Feeding Your Horse (Part 1): Calculating Energy Requirements

Feeding your horse is a combination of art and science. Scientifically, we know there is a minimum requirement for energy, and that particular feeds provide typical levels of that energy. Artfully, every horse, paddock, feed and lifestyle is different, which makes it extremely difficult to comfortably make an exact assumption for every single horse in the world.

How we combine the science and the art will determine how we can successfully manage the feed for our own horses in each individual scenario.

To help you with Feeding Your Horse, we are releasing these blogs in 4 parts:

1. Calculating the energy requirements for your horse (or herd)
2. Calculating Feed Quantities
3. Nutrients Requirements
4. Calculating Pasture Yield

In each we will discuss both the science and the art, so you can be as informed as possible for your own horses.

Today we are going to discuss energy requirements for your horse.

What is Energy?

Energy is referred to as calories or joules - or in the case of horses, megacalories or megajoules (we will be using megajoules for the purpose of this discussion as this is what most measurements in Australia are in, however if you wish to convert to megacalories click here).

Energy is required for everything we do - in fact, if the minimum energy requirement (known as Resting Energy Requirement) if not met, we can no longer function and will cause muscle wastage as our body utilises our own body fat and protein reserves in an attempt to function normally, and eventually organ failure and death.

Excess energy, on the other hand, is energy that cannot be used in normal daily activity (Digestible Energy Requirement) and is therefore stored as fat. This excess energy storage results in increased inflammation, weight gain, increased pain (there is actually a study that shows excess fat increases the response stimuli to pain!!), improper function of our body and organs and can reduce our lifespan.

Energy, which is provided through nutrition, is very important to manage correctly.

How much energy does my horse need?

The Digestible Energy that your horse requires is reliant on many factors:

• Age and growth/reproductive status
• Gelded or Entire
• Workload

Dietary Energy Requirements for horses varies depending on multiple factors. For full details, including other weight ranges, growth and reproductive status, click here (cited: MSD Veterinary Manual)

Light Work: a horse used for pleasure riding, early training or ridden 1-3 times per week.

Medium Work: a horse worked for performance 5 days per week

Intense Work: a racing horse or polo horse, where significant energy is expending in a short period of time.

My horse is a good/poor doer?

Some horses get fat on the smell of grass, and others loose weight just while eating it. This is where the art comes in!

Use this data as a starting baseline, but tweak your feeding requirements to each individual as required - monitor, tweak, and continue to monitor and tweak as needed. Some poor doers need a higher grain diet, and some good doers can do without much or any supplemental feeding.

My Horse Needs to Loose or Gain Weight

The energy requirements listed above are for horses at maintenance, or in work, with a body condition score between 4-6 (see our Horse Health Facts: Weight Management for more details). In the case of horses need to gain weight, their requirements are higher, and it's the opposite for horses needing to loose weight.

We will discuss actual feeding requirements in Part 2.

Do you have any questions about Calculating Energy for your Horse? Comment Below!

DISCLAIMER - this is a guideline and should be followed under the advice of your treating veterinarian. Equestrian Movement holds no responsibility for any actions undertaken as a part of this guide and only aims to share the research and insights into animal care so owners can simplify their own processes where possible and use it in conjunction with their veterinarians advice. 

17 Easy Exercises to Develop a Bond With Your Horse

Establishing a bond with your horse is a lengthy and complex process. Here are some exercises and activities that can help you do just that.

Exercises to establish respect and discipline

1.     When you walk they walk. When you stop they stop.

2.     Backing up

3.     Inviting them in and sending them away

4.     Moving away from pressure – forward, sideways, backwards

5.     Giving to pressure - flexing

6.     Sending them away from their food when you feed them

These exercises (except the feeding) are the first things I will do with an unknown horse and commonly called groundwork. Before I hop on a horse I want to know how the horse reacts to pressure, how far the horse can be pushed before he/she reacts, how the horse reacts, how the horse shows his/her discomfort before he/she has a hissy fit and how to settle him/her from there. I want to see how he/she moves, if there is any stiffness, irregularity or strain in the movement and if me sitting on them is going to antagonise this. I want to know how well he/she takes to being bossed around and what he/she will do when they are. This can generally give me a fairly good idea of their personality within the first half hour of working with them. It also gives me a good idea of where to start with the exercises.

These exercises are also the basis of a good horse that shows discipline and manners, similar to a child saying please and thank. A mindful horse should follow when you walk, not walk over the top of you when you stop, back away from you and out of your space when asked and step into your space when invited. They should give to pressure and react to a cue when asked. If these qualities are established on the ground it is a lot easier to create them under saddle.

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Exercises to establish a rapport

7.      Take them for lead line walks.

8.      Grooming

9.      Appreciate your horses individuality and its little behavioural quirks it uses to communicate.

10.   Wander around the paddock with them while they are grazing. Leave little treats around the paddock for them to find. Take a book and a chair out and sit with them while they graze.

11.   Show affection toward your horse and feel affection toward your horse. This may sound strange but our horses work best if we are present with them. If we are thinking about other things going on outside that environment or at home or other aspects of our life we lose that connection with our horse. Stay present with them, breath them in, feel them and let your heart expand.

12.   Be grateful for each and every moment you have with your horse.

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Exercises to calm and relax

13. Breathing. Breath in for 7 hold for 7 out for 5. Reset your heart rate and breathing rate.

Take responsibility for your energetic state. It can be helpful to do some meditation tutorials. Your energy feeds your horses energy. If your energy raises out of fear or excitement your horses will as well. Horses work in a herd mentality ready to run at a moments notice. As soon as they feel the horses around them become more alert and less relaxed they will be ready to run. This is what they feel from you when you are tense and alert. They don’t realise its their behavior making you nervous, they are ready for the predator to jump out of the bushes and eat them. If you want your horse to be relaxed, you need to channel your inner grazing horse. A horse with its head down eating is a relaxed horse, it is not threatened and feels safe.

14. Give your horse a massage with a tennis ball. Horses love a good massage and using a tennis ball is the easiest way for anyone who has no particular training in massage. It can loosen and soften the tension out of their body and help them feel calm and relaxed and enjoy your company.

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Some final notes

15. Work together through the learning phase:

• learning

• trying everything other than what you want

• acceptance

16. Communication is a 2 way street

If you want your horse to be kind and appreciative, you need to be kind and appreciative. When your horse reaches out to you appreciate and reciprocate. Touching their nose to you, physical contact, other ways your horse tries to connect with you. Show that you are aware, or they will stop.

17. But above all be fair, be firm and be consistent.

Developing a Bond with your Horse

Are you trying to improve your relationship with your horse but don’t know where to start?

