Horse Sense and Cents

Sneak Peak excerpt from Turning Challenging Horses into Willing Partners. Due for public release in 2010.

Horse Sense for sour equines

• Rule out physical issues that may be causing pain and the horse’s associated frustration in his failure to communicate.

• Do not continue to push a sore horse, or you will only make him sourer and could turn him mean. Give him the help and the time required to heal prior to resuming training.

• Figure out whether routine or varied activities are the preference of your sour horse and give him what makes him happiest.

• Be patient, flexible, and accommodating with a sour horse when their behavior is justified. Conversely, if you’ve taught a horse to be sour by rewarding bad behavior, resolve to stop the pattern or get some help.

• Try getting a horse out of the routine with some fun activities, trail rides, and long walks if his sour behavior is likely due to too much of the same grind. Some sour horses will bounce back pretty quickly once relieved of the drill that has made them bored and cranky.

• It is rarely effective to discipline a sour horse for his behavior. If a horse has come to resent riding, punishing them aboard only reinforces this conviction. Instead, try finding an easy activity they enjoy and rewarding them for their cooperation. Once you’ve gained a rapport, reintroduce them to the discipline training in lighter doses and with greater rewards for their achievements.

• Horses that have turned sour rarely become standout competitors (unless you change their career to something they learn to enjoy), nor fun pleasure horses. If your aim is to put them back into the routine that created their sour nature (unless this is due to pain you address and correct), you are likely to be disappointed. Consider a different project.

• Find some riding activity that’s really fun for your sour horse and reward him with this after every positive response to a lesson (this could be trail riding, jumping, riding with a companion horse, going fast, going slow, a long rein, a swim in a pond – each horse is different and you need to figure out what makes your horse happiest).

• Know when to call it quits. Sour horses are some of the toughest to turn and sometimes there is no reward for the effort. If you come to hate riding or working with this horse, it may be time to say goodbye. Quality of life (yours and theirs) is something worth considering with these projects.

Chapter Seven

Turning a sour mount

There are a number of circumstances that can make a mount

sour. One who has been drilled too hard in the arena and given

little opportunity to relax in different surroundings can often

be transformed by backing off of the flatwork and jumping.

Simply choosing a varied routine that gets them fit and supple

on the trails or in other new and interesting environments can

quickly improve your mount’s attitude. If your horse is sore and

hasn’t been forced to the point of resenting the mere appearance

of a rider, giving him time off to heal and adopting a subsequent

sensitivity to their pain can work wonders. Some horses

are inadvertently taught to refuse. If there’s been a pattern of

curtailing every lesson as soon as the horse starts acting surly

toward requests, this behavior will escalate, and the horse will

object more frequently and dramatically to even simple tasks.

These equines can usually be corrected with the aid of a seasoned

and clever trainer, but this will often require that you

watch on the sidelines initially, proceeding with closely monitored

riding lessons after the horse is sufficiently schooled to

discourage this behavior.

If you’re dealing with a horse that has learned to resent with a

vengeance the competitive arena for which they were intended,

however, it might be time to find another project. While turning

these animals to a point where they get the job done is possible,

they’re generally not very much fun to work with or be around.

Plus, their attitudes leave them performing short of their potential.

If they’ve turned mean, they add a considerable degree of

danger to the mix. Mean horses that have learned that violence

and refusal is their only recourse for avoiding pain are almost

impossible to completely turn. You can make a lot of progress

with them and often diffuse much of the mean behavior, but

if they are sour and have been taught that belligerence is their

only relief, they may be tough to tackle.

With any sour horse, it’s important to be creative and responsive

in how you approach the training and communication

regimen.

