I used to start horses on my own but these days I have the luxury of help from my friend Yvonne. As starting horses is inherently dangerous, and I'm sometimes here on my own, having someone present is a safety issue in case something goes wrong. Also, there are so many times when an experienced person standing next to a horse when I do things (like get on for the first time) will prevent the horse from getting bothered in the first place. We bounce ideas off one another, we tell each other stupid jokes and sometimes we just go riding together.
We're working with a fair variety of horses. Just old enough to start to fully mature. Mares, geldings and stallions. Straight start from nothing and barely handled to previously started but having problems. Pasos, Saddlebreds, Arabians, Spanish Horses, Icelandics and others. There is never a dull moment. We ususally don't work more than a couple of outside horses and maybe one of ours, so we have plenty of time for every pupil.
Facility wise, we have good basics. A 12 x 16 metre yard made from steel panel (relocatable), and two adjacent yards. There are 3 additional yards (one with crush for pregnancy testing of mares) and a sturdy tie-up rail. And a shed which houses the gear.
I have a good size collection of saddles, bridles, bits, things and more thing. But our daily working equipment is very simple. A selection of rope headstalls which are nice and thin so they can be worn under a bridle. A good weight long rope with beautiful feel. Two lunging cavecons, different weight and feel. A tying up strap and a heavy rope headstall for tying up. A dressage whip. An old roller and a crupper. Two basic bridles with medium thickness snaffle bits. A couple of nosebands/sidepulls with heavy rope reins. My faithful old Syd Hill Superdrafter saddle and a decrepit old Wintec which is the first saddle we put on a horse (because it's light and expendable). Aside from that, we have a selection of thick saddle pads including spaghetti cloths (Easy Clean Go Between).
We do not use sidereins, tie downs, martingals or even nosebands on the snaffle bridles. I hate gadgets. Just the basics. Depending on the horse and the owner's wishes, we might work a youngster in snaffle or training noseband, but they always start off in the noseband.
Yvonne uses Clicker Training and CAT. The latter works very well on shy horses. Clicker Training has good results if used by a knowledgeable person. Clicker training with bad timing is like any bad training and if there is no discipline in taking the food, the horse turns into a mugger monster. While I don't use clicker training as such, I often use a click to mark a particularly good response to a cue I've given, and Yvonne rewards from her clicker bag ;-). I personally use timed releases and voice to reward. Horses don't seem to be confused if we switch from CT to non-CT in one training session. Or from CAT to CT.
My primary concern during training is safety. Yvonne's and mine and that of the horse. Plus any bystanders or participants. I've had enough close calls and actual oopsies. Nowadays, I'd rather upset a horse or person and have everyone stay safe to train another day. I don't really care about salving egos (mine or others') or looking good. I'd rather hurt a horse's or person's ego and stop anyone from getting hurt. This is a very important consideration, as it is truly my biggest responsibility.
Which brings me to comments which been made several times in response to descriptions, photos and videos posted by us. For example a young mare which came here for starting and with the request to sort her muggy, pushy behaviour and habit of literally knocking people over when led through gates for example. This mare wasn't remotely scared of people. I had sold her as a weanling and I know both parents very well, and the granddam. The people who own her are lovely but they were relatively new to horses when they bought her some years ago. The mare had just learned she could get away with being pushy. A bit pushy is ok and needs a minor behaviour tweak. But squashing people against walls, running over them and mugging them for food is a safety issue. It's just not on and needs to be corrected asap.
Knowing the mare had no fear of people and an inflated ego to go with it, I enforced strict rules of behaviour straight from the start. I say stop, she stops. I say go, she goes. I say wait, she waits. Sounds simple and should be. But well established bad habits need to be erased before new good habits can be learned. Rather than waiting and beginning saddle training on a basis of bad habits, I worked through her issues mostly in the first session in the yard. Started at the gate. As I walked through, I made her stop and back up, then we walked half way through again and waited. Then we backed again and walked through until it was all done quietly.
