first, what i define as horsemanship: i'm referring to understanding and working with the personality contained within my horse. i'm referring to physical as well as emotional care of my horse. my riding skill itself leaves much to be desired but i'm working on it!
being a highly analytical person by nature, for the past two years, i've been digging deeper inside myself - assessing and adjusting. i've been riding for 16+ years, anything and everything i could get my butt on. i worked at a handful of horse establishments through the years, picking up what i could where i could. disgustingly, for the amount of time i've invested, i've come away with deplorable riding skills but even as i continue to improve myself in that respect, i can't help but feel every other aspect of my life with horses has seen a massive improvement.
it was only in 2003 that i was finally able to buy my first horse. she was a good mare. she had great discipline and would go anywhere i pointed her, do anything i asked of her. sadly, there was no emotional connection what-so-ever. this is when i began to honestly assess my handling and care. i tried to appeal to her on every level i could find. i thought that surly once i brought her home and gave her the proper nutrition that i'd finally see a spark. nothing. after three years and 4000+ miles of trail behind us, i decided to pass her along.
cue my current mount. 5 year old APHA gelding. the love of my life! (don't tell my husband) he's so interactive, he's almost canine. looking at him a year after i bought him, it's easy to forget the green, dangerously reactive, malnourished punk that he was. he's blossomed into a quiet, trusting, eager partner, while maintaining his hilarious curiosity. i did hire an empathetic trainer to work out the dangerous bugs before i brought him home (rearing, pulling back, striking). all his behavior was fear-based, imprinted from his one 30-day stint with a prior cowboy. since bringing him home, i've offered nutrition, consistently calm, patient but firm handling, mentally stimulating play/work and lots of rubs and love. i've worked hard to quiet myself and listen to what he appreciates and responds to. just recently, the results have come clear to me in a CLICK that was almost audible...
i'm working on hobble training him as he is so reactive, i know he'd strip his leg to the bone should he get caught in anything. session #1 with the hobbles, he allowed me to crawl almost under him and was quite patient while i fiddled with the new equipment. i then turned him loose in soft footing. trying to follow me, he found his legs restrained and the panic quickly started escalating. rather than letting him "hash it out", i called my quiet "whoa" to him after the 3rd rear and lo & behold, he stopped and allowed me to crawl under him again to free him. (talk about pocket pony after i "saved" him - lol!). my assessment of this event is that given his history and nature, it would be better for him to learn about this form of restraint in smaller, controlled sessions, gradually increasing the time spent in the hobbles. i am defying my training resources in this adjustment of "the plan" but am very comfortable doing so.
the second recent incident that revealed just how much this youngster has come to trust me involved the over-eager hubby. he's really like a child around the horses. i find this inhibition fabulous for familiarizing them to various occurrences that i'm far too restrained to even think of, thanks to years of "proper" horsemanship being drilled into my brain. in this case, Patrick hopped up on my unhaltered boy bareback, in the pasture. while his gelding is more than capable of remaining calm and even listening very well, my youngster is much more sensitive and well, reactive! Scotch took off at a brisk walk once Patrick was up. the hubby starting calling "Whoa. WHOA!" and my boy kept going. from 20 feet away, i called my gentle "whoa" (almost under my breath it's so quiet) and wouldn't you know it, he stopped on a dime!
i guess what i'm trying to say, in all this, is that where my focus was once all about riding the horse, it's now about knowing the horse. even after spending a simple 10 minutes brushing and primping my horse if that's all i have time for, i glow for days afterward. i love lounging next to him while he grazes. and the connection that just clicked after a year of trying to figure him out... there's no other word for it - it's AWESOME.
when i read of others' trials with their horses i sometimes can't help but feel sad for the horse with the oblivious rider. they don't have a partner, they have an employer... and one who doesn't think enough of their animal to try digging beneath the top layer.
being a highly analytical person by nature, for the past two years, i've been digging deeper inside myself - assessing and adjusting. i've been riding for 16+ years, anything and everything i could get my butt on. i worked at a handful of horse establishments through the years, picking up what i could where i could. disgustingly, for the amount of time i've invested, i've come away with deplorable riding skills but even as i continue to improve myself in that respect, i can't help but feel every other aspect of my life with horses has seen a massive improvement.
it was only in 2003 that i was finally able to buy my first horse. she was a good mare. she had great discipline and would go anywhere i pointed her, do anything i asked of her. sadly, there was no emotional connection what-so-ever. this is when i began to honestly assess my handling and care. i tried to appeal to her on every level i could find. i thought that surly once i brought her home and gave her the proper nutrition that i'd finally see a spark. nothing. after three years and 4000+ miles of trail behind us, i decided to pass her along.
cue my current mount. 5 year old APHA gelding. the love of my life! (don't tell my husband) he's so interactive, he's almost canine. looking at him a year after i bought him, it's easy to forget the green, dangerously reactive, malnourished punk that he was. he's blossomed into a quiet, trusting, eager partner, while maintaining his hilarious curiosity. i did hire an empathetic trainer to work out the dangerous bugs before i brought him home (rearing, pulling back, striking). all his behavior was fear-based, imprinted from his one 30-day stint with a prior cowboy. since bringing him home, i've offered nutrition, consistently calm, patient but firm handling, mentally stimulating play/work and lots of rubs and love. i've worked hard to quiet myself and listen to what he appreciates and responds to. just recently, the results have come clear to me in a CLICK that was almost audible...
i'm working on hobble training him as he is so reactive, i know he'd strip his leg to the bone should he get caught in anything. session #1 with the hobbles, he allowed me to crawl almost under him and was quite patient while i fiddled with the new equipment. i then turned him loose in soft footing. trying to follow me, he found his legs restrained and the panic quickly started escalating. rather than letting him "hash it out", i called my quiet "whoa" to him after the 3rd rear and lo & behold, he stopped and allowed me to crawl under him again to free him. (talk about pocket pony after i "saved" him - lol!). my assessment of this event is that given his history and nature, it would be better for him to learn about this form of restraint in smaller, controlled sessions, gradually increasing the time spent in the hobbles. i am defying my training resources in this adjustment of "the plan" but am very comfortable doing so.
the second recent incident that revealed just how much this youngster has come to trust me involved the over-eager hubby. he's really like a child around the horses. i find this inhibition fabulous for familiarizing them to various occurrences that i'm far too restrained to even think of, thanks to years of "proper" horsemanship being drilled into my brain. in this case, Patrick hopped up on my unhaltered boy bareback, in the pasture. while his gelding is more than capable of remaining calm and even listening very well, my youngster is much more sensitive and well, reactive! Scotch took off at a brisk walk once Patrick was up. the hubby starting calling "Whoa. WHOA!" and my boy kept going. from 20 feet away, i called my gentle "whoa" (almost under my breath it's so quiet) and wouldn't you know it, he stopped on a dime!
i guess what i'm trying to say, in all this, is that where my focus was once all about riding the horse, it's now about knowing the horse. even after spending a simple 10 minutes brushing and primping my horse if that's all i have time for, i glow for days afterward. i love lounging next to him while he grazes. and the connection that just clicked after a year of trying to figure him out... there's no other word for it - it's AWESOME.
when i read of others' trials with their horses i sometimes can't help but feel sad for the horse with the oblivious rider. they don't have a partner, they have an employer... and one who doesn't think enough of their animal to try digging beneath the top layer.
-I never laugh so much as when I am privileged to be owned by a Boxer.-
