Archive for the ‘Natural Horsemanship’ Category

Klaus F Hempfling , like myself, uses energies, read cues to work with horses in an intuitive and non-aggressive way. He’s based in Europe where he has a wide range of programming, for horses and humans!

Check out his website for more information on his work: http://www.hempfling.com/

In his words…

“The author of ‘Dancing With Horses’ teaches the principles of primal life, against the background of both the mythological and the real horse. He emphasizes the importance of totally honest self-assessment and self-knowledge and both mental and physical self-control, demonstrating how a misplaced or misunderstood feeling, glance, posture, attitude or movement can make the difference between success and failure in the relationship with a horse.’”

In this great video, a beautiful dance of healing relationship where man is working with the horse from the inside out.  Staying clear in his intention to be unconditional and accepting in whatever shows up in front of him.

Improving Your Horse’s Balance
As a prey animal, your horse will feel uncomfortable unless he knows that he can move quickly and efficiently to escape from predators, regardless of the fact that he no longer lives in the wild. You can help your horse feel safe by helping his body stay supple and balanced over all four feet. For instance, take the time to correct your horse when he tries to push you around while you are on the ground, or when he leans around a corner under saddle. The indications may be subtle, but these small moments of being off balance can actually cause your horse to feel uncomfortable and unsafe. You can help your horse feel safe and secure with proper ground work and exercises under saddle that teach him to use his body in the balanced way. Eventually, your horse will begin to associate these good feelings with you, and will be well on his way to trusting you.

Controlling the Fight or Flight Instinct
Horses are easily frightened. If your horse becomes frightened and you allow his fear to escalate unchecked, he can easily become a danger to himself or others. A horse’s natural fear response is to raise his head, drop his back, and tense his muscles in preparation for flight. In a natural setting, he would then run until he was out of danger, and then relax and resume grazing. You can actually use the last step of this instinctive sequence to diffuse your horse’s fear response. When your horse becomes fearful, simply encourage him to lower his head. When a horse lowers his head and assumes the grazing posture, he automatically relaxes. With practice, you can teach your horse to lower his head on cue. More importantly, your horse will begin to associate you with this feeling of relaxation, another piece in the foundation of trust that you want to build with your horse.

The Foundation of Trust 
Training and riding skills are very important in working with horses, but at the end of the day nothing is more important than trust. It’s important to spend time with your horse and get to know the different facets of his personality. However, time alone will not create trust. Unless you establish and continuously establish your position as leader, protector, and comforter, the time you spend with your horse will not necessarily result in trust. Ultimately, nothing is more important to the relationship than how your horse feels when he is with you.

About the Author

Madalyn Ward, DVM, owns Bear Creek Veterinary Clinic in Austin, Texas. She is certified in Veterinary Homeopathy and Equine Osteopathy. Memberships include American Veterinary Medical Association, American Association of Equine Practitioners, American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association, Texas Veterinay Medical Association and the Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy. She has authored several books and publishes the monthly newsletter, “Holistic Horsekeeping.”

Trust and like are two very different qualities, especially when it comes to your horse. Many horses like but don’t always trust their owners. Well-known horsemanship clinician Tom Dorrance feels that a horse’s trust for his owner is the foundation of the relationship. If your horse doesn’t trust you then his instinct for self-preservation will supersede everything else, which means that in a scary situation he will tend to react based on instinct rather than turning to you for guidance. This kind of lightning-fast reaction can easily injure you or your horse.

A horse’s lack of trust can also show up in less volatile situations. A horse has three basic needs: to be cared for, protected, and comforted. Each time you fail to meet one of these needs your horse will feel that he is alone and that he can’t trust you—a dangerous feeling for a herd animal. In response, you horse is likely to buddy up with other horses and may become barn sour or develop other behavioral issues. A horse with trust issues will often have digestive and immune system weaknesses. On the training front, not taking the time to build an initial foundation of trust can result in problems such as running through the bit, balking, rearing, or bucking.

