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
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
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...
Friday, August 14, 2009
Festina lente
German: Eile mit Weile
English: Haste without Waste
If ever there was a maxim that applies to horse education, this is it!
What is a horse owner's first question when sending a horse for starting to a trainer? A wise trainer will reply that it takes as long as it takes, because it depends on the horse.
Haste in training usually leads us to not giving the horse enough time to be OK with things or to skip necessary steps altogether. We miss the little signs that should tell us the horse is not OK, and consequently we push the horse too much mentally. We can also push a young horse too much physically. But I believe that the horse's mind is the most important thing. He needs time to learn new things. Familiarization with new signals, objects, situations, learning the 'correct' response and then refinement is what are involved in the learning process. If we skimp on any of those steps, the learning process isn't happening the way we wish. Or maybe even worse, the horses learns something we don't want him to learn, for example that a situation is scary and he should bail out, simply because we haven't given him enough time to look at and digest the experience the first time.
Once we've created a problem by rushing through steps, then we have two jobs instead of one. Before any more learning can take place, some unlearning has to take place. Once a horse has learned that stepping onto a board is scary, you have to break down all the fear barriers in his mind first before anything else can progress. Only then can you ask him to engage his mind and give it a go.
So instead of asking him to put all four feet on the board in one session, allow him to get used to the hollow sound of the board, and maybe end the session when he touches the board with one foot. Next session he might put his weight on it. He may even volunteer the other front foot. And so on. And in a matter of a few short sessions, each of which will be a few minutes, he will confidently walk onto and stand on the board.
Is that not a better investment of your time than pushing him hard to get all feet in place in your first session, which he will probably not manage anyway? And next time back, he looks at the board with suspicion because last time he was near it, you put a lot of pressure on him. So it takes nearly as long as the first time, and he won't be keen on the idea even next session.
So what took longer?
Oh yes, I've been down both roads. And I can honestly say that in the end, taking the time it takes, takes less time than not taking the time it takes. He, that was fun to write and if it's not a tongue twister, it's close to a mind bender ;-) But you get the idea.
I see this in working with horses all the time. The youngsters which come for starting vary enormously in the time they require to absorb and be OK with various things. And there are times, even now, where I could tear my hair out thinking we are not progressing. But we go one little step at a time. Some days we even do less than the day before, because that's what the horse tells us he's happy with. We quit when the horse is OK, and because of this, in due course, usually very soon, the day comes where you know you can ask more.
Because the horse is always OK, you have solid foundations which you are building on. So when you get to what I call a sticky spot (let's say: a scary dog out of the bushes the first time you take the youngster out on the trail), the horse only has to concentrate on that, because he is OK with everything else. If your foundations are insufficient, this is the time you'll know about it. If your horse props because of the dog, and he's OK, he won't mind that you also make a little involuntary move in the saddle, and your reassuring hand and voice will calm down the rest of his unease. But if your horse isn't quite OK, then maybe the bounce he starts which bounces you in the saddle is just enough reason to go into mental meltdown, and next thing you are right in the middle of a western moment.
So take the time it takes with your youngsters, they will thank you for it. You will thank yourself for it, too.
Festina lente.
English: Haste without Waste
If ever there was a maxim that applies to horse education, this is it!
What is a horse owner's first question when sending a horse for starting to a trainer? A wise trainer will reply that it takes as long as it takes, because it depends on the horse.
Haste in training usually leads us to not giving the horse enough time to be OK with things or to skip necessary steps altogether. We miss the little signs that should tell us the horse is not OK, and consequently we push the horse too much mentally. We can also push a young horse too much physically. But I believe that the horse's mind is the most important thing. He needs time to learn new things. Familiarization with new signals, objects, situations, learning the 'correct' response and then refinement is what are involved in the learning process. If we skimp on any of those steps, the learning process isn't happening the way we wish. Or maybe even worse, the horses learns something we don't want him to learn, for example that a situation is scary and he should bail out, simply because we haven't given him enough time to look at and digest the experience the first time.
Once we've created a problem by rushing through steps, then we have two jobs instead of one. Before any more learning can take place, some unlearning has to take place. Once a horse has learned that stepping onto a board is scary, you have to break down all the fear barriers in his mind first before anything else can progress. Only then can you ask him to engage his mind and give it a go.
So instead of asking him to put all four feet on the board in one session, allow him to get used to the hollow sound of the board, and maybe end the session when he touches the board with one foot. Next session he might put his weight on it. He may even volunteer the other front foot. And so on. And in a matter of a few short sessions, each of which will be a few minutes, he will confidently walk onto and stand on the board.
