How The Horse That Teaches Me Has Transformed My Life

Posted by Sue C. Clark · Leave a Comment   (Edit)

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We often focus on training or teaching the horse that sometimes we forget to look at what the horse can teach us.

 

I had an older Arab mare growing up, she was the ultimate confidence booster, and lets face it, when you’re young, you bounce. We’d fly everywhere bareback with a piece of bailing twine around her neck.  I considered myself a rider. Until I met Dewy…

He was a young unhandled three year old pure Endurance Arabian. I was 20 years older.  I thought I would just back him and we’d do some endurance together. He was the sweetest boy, really gentle … but also the most reactive and athletic horse I have ever known. He taught me patience. He taught me to break things down into smaller steps. He taught me to be precise about what I wanted. He taught me that with everything I do, he is learning, good and bad. He has taught me to breathe. To stay relaxed but alert.

After being together for nine years he still keeps me on my toes. If I decide not to ride for a while, I cannot just leave where I left off. He needs to be respected. Reintroduced to work gently but firmly. He will do anything I ask, as long as I ask it the right way and with respect. I trust him to pick us both up when we make a mistake, I trust him to keep me on my toes, and I trust him to shy at bloody everything! ;-P

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Sue C. Clark

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The power of horses to heal

EQUINE Ink

This is a very inspiring story, filmed by National Geographic, about a veteran with PTSD who rode 1,000 miles along the Continental Divide. The wilderness and animal relationship gave him hope and peace of mind.

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Five Ways To Engage Your Horse’s Hind Leg

Dressage Different

One of the tenets of dressage is the activation and increased carrying power of your horse’s hind legs. When your horse weights himself more behind, that results in a lighter shoulder and thus a more mobile front end. This allows you as the rider to manipulate the horse through various movements with small, unobtrusive aids. Think of all of the movements in dressage as tests of your horse’s balance and as you go up the levels those tests on his balance come faster and faster, asking for more weight on the hind end in order to complete the them successfully. Of course, we are not looking for just weighting of the hind legs. We are also looking for activation or engagement of the hind legs AS they are bearing this increased carrying load. That makes it very difficult for the horse and why it takes many years to bring a…

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The Harsh Reality of Vet Med…What the World Needs to Understand

The Harsh Reality of Vet Med…What the World Needs to Understand.

Choosing a Horse Sport

Often young riders are in a hurry to take up popular horse sports due to pressure from peers.  “What do you do with your horse?” can seem to be a question that needs a prestigious answer. I have found that after 30 years of riding, the relationship you form with your horse is far more important than any ribbons.  Learning and specialising in specific disciplines can help develop your skills and relationship, and that is why this article is written. If you would like to take up a horse discipline but don’t really know where to start, read on.

Deciding on which horse sport to choose can be scary.  There are many different types and they all have different rules and skills to learn.  If you haven’t had the chance to try to a lot of the riding activities it would be a good idea to join a local pony or riding club.   There you can have a go at different activities with people who are knowledgeable and can guide you in the correct way to do things.  A good club will help you to learn new skills and gain confidence.  Soon you will discover the activities that you and your horse enjoy.  These activities should give you an idea of what ‘discipline’ you would like to take up.

Once you have chosen the sport you would like to do with your horse, look for any clubs in your area.  Most clubs welcome new members and you might be able to watch one of their training days before joining.  Many clubs have a list of trainers or coaches that are able to give lessons about your discipline.  Your club may be able to give you the name of someone who will mentor you.  A mentor will be able to help you get started and give valuable advice about your sport.

It is a good idea to go to as many clinics and training days as you can comfortably afford. We never stop learning and most clinics will be of great value, even if you have been doing it for years.  It is important to remember that even Olympic riders have regular lessons and practice daily.  We don’t master new skills over night and we all have to start somewhere. Practice, practice, practice and you will soon be having success.

Before long, you and your horse will be training and competing in something you both will enjoy.  The keys to any equestrian success is to: Start off slowly, develop your skills, learn from others, listen to your horse and practice. 

 

Check out http://www.onlineequine.com.au for horse supplies in Australia.

