a crocodile reformed

The crocodile horse from the last post has come a long way. Not only is the mare going under saddle now, but there is no further danger to life and limbs when in her vicinity.

Polite lips!

In fact, it is safe to touch her mouth, even tickle her lips, or just hold the fingers there. She sometimes carefully feels for the tips of the fingers, but no teeth, and very, very polite.

She has graduated successfully from crocodile-training :-)

handling foals

It has been a couple of years since we had any foals at Narrawin. But this year, we do :-)

So I've been working with young Gracie (Graciela NS) since yesterday. Keeping it all nice and slow and friendly and doing my best to spare her too much stress. It is nice to see her progress and after wearing a halter for only the second time today, she was just starting to turn her head and make a few steps in response to my request.

As with all my horse training, I'm seeking to find ways to make it easier for the horses and keep it relaxed and as playful as possible. Of course, especially with a foal, there are moments of fright, unless it is one of those naturally boisterous and outgoing foals we occasionally see. The more timid ones simply need to be given more time and reassurance. In the very early stages it is often necessary to restrain them a bit and let them get used to the touch, sound and smell of a person.

Graciela's second experience with people - photo by Yvonne Lehey

I've found that the best way is to maneuver the mare such that the foal is between her and the wall. That way the mare is close but I can get my arms around the foal. The most tricky bit are the little hard hooves :-)

A few very brief sessions of that, including rubbing the head to desensitise the foal in preparation for the halter, and then haltering isn't much of a problem. If they are ok with being touched on the back, neck and bum, they can be guided and helped once the lead is attached. It's generally better to attach the lead to the side rather than the bottom ring, but it still requires a lot of diplomacy and experience to avoid and manage mini panic attacks. It is surprising though how quickly a foal learns to cope with all these totally alien concepts.

The idea of yielding to pressure does not appear to be built into foals, which is why they tend to panic when they bump into something that won't yield. A good example: when I moved the mares a few days ago, the filly bounced into the electric braid. Instead of backing out, she tried to escape by running at it harder, until it broke. The same can be felt when handling foals for the first few times. They just don't know how to deal with it. So it is really important to introduce the handling and leading carefully and thoroughly, as it provides the basis of vital understanding of the world the little horse has to live in. It also lays the foundations for all later education.

extremes - what's the deal?

Is it just my imagination, or is there really a tendency for attitudes to swing from one extreme to another? It just seems that all too often, people seek out and zero in on something specific, which is part of some riding style or purpose. This then becomes some kind of mantra, a goal in itsself, which then starts to overtake in importance the original purpose. In their zeal to become better than each other (to win money, ribbons, admiration etc), riders, trainers, breeders and all kinds of enthusiasts will go to unbelievable lengths. I wouldn't care if they just wear bigger and bigger hats or brighter and brighter clothings (and some do!). But unfortunately, some of these obsessions are quite damaging come at the expense of our equine friends.

Go and watch Western Pleasure. I'll be damned if what goes for a lope there in the show-ring isn't downright abominable. I see a caricature of a horse doing some horrid four beat "thing" which ought to be a canter. It's so far on the forehand it's damaging the horse. It's so slow it's almost backwards. I can't begin to describe how appalling I find this. What goes for trot is no better. Slow-motion zombie-like horses ridden by grim and deathly determined looking folks. Oh yeah, and must have BLING. I mean, the judges have to look at somthing.... But Western PLEASURE? Really??

Ok, now go to Saddleseat shows. It's the total opposite. We've gone from noses scraping in the dirt and deadened tails (sheesh, can't have that tail move!) to exaggerated movement and tails that have been manipulated to stick up. Evidently, tails carried naturally high, showing a happy horse showing off is no longer good enough. Jerky, exaggerated movement is encouraged by the use of over long hooves with gadgetry which has to be seen to be believed. Horses are stirred up so they look wide-eyed and crazy and barely within control. Oh, and for total BS, have a look at the Big Lick shows for Tennessee Walking Horses. Whatever possesses people to call that riding, to do THAT to their horses in the name of a few measly dollars and trophies, is totally beyond my understanding. These horses look like robotic zombies, like caricatures out of a horror movie. They move like a real horse would never, ever voluntarily move. Sure they have shiny coats, but what do they have to go through to be so brainwashed that they can move like that. Bear in mind, I do understand and love gaited horses. But this has nothing to do with gaits. Even without soring and all the other crappy "training" methods used to make their horse do THAT, it would have to be a sad existence for a horse.