Is that not a better investment of your time than pushing him hard to get all feet in place in your first session, which he will probably not manage anyway? And next time back, he looks at the board with suspicion because last time he was near it, you put a lot of pressure on him. So it takes nearly as long as the first time, and he won't be keen on the idea even next session.
So what took longer?
Oh yes, I've been down both roads. And I can honestly say that in the end, taking the time it takes, takes less time than not taking the time it takes. He, that was fun to write and if it's not a tongue twister, it's close to a mind bender ;-) But you get the idea.
I see this in working with horses all the time. The youngsters which come for starting vary enormously in the time they require to absorb and be OK with various things. And there are times, even now, where I could tear my hair out thinking we are not progressing. But we go one little step at a time. Some days we even do less than the day before, because that's what the horse tells us he's happy with. We quit when the horse is OK, and because of this, in due course, usually very soon, the day comes where you know you can ask more.
Because the horse is always OK, you have solid foundations which you are building on. So when you get to what I call a sticky spot (let's say: a scary dog out of the bushes the first time you take the youngster out on the trail), the horse only has to concentrate on that, because he is OK with everything else. If your foundations are insufficient, this is the time you'll know about it. If your horse props because of the dog, and he's OK, he won't mind that you also make a little involuntary move in the saddle, and your reassuring hand and voice will calm down the rest of his unease. But if your horse isn't quite OK, then maybe the bounce he starts which bounces you in the saddle is just enough reason to go into mental meltdown, and next thing you are right in the middle of a western moment.
So take the time it takes with your youngsters, they will thank you for it. You will thank yourself for it, too.
Festina lente.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
High time for a change
For a long time I've been disgusted by what is called "Dressage". Mainly that which falls under the general heading of competitive or sport dressage.
It was bad enough to see the wooden looking horses performing lifeless if accurate movements under the heavy hands (and often spurs) of grim looking riders. To my mind, if dressage is the art of educating a horse to be a light and responsive mount, so these riders weren't practicing dressage! And then someone thought that wasn't enough and perfected the already common system of tying the horse's heads and necks down, by any means necessary, by adding systematic hyperflexion of the neck to the training schedule.
Someone coined the term rollkur. The word is cobbled together from "rolling" as the neck looks rolled in. Rosskur is the german word for a medicine or healing practice for horses. In colloquial language, it means any rough and painful "fix" for a body, coming from the understanding that in olden days, some pretty rough treatment was doled out to "fix" horses. So you can see that rollkur is a pretty meaningful description when it comes to hyperflexion.
I've seen photos and video of horses trained using rollkur. Nothing, NOTHING that's said by the people who practice and propagate this crap can convince me that it does anything good or useful for the horse's health or it's education. All it is is a pathetic attempt to shortcut training and to control horses which are already so frustrated by the way they are ridden, that they are mentally fraying at the edges and are sometimes barely controllable.
Whatever happened to correct education of a horse's mind and correct preparation of it's body to carry out the task? Is this a sign of the times, that we need instant fixes, instant gratification and if there is a by-product in the form of an unsound or mentally ruined horse, well we do live in a throw-away society. So we just buy another promising young superstar and go and do it all over again in a quest for competition glory, money, prestige, ego....?
And just as I thought I need to become a hermit and move to an island, it looks like there is a movement to put an end to this idiocy. Little by little I see articles in magazines which decry the practices used in even the most famous dressage stables. Vets are speaking up, prominent horsemen are speaking up.
Dr.Gerd Heuschmann published a book called book "Finger in Der Wunde" in Germany in 2006 and the English version "Tug of War - Classical versus "Modern Dressage" in 2007. He also made a film which is still available to order in English or German from WuWei Verlag. But have a read on his website or go to Stimmen Der Pferde to see a trailer of the film.
I also take my hat off to Philippe Karl, who appears to have made it his personal mission to better the lot of horses in competitive dressage. If you don't know who PK is, google him, it's worth your while. His latest effort was a letter to the German Equestrian Federation. This letter was ignored until it was published in a magazine and over 10,000 people added their signatures by way of signing up on PK's website. Finally the Germans replied, in a fashion. PK has recently published his answer to that. Please take the time to go to PK's website where you can find the full text of all three letters. It makes for interesting reading.
I hope that Mr.Karl and Dr.Heuschmann have successfully jumpstarted a revolution of the competitive dressage scene which is long overdue. For the good of the horses, let's support them in their endeavour.
It was bad enough to see the wooden looking horses performing lifeless if accurate movements under the heavy hands (and often spurs) of grim looking riders. To my mind, if dressage is the art of educating a horse to be a light and responsive mount, so these riders weren't practicing dressage! And then someone thought that wasn't enough and perfected the already common system of tying the horse's heads and necks down, by any means necessary, by adding systematic hyperflexion of the neck to the training schedule.