Studley

All deemed Studley a lost cause, except his insightful, reticent

trainer who wasn’t ready to admit defeat with this horse and

his green owners, who were enamored by the idea of having a

racehorse stallion. The moment he arrived, we began to question

our creative capabilities with this monster, not to mention

our sanity. As noted earlier (see Chapter Six — Turning Mean to

Green), he was a vicious stud who had a history of maiming the

humans he encountered and a quarrelsome attitude that rendered

training attempts at the track impossible. After we developed

a strategy and system that, over time, was effective at dissipating

the meanness, moving from a survival to a success focus

to address his sour nature became a priority. Ultimately, it

was clear we’d have to work around his bad attitude to get this

beast fit enough for speed training.

Friday’s Opinion

I’m a bit on the fence about the proliferation of material being put out there that speaks with buzz words most can’t understand and a conviction that all horses are golden and any problem is human created. Many of these people have achieved a horsemanship understanding few will achieve, but seem to have lost their passion to help the deserving horse with a message most humans can grasp.

Speaking in foreign tongues

Part of me is puzzled by the fact that this new brand of “horse whisperers” refuse to speak in terms a novice (or even a seasoned professional) can understand if they’re not part of their cadre (which usually requires buying $99 DVDs or paying to access members only information on their website). Yet, they claim their passion is to save the horses from human cruelty (usually due to ignorance).  No matter how accomplished these folks may be on the horse communication front, how aptly they can demonstrate their talents and how often they waive the horse advocacy flag, I’m a bit sceptical about those who shout horse savoir while erecting barriers for the most needy.  I get everyone needs to make a living and am not a proponent of all knowledge should be free, but there’s a disconnect with these folks when they lead with a horse welfare banner and follow with all access denied if you won’t immediately pony up.

I think these folks have a lot of knowledge to share that could benefit the horse – particularly those who are challenged with novice handlers and riders. Yet, the language they use is so esoteric to most of the uninitiated, even their sales pitches are lost on this important audience. To boot, they require almost immediate payment to reveal their secrets. How’s that helping the horse?  Still, I realize some of these talented folks have made a difference in the lives of many of the horses they’ve touched. They have a lot of insight to share that could benefit so many horses. I just wish they’d either be true to their stated mission (with terms the masses can understand and associated accessibility for those who seek to assess what’s being offered prior to pulling out the MasterCard) or honest about their intention to make their offerings (and language) exclusive to their club of benefactors.

Who’s really helping the horses?

The paradox between their message and their actions is troubling. If they believe every horse is a victim of human experience and they’ve set their life goals on saving these horses from their dumb human owners/riders/handlers, why limit the salvation to those who boast a wealthy or enlightened owner willing to immediately pay the piper for their education? Usually, those who do the most harm to horses do so without recognizing the ill of their actions. It concerns me when one who can demonstrate such character with the horses they encounter fail to extend this to the humans they accuse.

Is every horse really an angel?

Frankly, I don’t share the conviction of some of the self-described equine mind-readers that all misbehaving horses are victims of human mishandling. I’ve met some horses in my life (not many, but enough to realize not all are angels) that don’t want to be reached. Granted, I’ve spent the last couple of decades of my life dealing with Thoroughbred race horses, where temperament (forget about conformation) is an afterthought, but I’ve come across a few horses over my 40 years of riding and 20-plus years of training that  aren’t worth the costs. There are just too many great horses out there to put in time year-after-year on one that is not receptive to kindness and clear guidance. Sometimes, ignorant breeding (and yes, this is a human factor) produces horses that will be difficult for a lifetime.

Help humans to stop creating problem horses

Sure, most horse problems are created by human handling, but I’d like to believe in most cases, these breakdowns aren’t due to evil, but instead, ignorance – or more likely, fear. If we really want to help the horse – and create horseman for the future – we need to speak in tongues novices can understand, provide accessible information to help them grow in knowledge and awareness, discourage bad horse/human combinations and do all we can to help those who don’t know what they don’t know strive to learn from those who demonstrate integrity and illustrate through their actions what horsemanship really means.

Take the lead from the horse

Horses can teach us so much about communications. I haven’t encountered one yet that seeks an exclusive podium to present that message. Wouldn’t it be great if those who can be called true horsemen today could take a lead from the horses that have taught them so much by being clear, generous, honest and open with their message to the people they are trying to reach?

