Horsin' Around

Transporting Your Horse Safely

Mark — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 20:34:02 +0000

Often I hear difficulties loading a horse in a trailer; rarely hear about the adverse effects of transporting. In the event of transporting, the horse can bump against the roof of the trailer with his head from rearing. Skin their legs by stepping on him and banging the side of the trailer for balance.

Training Truck drivers, I invented a prop to assist them improve their driving skills and save damage of freight. I had a four-inch metal ball that I placed on a shag mat on the floor between the seats. I told the student, “If the ball moves in any direction, his driving is aggressive. For example, the ball rolls to the side; that is an indication of sharp turns. If the ball rolls forward while stopping the truck, that is an indication of excessive braking. If the ball rolls backward, indicates dumping the clutch or excessive throttle.”

It will take time for the horse to adjust to the journey as long as the navigation is smooth. He may dance around shortly because of his discomfort of passing vehicles. If I am traveling with caution to keep the ball in the position, I am confident that the horse will adjust. Prudent starts and stops benefit the horse, enabling him to adjust to uphill and downhill movements. The curves on a highway are a little awkward but when I introduce a curve, I commence slow enough without bracing myself. The weight of the vehicle will change to the outside of the curve. The horse will adjust his weight the same as you adjust in the seat. Depending on the situation, the horse may attempt to climb the walls of the trailer or step on him-self in an attempt to correct what is happening throughout the turn. While the vehicle is coming to a stop, the horse may venture to stop with the trailer, as if he is scampering backward.

I hauled my two-year-old filly, about sixty miles to help move some cows and calves. This is her first time with the trailer moving. With this concept in mind, approximately, six or seven miles, Shady was standing calmly. We approached a ravine with several curves, six percent grade down, and the same on the upside. Shady managed quite well. One thing I did notice, as she was exiting the trailer, she was unsure of the drop from the trailer to the ground.

Listen to your horse’s feet on the trailer floor; you may recognize if he is endangering himself. If the horse is making sounds of distress, something is unsuitable. In the event, this happens after a couple of minutes, stop and check your horse and make sure he is sound. I hope that this tip may help you in safe journeys transporting your horse.

Helping Your Horse Manage His Instincts

Mark — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 19:27:22 +0000

The behaviors that horses learn and develop at a young age may create struggles later in life. If we are aware of their conduct when the acting occurs, we can assess the situation. Helping the horse manage his behavior with proper training, he learns to manage his instincts. When a horse acts reluctant or jumpy this is behavioral-acting – the horse is following his instincts. When a horse is content with his setting, his conduct is at its best. This is acting behavior; therefore, he is managing his instincts.

Acting behavior; for a horse, is when he manages his instincts rather than his instinct managing him. He can adjust quickly and remain calm, following through with the task without resistance. If we try to control the horse’s actions, we, in fact, may make the situation worse. This creates struggles between the horse and rider. If the rider reacts, when the horse displays behavioral acting, he or she will escalate the horse’s behavioral acting. If we push a horse over or through a hurdle, we are increasing his instincts, thus enhancing behavioral acting. Some horses will stop and assess a condition before moving forward. This process helps the horse learn to manage his instincts.

When we interact with horses, there are behaviors that make us react, thus conflicting with the training. People, who react to the horse and his behavioral acting, confuse the horse. When we remain calm while working with our horse, we can maintain our composure. We must think of what we want the horse to do. If we determine precisely what we want the horse to do, we can recognize behavioral acting. When we get frustrated and discouraged with our horse, because of his behavioral acting, we must respond rather than react.

To give you an example of behavioral acting, I will use my horse Chester. When I feed him, I want him to wait until I toss his feed in the bin. If Chester places his ears back, aiming to take the feed from my hands, he is showing behavioral acting. In other words, he is acting on instinct, rather than managing it. In response to his conduct, I pull the feed away from him, to encourage good manners. If he reaches his head toward me as I am tossing his feed in the bin, he is still displaying behavioral acting. However, if Chester holds his head off to the side and patiently waits for me to feed him, this is acting behavior – he is meeting my expectations. Whether or not he changes his behavior or when he does depend on if, I respond or react. I have reacted, by bouncing the hay off his face. I believe this encourages his behavioral acting.

