Ride-less Future

It has been 8 months since Navi tried to cut her leg off...okay so it wasn't that bad, that is just how I refer to it. But in all seriousness I had hope she would have been completely healed by now. And on the outside she is all healed. She has all new skin along with some scarring. She is sound at a walk, trot when doing ground work. I am going to reassess her soundness for riding in April at the 1 year mark. But like I said before I need to come to terms with the fact that this injury may have sidelined her from riding forever. She came within centimeters of her hock and the vet said she may always be prone to joint flares which if are anything like that first one she was 3 legged lame.

So what now, what if she can't be ridden. She is only 4 and hopefully she will live about 30 years. But that is a lot of years to have a horse that can't be ridden. This is where I have to look inside of myself and figure out it never has been about riding. For the most part people own horses so we can ride them. We compete in different sports with them, trail ride, or use them for ranch work. Regardless of what we do the one thing we have in common is people own horses so they can ride. Horses are expensive and are a luxury. I love riding I won't tell you otherwise, but is it really the end of the world if I have a horse for 30 years that can't be ridden. No, it isn't. Because she will bring me joy in so many other ways. And is it right for me to say she is worth less because she can't be ridden...nope! It is funny because truly I don't value any horses worth by what they can do for me, but yet when faced with Navi's injury all I have done is count down the time to when I can put her back to under saddle work. Why have I done that? It got me thinking, is it because I fall into the same trap as everyone else thinking horses aren't as valuable if they can't be ridden. (which yes, in the market that is true) But I won't ever sell her so it isn't true for her. But then is it the peer pressure, people will think I am wasting money on a horse that can't be ridden? The answer is yes, people will think that, but then again who am I to care, most of my animals are considered throw away animals in others eyes. So why do I have such a hard time wrapping my mind around this when in the same breath I can be okay with never riding Char. Is it because I adopted Char knowing we would probably never ride or is it because I adopted Navi expecting to trail ride. I had plans for Navi before we ever got her. I had wanted a baby to train from the ground up. Is it because I will feel like I failed if we don't meet our goal of riding? Is riding truly the end all be all? I have to look back and realize I have already met most of the my goal. Navi was a blank slate with the exception of being halter trained already. Now she is a functional almost adult horse, lol. She is still a teenager in a lot of ways! I think I need to set up new goals for us to meet. I am capable of training her for anything, I just have to think of things. It is funny because I almost feel lost. Most of the behaviors I trained her where for getting her ready to ride, but now I need to switch that mind set and think about other things than riding. How do I do that though? Maybe I need to stop with the timeline of planning when to reassess her for riding. Maybe I should give up the thought completely and just let things happen. I will know when the time is right, she will tell me if I listen. I need to step away from mainstream thinking that we need to ride. Would I be telling the truth if I said I wasn't sad. No, because the truth is I am a little sad thinking about it. I had big plans for her and I to trail ride. She would have made a great trail horse (and maybe she still will) but she will also be great at something else that doesn't involve riding. I strongly believe everything happens for a reason...And maybe this happened for no other reason than to open my eyes about how I view my horses worth and to teach me to be open to other things besides riding.

7 Months Post Injury Navi

Now (Nov 2015)

It has been a long 7 months of recovery time for Navi. I haven't ever dealt with a cut of this caliber. From the outside it looks to be healing up great! But it seems that once we start to get back to work training that it swells up. We are going to keep doing ground work and hand walking and give her more time.

The day it happened

Regardless of what happens I think I need to mentally prepare myself for the idea that this injury may have ended our chance of riding. I won't ride her if it will cause her pain, and she may just become my agility horse. Only time will tell, but for now we will spend this winter doing fun ground games and we will revisit the possibility of riding next spring.

Char finds a new person and Some thoughts

It has been a while since I have posted and in that time frame lots of stuff has happened :) In my herd things are well! Everyone is great! The biggest news from my little family is I have found a part time leaser for Char. Char will stay with us and I will still care for her, but someone else will be working and training her as if she was hers. These two are perfect for each other. I trust very few people to work with my horses, and I was happy when this option came up. This is truly a win win for the both of them!

On to my thoughts...yes, it can be a little scary, lol.

It was "Are we training the warning signs out of our horses?" Coming from the dog training world this would be the same as punishing a growl in a dog. You don't want to punish the growl because that is your warning sign. You take away the growling the only thing left is the bite. Frankly I am always thankful when a dog growls at me because then I can easily avoid getting bit. But that made me think is that why our horses blow up big and in what seems to be out of the blue? Is that why when put in new situation or a situation of high anxiety they seem to lose their minds? Have we taken away their other means of communicating to us? Are those signals still there and we just miss them?Or have we taught them to not give us the warning by punishing the warning signs?

Summer and Blogging break

Wow...time flies. I can't believe I haven't blogged since May! I think that is a good indication that I may need to take a blogging break. I guess technically I have already been on one, but we will just make it official :)

Summer has kept me super busy at work and dealing with many horse injuries :( It left very little time for riding and Navi didn't get back to under-saddle work with the exception of one day before she re injured herself.  All is well now, but we are still healing from last weeks injury so I suspect she will not be back to training until winter. Everyone else is healing up...Pixie went lame due to thrush so I pulled shoes and gave her the month off while treating her foot. She is much better now! Willow stuck her leg through a fence and had moderate cuts that gave her a few weeks off to heal. Jess's arthritis is bad enough now that we started him on injections to help keep him comfortable. He is not being riding any longer. Char had a good summer and stayed out of trouble :)

When the time comes that I have more exciting news or more time to blog I will re-start this. I should mention all teaching came to a halt this summer too because of the heat and work. I do hope that soon I will be back to helping others with their horses. I love the feeling of helping others accomplish goals. To see someone grow and learn with their horse is a wonderful thing. Teaching really is a passion and I do hope to get back to doing it soon :)  

Always learning

Yesterday I went to the barn with the intention of playing with both Willow and Pixie and liberty. Willow is really just starting this journey with me and right now we are focused on confidence building exercises. I had no plans really for Pixie, other than just playing.

Willow and I started out in the morning. I brought her into the big arena and brought the stick and stick with us because I wanted to use it as a target. The stick is long enough she can target it a good distance away from me. It gives her a visual of where I want her when leading. She started getting nervous as we approached the arena...odd for her at this point in our training. And when I let her go she took off running and proceeded to run the fence at the far end. It took me a minute and then I realized the only thing different was the stick and string...so I dropped in and walked over to her. She calmed down and took some treats. After a minute I went back to the stick and started walking over to her. She immediately tensed up and wanted to leave. So I just waited. I started to click her for looking at it and within a few minutes I was able to have her touching it. It took her some time to figure out I wasn't going to drive her off with it. After that we did some great targeting work.