Next extreme: let's look at modern dressage horses. They must have snappy movement also, and EXTENSIONS!, but for some reason it seems necessary (especially of late, and especially in certain parts of Europe) that their nose is cranked back to their chest. Rollkur is fashionable. Deep and round is the motto. Never mind the fact that you never see horses move like that in real life, just as you don't see real horses move like show-ring TWHs or QHs... And never mind that these horses can't see where they go and and end up in a state of learned helplessness. Oh, and it seems to be ok to ruin their backs and necks also. Again, some of the big names start that BS, and every little wannabe copies it, in the hope of being "in the ribbons".

There are other examples, but these are probably the most obvious and widespread ones. Thankfully, in all those areas, there are voices of reason, peopl e who care and people willing to educate and change to bring about a better life for those horses.

Going away from specific riding methods, we see excesses elsewhere, too. I'm thinking of excesses in attitude toward horses. On the one hand we have people who treat horses like bikes and don't give a damn about the creature. To them, a horse is just a method to get from A to B, to impress the friends, to have some mindless fun or as a sporting tool to win ribbons. Use and abuse and throw away as they see fit... Then there are folks who are just plain cruel. In the olden days, a lot of that cruelty wasn't directly pointed at horses or other animals. It was a cruel, harsh world, and people did terrible things to each other, animals probably just got in the way or were tools to be cruel to other people. But there are nasty folks out there who don't abuse animals out of ignorance or need, but who take a certain kind of perverse pleasure in doing so. Those people are sick and need help. I won't elaborate on what kind of help I'd love to give them.

The opposite extreme to that mindset are the folks who treat their animals like children. Those who are unwilling (incapable??) of being a leader to their horse, to give guidance and encourage the horse to do things which will help him to fit into a human world. Just as I'm sick of hearing of uncaring, ignorant or nasty people doing crappy things to horses, I'm exasperated about the attitude of those who seem to think they must impose no boundaries on their precious and beloved equine children.

The idea that a horse grows up in a vaccum, that no social rules exist and are enforced within a natural herd and that therefore, the human "herd mates" also have to just let it do it's own things always is, quite frankly, a lot of crap. Horses are gregarious, they love company. Most horses love to fit in and to have their place in a herd. Very few have the mental make-up to be leaders, and even those are usually happy to concede leadership to another individual, so long as that individual has leadership qualities, including calmness, consistency, charisma, boldness etc.

In a horse-human "mini-herd", the human ought to be the leader. If for no other reason than that he's qualified by way of a bigger brain and better understanding of what is required for survival in a world full of humans. However, if the human is ineffectual as leader or willingly relinquishes his role in the name of "kindness" our out of some other misunderstood notion about what makes horses happy, then the horse will fill that leadership vacuum. In some ways this may work ok for some time. Horse gets his way, horse learns that he can do what he likes and therefore does as he pleases. Human is happy to watch horse do as he pleases and is happy to make no demands whatsoever, only hoping that the love for the horse will be returned by the horse.

The fly in the ointment comes when there is an unavoidable task. Maybe the horse needs drenching, or his feet trimming. Being vaguely unpleasant, horse might decide to walk away instead of returning the human's love. Now the human has a dilemma. Be consistent and let the horse decide but ultimately see it come to harm as a result. Or... be insistent on the procedure and risk upsetting the poor darling horse. Sometimes, they try the latter only to find that the horse has well untruly learned that the human has no say in matters, and the horse actually reacts hostile to attempts to make him do something. Now there is a real problem. This usually escalates and then something happens that endangers the human and/or the horse, and then an "expert" will be called in to help and fix the problem. In the end, the artificial "freedom" we gave that horse is getting the same horse into potentially life-threatening situations.

Another scenario: the overly kind person won't insist on their horse to follow and pay attention. The day comes when a flood threatens the area and the person would like to rescue the horse from it's paddock. The horse does not know or understand the flood, therefore he does not see the danger. The kind person cannot get the baulky horse on the float and as a result, the horse has to be abandoned and downs. Dead horse and unhappy human.

I've heard of people who wait for their horse to "tell them" they wish to be ridden. Really? Same as I don't see any issue in people working for money, I can't see a problem in a horse being ridden sometimes in exchange for a good life with plenty of food, health care, shelter from the elements and a social life. This is the real world.

I've seen bolshie fillies run over their owners because they had learned they can get away with it. I've seen horses with abysmal feet because they kicked their owners to smithereens once they learned that nobody insisted on cooperation. In the end, those horses end up being put out to pasture until they get sick and/or injured and/or hurt someone. And then they get fixed by an export or put on the truck to the knackery. Does that still look so kind??