Showing her how to go around on a circle was easy, she is a very smart horse. In no time she thought this was boring and started pushing in towards me. I use very "loud" body language when necessary, and I was certainly loud to send her out. Then we had a discussion about who had the say on when to walk and when to stop. Basically, I figure that if I am to ride a horse, we have to have the command structure well sorted by the time I set foot in a stirrup. It's not about some desire I have to dominate, or that the horse is some slave that has to do my bidding or else. It again boils down to safety. Sure we are a team. I am the leader, not the horse though. It's not a democracy and I can't tolerate backchat. Simply because it's a human world with dangers a horse can't even perceive. Say I ride down the road and I see a truck in the distance. Knowing my horse might get scared, I want to turn him down a side road. Can I tolerate him saying NO? Let's say I know there is flooding forecast and my horse is in a low lying area. I get the float to get him out of there to save his life. Can I tolerate him saying NO?
I take the leadership and the responsibility for that leadership every time I pick up a rope or rein with a horse attached to it. So when I educate a horse, be it on the ground or from the saddle, then I will be a leader who tries to act in the best interest of the horse. However, that means that if I say go, stop or turn or back, I mean it.
Simply, neither I nor anyone else can afford to have a horse that does not comply with basic requests, such as those. So if a horse arrives here which acts in a way that can be dangerous to me or anyone else, or to itself, then it is my first job to change this behaviour.
In a perfect world, I can achieve this through understanding, kindness and gentle nudging. In the real world, I have time constraints. Firstly in terms of having to justify weekly training fees and getting results. Secondly, in terms of not wanting to spend any more time than necessary around a horse that might hurt me. And quite honestly, there is some horse behaviour which I doubt can be corrected only by gentleness and soft approaches. For example, a horse that nips, a stallion that gets out of hand when you lead him past other horses or a mare that knocks you over when you lead her because she disrespects your personal space.
In those cases, I still ask first. And then I tell. As loud and as clear as necessary, but no louder. So often, these horses react very strongly. Not out of fear, but out of surprise, even annoyance that you are not giving in like all the other humans it's encountered. Sometimes they back right off. So I instantly take the physical and mental pressure away. Instant reward! Sometimes they will not back down and I have to up the pressure. Again, as soon as I get the slightest yielding in the direction I ask, I back off, remove the pressure. Horses are smart, they figure this very fast. Horses, in almost all cases are also happy to have a leader, and as soon as they find a leader they actually respect, they seem pretty happy. It's just that they never had a leader (human) so they took matters in their own had.
I think of it as being assertive so I can re-establish respect. I don't want to dominate or enslave the horse. I want a safe relationship where we respect each other's space. I am as gentle as I can be, but as hard as I need to be to get there.
So to come back to the comments on the mare... Some people watched the videos and they saw me putting a lot of pressure on a horse and they saw a bit of jumping around. I think they interpreted what they saw in the wrong context, namely that they made certain assumptions about the horse's attitude. So where the mare finally backs off when I send her backwards strongly, they interpreted her face of surprise as a face of fear. Ironically, the heavy duty "correctional" part of the early training took no more than a few minutes over a couple of sessions, after that, we could shower the mare with kindness without getting mugged or trampled. She was a breeze to start under saddle. Her owners can handle her with safety these days.
A set of photos or a video only shows part of the story. That is why we went to a great deal of trouble to explain what and why we did it at the time. A lot of feedback indicated approval but some feedback showed clearly that once people make up their mind about something, they are not willing to change it, no matter what. Most of the negative feedback came from single horse owners with limited experience and the professed belief that all in life and with horses can be sorted with endless patience and love. I envy these people in some way, that kind of romantic phantasy is lovely to have. Fortunately, I'm a realist. I have responsibility for my own actions, my and other human's health and wellbeing, and of course for the health and wellbeing of the horses.
I'm sure there are other, maybe even better ways of doing things than how I do them. I'm not an expert (please don't call me that!), or a guru and I'm only human. In the end, the proof is in the pudding and I should be judged by how horses look and feel under saddle when they leave here.