I learned a big lesson today. I never thought Willow was scared of the stick, but thinking about it she has always been online while we played with it. Just goes to show how good they are at hiding their feelings while haltered because they have learned they have no other choice.

After targeting we worked on the fun noodle tree, with only two noodles to make it easier. We had worked on this the other day with a bunch of other boarders. Both Willow and Pixie went through it on the ground and under saddle, so this should have been easy right. Wrong, again I was shown that just because they do it while on line doesn't mean they are happy about it. We didn't feel like we had forced them to go through before, but they must have felt some pressure because when I took off the halter it took them a while to go through at liberty. They did it in the end. And it really didn't take that long, but it was the point that they were very clear with me they were not comfortable with it in the beginning.  Pixie definitely went through it faster, but we have played so much more at liberty, and plain and simple she has more trust in me than Willow does.

 I have always said once you take away all the equipment you are only left with the truth and once again Willow didn't prove me wrong. Another lesson learned for me!

My horses are always teaching me lessons, more than I ever teach them.

Obstacle day at the Barn

A couple friends and I decided to put together an obstacle course at the barn. We decided it is always good to mix things up and work on desensitizing our horses. We met at 9 to set up and were ready to go by 10. We had everything from someone drumming to balloons. We had so many things we had to cut out a few and figured we could plan another day with the obstacles we had to leave out. It was great fun! And what a learning experience for both horse and owner. Lots of other boarders came to join us. We originally just planned on our small group, but as the day went more and more people wanted to come try the obstacles! It was great! We got lots of thank yous for setting it up. I am glad it was such a hit. Can't wait till the next one :)

Jess and my partner pulling the tire

Pixie at the balloons

Pixie at the cowboy curtain

Willow at the flag

Willow at the curtain

Navi's cut

Last Saturday the 25th of April Navi decided to try and test the fence. Well it didn't end up so well and she cut her hock really bad. We were lucky in that we caught it right away (the barn manager was calling us when we were pulling in the drive)

I would be lying if I said I didn't almost freak out when I saw this. I was really didn't know what to think. The vet was great and got there within 10 minutes. It was 6pm on Saturday! He poked around, cleaned it and couldn't detect any joint fluid meaning we had lucked out and she missed the joint! So we stitched it up and put her on stall rest for 8 days with a standing wrap.

Now here we are 8 days later and she has had one follow up and rewrap with the vet (last Wed). Yesterday we pulled the wrap and rewrapped a smaller bandage. She also was allowed to have some more freedom so she got the whole run.

Day 8 Stitches still in and looking good. 

A bit more freedom

The stitches are schedule to come out next Friday. Hopefully she keeps them in until then. As far as follow up her fence that she tried to push through is getting hot wire before she goes back to pasture. She is weight baring and has good range of motion so I think we lucked out.  And in case anyone is wondering... we have $565.00 in vet bills from this cut not counting any future appts. Now were is the bubble wrap...

Bear Hunting

Bear hunting in a good way that is... I had one goal for yesterdays trail ride and that was to see a bear :)

The bears have been spotted in a certain area now 3 or 4 times so I asked my friend if she would be willing to head that direction. And sure enough she said yes. Awesome, I was off to see a bear!

I was smart and remembered my helmet! I am trying to get better about wearing my helmet, I know that it is the smart thing to do. After getting ready, my friends and I headed out. Off to see bears. Okay so maybe I was the only one really hoping to see the bears, lol.

We headed out quite a ways and on the way back in my friend said " I am sorry you didn't get to see your bears" I responded with "that's okay, it was still a great ride"! Well not 5 minutes later we jumped a little red bear! It was pretty close and of course took off running. But we got to stand and watch it for a minute or so as it ran away. My ride was complete! I saw my bear :) I was super excited and of course Pixie was not phased one bit.

Here are a few pics from the ride. Unfortunately no pics of the bear as it was running too fast.

Pixie and I riding back down the road. Photo taken by my riding buddy

Pixie and I almost home...across the street is my barn

Looking back towards home

What a view!

Can We Make Up For It???

Does all the nice talk, giving grain, brushing, blanketing,  putting boots/shoes on, etc...Does doing all these things make up for all the pain we cause our horses?

I find it funny that as a society we go out of our way to make our horses more comfortable within their everyday life, but then we are quick to cause pain when we train.

We are willing to spend thousands of dollars on a saddle that fits so we don't cause them pain, but then we are quick to put on spurs so they respond to our leg. What do spurs do, well they cause pain. But somehow it is okay for us to spur the horse to cause pain, but lets make sure the saddle fits. Not only do we use spurs, but we use bits and sometimes they are really severe bits. So once again we have gone out of our way to ensure the comfort of the horse, only to cause discomfort in another way. I guess one could argue that an ill fitted saddle can cause more harm, and yes, they are right. But I also know that I have seen some horrible wounds from bits and spurs. You don't even have to be heavy handed to cause pain with bits though since they sit in the mouth. Why is one type of pain more justifiable than another? I personally prefer the riding experience be painless for my horses. I want a good fitting saddle, no bit and no spurs. I don't want to trade one kind of pain for another.

Another thing we do as a society is spend thousands of dollars on hoof care to make sure the horse is sound. We buy shoes and boots of every style to make sure they can carry us without soreness. But then we turn around and yank on their mouths with bits when they take a wrong step. Again why do we find this okay?

Apparently pain is okay and justifiable as long as it is the name of training or the horse doing something we want. We don't want them to be uncomfortable while they hang out in their pasture, but it sure is okay when we are making them do something we want. Why is that? Does the pound of grain we give them at the end of each ride make up for yanking on their mouth? Does it make up for mentally stressing them out and proving to them that you will hurt them unless they comply with you?  

And if you think you don't fall into this norm. Really think about it and I bet you will find that you are wrong. I know because I was you. It has taken me a really long time to come to terms with this. Take Navi for example...I make sure she is fitted in a fly sheet to protect her from sun burning, but just last year I was quick to put metal in her mouth to make her softer. There ya go...I was guilty of it. I didn't want her in pain due to sunburn, but to cause her pain to make her do what I wanted was sure okay. Not now, no more for me, there is another way.

I could give you a long list of past examples from my time with my horses. But currently I can say this I have given up my bits, spurs, and whips. Okay so I still use my stick and string, but it is for targeting only. I do no apply pressure with it. I just bought a new halter made of mule tape. It is super soft and doesn't have knots like my rope halter. I am trying everything to get away from pain caused by me.

This applies to both physical and mental pain. Watching a horse run frantically around the round pen scared to death is horrible to see too. While we are not physically touching them at that point we are scaring them. If we weren't scaring them we would use this technique out in the open where they were free to leave. But we don't do this in a big open area because it is all based on making the horse fearful and teaching them there isn't a way out so they may as well listen to you. Correct me if I am wrong, and prove it to me by using this technique in a 100 acre pasture. Even if you think your horse is calm while round penning, go out and do the same thing outside of the round and then see how calm your horse is.