So how do you develop this all-important foundation of trust with your horse? Unfortunately there is no simple answer. Luckily there are some good places to start including developing leadership skills, improving your horse’s balance, and controlling your horse’s fight or flight instinct.

Developing Your Leadership
When you develop a relationship with a horse you become a part of his herd, so it’s important to establish yourself as the leader of that herd. A horse who is unsure of your leadership will continually test you. This testing could be as subtle as nudging you with his nose or as blatant as walking all over you. The question is whether you can pass the test. You may think you are being kind when you ignore your horse’s attempts to invade your space, but in reality you are causing him to be unsure of his position in the herd. Correcting your horse when he invades your space is not about punishment but about giving clear and consistent direction about which kinds of behavior are acceptable and which are not. More sensitive horses will back off in response to light pressure while others will require a much stronger form of correction. The goal is to offer enough correction to prevent the horse from testing your leadership again; otherwise you are just nagging your horse and will have correct him over and over. Once your horse is clear about who is in charge, he will relax and begin to trust you.

About the Author

Madalyn Ward, DVM, owns Bear Creek Veterinary Clinic in Austin, Texas. She is certified in Veterinary Homeopathy and Equine Osteopathy. Memberships include American Veterinary Medical Association, American Association of Equine Practitioners, American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association, Texas Veterinay Medical Association and the Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy. She has authored several books and publishes the monthly newsletter, “Holistic Horsekeeping.”

Backing With a Soft Feel or Collection

To back your horse, face the opposite direction of your horse and grasp the lead rope where it connects to the halter with your thumb turned down. Apply steady gentle backward pressure on the rope until your horse drops his nose toward his chest. Immediately release the pressure on the rope when your horse makes the slightest effort in that direction. If your horse raises or lowers his head while you have pressure on the rope, acknowledge his efforts to search for the place of softness but don’t lighten your pressure on the rope until he tips his nose toward his chest. If your horse backs without softening, stop him and begin the exercise again. Once your horse gives his nose consistently, hold your contact on the rope until he thinks about shifting his weight back. Doing this exercise on the ground improves your timing so that you release your pressure the instant your horse makes the correct action. Your horse will respond to your timing with a great attitude—good timing means your
horse will never be confused and is always rewarded for his efforts.

Backing in Circles

Once your horse is backing freely in a straight line and moving his diagonal pairs of legs in rhythm, you can introduce the more complex exercise of backing in circles. Begin by backing in a straight line. As your horse’s outside front leg leaves the ground, move the hand holding the lead rope to the outside to direct the front leg to step out as well as back. Don’t be surprised if your horse loses all rhythm at this point and gets stuck. He will have to make the appropriate adjustments in the movement of his hind legs to accommodate this change in direction. If both of you get stuck, try developing a deeper understanding of this exercise by getting down on your hands and knees and mimicking what you’re asking your horse to do. This will give you a better idea of physical coordination required to complete this exercise.

Transitions

Now that your horse is leading and backing with softness and lightness, ask him to do some simple transitions in hand. Start by walking beside him with your body even with his head. Break into a jog and ask your horse to keep pace with you. If he fails to do so, drop back behind his shoulder and drive him forward into a jog, then return to your position by his head. Slow to a walk again and ask your horse to stay with you. As your horse catches on to the rules of this “game,” increase the difficulty by going from a trot to a halt, or from a trot to a soft back, and then return to a trot again. Keep your horse fresh by introducing new variations. Be sure and lead your horse from both sides, and when changing direction it is good to get in the habit of turning your horse away from you by driving his shoulder rather than pulling him toward you with the lead rope. This helps your horse stay more balanced and keeps him from leaning into you.

The Basics

These basic exercises empower you and your horse to refine skills, and are perfect to keep your training program on track when the weather refuses to cooperate. My thanks to Buck Brannamon—many of these exercises are adapted from and based on those described in his “Groundwork” book. Please refer to his book for excellent pictures of many of these exercises.

Leading Willingly Without Pressure on the Lead Rope

If you find yourself having to drag on the rope to get your horse to move, step back until you are behind his shoulder and drive him forward with the end of the lead rope. Then ask him to follow you once he is moving. Even well-trained horses can get lazy. If a horse is dull on the lead rope he’s likely to be dull under saddle. Proper leading keeps your horse light and responsive.

