New Horses and Facing Fears

Sorry for the long break over the summer! I've been so busy with horses and school work,  I just had practically no time to keep up a blog! But I'm back in business now. A lot of interesting things have happened in my absence from this blog, but the most important thing is that we rescued our first horse! Her name is Jasmine and she's been with us since October 4. She just got out of quarantine and has settled in nicely with the herd. She's a gorgeous paint mare, and came from Sugar Creek Auction in Ohio. We acquired her from the Fisher Sale Barn in Pennsylvania. Below is a picture of our beautiful Jasmine!

Today I longed Dougie for the first time in months. To be honest with you, I've been pretty scared. Back in August, he developed the habit of taking off while being led or longed. I was dragged several times and got pretty bruised up. After some round pen work, he got better, but I was still too scared to longe him out of the round pen. But today I finally got around to it, and he was on his best behavior! 

So I'll be back on as often as I can be. I'd love to keep this blog ongoing but it depends on my school and horse work. Good luck everyone!

Thinking Like a Horse: Body Language

I'm sure most of you have heard of Cherry Hill, the famous horse trainer and best-selling author.  I thought I'd make a post about her book, How to Think Like a Horse.  In this book, Hill skillfully describes what a horse needs and wants, how they respond and what those responses look like.  This knowledge is very useful.  It can be used to adjust your training according to your horse. 

In Mark Rashid's book, Considering the Horse, Walter Pruit asks Rashid, "How do you suppose the horse feels about all this?"  This is a very important question to consider throughout your horse experiences.  What does the horse think?  From that, you can more easily infer how the horse would react. 

It's easy to imagine what the horse might be thinking.  But it is more reliable to look at their body language to know what they really are feeling.  It's very important to understand what your horse is thinking.  I recommend every rider does some research about a horse's body language and how they can respond.  Hill's book is very useful for this purpose!

After exams I'll make a post discussing what different movements mean in a horse. See you soon and be sure to share this blog!

Horses and Association

Hey everyone!  So I've been on vacation for the past week, so I have not posted.  I'm back now for a week, then will be out of town again!  This week is very busy for me.  I am spending every week day at the barn where I ride, cleaning stalls and helping out at a camp.  I am also riding a horse at a neighbor's barn for exercise.  And of course, I will continue working with my own horses and my puppy!  I thought I'd make this post about how horses learn.  Enjoy!

To start off, horses learn mainly through association.  What I mean by association is the horse's "natural ability to link a stimulus with a response," as Cherry Hill puts it in her lovely book, "How to Think Like a Horse."  For example, if a horse nips you and is given a jerk on the halter, or an exclamation of "No!," they will with time learn to associate the biting behavior with a negative feedback.  This discourages the unwanted behavior.  The association works with positive feedback as well, as when the horse is rewarded for a desired behavior.  They have memories second only to the elephant, so first lessons are very important.

Learning how to work with a horse's association ability is the key to training horses.  It allows them to know how to behave to be rewarded, and to know what actions greet them with punishment.  However, association can work in a negative manner if not used carefully.  For example, if you were to ask a horse to back, and the horse reared, and you stopped asking them, they would have learned the wrong lesson.  The horse would have learned instead that by rearing, they are given a break.  You can see how this would be a problem!

Rewards are essential in horse training.  Always praise your horse for a step in the right direction.  This way, they learn easily what is expected of them, and don't get all flustered and confused.

Good luck!  Comment with any questions or suggestions :)  I'll post again soon!

Horses Injected in Gasoline--Please Help Out! This is Horrible!

A few days ago, some cruel person injected two horses with gasoline!  This horrible incident occurred in Marion County, Florida.  Such behavior is disgusting, horrific, and cruel.  Police currently have no tips on who did this heinous crime!  If you have any idea who did it, please contact the Marion County Sheriff's Office at 732-9111 or Crime Stoppers at 368-STOP, or text a tip to 274637 using keyword 368-STOP or visit www.ocalacrimestoppers.com.

One of the afflicted horses has already died.  Her name was Jolean, and she was a rescued Paso Fino, 17 years old.  When a necropsy was ordered, they cut open her shoulder and immediately smelled gasoline.  It was apparent that she had been injected in her neck.

Kate, a 6 year old Spotted Saddlehorse mare, is fighting for her life in an Ocala equine hospital.  The veterinarians are not even entirely sure how to help!  They are doing the best they can, of course, but it is difficult to remove gasoline from a horse's system.

Horse & Man is doing a June Bucket Fund fundraiser to help save Kate!  Please donate to it today, and check out their wonderful blog :)  Kate needs our help!  Please share this on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram, however you would like.  Kate deserves to live!