Pain and fear are considered okay as long as we are doing it in the name of "training", but you wouldn't put your beloved horse in with another horse that beat it up all day would you? So why is it okay for you to cause the same fear and stress?

Willow's progress

I have been on vacation this week which has meant lots of riding time for me :) Gotta love vacations that center around horses!

Willow and I have been riding pretty consistently and yesterday we took a ride with my partner and a another lady from our barn. We went into a new area we haven't ever been. This was going to be a test on how far Willow and I had come on her confidence building. I was soooo happy with her. She only got tense a few times, but we worked through it. She never came close to spooking at anything either. What a good girl! We then went and did  water crossing, as usual she was great at that! I am glad we are getting her confidence back, for her sake as much as ours. It is never good to go through life nervous.

Willow and I working on the flag. First time seeing it, and she was awesome! 

Pixie all ready for my partner to ride. 

I am figuring another 15 rides or so on Willow before I turn her back over to my partner. I don't want to push either of them too fast. There is really no rush since basically we just switched horses.

Taking a Walk

Yesterday was the perfect spring day, 60 degrees, sunny and no wind! I decided to take Navi for a walk. I have to get her out to new places more since I do want her to become my trail horse. So we headed out to explore the river and bridges. She was a tiny bit nervous when we first headed out, but there where no spooks, and she quickly calmed down. She has been to the area before, but it was well over 6 months ago. As we approached the first bridge she looked at it and I clicked her for it and off we went across. We stopped along the walk to graze, which she loved of course. We crossed the next bridge without any hesitation. She was as cool as a cucumber :) We grazed  more before doing some mounting block work at a rock. She lined right up! What a good girl!

Navi doesn't seem to have any issues going out alone since that is the only thing we have done. All the walks around have just been her and I, which seems to be paying off. She should be a great little trail horse that can ride out alone without issue :)

 Besides going for a walk we did some saddle work. She hasn't worn the saddle in a long long time...maybe close to a year?? So we went into the round pen in case she didn't like it. I tacked her up while clicking and treating and then sent her away to move around. She moved out like it was old news. We did walk, trot, canter, and went over a small pole. Never once was bothered by the saddle! Although true to Navi fashion she tried to taste my stirrups. Everything still has to go in her mouth.

Oh and I almost forgot Navi turns 4 this month! How time has flown since she came home in 2012 and was just a little yearling.

Willow and I had another ride yesterday. She did really well. We are still working on her confidence, but every ride gets better and better :)

Navi taking a break and trying to eat my lead rope

What Tigger has taught me about Positive Punishment training

So what has Tigger taught me about dominance/fear/punishment based training and how does that help me in the horse world??

First things first he taught me I can't control everything or dominant all animals. Most dogs (or horses)  will give in to your requests and won't fight back if you get physical. Unfortunately that is why us humans have gotten so good at punishment based training. It is reinforcing to us. We jerk, hit, or threaten and it scares the dog or animal enough for them to give in to us.

Well not in my world...I live with a 120lb dog that has brain damage. So what does that mean, it means he has no off button. He does not have the self restraint to stop... He will bite me, more than that he could and would seriously attack me if he felt threaten. How do I know this, well because I have been on the receiving end of his bites twice, and he has come at me with the intend to harm (while muzzled).

So why in the world do we keep him? Because he is a very loving dog, and it is not his fault that he has brain damage. Plus we have learned how to safely live with him! First off we had to let go of any fear based training. He knows his commands of sit and down. We worked with him as a partner and through positive reinforcement gained his trust and respect. We carefully manage his world and try to see any problems that might arise. For example I have taught him to sit and be muzzled (he expresses his opinions, but does it).  See with Tigger there is no option of physically making him do what you want because plan and simple he would hurt us. If I can convince a dog with a brain injury to work with me through positive reinforcement than why not use it on my horses too :)

In so many ways this translates over to horses. They are big and have the potential to hurt you. For the most part since they are prey animals they will give in to pressure easily, but sometimes you get the one that decides to voice their opinion as they should! The downfall with them voicing their opinion is it can hurt you. One kick, buck or rear and you can be seriously injured. The advantage of positive reinforcement training is that you considerably lower the risk of them acting out because you don't put them in the position where they feel like they have to. Does it guarantee your safety,no, but it gives you much better odds if you ask me.

Tigger and I some years back. He was 2 years old here...now he is 7 1/2 :( 

Spring time updates

Spring is here :) And I sure have been enjoying the longer days. The last two evenings have been spent at the barn. We had some super relaxed and awesome sessions with Navi, Willow, and Pixie.

Pixie and I enjoyed a quiet 1 1/2 hr ride last night around the ranch. We did some hill work and some trotting in the hay field. (The vet said she needs to lose weight). After riding out we went into the outdoor arena and did some more trotting and a little canter work.

Pixie needing more exercise plus Willow and I are still working through our min of 30 rides out and about just means life is busy :) . I am going to go out every other day at a min to make sure everyone gets ample time.

Last Wednesday everyone got their spring vaccinations and Char got her teeth floated. We discovered she lost a tooth at some point...not sure when that happened. It shouldn't be too much of an issue, she will just have to get her teeth done twice a year. Jess is still healing up from the hole in his cheek so he will get his teeth done next month. Oh yes, the hole in the cheek...we don't know how that happened either. We could speculate, but honestly it is all guessing. The good news is only a little over a week out and he is doing great!

Looking forward to heading out today. Supposed to be sunny and 65, you can't ask for better weather!

Expectations

A common thought is that Positive Reinforcement training makes you passive, but I can't think of anything farther from the truth. Everyone has their own opinion (as they should :) ) though so because of that let me give you a list of expectations that I have for my horses.

First of I expect my horses to be safe around people. Absolutely no kicking, rearing, bolting, etc...

Beyond the basic safety behaviors here is a list of some of the behaviors I expect from my horses:

• Leading nicely- and by that I mean I want them to match my pace. If I am slow, they are slow, if I back they back, etc...
• Stand tied- Pixie is my only horse that will on occasion set back when tied, I can usually predict when not to tie her though.  To combat that behavior I just taught her to ground tie while we are grooming and tacking up. 
• Ignore other horses when we are leading or riding past them. If a horse in the pasture next to us takes off I fully expect my horse to look, but then I want them to focus back on me and walk calmly. 
• Lunge walk/trot/canter on a loose line or free lunge without leaving me. 
• Pick up all for feet on command and hold their own foot, I hate being leaned on! 
• Accept worming and other medication without much fuss.  
• Stand for mounting beside anything I line them up too. Example stumps, rocks, mounting blocks, trucks, etc.  
• Flex automatically when I mount up. I shouldn't have to tell them too, I want them checking in the minute I sit down in the saddle. 
• Flex to both sides with barely an ounce of pressure. 
• Back up under saddle when I barely pick up the reins
• Whoa the minute I take a deep breath- no matter the gait. Inside and outside the arenas
•  Be able to line up to gates so I can open them- Both Willow and Pixie are finally mastering this. We are now open both the round pen gates and outdoor arena gate. The trails this summer will be our next test :) 
• Yield both front and back end with very light cue.
• Be traffic safe- I ride along the road and I need them to ignore all vehicles including semi trucks.
• In general be trail safe. Which is why we are working with Willow right now, she is far spookier than I want her to be :)  
• Be polite around treats. I walk in my pasture with my treat bag on me. I expect them to be polite around me and the other horses when I am present. They are not to mug me or be pushy. Treat manners are a safety behavior for me since all five horses are pastured together I can't have them mugging me when I am in the pasture with treats. 