Sadly, many people who have good intentions, but lack the experience and the opportunity to learn are attracted to gurus or to ideals which lack any common sense or connection to reality. The Internet is full of self help groups and advice from experts. There are self proclaimed gurus, like Nevzorov, who are taking the esoteric approach to horsemanship to such extreme lengths that people are brainwashed into thinking his way is the only way. The preachings of some of those gurus very nearly resemble religious rantings and condemn all but what the guru himself approves (=sells). All I can say is that behind every successful guru there is a successful marketing person who knows exactly how to appeal to the emotional needs of the average well-meaning but ignorant horse lover.

What to do??

I'd like to call for rational action. For attempts to understand the horse as a living, feeling creature with it's own free will and certain desires. I call for kindness and for thoughtful leadership which benefits the horse and guides him in an environment far removed from natural herd life and undoubtedly stressful to a born prey animal. I encourage people to follow a path that treats a horse like a real horse: a valuable individual which enriches our lives and deserves our devotion. But also requires our kind leadership and guidance. This path is best followed if we avoid extremes in everyday interaction, in training, husbandry, socialisation and all other aspects of life.

If, on top of that, we can do away with manipulating hooves and leg action, fixing tails in the up or down position and let horses move naturally as opposed to against their nature, we should be a long way towards having an ongoing good relationship with our horses. Happy, contented and healthy horses are more delightful to watch, to ride and interact with than any currently fashionable, man-made, artificially "enhanced" robots which are on the scrapheap before the age of ten..

I, too, am on a search of bettering myself. I would like to be a better leader and friend to my horses, and I will continue to strive to achieve that. But I am prepared to use common sense, and fairly rigorously apply logic, which filters out a lot of BS. I'm in the lucky position of having a decent amount of experience, and therefore, I can usually interpret the response of my horses to my requests. Is it working? Are we progressing? Is the horse relaxed, keen, attentive, happy to do more?

I am wary of extremes of any sort. I try to be open minded, but I question everything. I am careful of people who promise ALL the wisdom and ALL the answers. The good horse people out there are the ones who are on a lifelong quest to learn, and admit there is always more to discover and understand. They make no false promises. In my observation, it doesn't matter which background they come from or which equestrian discipline is their passion. Good horsemen and women share the very similar basic set of of skills and ideas and philosophies, none of which are characterised by extremes.

the darkest hour is just before dawn

Over the years, when working with young horses I've seen a lot of interesting things. Horses never cease to amaze me. They never cease to teach me new things. And they keep reminding me how little I know and how much more I need to work on my own self control. But that's a topic for another post :-)

There is one observation I've made quite often during the progression of turning a green (unridden) horse into a happy mount. Progress isn't linear. Some days I make a little headway, some days I can do three steps in one session and the horse is happy and relaxed. Other days, there is no progress and we both do well just to go over yesterday's lesson. Oh, and then there are those days when there is an obvious regression. That is when stuff I have gone over already, which the horse seemed OK with, suddenly isn't "there" any more. I have to be content with finding something from a much earlier lesson which I can reward the horse for doing well, so that we can finish on a good note.

Those days are frustrating. Most likely not totally pleasant for the horse, as he is evidently worried about every little thing and can't relax. But most definitely, they are frustrating for me as the horse's trainer and mentor. Firstly, there is the job of having to think of ways to not escalate any issues that emerge. Secondly, it's about looking for alternative ways to make the horse comfortable in what he is asked to do, and that calls for a fair bit of creativity on those days. Sometimes the regression isn't from the horse being spooked or upset. I've seen it happen in headstrong horses, who decided that today isn't the day to cooperate. I've also seen it as something that arises from outside circumstances, which meant that no matter how much I try, I can't get the horse's attention from the other exciting stuff out there.

Just as there can be no meaningful progress if the horse is scared, there can also be none if the horse has a different agenda or can't focus due to distractions. To get somewhere, the horse has to be OK in mind and body, with a willing attitude and me in the centre of his attention.

Well, some days it doesn't matter how good my intentions are. I just can't create that mindset. That being so, I really just like to do some basics and find a thing or two which I know the horse can do ok. Then I give praise and put them away. I will admit that I bitch and grizzle about it, because my inner perfectionist would like to see at least some progress EVERY training session. And so it was yesterday when we brought in the two geldings we currently have in work. It was (in my eyes) an abysmal session. They were flighty, scatterbrained, seemed to have forgotten most things and on top of it, seemed grumpy. I was grossly disappointed in what we achieved.