I'm sure I'll think more on this subject, and I'll come back to the Arab mare later :-)
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
glossary additions
Today's instalments :-)
expert = person who knows everything, tells everyone that he knows everything, doesn't need to learn anything. Often an expert will tell you that he did //insert activity here// when you weren't even born, to show you how experienced he is. You are not allowed to notice that after all that time, he's still not doing it properly. Experts are numerous at horse sales, other gatherings of horse people and of course on internet forums and on youtube.
pussy-footsy = person with romantic notions about horses and their handling and riding, usually convinced that ALL can be achieved with endless patience and lots of patting. Doesn't mind spending 5 years trying to teach a horse to headshake on command, and doesn't mind being dragged, trodden on or wiped off by a horse. Talks about riding more than riding. Engages in endless hours of internet forum exchanges about teaching horses stuff and loves to opine on perceived wrongdoings of other horse people.
horse hugger = pussy footsy. Adapted from the term tree hugger.
purple ant(s) = imaginary monster lurking in forests, tall grass or behind objects, particularly dangerous if they tap dance or show their fangs. Only visible to horses.
intimate zone (aka the horse's ethic space) = any part of the horse which it doesn't like to have touched. Mostly the girl or boy bits, but especially in horses with the princess syndrome, this can be anywhere on the body. According to some pussy-footsies, horse trainers must respect and stay out of those zones.
keyboard rider = person who spends much more time on a keyboard in forum discussions about riding than on a horse. Adapted from the term "keyboard warrior" which describes the know it alls in martial arts who type much and fight never.
expert = person who knows everything, tells everyone that he knows everything, doesn't need to learn anything. Often an expert will tell you that he did //insert activity here// when you weren't even born, to show you how experienced he is. You are not allowed to notice that after all that time, he's still not doing it properly. Experts are numerous at horse sales, other gatherings of horse people and of course on internet forums and on youtube.
pussy-footsy = person with romantic notions about horses and their handling and riding, usually convinced that ALL can be achieved with endless patience and lots of patting. Doesn't mind spending 5 years trying to teach a horse to headshake on command, and doesn't mind being dragged, trodden on or wiped off by a horse. Talks about riding more than riding. Engages in endless hours of internet forum exchanges about teaching horses stuff and loves to opine on perceived wrongdoings of other horse people.
horse hugger = pussy footsy. Adapted from the term tree hugger.
purple ant(s) = imaginary monster lurking in forests, tall grass or behind objects, particularly dangerous if they tap dance or show their fangs. Only visible to horses.
intimate zone (aka the horse's ethic space) = any part of the horse which it doesn't like to have touched. Mostly the girl or boy bits, but especially in horses with the princess syndrome, this can be anywhere on the body. According to some pussy-footsies, horse trainers must respect and stay out of those zones.
keyboard rider = person who spends much more time on a keyboard in forum discussions about riding than on a horse. Adapted from the term "keyboard warrior" which describes the know it alls in martial arts who type much and fight never.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
glossary
Since we always bandy about all manner of funny terms when we work horses, I thought I might put some of them in a list. Seeing I also use them to describe horse behaviour in this blog, it might be a useful tool for readers in terms of understanding what I'm talking about ;-)
I might update this as I go, but here we go for a start....
brain fart = sudden and/or unexpected behaviour
western moment = bucking or pigrooting
princess syndrome = behaviour showing the royal blood flowing in their veins, expressions of disdain for common tasks (including but not limited to being asked to move, step over or being ridden) usually in mares (but can certainly be found in male horses and humans)
hair loss (from the German: Haarausfall kriegen) = stress shown as big googly eyes, running away, jumping around, snorting etc.