Ok, so that is what I can think of right now. Keep in mind I ride in halters only. So I expect my horses to respond to the lightest of touch without a bit. I want them so in tune with my body language that others don't notice my cues. Now of course we are not perfect and I will be training them for the rest of their lives, lol, but we perfect one thing at a time. Yes, we still have holes we are working on when out on the trails and when distractions are present :) 

In the end, regardless of what we are doing, I expect my horses to be responsible for watching me and responding to my cues. I want them thinking on their own though, I hate micro managing. Which is why +R training works so well for me because it teaches them to think and figure things out. This training is far from passive if anything we expect more from our horses because we know they are capable of doing it. The difference is we don't use pain or fear to teach them. The horse has the choice, which makes the behavior 100x more reliable in my opinion. Once they understand what you want and it has become a trained behavior you will rarely see them not perform on cue. For example when I mount Pixie, no matter where I am or what I am mounting from, she will flex the minute I get in the saddle and will continue until I ask her to move off. This makes mounting safer for me because she is thinking flex not forward and she isn't relying on me to hold the reins. I physically am not holding her there she is responsible for herself. (Of course she is rewarded for this behavior )

Lost Connection for Willow and I

Yesterday I headed out to the barn by myself and had planned on riding Willow for our 4th ride. I didn't have any real plans other than ride and play with her, but when I arrived I ran into a couple of other ladies and we decided to all ride together.

I started with ground work and Willow did great. After warming up we tacked up and rode in the arena for a bit before heading out to the trails. She did well the first part of the ride, but then we got into some mud and new territory. She got upset then and did some small spooks and dancing. We made it up to the top of the hill we were riding and I decided to dismount to hand walk down the muddy hills. I had lost the connection once we hit that mud and she got nervous so I figured no reason to try and ride her down the hill. Could I have ridden her down the hill, sure I probably could have, she wasn't doing anything I couldn't handle, but why. Once we made it down the long hill it was very clear she was concerned with the other horses and getting home so I decided it would be a good opportunity to work on some leading manners. So we walked the rest of the way home, lol. We did some yielding and very low key things, but even when I asked quietly, many times she would get very very anxious and move very fast around me. Not what I was looking for all. I gave her rewards for quiet behaviors and we stopped to graze a lot, but I never felt the connection come back. It was plainly obvious that she was more worried about the other horses (who were a bit anxious and rushy too)  and getting home.

To be clear I never felt like I didn't have control over the situation. That was never an issue, physically Willow did what I asked. She never tried to pull the lead rope out of my hands, she responded to me when I would ask her to move her feet, but mentally she was gone. I always ask myself when working with my horses if my lead rope wasn't here would they still be with me. And my answer was very clear yesterday, Willow would have been gone.

While the ride/walk, lol, wasn't the greatest ever, it was a good eye opener on what Willow and I need to work on. We definitely went to far to fast. That is okay, we just take some steps back now. My revised game plan now is that I either ride Willow alone or just with my partner. That way I can end the ride when we are still working together and she isn't anxious. It is not fair to ride with others and cut their ride short. By summer I figure Willow and I will be back to riding all the trails with my riding friends :)  

Once again Pixie Owned it!

Sunday we got the chance to go out and enjoy a nice sunny winter day. We decided to ride out around on the roads close to the barn. I was riding Willow ( 3rd ride out of our min. of 30) and my partner was riding Pixie. The purpose of this ride was to help with my partners confidence. Willow has been spooking a lot while they ride and it hasn't been helping either of them. We warmed up in the arena. Where I might add Willow was awesome! We did some walk, gait, and canter work before heading out. Pixie and my partner warmed up and started to come together. Pixie was a little confused in the beginning when I wasn't riding her. After we all felt comfortable we headed out with two other riders. The 4 of us headed down the road. Things were good, but my partner was nervous so we decided to head back after just a quick ride. Well going back one of the other riders decided to split off and go the other way around. Well needless to say we didn't make it really far before we heard the thundering of hooves behind us. The other horse decided it was NOT going to split off from the group and basically ran away with his owner and came back to the group. Well Pixie and my partner were in the back of the group. It is always scary for horses to have another one run up behind them. They don't know why he/she is running. My partner became very nervous, but Pixie held it together for the both of them. She handled it like a champ. Actually all three of the horses did extremely well! And once the other caught up with us he was good to go too. Then we calmly road back to arena :) I continued to ride with the others, while my partnered call it good for the day. I did switch horses though and rode Pixie for the last part of the ride.

After the ride Pixie and I did some liberty work. Besides liberty work we practiced side pass at the trot. She did it beautifully!

It is events like this that make it even more clear to me why making sure we have a connection with our horses is so very important. I don't want to have to rely on equipment to control my horse. Obviously I do have to to a certain point. I have to make sure they are safely under control when out in the open, but beyond that I want to know that in a scary situation they look to us for safety and it isn't just the fear of pain stopping them from running away. There are many times when I am with my horses that it may not look like we are doing much. It may just look like we standing or wondering around, but in reality I am working on making sure I have that connection before I ask more of them. If I don't have them "with" me it is pointless to continue on with training something. I want more than just the physical action I want their mind in it too. More importantly I want them to be happy and not fearful. But there is the hard part of all this...Making sure the horse is okay with the training.

Winter has returned and Thinking of a fun possibility

I had been enjoying our really mild winter, but now we return to our normal temps and snow. Not much snow luckily, but cold. In all actuality it still isn't bad outside. As long as we dress for the weather it can be tolerated.  Because of the return of winter I have only gotten one more ride in on Willow, however today I hope to have another ride on her.