We all went and slept on it.

As so often in the past, today was a totally different matter. Both horses had a totally different attitude. Their facial expression, their posture indicated they were good to go. It was as though they had had a discussion about it overnight. Or rather, as though there were different horses in their skin. They looked keen, they were relaxed, they responded to tiny cues. The one time one of them was spooked (justified), he jumped and then stopped and settled immediately. We made huge progress. Both ended up going off the lunge, one of them for the first time. And did it well.

I could feel the different attitude and preparedness to work through the reins, and through the saddle.

Let me explain that.... Reins are sort of obvious, as one can feel if there is a give to a half halt or any other cue straight away. The quality of that little give is also important. There is just a different feel. I jokingly talk of butter sometimes. When things are perfect, it's like soft butter. (Accordingly, resistance feels like hard butter, or even frozen butter ;-) .)  There is also a different feel through the saddle. That includes whether the horse is relaxing the topline and seeking a bit of stretch. But it's more than that. When tense, it's not just the top neck and back muscles that are tense, but it also seems to be the whole skin. The saddle feels to be strapped to the back and it feels firm and unyielding and stuck. When relaxed in the right way, muscles and skin tone are different, allowing the saddle to feel a bit more loose. Not loose as in: loose girth, but loose as in: more movable, an organic part of the back and therefore a connection between me and the horse.

Honestly, it's a bit of a difficult thing to describe, and it took me some years to develop the sensitivity to feel it, and then some more time to come to realise just how important all this is. The next step is to try to create it in all my horses, all the time. That is not possible of course, but that's the goal.

Picture (by Yvonne Lehey): Castellano during one of last week's sessions. I asked for a stop. It's not too square, but his topline is soft, he's let out a big sigh and is lowering his head. That's the moment we reward, although of course, he is rewarding himself already.

The lesson learned for me here is that I should not be too harsh, but to accept that we all (horses included!) have 'off' days. This is no blemish on my record as a trainer nor on the horse's training diary. Rather, it is part of the overall progression, and it makes me appreciate the big progress days even more. Sometimes, the biggest problems occur just before the biggest steps forward. Sometimes, we just have to believe in ourselves, and keep working towards a goal. If the underlying principles are correct, then the goal will be reached, and often sooner than expected.

Out of the three horses we worked this morning, every one of them made me proud. To celebrate, I'm going to reward myself with going horse riding this afternoon :-)

classical gaited riding

I've been meaning for some time to write something about training and riding gaited horses, and whether it is possible to reconcile that with classical riding.

I've been too busy with university and work to give it too much thought until recently. I've started to gather some thoughts on the subject now and have a lot of related, but unordered thoughts on the matter which I want to include in the post. But when I started writing down some of these, I came to the conclusion that I will need to do a little bit more research first. I hate to "shoot from the hip" and then find out that I expressed myself badly, quoted wrongly or made any other errors.

I've had a fair bit of time off from reading horse books. I went through a stage of disillusionment and general discontent with my own riding on the one hand, and with what I see out there, being peddled as "all the answers" , "the quick fix" and "the latest & greatest". Although I didn't manage to spend much time working with horses or riding for fun for the last year, I have someone regained the fire in my belly to learn, to do, to teach, to write...

Consequently, I have horses in work again, with more planned for the coming months. I have new personal goals in terms of learning, riding and writing. Riding is fun. It's a good feeling.

 

Flamenca (photo by Yvonne Lehey)

So please bear with me, the gaited horses and classical riding piece is in the pipeline!

responsibility

I had to think fairly hard to come up with a title for this post. I'm still not sure if it's the right one. Thinking about it gave me a chance to reflect on what I want to say though.

We were working Castellano and Bailador again this morning. They have now both had about half a dozen sessions of groundwork. They have both been introduced to a pad and roller, then the saddle and a little bit of work on the lunge. We don't lunge much, but I find it is a really important part of preparing the young ones mentally. It also gives them loads of opportunity to become familiar with gear. They can show us their personality and how they react to various situations and give us opportunity to help them through stressful moments. For no matter how slow we progress, how much care we take, there is some stress involved. New things always cause stress, but if presented well, they also lead to learning. For the horse and for us.

The way I see it is that as a trainer, I'm acting also as sort of a mentor for the horse. I'm not just teaching him stuff. I am also responsible for his well-being and his progress. Therefore, I never say: we take 6 weeks to start, and in week 1 we do X, in week 2 Y and so on.... Sure, I have a set of exercises I favor, to achieve certain goals, the main one being that the horse is OK with me riding him and accepting my guidance at the end of it all. How I arrive there, which specific path I take, and how long it takes, that depends entirely on the horse.