horse bait = horse feed used for the purpose of attracting, catching and pacifying horses
furry critter = animal
horse hassling = horse training
purist = person who is convinced that breed //insert breed here// is the bee's knees and the only thing worth having and that it's sacriledge to crossbreed with horses from this breed, and who espouse the qualities of //insert breed here// to everyone who will stand still long enough to take notice
gadget = training item/equipment which clever marketers sell for lots of $$'s to people who don't know better, gadgets can range from just harmless but useless to dangerous for equine critters and humans
guru = any of the current "in flavour" horse whisperers/tamers/communicators
eyes like piss-holes in the snow = the look on a stallion's face when he's served a mare
tight-arse (from the German "Arschkneifer") = human (usually female) who spends a load of time talking about riding and has all the know-how but suffers from a severe tightening of muscles in the nether regions when actually placed on a real horse, leading to tight hands and legs and unhappy horses
diplomatic hands = hands on reins and ropes that ask politely and give/release immediately when the horse becomes soft
wet saddle blankets = the extended process of educating a horse in the post-starting stage
sense of humour failure (in horse) = assorted expressions of disgust, can be triggered by not handing over horse bait, being asked to go when I say stop or vice versa, particularly if the princess syndrome is involved
sense of humour failure (in me) = expressions of upset or digust, such as when a horse has a western moment or a brain fart, but can also be triggered when I'm berated by a purist or when I watch dressage riders or gurus
wrinkles (aka wrinkle city) = refers to the high wrinkle count associated with the facial expressions which accompany sense of humour failures or when I ask an equine princess to do something she isn't in the mood to do
ugly ears = refers to ear positioning and often goes together with wrinkles, some people refer to it as "pinned" ears or "ears back"
voice from hell = the tone of voice I used just before, during or right after a horse's sense of humour failure or brain fart, sometimes it's handy even during the wrinkle & ugly ears stage, as it sometimes fends off SOHF's
NICE! = what I say when a horse does good. I'm going away from using "GOOD!", as that sounds too much like "WHOA" and tends to result in a stop
I might update this as I go, but here we go for a start....
brain fart = sudden and/or unexpected behaviour
western moment = bucking or pigrooting
princess syndrome = behaviour showing the royal blood flowing in their veins, expressions of disdain for common tasks (including but not limited to being asked to move, step over or being ridden) usually in mares (but can certainly be found in male horses and humans)
hair loss (from the German: Haarausfall kriegen) = stress shown as big googly eyes, running away, jumping around, snorting etc.
horse bait = horse feed used for the purpose of attracting, catching and pacifying horses
furry critter = animal
horse hassling = horse training
purist = person who is convinced that breed //insert breed here// is the bee's knees and the only thing worth having and that it's sacriledge to crossbreed with horses from this breed, and who espouse the qualities of //insert breed here// to everyone who will stand still long enough to take notice
gadget = training item/equipment which clever marketers sell for lots of $$'s to people who don't know better, gadgets can range from just harmless but useless to dangerous for equine critters and humans
guru = any of the current "in flavour" horse whisperers/tamers/communicators
eyes like piss-holes in the snow = the look on a stallion's face when he's served a mare
tight-arse (from the German "Arschkneifer") = human (usually female) who spends a load of time talking about riding and has all the know-how but suffers from a severe tightening of muscles in the nether regions when actually placed on a real horse, leading to tight hands and legs and unhappy horses
diplomatic hands = hands on reins and ropes that ask politely and give/release immediately when the horse becomes soft
wet saddle blankets = the extended process of educating a horse in the post-starting stage
sense of humour failure (in horse) = assorted expressions of disgust, can be triggered by not handing over horse bait, being asked to go when I say stop or vice versa, particularly if the princess syndrome is involved
sense of humour failure (in me) = expressions of upset or digust, such as when a horse has a western moment or a brain fart, but can also be triggered when I'm berated by a purist or when I watch dressage riders or gurus
wrinkles (aka wrinkle city) = refers to the high wrinkle count associated with the facial expressions which accompany sense of humour failures or when I ask an equine princess to do something she isn't in the mood to do
ugly ears = refers to ear positioning and often goes together with wrinkles, some people refer to it as "pinned" ears or "ears back"
voice from hell = the tone of voice I used just before, during or right after a horse's sense of humour failure or brain fart, sometimes it's handy even during the wrinkle & ugly ears stage, as it sometimes fends off SOHF's
NICE! = what I say when a horse does good. I'm going away from using "GOOD!", as that sounds too much like "WHOA" and tends to result in a stop
Monday, November 30, 2009
Saddlebred and Arab
I've been told I need to post here more often! I guess it's been a while since my last post, ahem..
We recently sent home Keyanna, a young Saddlebred mare, after starting her. She is actually a horse I bred and sold as a weanling. Knowing her parents was a definite advantage. Her dad is Max (aka Mad Max), my favourite horse on the place and the stallion I ride the most when I have time.