A bond with a horse is as intricate and fickle as a relationship with any other person in your life. There are many aspects to take into consideration. You need to take responsibility for your role in the relationship and not allow your emotions and hang ups to dictate your behaviour.

A certain amount of education is required to be able to read the horses’ body language and communicate effectively with yours. As a beginner around horses you are in grade 1, learning the alphabet and how to construct a sentence so the horse understands what you are saying. As you develop your skills you start to read what the horse means when it stomps its feet, swishes its tail, tosses its head and flickers its ears. This is how horses communicate. They use their body language similar to sign language because they cannot verbalise their thoughts.

It is our job to interpret what these signs mean and give the appropriate responses. The horse will watch us and how we respond to their behaviour. They are much better at picking up these signals than we can ever hope to be. The clever ones will even test our consistency in our own behaviour.

“Ginger is a 16 month old filly I recently introduced myself to. She had just started testing her boundaries and establishing her independence. When people approached her she would snake her head and swing her hindquarters to you. Not knowing this was inappropriate behaviour, the owners hadn’t picked up on in it and weren’t correcting it. These were the first 2 things I wanted to address. I wanted to be able to invite her in to me but also send her away if need be and create some space between us. When I approached her, or even if she approached me out of curiosity she’d snake her head at me. During our first lesson together we were just getting to know each other and test boundaries. I wanted to see how deeply this behaviour was established and she wanted me to leave her alone so she could go back to the other horses. Once she established that I wanted her to come in to me, she started testing the cue that I was giving her to ask her in. She would deliberately turn her head away from me and run around me acting out and then turn in to me, testing how I responded to each thing she did. I had to be careful to read her body and position myself safely around her, make sure the timing and the application of my cues were perfect but more importantly there was the release of pressure and positive reinforcement at the appropriate times. She walked out of this lesson quietly, confidently and calmly at my side. She had worked me through my paces and was happy for me to take the lead.”

A bond is dynamic, and continues to evolve over a lifetime

 If we don’t acknowledge these signals the horse starts to feel confused, frustrated and misunderstood. The horses’ signals get louder, as if shouting, and can escalate to inappropriate behaviour such as biting or kicking.

There are many reasons why a relationship can turn sour.

• There’s no connection between you and the horse

• The horse feels misunderstand or unappreciated

• The horse doesn’t enjoy the time it spends with you

• The horse has no respect for you

• The horse lacks education.

Educated horses are a catch 22. Green horses still exhibit more horsey behaviour because they haven’t had the years of handling to understand what is expected of them. They only know how to behave like a horse, however they can be more interested learning process. An educated horse that has decided it is smarter and more cunning than its owner can be more dangerous than a green broken horse. It knows the tricks of the trade, understands how to bluff its way out of work and can manipulate the rider’s behaviour to get what it wants, which in most cases is to finish riding and get turned out and fed.

As with any relationship there’s a fine line between establishing clear boundaries and behavioural expectations and being able to relax and be yourself around them:

• You need to listen to their communication and make them feel like you are trying to understand.

• You need to prove yourself as a good leader if you want them to take direction from you.

• You need to spend time with them where there is no expectations and enjoy each others presence.

• You need to share yourself with your horse, let it feel you as you feel it, be happy in its presence and in the moment, feel love, gratitude and appreciation for them and allow them to show it in return.

A bond isn’t something that’s developed in a day, a week, a month or even a year. It is dynamic and continues to evolve over a lifetime. Each experience, each training session, each feed, each groom, each show, each trail, each moment of utter defeat and every epiphany shapes and develops the bond between you and your horse. What you have today won’t be the same in a month, in a year, in 3 years. You need to experience the depths of your existence and who you are as a person with your horse as your guide if you are truly looking for a meaningful bond.  

PS Stay tuned for our upcoming blog: Developing a Bond with Your Horse - 17 Easy Daily Exercises

Can’t Teach an Older Horse New Tricks? Watch me!

It is an unending fact of life – we all get older. Unfortunately so many older horses become abandoned or given away as paddock buddies when their owners no longer see any use for them.

And while I understand the desire for progression, or the desire to see your horse ‘in a loving home, getting the attention he/she deserves’, I also know there are many of us out there who will continue to provide a home for that horse that saw us through so much, even if they are no longer suitable to our needs. So how can we continue to give our older horses a valuable life when they no longer suit our purposes?

My Older Horse

I recently adopted a 21 year old gelding. Little is known about this horses’ history apart from that he was used for cattle work, and he has had many owners, and working with him has indicated that he has had at least basic western training – totally not my forte! He had been rescued by some friends after being offered as a ‘free to good home paddock buddy’ and placed into semi-retirement, and when I was in need of a horse, they offered him as a potential project, as he really needed his own human.

With time and effort, this boy now bends instead of pivoting - and is a much more confident partner.

Katie and I assessed him for soundness and to identify some potential issues. We noted:

• His back was sound and could safely hold a rider

• He had mild arthritis

• He has had some injury in the past that had created some tightness particularly through the left haunch

• He was significantly out of work (no surprises there!)

• He was experiencing some anxiety issues, both with riders and leaving his paddock buddy

• He had no idea how to talk to his rider (hence the anxiety with riders)

We began training him English style under the principles of the Foundation of Equine Development – we took it right back to the starting basics. Groundwork, bonding work, emotional management and letting him talk to us on the ground and in the saddle. This boy has gone from Western trained, out of work paddock, rarely active ornament to a happy, confident, calm horse that now plays and runs in the paddock and wants human interaction. His progression is slower than it might be for a younger horse, and we are forever mindful not to create injury, but his development has been beneficial both for myself and him.

Being an older, relatively unknown horse, neither of us has any idea of how far he will go. But he keeps taking each new challenge we present him (even being proud to ‘show off’), so who knows – you might see us out at a pony club dressage event soon!

Your Older Horse

Do you have an older horse that still wants to work/play? Outside of basic care and maintenance, you could increase their workload in many different ways - for many key benefits.

Benefits of Working Your Older Horse

• When done correctly it can improve their muscular tone, reducing the pains that develop with old age (think of it as physio rather than gym!)

• Improve their mood and temperment

• Improve their quality of life and may even increase their life expectancy!

Before you do, assess your horse for the following:

• Check for soundness in the back, legs and mouth

• Ensure they have not lost too much muscle mass, as this will make any type of riding work impossible

• How much working condition have they lost/still retained?

• Look for any signs of arthritis, or skeletal misalignment, and supplement/treat accordingly

• Does your horse want to engage in these activities?

Then encourage your horse to participate in:

• Basic groundwork or riding training – take it as far back to the basics as your horse needs to be able to redevelop lost condition. Equestrian Movements’ Foundation of Equine Development Course will be available soon for you to try out!