DONATE TODAY!

The Friendly Game

Have you ever heard of the Parelli 7 Games?  They're very useful in getting to know and training your horse!  Today I will write about the first game: The Friendly Game.

The point of this game is to be able to touch your horse all over their body.  And you want to do it without any ear flattening or tail swishing!  The challenge at the end would be to use a different object, such as a feed bag, whip or a coat, to touch them all over as well.  This helps desensitize the horse and get them more used to your presence.

You'd want to start with a not-so-sensitive area, such as their neck.  Use your fist, not palm, to rub them all over their neck, then begin to move on to more sensitive parts.  Make sure your touch is firm, not ticklish!  Never surprise your horse - don't just grab for their body!  Make sure you work your way to where you're going slowly and surely.

For uncertain areas, such as the horse's udder or sheath, you can use the whip at first and stand a safe distance away.  This is for safety, in case the horse kicks out in fear.

You should spend a quarter to half an hour getting to know your horse.  Don't forget his feet - you should pick up all 4 feet and either pick them or tap them with your fingers to get your horse used to your touch.

Once you can use your hands all over your horse (good job!) it's time to use another object!  This step doesn't necessarily have to be the same day.  It could be the next day, or several days later.  Sometimes it takes time to get a horse used to you.  You simply rub the object - coat, plastic bag, piece of tarp, feed bag, etc. - gently and firmly all over the horse just as you did with your fist.  Keep going, gently, until your horse is used to the touch and stands quietly.  Keep in mind that such objects are much more scary and you must be careful!

How friendly are you and your horse? Comment below and be sure to share this blog!

Circling Your Horse

Lately I've been reading Richard Maxwell's useful book, "Unlock Your Horse's Talent in 20 Minutes a Day."  I've always found it to be very helpful for me in training my horses.  I would like to share one very useful exercise from it.  It is in the second chapter, 'Ground training from a distance.'  It is about rope circling. 

Rope circling is a very simple concept.  It is quite similar to longing, though more interactive. In order to do this activity, your horse must be halter trained and must respond to pressure and release.  You would do best with a short longe line, perhaps 12 feet.  The first exercise is to take control of the horse's direction and movement.  This gains the horse's attention and respect as a sort of 'herd leader.'  To let the horse know what you want, you should first spin the rope towards their hind quarters so they understand to move around and face you.  Once your horse faces you, you should reward him, so he begins to get the idea of what you want. 

After moving his hind quarters in both directions, it's time to begin the circling.  Signal which direction you want the horse to move in by swinging the rope at what will be their inside shoulder.  You can re-enforce this with pressure on the horse's shoulder.  Move calmly, and do not allow tension on the line.  You want some slack.  Signal changes in direction by stepping towards the front of them.  

Eventually, start to look for the signs of join up! Join up can be done on a long line too.  Begin to watch for signs such as an ear trained on you, lip chewing or licking, or a lowered head.  If you see those signs, you can drop eye contact and turn slightly away from the horse.  He should slow down and come towards you; if he doesn't, but just stops, then you can walk towards him in an arcing manner (not a straight line).  If he follows you when you walk, reward him! You've done it :)  If he doesn't, that's ok. If he walks away, continue to work him until you see the signs again.  Then try again.

The true test of join up is if the horse will follow you off the rope.  See below for my horses following me after I circled them!  Good luck with your adventures :)

Fuzzy is such a good pony :) 

It looks like I was touching her here, but I wasn't really. I was just jumping awkwardly. 

Please ignore Dougie's butt in the corner of this picture! Haha. Photo credits to my 7  year old sister, they're pretty good aren't they? 

Introduction

Hello everyone!  My name is Katherine and I'm 16 years old. I live on a horse farm with 5 horses.  I'm very interested in natural horsemanship, horse rescue, horse training, show jumping, eventing and trail riding.  I'm in Pony Club and 4-H and am holding a fundraiser to raise money to rescue an auction horse!  I decided to make this blog to share my experiences with horses with the world.  So that's me- and here are my horses!

This is Annie. She was my first horse. She came into my life as a Christmas gift in 2004. She is a bay miniature mare, 17 years old. She is Wizard's mother. 

This is Wizard. He was born in 2005. He is a palomino miniature gelding. He is Annie's son. 

This is Teach Me How to Dougie or Dougie. He is my main riding horse. I got him in October 2013. 

This is Cloud 9. She is my second riding horse. She came into my life in 2008. She is a strawberry roan paint mare.

This is Who's Your Fuzz or Fuzzy. She came into our lives in 2011. She is a Welsh cross chocolate palomino mare.

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy my blog!