Longeing in a Circle Around You

Teaching your horse to walk, trot, and canter a 20 meter circle is time well spent. You may not always have access to a round pen and longing is an excellent way to help your horse get focused and work off a little extra energy before being ridden. Never allow your horse to plunge wildly around on the end of the longe line, but a few gentle crow hops can help your horse work out any kinks in his system. During longing ensure that your horse keeps his attention on you and his nose tipped toward you, and that he maintains the correct bend on the circle.

Rolling the Hind End (Turn on the Forehand)

Once your horse is moving forward freely on the longe line or lead rope you can tighten the circle and ask your horse to disengage his hindquarters by stepping across and under his body with the inside hind leg. This movement is like stepping on the clutch in a standard transmission vehicle. It prepares the horse for a new speed or direction. This maneuver is particularly valuable in disciplines where speed and turning are required.

Bringing the Front End Around (Turn on the Haunches)

After your horse has rolled his hind end by stepping up under his body with his inside hind leg, he should be positioned to bring his front end around to complete the change of direction. As your horse’s head crosses the line in front of your body, extend your leading hand in the new direction and step up to what was the horse’s outside shoulder. This drives rather than pulls the horse in the new direction. It takes practice to develop the correct timing for these moves and, in the beginning, it is fine for the horse to bend his body as he moves into the new direction. As his skills improve he will be able to execute a more correct turn on the forehand or turn on the haunches with straightness through the neck and ribcage.

About the Author

Madalyn Ward, DVM, owns Bear Creek Veterinary Clinic in Austin, Texas. She is certified in Veterinary Homeopathy and Equine Osteopathy. Memberships include American Veterinary Medical Association, American Association of Equine Practitioners, American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association, Texas Veterinay Medical Association and the Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy. She has authored several books and publishes the monthly newsletter, “Holistic Horsekeeping.”

The beauty of groundwork is that you can use it to fine-tune the relationship between you and your horse at any time, especially if the weather is foul or you don’t have time for a full riding session. These basic groundwork exercises set the stage for work under saddle and allow you to introduce new concepts to your horse in a safe environment. Be sure to do all of them from both sides. As you do these exercises, it is important to introduce variety into your work and avoid dwelling on exercises your horse has mastered. It is equally important to break difficult exercises into smaller steps that your horse can more easily handle.

You can spend an entire session just on groundwork or eventually incorporate these exercises into your daily routine with your horse. Many top trainers do groundwork as they lead a horse in from the pasture, as they tack up, or as they walk from the barn to the arena. After a while, groundwork can become second nature to you and your horse—like a graceful language that you both speak without words—and the benefits are immense and amazing. Before you decide that groundwork is either tedious or boring, give it a try. You’ll be quickly surprised by the positive results. The exercises covered in this Basic Groundwork section include:

• Leading
• Longeing
• Rolling the Hind
• Bringing the Front End Around
• Backing
• Backing in Circles
• Transitions

My thanks to Buck Brannaman—many of these exercises are adapted from and based on those described in hisGroundwork book. Please refer to his book for excellent pictures of many of these exercises.

About the author

Madalyn Ward, DVM, owns Bear Creek Veterinary Clinic in Austin, Texas. She is certified in Veterinary Homeopathy and Equine Osteopathy. Memberships include American Veterinary Medical Association, American Association of Equine Practitioners, American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association, Texas Veterinay Medical Association and the Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy. She has authored several books and publishes the monthly newsletter, “Holistic Horsekeeping.”

YIELDING TO A ROPE ON THE LEG

This exercise is specifically aimed at teaching your horse to stay calm and relaxed if he gets caught in wire. You will need an assistant for the second half of this exercise. Start by placing the loop of your lariat around the pastern of one of his front legs. Hold the lead rope with one hand while using your other hand to apply pressure to the lariat. When your horse allows you to move his foot forward with the lariat, release the pressure, and pet him. Repeat this process and move his foot a little further forward each time. Eventually you should be able to lead your horse by his front foot. Repeat this exercise on the other front foot.