Wednesday Quick Tips

1. Never leave a horse without water in the cold months (or any other time, for that matter). Colic is very prevalent during the winter and this can often be traced to poor access and/or subsequent gulping of water when finally provided. Make sure ice has not blocked access and all horses have ample water always in stalls and/or pastures.
2. Provide shelter. While this can be more important in the summer (bugs and baking sun), it’s critical you provide the option to get out of pelting snow and ice, driving winds and harsh elements. Run-in sheds are OK for most (although it’s best to bring horses into a barn when the weather is severe), but you must make sure all herd members have access (with multiple shelters of adequate size where a number of horses share space). Watch the herd as it’s not uncommon for a single horse to deny access to the rest of the residents.
3. Watch the ice. Horses are usually pretty careful and aware of footing conditions in areas they are familiar with, but don’t expect your equine to stay on his feet as you lead him over frozen water or to be smart about staying sedate if you turn him loose in a glazed-over paddock when he’s fresh. Broken legs usually mean death for a horse.
4. Monitor weight. Horses can drop pounds very quickly as the temperatures plummet. Winter coats can hide ribs as they begin to show. Keep an eye on the horse’s topline, hips and use your hands to feel what’s going on under that thick coat. Adjust feed immediately as you start to see weight loss. Winter’s a tough time to put weight on a horse so you don’t want to be managing the issues that come with a thin horse during these challenging months.
5. Help your horse prepare for the elements. If you’re going to be turning your horse out during the winter months, be kind and let him grow a coat (and don’t clip the poor thing). Blankets (and clipping) may save you grooming time, but interfere with a horse’s natural protection mechanism (hair growth), hurts the horse when wet and can get tangled around legs, necks and other body parts. Older horses and those who do not grow a good winter coat may need some extra protection (and make sure it’s a waterproof blanket with good leg straps to hold it in place that you take off regularly to ensure no rubs, leaks, sores, etc.), but most will do better if you allow their natural coat to protect them.
6. Careful with shoes. If you’re planning on your horse being outside during the winter, whether for riding or turn-out, most shoes are a bad idea. Snow balls up in the hoof effectively putting the horse on stilts, the metal impedes natural traction and most shoes add risk to your’s and your horse’s safety.
7. Increase hay portions and regularity. Horses are designed to be eating about sixteen hours a day. This roughage is especially important in the winter months. Sometimes increasing grain will actually cause a horse to lose weight (depending on what you are feeding and your horse). Instead, seek out a decent quality first cutting timothy hay or orchard grass that you can feed your horse all day long (assuming you don’t have an obese horse). This will help keep him healthier and happier during the tough winter months.

Overwhelmed and cagey

Rosie spent two days at the racetrack after being “broke” at a

distant farm. She wheeled about thirty times in a single trip

jogging around a half-mile training track, terrified of oncoming

traffic and the scene that presented itself to this unprepared,

frenzied baby. At Thoroughbred racetracks, generally jogging

(or trotting) horses travel on the outside rail moving to the

left; galloping horses and those moving at a faster pace track

right toward the inside rail. On day two, in a half-mile gallop

(we tried a different approach to the oncoming traffic concern

and started tracking right), she slammed into the rail at least a

dozen times and ran at full speed in a panic — sans steering or

brakes — not seeing, hearing, or feeling anything in her path of

sheer, all-out, running terror.

She was trucked to Halcyon Acres that week for some reprogramming

authorized by a trainer in a huge hurry to get her

back. He failed to recognize the increased challenges associated

with retooling a horse that had been poorly started. Still,

we were determined to help this filly cope with what would be

ahead of her. Of course, the idea of the imminent broken human

body parts that would result if she wasn’t removed from

the track for a more controlled turning process was a factor.

