Why should you teach your horse to back up?

Have you ever wondered why we teach our horses to back up? Besides the simple process of stepping backwards, that is?

Every exercise we do with our horse is designed for a purpose, and teaching our horses to back up is exceptionally important in their physical and mental development.

Establishing boundaries 

We can use the back up exercise to establish where we want our horses to stand in relation to our personal space, other riders or other horses. Consistency in our boundaries helps establish us as a leader to the horse.

Establishing confidence and trust

When we establish ourselves as a leader, we build our horses trust in us, and by continuing to show up as a leader we can instill confidence in our horse as well.

Address shoving issues

Have you ever worked with a horse that would happily run you over if it meant getting to its desired destination? The lack of manners, shoving and pushiness is highly dangerous and can potentially lead to someone becoming injured. The back up exercise reinforces boundaries and discipline, allowing you to tell the horse what you expect (and can help them become focused with a working brain).

Reduce spooking

To reduce spooking in our horse, it is essential to become their leader. If they do not respect us as their leader, they will attempt to resolve ‘scary’ situations on their own, and spook.

Developing the haunches

The back up exercise has the horse actively working their haunches – they can’t avoid it by dropping their shoulder or working on the forehand, because they physically cannot.

Have horse thinking backwards from nose and bit pressure

Backing up establishes backwards thought. As we gradually build on the exercise, from groundwork up to under the saddle, it becomes the basis of the training to:

• Consolidating our brakes and rein back under saddle

• Teaching the horse to transfer its weight off the forehand onto the haunches 

• Getting the horse thinking “squat” or flex the hocks in our half halts 

• To develop collection 

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Feeding Your Older Horse

Did you know that the nutritional requirements of horses change as they age?

Feeding horses over the age of 20 years can be more challenging than feeding young or middle-aged horses for reasons including increased in chronic diseases, decrease in body condition, and gradual wearing of their teeth. Here are a few things to know about feeding your older horses.

What is different?

Older horses differ from young or middle aged horses for the following reasons:

• They may have an increased protein catabolism (the breakdown of protein sources in the body including muscles and heart), and therefore require more protein to help offset the imbalance.

• They may have a decreased digestive efficiency in the hindgut, so they may not be able to fully digest their nutrients, and require easier to digest foods while still maintaining their fibre requirements

• They may have a poorer ability to digest phosphorous, which also impacts on their ability to utilise calcium effectively, and can lead to leeching of calcium from bones and teeth. Food should be supplemented with higher calcium and phosphorous to avoid this.

• They may have greater wear on their teeth due to age, resulting in poorer capability of chewing larger, drier fibre sources. Poor teeth can also reduce their saliva production through a decrease in chewing, which impacts on the digestibility of fibrous foods.

• They may have reduced mobility due to arthritis, which limits their grazing.

• They begin to lose body fat, which reduces their ability to keep warm during the winter, meaning their energy requirements become much higher.

• They are more likely to have or develop chronic diseases including Cushings, liver disease, EMS or melanomas, which complicate their nutritional requirements.

What can I do to help my older horse eat well?

• Consider using shorter stemmed fibrous feeds over hay, to help make it easier for the hind gut to digest.

• You may need to dampen chaff and lucernes, and other dry feeds, to make it easier to digest and provide moisture needed for digestion, which may be reduced with decreased saliva.

• Select feeds that have higher protein, such as extruded soybean meal (38%) or extruded micronized lupins or canola meal (32-33%). Copra and Lucerne hay may also work, with protein at 23% and 15-17% respectively.

• Look for feeds with higher calcium/phosphorous. There are specialised commercially prepared senior feeds available which cater for additional protein, calcium and phosphorous compared to feed designed for middle aged horses. You can also consider using a good quality breeder feed as well, as this also contains higher protein, calcium and phosphorous, and may be more economical as it tends to be produced in higher quantities than senior feeds.

• Increase their feed during winter considerably and monitor their body condition closely. You may need to implement rugs that are slightly warmer than those used for the younger horses, but monitor carefully and don’t go overboard, as you may risk heat stress.

• Consider adding supplements to support joint health and reduce pain, which can help them by improving their movement, and therefore grazing, when they are in the paddock.

• Regularly assess your horses’ dental healthy with a qualified dentist and review their feeding plan. Your dentist may be able to assist with recommendations based on your horses’ needs.

• Monitor your horse for any health changes and work with your vet regarding the best options for management, including nutrition.

What Is A Safe Horse?

Have you ever heard the term “bomb-proof horse”?

It sounds like the ideal beginner horse.

And I’m about to tell you why you don’t want one of these horses.

Looking at the horse sale adverts, you will often see these horses that are advertised as the ideal beginner’s horse, the “bomb-proof” pony. I can’t tell you the number of times I see these ads with pictures of the horse in various phases – a tarp thrown over them, flags near their head, or a pre-teen child standing on their back (I won’t go into my thoughts on that, either, but let’s just say it’s not pretty).

These horses seem to be the perfect horse because they are not reacting to the stimulus, the “scary” objects, and you can do just about anything with them.

But most of them aren’t perfect. Most of them have shut down.

Yep, that’s right. Most of these horses have been terrified with flapping tarps, plastic bags, waving sticks and flags, and have reached a point where they no longer cope. As a result, they will react in one of two ways:

·        They explode, become marked as dangerous, and often end up slaughtered

·        They shut down, completely disengage, and are therefore marked as “safe”

Unfortunately, these horses are just like the wild cat backed into the corner. Eventually, they ARE going to explode. And if we are lucky enough, we will get to sit up from the dirt, stare at the cloud of dust left behind as our horse becomes a small dot on the horizon, and ask “What the (insert expletive of choice) just happened?”

The big issue with these horses is they are forced to not react - until they can no longer NOT react, resulting in a massive overreaction to a seemingly small stimulus. They have no capability of processing, they have no capability of thinking, and they have never been shown how to look for support and direction from their rider.

I’m not big on the terminology of a safe horse, as every horse has the capability of reacting to every single person differently (personalities, training, confidence, attitude all come in to effect here for both horse and rider), but there is a way to make your horse safer.

To make your horse safer, you need to establish a working relationship, set yourself up as a leader, be consistent in your training and handling, make your horse curious, and always be mindful to condition your horse mentally AND physically.

Be prepared to put some time into your horse. This isn’t going to happen overnight. But the effort will be more than worth it.

Added bonus – you won’t look like an idiot chasing your horse around the arena with a plastic bag on a stick.

Looking to make your horse safer?

Our Training Trainability course takes you step-by-step through the process. Click here to access

4 Reasons You Horse Evades Your Aid

Have you ever wondered why your horse isn’t listening to your aid?