• Fun days out – a short trail ride or bringing them out to pony club for a potter (not competing, or lightly competing if your horse can handle it)

• Lead line walks for small children – especially for older horses that can no longer maintain adult weight

• Fun games - or even train for new tricks on the ground, such as touch the button or foot on the log.

• Be prepared to go slow, and be prepared to listen when your horse tells you he or she has reached their limit.

And of course, lots of love, cuddles, grooming and general contact are also strongly indicated!

Regular human interaction is very important to many of these older horses, as they received so much attention during their prime it becomes an ingrained habit and desire that is hard to break. Anything we can do to show them we love them still, as well as improve their quality of life, we should.

First Aid for Horses: Respiration Rate & Breathing

How many breaths your horse takes in a minute can be an important indicator of many conditions, including pain, heart or lung issues.

So what exactly is normal?

Healthy respiration rate for most horses is generally between 8 and 15 breaths per
minute, although it is higher in foals and can be significantly higher just after exercise.

A very relaxed horse can have a rate as low as 4 breaths per minute - that is usually a VERY relaxed horse.

The breathing itself should be calm and unexaggerrated, with relatively even spaces between each inhalation.

What is abnormal breathing?

• Breathing rate over 15 breaths per minute at rest
• Deep movement in the chest at rest- where the chest and/or abdomen have large, exaggerated movement - may indicate serious issues
• Noisy inhalation may indicate a problem, particularly with the upper respiratory tract
• Wheezing or coughing during exercise may also indicate some issues.

How to take a respiratory rate

1. Allow the horse to settle and relax.
2. Count the number of breaths for 30 seconds.
3. Multiply that number by 2 - wallah!

There are some really great apps available for free that can help you easily monitor, count and record the respiratory rate - just search your relevant app store.

If you notice abnormalities, contact you veterinarian for advise.

Nervous Horse, Nervous Rider (tips to help you both relax)

I'm sure you've felt it before - the back coiling up like a spring, legs braced and stiff ready to bolt, the neck jams tight against your rein.

Your own heart gets set off, racing a thousand times a second, then panic sets in, you stiffen, your chest tightens, your breath hastens or stops all together.

Your horses' sense of danger sets off your own instinct to survive, and your horse is now wondering if there actually should be something to worry about because it can feel your heart racing and the fear emanating from you. Your horses' fear feeding yours and your fear feeding your horse adding fuel to the fire. The slightest movement, a stick falling, a leaf caught on the breeze, a gunshot in the distance and all sense of control will be lost as your horse flees blindly from whatever perceived danger they initially caught wind of.

How do we unravel this set of events? How can we step in and change this scenario before it unfolds and then its just a case of pure skill, how well can you just hang on?

Well, from one perspective there is a lot to be done with building the relationship, establishing yourself as a trusted leader, showing your horse how to process its emotions without reaction but that's not what we are going to talk about today. Today we are talking about the vagus nerve. 

This is something I accidentally figured out with my 3rd horse King. He was super flighty, sensitive and mistrusting of people. He only let me ride him for fear of what would happen to himself if he didn't and mostly he lived in a state of anxiety on the brink of losing control of himself at the drop of a hat (literally) anything that dropped would set him off. I got really good at hanging on, like really, really good, like half the time you saw me riding King I was half off the side of him as he took the bolt trying to pull myself back into the saddle with the one rein I still had hold of. And there was one truly important lesson I learnt with King: never let your emotions become involved in the situation. 

If ever I got excited, scared, enthusiastic, tried to muck around and have fun, any kind of high erratic emotional state, bam I'd be on the floor, frequently winded, that boy had some skill. He drilled it into me so strongly that to this day, if people get too excited, chaotic and carried away around me, I feel like I'm going to fall off a horse. (seriously its a problem!) As a result, I stumbled across a few tricks that worked really well to quickly and effectively drop my levels of anxiety, heart rate and respiratory rate, EVEN WHEN I can feel my horse coiling up ready to freak out, and EVEN WHEN I am scared I am going to fall off (however, not when I've had too much coffee, although I do have a trick for that as well). And I didn't understand the science behind what I was doing until I became a naturopath and learnt about the vagus nerve. 

What is the vagus nerve?

The vagus nerve is the longest cranial nerve (nerve from the brain) which is in control of your parasympathetic nervous system. Your parasympathetic nervous system is in charge of rest and digest. It is that deep relaxation feeling that you get from eating and then you want to lie down and have a nap on the couch. The sympathetic nervous system is kind of like the opposite of the parasympathetic nervous system it gets stimulated by fear and threats on survival to be triggered into fight or flight. Stimulating the vagus nerve can block your trigger into fight or flight and keep you in that relaxed state even when your safety is potentially threatened. 

3 ways to stimulate the vagus nerve

1.        HUMMING, CHANTING AND SINGING: Have you ever found yourself in a stressful situation and started humming or singing. I do this a lot, in fact if you see me riding a nervy horse you will probably hear me humming. When I'm stressed at work or in traffic I start humming. Its a sure fire way to instantly drop my stress levels so that I can focus and concentrate. 

2.        STRETCH YOUR HEART MUSCLE: Have you ever looked at something like your pets, your kids, a friend, family member or partner and just thought argh I love it so much I just want to squish it and love it and hold it tight and never let go!! This is your vagus nerve and oxytocin in action. Problem is its the result of an external stimulation and therefore subject to your environment. When we meditate, we practice recreating these feelings of love and gratitude. We literally create these feelings with in us so that we can express them outwards not the other way around. Regularly practicing love and gratitude flexes these muscles so you can call on them when you need them when stressed. 

3.        DEEP BREATHING: When an external stimulus makes you feel threatened it will trip you into fight or flight, tighten your chest and make your breathing quick and tightened. By taking control of your breathing through breathing exercises you can pull yourself out of this spiral and get yourself back into a relaxed, deep breathing state. There are a couple of exercises I use: forcing your breath out through your teeth so that it engages your diaphragm and makes you breath out hard and slow. Another way to reset your respiratory rate is to breath in for 7, hold for 7 and out for 5. These are 2 exercises that you can use when your horse is on the brink of panic to help bring them back down. 

Doing breathing exercises with your horse is so effective in building your relationship together. In fact, when I practice it at the halt every ride I can tune my horses respiratory rate into mine so together we can get into a state of flow to better synchronise and harmonise our movements. I practise taking those deep breaths until my horse lets go of its breath and takes a deep breath with me. I got this working so well with my horses that when we would go to competitions, when I go down the center line and halt, I take a deep breath so that my horse takes one with me and together we sync up our respiratory rate for the rest of the test, creating synchronised, harmonised, relaxed tone in our movement instead of the jittery, nervous energy that normally comes from being out with the pressure we put on ourselves to do well and the new environmental stimuli for our horses. 