Next you want to teach your horse to yield his back feet in response to pressure on the rope. It’s a good idea to wear leather gloves and chaps to prevent rope burns and bruises for this exercise. Have your assistant take a loop of the lead rope around a stout fence post and stand on the opposite side of the fence or use a long rope so he can stand more than a horse body length from where your horse is tied. Now place the loop of your lariat around one of your horse’s back pasterns. Stand about 15 feet away from your horse and gently apply pressure at a 30 degree angle out behind your horse. Ask him to pick his foot off the ground in response to pressure from the rope. His first reaction will probably be to kick violently to free his foot. This is exactly the action that causes such severe injury when a horse gets caught in wire. Don’t try to stop your horse from kicking but keep enough tension on the rope that your horse can’t kick the loop off. Release the rope as soon as your horse stops kicking. Again ask your horse to yield his foot and relax the rope at the slightest response, such as resting the foot on the toe and letting you drag it backward. Your goal is to have your horse lift each back foot in response to the rope pressure and to hold his foot up with no resistance. This may take several sessions so be patient. In addition to preventing injury, this exercise also helps your horse learn how to balance on three legs.

Why Groundwork?

I’ve listed only a few of the many exercises you can do with your horse in preparation for saddle training or as a review on days when you can’t ride. Not only will your horse develop more self-confidence but he will learn to trust you as well!

About the author

Madalyn Ward, DVM, owns Bear Creek Veterinary Clinic in Austin, Texas. She is certified in Veterinary Homeopathy and Equine Osteopathy. Memberships include American Veterinary Medical Association, American Association of Equine Practitioners, American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association, Texas Veterinay Medical Association and the Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy. She has authored several books and publishes the monthly newsletter, “Holistic Horsekeeping.” www.holistichorsekeeping.com

SACKING OUT

You can do this exercise with a folded feed sack, lariat, or slicker. Start by folding your feed sack into a small square and rubbing your horse’s neck with it. Allow him to move away if he gets anxious but try to keep the sack in contact with his neck. Continue until he stops or slows down, then remove the sack from his neck and pet him. Once your horse stays calm and relaxed with the feed sack at his neck, move the sack to different parts of his body. If he moves away from you, keep him in a tight circle around you and, when he stops, remove the sack from the area of concern. This teaches your horse to move his feet in a controlled manner rather than simply bolting away from you when he is afraid. Once your horse is totally comfortable with you rubbing the folded up sack all over his body, open the sack to its full expansion and slap it gently all over his body. You can repeat this exercise with any similar item that frightens your horse.

ROPE WORK

Even if you never intend to rope off your horse it’s still a good idea to do some rope work on and around his body. Rope work ensures that your horse won’t panic if he gets caught in a fence or if the saddle slides back causing the back cinch to slap him in the belly. Begin by making a loop with your lariat and swinging it gently while standing next to your horse. Toss the loop near your horse, and then pull it back in. Be careful when you draw the rope into the blind spot directly below his nose because he may paw at the rope. When your horse is comfortable with you swinging the rope near him, toss it up on his back and let it drop over his hindquarters. Again, if he moves off let him go in a circle around you but try to keep the rope on him until his stops. When he stays relaxed with the rope draped in his hind end, allow him to step through the loop so that the rope runs between his hind legs. Repeat this maneuver on his front legs with the rope around his neck.