It is a common occurrence, and actually easy to recognise. In fact, there are only 4 reasons a horse is not doing as you ask:

1.      It doesn’t understand what you are asking

2.      It physically can’t do what you are asking

3.      It is trying to do what you are asking but not able to perform at 100%

4.      It is actively challenging you

1.     The horse doesn’t understand what you are asking

A horse that doesn’t understand what you want will be trying lots of different things in response to your ask. They may stumble across the correct answer occasionally, but they will keep trying different things if they didn’t pick up on that that was the correct answer - for example, if you missed your timing for the release of pressure. Even if they do figure out what the “correct answer” is they will still keep trying different things. This is because they learn differently. They learn by deciding which response they like best from you. This is also how we can accidentally teach the horse the wrong behaviour. 

For example if we are trying to teach our horse to walk on from halter pressure, their initial instinct would be to lift their head. Once they realise this doesn’t result in what they want they will try other behaviours. What happens if I paw or strike out? What happens if I rear? What happens if I lower my head? What happens if I step forward? If we release the pressure (what the horse wants) for the rear we are conditioning the horse to rear when pressure is applied to the halter. If we release the pressure only for the horse stepping forward, than the horse will decide if it likes that (the release of pressure) and then it will try the other things again to see if your responses are what it likes until it decides” ok I like the response I get when I step forward”. The horse will then keep choosing to step forward to pressure because that gets it what it wants.

In a nutshell, if your horse is trying lots of different things and occasionally gets it right, it doesn’t understand what you want and you have to think outside the box of how best to communicate it.

2.     The horse can’t physically do what we ask

We see this when we start asking more of our horse. It is trying but not succeeding and they often get frustrated with themselves. This could be when we ask them to walk off for the first time under saddle, when we ask them for the first time through poles or jumps and when we introduce increased expectation and exercises of them.

Here we need to reward the horse when they attempt to do as we ask, and allow time for the proper build up of condition and understanding. The rule of three (repeat the exercise 3 times then move onto something they really understand) is essential here.

Also consider if your horse has had a spell and is being brought back into work, we have to adjust our expectations, and if they have been over worked they may need a spell.

3.     The horse can do what you want but not to the level of quality you want.

Your horse is trying and understanding what you are asking of it but you have repeated the exercise more than 3 times and it’s not as good as you wanted. We will go more into this in getting 100% from your horse. But if you have got it by the third ask your horse will slowly become more mentally and physically fatigued and go sour on the aid and stop trying. So lower your expectations and working on the conditioning exercises a step below what you are trying to get.

4.     Your horse is actively challenging you.

As we spoke about earlier your horse will always instinctively challenge you - no matter how well trained they become and how well established your relationship is. It is in their best interest to always be checking in and assuring themselves that you are still ‘the best man for the job’ when it comes to that leadership role. In fact the more confidence you instil in your horse, the more they will challenge your leadership role because you are developing the exact skills in them that they need to be a good leader. 

In a nutshell, if your horse is actively challenging you they are generally choosing to do the opposite of what you ask. You ask them to stop? They go. You ask them to go? They stop. You ask them to go right they go left. They know what you want well enough to know what they opposite is, they can do the opposite of what you are asking to be able to do what you’re asking. 

A lot of trainers will say you have to push them through it and make them do it! I find that this is not the best advice because your horse generally challenges you in an exercise that you are finding hard and not doing confidently. My advice is you have to revisit discipline by doing an exercise that you are confident in and finish your training on a win where you are back in that leadership role - even if you have to get off the horse. 

Oh my god did I just say you are allowed to get off the horse when it isn’t doing as it’s told?!? 

Yes - as an instructor for lots of beginners and green horse and riders it is far better when you lose your horses confidence in your leadership skills to finish on a good note where you can re-establish your boundaries for their behaviour and get yourself back in that leadership role than push your horse in an exercise that you are not comfortable or confident with and have to hold on to the ratty behaviour your horse will give you when challenging you. I always prefer my horses to not even think that bucking, rearing, bolting, biting or kicking is an option than riding through it. I have been that person that has ridden through but for the safety of everyone involved and for the optimal conditioning of our horses behaviour I believe discipline and good behaviour is best established in an exercise the trainer is comfortable and confident with executing. 

Are you struggling with your horse evading? Perhaps it is time to work on re-establishing your leadership.

EMERGENCY! What To Do In Case Of Flooding

What is your flood plan?

Floods are one of the more common natural disasters faced by horse owners. It is estimated that the chance of flooding in flood-plain regions, where a lot of paddocks are, is approximately 1% per year – or 30% chance for the average mortgage time-frame.

Forward planning can greatly reduce the likelihood of emergency evacuation, injury, illness or death of your horse.

There are 2 types of flooding that can occur:

Slow-rising floods: generally occur when a river or water source rises slowly, generally fed from upstream, and can be predicted to reach a certain level

Flash-flooding: occur suddenly when there is a large deluge of rain, melting of icecaps, or the breaking of a dam wall or levee. It is harder to predict the level the flood will rise to as there is little time for calculations or to get alerts out.

Here is a list of actions to consider for your emergency plan:

• Prepare your emergency plan in advance

• Become familiar with the area, including locations or rivers, creeks, drainage and flooding areas

• Have an evacuation plan – whether it’s high ground paddocks, a friends paddock, or the local pony club grounds

• Plan to be self-reliant for approximately 3 days – both with your and horses feed, in case you are both cut off from access to services

• Have your emergency kit prepared

• Have your horses well documented, including markings and brand, for identification purposes

• Consider ways to identify your horse should they escape their safe region or washed away in water, including id tags braided into manes or on head collars, or telephone numbers written with Niko on hoofs, or safe body paint (more likely to show on greys or pale markings).

• Have an emergency stash of feed and water kept in your float or truck – feed will often be depleted quickly at evacuation centres

• Ensure your horse is well trained to be floated so if flood strikes the evacuation is less stressful

• If you have to evacuate and leave your horse behind, ensure they are not confined in stables or small yards and have an easy escape route. Horses can swim and can tolerate water up to the belly for periods of time. Leave feed accessible above the ground for the time period you may have to leave.

What is your emergency plan in case of flood? Comment below!

7 Ways You Can Destroy Your Relationship With Your Horse

1. All work and no plays makes Jack a dull boy

Hopefully, we will not be witnessing another event like that in The Shining, but it is an accurate statement nonetheless.

If all we do with our horse is the basic care routine and work, we miss the opportunities to create bonds based on affection. In affect, we become boring, with our horses become bored with our routine,- to the point they may try to avoid it altogether.

2. Allowing your horse to set the rules

A horse that has to step up as the alpha when they are with us results in the loss of respect for us. Politely reinforcing discipline through our activities will allow us to identify and settle leadership challenges.

3. Not releasing the pressure

Have you ever had someone keep pushing and pushing and pushing til you want to scream “enough”? Our horses learn to seek release from our aids (pressure), but get easily confused and frustrated when we don’t apply the release correctly or at all.