My responsibility as a trainer/teacher/mentor is to find the right balance between two extremes: applying a healthy amount of stress to promote learning on the one hand, and giving enough peace and quiet time to let it sink in and give the horse the chance to relax on the other hand. My other responsibility is to present the right exercise at the right time to set the horse up to succeed. That isn't always easy. Something as simple as asking a horse to stand still at the wrong time can mean to set him up for stress and a failure, and other times it can be perfect to make him feel OK.

As so often when we work horses, we talk about new things we learn, what we observe in the horses we are working with and weird things we hear about from other people ;-) We are constantly bouncing ideas off each other and critically look at our own and each others work. Sometimes by observing, sometimes by looking at photos we take of each other. I have grown as a trainer since I've had the opportunity to work closely with Yvonne. In some ways we are very similar, in other ways very different. We help each other out, and while we both have some stronger areas, our goal is to become better in all aspects.

Anyway, coming back to the horses we were working this morning, and I have a perfect example to illustrate my point about setting up for success....

We were lunging Castellano. He only wore the saddle for about the third time. He was last worked briefly two days prior. He has not had much human contact in his early life, so he is still finding his feet mentally. He was a bit unsteady this morning, possibly not in the mood to work. He was fully focused on his handler, but he needed to move his feet because he was unsure of the situation. Yvonne recognised that he wasn't settled and allowed him to move on a little. Often enough, a couple of rounds of trot or gait are enough and the settle themselves. But he started to get into a stop/start pattern and was beginning to pop his head up every time she asked him to move forward into a trot. As a result, he was neither settling nor moving smoothly and he lost his bend while trying to evade to the outside with his nose. In addition, the stop/start was beginning to stress him and looked like it was becoming a pattern.

I suggested to take a whip to be more accurate with the forward cue. To walk him only and firstly look for the soft feel on the rope, the stepping under and bend of the neck. To be a little bit more pro-active when he wanted to stop, and to try and keep him in at an even speed. After only two rounds of walking, he looked a lot better. Started to relax, step under and bend. Then I suggested to look for a particularly soft moment (both relaxed topline AND release towards the inside with the nose), and then ask for the trot at that point in time. As always, she asked for the upward transition with only posture and a slight hand signal, and it was nice to see him do the transition smoothly and keeping his outline. A few steps, then she allowed him to stop and gave him a reward. She then walked him on again and looked for that same point to ask a couple more little trots, until shortly after, he did two perfect rounds on each side in lovely self-carriage while following the feel of the bend in the rope.

What a huge effect. Following such a small adjustment. It wasn't anything we don't normally do, but it still was a bit of an AHA! event, as it allowed me to realise the importance of it and to put the whole matter into words.

 

This is Castellano during a previous session. Nice bend and stepping under 

well. But not the ideal time to ask for an upward transition. Here I'm just asking 

him to keep walking and to relax. Photo by Yvonne Lehey.

 

 

This looks better. 

After today's session, he was able to maintain this throughout his walk trot 

transitions and while trotting. We should have a picture next time :-) . Photo 

by Yvonne Lehey.

 

Bailador is showing what I'm looking for. Moving nicely in gait, he has put a

bend in the rope. His inside hindleg is stepping under. He is in nice relaxed

 self carriage and focussed on me. I need to do next to nothing to maintain 

his outline, bend and speed. Photo by Yvonne Lehey.

 

Same feel again other side, and at the walk. Photo by Yvonne Lehey.

As trainers, we are responsible for the learning progress of our horses. Finding ways to help him learn by setting him up for success is one of the fun and challenging things we need to think about and become good at. Teaching horses is part science and part art, and it is the little challenges which make us grow as trainers and human beings. The learning therefore is a two-way street, one that never ends.

transitions

Good transitions are essential in riding horses. What we are looking for (yes, the order is deliberate):

• smoothness 
• maintain or enhance our horse's balance
• maintain or enhance our hore's lightness
• maintain or enhance our horse's attention
• maintain or enhance our horse's "forwardness"
• maintain or enhance our horse's collection

Picture a horse in self carriage, under a light, guiding hand, with the rider asking for an upward transition. The casual onlooker notices only that the horse now travels faster. The fellow horseman has seen the small shifts in posture and balance by the rider and horse which lead to the upward transition.