Pixie and I enjoyed a nice afternoon together on Friday. We played in the indoor arena. We did some ground work and then rode bareback some. She was very light and connected for the most part. At times she wanted to go see the horse that was inside with us, but overall she stayed with me. We even played with the ball, boy she loves playing with the ball :)

So on to my fun possibility. I have been toying around with this idea in my head for a while. I haven't said it out loud to anyone though. It is something I have gone back and forth with for many reasons. The main reason is time. I don't have a lot of extra time, but still I think I might just be using that as an excuse :) If you want something bad enough you will make time for it. I just have to make sure that not one of my animals will suffer because of it. I still have to make sure I have enough time to work with my herd/pack, lol. Good thing spring is coming and it will be daylight longer :)

So what is it...well I think I want to start helping people with their horses. I want to do some demos or lessons, for lack of a better term. I don't want to do this to make money so it won't be something I charge for. I want to do this to help show people there is a different way, a way to train without causing pain or fear in their horse. I want them to see that a true connection is available without bit,spurs, whips, etc.  That they don't need pain to control their horse. I want to show them what I have discovered over my lifetime with horses. I learn more ever day. My learning will never be complete, but I hope to pass on what I have learned thus far. I want to know that I did everything I could to make the world a better place for horses. My passion is training/teaching so it is something I will do. I love seeing others learn and grow so I look forward to pursuing this.

More on that later, but for now I am off to get ready for breakfast with friends (that sadly are moving away ) and then on to the barn for the day :)

30 Rides on Willow

Willow hasn't been ridden much this winter due to different things, but the main reason is she doesn't like going out alone and my partner and I have different days off. With inconsistent riding comes spooky behavior. This spooky behavior has caused both of my last falls (no I wasn't riding her at the time) Okay so her behavior didn't exactly cause my falls, I could have prevented the falls had I been paying better attention. But her spooky behavior has led to lost confidence in my partner. She gets nervous waiting for the next spook there for Willow gets nervous and spooks more. It is a vicious cycle.

So I came up with a game plan. For one my partner has to get her confidence back so they are going to be doing ground work and riding in the arenas only for now until they find their groove again. And I am going to put 30 rides on Willow over the next two months. Some will be out alone and some will be with others.

Yesterday we had our 1st ride out alone. Before we tacked up though I spent a lot of time doing ground work and just hanging out with her. She was already nervous so I needed to have her calm before riding. After ground work we rode in the outdoor arena. She gave me some really nice walk/gait transitions and then we threw in a little canter work. She was great for that too! After that we headed out to ride the roads around the barn. Not far, but just to bring her to the edge of her comfort zone and then back. I need her to realize I am not going to push her past her comfort zone before she is ready. We ended back by the arena just sitting and taking it all in. She did great despite the wind.

Questions

Some questions I try to make sure I think about when I work with my horses and questions I want answers to when I see others work with their horses. (Not to judge, but to see how the horse is feeling about the situation)

• How much of a threat is behind the cue/command?
• How much pain is the horse receiving from the equipment?
• If the equipment was gone would the horse still be there?
• Do they really have a choice to leave the situation?
• What happens if they choose to leave?
• Is there a threat of punishment if they go?
• What happens in a scary situation? If the equipment wasn't there to control them would they be gone?
• Are they showing little/big signs of stress? Tail swishing, flared nose, big eyes, etc...
• How can we make the situation better for them?
• How little can we do to ask something of them?
• Can we do it without threats?
• What is really motivating them? Fear or curiosity? 
• Are they connected with you? 

How do you find out these answers? Well with my own horses I watch them, but with others I study the horse. I love watching horse training videos, but I do it with the sound off. Why?Because I can completely focus on what the horses body language is telling me without hearing the trainers description of it. Sometimes the words take away from what is really going on. 

Another Lesson

I learned another lesson yesterday. Actually I learned a few lessons yesterday. First off make sure you wear water proof boots to the barn after it snows the night before! Second don't be in a hurry and get frustrated because you were the one who didn't wear waterproof boots to the barn!

I wanted to play with Navi inside yesterday cause it was just a bit chilly to be outdoors. Well about half way down the road to the tack barn she stopped. Refused to go, but was watching something. I gave her time, but she still refused to go. She would back, yield both hips, but would not go forward down the road. Odd for her yes, well at least in this direction. She has a habit of not wanting to go home (which is getting much better), but not going to the arenas. I thought she was just being stubborn. I finally let my frustration get the best of me, (Not proud of this) and started really pushing with some pressure. It wasn't working either no matter how many circles I made her do she wasn't unlocking to go forward. After a few times I realized I needed to calm down and take another look at what I was doing. It was then that I decided just to take her back and start over. I got her back went and took a short break. When I got back we had a really great session in the pasture at liberty. She was responsive and soft. It was then that I realized I had made a BIG error. She wasn't bulking going to the arena because she wanted to it was because she was genuinely nervous about something. I had completely mis-read the entire situation. These are the times I still struggle with not going back into the old mind set. This is where I have to learn how to rewire my brain.

More proof that that something was scary Navi was when I took Pixie down to the arena. Again I wanted to head inside, but we didn't make it that far. Pixie was nervous too. She would stop look around and if I waited for her then she was slowly make her way to me, but then would jump and spin at the slightest noise. We made it to the outdoor arena and I took off her halter and she ran off. It took her a few minutes to calm down and come back to me. I got her to touch the cone a few times, but then I caught her and we went back to the pasture. Something was going on, I just wasn't sure what. Again when we got back to the pasture she started offering behaviors. We got to practice lifting her leg on cue. I got to play with her and Navi at the same time by the gate...it was a lot of fun and interesting to cue one and then the other.

In the end it was all okay, and it was a lesson I needed to have. I am just forever grateful that horses are so very forgiving and allow us to make these big mistakes to learn from.

So what lead up to this situation. It was the combination of me being cold and having wet toes that lead to my frustration. Something was making Navi nervous (I don't know what), but I wasn't staying calm and relaxed so she didn't have me to fall back on for safety. Do I think we could have had a different outcome if I had just relaxed, maybe, but I also don't think Navi and I are quite there yet in our training. Actually it is me that isn't quite there yet, I have to stop going to an "I" place. I have to stay connected if I expect them to. So it is me that needs to stay in the "we" mindset. She was telling me before we reached the point of no return, but I wasn't listening to her. She was telling me that she was in the "we" mindset here, but down there it is just too scary. I should have listened and worked to find where we lost our connection on the road and just went back to where she was comfortable. Maybe then if I had work with her there we could have made it to the indoor at some point.

Oh and yes today I am wearing waterproof boots!

Be the Change

I have discovered over this past year that many people still use punitive training methods because they don't know any different. 95% of the information out there on horse training is based on a punitive method.

Almost every trainer that comes to my barn uses Positive punishment and Negative reinforcement. I have hope that most people would change their ways if given the knowledge of how. I say most because I know that some would not. Both Positive Punishment and Negative Reinforcement are highly effective ways to train break a horse. Simply put the methods work and work pretty darn fast so I can't expect that everyone would give them up.We, as humans, have too many control issues.