4. Hurting, bullying or scaring our horse

It may seem logical, but it is still done these days. A horse will not bond with you and become your willing work partner if you hurt it or chase it around the yard with a flag on a stick. They may eventually learn to obey you, but they never become your partner, only your tool. These types of horses may become dangerous and eventually euthanased.

5. Letting them deal with their own emotional crisis

In this case, we are talking about sudden causes of anxiety, not social interactions.

When your horse is faced with something terrifying, and we step up as the leader to show them how to work through those emotions, we take the opportunity to prove ourselves to our horse. If we leave it to our horses how best to figure it out, well, most of the time they way they deal isn’t the way we want them to.

6. Pushing the pace too fast - or too slow

Our horses are all uniquely different, in shape, size, colour but also personality and learning capabilities. This means that we cannot expect our horses to all grow and develop in the same way.

When we force our horses to try to learn something new too fast, we create stress and anxiety that is not conducive to stabilising our relationship. If we go to slow, we may create frustrations. It is key that we adjust our training pace and activities to each of our horses development.

7. Neglecting to properly fit tack or address pain issues

Pain is an unpleasant experience that many of our horses experience at one time or another. When we are the cause of that pain, either via using poorly fitted tack, or working their body incorrectly, or even working them when they have a brewing hoof abscess, our horses begin to associate us with the pain - and believe me, that is not a positive bonding thought.

Do you need support with your relationship?

From Abandoned To Forever Home: Story Of A Rescue Horse

Custard and his beautiful paddock mate

Sometimes I have to wonder on the life of horses.

So many of our horses have unknown histories, suffering anything from a simple lack of love to cruelty beyond imagining. Sometimes this is intentional (#$%@) and sometimes, not so much.

I wanted to take the chance to share with you the story of my boy, Custard.

Custard, who at this stage was a more mature horse (around 17 or 18 years) had been agisted in a friends paddock for many years before he became mine. Very little was known of his history apart from that he was a trail riding horse. As can happen, when he was no longer needed by his former owners, he was offered up for sale, but through no fault of his own, would end up returning to them again.

It was the final straw for my friend when he was offered up as a ‘free to good home’ horse.

“You know what happens to those horses,” she said to me, “I can’t bear to see that happen to him.”

And so Custard became a part of her herd. That single statement changed his life.

Firstly, he started to thrive on an established routine, which included regular feeding, treats and bonding with a paddock mate. However, he still remained ‘distant’ from human interaction - he would accept interaction that he had to endure but would quickly and quietly move on once completed.

Just over a year ago, this same friend allowed me the opportunity to start working with Custard. Boy, did we have a lot to work on, and a lot to work with.

It’s taken a lot of effort and a fair amount of time, but Custard has progressed from a timid, stressed horse that was disinterested in people, struggling with a lack of confidence when he was separated from his paddock mate, to becoming a loving, affectionate and confident horse that tries to help his rider out - even when she isn’t performing at her best.

It took giving him a voice, establishing a bond and a lot of love and attention (plus a fair number of treats and massages) for me to get that very first welcome whinny that makes it all worth the effort. He has become my peace and I have become his human. Custard has his forever home.

Do you have a rescue story? Share it in the comments below!

How To Identify If Your Relationship With Your Horse Needs Improving

You love your horse. right?

We know you do - it is why we are here, too!

But does your horse love & respect you back?

It may seem a fickle question, but it is one that we should ask.

Our relationship with our horse has a massive impact on our training. And our training has a massive impact on our relationship. Every form of interaction determines what you can expect from your horse in turn.

So, what are the signs you should be looking for that indicate you need to work on your relationship with your horse?

You are regularly frustrated with your horse - or yourself

You try your best, your work yourself and your horse hard, but you just don’t seem to be getting anywhere. Yep, you are feeling the very beginnings of frustration.

Unfortunately, frustration can lead to feelings of irritation, distance or just a lack of appreciation. And don’t think for a moment that your horse isn’t feeling those emotions from you.

If you are getting frustrated or irritated, it is time to step back and focus on the real reason you are here - to love and be loved by that majestic beast in your paddock.

Your horse is “pushy”

Is you horse disrespectful of your personal space? Do they almost step on you when you lead them, or mow you down when you let them out?

Or perhaps they are becoming aggressive and pushy at feed time, knowing that you will hand them their food immediately should they push.

A horse that is not respecting your boundaries may be testing you, but if you are seeing this happen frequently, it’s time to get your horse focusing on respecting you.

Your horse spooks - a lot

It can be scary, frustrating or just plain irritating when our horse regularly spooks. But it is our responsibility, as the leader of your horse-y group, to ensure your horse is confident, relaxed and curious. If you horse is spooking, it is unlikely that it is feeling any of those moods, and means you need to work on your relationship foundations.

You only see your horse at feed-time and for work

Imagine this: You get to see your significant other/best friend/favourite sibling every day for dinner but the only thing you get to do discuss is a business meeting. No “what are we doing this weekend”, “how was your day” or “where shall we take our next holiday”. Just budgets, margin, profits or sales.

It might be ok for a day or two, but would get pretty stale in a short time.

It is exactly the same for our horses when we do nothing more besides work them or feed them. They quickly associate their activity with us with either feeding (YAY!) or work (not always so yay). After a while, they will even get to know your routine, and may start taking diversionary tactics to avoid less ‘pleasant’ time with us.

You’re not ‘in the moment’ with your horse

If you find yourself going through a mental checklist of to-do’s, or constantly worrying about something else, when you are spending time with your horse, chances are you need to refocus on your relationship.

We understand that life is busy and full of stresses, but when you focus on anything but your horse, you are not helping your bond. Unfortunately, our horses can pick up on these sentiments as well, which may exasperate the rift in your bond as well.

So how can we improve or tweak our relationship with our horse? Have a look at this free online course Building Connection

How The Herd Changes Your Relationship With Your Horse

Have you ever experienced a change with your horse simply because something has changed in the paddock social circle?

And did it affect your horses behaviour?

Some may say that what happens in the paddock should have no impact on your working relationship with your horse. Some may say that when a horse is in tack, his mind should be in the game.

And to some extent, it’s true.

However, when we don’t take the time to ensure our relationship has ourselves set up as your horses alpha, any changes that happen to the herd will impact your working relationship and your horses confidence levels - sometimes with seriously damaging results.

Understanding how your horse works within your herd structure, the importance of the herd structure, and how you can fit in, will go a long way to improving your relationship with your horse, and result in a stronger, unflappable bond where your horse can look to you for guidance.

The Herd

Have you ever taken time to watch what is happening in a herd? You may have noticed there is a bit of a pecking order, with the lead being taken by the Alpha. Generally, the Alpha is a dominant mare, although in our paddocks filled with geldings, some more of the ‘stallion-minded’ geldings may take the head spot.