Since time was of the essence, we started her in the round pen

the day she was trucked in. It’s preferable to give young horses

time to settle into a routine prior to tackling performance challenges,

but, sometimes, you make less than ideal choices with

the horse’s ultimate welfare in mind. We began with a brief lesson

in responding to body language and voice commands that

set the tone for future success with a quick reward for responding

to easy requests. She understood.

Day two was a lengthy session, as was the case for the term

of her stay, struggling to encourage a filly who had apparently

no good ground-handling experience to perform simple tasks

like picking up her feet and accepting basic grooming. First, we

spent more than an hour each day in the stall, tackling activities

that most yearlings are prepared to easily tolerate. This was

a filly that was expected to perform on cue with a rider atop at

the track! No wonder she was unresponsive, as terror set in, to

requests she was woefully unprepared for.

We proceeded to the round pen and then the trails for under saddle

activities with Gatsby (our canine assistant trainer) as a

constant companion and teacher. Generally, it’s best to implement

short sessions, quitting as soon as a win is achieved, but

we had twelve days to get this filly ready to go back to a track

with a trainer who wasn’t likely to permit patient daily regimens.

Plus, Rosie wasn’t very cooperative and it often took more

than an hour to achieve a proper response to a single request.

The trails were tough at first as Rosie had little confidence in

her mount and seemed to have no confidence in herself. Gatsby

helped lead the way through troubling areas and trotted at her

heels the rest of the time, getting her accustomed to traffic and

noise behind her . . .

Excerpt from Turning Challenging Horses into Willing Partners due for release winter, 2010

Table of Contents

Glossary

Section I: Starting from a position of knowledge

Chapter 1: The Challenge

Chapter 2: Identifying the root of the challenge

Section II: Developing a work plan

Chapter 3: Working with scared horses

Chapter 4: Turning mean to green

Chapter 5: An A for effort comes with Alphas

Chapter 6: Encouraging a timid equine

Chapter 7: Turning a sour mount

Chapter 8: Sometimes they’re just plain crazy

Chapter 9: Correcting coordination and other issues

Section III: Tips from the professional trenches

Chapter 10: Kels Bonham; Junior rider

Chapter 11: Denny Emerson; Olympic eventer

Chapter 12: Jutta Heinsohn; Bereiter, F.N., FEI dressage trainer and competitor

Chapter 13: Dennis Auslam; Western riding and training professional

Chapter 14: Claire Hunter; Hunter/jumper trainer

Chapter 15: John Newborough; Classic horse trainer and judge

Chapter 16: Kathy O’Neal; Lesson and training stable owner

Chapter 17: Mike Bonham; Grand Prix Jumper trainer

Chapter 18: Robert Fera; Professional stallion handler

Chapter 19: Fleur Bryan; British Horse Society certified instructor

Section IV: Getting Practical

Chapter 20: Sense

Chapter 21: Cents

Chapter 22: The rewards

Index

Excerpt from Turning Challenging Horses into Willing Partners due for release winter, 2010

Handling the crazies

“I spend a lot of time bonding with any horse, but especially one that has been started badly. I’ve had some that are so messed up you can’t even catch them in the stall. I’ll stand in the corner of their stall holding their feed bucket and won’t move until they come and eat. Some won’t come near me for hours, but eventually they’ll approach. I’ll do that for days. Then I’ll rub on them until I can get a halter on them. As soon as I can get a halter on them, I’ll take them out on the road for a walk with just the lead line for an hour. The next day, the breaking roll goes on in the stall. Then, I’ll teach them things like how to cross tie. I do get them to join up with me, but not in the round pen. When I am finished playing with a horse, they will follow me around without a lead on. This is what happens when you build a horse’s trust.