It is my dream that someday more horse friendly methods will be the norm, but the only way that can happen is for people that use more positive methods to step up and be willing to help others. Not for money, but for the horse.  I love being given the opportunity to explain how and why I do what I do. I love for people to question me, not because I want to brag, but because I hope they will want to change their relationship with their horse. I am the first to admit I don't know it all, far from, I learn every day. But I am always looking for a way to better myself. I am more than willing to point out my mistakes and where I went wrong with my horses if it can help keep someone else from making the same mistake. 

Inspiration

I have learned so much over my life with horses. ( I started riding at 3 and owned my first horse at 10) It has been 30 years of learning, and yet on so many levels I feel like my journey has just begun.
 My ever changing path of learning has lead me to where I am today. And while there are parts of my journey I am not proud of I couldn't be where I am if I hadn't done certain things. I feel you can take something from almost every trainer out there. It could even be that you learn what you do not want to do. If you would have asked me 4 years ago where I got my inspiration from I would and could have made you a list of horse trainers. I wanted the relationship with my horses to look like the relationship they had with horses. Then one day I realized my inspiration shouldn't come from other trainers, but from my horses. If I wanted that relationship I had to work to get it. I had to be inspired by the true teachers, the horses. It was then that I really started to listen to the horses and learn. I am still learning with every new day and new session. 

So how have they inspired me?

Pixie: She of course inspires me to slow down and really listen. She inspired me to look beyond my comfort zone and become a better trainer. She has shown me that if you give up trying to control and instead work with them that it all falls into place. Plain and simple this mare has made me who I am.

Jess: He inspired me to change not because I had to with him, but because he showed me what "shut down" looked liked. He inspires me everyday to try and help others so others horses don't end up mentally shut down. Since living with us he has learned he has an opinion and it counts.

Willow: She inspired me to slow down and breath. This mare is anxious and wants to go go go, but if you take the time to listen and show her she doesn't have to she is a dream to work with. She like Jess was mentally shut down and would listen if the pain was great enough to outweigh her own fear. She worked well in a shank bit, but wouldn't listen to anything less. To now see her work without a bit is an inspiration everyday. She no longer has to choice between fear and pain.

Navi: This little mare has inspired me to become softer. She has an opinion and she will make it known. She also has shown me that her heart is there and she will give her all if I do. Navi inspires me to keep doing what I am doing because she came to me a clean slate and it is rewarding to me to see her learn and be happy all at the same time. Through all my trial and errors with her she inspired me to keep going and now we are unstoppable.

Char: She inspires me to help show the world that throw away horses are worth something. At this point I don't plan on ever riding her again, but that doesn't mean she is worthless. She inspires me to never give up. She had no reason to ever trust us, but over time she has come to enjoy our company as much as we enjoy hers.

I do hope that through my actions I can inspire at least one person to try a different path and find inspiration from their horse instead of a trainer.

 How have your horses inspired you?

Pixie was a Rockstar

Yesterday we had the chance to hit the trails with a couple of ladies from the barn. It was our first outing across the street this season. I am loving this warm January weather, but then again what horse person isn't?

I have to give Pixie credit for how well she did considering it was our first ride out in a long time and the fact that one of the other horses became very anxious and and wanted to run home. At one point we were stopped waiting while the other horse was circling. He was very amped up at this point. Mentally checked out to the point where he ran into Pixie and I. All was okay in the end, thank goodness, as I always worry about someone getting hurt when horses get that scared on the trail. At first Pixie started to feed off his anxiety, but with a deep breath from me she came back to me. After that I would click and treat while we stood still. She did an amazing job of staying focused on me and not getting worried. It was a lot for her to handle, but thankfully our training paid off. My deep breath to cue whoa worked, it served its purpose to stop her without rein pressure and to communicate relaxation. Good Pixie! 

A couple more rides on Navi

Yesterday I had the chance to put another ride on Navi. She stood like a champ at the mounting block so I hoped on. We walked a little and then worked on whoa and flexing. She is still bracing while I am riding so I got off and did some more in hand work. She was super light on the ground, somewhere I am losing the connection between ground and riding work. Have to solve that puzzle. It got to where if I got a good stop I would dismount. We would do something else and then I would remount see if I could get a light stop and then dismount. It was a lot of on off, but it seemed to work in the end. I am still riding bareback so I can easily slid off if needed. I look forward to riding her again today :)

How and Why I became Softer

First of all I stopped using words like disrespectful, dominant, and instead I started to look for the true meaning behind the behaviors.

I started to dissect every behavior and look at it differently. I paid attention to all the little details and signs the horses where giving me. Basically I started looking at the why.

Why didn't they want to do said behavior? What could be their reasoning behind it. Was it fear, frustration, not understanding, soreness, etc...

Instead of worry about how to get them to NOT do certain behaviors I started to focus on the behavior I wanted them to do.

Horses don't do behaviors without reason. In some way that behavior was rewarded either by you or it could be a self rewarding behavior.  Bad behaviors such as bucking or rearing can be self rewarding because it works to get rid of the pressure or pain caused by the rider or tack. (There can be many different reasons) Wanting to rush home is usually rewarded  because in the end the ride stopped. There are two ways to stop these behaviors: 1. Make the punishment so severe it outweighs the reward they get by performing the behavior or 2. Make the reward for the correct behavior outweigh the bad behavior. The problem with the first way is that it doesn't address the root cause. By punishing the behavior you aren't asking the question of Why. And without addressing the why you can't ever completely address the issue at hand. And if you don't fix the root cause you truly are not fixing the behavior. You will see the behavior again, it may not be often, but it will happen. However, if you look for the root cause and address that issue then you will be able to make the bad behavior extinct because they won't have a reason to repeat it.

So with all that in mind, I started to change my ways. This was a long process. The funny part is I have known this for many years. When I trained dogs my specialty was aggressive and reactive dogs. When working with dogs that have behavioral issues you always back chain to find the root cause. So why did it take me so long with horses. Well because it went against everything I was taught in the horse world. Most trainers in the horse world don't brother to look at the why they only address the issue at hand. Actually I lied, they will tell you the "why" is because the horse is being disrespectful or dominant.

You don't have to take my word for it, these are my own thoughts and opinions, but if you have even the slightest want to work your horse without pain and pressure start to look at the small details. Start to analyze every part of your relationship with your horse. Start to look at how what You do effects your horse. Try to look at things from your horses point of view. Step back and take a good long look at yourself. Also step back and watch others. Start to watch how they interact with their horses. Watch the horse...sometimes watching others do the same thing you do is the biggest eye opener. Cause yes, it looks and feels the same when you do it. I know I had a real eye opener when I did all of this.

Great Day with the Horses

It was nap time when we arrived. I bet they were a little sad to see us pull up.