Health benefits of regular vagus nerve stimulation

Being able to control and stimulate our vagus nerve can vastly improve our performance and relationship with our horses. It can also reduce anxiety and overcome rider fear and help us get that foot in the stirrup and swing on even though our brain is saying no, no, NO!!!  It does take practice to get this kind of control over our vagus nerve and create vagal tone. The good new is, that regular practise also has some resounding health benefits. In the brain low vagal tone can contribute to anxiety and depression. In the gut it can lead to indigestion, IBS and other stress associated digestive upsets. Working with your vagus nerve can lower your heart rate and risk of heart disease, lower your blood glucose, support your adrenal function, reduce systemic inflammation and promote your bodies detoxification processes. It influences the release of oxytocin, which is the hormone that makes you feel love for other people and responsible for social bonding. It helps to get you into a state of relaxed concentration and movement, which is what we are trying to do when we ride. Vagus nerve stimulation also normalises stress hormones and reduces excess cortisol.

Other practices that promote vagal tone

·        Yoga

·        Meditation

·        Positive social relationships

·        Laughing

·        Prayer

·        Probiotics

·        Exercise

·        Massage

·        Fasting

·        Tai chi

·        Gargling

·        Getting sufficient EPA and DHA from your essential fatty fish oils

·        Acupuncture

·        Getting sufficient zinc.

These practices aren't anything new, we're just getting new science on why they are so effective. Being able to be in control of how stress affects your body and being able to switch yourself out of the sympathetic nervous responses by practising these exercises, making sure you get the right nutrition can boost your health and athletic performance. 

Keen to learn more?

Lessons From The Horses Mouth

There are pivotal moments in everyone's riding career that make them who they are as riders and people. Sharing such wild experiences with another animal as can happen when riding horses connects you to something deeper within yourself and the horse. Putting your trust entirely in another animal - not just in that they let you ride them but also in their balance, footing and confidence - can be an experience of complete freedom.

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FRISCO

Frisco was my first horse and that was her name for a reason. I always tell my students that the first horse is the hardest. I'm not entirely sure this was my experience but she was definitely one tough cookie to crack. A little flea bitten grey who taught me some valuable lessons. She had 2 speeds - halt and flat tack. A few pivotal lessons were learnt.

·        If you leave glo-white shampoo on a white horse for too long it doesn't wash out. My first competition on her she was pink and it wasn't a pink ribbon day.

·        Horses like to test you. When I would take her out on trail rides if she didn't think I was concentrating she'd run me into a tree ... every ... single ... time ... 

·        Draw reins work ... until you take them off. Riding a horse correctly is a skill that takes time and patience and cannot be taught by adding artificial aids. 

·        You can't work an active, fit horse into submission through exhaustion. One particular dressage test I remember warming up for an hour doing canter circles just to try to get her to slow down and put her head down. Our canter was perfect ... our trot ... not so much

·        You don't have to be fantastic to win a ribbon. Once I figured out hack shows had fattest pony, longest tail, most spots, thats the only classes I'd go in and I CLEANED UP!!! I would come home with more ribbons than I could count.

·        Letting go is hard. After I outgrew her we sold her to another family. It was heart breaking, as she left she turned her head around and whinnied. She was a beautiful girl and I hope she got to live out a full and happy life. 

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TJ

TJ was my second horse at 12 and phewy did I learn a thing or 2 from him. Notably if you fall off you have to get back on again and again and again, no matter how scary it is. He continued my horse education.

·        Just because you bought the perfect horse doesn't mean they will be the perfect horse. Professionally trained, show prepped, bred and exposed, perfect conformation and education buuuuuut bucked me off near every time I rode him ... sometimes more than once. I got very good at riding bucks. 

·        Showing means hours of training, competing, prepping, washing, plaiting, braiding, driving and probably lots of mums money. 

·        Just because you've put the hours in doesn't mean the judge will like you. I went from one show where we cleaned up with supreme champion to the next where the judge out right told me I did not have a show horse and shouldn't be there. I remember my mum having to try to convince me I didn't have an ugly horse. Probably not the best thing to tell a 13 yo.

·        All else fails hold on for the ride. I just couldn't get him to stop bucking but I sure learnt how to ride through it. My instructor was ready to nominate me into a rodeo, we would do show jump rounds and the only time he'd stop bucking was to jump a fence. The judges were not impressed but hey all you need is a clear round right?

·        No matter what, they're still your best friend. I would sit on the fence with his head in my lap for hours and talk to him. My family would ask what we would talk about and I would say I tell him all of my problems. 

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KING

At 14.1 hands I was destined to outgrow TJ as well. When we got King we couldn't tie him up without rearing, couldn't get a bridle on him without rearing, couldn't get him on the float without rearing, couldn't catch him from his paddock and would buck me off when I rode. By the time I moved to Brisbane he was self loading, you could catch him if you threatened to take his food off him and was jumping 80cm and competing elementary. He retired into the riding school for experienced riders that understood his quirks. You didn't teach King, King taught you. Like if you approached him incorrectly in the paddock, you weren't riding that day, how to hold his bridle out for him to put on himself, how people should behave around him, and how to lead him so he didn't feel threatened. He is a stellar little horse and taught a lot of people, me included, what happens when you over ride a sensitive horse. A few more lessons to chip into the belt. 

·        What's advertised is not always truth. Sold to us as an educated show horse, after a year of trying to work through his bad handling skills and getting him to a competition standard, we finally got out to our first competition... where he was recognised.... from the rodeo circuit.... hmmm explains a bit. Lucky I had had so much experience from TJ, the bucking was not a problem, just didn't know what to do with all the stuff he'd do on the ground. My farrier hated him.

·        When your winded you're not dying, your breath comes back eventually.

·        You fall off harder from bigger horses

·        I learnt to not get excited and to this day it is impossible for me to get excited. Get excited and you fall off. Even when I'm not riding its so instinctively programmed into me not to let my energy levels change otherwise I will fall off. 

·        It doesn't matter how many double bridles, spurs and whips you use. If you are not communicating effectively you cannot teach a flying change... or anything else for that matter.  

·        The hardest horses are the ones worth fighting for. He was one of a kind giving me everything I asked and then some. We pretty much became unbeatable, we were a team. 

You didn't teach King, King taught you.

I finished high school and came to Brisbane not knowing what I was doing with my life and accidentally stumbled into a job as a stable hand/horse riding instructor. This is where I truly learnt the art of horsemanship. With so many different horses to work with of varying levels of education, personality and breed it started to become clear that whilst the aids translated the same (generally) between each horse it was the timing, and application and release of pressure that was key. That aids were not used to control a horse but to communicate with a horse and that only through years of training could you develop the connection with a horse to make the movement seem as of one. My boss, my mentor and my best friend showed me the true value of listening to the horses behaviour as its way of communication. Understand it's behaviour as the only way it can vocalise the problems they are having.