To Bare or Not to Bare…Bareback Riding in Rider’s Education.

An insightful piece on Riding Bareback. Something I think should be included in all riding programs once the fundamentals are in place.

Official Blog by Aspire Equestrian Riding Academy

Bareback riding is a forbidden part of rider’s education at quite a number of riding schools across the UK. The reason being (given to me when I asked) that riding without a saddle is an unsafe practice and having it on the agenda jeopardises the terms of riding school’s insurance policy. It goes further than this. While working at a BHS Where To Train Centre (to read about what centre qualifies as such see HERE) I was under instructions to limit no-stirrups lessons and if lunging a client I was to make sure they always had either reins or stirrups always available. In other words, if I took stirrups away, I was to make sure the rider had the reins in their hands. If they had no reins in their hands, they were to have both feet in the stirrups.

Safety….

On one hand I feel I must stand…

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Free Report – What does a horse really cost?

I was sitting down doing up my horse budget for 2014,…… well really I was trying to work out if I could afford the lovely Waler filly I have had my heart set on for the past year, when I got the shock of my life.  Do you know how much your horses actually cost??

No I wouldn’t swap my boys for anything, but it is no wonder I haven’t bought new clothes for myself in ages.  I think my horses are eating them … well the cash anyway.

After I sat down and worked out all the things I do for my horses to keep them healthy, I realized that there is an awful lot of people buying rescue horses thinking they are a cheap option. No horse is a CHEAP option! 

I think that is why so many of them end up as rescues, or at the ‘dogger’ yards.  Many people don’t really know what it costs financially to maintain a horse in a healthy condition.

I thought it would be a good idea to put together this Report on what it actually costs to own a horse.  Maybe it will help people consider if they can really get that pony that they have always wanted or add another to their existing herd.

Please forgive the spiel below but I figured it was the best way to get it out there.

For a limited time FREE Report!
Do you need to set your horse budget for next year or are you looking at buying your first pony or horse?
This report is written especially for you. Sign up for our free newsletter while your there!
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http://www.onlineequine.com.au/the-real-cost-of-owning-a-horse/

The difference between leg yield, half pass and shoulder in

EQUINE Ink

How many times have you seen people attempt shoulder in or half pass, only to see their horse bulging through the shoulder and shuffling sorta sideways. Or the rider bending the wrong way and thinking they have achieved half pass, or even more common, thinking their horse is straight when it’s actually shaped a bit like a squiggle.

Part of the problem is it’s hard to visualize how your horse needs to move through its body to perform these movements properly. This wonderful illustration is very helpful as it shows how the horse’s body bends from the poll through its spine as well as showing where the power (or thrust) of the hind leg is sending the body.

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Alternate Horse Therapies?

What therapies are considered alternate?  What makes them alternate?  What are they the alternative too? 

Is the alternative not to treat your horse and instead have your horse displaying uncharacteristic behaviour, being a handful, bucking, loosing condition, lashing out or withdrawing?

Today’s ‘alternative’ therapy for my horses was chiropractic.  Okay for one guy it was simple maintenance check.  The other poor guy was badly in need of a treatment.  During wet weather he had been racing around the paddock and taken a slip and slide on his side.  He actually left a layer of skin and hair on the grass.

It has taken a while for the wound to heal properly and the hair to begin to grow back.  I think he has quite enjoyed his holiday though.  To leave the chiropractic out of the healing process would be a crucial mistake.  He was ‘out’ in his neck, both shoulders, three places in his spine and had a rotated pelvis.

Being a tough and well behaved boy, the only obvious indicators for this poor boys distress was that he was ‘grumpy.’  His paddock mates had copped his wrath over the past few weeks. Otherwise he was quite willing to do what ever I asked.  Fortunately, I knew something wasn’t right and gave him a holiday until we could get an appointment with the equine chiropractor.

Once you have a network of excellent qualified specialists remember to treat them like gold.  No one knows your horse like you do, but these guys have spent many years training and practicing to become specialists in their chosen field.  They are a wealth of knowledge and advice and can help you to bring out the best in your horse.

What horse therapies do you use the most?

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