We took Willow and Pixie down first. We ended up having to ride inside due to the wind and ice. It was really warm, just not safe footing. That was okay though as we had a chance to ride and talk with another boarder and then we got to play soccer with the girls. It was a fun fun ride! Pixie and I rode in her buckle halter. The only way to know if she is responding to me and not out of fear of pressure is to remove the object that could create the pressure.  I wanted to make sure she was just as responsive without her rope halter. She did really well, even with the distractions!

After our ride, I caught Navi. We are working on her position to me while walking. She is doing so well at this. If she gets a head of me I just stop and wait. She is quickly correcting herself back to be aligned with my shoulder. As soon as she gets aligned I click and treat. It has taken us a while, but she is finally learning impulse control. We played in the indoor also and had some amazing mounting block work. She lined right up and stood perfectly still while I mounted and dismounted. I am on vacation this week so I really would like to get some rides on Navi while I have the time off.

The real reason I ride at liberty

Why do I ride Pixie with just a neck rope or sometimes 100% at liberty. Well because it makes me a better rider. I don't do it to make her better. Sure she comes out of each ride better trained (at least I hope so, lol) , but that isn't my main goal. It challenges me way more than it challenges her. Taking away all head control forces me to ride with my whole body, not just my arms. It makes me figure out ways to communicate to her without pressure. I am forced to think outside the box! It also makes me trust in her. We had a rocky start and it took me a long time to figure out that until I trusted her she wasn't going to trust in me. I had to live in the moment, not the past.

 I do liberty to make me better and riding at liberty shows me where my holes are at. It will also show me where she is at mentally. Our rides vary depending on my mood and hers. And if you know Pixie you know she can be quite moody, lol. It is the harder rides though that I get the most out of. I really have to stay soft and focused because if I push to hard she will leave me. She is very clear with how she feels.

Why is riding at liberty making me better not just her, well because unlike most people I didn't wait until she was so mechanically broke that I could ride bridle-less. I did the opposite, lol, I ditched the bridle and halter to make her and I better. (I did wait until we had a solid stop with just a breathing cue. I am crazy, but not stupid, lol)  I was then challenged with how to teach her to back, turn, flex and in general listen to me without the rein aids. We spent many rides just working on one thing. Now as time has past we can practice multiple things. Some days we still work on refining a certain cue/behavior, other days we just do whatever.

The other day she seemed to have lost the ability to turn right and left. Backing that day was at 110% though. So we practiced backing, then after a few minutes, and with the help of our new target we got steering back. Her lack of steering came back on me since she was willing to give me other behaviors. She wasn't being defiant or disrespectful to me because once I took a different route we had steering. I had to change how I was asking, and that right there is the reason I ride at liberty because it requires me to work with her as a partner.  

Target Training

We have had the chance to play with our new target a few times now. And the verdict is...all the horses love it and so do I! I find it is an easy way to get them learn new positions. I have ridden with it twice, one time on Pixie and Willow.  I look forward to riding with it more so I can have a new tool once I start consistently putting rides on Navi.

Thursday I was able to do a little target work with Willow. I found it really helped her unlock her shoulders. Moving over her front end has always been a struggle for her and having the target to follow really allowed her relax and move freely :)

Now I am super excited for spring so I will have more daylight hours to get out and play!

Learned Helplessness...Fair warning rant included.

Tying a horse for several hours a day to teach them to stand quietly is a method that is recommended by almost all big name NH trainers. Why? Well from what I have read they say because the horse will learn that he/she will be there for a long time so they might as well stop moving and stand quietly. They say to only untie the horse when it is relaxed so it will depend on the horse on how long it will stand tied. Will it work? You bet it will! It may only take a few minutes for the horse to catch on or it could take several hours. You will probably have to repeat this for a few days, but they should catch on after that.

 Wait a minute...isn't this is the same as learned helplessness? It is to me. 

Contemporary definitions for learned helplessness

noun-

a mental condition in which one becomes unable to help oneself due to previous failed attempts at controlling one's life; also, a condition in which a person establishes and maintains contact with another by adopting a helpless, powerless stance

Examples:

Learned helplessness is conditioned behavior in which an individual gives up trying to escape a painful situation after repeatedly failing to escape.

Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon
Copyright © 2003-2014 Dictionary.com, LLC

Great job trainers for teaching others how to take the will out of a horse. Perfect job teaching the horse it won't escape the boredom/anger/frustration/fear so why try.

Unfortunately this isn't the only training idea that teaches learned helplessness. Start paying attention to their other fixes for problems and you will start to see the trend. In all the answers given by these big name trainers the horse has no choice. The horse learns saying no isn't an option. But wait, these NH trainers love horses and want to make the world a better place for them. Uhmm, no, they want to make money off of you and in order to do that they have to give you a quick fix. Also don't be fooled into thinking that all the trainers are different. All NH trainers use the same technique they just call it something different for marketing purposes.

Please excuse the rant here, I am just tired of seeing all the things that we do to horses that people consider ok.

Why would we let a trainer hit our horse with the lead rope because it wasn't moving backwards, sideways, or any direction fast enough?? Why are we letting trainers put marks on our horses with spurs? Why are mouths bloody from bits okay? Many people that claim to love their horses are more than willing to let someone cause their horse pain when training them. Why are we letting trainers chase our horses around with ropes/sticks causing them fear?  What are we gaining from allowing this? Pretty moving horses? Horses that fear us, but have learned they can't do anything about it so they submit?

But my horse trainer is different. Awesome! Now go ask him/her what to do when your horse won't yield to you.  If the answer involves putting more and more pressure on them until they do what you want then you are lying to yourself if you believe that your trainer is different. Why you ask, well because I can almost certainly say that when push comes to shove your trainer will hit your horse if that is what is required to get the horse to move. A trainer that hasn't been trained in any other method isn't going to have a different answer other than to add more pressure when it doesn't work. I will say some trainers are good enough with their release they don't have to add much pressure. Those trainers are somewhat better in my opinion, but I would still like to see what their response would be when a horse told them "no" I bet it would include upping the pressure to show them who is in charge.

Okay rant over
 

Officially Bit-less

Well I put my bridles up for sale and they are going to their new homes soon, lol. So that means I am officially without bits :) Off to a great start for 2015! I did keep my leather side pull. I will ride in that or halters.

Pixie and I had a great liberty ride on Saturday. We stayed in the round pen because we were playing with our new target that we bought from Shawna Karrasch's website. I love using this new tool. It allows me to better communicate without pressure and release. It is just long enough to use during riding, but not so long that it gets in the way.

By the end of Saturday all the mares had been introduced to the target stick. All 4 of them caught on! I am so excited to keep playing around with this. Hurry up spring!

My 2015 Commitment

For the last 4 1/2 years I have been working to find better ways to train with the horses. And 4 years ago I made a commitment to go bitless with Pixie. The only problem was that when push came to shove I went back to traditional ways and went back to the bit. In the last 4 years I have gone back and forth many times combining pressure and release methods with clicker training. However over time I learned it doesn't work well when you combine methods so my 2015 goal is 100 % commitment to force free, pressure free training.