Transitions, both upward and downward are usually a result we want. The goal is to change speed and/or gait. However, the experienced rider knows that transitions can also be a tool. Revisit the list at the top. I said there "maintain or enhance". Yes, transitions are a great way to improve balance, lightness, attention, forwardness and collection, provided that the rider has balance, feel and timing. Oh, and lightness!

In a way, transitions also keep things fresh, they provide change and keep the ride interesting and give horse and rider things to do. They can be like a little game: Hey, let's see low few steps we can use before the downward transition is complete. Hey, let's see if half the amount of hand lifting suffices. Hey, let's see if breathing out from the middle will make a difference in the downward transition.

The same applies to work in hand, when the horse is on the circle. I always try to see how "little" a signal will suffice to get the transition. And I find that the more I ask with lesser cues, the more the horse tunes in. Sure, at all times I have to be prepared to ask again, with a more obvious cue. But I always ask with the lesser cue(s) first, as my goal, be it on the ground or in the saddle, is aways to achieve the points in the list at the top.


The transitions I'm really looking for are the ones where I have to do so little and the horse responds so smoothly and looks so beautiful, that most onlookers will think the horse did it by himself. They don't always happen, but they do happen. I do however, constantly aspire to get them.

beauty is as beauty does....

We've got this youngster at home. He's well bred. But he is a cross of two very slow maturing breeds, so he is still gangly and unfinished at over four years old. Depending on when you look at him, he doesn't seem to fit together sometimes. And due to one of the breeds which is responsible for 1/2 of his pedigree, he is a hairy s.o.b. as soon as the weather turns cool :-)

He was a spectacular foal, but he's been ugly as sin ever since. My friend thought I'm mad when I said I have high hopes for him, and she fell in love with his elegant (if still hairy) half brother. She couldn't stand the sight of this young fellow. I will agree, on a beauty scale of 1 to 10 for horses, he'd be a 1.5 :-) It didn't help that he rubbed his forelock off, and just had this jagged stubble of fur between his ears. I actually cut it to the same length of stubble, which looked mildly less bad.

But... we brought him in to start him. She thought that's great because then he becomes a saleable item and she won't offend her eyes by having to see him much longer. But... what transpired is that he's one of the easiest, calmest, most sensible horse critters we've ever started. He's also very well gaited. His solid body and sloping croup look none too appealing out in the paddock. But put a saddle on him and ask him to step out... Whoa! What self-carriage! He steps under well and his has a lot of natural action as well.

Suddenly there is no more talk of wanting to see the back of him. He has impressed everyone with his personality and his movement. He is a delight to work with. And when he moves, he is beautiful.

May I present .... Rorion NS:

In case you are wondering what his breeding is? He is by an Icelandic stallion out of a Peruvian Paso mare. In Germany, these are known as Aegidienberger horses. Here, we would call him a Paso Creole.

Next summer, when he has shed that winter coat and is another year closer to maturity, he will look as nice as he is inside.

noblesse oblige

From Wikipedia:

Noblesse oblige is a French phrase literally meaning "nobility obliges".
The Dictionnaire de l’Académie française defines it thus:

1. Whoever claims to be noble must conduct himself nobly.
2. (Figuratively) One must act in a fashion that conforms to one's position, and with the reputation that one has earned.

Question: What does that have to do with horse training?

Answer: A lot!

In my opinion there are two facets to this.

1. human to horse

In a human-horse relationship, the human (has to) have the leadership position. More on this in a previous post titled training, respect and public perception. As I indicated in that post, this leadership role entails responsibilities. To me, that also means that I must conduct myself towards the horse in a fashion which conforms to that position. Good leadership boots are hard to fill.



2. human to human

As someone who is consulted as a person with knowledge and experience (sorry, I refuse to use the term "expert"), I have a responsibility towards other people. Specifically to people who bring me horses to train, people who pay for coming to clinics or who pay me for my horse related know-how in any other shape or form. To me, this means that I must stay true to the ethical foundations upon which my horse training is based. I must stay true to the principles I proclaim to adhere to. I cannot speak of lofty goals and high moral principles without actually striving constantly to follow them. I cannot ask people to do as I say, but not do as I do. With other words, I need to lead by example.

Ok, I'm only small fry. I don't have a huge fan base, public appearances and a method with a name. I don't have people who orient their whole horse interaction on my methods, and I certainly don't have dedicated defenders of my named and patented method of horse training.