It is the role of the Alpha to determine where they will graze, where they will water, and when they need to bolt. The Alpha will be on guard and watchful as the rest of the herd graze or relax.

It is no wonder then, when there are changes to this structure, that the confidence of our horses can change. Some may be thrust into a role that they are not ready for (either because of age, genetics or lack of social skills), and others may come into a herd with limited understanding of how one works (again, due to isolation or lack of teaching from other horses).

The end result could be a horse, previously exceptionally well-behaved (or at least mostly), becoming ‘grumpy’, ‘spooky’, ‘testing boundaries’, or even outright ‘rebelling’. It is the simple attempt of your horse to understand the new behaviours now expected.

This is why it is important for us to step up and become the Human Alpha within the herd.

Start showing up as a leader by taking steps to strengthen your bond with your horse - click to access the free guide

The Human Alpha

I promise you, I don’t mean for you to spend months camped outside, pretending to eat grass and boss around your horse.

Again, when we look at the herd, it is the Alpha that sets the pace. The Alpha is confident, relaxed, and rarely triggered by their environment. When the Alpha is calm, the rest of the horses are safe. When the Alpha runs, the herd knows it’s time to put some speed on (sure, some horses lower in the pecking order may mess around or bolt when the Alpha is relaxed, but you will notice that the herd itself does not react).

The Human Alpha is simply a process of setting yourself up to be the calm, confident and relaxed leader that your horse knows to look to when he is with you.

By setting yourself up as the leader, you can begin to establish (or re-establish) your horses confidence, and regain the working brain.

How a horse learns (and the real use of pressure)

We are, as humans, inherently creatures of comfort. We actively seek the easiest and the most comfortable route, particularly during a  learning process. Horses are no different to us in their learning process.

A common problem heard from my students is "my horse wont (stop/go/canter/back up). This could be a result of many reasons with the same underlying cause - the horse either has not learnt how to do the task properly or has learnt how to evade the task without being corrected.

So how can we rectify this?

Horses learn from the release of pressure not the application of pressure. Why? Because pressure is uncomfortable and they are seeking relief from this discomfort.

The horse doesn't learn to go because you kick; it learns to go because you stop kicking when it goes.

The horse doesn't learn to stop because you pull the reins; it learns to stop because you stop pulling when it stops.

This principle, applied consistently, not only teaches effective communication in a way that a horse understands what you are expecting of them when you use an aid but also helps them to process the stimulus that is your aid or cue. In this way you can work with your horse to help it understand what you want.

What is you horses motivation for its behaviour? In most instances the main thing that motivates a horse is to be hanging out with its mates eating grass in the paddock. So use that. If your horse is evading an aid because it finds it uncomfortable use that to encourage the horse to do what you are asking to find the comfort. This is how you teach a horse to process a stimulus and work with you instead of against you. 

In understanding this vital aspect of training we can understand what is required by us to develop communication.

1.      Know what you are trying to get the horse to do. So many times I have students that haven't made a conscious decision on what they are trying to achieve. They are just riding or working with the horse and they work instinctively and off reflex. This is not necessarily a bad thing but this lack of self awareness means they are not always describing what they want properly and so they don't get the results from the horse. Each time you are asking something of your horse make sure you have made a conscious decision on what the end result of the cue should be.

2.      Break the big goal down into mini achievable goals. There are a lot of little things that go into the end result. For example you may think that mounting is just jumping on the horse but there is a lot that can go wrong between you getting ready to mount and you actually being in the saddle. You first want your horse to stand still, you then want your horse to stand still while you put your foot in the stirrup, you then want the horse to stand still while you stand in the stirrup and lastly you want the horse to stand still while you sit in the saddle. So there is actually 4 steps here and to figure that out you had to know what you are trying to get the horse to do. You wanted it to stand still while you mount. By just working on one step at a time, you can safely train your horse to stand up to be mounted, or safely mount an unknown horse. If there is going to be a problem you can be confident it will happen before you are in a vulnerable position, half in and half out of the saddle. 

3.      Decide what pressure or discomfort you are going to apply to communicate what you are trying to achieve. Once you have decided what you want and how to get there you need to decide what is the discomfort that you are creating that the horse is going to try and evade. So in the above example the discomfort is the standing still and the mounting. The pressure is the pressure applied to the bit to ask the horse to stand still and the pressure of you mounting. 

4.      Know what you will release the pressure for. Now you know what you want to achieve, the steps that will get you there and what your horse will be trying to evade. This will help you decide what you will release pressure for. So as in the above example the quality is to stand still, the pressure is the rein aid as a cue but also you mounting. So with each progression you want to release the pressure for the horse standing still. You want to take away the pressure of you trying to mount and the pressure to ask them to stand still with each step that they stand still for. This also gives them a bit of say in what is going on and you can read that, rather than them bottling it up and just coping until the reach the point of no longer coping and they explode. Each step along the way you are showing the what to expect and you are showing them what they can expect from you without feeling fearful and threatened. 

5.      Apply the pressure, follow through with consistency on the aid until you get your quality and then release. Your horse isn't always going to react the way that you want it to. The first few times of asking it to do something it doesn't necessarily want to do, it will react instinctively, this is where you may need experienced help because if you release the pressure for the incorrect behaviour you are teaching them do to that. For example, if I wanted to teach a horse to mount and when I stood in the stirrup the horse started bucking and I got a fright and jumped off, I would be teaching it to buck when I stood in the stirrup. I am releasing the pressure for a behaviour I really don't want and in doing so encouraging the behaviour. The horse has learnt that I stop trying to mount it when it starts bucking and I have created a whole lot bigger of an issue to deal with. This is where the groundwork leading up to this point needs to be solid so that the horse processes stimulus not reacts to it. 

6.      Timing is key. As we were saying above timing is crucial. You need to release the pressure for the correct behaviour as soon as the horse considers it to encourage them to seek that release of pressure. You have to maintain pressure through all the responses you didn't want so that you are not teaching them how to get out of it. If there is no release of pressure there is no reason for the horse to do what you are asking of it. 

Are you using pressure and release correctly? Or are you struggling with a particular area? Comment below - we'd love to hear from you!

 

See more tips about horse training here

9 Things No One Tells You About Owning A Horse

Owning a horse is amazing. The intimate bond of horse and human, the ability to ride whenever you like, a place to escape to when home or work is too much... right? 

Honestly, it is amazing. But there is a side to horse ownership that no one truly discusses. Here is a list of what we think most horse owners are experiencing but not sharing:

1) People will call you a crazy horse person

But seriously, who cares? If a person can't at least respect your personal preference for your 4 legged friend, well let's just say that's exactly why we prefer them!

2) You will get asked if other people can ride you horse. A lot.