About the author

Madalyn Ward, DVM, owns Bear Creek Veterinary Clinic in Austin, Texas. She is certified in Veterinary Homeopathy and Equine Osteopathy. Memberships include American Veterinary Medical Association, American Association of Equine Practitioners, American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association, Texas Veterinay Medical Association and the Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy. She has authored several books and publishes the monthly newsletter, “Holistic Horsekeeping.” www.holistichorsekeeping.com

Gentling exercises encourage your horse to be safe and dependable in any situation, especially scary ones! These exercises can literally be lifesavers for both you and your horse because they train your horse to respond rather than react with panic in new situations. They also teach your horse to look to and depend on you for cues as to how to respond under pressure. The exercises covered in this Groundwork Exercises for Gentling section include:

• Flag Work
• Sacking Out
• Rope Work
• Yielding to a Rope on the Leg

FLAGWORK

This exercise teaches your horse to remain calm around fluttering objects like jackets, tarps and even butterflies! I wish I had known about this exercise before I rode my mule mare Tess for the first time with a wind breaker—when we came around a corner the wind caught my jacket and we were off! As you can imagine, the faster Tess ran the more my jacket flapped. To get her back under control I finally had to take the wind breaker off (with Tess still at a dead run) and toss it away. Now that I know about flagwork I look forward to never having another experience like that again!

You can easily make your own flag by attaching a plastic bag to the end of a dressage whip. Before you begin flagging make sure you and your horse are in a safe and enclosed area, like a round pen. Begin by standing a good distance away from your horse (4-6 feet) while holding his lead rope and moving the flag briskly up and down. This may startle him so don’t be surprised if he moves away from you. If you’ve already practiced the groundwork exercises outlined in last month’s newsletter you’ll easily be able to roll his hind end if he moves away from you too quickly. Keep moving the flag up and down and rolling your horse’s hind until he stops moving away from you, then stop moving the flag, walk up to him, and pet him. If you find that your horse does not stop moving away from the flag within a short period of time, slow your movements with the flag and stop at the first sign that your horse is slowing down and trying to stop.

Continue with this exercise until your horse is totally unconcerned with the flag. If you stop before this point (i.e., when he tolerates the flag but is still concerned about it) your horse won’t get as much benefit out of this lesson and you may have to repeat it several times in the future. Once your horse is totally relaxed around the flag, start moving it closer and closer to his body. Continue until you can flutter the flag all around and over his body including his face and legs (be careful to avoid his eyes).

About the Author

Madalyn Ward, DVM, owns Bear Creek Veterinary Clinic in Austin, Texas. She is certified in Veterinary Homeopathy and Equine Osteopathy. Memberships include American Veterinary Medical Association, American Association of Equine Practitioners, American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association, Texas Veterinay Medical Association and the Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy. She has authored several books and publishes the monthly newsletter, “Holistic Horsekeeping.” www.holistichorsekeeping.com

This article appeared in the Equine Wellness Magazine and is a very good description of the amazing benefits of Yoga, not just for yourself but even your horses!

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Yoga – not just for humans!

By Linda Guanti – CYI

“Yoga with horses?” “What’s that?” “How is that possible?” This is what I often hear when people discover what I do. I realize it may be difficult to comprehend at first but once you get a glimpse of what yoga with horses is all about, it actually makes a whole lot of sense. If you can appreciate the need and benefits of yoga for humans then you can translate the same to the horse.

What’s good for you can be good for your horse

The practice of yoga reconnects you with your body. You essentially teach (or re-teach) yourself where your body is and how to move it in the strongest and most balanced way with the least amount of stress. You also stretch, strengthen and tone. Anything with a body is therefore a yogi. Body awareness is fundamental to preventing injury and chronic pain. For riders, knowing how you are using your body can help you realize that sometimes it is your body that is preventing your horse from performing something you are asking!

Yoga helped me when I was seeking relief from a chronic back issue caused by a serious injury in my past. Diligently combining yoga with massage therapy and physiotherapy, the symptoms became less severe and reoccurred less often. It was undeniable. The massage therapy and physiotherapy are now only used on an as needed basis. The yoga remains.

Without such chronic back issues my riding abilities and stamina improved and thus the athletic demands on my horse did. My ongoing concern for his well-being made me wonder what I could do to help his body with his physical stresses. I realized that if yoga was so good for me it would also be good for my horse.

Linda Guanti (www.yogawithhorses.com) is a certified yoga instructor based out of Pemberton, BC. She discovered yoga after an injury left her with chronic health issues, affecting her ability to ride. Yoga changed her life and she now utilizes it to help other riders, and stretch their horses too!