The more understanding we gain concerning the two behaviors, the more aware we become. It is essential to recognize the subtle changes to help us read the horse better. The more time we spend responding to our horse, as the horse ages, the more he understands to manage his gut reactions. As the horse learns to manage his instincts, he also learns acting behavior when we are in his presence. The more paraphernalia that we introduce our horse to, the more we help him manage his instinct, so he reacts less often. The less he reacts to his instincts, the more he responds to us.

Watch the video below. See if you can determine when the filly is showing behavioral acting and acting behavior.

Baby Horse Plays While Momma gets a Bath

Mark — Mon, 31 May 2010 14:11:31 +0000

The two-week-old filly Sarcanna, exercises her talent running around different things. Darting around the lawn mower, wheel barrel and other uncommon objects, Sarcanna appears sure of herself. The quick reaction of a young foal and the way it moves is amazing to me.

Halter Breaking a Colt Requires Time and Patience

Mark — Sat, 15 May 2010 21:27:01 +0000

Halter breaking a colt requires time and patience. My wife, Sandra utilizes a portion of her valuable time throughout her day taming our filly, Sarcanna outside the fence. She persuades the filly to come to her with the fence between them. Sandra will use a rope, halter, a brush and talk to the filly to gain her curiosity. This method works well when the colt is looking for something to do. When Sandra gets the colt tame enough to approach then I will pursue putting the halter on the filly. There is very little struggle from the filly, and she learns to accept touching and other paraphernalia quickly.

A twenty-foot lung line used to give Sarcanna enough rope to run. Maintaining even pressure to the line as she maneuvers away, Sarcanna learns to turn and stop with momentary resistance. As she moves away, I allow the line to slide through my hands, holding firmly, to persuade her to turn. When she stops, I coil the line with even pressure to the line as I am walking toward her.

While I am training Sarcanna to lead, I encourage her to stroll next to me, as she would with her mother. When she stops walking, I back up beside her, then stepping forward to indicate to her I want her to walk. Adding pressure to her rump with my hand, as I step forward, stimulates her to move. Eventually, she will walk and trot with me, rather than behind me. This helps avert the colt from stepping on me as well as assists in additional training.

This method has a few advantages as the colt ages, such as, lunging, turning and a good relationship with the colt. The colt is easy to catch; normally, he will walk to me when I call him. Taking advantage of the colt’s boredom is essential for his learning and acceptance for different things. The training process as the colt gets older, starts at the gate with his willingness to do anything.

Addition to the Paint Family

Mark — Mon, 03 May 2010 01:15:05 +0000

Here are the photos of the addition to the family. This little filly’s name is Sarcanna until registry.
Sire – Heza Ghost Mover (Bay Tovero)
Dam – Tina Polecat (Bay Tobiano).

Paying Attention to Horses and Instincts

Mark — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 18:40:00 +0000

A horse has the natural instinct to protect itself. If we ignore those instincts and press on with what we are doing, we put ourselves in danger more than we realize. A horse’s natural abilities are obvious, if we watch closely to how they move when they are free. Horses gain domination, as they get older, even with us. They also pick up adverse habits conversing with other horses. We can learn more from paying attention to the natural instinct of a horse than we realize.

I purchased an older mare named Shadow; she grew up in the dessert, and maintained her natural instinct at its best. She lacked the patience for horseplay and was cautious with everything. When she felt threatened, she did whatever it took to steer away from the danger. I turned Shadow in the pasture with Tina, a younger mare, innocent of pecking order and such strong instinct. Shadow had Tina running through the fence before she knew what was happening. The pecking order that shadow obtained from the beginning was necessary for Tina to learn.

Riding and retraining Shadow was an experience for me as well. She let me know that if I wanted to be the master, I had better been nice. If I were unwittingly to coerce her, she would let me know who was controlling whom. She educated me in the art of compromise with her strict temperament and her potential to get rid of me if she found it necessary. She approached a rattlesnake, while we were riding in a desolate area. Shadow stopped with her head lowered, backed up and proceeded to walk around the snake. This is the day that I began to value Shadow’s self-reliance and nature.