“I had one Thoroughbred horse come through my hands going back about ten years ago. She was trained to race and had run. When she came to us, she was virtually unridable. She was a head case. She had no brain. I decided, along with my dad, that we would start her with the usual bonding and long lining. This mare was such a freak show that she actually jumped over a hedgerow in the long lines to get away from me. I could never get her to settle down. There was no reasoning with this horse. My feeling, and I know where she came from and it would surprise me if I was right, but my gut told me she was badly beaten and abused. She didn’t trust anybody. It didn’t matter if it was male or female. She had no work ethic. You know how some horses are always willing to please, even if they have been spoiled? You can always find a common ground if you use reverse psychology. You could almost make them think it was their idea to go over that jump. She had none of it. She was the kind of horse that wouldn’t even take a treat out of your hand. She was the first one that I could actually say got the better of me and I had to give up. I will say, I did spend close to fifteen weeks working with her before I said this is going nowhere. She was only four. It was very sad. What was even sadder was that her dad was a European Triple Crown winner. It’s funny, because a lot of his stock finished up being nasty pieces of work. I didn’t find that out until later when I was following the sales in Europe.

“Sometimes, it is in the bloodlines. I knew another Thoroughbred stallion like that. All his foals had a favorite trick. You’d be coming down to a fence with them, and two strides out the sucker would drop the left shoulder and duck. They all did the exact same thing, duck out to the left side, and dump your ass on the floor.

“I will say, though, I learned more off that Thoroughbred mare than I learned off a lot of the good horses. I learn from my mistakes. I’ve have had very few failures, but you remember them.”

About Fleur Bryan

Fleur has over twenty years experience breaking young horses and retraining problem mounts. While in Ireland, Fleur spent fifteen years breeding, training, and competing show jumping horses. Now based in Kentucky, Fleur breeds top-quality Irish Sport Horses and focuses riding time on turning retired racehorses into hunter/jumpers. She is currently available across the US for clinics with a specialty in working with problem horses and nervous riders as well as mature riders.

http://www.parkmorestud.com, fleur@parmorestud.com, (502) 649-2037 cell

Young and dumb can sometimes be a great asset when dealing with dangerous horse situations – particularly if it comes with a no fear mentality. Eventually, though, anyone who seems drawn to difficult horses over time – or feels they can save money by taking on a horse that has issues – logs enough injuries to happily prefer wisdom gained from the experience of others.

The Horse Sense and Cents™ notion comes from a lifetime of feeling compelled to learn lessons the hard way that finally gave way to a more mature perspective. Interestingly, the many horse training professionals involved in this project are quick to admit when they’ve been wrong, have chosen to adopt a more intuitive and careful approach to working with horses and have come to realize it’s a lot easier to learn from others’ successes – and failures. They’re wise and generous with their advice and can help you address easy issues and more dramatic cases.

If you’ve caught the horse bug in a big way and are ready to join a crowd that knows what they don’t know, you’ll have a lot of fun following this blog. Here you’ll find tips and stories to help you avoid some bruises and a whole lot of headaches and expense. Of course, anyone who’s been around knows you never stop learning on the horse front, so don’t expect formula answers that work in every case. We’re all here to discuss and share what’s worked for us and try to help you find ways to figure out what might be best for your horse.

We’ll start with five weekday posts and switch to a Tuesday and Thursday schedule once we get enough comments that keep us busy responding to reader questions and requests. In addition, we’ll let you know when particular professionals will be responding to reader comments so you can ask questions of those you’d most like to talk to when they are available.

We get that many who catch the horse bug aren’t wealthy and today, even the most established equine concerns are struggling, so we take the “Cents” part of our mission seriously. Creative, productive and budget-conscious tips will be offered every week. Let us know what you’re looking for and we’ll respond either as new posts or through the comment feature of this blog (which we hope to have up and running in the next two weeks – feel free to e-mail to questions @ HorseSenseandCents dot com in the meantime). If we don’t have the knowledge you need, we’ll try to find people who do.

This is a community designed for you – the horse owner, lover or professional who isn’t afraid to ask questions and seek help from others who have traveled the path before you.

We hope you decide to join a gang of equestrians determined to put their heads together so all can enjoy the ride!

Nanette Levin
Publisher of the Horse Sense and Cents book series