Someone coined the term rollkur. The word is cobbled together from "rolling" as the neck looks rolled in. Rosskur is the german word for a medicine or healing practice for horses. In colloquial language, it means any rough and painful "fix" for a body, coming from the understanding that in olden days, some pretty rough treatment was doled out to "fix" horses. So you can see that rollkur is a pretty meaningful description when it comes to hyperflexion.
I've seen photos and video of horses trained using rollkur. Nothing, NOTHING that's said by the people who practice and propagate this crap can convince me that it does anything good or useful for the horse's health or it's education. All it is is a pathetic attempt to shortcut training and to control horses which are already so frustrated by the way they are ridden, that they are mentally fraying at the edges and are sometimes barely controllable.
Whatever happened to correct education of a horse's mind and correct preparation of it's body to carry out the task? Is this a sign of the times, that we need instant fixes, instant gratification and if there is a by-product in the form of an unsound or mentally ruined horse, well we do live in a throw-away society. So we just buy another promising young superstar and go and do it all over again in a quest for competition glory, money, prestige, ego....?
And just as I thought I need to become a hermit and move to an island, it looks like there is a movement to put an end to this idiocy. Little by little I see articles in magazines which decry the practices used in even the most famous dressage stables. Vets are speaking up, prominent horsemen are speaking up.
Dr.Gerd Heuschmann published a book called book "Finger in Der Wunde" in Germany in 2006 and the English version "Tug of War - Classical versus "Modern Dressage" in 2007. He also made a film which is still available to order in English or German from WuWei Verlag. But have a read on his website or go to Stimmen Der Pferde to see a trailer of the film.
I also take my hat off to Philippe Karl, who appears to have made it his personal mission to better the lot of horses in competitive dressage. If you don't know who PK is, google him, it's worth your while. His latest effort was a letter to the German Equestrian Federation. This letter was ignored until it was published in a magazine and over 10,000 people added their signatures by way of signing up on PK's website. Finally the Germans replied, in a fashion. PK has recently published his answer to that. Please take the time to go to PK's website where you can find the full text of all three letters. It makes for interesting reading.
I hope that Mr.Karl and Dr.Heuschmann have successfully jumpstarted a revolution of the competitive dressage scene which is long overdue. For the good of the horses, let's support them in their endeavour.
Friday, August 7, 2009
How to describe a Paso
Pasos are very lively and proud horses. They are a horseman's horse. They are very smart. If they like and respect you, they will work their little butts off for you. While they are a bit hot, they are generally very easy to manage, but you need their respect.
I've found they don't do well with riders that like slow ploddy rides and who worry when the horse shows a bit of go. They do not like riders who continually pull on their heads to keep them slow.
On the other hand, for a confident rider, even if not too skilled, they can provide a lively ride. Because they are proud and funloving critters, they are great when you engage their minds and give them things to do, both in your interaction on the ground and under saddle. They are not flighty and run away types like many Thoroughbreds and Arabians. Some are a bit hot but if you set boundaries and give them a job to do, they do great.
If you are a rider who likes a bit of flair in a horse and who can laugh when the horse puts on some airs and graces, then a Paso will enjoy you and you will enjoy him.
I've found they don't do well with riders that like slow ploddy rides and who worry when the horse shows a bit of go. They do not like riders who continually pull on their heads to keep them slow.
On the other hand, for a confident rider, even if not too skilled, they can provide a lively ride. Because they are proud and funloving critters, they are great when you engage their minds and give them things to do, both in your interaction on the ground and under saddle. They are not flighty and run away types like many Thoroughbreds and Arabians. Some are a bit hot but if you set boundaries and give them a job to do, they do great.
If you are a rider who likes a bit of flair in a horse and who can laugh when the horse puts on some airs and graces, then a Paso will enjoy you and you will enjoy him.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Shift in Focus
Well, it has been a terribly long time sine my first post.
Many things have changed. I have changed. Horses are no longer the only or main burning passion in my life. I discovered the martial arts, but that will be fodder for another blog :-) . But of course, horses are, and always will be, a big part of my life.
Forced by circumstances and as a result of my gaining a bit of mental distance, we have significantly reduced our breeding herd. When something you love becomes a burden and a chore, not to mention a financial drain, then it's time to move on. When there is disillusionment with the way things are going in the horse world and the feeling that I wish to move to an island and become a hermit, it's time to move on. It's sad in a way as horses, riding and everything to do with it have been my burning passion for so long I can't remember when it started. But it may be a natural maturation process and the harsh light of reality which have brought me to this crossroad.
