Horsemanship

Before we can speak of stress within horses, we first need to understand the natural behaviour of the horse. Horses are herd animals. A herd has a leader, the leader takes the initiative to graze or rest and the other horses in the herd usually follow. The rest of the herd always has a choice to follow or not, it depends on how confidently the leader sets her intention. 

The horse’s day is occupied with grazing and walking. Wild horses who live in a large area will walk between five and ten kilometres per day. They graze on the way and do not linger for too long in one spot.

Natural horsemanship training skills may not be so 'natural' to some and nor are they the 'traditional' ways of horse training. Learning and adopting these techniques and principles, is a journey for both you and your horse that helps develop a kinder method for encouraging cooperation and an overall better relationship with your horse. It is based on ideals derived from the study of the behaviours of free-roaming horses, in order to develop techniques that discourage the use of unnecessary or abusive force.

If you have ever had a horse rear on you, then you know how dangerous and frightening it can be. It is essential to understand the cause of rearing and what to do to stop it from happening again. Horses rear for many reasons, but there are some steps that people can take to help prevent this behaviour from occurring.

There is a lot of advice about how to stop a rearing horse, which can be tricky. You do not need to use fear or force, there is a better way.

I start by making a full assessment of the horse by checking how their conformation is put together, how their back shape is, how they are standing, hoof balance, how they move their shoulders, their depth of girth where girth sits, and how they are trained.  Their musculature can give you an indication of how they are going to move, and what influence that will have over the saddle and then if there is work going on to improve that, you have to take into consideration what the client is going to do. 

Horsemanship Hour Live (Replay and Podcast recording) with Anna Twinney

In May's Horsemanship Hour Live we chatted with the founder of Reach Out to Horses and animal communicator and Anna Twinney.

Anna talked about her inspiring horsemanship journey and how horses and moving to California changed the course of her life, as she began to see a new way of being, and observing the language of the horse. Anna speaks about her personal drive to give horses that voice; she explains that their language goes far deeper than body language alone.

Our special Guest in the April episode of Horsemanship Hour Live was Phillippa Christie, in this episode, we discuss equine development and the effects of competition on developing horses.

Phillippa is a registered Equine Psychologist professional member of ISES (International Society for Equitation Science) and studies Equine Anatomy with the College of Equine Studies.

Phillippa has researched the main industries involved in commercial equestrianism in the hopes of highlighting the latest scientific information and questioning how this fits in with welfare ideologies.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock you will have heard of the term bitless. It’s been everywhere, bitless groups, bitless workshops, bitless equality. It’s literally all-over social media and usually the answer when someone posts a bit problem on a chat group. 

So why are people posting about going bitless and is it just the latest fad? It very much depends on who you talk to. It’s still thought of as a taboo subject in some circles, and a few old school cowboys like to promote their bits over a bosal. But when it comes down to it, I post about bitless and I train bitless because I believe that from the point of science and horsemanship, it’s the best answer.

 Horsemanship Showcase is an idea we’ve been talking about for a few years, we want to bring together outstanding Horsemanship, education and inspiration, alongside Christmas shopping and more. The 2018 event was all about Parelli instructors - Organised Equestrian is the official distributor for Parelli in the UK - so, working closely with them, we put together a super line-up, including horsemanship displays, education and spotlights. As it takes place a month before Christmas, the idea is to create a festive feel, with a great retail area offering a diverse range of things to buy.

If you have ever wanted to learn how to tie a rope halter, then this is the blog post for you. In it we will go over the process of tying a rope halter step-by-step. If you are new to horsemanship or western riding, then this article might be especially helpful because it includes terminology that beginners might not know.

Jody Ruysen – 3 Star Parelli Professional discusses tying horses.

There are a few things I come across when it comes to tying horses; one is that people say their horse is so good that they don't need to be tied, which is great from a relationship perspective.  The other is that the horse is tied but will then paw the ground and that often results in the person becoming frustrated. Another is that the horse doesn't get tied up because it pulls back/ breaks any baling twine. Or, they have a horse that knows its job and can stand tied up with no worry about what's going on around them. 

Brian Byrne of Four Oaks Horsemanship Discusses Confidence Versus Tolerance

When it comes to horsemanship, I filter my approach by asking myself if the horse has confidence in what is being asked of him, or is he simply tolerating what is happening?  To my mind, and that of other horsemen, there is a huge difference between the two.  When asking a horse to do something, are we doing it for the horse, or are we doing it to them?

We’ve all experienced a Houdini horse; a horse that manages to escape from any and every fence. Stallions have been known to duck and dive under the tiniest of gaps between fencing and the ground, just to get to a mare in the next paddock. It's not unheard of for cheeky ponies to squeeze through all manner of fencing to go and explore. And we’ve all witnessed horses literally walk through fencing to get to the tasty green grass on the other side (you know, because the grass is always greener). 

A horse-ride a day keeps the doctor away.

What? You’ve never heard that before? Well, it might just be about to catch on.

That’s right - our research has turned up evidence suggesting that there are plenty of health benefits from horse-riding. As equine enthusiasts, we’re certainly all ears. Read on for some of our main finds.

Julie Taylor says…

Think about a good, professional horse trainer you know. Imagine calling that person on the phone and telling them you have a completely green horse you’d like them to back for you. Imagine asking them how long they think it’s going to take. What are they going to say? I’m willing to bet that the vast majority will say something like this: “I don’t know. It depends on your horse.”...

Don Höglund MS, DVM, says...

Humane, safe, and efficient horse handlers always observe first; what horse, what need, and what behaviour. ‘Three-day Horse Challenges’ are definitely what their name implies: challenging to the horse and the handler. The 100-day horse competitions allow a more appropriate time frame for empowering human and animal interactions...

Julie Goodnight talks about the three ‘wings’ in her barn and explains the regime for her youngest horses.

In the small town where I live, we have a large school complex with three different buildings - the elementary, the middle school and the high school, each with a specific program designed to meet the particular needs of each age group. In my barn, we have the same type of divisions to help us better meet the needs of the horses we have in three different stages of life.