Competing in the Aeron Riding Halter!

For those of you who might think I don’t practice what I preach…. here is video footage from my event today in which I competed in my Aeron Riding Halter…..  yep, all three phases.  My rein breaks during my stadium round, but the halter worked well, and we finished with clear rounds in stadium and cross country to finish 8th in our division of 20.  My horse, Lily, 21 years young, was un-retired a few weeks ago as her sore feet are feeling much better now….!

Stadium Round:

Cross Country (mostly obstructed by trees):

Here’s some pics:

Quick Tip: Worming

If you have a horse that doesn’t like being wormed, try this:  get a large dose syringe, or an old wormer syringe that you’ve washed out, and fill it with applesauce.  Squirt the applesauce into the horse’s mouth just like you would do with wormer.  After two or three times (over a week or so), you will notice a BIG improvement in the horse’s attitude about “wormer!”   I use applesauce about every other time I “worm”, and now, when the horses see me coming with the wormer, they line up at the fence and literally put their mouths around the worming syringe and suck!

Get Your Confidence Back!

We’ve all been there: something happens to spook us, and suddenly we’re not quite as confident on our horses as we were.  Perhaps an injury, or a bad experience has caused us to become nervous or afraid of our horse, or of riding outside the comfort zone of the ring, etc. The same thing can happen to we women when we get pregnant.  Suddenly we are just a bit more apprehensive than we used to be…..

This is totally natural!  It is hard-wired in our systems to be nervous or afraid if we perceive a potentially harmful or unpleasant situation.  Especially for those of us who have been injured in the past (I broke my back, for example), it is very common to have feelings of nervousness when getting back in the saddle.  I don’t know about you, but it frustrates me!

So, I’ve been giving it some thought, and I have a few ideas on how to overcome your fears/insecurities, and get back on that horse!

First, identify the problem.  Is this fear because of an injury? Pregnancy? Bad experience? Is it all in your head?  If you can pinpoint the reason for the fear, you can start working to overcome it.

Second, is the problem consistent?  In other words, do you feel the same level of nervousness each time you ride? Or is it more dependant on the mood/behavior of your horse?  For me, my nervousness increases dramatically when my horse is feeling flighty/spooky/frisky.  Recently I rode my TB gelding and he was higher than a kite… spring weather, combined with not having been ridden in a while, was making him extra rambunctious.  It made me nervous, and in turn, caused my body to tense.  Even though I was aware this was happening, I couldn’t help it, and horsey just got more bouncy as a result.  Then I rode my TB mare, the golden child, and all was calm and cool.  I had a lovely ride and felt much better – calm and relaxed.

There are several factors which could be exacerbating your problem as well.  First, do you have the right horse?  I have all too often seen a rider who is on a horse that is too much for them.   This is especially common when a green rider buys a young horse, or a horse that has not had a lot of training.  Or perhaps the horse is high-strung?  Nothing is worse than wanting to go for a liesurely trail ride and your super-hot horse is bouncing all the way down the trail.

Some horses are good about beeing ridden only once in a while, and some need to be ridden/worked more often.  If you are a ‘once in a while’ type of rider, be sure you don’t own the second type of horse.

I wonder how many of you have noticed something I have noticed in my own horses;  I can look out in to the pasture and see them all, just hanging around, heads down, ears floppy, totally relaxed.  Then minute I get on them, suddenly the eyes are wide open, the head is up, the nostrils flared, and off we go.  This problem is very common and can be handled in a couple of ways.  The objective in this case is to get the horse’s attitude when ridden to be the same relaxed attitude he has when hanging out with his pals in the pasture.  One way to do this is to make riding a little boring.  Don’t just hop on and head down the trail with all the scary mailboxes and trash cans…. do some boring stuff first, like practicing circles at the walk.  Or walking forward, stopping, and backing up. Repeat.  You don’t want the horse to think, “Oh YEY!  Here come’s Fifi!  We’re going for a RIDE!!  Yippee!!!!”   We want the horse to say (in his Eeyore voice) “Oh, ok, a ride. Swell.”  We can get that quieter attitude by doing some boring stuff each time we ride.

Another strategy is to do more work when they are behaving badly, and less work when they are being calm and nice.  For example, if your horse has a habit of spooking every time he passes by the manure pile, make a point of doing extra exercizes there, preferably boring ones, like circles.  After a couple times, he will think (in his Eeyore voice again) “oh joy. The manure pile. More work.”  Be sure to skip the boring circles if he is calm and quiet.  Pretty soon he will figure out that if he’s goofy, he works, and if he’s quiet, he doesn’t.