"Oh, you have a horse? Can my cousin's best friend's son's girlfriend's half sibling ride it?" It's amazing how many people come out of the woodwork.

3) Insects are a part of life.

Equestrian life is not one for those that suffer Entomophobia or Arachnophobia.

4) You will constantly check the weather.

Can I ride after work? Which rug am I using tonight? It will become an obsession.

5) Baling twine. The next WD-40.

Seriously. It fixes everything. Fences, rugs, even broken bridles. If you don't have baling twine in your pocket, can you really say you own a horse?

Either get my bailing twine or label this the latest in fall fashion...

6) You will become an expert at fence repairing and rug repairing.

Why did my high school have to make me choose between home economics and woodworking?

7) Your horse will have better and more expensive 'clothes' than you... and you wont care.

Well, I do need a different saddle for each discipline, plus more rugs and saddle cloths than one horse can handle. Plus, blingy brow bands - how can you pass them by?

8) Sheath cleaning, Udder cleaning and Beans

Seriously didn't even know this stuff existed til I had a horse. These are the true reason we have latex gloves in the first aid kit. And if you need help, there are heaps of youtube videos available (yes, I checked).

9) You will wish you were taller on many occasions.

"Hi Mum - wait, is that a worming paste? Let me show you my impression of a giraffe!" Ring any bells?

Did we miss any? Tell us below!

Is Walking Boring? (7 Reasons To Reconsider)

When did riding at a walking become boring?

Many non-equestrians imagine horse riding to be all about chasing cows, jumping logs and galloping up gloriously green hills towards the sunset. Many equestrians love the idea also, whether they are ready to ride at that level or just dream of the day. It’s the thrilling of the horse exerting powerful bouts of energy under you, the feel of the wind across your face, the sensation of working together.

Considering that, it can be easy to see why riding at a walking pace is less ‘fun’ in some peoples eyes. Here are 7 reasons why walking is better than galloping:

1. Your horse can maintain a walk for longer

Imagine you have to carry a 15kg brick strapped to your back. Now imagine running with it for 20 minutes. If you are anything like me, you would have dropped that brick or dropped the run within 2 minutes.

This is exactly what our horses face. It takes more energy to run, so our horses can maintain more exercise at a walking pace, and this will help build their fitness and tolerance to exercise.

2. It is easier to learn at a walk

Funny story: I discovered I could write on a clipboard while walking around. So I immediately assumed I could do some work on the treadmill. Three almost-falls later, I decided it was one of the stupidest ideas I’d had - ever.

It is harder to do ANYTHING at a faster pace, until you have it well established at the walk. This goes for our horses and ourselves. As a rider is developing new skills, it is next to impossible to start that skill at a trot, canter or gallop, and much easier in a walk (unless we have an amazing horse that has been schooled to know which buttons we are trying to push, has enough insight to guess what we are trying to tell them, and is enthusiastic enough about work not to try to pull one over us - and how many of us can say we have that horse?).

3. Walking is safer to ride in mixed groups

It is a great lot of fun to spend time riding with other equine enthusiasts. But not all riders, nor or horses, develop equally.

In any group ride that I have ever been in, there always seems to be a mix of green riders, green horses, experienced riders, experienced horses, nervous riders, nervous horses, riders that have never left the arena, horses that are on their first trial ride, horses dealing with herd bonding issues, or people that have never ridden.

It literally meant that some horses and some riders where not suited to going faster than a walk, and the more experienced horses and riders are better suited to be in charge - which means not galloping off into the sunset.

4. We can begin redeveloping our horse at a walking pace

The training scale, and the way our horses learn and develop, insists that we spend more time learning and strengthening exercises in a walk. A green horse, or a horse that is being redeveloped, will find all the aids applied confusing or frustrating if they are not first well established at lower paces. It is why the training scale spends so much time on groundwork, then walk, then trot, before canter.

Interested in learning how to use the training scale to develop your horse? Register for our online training course Green to Self Carriage here.

5. More leisure time with your horse

I don’t know about you, but if I can personally spend more time on a ride with more horse, the more I love it!

Simply put, a bit of walking, which can be intermittently broken up with a few trots and canters, is a much more leisurely way to ride than a ride that is full of a faster pace - which will only get me to my end destination much quicker anyway!

6. We can help avoid soundness issues

When our horses lack development at any stage in the walk, they cannot progress with it in the trot or canter. If we try to push it, we can end up damaging our horses, either physically, mentally or emotionally.

7. Our horses will thank us for it

When we give our horses a chance to learn, let them spend some more relaxing time with them, not force them to always work harder and avoid injuring them, I can guarantee your horse will love you more.

What do you say? Comment below if you have another reason that walking is better than galloping!

How Impostor Syndrome Impacts Your Riding

Are you an impostor in the saddle?

Impostor syndrome is defined as a concept describing individuals who are marked by an inability to internalise their accomplishments and have a persistent fear of being exposed as a “fraud”. It reflects a belief that you are inadequate, incompetent and a failure despite the evidence that indicates you are quite skilled and successful. Are you reading this now and thinking this isn’t about me because I’m not skilled and successful rider? That could be your impostor syndrome talking!

The horse riding industry can be a fickle foe. For every little win we have there are plenty of peers to tell us “we still aren’t there yet”, “you still haven’t got it”, “you still aren’t good enough”. In fact, this has happened for one of my students recently that every time she went out to have a go at associate, social competition level, a reputable instructor would sneer and make snide comments about her and tell her “she’s just not there yet”. This is enough to make anyone doubt their skills, and make them feel like they aren’t good enough and they shouldn’t be out even trying.

But its not just my novice riders looking to have a go at competitions, it’s also my beautiful weekend warriors that have just always wanted their own horse but between juggling their jobs and their children’s social engagements and family time they may only have time to ride once a week. So often I hear “my horse would be better if it had a different rider”, “maybe I should sell my horse because I can’t take them to their full potential”, “my horse deserves someone better than me”. The fact that you care enough to think this about your horse and you feel guilty that you can’t spend more time with it proves you are perfect for your horse and they are in a loving and caring home.

Impostor syndrome shows up when we want to progress. We want to reach out further to develop ourselves as a rider. We want to be more engaged in our riding community. When we try but oh dear what if we fail? When we show up but oh dear what will others think? When we work solidly towards a goal but oh dear we’ve been working on this for months now what if I don’t get any better and all this effort was a waste and was for nothing? When we set ourselves goals but oh dear what if we aren’t good enough?

Perfectionism

Impostor syndrome and perfectionism go hand in hand. How many times have you baulked out of a competition or a trail ride because you just don’t quite have things right or your last ride didn’t go as well as you wanted it to? Have you set yourself high goals and then as you start working towards them experience major self doubt, told yourself you can’t do it, you aren’t good enough and given up? Maybe only temporarily because its something you really desperately want but then the next time you try you get stuck at the same place and it only seems to confirm that you actually can’t do it? This could be your impostor syndrome, getting in your way.