I like sitting on my deck watching my horses frolic with one another and observe their behavior. In spite of my horse’s disturbances of different things, I like to know that they are always in control. Contrary to people’s belief, horses are always in control of themselves.

Horses and Our Paraphernalia

Mark — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 22:41:36 +0000

I have heard of some people expecting horses to get use to saddles or bits, by wearing them one or two days. Forcing horses to wear a saddle or bit for this amount of time, in my opinion, is absurd and cruel. Several of the old ways of training horses remain, especially when a horse is unwilling. When a person has a difficult time, generally they think the trouble is the horse.

Some horses react differently when we cinch them up tightly before they are ready. After putting a saddle on a horse, I like to analyze his reactions to the various things. I tug on the stirrups, push and pull on the horn, and pat the saddle making noise. After the horse relaxes, I walk him, observing his behavior. Leaving a saddle on a horse hoping he will get used to it is unproductive.

A bit is a tool, and merely a communication device. This device utilized appropriately, clarifies what we are asking of our horse. A horse adjusts to the bit with time. As he is learning, using the bit properly is important. The cues used to clarify what we are asking of our horse become eminent. Therefore, leaving a bit in the mouth of a horse hoping he will get used to it is a misuse of the bit.

If we believe that a horse can get accustomed to paraphernalia on its own, we are deluding ourselves. Putting a bit in a horse’s mouth and teaching him to respond, and then removing it, helps the horse learn. The same idea applies to the use of a saddle. It is borderline cruelty to leave a saddle or a bit on a horse for extended periods. If you are going to put this paraphernalia on your horse, remain with him and assist his learning.

Experimenting with My Ideas

Mark — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 19:30:58 +0000

I purchased an older mare named Shadow to enhance my experience with retraining. The owner related that this mare is ready to ride and that his kids were riding her. He also told me that she was inexperienced and needed some training. Shadow is a stout gray horse that stands approximately fourteen and a half hands tall and about three feet wide.

When I arrived home with Shadow, I tied her to the horse trailer. Obviously, she was different to restraint. Shadow appeared to have enough power to topple the horse trailer, but the nylon halter gave first. The intense force that she utilized, pulling back was the priority on my list to change and one of the most difficult. The mare was ideal for my experiment.

The initial time I worked with Shadow, I conceived that she is one of the most strong-willed horses I had ever witnessed. Could this issue be that I, in fact, was as detached as the horse? My expectations of this creature at this moment were lofty, and I set out to impart to her who the boss is. She humped her back and pounded the foundation with all four hooves. Instinctively, I turned her and to my disbelief, she spun. She practically twisted me in half with her radical reaction.

In the months thereafter, I understood that Shadow is experienced. She clearly knew how to discourage and taught me how to compromise. This horse was surely more responsive than any horse I owned. Shadow had been through some ordeals. I discovered that all she needed was some tender loving care. After I established, I was not her opponent, we got along well.

A Good Relationship with Horses Keeps Them Trusting

Mark — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 18:35:42 +0000

Sandra and I were preparing the horses for a ride around the mile section from our home. Chester normally stands and waits, but this time my responsibility and his patience were less compatible. Chester decided to go without me, after untying him, and took off down the driveway. I jogged around the house to see Chester’s direction of escape. He had run about two hundred yards down the road, then something caught his attention, and he stopped. I called out to him, and he sprinted back to the yard, as if he had forgotten something.

I contribute the cooperation to having a routine feed program. My regular feeding schedule is at six in the morning before I leave for work and six in the evening when I get home. Each horse gets some kind of attention, whenever I am around him or her. Giving a horse proper attention, whenever you are around them is helpful. A good relationship with horses keeps them trusting.

Shadee’s Third Ride

Mark — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:32:40 +0000

This video is of our two year old filly, Shadee, during her third ride, and she is progressing nicely. Today is her introduction to a bit, and she is responding quite well with both, reins and rider. Ground work was highly advantageous! I am expecting to have her ready for Sandra, toward the end of summertime – she needs some more experience.

Music by: Joe Walsh – “Over and Over”