Since then, I've come to recognise 3 things are key to a safe horse. Emotional stability, education and correct physical conditioning. Through experience, instructors, horses and everything in between, I've been able to create a training program of building blocks. Skills that are necessary for each horse to thrive in their chosen equestrian profession. I strive to ensure these 3 key attributes are thoroughly covered in my teaching and training to give the horse and rider combination the best chance possible at succeeding with their goals. 

Has your horse taught you? Tell us below!

Read the lessons Sarah, a newer student, has learnt from her horses here

When it’s time to say good-bye (and what you need to know)

There comes a time in every life when that life must come to an end. This is just as true for our horses as it is for our cats, our dogs and the people we love (and some we don’t).

The end of any life is a difficult situation. It sucks, it’s horrible but it’s also undeniable. As a veterinary nurse, I stood by and held many paws or stroked many faces as they passed over to the next realm. And as a veterinary nurse, I cried with each and every single passing. Without fail.

What can make it even more difficult is when the owner doesn’t know what to expect in the process. This could be from never having been through the situation before, or fear of the discussion, or simply not being told by the professional care team at the time of the event.

Although this is rather a morbid topic to bring up, I wanted to share some of the common questions about the process, both during and following, and hopefully prepare you for the situation if and when it arises (in the far future, preferably).

What is Euthanasia, and what happens?

Euthanasia by injection is a large overdose of an anaesthetic. Your horse will feel tired, relaxed and the sensation of falling asleep.

Initially, a sedative will be given to your horse via an injection into the vein. This will help relax your horse and they will generally lie down as a response. Then the vet will administer the euthanasia medication into the same vein via injection. This injection stops the brain functioning almost immediately, breathing generally ceases within 1-2 minutes and the heart will stop within 1-5 minutes.

It can sometimes be necessary to administer more of the injection than the initial dose – don’t be alarmed, as your horse can no longer feel or hear what is happening. In very few cases, your horse may twitch or sigh – again, don’t be alarmed, this is an involuntary response to the body dying, not to your horse feeling pain.

There are other methods of Euthanasia, but I have never been present or would want to be present as a veterinary nurse in those situations.

How do I know when it is time?

Every case is different, as is every horse and owner, and it can be difficult to pinpoint an exact time or scenario. However, I feel if your horse is in significant, unrelenting pain, or can no longer eat or walk, it is a good indicator that now is the time. But each owner needs to come to this decision based on your own preparedness and your own horses’ requirements. Talking with your vet or veterinary nurse can be a significant help in making that decision.

What happens to my horse after the Euthanasia?

This will depend largely on you and your local laws.

There are some councils that allow burial on your own property, if you wish. You will need to organise or hire some machinery to dig a burial plot large and deep enough, and also to move the body into the burial plot.

There are also some companies that can perform a cremation, either individually or with other animals. An individual cremation means you can have the ashes returned to you.

It is not advisable to try to sell the body of a horse euthanised by injection for horse meat.

How long should I grieve for?

This is a deeply personal question I have been asked many times, and there is no straightforward answer. Factors such as your own bond with your horse, your own experiences with death, your support network, your coping mechanisms, and the circumstances of the passing will strongly influence your grieving process.

It is ok to take a long time to grieve – we have an intrinsic bond with horses we rarely share with any other animal (how often do you jump on the back of 400kg plus animal regularly and trust that they wont kill you on purpose) and their parting can leave a large hole in our lives.

And is as equally ok to only take a short time to grieve – you are processing your horses departure from your life and preparing for the next phase of your life.

But what I will say is do not ‘not grieve’. Take the time you need, surround yourself with love, support and possibly a lot of comfort food.

If you feel you can’t seem to move on from the loss, it is perfectly normal and can be very helpful to seek professional advice. It can also be helpful to talk about your loss with your vet or vet nurse, although they are generally not trained as councillors can offer some sound information to help you feel at ease with your decision.

How do I tell my children about this?

Children can find it hard to understand the departure of a loved one, and also that you are grieving. Depending on your child’s age he or she may have a different level of understanding of the process.

There are no straightforward answers to this one, but a few things I would suggest:

·        If you are religious, it can be helpful to use your religious experiences to explain.

·        It can be helpful to explain that your horse was very sick and in a lot of pain, so it was kinder to perform the euthanasia.

·        I would generally recommend not using the terms ‘put to sleep’, ‘God has taken them’ or ‘they had an injection’ – this can make them fearful or resentful of regular, everyday occurances.

·        Allow your child to grieve and see you grieve. This is a normal process for everyone.

·        If you are uncertain, seek professional advice or read some articles written by professional sources.

When should I get another horse?

This will definitely depend on you and your family, both 2 and 4-legged. Sometimes another horse will help heal the hole that was left behind, and sometimes it wont. It is important not to feel guilty if or when you do adopt another horse – you are not replacing the one you lost, simply moving forward with life. And knowing that you can give another animal the love that they are missing could go towards your own healing process.

The loss of a beloved family member, whether that of a horse or a person, is deeply personal. I hope that some of this information can help you prepare or process your own experience.

How to progress past the 'stuck' stage of your riding developement

How to navigate the road blocks that come up in the learning curve

Are you frustrated as hell repeating the same lessons? It never feels like you're progressing, the wheels are spinning and you're not gaining any traction?

I hear ya! Boy have I been there! I've learnt a couple of skills along the way to make the journey an empowering process allowing for personal growth and development instead of becoming demoralised and quit or forging a path that is an uphill battle the whole way. And I wanted to share them with you!

A few years ago I considered myself a good rider. I did well in my lessons, progressing quickly with the horses I rode and did well at competitions and was well on my way to reaching my goals with good results at states and official competitions. But there were a few stumbling blocks I kept coming across. Some discrepancies in my beliefs and my actions.

You see I wanted to be a high level, well-respected competitive rider and yet I had to compromise on my values for how a horse was worked to get there.

At the time I didn't understand but I just knew in my gut that I wasn't happy with the path I was taking. I still had the same goals but I wanted to get there in a way that didn't compromise the integrity of the horses musculoskeletal system, or emotional and mental health.

This might sound weird to some but I actually see horses as an EQUAL and not a means to win a ribbon or get a certain percentage at a competition. In saying that I do believe it is important to give a horse sound life skills so that they have the best opportunity they can. In such a cut throat industry, the majority of people are quick to assume that a horse acting like a horse, which can threaten the safety of the novice means it is "a bad horse", "untrainable", or "dangerous". 

Any hoo, I digress! I was trying to say this was one of those times where I just got stuck. I knew where I wanted to be, I knew the way I wanted to get there, I just didn't know the how. So let me share a few things I have learnt over the years about getting unstuck on my goals.

