Horse Sense and Cents

Seven tips for making winter weather a great time to get horsey

There’s so much to do at the farm on any given day, but when footing or blustery conditions cause us to choose to stay out of the saddle, there’s still an opportunity to spend time with horse scents and activities that allow us to connect with our companions (and get excited about the coming of spring). As you start to get frustrated about the weather and grumpy because you can’t seem to figure out how to replace the spiritual energy that comes from the equine connection, here are some ideas to get your mind right and your time well spent:

1. Spend quiet time with your horse. Even if it’s simply watching them enjoy time in the paddock and/or observing how they spend time with other equines, hanging out in the stall or catching up on grooming or handling activities that you may have neglected a bit in active months, you can use this time to learn and bond.
2. If you don’t already have one, buy a calendar or planner that records and tracks all care and issues with your horse. Include records and schedules for vaccinations, the blacksmith, worming, medical surprises and results, mare cycles and findings if you’re breeding, training schedules or objectives – whatever is important for you and your horse to ensure continued health, happiness and success.
3. Start a journal. Really watch your horse and strive to learn from him. You might be amazed at how seemingly little observations can reveal patterns and teach you more about you and your horse.  Horses are great teachers when we let ourselves see what they try to say. There’s also a great opportunity to grow in quietness. Winter provides a time to watch, reflect and connect.
4. Go through all your tack, brushes, equipment, supplies and tools.  Clean it, check it, fix it, discard it and replace or repair the damaged. Think about creating a good first aid kit and having it handy (see http://horsesenseandcents.com/blog/2009/09/page/2/ for some ideas to include).
5. Devote extra time to giving your horse attention he enjoys. This is a great time to learn what he really likes and grow in your knowledge by watching how he responds to you as a result. Use this time to try to better understand how horses communicate and find ways you can develop a language your equine can more easily understand.
6. Explore new ideas for learning more about horses. This could include forum participation, books, conversations with trainers, finding blogs that appeal to you, going to equine conferences or demonstrations or even really listening to what your horse is trying to tell you.
7. Get ready for spring!  Share all your plans and excitement about the coming season with your horse and you may be surprised how quickly he absorbs your enthusiasm.

Most of the prior book excerpts featured on this blog were culled from Section Three, Tips from the Trenches. These snipets spotlighted perspectives, tips and stories from a variety of trainers from a diverse array of disciplines. In the coming weeks, we’ll feature the stories of real horses and how challenges were met and resolved (or not). Below is the introduction to this section.     

Section Two

Developing a work plan

Stories can help make learning easier. This is especially true when dealing with riding horses, a discipline that uses most of our senses, particularly when trying to turn a challenging mount. Therefore, the following chapters include instructional guidance with ample anecdotal information to illustrate some of the cases we’ve dealt with at Halcyon Acres. Working with equines that have learned to misbehave is always a trial-and-error process. We hope you’ll discover a winning plan for your particular problem child with ideas from the many success stories, while also learning to exploit and avoid some of the mistakes we’ve learned from along the way.

Often, young horses are misunderstood during the “breaking” period and forced into situations that overwhelm, frighten, or annoy them due to the trainer’s failure to communicate. This can last a lifetime, if these animals aren’t reprogrammed — by restarting training from where things first went wrong. Caught early enough, these problems can be redirected for amazing performance results, but this process requires a lot of patience, staying power, and intuitive responses. There are few lost causes with horses, but a lot of lost opportunities due to misunderstandings. Problem mounts are more often the result of problem handlers and riders early in life, rather than inborn reactions. Get to know what your horse is trying to tell you, and you may be amazed at how much progress you can make with just a little bit of listening.

Friday’s Opinion

The big news these days seems to be focused on all the nasty devices and practices that need to be eliminated “if you care about horses.” Every day there seems to be another “crusade” launched to “stop the cruelty.”

How about rallying for horsemanship?

What if half the energy devoted to championing these causes went toward  instilling better horsemanship precepts on those who don’t know what they don’t know? Imagine a world where future generations of horses, equine handlers and riders blossomed from guidance and information that helped them make better choices from a position of awareness and knowledge coming from understanding and education vs. hoopla and hype. What if they had the tools to troubleshoot issues instead of spoon fed formula approaches rendering rote reactions? The resulting horses and riders could be amazing.

You’re the cruellest (or the kindest) tool

Here’s my take on the bit and device uproar – a tool is as caring or cruel as the hands that hold it (or the coach that suggests it). Hackamores can be an extremely severe contraption when used by a novice who doesn’t understand how they work. I love a tom thumb and use it to keep a very soft mouth on a horse (without the curb chain). In the same vein, one can hop on a horse with an elevator bit and make this a kinder solution than a snaffle in the right situation.

It makes me cringe to see some racehorse trainers adamant that every horse must be taught to pull against the bit to ensure a vigorous and proper workout. Then they curse out the horse (or rider) when the poor critter spends every stride rooting or locking his jaw to render the hands useless in his attempt to avoid anticipated pain.

Instructors who keep ratcheting up the severity of a bit because the rider can’t control his horse, then label the horse a problem, don’t get it.

Those who look first for tools or techniques to restrict or force their horse into a compliant or manageable state (often through pain or discomfort –whether they realize it or not) instead of first reflecting on what they are doing (or not doing) to cause certain behavior, will never be horsemen in the true sense.

How’s your mirror looking?