In either case, I'm more detached these days, while I still love my horses, still love working with them and going out for rides. Through this detachment, I think I can see more clearly the way things are moving in out there in the "horse business" and I'm not fond of what I'm seeing. I'm also more self critical, questioning my own methods and philosophies and am learning that I have taken many wrong approaches in the past. The more I learn, the more I realise I still need to learn!
From my involvement in the martial arts and the steep learning curve I'm going through, I have also learned lessons that directly apply to my involvement with horses, and the general horse - human interface.
I have started writing a book. Putting into words what I wish to say really isn't that easy. However, the process is a learning experience for me, and formulating my thoughts into coherent sentences will no doubt help me become a better communicator. I need to "boil down" the pot of loose ideas, concepts, experiences into a manageable dish I can serve up.
More about all that later :-)
C.
Many things have changed. I have changed. Horses are no longer the only or main burning passion in my life. I discovered the martial arts, but that will be fodder for another blog :-) . But of course, horses are, and always will be, a big part of my life.
Forced by circumstances and as a result of my gaining a bit of mental distance, we have significantly reduced our breeding herd. When something you love becomes a burden and a chore, not to mention a financial drain, then it's time to move on. When there is disillusionment with the way things are going in the horse world and the feeling that I wish to move to an island and become a hermit, it's time to move on. It's sad in a way as horses, riding and everything to do with it have been my burning passion for so long I can't remember when it started. But it may be a natural maturation process and the harsh light of reality which have brought me to this crossroad.
In either case, I'm more detached these days, while I still love my horses, still love working with them and going out for rides. Through this detachment, I think I can see more clearly the way things are moving in out there in the "horse business" and I'm not fond of what I'm seeing. I'm also more self critical, questioning my own methods and philosophies and am learning that I have taken many wrong approaches in the past. The more I learn, the more I realise I still need to learn!
From my involvement in the martial arts and the steep learning curve I'm going through, I have also learned lessons that directly apply to my involvement with horses, and the general horse - human interface.
I have started writing a book. Putting into words what I wish to say really isn't that easy. However, the process is a learning experience for me, and formulating my thoughts into coherent sentences will no doubt help me become a better communicator. I need to "boil down" the pot of loose ideas, concepts, experiences into a manageable dish I can serve up.
More about all that later :-)
C.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
I haven't written much for a while. Motivation can be elusive!
My friend Yvonne and I have been working with a variety of horses, not only some of ours, but outside horses which have been sent here by their owners. Mostly the job is to start them under saddle, occasionally we have a specific problem to solve.
One of the horses we worked on is the young Peruvian Paso mare Carisma NS. I actually bred her and sold her as a weanling to Sue and Len of Gunspring Peruvians. Carisma came here for starting and to address a little "bossiness" problem.
Yvonne and I took some video footage and posted it on youtube. Yvonne posted the link to my youtube video page on a couple of internet forums. The reaction was mixed, to put it mildly. While every video had an explanation of the background and the reason for what we did, and Yvonne explained it further on her lists, it was interesting to see just how many preconcieved ideas exist out there. It was astounding to see how differently people not only interpreted our actions, but the actual difference in WHAT they saw.
Some threw rotten eggs, some threw flowers. But that's the way it is. A topic for another day maybe.
Carisma went home, her owner no longer fear for their toes and we truly enjoyed working with her, as she is a lively intelligent young mare. Every horse I work with learns good stuff. And every horse I work with teaches me some good stuff, too.
Enjoy your horse!
C.
My friend Yvonne and I have been working with a variety of horses, not only some of ours, but outside horses which have been sent here by their owners. Mostly the job is to start them under saddle, occasionally we have a specific problem to solve.
One of the horses we worked on is the young Peruvian Paso mare Carisma NS. I actually bred her and sold her as a weanling to Sue and Len of Gunspring Peruvians. Carisma came here for starting and to address a little "bossiness" problem.
Yvonne and I took some video footage and posted it on youtube. Yvonne posted the link to my youtube video page on a couple of internet forums. The reaction was mixed, to put it mildly. While every video had an explanation of the background and the reason for what we did, and Yvonne explained it further on her lists, it was interesting to see just how many preconcieved ideas exist out there. It was astounding to see how differently people not only interpreted our actions, but the actual difference in WHAT they saw.
Some threw rotten eggs, some threw flowers. But that's the way it is. A topic for another day maybe.
Carisma went home, her owner no longer fear for their toes and we truly enjoyed working with her, as she is a lively intelligent young mare. Every horse I work with learns good stuff. And every horse I work with teaches me some good stuff, too.
Enjoy your horse!
C.
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