In your personal life you may also believe that if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. You may also have difficulty delegating tasks and feel frustrated and disappointed with the results when you do. You may feel like your work has to be 100% perfect, 100% of the time. You run the risk of being burnt out because you are always micromanaging your life and the lives of those around you.

Success is rarely satisfying because once you’ve ticked off a task or achievement you are already onto your next. Even when you give it your best and do a great job you still feel like you aren’t good enough and you could’ve done a better job.

Your life lesson from the horses mouth:

-        There never is a perfect time and your work will never not be critiqued and criticised.

-        Accept that to learn is to make mistakes.

-        Take action before you feel ready

-        When you feel yourself hesitating and bringing up excuses about why things aren’t coming together perfectly for you take action

-        Embrace chaos

-        When you feel you aren’t good enough ask for help from other professionals and peers

-        Celebrate little wins like not falling off, actually going to that competition you were terrified to participate in, your horse stood still long enough to groom it and then remember to reflect back and see how far you have come together.

It is my belief that a lot of horse riders are this personality type because if you weren’t you would have given up long ago. I also believe that horse riding offers this kind of personality solace to relax and be themselves around someone they trust. It’s such a double edge sword because they have goals they want to achieve with their horse but then those goals interfere with the reason why they got into horse riding in the first place.

Intimidation from your peers

Do you feel like when you engage in your social events and are riding with others you are scared they will find out your secret? That you actually aren’t as good a horsewoman as you want to be? You have been riding your whole life and you know a dang lot about horse husbandry and riding but maybe you didn’t always have structured lessons. Maybe you have a good working relationship with your horse because you know how to put the work in but just not quite kicking those goals you were hoping to achieve. Maybe you avoid going to those competitions and events because you know you and your horse aren’t going to show up as you would like. Maybe you are going to lots of different training’s and clinics because you feel like you need to improve your skills to succeed? Even though you’ve been doing it for a long time you still feel like you don’t know enough.

Seeking out more training can actually be a form of procrastination. What you are missing here is your fundamental understandings. You know what works for you and your horse but little pieces of information are missing for creating the whole picture. This was a very important lesson for me when I first started learning to be an instructor at a riding school. I had achieved a lot with my riding career and gone far with my horse in the junior competitions. I had always had a lot of support and my mum ensured I had 2 lessons a week for most of my riding life and would compete every weekend. My horse and I were a mad team. However, when I started riding the different horses at the riding school I noticed that some of the things that worked for my horse didn’t work for them. Over time I noticed that these had to do with the level of education of the horse and their personality type and conformation. So there are certain things that translate well across all horses but then the individual requirements of the horses would differ slightly.

Life lessons from the horses mouth:

-        Go back to your foundations, look for the gaps in you and your horses understanding and development.

-        Push forward but ask why certain things aren’t working without blaming the horse

-        Get support from someone outside of your relationship with your horse to clearly see where those gaps are

-        Spend time on the “easy, boring” tasks because the key is in refining what you are already doing to be able to achieve new movements. The number of people I see trying to push up the training scale that don’t have a good halt even. That’s where you start

-        Figure out what you believe in, what your moralistic fibers are so that when you experiment with other peoples training techniques you can use what works for you and discard the rest rather than trying to integrate everything they do.

This is the key to success as a rider. To understand who you are as a rider and integrate other riders tips that suit your personality and your horse and rider combination. To achieve  this you have to truly know and ACCEPT yourself. If there is a part of your riding that you don’t like how can you shape that into your strength? How can you make that what sets you apart from other riders? Truly finding acceptance for who you are as a rider, where your strengths lie and love for your ability while understanding there is always room to learn more and grow is what makes you a good horse rider.

Internal validation and positive affirmations.

Our self talk has a huge impact in what we are capable of. We can talk ourselves out of putting in the work if we are constantly sometimes not even consciously saying to ourselves “I can’t do this”, “this is too hard”, “why do I bother”, “we aren’t good enough”. Especially as adults we don’t often have our sideline cheerleaders saying come on you got this and when we do its often our husband or parents and we think oh what do they know, they have to say that whether its true or not. We have to become our on cheerleaders. We have to become conscious of our self talk and feel into the fear to come out the other side. A lot of time the one thing that is holding you back from your dreams is the way you talk to yourself. Are you positive about your efforts and your achievements so far? Or when you reflect on your efforts does it bring up negative feelings and make you feel bad about yourself? Feeling bad about your efforts is your impostor syndrome showing up and is a sure fire way to give up.

Is Your Horse Coping With Your Training?

The way we train our horse has a massive influence in how successful that horse is going to be - not just in competition, but also in general riding, future life, and the bonding with its rider. To understand this, we must understand how the horse adapts to changes in its environment.

Adapting

Horse movement and behaviour is dynamic in essence. What we get one day will be different to the next. However we generally see the full scope of the horse’s tricks within the first 12 months. Each mood or behavioural trait we experience is an expression of the horse’s personality. Our goal is to channel the horse’s physical, mental and emotional energy positively toward progress.

This can be emotionally exhausting for the rider (and trainer). Eventually, though, the horse runs out of new tricks and we end up revisiting the same issues. Sometimes this makes it feel like we are going backwards but it’s not necessarily a bad thing. We have learnt how to resolve this issue before, so we can work through it again. Each time we work through a problem we get through it a little quicker and a little easier until all that is needed is just a finest of tuning.

Mentally

What we think our horse understands and what the horse actually understands is not always the same thing. In training, riding and teaching I use a training scale of exercises to ensure the horse understands each individual aid and then different combinations of the aids.

It’s akin introducing the alphabet to a child. They may pretend they understand it when it is first learnt but things get harder when you then have to put that alphabet into words and the words into sentences and the sentences into stories. Sometimes we have to go back and consolidate their understanding of the alphabet. 

The horse’s learning curve is very similar to a child’s. Initially when you introduce a new exercise or aid they are very keen to learn and they try hard. This, however, may only last 2 or 3 times practising the introduced exercise before they understand what is expected of them. We then enter the testing phase. The horse knows exactly what is expected of it and is now trying to figure out every way it can possible think of to not do as he or she is asked.

This is generally where most people come unstuck, once a horse knows how to get out of work it becomes a battle of the wills to get them to cooperate again.

And finally, Acceptance. Generally one the other side of a great huff or snort, the horse has accepted that it just has to do as it is asked and will start trying.

This is where we should stop and reward them for trying even if it’s not at the standard we had hoped. If we encourage a horse to always be trying it will be giving us 100% - if we push for more we start creating our own problems. 