Also, there is nothing wrong with taking a few days off from riding.  I take a little down time when I’m not feeling it….  instead of riding, I’ll go back and watch some of my videos, like my John Lyons videos.  I always learn a little something new, and it gets me inspired to get back on the horse.

Another way I find helpful for getting my confidence level back up a few notches is to take a lesson.  Even if you are an advanced level rider, there is something about taking a lesson from a respected professional that always makes me feel great.  First of all, find someone who’s style and opinion you respect.  Try several different instructors until you find one you really like.  They will be able to see things you do not, and improve your skills as well as challenge you to try things you might not try on your own.  I like to take lessons with several different people…. I find that each person has his or her unique style, and I learn different things from each of them.  Recently I had a group lesson with a very accomplished advanced level rider named Bobby Meyerhoff.  He convinced me to jump a large coop that I would NEVER have attempted on my own.  I was terrified!  But the fact that he seemed perfectly convinced that I could handle it, combined with the fact that the other riders in the group had all done it and were encouraging me…. was enough to give me the gumption to give it a try. After successfully jumping it several times, I really felt my confidence coming back, and it has stuck with me.  I realize I am very lucky;  living in Northern Virginia, I have access to many many Olympic and World Champion riders… I could take a lesson with a different Olympian each day of the week!!

If you have some tips on getting your confidence back, let me know!

A Few Safety Tips for Rope Halters

Please keep in mind that rope halters of any kind are usually not breakable, and therefore certain precautions must be taken.  For example, NEVER turn a horse out in a rope halter.  The halter can get caught on something, or worse, the horse can get his foot in it and really hurt himself or worse.  Never leave a horse in a rope halter unattended for the same reasons. If your horse is not 100% okay with being tied, just loop your lead loosely around the post, or tie it to a piece of bailing twine that will break in an emergency.  I also do not  ever clip cross ties to a rope halter.  Instead, I clip the two ends of the cross ties together to make a long “fenceline,” then I just loosely wrap (not tie) the lead rope around that.  Horses seem happier to have the freedom to move their heads, and are less likely to panic.  I also do not tie my horses when in the trailer.  I usually just let the leadrope drop into the front of the trailer, or loosely tie it to a piece of bailing string, or just take it off all together. 

One of the safety training things I do is teach all my horses what to do in an emergency.  They are all used to walking around (starting in a small area or small roundpen) with the leadrope dragging on the ground, so that this doesn’t spook them.  Also I do excercises wrapping the rope around their legs to teach them to yield to pressure instead of panic and fight it.  A very good example of the benefits of this was demonstrated in one of John Lyons’ videos, where he has his stallion Zip walk over a metal folding chair lying on it’s side…. it is incredible to watch the stallion stepping in between the legs of the chair, and slowly and carefully step out of it.   Amazing!  In general, anything that sets off that little “I wonder if this is safe?” voice in your head should alert you to a potential safety problem.  For more info on riding in a halter, there is a short tutorial on How To Start Using A Riding Halter on the links to the right.  Happy riding!

Quote of the Day

She was only a whisky-maker, but he loved her still.




 The experts don’t always have the right answers. According to the laws of aerodynamics, the bumble bee cannot fly. I guess no one bothered to tell the bee. 


“Support bacteria.  They’re the only culture some people have.”


 “The trouble with being punctual is that no one is there to appreciate it.”


 “Tom [Dorrance] had given me an old lesson over — it is never the “big thing” that we should focus on, but all the little things that come before the big thing, and then the big thing will take care of itself.”  (From True Unity, Tom Dorrance.)


 “Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence in society.” ~Mark Twain

        “In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom, in water there is bacteria.”   -Ben Franklin

How to Start Using a Riding Halter

Here are some tips for those who are interested in trying a bitless bridle of any kind….If you are switching from a bitted bridle to a bitless, first let me say congratulations!  You are making a very important step in the right direction of improving your horse’s health and happiness!

Okay so, here is how to start:

1. Begin on the ground, standing next to your horse, with either a halter or bitless bridle on your horse.

2. Stand at your horse’s side, at about the shoulder, and pick up the rein (or leadrope.. I’ll just call it rein from now on, but it can mean either) until you are pulling slightly on your horse’s head.  Keep the pressure soft but firm, and consistent.

3. When the horse starts to feel the pressure (or starts to want to do something about it) he will begin to move his head, either up, down sideways, etc.  At first, he will not know what you are asking him to do.

At this point (this is important) keep the pressure the same until he tries moving his head towards you, even the tiniest little bit.  Immediately release the pressure, and wait 5-10 seconds doing nothing. (This tells him he has picked the right answer).