What does this mean to me...Well it means I better put my bridle and bits up for sale this week! I can't ask other people to be open minded if I am not 100% committed myself. This isn't to say I haven't been committed, it is just that I haven't let go of all my old ways. Most people will say but you have let go of your old ways, but the truth is that I haven't. If I had I would have gotten rid of my bits by now.
 So why haven't I given up my bits since I don't use them? The only answer I can come up with is that I think I might need them again.  Why? Well that is what I must ask myself. And the answer I have found isn't an easy one. It is because my way of training is isolating in a lot of ways. I have to defend my ways all the time. (Which is why I try not to make people feel their way of training isn't right, unless it is out right abusive.) I feel pressure that if my horses act up that people are going to blame my way of training. I know the truth, but it can be hard to deal with.  But the time has come for me to step up and just deal with it :)

Many times while I have been working with Pixie I have been asked the question of "how did you teach that?". And most times I will respond with something along the line of targeting, shaping, or clicker training. I don't usually go into much detail because usually the people asking (who I consider amazing people and I really enjoy hanging outwith) do not train the same way as I do. That is not to say their way is wrong. I just can't show them how I taught the behavior since it wouldn't be the same way they would teach it. I do know how to teach most things with pressure and release, but there are so many things I have taught Pixie through CT alone I wouldn't know how to teach it any other way. My expertise is in Positive Reinforcement, and I can show someone how to teach almost any behavior in that way. However, as with any training method, the basics must be learned first. One simply can not pick and chose which parts of clicker training to use. 

Now anyone that wants to learn from the beginning I am more than happy to work with to show them what they can accomplish!

I look forward to seeing how I grow in 2015, and in turn how that helps my horses grow individually and us together as partners. :)

Be Honest with Yourself!

Over the last few years I have done everything I know how to become a better person and trainer to my horses. I am obviously no expect or professional. However, I have learned a thing or two along the way. And one of the biggest things I have learned is how important it is to pay attention to what your horse thinks about your time together and training.

So how does one find out if their horse is truly with them and enjoying the time together. Well I might suggest taking off all equipment. Go to an open area like an arena, not round pen, and let them go. Let them do what they want, they may stay or go explore,but then ask something of them. Give them cues and use the same amount of pressure you would use if they were on line. See what your outcome is. If they leave it tells you they don't enjoy what you are doing. Be honest with yourself if you have to make them stay with you by making leaving unpleasant you aren't making them like you or your actions any more. All you are doing is making them choose the lesser of two evils. Please don't kid yourself and say "but they are making the choice to be with me". No, they are not. They are making to choice to avoid something more unpleasant. Frankly, I would chose to stand next to someone I hated if my other option was being chased around. However, just because I made that choice doesn't mean I like that person now, it just means I do what I have to in order to stop running!


Start looking for little signs too. How does he/she do in everyday situations with you. Are they just tolerating it or are they enjoying their time with you. Does your horse offer you behaviors or are they scared to try new things. After you start paying attention to them pay attention to how you address the behaviors. Are you teaching your horse learned helplessness? Where they just give up? Ask yourself and be HONEST with your answer. What choice are you giving your horse? Are you using the method of making the right thing easy and the wrong thing hard? I do believe you should make the right thing easy, I don't believe you should make an underlining threat too.

Are you going to find the answer you like? I don't know. I haven't always gotten the answer I was looking for, but it was the hard answers that made me face the truth! I know some people are NOT concerned with how their horse feels about the situation and that is their choice. But others do love their horses and want what is best for them they just don't know any better.


 Am I perfect? No, I am far from. Are my horses perfect? Nope! But do I try to listen to them as much as I can? You bet I do. My goal for 2015 is to be a better listener to Pixie while under saddle. She has started rushing home while on rides and I want to get to the bottom of why! Actually I know why, it is because she is not enjoying being out. It is that that I have to figure out. Is it because I am asking to much of her physically or something else???

For a Brief Second...

With winter here and my time being limited at the barn I had a thought go through my head. Maybe I should consider sending Navi off to be trained under saddle this next year. After it crossed my mind it quickly left and then I thought "how could you even think that". All of a sudden I had guilt for not being more consistent with her, but then it dawned on me that we have plenty of time. Then I got to play with her and her behavior reassured me that I was making the right choice by taking things slow. See no matter how hard you try to leave old the old ways behind sometimes they creep back in without you realizing it. Besides I don't even have anyone to send her too. There isn't anyone in my area I would trust to train her. Now if I lived closer to one of the amazing Clicker Trainers that I follow,  I would send her in a heart beat, because I would love love love to take some lessons with them. Maybe some day I will come into a lot of money and get to travel to some clinics across the country :)  Until then Navi and I will work together to get her ready for trail riding. It may take us two years, but we will get there.

My Growth

Many times I have talked about how the horses have progressed and what they have taught me in the process. I think it is about time I talk about how I have changed. I started out as a very traditional trainer. When I was 16 it was all about dominance over the horse. They do what you want and when you want it! All bad behaviors where punished in some way. Then I grew up and got Pixie. And well we all know where Pixie and I started from and how she changed me. But did she change me completely...the answer is no. As much as I would like to say she did, I found it so easy to fall back into old habits. Maybe not with her, but with other horses that would tolerate it. I never beat them, but I also didn't look for a different way at the time. I was that crossover trainer that hadn't yet committed. I didn't want to use force and pressure, but yet I hadn't given up bits, whips, or spurs yet. It wasn't until 2014 when I decided absolutely no more bits, sticks/strings or spurs to get what I wanted. I have Navi to thank for that. She showed me that no matter how nice you think you are being when using Negative Reinforcement you are still not being nice. You are still using threats to get what you want. It has been a long road for me, one that isn't at the end yet. I am still trying to better myself.  Heck it is 2015 now and you will still find headstalls with bits hanging next to my saddles. Why if I don't want to use them?? Well that is a good question and one I can't answer. Maybe that will be my 2015 goal...get rid of my bits. 

Taking off the Leadrope...

Yesterday was a big day for Navi and I. We had our first free lunge session in the indoor arena. And she nailed it!! She left a few times to go check out the barrels or when my other half came inside. But she came back after a couple of minutes and was ready to play again. She went both directions on cue and stayed a perfect distance away from me while she circled around. Her stops where fantastic too! Of course we just stuck with walk/trot because I feel canter is too much right now. After moving a bit my partner got out the ball and played with her for a while.

 I think I have finally managed to get across to Navi that regardless of what she chooses she will not be in trouble. I will not up the pressure to get what I want. I had to undo what I did. I made her who she was/is. Having her to start from the ground up has taught me so much. Mainly because I have to take responsibility for all her behaviors, good and bad. She came to me at  1 1/2 so her attitude towards training directly reflects on me, and me alone.