You don't know what you don't know

Ok this might sound obvious but you don't know what you don't know until you know it. If you haven't achieved your goal yet and you have a coach or a mentor showing you the way and you're saying, “YES, YES, YES!!!! I GET IT!!! WHY HAVEN'T I GOT MY GOAL YET?” Then guess what, you don't get it because it is in the experiencing of getting to your goal that is how you "get it" and it is in the knowing that you can "do it" that creates the belief and the knowledge that you can "do it" again. This is that epiphany moment where you strive and you struggle and you get frustrated and then all of a sudden it comes together and you go oh wow that was so easy, why did I find it so hard?! It is hard because you don't know what you don't know until you know it and then the world makes sense again!

Have you heard of the story of the 4 minute mile? In 1954 Roger Bannister became the first person to run a mile in under 4 minutes. A goal that people had been trying to crack for years. Within 2 months John Landy ran the mile in under 4 minutes. Since then its been cracked time and again and has been set as the standard to reach as an athlete. So why am I telling you this? It took 1 person to believe that he could achieve the impossible to crack open a whole new realm of possibility that is now the standard practice. Roger Bannister didn't know that he could run a mile in under 4 minutes, no body else believed it could be done and surely didn't know how he was going to do it. He just worked at his goal relentlessly never giving up and then he knew how. So this brings me to:

What is stopping you?

What had stopped every other person before Roger Bannister from achieving the 4 min mile? It certainly wasn't there ability. Because we know that only 2 months later it was broken again by another man and then time and time again after that.

So what is our biggest road block in achieving impossible goals? It is our beliefs and our fears. We are conditioned from birth by the people around us and it is their beliefs that create our belief systems. These BELIEF SYSTEMS protect us and give us meaning in our world and help guide us in our choices through their PREVIOUS EXPERIENCES.

However, they also come with their own limitations. These belief systems are protected by our FEARS because if we can prove what we believe is wrong it shatters our REALITY. So while we need to develop our SKILLS to make it possible, we also need to train our BRAIN to believe it is possible (this is why doing something just to prove someone wrong can be so effective. That kind of determination is powerful when achieving big goals). Because when we are aiming for a big scary goal and we don't believe we can do it we won't PUSH ourselves past our limits. When previous experience dictates that it is impossible we create our on limitations and we first need to crack open this belief that it is impossible to make it happen. 

"Life begins at the end of your comfort zone" Neale Donald Walsch

Review the foundations

So I know it is the LAST thing we want to do when we are trying to PROGRESS, but going back and reviewing the foundations is VITAL! Because it is in these foundations that lies the key to our success. Think about when you were at school when you first learnt the alphabet you had no idea why, you were just learning it because that's what you were told to do. Once you knew the alphabet you were able to progress with your skills and spell words with the letters that you learnt. This gave your understanding of the alphabet more depth, you now understood why you needed to learn the alphabet and now you are ready to start writing sentences. This gives you a better understanding of the alphabet and spelling words and how to use them. Fast forward to high school and you start learning about how to construct stories and the struggle of learning the alphabet is a distant memory (depending on how badly it traumatised you lol).

This is why we are talking about foundations, you are introduced to the basics at the very beginning but there is no way you can fully understand the depth and scope of these foundations when you first learn them and so you progress. You say "yes, yes, I get it, I want to move on, do more exciting things!". But the limitations to the depth of your understanding blocks how far you progress. Sooner or later you have to come back to those foundations you originally learnt and relearn them with the new knowledge you have about the process. 

For example, when you first start learning to ride you need your horse to stop and to go. Once you have achieved this you are ready to learn how to keep the horse forward. A lot of lessons are involved in this, you need to develop your seat, you need to understand how to ask a horse to keep forward from your aids, and you will probably have some hiccups along the way.

Guaranteed you will quickly come to understand why you needed to learn how to make your horse stop and go first! Once you are able to keep your horse forward you are ready to learn how to keep your horse balanced and the stop and go develops into tempo changes and half halts. This brings its own new set of challenges (how good are your brakes and your go? How balanced is your seat? What the hell is a half halt anyway? etc) And so again you need to review your foundations and how well established they are and how clearly you understand them. 

So if you are stuck don't say "I already know that". Review what you "already know" with fresh, more educated eyes, break it done and find the gaps in your understanding because this will be what you don't know that you don't know.  

"The more I learn, the more I realise how much I don't know" Albert Einstein

Self affirmation exercises and mantras

What does your self talk sound like? Are you constantly saying to yourself "I can't do this", "this is too hard", "why would someone like me be able to do this?", "I don't deserve this result", or are you saying "you got this!", "you can do this", "you've done it before, you can do it again", "you deserve to get your goals".

If you talk to yourself in a supportive and encouraging way you have a better chance of:

• Sticking it out when it gets tough.

• Reduced stress and improved resilience to stress and its negative effects.

• An increased chance of making the behavioural changes required to achieve your goals whether it be lifestyle, health, fitness, business or anything in between.

  The trick to positive affirmations ACTUALLY working is that you have to believe in it now and VISUALISE the future impact of these changes. Examples include:

·        I deserve to lead a good life and then visualise what a good life looks like to you.

·        Today I choose only healthy choices and then visualise what making healthy choices look like and telling a friend in the future how you made these changes.

·        I am a good horse rider and I am improving each day and then visualise what you want your riding and your horse to look like. 

These are just a couple of examples of how to use positive affirmations. To truly understand why you're stuck and discover the best affirmations for you to get unstuck, another practice is journalling.

"Whether you believe you can or you can't you are right." Henry Ford

Journaling

Journalling is the best way to transform current beliefs and self talk that are holding you back so that you become more supportive of your efforts and your goals. At the root of what is blocking us is a thought, or a belief that is no longer supporting or helping us. Journalling is like a free trip to the psychiatrist. A word of caution, if you have experienced a traumatic event you may want to work with a professional in this process. Throughout our lives from our earliest days as children we have rationalised our experiences with beliefs that makes sense to us at that age. We also take on the beliefs of our family, teachers and other role models and influencers. When these beliefs go on unchallenged they can seriously limit us for future success. 

For example, a child might be told you are a bad child and you do not deserve a treat. This belief  could become ingrained in the psyche so that as an adult you could trigger this thought inadvertently and punish yourself for being "bad" or develop a vice to deal with this emotional trigger. In the same way if you have had support through your struggles as a child, as an adult those words of wisdom will come back to you to help you through your challenges. So basically journalling is taking your current struggle and asking why, why, why, why, why until you get down to the root cause of the thought that is limiting your progress. 