Emotionally

A horse that is not in control of its emotions cannot control its behaviour. Showing a horse how to work through his or her own emotions is important for a controlled, focused and attentive horse. We need to teach the horse how to breathe...

Sound strange?

Horses are such intuitive and emotional animals. They feed off the energy around them, whether it be coming from their environment, other horses, their riders, trainers or carers. The energetic stability of those around them is what enables a horse to cope, trust and respect others.

Every horse I compete knows how to breathe with me. It is essentially the art of dancing. At the start of each test at our halt salute, I take a deep breath and my horse will take a deep breath so they can focus and give 100% without emotional tension. This also allows for maximum fluidity and suppleness throughout the test. 

Our riding must be designed in a way that is fluid and dynamic, just like the horses ability to adapt, for us to succeed. Mental, emotional and physical components all play a part (read about the physical adaptation here).

Riding Posture - a Quick Tip That May Help

What is your riding posture like?

Anyone who has ridden for a long time will probably say their posture is pretty good, especially if you training at a more advanced level.

But over time our posture can become a little lazy - and this is especially true if we have become riders as adults or taken a long break before returning. This happens for a number of reasons, such as being less focused on it, protecting pain, or just returning to a learned memory.

A good riding posture can sometimes be hard to feel. We are told to keep the line from shoulders/ hip/ ankle straight - which makes you stiff. We are told we need loose hips, which can disengage our core. We need to have soft hands, which makes our shoulders move forward.

A good riding posture is complex but once achieved, has an amazing benefit to our riding - and our horse!

I have been having a lot of trouble sitting back in the saddle - a combination of bad back, habit and desire to keep my hands soft. My elbows were stiff, my shoulders stiff, and although my hips were nice and loose (or so I thought), I still sat too forward. Katie recently prefaced an idea to me that made total sense and made a huge difference to my posture.

3 Weeks to Improve Your Riding

$19.00

Imagine your collar bones as an oval around your shoulders. Now, position that oval over the top of your hips.

Instant change. My shoulders loosened and could move independently of the other, my elbows released, and I was sitting more upright and deeper into the saddle. Custard loved it too - he instantly began responding to softer, less exaggerated reign movements because the slightest change to my body was already cluing him to my next desired action - instead of the thousand mixed messages he was probably receiving up until then, the poor blighter!

So try it yourself- see if it makes a difference to your riding and your horse!

Or check out our e-course, where Katie goes more in-depth about the correct exercises to improve your seat and core!

18 Plants Toxic to Horses

Do you know what plants are growing in your paddock?

Do you know which ones could potentially kill your horse?

There are many poisonous weeds in Australia (and around the world) that are responsible for serious illness and death in horses. Thankfully, these plants are generally not eaten by our equine friends, but in paddocks that are overgrazed, or in drought periods, when feed is low and poor, the likelihood of ingestion of these plants becomes higher.

It is therefore imperative, as horse owners, to be able to identify, control, and remove these weeds, as well as identify the signs of toxicity from ingestion.

Common symptoms of plant toxicity include:

• Reduced appetite

• Depression

• Weakness and lethargy

• Nervous symptoms

• Colic or diarrhoea

• Increased heart rate and breathing rate

• Muscle tremors

• Staggering or lack of coordination

• Head jerking

• Blindness

• Jaundice

• Death

If you suspect your horse has ingested toxic plant materials, contact your veterinarian immediately.

Below are images of the 18 common plants in Australia that cause toxicity in horses. You can get more information and a full guide at www.rirdc.gov.au

Bathurst Burr

Fireweed

Grain Sorghum

Kikuyu

Oleander

Ragwort

Bracken Weed

Flatweed

Heliotrope

Lupins

Paspalum

Perennial Ryegrass

Couch grass

Dandelion

Johnson Grass

Noogoora Burr

Paterson’s Curse

St Barnaby’s Thistle

Could a Vaccine be the Answer for Itch?

Up to 60% of horses in Australia suffer with insect-bite hypersensitivity, according to Kentucky Equine Research.

Yet we still lack a complete answer to this problem.

Horses with insect-bite hypersensitivity often present with signs including hair loss, thickening of the skin, weeping skin and ulceration of the skin, as a result of an over-reaction of the immune response. Infections may occur as a secondary result of the scratching and biting of those inflamed areas.

Could we finally have an answer to insect-bite dermatitis?

Research has been conducted to see if a special type of desensitisation vaccine, which reduces the immune response in these horses that have an over-reactive immune response, will assist, and has had favourable results.

“The vaccine was well tolerated, did not reveal any safety concerns, and did successfully induce the production of antibodies to block the action of IL-5,” commented Dr Laura Petroski, B.V.M.S, a veterinarian for Kentucky Equine Research.

IL-5, or interleukin 5 is the key regulator of eosinophils, which are inflammatory cells involved in the immune response.

While this vaccine needs further testing and registration, hope is afoot for our horses with chronic dermatitis as a result of insect bites.

In the meantime, look to utilise supplements with Vitamin E or Omega 3’s, which both have been clinically proven to reduce inflammation due to allergic reactions, including insect bites. Also consider applying insect repellent regularly during the high risk periods.

Information sourced from Kentucky Equine Research. Study reference Fettelschoss-Gabriel, A., V. Fettelschoss, F. Thoms, et al. Treating insect-bite hypersensitivity in horses with active vaccination against IL-5. The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. In press.

Identifying & Rectify the Emotional Stability of Your Horse

You need to breath… and so does your horse!

Holding your breath isn’t a cessation of breathing but a tension that comes about due to fear or stress that constricts the muscles around the rib cage, making breathing naturally and deeply difficult.

Noticing your horse is holding its breath is your first indication that it is not at ease with you and its environment. For this type of horse generally, if something changes in their environment, such as a loud noise, a tree branch falling, a bird fly into the air close by, it will likely switch them into flight mode.

The flight response or stress response is a complicated sequence of hormones that are triggered for self preservation from an environmental threat which, in the wild, would be a predator. Different areas of the brain work together to perceive the threat (amygdala) and to recognise and alert of potential threats from previous learnt experiences (hippocampus). Healthy development of certain parts of the brain (prefrontal cortex) help to quiet the part of the brain that is alerting the body of a potential threat.

Studies are coming to the forefront that show that chronic ongoing stress and fear at an early age affects the development of the prefrontal cortex that buffers the stress response and has long term repercussions of the architecture of the brain as an adult.

This to me highlights the responsibility we need to show for the safe and calm learning environment when breaking a horse for their long term mental stability and ability to calmly process stimuli safely. The use of fear based, bullying tactics should be left behind as we continue to develop our horse training skills.

So what has been determined to help process stimuli calmly and safely?

Social support and breathing.