It's great to see them again after they grow up. I'm lucky in that a lot of people who bought horses from us keep in touch and at the very least they occasionally update me with photos. But it's very special to have the horses back here for starting.
Keyanna was a bit of a scatterbrain, always busy and strongly convinced of being the centre of the universe (I call that the Princess syndrome). So she was pushy and used to getting what she wanted. She was quite put out by the new management when she arrived. Being a very smart girl she understood NO very quickly though and very shortly she was quite happy to be on the receiving end of instructions. She was particularly scatterbrained and touchy when she was in season. As it was early spring, she was in season a lot :-)
I have a rough programme I follow when I start youngsters, but I modify it as needed and I have not set timing for doing stuff. I take the next step when the horse tells me it's ready. How do I know? Boils down to the feedback I'm getting from the horse and my gut feeling and experience.
Anyway, to cut a long story short, Keyanna needed a lot of time at the beginning due to her short attention span. And we had terrible weather for weeks which delayed us anyway. But once the basics were programmed in, she rapidly progressed and we were out riding in no time. Just like her dad, she took most things in her stride, doesn't worry about much. She loves people and will do (almost) anything for you. Praise sends her to seventh heaven. She has her moments, she's still a princess at heart and she has a sense of humour. So she gives you the odd bit of excitement, just because she can :-). And she'll never put up with boring routines or inconsistent humans.
Oh yes, she is lovely. Yes, I wish I'd kept her. But that's the way the cookie crumbles.
Now we have another mare in work, a purebred Arabian mare, about 8 years old I believe. Unlike Keyanna, she thinks people are scary, at best ok for bringing food. She is highly reactive, jumps or twitches at every noise or movement. Is worried about being touched anywhere but the head. Doesn't want to be caught (though horse bait works). She is accordingly tense and looks at everything with suspicion. I can see that she wants to look at what I do and she actually wants the touch (on the head) and like all horses, she wants to be OK. But she is finding it very hard.
Interestingly, she often seems to tolerate something, say the saddle blanket. Then, after a little time, she can't any more. And then she becomes hectic and electric... So you have to start again. Means of course I'm going too fast. Unfortunately, the feedback from her is that it's ok first. So I'm adjusting my approach with her to take that into account. Slow down even more.
She is highly intelligent, of that I'm sure. She is also playful and has a touch of the princess syndrome. But it's all overshadowed by fearfulness. I know she's not been badly treated, she has never had much done with her except feeding, worming, foot trims and being transported here. So it's fear of the unknown, not fear of people due to bad treatment.
She is pretty much hair triggered and you can see the whole horse intantly turn into a taught bundle of muscles, ready to explode in some direction. And explode she does. My best friend and fellow horse "hassler" Yvonne often takes photos. Yesterdays efforts are documented here.
Although I took a lot of time to introduce the roller and I gently put it on and held it, she still exploded when I asked her for a step forward when I did it up (not very tight). It's very rare indeed that we have a horse buck in training, because we do it step by step. At some stage though, you have to close the buckle and the horse feels the restriction. Unfortunately, the odd one fights it, no matter how careful you are. But better we sort this now and she moves on so to speak than that we have that reaction when I first sit in the saddle.
She was never relaxed until we finished, but at least she was able to walk and trot and stretch down with the roller on after a little while.
Today we repeated the roller, but put a pad under it. Same slow approach. She was even more skittish today, but it was a bit windy and she has come in season, so that would account for some of it. Started bucking again, but as soon as I used the voice from hell (I'm really good at that), and told her to stop, she did. Finished with a couple of rounds trotting and walking and practicing neat stops and standing still. She doesn't like to stand there alone, she wants to come and crowd me which is insecurity.
After that, Yvonne did a bit of targetting with her, but the mare's mind was obviously elsewhere. Yeah, that's the problem in spring with mares in season and so many stallion about the place. Can't blame the girls, so many good looking boys to look at ;-)
Ah yes, and some Keyanna photos are here. And some of Bluey, another young mare in work (ours) and me being silly, which is soooo unusual...
We recently sent home Keyanna, a young Saddlebred mare, after starting her. She is actually a horse I bred and sold as a weanling. Knowing her parents was a definite advantage. Her dad is Max (aka Mad Max), my favourite horse on the place and the stallion I ride the most when I have time.