Another example might be trying to overcome your struggle with wanting to improve your health but not sticking to your meal plan. Ask yourself why and really dig deep, what is the root thought form preventing you sticking to your goal. It may surprise you, it often surprises me! And from there you can create a new belief with positive affirmations and this is how you can truly believe in these affirmations and transform your life from the foundations which will have significant flow on affects in all areas of your life. 

Follow through and commitment

"Most people give up just before they are about to achieve success" Ross Perot

Think of your goal as an island that you want to get to. Where you are now is the mainland. The work you have to do is like building a bridge to the island. You have to STICK TO THE DAMN PLAN. You have to COMPLETE the bridge to get to the island. Once the bridge is forged each time you try to get to the island gets easier.

Where you are stuck is just an obstacle in completing the bridge that you have to navigate to get to the island. If each time you get stuck you start building a new bridge than all you will have is a bunch of half formed bridges and no success. But if you stop, REVIEW YOUR PLAN (look at the foundations), FIGURE OUT WHAT YOU DIDN'T KNOW THAT YOU NOW KNOW (fill the gaps in your understanding the lessons learnt that got you to where you are), ASSESS YOUR BELIEFS AND SELF TALK (make sure you are supporting yourself on your journey and enjoying the process) and try the heck again!! Because what got you here won't get you there, be flexible in your approach but commit to your goals and stick to them until you get there. 

"Failure is the opportunity to try again more intelligently" Henry Ford

The best way to stay accountable and stick to your goals is to join a community of supportive people with similar goals who will hold you up and cheer you on. We have a free facebook group designed to help people take small, easy to achieve actions to get them to their big goals and we would love to see you in there. Click the link below to join.

First Aid for Horses: A Dose of Medicine

Sooner or later, you are unfortunately going to have a situation where your horse is required to take medicine. For some horses, this is as simple as adding to their food. For others, it's a nightmare. 

How can we get a horse to take medicine? We've collated a few tricks to help you succeed!

1. Mix with their regular feed

Sometimes, changes to the usual routine can make horses suspicious and less likely to cooperate. Try adding the medication to their normal feed and see how they respond. It may be worth introducing the medication at a lower dose initially to get them used to the subtle differences

It can also help to add some water to the feed to hide the powder.

2. Bran mash or molasses

Bran mash or molasses can be a great treat for some horses. Before you know it - medications are gone!

3. Apple sauce

Again, another sweet treat! You can make powder or pastes into an apple sauce slurry and place it in their feed bowl. Alternatively, if you have a wide tipped syringe, dose it like a wormer. If apple sauce isn't up your horses alley, you can try strained carrots or pears - these jars of baby food are an ideal single dose size!

4. Sandwich

Powders, smaller pellets and pastes can all be put between a folded piece of bread for a quickly gobbled dose. For powders and pellets, put something sticky on the bread, like molasses, jam or peanut butter. Remember, these are just treats to hide med's, so don't go overboard!

5. Hollow Apple

Try partially coring an apple, making sure not to go all the way through. Add the medication, then use part of the core to 'cork' it. This works really well if you use smaller apples and your horse is happy to take big bites (preferably the full apple).

6. When all else fails, ask your vet for an injection

Some medications are available in an injection - and your vet may be able to provide the injections or dose your horse regularly themselves.

HOT TIP:

If you use some of the treats, like apple sauce syringes or jam sandwiches, regularly or semi-regularly without medication, your horse will be much more willing to gobble it down when it comes to medication time!

What tricks do you use to get your horse to take their medicine?

Need to know more about horse first aid? Click here for more articles.

First Aid for Horses: Temperature

A normal rectal temperature for a horse is 37.2-38.3°C

Learning how to take your horses temperature is an important skill for horse owners.

An unhealthy temperature can indicate the horse has an infection or disease, and is a good indicator for monitoring the progress of the problem.

Our first aid kit should contain:

• 1 or more thermometers, either digital or mercury
• 1 form of lubricant, such as Vaseline or KY Jelly
• A form of cleanser to sterilise and clean pre and post use (rubbing alcohol or chlorhexidine)
• Gloves

The procedure:

1. Ensure your horse is safely restrained and calm.
2. Cleans the thermometer and apply lubrication to the tip.
3. Gently move to the back of the horse.
4. Using one hand, lift the tail slightly to one side.
5. Using the other hand, insert the thermometer into the rectum NO FURTHER THAN HALFWAY UP THE THERMOMETER ARM, using a gentle twisting motion.
6. Angle the thermometer slightly so the inserted tip is angled upwards.
7. Start the thermometer reading until beeps, or for 3 minutes if a mercury thermometer.
8. Once finished, gently remove the thermometer from the rectum and read.

Tips:

• Always stand to the side of your horse to avoid being kicked.
• It is best to take your horses temperature after they have evacuated their bowels - faeces in the rectum can give you a falsely high reading.
• Have a piece of string tied to the thermometer and maintain hold of the thermometer when in use. Yes, horses can 'suck in' the thermometer and no, it has never happened to me. If it does happen, contact your veterinarian for advice.
• If you receive an abnormal temperature reading, repeat again and again in an hour. If the temperature stays consistently high, especially over 38.7°C, consult your veterinarian for advice.

How Different Horses Support Rider Development

Can riding different horses benefit riders?

Simply put, yes!

I could stop writing right here, but I feel I should probably elaborate.

No single horse is the same - they are a combination of their genetics, their muscular development, their stage of training, their learnt behaviours, the interactions they have had with their environment, tightly bound by personality and bundled into a gorgeous, tidy package that is known as HORSE.

And just like every person could teach us something new, so can every horse.

My equine story starts with Natalia, a gorgeous grey Arabian mare of 11yrs, intermediately educated, and essentially every beginners dream under saddle. Like almost every Arab, she had some quirks, but once you were in the saddle she was a calm protector (most of the time). Natty taught me a lot in 3 years, including how much I loved the mare attitude (so much like my own) and how the right approach to riding can benefit both rider and horse. When we lost Natty to a sudden, severe illness, I felt like my world had imploded, but I made a promise to her and myself to keep helping horses and growing the gifts she gave me.

Next, was Pedro, an older schoolmaster Thoroughbred gelding. This beautiful, placid boy was just the right start after loosing my beloved girl, and taught me to focus on my seat and core as he had a tendency to stumble in our initial riding days. I also learnt a lot more as Katie helped me through instruction on how to correct these movements and biomechanical deficiencies. Pedro also taught me that no matter how placid a horse is, you shouldn't be complacent! I apparently am not as breakable as I thought as it only took 3 weeks to get over the bruised shoulder that was the result of my first adult fall - funny how that happens when you're heading one way and your horse is suddenly going the other direction!

Katie's number one rule of riding - keep the horse between you and the ground.