 

4. Pick up the rein again, and put the same gently but consistent pressure.  This time the horse may move towards you right away.  For even the smallest try (toward you), immediately release the pressure, and wait 5-10 seconds.

5. Pick up the rein and ask for him to bring his head a bit closer, by holding the pressure just a bit longer till he moves it towards you. Repeat this process until the horse is bringing his head all the way to you (at his shoulder) with light pressure.

6. Now do it on the other side.  (Horse’s don’t extrapolate information from one side to the other, you have to practice everything on both sides!)

7. Now you’re going to do the same thing from in the saddle.  Start by just standing still. Gently pull one rein towards your knee, and wait for the response.  Timing is everything, so immediately release when you get a try.  Keep doing this till his head comes all the way around to your knee with light pressure. Do this on both sides.

8. Now practice this at the walk, then the trot, and then the canter (although his head won’t be able to come all the way to your knee really, but you get the idea).

Now, not only have you built a solid introduction to the bitless bridle, but you have accomplished several other things as well:  Your horse is now soft and responsive to your hand, and, you have just built the foundation for the calm down cue, and the emergency stop cue.

The calm down cue is anything you do to help you horse to calm down when he is nervous, or about to become nervous.  For example, if he always spooks when you pass the mailbox (trash can, tractor, whatever), start asking him for his head (bending towards you) as you approach the scary item.  You will find that his mind is more on you than on the item, which he may ignore completely.  If he does spook, then do 3 small circles right there, immediately after the spook.  Every time he spooks, do these 3 small circles.  Keep in mind that the horse must pair the spook with the circles.  Don’t do the circles until he has actually spooked.  If you do the circles before he has spooked, you are essentially ‘correcting’ something he hasn’t even done yet.  Eventually your horse will see the scary item, and say “Gosh, I really don’t want to have to do all those silly circles….. I think I’ll just ignore that trash can today.

“Be careful not to anticipate a spook.  If you know your horse always spooks at the mailbox, TRY VERY HARD to keep your body relaxed and balanced as he approaches.  If you get nervous and tense, then so will he.  Give him the opportunity to be good first, only correct after a spook.  Some people have inadvertently taught their horse to spook by getting nervous themselves first, which sends a signal to your horse that ‘this is something to be afraid of,’ which will reinforce any tendency to spook at that item.

You also now have your emergency stop cue in place.  If your horse starts to run away with you, don’t panic.  Reach down and pull one rein around to your knee.  If you have done all the prep work, he will bring his head around, and will thereby have to slow down.  It is very very hard for a horse to run away with his head tucked around to your knee (although not impossible!).  It is a good idea to practice this at the canter (simulating a running away scenario) first, so that he is familiar with doing it at speed.  And remember, as always, the more you practice, the better he’ll be!

The “Okidoki” Attitude

Whenever I work with a horse, my ultimate goal is to have the horse adopt what I call the “okidoki attitude.”  The okidoki attitude is when you say to your horse “Horse!  Let’s go for a ride.” “Okidoki,” is his answer.  “Horse?  Let’s cross this bridge.”  “Okidoki,” he says.  “Hey horse, let’s cross this creek here.”  “Okily-dokily,” says horsey.  This is what working with horses should be like all the time.  This is the goal we are striving for.  It is the calm, willing attitude of our partner, who will do whatever we ask of him, every time we ask it.

The opposite of the okidoki attitude is the “not so much” attitude.  This is when a red flag goes up.   It happens when I’m working with a horse, and I ask him to do something, and he says “mmmm, not so much.”  When this happens, I make a mental note of it, and then figure out a way, using natural horsemanship, to get back to that okidoki attitude.   This might include: going back to a stage where he was more comfortable, and working back up to what I am asking; or it might just mean keeping the pressure on until he decided it’s easier to change his attitude than to live with the pressure.

The “okidoki attitude” includes: not spooking, coming when I call, standing still to be saddled, mounted, etc., not crowding into me, walking into the trailer when asked, and just having a willing attitude in general.  There are many steps to get to the “okidoki attitude” but they are well worth it.  Taking the time to teach your horse something the right way is always better than just getting them to do it this once, with no regard for the horse’s future response/attitude.  For example, forcing a horse into the trailer who does not want to get on willingly is only gonig to create more problems for you the next time.  Taking the time to teach him to go on with “okidoki attitude” will ensure that all future trailer trips are relaxing and enjoyable.

All in all, the “olidoki attitude” is something I keep in the back of my mind at all times when working with horses.  It is the goal I strive toward in all aspects of horse handling and riding, and it is what makes being around horses so much fun.