 One study was done on children where a stressful stimuli was put in front of them in the form of angry faces. (From previous studies we know that horses can interpret mood and emotion from our body language and facial expression). When the mother was present there was less activation of the part of the brain that perceived the threat and more activation of the area of the brain which controls our emotional responses to stress (prefrontal cortex) so we don’t get too stressed out. This is called social buffering.

This relationship between the two areas of the brain doesn’t become well established until maturity and adulthood. This has the potential to affect the horses emotional and mental stability when weaned too young and can train in a pathway of reaction to stimuli before we even look at introducing training.

This also highlights the importance of showing up in our horses life especially if they are younger (and when I’m saying younger I mean under 10) as consistent support that they trust because we are offering that “social buffering” for them. Taking away the intensity of the threat so that they can process their environment more calmly.

This social buffering also occurs in relationships with our partners and what could also be called a “bond”.  If we are or our horse is in a group we/they know and a familiar environment, we/they cope with stress much better than if they experienced the same stress alone. This is crucial to note when we are in the “getting to know you” phase of a new horse, settling them in to their new environment and routine and getting to know their new paddock mates. Its generally not until a couple of months later that the true personality of the horse starts to come out and they start testing boundaries as they get comfortable with you and their new environment.

This social buffering I notice time and again with my students that have taken time to spend with their horses. One of our first recommendations when getting a new horse is to spend time just handling and being around them without trying to ride them. The affect this has on their level of alertness and tension is huge!

It doesn’t happen overnight. Think of any relationship you’ve ever had - it takes years to forge. Ideally we are trying to avoid tripping up that cascade of hormones and neural pathways into a flight state by making our horses feel safe because they are with us. Then when they let go of their stress and tension they can breathe deeply again and we know they feel safe and confident in us and their environment.

When I was competing I would train my horses to breath with me. I would sit and take deep breaths until they took a deep breath and then I would pat them to reinforce the behaviour. I would get it so that we could enter the arena and halt salute and while I was at the halt I would take a deep breath and so would my horse. We could then slow our respiratory rate and heart rate and focus our heightened energy and nerves into our performance together making for a smoother test with less errors and better flow.

I also use this with horses I don’t know, often getting it on the ground first and when I’m backing horses. Helping and showing a horse how to process their emotions, their frustration, anxiety and tension is about 70% of getting horses to work with us in partnership.

Social Buffering

Some exercise to improve your bond and create social buffering

• Our walk, halt, back up exercises.

• Sitting in the paddock with them while they graze.

• Guiding them confidently through situations that make them nervous.

• Spending time grooming them.

• Feeding them.

• Patting them.

• Using encouraging and positive tones, body language and facial expressions.

Becoming aware of when they hold their breath and develop tension is key. So spending time just watching them and noticing how they look when they are relaxed and how they hold themselves during a perceived threat. Where this gets tricky is when they’ve learnt to shut down. (Read about what a horse that is shut down is like here).

Breathing exercises to practice around your horse.

• Breathe in and as you breathe out force the air slowly between your teeth, this engages your diaphragm and encourages you to breath deeply.

• Breathe in for 7, hold for 5 and out for 5. This is also a good exercise if you’re nervous as it resets your respiratory rate.

• Breathe in for 10 and out for 10

When you are doing these exercises ask them to stand beside you and not eat. When they take a deep breath give them a pat and let them eat. If you’ve been doing it for a while and they haven’t taken a deep breath take them for a walk and try again.

We can rarely begin to comprehend and understand what our horses have experienced in their life. Often by the time I see them they are damaged and broken by their experiences with people.

When we don’t know the history of our horses

My students ask me why does my horse ...? And mostly I can’t say exactly why, I can’t read their mind and see what they’ve experienced that has shaped their coping mechanism that way.

The best I can say is that there is hope; we can recondition their responses to stimuli. But it does take time and patience and as always prevention is better than cure. This is the main reason I prefer to take the time with horses to training their trainability, to help them cope with their big emotions and to create a positive and encouraging learning environment with clear, will established boundaries.

Has Your Horse Shut Down?

What is a horse that has shut down?

A horse that has shut down has developed this behaviour as a coping mechanism for stress.

When a shut down horse explodes it can be seriously unexpected and dangerous.

In stubborn horses it can be seen as stubbornness but it also shows up in the more flighty horses where their brain disconnects from their body and is shut off to their experience. This kind of horse copes, copes, copes and then explodes and the rider is left asking where the heck did that come from?

A horse that has shut down emotionally is the end result of desensitisation gone wrong. They have been taught to react to nothing, rather than feeling, because feeling would include fear and anxiety and they are not allowed to react. Instead, they have just shut off emotionally.

While desensitising is important for our horses, relationship built on trust has more of an impact than any amount of desensitisation. If my horse is unsure of something I want it to be curious and investigate it, not just shut off to it. Being shut off to it is “safer” than the mad, hairy bolt away from it but eventually something will trigger your horse to react and it will be years of pent up anxiety behind it – and probably a thousand times more dangerous.

Some of these horses may also be shut down due to pain. If a horse is sore and made to work no matter what, the best way to go on for some of them is to just shut down. (Click here to read about the sacroiliac pain the quiet lameness)

Again we eventually get to the point where the pain is too much to bare and then they react (these horses are the most often to be called dangerous and unrideable because the novice rider, trainer or instructor didn’t see it coming and labels the horse as “unpredictable”).

We don’t want our horses internalising their pain or their emotions and just cope with being ridden. Firstly because that’s not a partnership and secondly they can only internalise so long before it all blows up in our face.

Our best chance for getting a good working relationship with our horse is to open up a two way conversation where our horse can tell us if its uncomfortable or unhappy (in ways other than bucking, rearing, bolting, biting, kicking) and with being there for them when they do feel stress and pressure. (Read here for getting our horses to relax and breath with us).

Sacroiliac Pain - the Quiet Lameness

We all know what a lame horse looks like.

You’ve probably seen it in your own horse if they’ve ever had a bruised sole or hoof abscess.

They hobble around, and we often see the characteristic head bob. Most commonly this kind of lameness has something to do with their hooves and some kind of trauma to the hoof or leg. Frequently, this can be corrected by a good Farrier and a spell.

The kind of lameness that doesn’t show up with the characteristic lameness symptoms can often be due to the way we are riding and the way the horse is developing - and most commonly I see start with the pelvis not being aligned. This lameness is known as Sacroiliac Pain.

As riders we put a lot of stress on the horse’s sacroiliac joint. It is designed to be a very flexible area of their body but it also gives support to the rest of their back.

Misaligned pelvis, riding crooked, and lacking engagement of the postural muscles can all increase this pain.

“Long the neck, shorten the body”, Manolo Mandez

 Rectifying this lameness will need the incorporation of veterinary and chiropractic attention along with physical redevelopment through correct training methods.

Sign up to be the first invited into our course Foundations to Equine Development: Green to Self Carriage, where we go step by step through the exercises horses need for a sound back.