Custard came into my life when a friend suggested he needed someone to love him - yep, I'm a sucker. Custard had never had a horrible life, but he had never truly been loved either, being shuffled from one home to another several times in the previous few years. This had left Custard with some serious trust, separation anxiety and herd-bonding issues. It was on Custard I discovered how easily I could be unnerved when I didn't have the feeling of conversation - something that Custard had no idea existed as I could only assume he was always bullied into submission by his previous riders. It took a good 3 months to feel comfortable riding my boyo as he finally started to understand that it was ok if he physically couldn't do something, as long as he tried or 'spoke' to his rider, we would listen.

This week I also got the chance to ride another new horse Rabbit, a 7yr old Paint x. Riding Rabbit once taught me something Katie had trying to teach me for years - how opening my chest really impacts your riding for the better.

I could keep going on, but I don't want to bore you. The honest truth of the situation is that some of us have the opportunity to ride many horses, and the rest of us only have the one. So how can we benefit from the lessons of different horses?

• Try playing 'Pony Swap' - my best friend and I do so regularly with our lessons to keep ourselves, and our horses, fresh to new ideas and lessons

• Riding schools offer a large variety of horses with different personalities

• Take the opportunity to go on trail rides outside of your area with other horses

• Recognise your limitations with your riding, and make the effort to correct them - we can get a little 'lazy' with riding our own horses as we can anticipate their reactions. 

Riding different horses can challenge and grow you as a rider. If this simply isn't an option for you, challenge your riding and your horses development, and grow together.

Happy Trails!

Click here for more articles on rider development.

Some notes about horsemanship...

Some notes about how a relationship is strengthened and how a horse learns:

·       Always work from your heart

·        If you want to be part of their herd, they need to be part of your family

·       A relationship is defined by its hard times. How you guide your horse through difficult times will shape its behavior in difficult situations.

·       Don’t become emotionally engaged in an argument. Work through the frustration and find a resolution, instead of fighting.

·        Take the lead

·        Be consistent with establishing manners

·        Follow through

·        Develop your skills well enough that you trust in yourself around the horse.

·        The horse learns from the release of pressure, not the application.

·        Use your voice and use the same words and pitch for the same things. Horses can pick up on words the same way as dogs can.

·        Use positive reinforcement

·        Don’t be afraid to discipline your horse if it intentionally hurts you. Knowing how you will discipline is important and also what works for your horse. Finding the level of pressure best suited to your horse is key. You want to find the point just past ignorance, but before reactivity where I call responsivity. This sweet spot is different for every horse and rider combination.

·        Listen to how they respond to cues. Do they understand what you are expecting of them?

Attention + focus = connection

Connection is key. Not only do we need to learn how to keep our horses relaxed attention and focus on us but so do we have to keep our relaxed focus and attention on them. How many times have you gone down to the yard with the to do list, the shopping list, the conversation with your boss, the argument you had with a friend all jumbling around in your head only to come away feeling worse because you’ve had the worst training session?

If you join our free facebook group we have a free training in there on exactly what to do to start building a connection with your horse today!! What a great way to spend the holidays!

How to go from "Nervous Nelly" to Superhero Brave on that Frisky Horse

You now that feeling, right?

• The “butterflies ini the stomach” feeling…

• The “heart in the throat” feeling…

• The involuntary tightening of muscles preparing to react…

It is a feeling I have experienced SOOOO OFTEN. Let me tell you the story about how I figured out how to overcome it!

So recently I had the pleasure of riding a new horse, Boo.

After weeks of rain, sweet green grass growing in abundance, and cooling weather.

And he was fresh.

Immediately I became a nervous Nelly – tense in the saddle, fighting the urge to curl into the fetal position. Again. Fear not, he was in no way nasty.

He did not shy or rear, he wasn’t snorting and he certainly didn’t race off into the night with me desperately clinging to his back with the control of a sack of potatoes. But that night, Boo, a normally lazy (or so I’m told) Percheron x, was fresh. He was eager, alert, and his back was tense.

So why is it that, after years of riding, a new horse can set of a stream of emotions that result in butterflies and heart palpitations?

It comes down to the conversation.

See, while Boo was eager, attentive, head high and searching for any slight movement, there was no conversation in the reins. No connection between his thoughts and my own.

And it appears I have progressed to a level where I expect to have a two-way conversation with a horse whenever I sit in the saddle.

Oh, for the days of naivety!

When the conversation isn’t flowing back and forth, there is a risk that a dangerous event may occur that can hurt either the rider or the horse. And the conversation is a subtle experience – some people aren’t even aware of the fact that the horse they ride lacks the ability or confidence to speak to them! I certainly didn’t when I first began training with Katie.

The conversation first starts with listening. We as riders listen to our horse through multiple cues – the posture, the movement and the ‘feel’ of their emotions. Horses listen to us as riders via our posture, our tone and our aid.

In my case with Boo, I could feel that he wasn’t listening to me. His posture, his movement and even his emotions were attentively focused on everything else bar me. As far as Boo was concerned, I didn’t exist. This was a potentially dangerous situation, it was no wonder I was nervous!

Our warm up then consisted of firstly capturing Boo’s attention and helping him listen. This exercise is great any time you ride a horse you don’t know, don’t trust or even when your own horse is a little overexcited.

Turns.

This is a really simple exercise to undertake (in a safe environment of course) to reengage your horse’s mental composure and help them listen to aids. And it takes it back to the very basics – one of the first lessons we ever learn ourselves or teach our horses when they are first taught to be ridden.

What to do:

• Begin in a walk.

• Sit tall and confident in your seat, breathing deep (this will also help calm you)

• Position your hands at the standard riding position – slightly above the saddle, about the width of the neck apart.

• Without applying any other aids, lift and bring your right reign out, and encourage your horse to turn to the right. If your horse ignores the reign (doesn’t turn), make the aid louder (bring the reign out wider and towards your hip).

• When your horse turns right, immediately release the aid by bringing your reign back to the starting position, and at the same time, lift and bring your left reign out, to turn left.

• Repeat.

What we are trying to achieve here is how much your horse is listening to your via your reign aids. 

Don't worry about where you are walking in the arena (unless you are about to walk him into a wall), and disregard perfect serpentine's - this isn't the goal. Just focus on your horse responding to the reign. If he can listen to one reign alone, we can then apply both reigns together in a halt movement.

And there, we have a listening horse. Breathe, relax, praise and ride on.

In the case where your horse isn’t responding to those reign aids, it’s time to hop down and commit to some ground work first – this isn’t letting the nerves win, just a smart and safe training philosophy. 

Boo and I went on to have a lovely ride and I learnt a lot of new things from him - that is until a sudden storm came through and shortened our ride. Them's the breaks though!

Happy trails!

Sarah