It's great to see them again after they grow up. I'm lucky in that a lot of people who bought horses from us keep in touch and at the very least they occasionally update me with photos. But it's very special to have the horses back here for starting.
Keyanna was a bit of a scatterbrain, always busy and strongly convinced of being the centre of the universe (I call that the Princess syndrome). So she was pushy and used to getting what she wanted. She was quite put out by the new management when she arrived. Being a very smart girl she understood NO very quickly though and very shortly she was quite happy to be on the receiving end of instructions. She was particularly scatterbrained and touchy when she was in season. As it was early spring, she was in season a lot :-)
I have a rough programme I follow when I start youngsters, but I modify it as needed and I have not set timing for doing stuff. I take the next step when the horse tells me it's ready. How do I know? Boils down to the feedback I'm getting from the horse and my gut feeling and experience.
Anyway, to cut a long story short, Keyanna needed a lot of time at the beginning due to her short attention span. And we had terrible weather for weeks which delayed us anyway. But once the basics were programmed in, she rapidly progressed and we were out riding in no time. Just like her dad, she took most things in her stride, doesn't worry about much. She loves people and will do (almost) anything for you. Praise sends her to seventh heaven. She has her moments, she's still a princess at heart and she has a sense of humour. So she gives you the odd bit of excitement, just because she can :-). And she'll never put up with boring routines or inconsistent humans.
Oh yes, she is lovely. Yes, I wish I'd kept her. But that's the way the cookie crumbles.
Now we have another mare in work, a purebred Arabian mare, about 8 years old I believe. Unlike Keyanna, she thinks people are scary, at best ok for bringing food. She is highly reactive, jumps or twitches at every noise or movement. Is worried about being touched anywhere but the head. Doesn't want to be caught (though horse bait works). She is accordingly tense and looks at everything with suspicion. I can see that she wants to look at what I do and she actually wants the touch (on the head) and like all horses, she wants to be OK. But she is finding it very hard.
Interestingly, she often seems to tolerate something, say the saddle blanket. Then, after a little time, she can't any more. And then she becomes hectic and electric... So you have to start again. Means of course I'm going too fast. Unfortunately, the feedback from her is that it's ok first. So I'm adjusting my approach with her to take that into account. Slow down even more.
She is highly intelligent, of that I'm sure. She is also playful and has a touch of the princess syndrome. But it's all overshadowed by fearfulness. I know she's not been badly treated, she has never had much done with her except feeding, worming, foot trims and being transported here. So it's fear of the unknown, not fear of people due to bad treatment.
She is pretty much hair triggered and you can see the whole horse intantly turn into a taught bundle of muscles, ready to explode in some direction. And explode she does. My best friend and fellow horse "hassler" Yvonne often takes photos. Yesterdays efforts are documented here.
Although I took a lot of time to introduce the roller and I gently put it on and held it, she still exploded when I asked her for a step forward when I did it up (not very tight). It's very rare indeed that we have a horse buck in training, because we do it step by step. At some stage though, you have to close the buckle and the horse feels the restriction. Unfortunately, the odd one fights it, no matter how careful you are. But better we sort this now and she moves on so to speak than that we have that reaction when I first sit in the saddle.
She was never relaxed until we finished, but at least she was able to walk and trot and stretch down with the roller on after a little while.
Today we repeated the roller, but put a pad under it. Same slow approach. She was even more skittish today, but it was a bit windy and she has come in season, so that would account for some of it. Started bucking again, but as soon as I used the voice from hell (I'm really good at that), and told her to stop, she did. Finished with a couple of rounds trotting and walking and practicing neat stops and standing still. She doesn't like to stand there alone, she wants to come and crowd me which is insecurity.
After that, Yvonne did a bit of targetting with her, but the mare's mind was obviously elsewhere. Yeah, that's the problem in spring with mares in season and so many stallion about the place. Can't blame the girls, so many good looking boys to look at ;-)
Ah yes, and some Keyanna photos are here. And some of Bluey, another young mare in work (ours) and me being silly, which is soooo unusual...
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