So, to those who have a big public profile, who can woe and influence many people, I say this:

Practice what you preach.
Stay true to your creed.
Speak up on horse welfare.
Your journey is never over, you are a student of life and a a student of horses - for life!
You are only human - it is ok to admit to errors and to make changes
Be honest to others and to yourself.
Be kind to man and beast.
Be conscious of your responsibility.
Lead by example.
Don't be blinded by your own importance.

Noblesse oblige! 

working with horses

Due to horrible weather and a lot of work for uni, we haven't done much work with young horses recently. But stay tuned, that is about to change!!!

There are lots of youngsters here who are the right age, so there's a bagful of new ones to start, half started ones to finish and started ones to bring along further.

Now that I'm through with uni until March and we are due to have some sunny weather, I'm starting to think about it again. There are also two brand spanking new foals to work with. Pictures here.

Anyway, by chance I came across some photos that were taken a couple of years back while Yvonne and I were working with two Icelandic geldings from Haldane Stud. I was looking through the photos we took of each other working. Stirling and Glymir(Glimmer) are very different horses in temperament, although they are half brothers and look very similar. But what struck me about the photos is how harmonious the work looks.

Now I know it's not the done thing to pat myself on the shoulder and all that. But if I had to find a bunch of pictures which demonstrate what I'm about and what Yvonne is about, then this would have to be it. Here are a couple of the pictures.

 And plenty more can be found here.

two steps forward, one step back

It's a bit lik a dance. Working with young horses, that is.

We had another classic case of two steps forward, one step back recently. One day, the young mare has a breakthrough. There had been some trust issues and some problems with her not wanting to see me out of her right eye. Then she is ok with that. Not just tolerating it, she is ok. I can stand and walk on her off side, I can lean over, jump up and down and be a clown on her off side. All great. We finish the session on a great note and are over the moon with how she's going.

Two days later, different story. She's not keen on coming, in fact, she plays hard to get. Which is back to square one in that department. One of the reasons she is here is to address the hard to catch issue, and we had been making good progress in that area. She is also spooking at stuff that was fine a few days ago. And when on the lunge, she gets upset, starts running and reefs away.

Sigh. BIG sigh.

It was like a different horse. The session essentially ended up just working on walk + trot on the lunge and giving to requests. I did not have the impression that she was worried or scared, more that she was in a shitty mood. Some of the rubbish she pulled certainly appeared pretty deliberate. For example, twice she trots calmly past a corner, third round she starts taking up the slack in the rope and then either stops or starts running and then reefing on the rope. The face wasn't worried, it was more wrinkled. As though it was beneath her dignity to work with us that day.

Oh well, what to do. I was as hard as I needed to be to stop the reefing and I gave her slack and praise when she did as I asked. After a little while, she was fed up and hot and started giving to my requests with greater frequency. She even offered a couple of rounds on a loose rope with a relaxed topline. At that, we stopped and put her away. We didn't even try to work on the stuff she did so well the previous session. We just took the first try and stopped there.

If I were new to horses, I'd be tearing my hair out and I'd be beating myself up over the whole thing. Of course I asked myself what I was doing wrong. But there are some days when, for reasons not evident to us humans, a horse does not want to play. I think that's sort of like the days when I feel like the whole world ought to leave me alone and I find it hard to be civil ;-). Yes, we all have days like that. So why not horses? But the behaviour she showed was unacceptable, so we didn't tolerate it, and we left her alone when she started behaving in an acceptable manner. Some days that is all we can achieve.

Our next working session together will most likely be fine. We never deviated from the general theme of rewarding wanted behaviour and ingnoring and/or discouraging unwanted behaviour, in any of the sessions. So while the apparent progress in the last session seemed nil or negative, in fact it still amounted to a learning experience for the mare (and us!!). And there are unlikely to be negative carry overs from it.

It's not the first time that we've experienced this dance with horses. It happens to a lesser or greater degree with any equine pupil at some point. Sometimes, it seems like three steps backwards for a few sessions in a row before we make apparent progress. Sometimes, I DO tear my hair out and I rummage around in my toolbox of tricks and techniques, so that I find something that will help the horse to understand what I want. Sometimes, it's a rocky road and we go up blind alleys and have to backtrack, and then again it's like hitting a freeway and we race along.

It is from difficulties and problems that we achieve the greatest learning as trainers. The knowledge gained from dancing the training dance with challenging horses is what makes subsequent dances a greater pleasure. For horse and human.

buy cheap - buy twice

What seems like a fabulous bargain at first glance might not work out so cheap in the long run. Put differently: you get what you pay for. Sure there are exceptions, bargains can be had at times, and on the other hand, not everything that is expensive is good. But in the greater scheme of things, I think we can safely say that quality has it's price. And spending money on quality goods and services is money well spent.