Some of the people screaming the loudest about the cruelty of others should take a look in the mirror. It strikes me as interesting that those who are most incensed seem to feel their horse handling, care and approaches are impeccable and their knowledge so vast they feel qualified to judge universally.

Horsemen are humble

The true horsemen I’ve met over the years are always learning. They admit they don’t know it all, learn the most from the mistakes they make and welcome other opinions and perspectives. You’ll rarely see a talented, accomplished and wise equine specialist claiming they have the only right answer. They get that all horses are different, there are people who can always enlighten them on new approaches and things are seldom as they appear. As is the case in most industries and realms, true leaders have strong opinions, but welcome input from others to improve their understanding and change their minds. Little minds know it all.

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

What Problem?
“I haven’t really considered any of the horses we’ve gotten to be a problem,” Kels explains. “I’ve never had one that’s been vicious, a terrible stopper, or hard to control. I might have had minor issues to address like sourness, or boredom where they do not want to do one particular thing like lead changes, but I don’t think we’ve had one that’s been that bad.

“I’ve learned a lot through making mistakes as far as bringing along a troubled or green horse. You need to be extremely patient. Anytime you try to rush things, something is going to go wrong with the horse’s mental or physical health.

“If a horse is fighting you, it makes sense to step back and work with the horse. It can’t always be your way. If you just fight them, you are not going to get anything accomplished.”

Project Earns Pride
“I was very proud of a horse I had last year named Rebel’s Run. When we got him, he had only done the baby green hunters, so he was jumping very low. I was the only one besides my brother that rode him; and we brought him all the way to the Junior Jumper and did the Medal finals. It was really rewarding to bring one along, and it made me realize how much I like bringing green horses up through the ranks.

“It was a gradual process with Rebel. When we got him, he knew the basics, but he was very green. Every day I made his routine a little more advanced — getting the steering better, learning to be collected, jumping more complicated gymnastics, etc. By the end he was jumping extremely complicated courses with ease.

“The first horse show I did with him was in Thermal, California. We took him out there to do the winter show circuit for six weeks. We started the first couple of weeks introducing him to the show grounds and courses, just not showing. When we did compete, we started in the very low jumpers with Level 1s, and by the end of it, he was doing Level 4. It was amazing how quickly he learned.

“That same year he was fifth at the six-year-old Jumper Championships. He did both Medal Finals that year. The next year, he started doing the High Junior Jumpers. This summer he placed in every Classic that I did with him.”

About Kels Bonham
Kels is a gifted, mature, and insightful young lady. Even though she was competing at levels as a junior that many adults will never reach, she insisted on tacking her own horses at shows and connecting with the horses she rides through time spent on the ground between competitions. Kels has not only shined as a nationally acclaimed equitation rider but has also held her own in Jumper Classics against seasoned and celebrated adults.

While she admits she’s not sure yet what she will do after college, she indicates she’d like to be a professional rider (some might argue she already is). She dreams of having her own small training farm where she starts young horses to bring them up through the ranks, with the ultimate aim of selling them to others.

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

Third Trainer proved the charm with Saddlebred
Dennis talks about a long letter he received from a gentleman who had all but given up on his horse and subsequently concluded Dennis was a “gift from God.”
“I had a Saddlebred that the owner had sent to other trainers for what I believe was a period of nine months between the two of them. He’d blow up under saddle and in the harness. He (the owner) had heard about me from the mounted police up in Minneapolis. We had to do a lot of undoing before we could start doing. I had him three months, and I don’t know the trainers, but I do believe that they were pretty whip-happy. This is one issue we discovered that leads to a lot of other areas. This horse had learned to have no trust and a total lack of confidence with the people that worked with him. So, we had to deal with that and get the horse over his concerns. He wasn’t a mean horse. He was a kind horse. But, whenever you got in the saddle or hooked him up in the harness, he couldn’t hold it together. I started him just like I would a two-year-old. I think when they started him, they just got on and went, instead of giving him the basics, putting a good foundation on him. I started in the round pen to try to get some of the cobwebs out of his head. There were times when I didn’t think it was going to work, and that’s why I kept him three months. I knew this was this horse’s last chance. As it ended up, I did take the horse back to the owner’s property after he was finished with the fixing process, and I don’t normally do that. I hauled the horse three hours north of me because I wanted to see the horse in his environment, and see what kind of rider and driver this guy was. I took him out and rode him at this guy’s place and hooked him up in the harness. The horse used to run away with the harness. He’d grab the bit and run, and did the same thing in the saddle, although here he’d rear first, then grab the bit and run,” Dennis explains.
The homestead test for both the horse and the rider demonstrated that what this horse had learned in the last three months could be transferred to the new facility and the intended future rider/driver.
“The horse is doing very well. The owner called me. He had gone on vacation for a couple of weeks. When he came back, the horse was fresh because he hadn’t been worked during this time. The horse held it together on the first day. I think we got him over the hump. The horse was much happier, much more secure. I don’t think that horses like falling apart any more than we want them to. If we don’t give horses confidence, we set ourselves up for failure as well as them,” Dennis asserts.

About Dennis Auslam
Dennis believes a problem horse is a rare find, but people who create them abound. He works with horses, and people, to help all involved gain the self-assurance, understanding, trust, and skills to find a happy connection for both.
Redwood Stables
Dennis & Michelle Auslam
http://www.RedwoodStables.com
(507) 430-0342 cell
redwoodstables@mvtvwireless.com