It is pretty much the same when it comes to paying someone to educate your young horse. There are plenty of "breakers" and "trainers" out there who will sort out your youngster at an appealing sounding price. First problem is the fact that there are no standards, no accreditation schemes and no warranties when it comes to horse training. So all that a horse owner can go by are the adverts in the local paper or the recommendations of other horse people in the area. Of course, the opinions of fellow horse people are just opinions. And one man's idea of a "good job" is another man's nightmare. The average self made horse trainer may even do an acceptable job on an average to super pleasant young horse for an owner who is happy if that horse comes home with brakes and steering. So ten people might say that trainer X is "great". But what if your young horse presents a bit more of a challenge? What if you, the rider, want a horse which has been taught more than stop on a rein pull, turn left on a left pull and go on a kick? Chances are, you will not find trainer X suitable for your horse.

Worse, as trainer X's approach fails with your young horse, he is unlikely to ring you up and say: hey, this is beyond my experience level, please find someone with more finesse and experience. No, chances are he (or she!) will try this and that and build up a great wall of frustration, which is often only resolved with force. Many times, young horses are shoehorned into a behaviour set by the use of various training gadgets, and being the nice critters that they are, a lot will put up and shut up. That goes well until they go back to their often inexperienced owners, where the thin veneer promptly crumbles and all the unresolved issues surface. And now there is a BIG problem, because the horse has learned that it can evade and avoid the unpleasantness. So it's called a problem horse and it goes back to trainer X for "fixing" or maybe to trainer Y. From there it is often an ever declining spiral of problems and "fixes", which inorexably leads to a pen at the local saleyards and a trip to the knacker's yard. Good bye promising young horse.

Buying a cheap and nasty saddle, which was a shiny "bargain" at the sales is bad enough. But at worst it will fall apart or a strap will break and cause you a nasty fall and a trip to the hospital. But with a young horse's education, we are talking about the future of a live being. It's not as though once he's been to a crappy trainer and you have wasted your money (seemed such a bargain to get him started for a few hundred bucks, eh?) and still haven't got a horse you can ride. No, it's much worse than that. Your horse has learned to resent the whole thing. Before there is a chance that he can be rideable, he needs to unlearn all that rubbish, re-gain his trust in people and only after that can he learn how to properly be a riding horse. Or even just a safe horse to handle.

Remember, if you are going to ride this horse when it comes home from training, you place your trust in your horse and the work that the trainer has done. Your own safety, that of your horse and all the people around you, are you willing to gamble with that with cheap but potentially shonky training? Buy cheap, buy twice. First you pay the cheap trainer to ruin your horse, then you have to pay a good trainer at least a normal training fee, maybe more for the extra correction work needed. So in fact, buy cheap, buy thrice? And that's assuming there is no lasting damage to your horse which can't be made undone!!

So before you send out your youngster, do your homework. Meet the trainer and watch him work horses work and his in the paddocks. Look at his equipment. Check his facilities. Talk to clients, the more the better. If the trainer is good, he will gladly give you references. Talk to him about your expectations, be honest about your own experience level. Tell him everything you know about your horse. And expect to have to pay good money for a good job. If you can, go and watch your horse being worked. Don't bug the trainer all the time, but make the effort. No good trainer will have an issue with you watching. If you have questions, ask. If you are not happy, say so and if need be, take your horse home. It is a fine line of course, as many horse owners are not really aware of what is OK and what is NOT OK in horse training. I have ranted often enough about that! Still, a good trainer will be able to give you a reason why he did something, and that explanation won't fall under the category of  "I needed to show the bastard who is boss here!".

Good horse trainers are hard to come by. They have years of experience and are more likely to be able to deal with challenging horses than a backyarder who has "broken a few horses" for his mates and thinks this might be a lucrative sideline. But expect to pay for the services of a skilled and meticulous trainer. Their time is valuable and whether they do it for the love of it or to make a living, the quality time they put into your horse is worth what you pay for it.

Just remember though, in case you do decide to send your horse to a backyarder to save money, and the wheels fall off. Please don't insult the good trainer (whose know-how you found "too expensive", so you went to the cheap guy) by asking for free advice on how to fix the balls-up which has been created. That is not only unfair, it is insulting.

Do the right thing by your young horse. Give him the best possible start, it is an investment for life.

when I retire...

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.

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 :-)

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...