I often share this quote as I work to educate folks to be more supportive of the horse.
So much of what dictates the quality and success along the horsemanship journey is based on the openness of the human putting themselves "out there" to just be present. No critique or judgment towards themself.
Letting go of comparing oneself with what "others" are doing. Eliminating unrealistic self-imposed time pressures. Finding joy in the quality rather than trying to prove one can survive equine chaos.
When this happens so much of the current and future stress, anxiety, and anticipation diminishes during the equine interactions.
This creates real-time mental presence in a person allowing time to think, make assessments, offer and refine the specifity and adaptability in the communication. This type of interaction supports rather than challenges the horse.
These quality Conversations are what builds confidence and trust between the horse and human. Each new scenario can then be seen as a positive opportunity, rather than an overwhelming unknown triggering defensiveness and fear leading to overwhelming equine interactions.
Do you value the horse's feedback? Do you see the horse's behavior as insight into what may have been missed in his education? Do you prioritize addressing the horse's communication in a manner that has value to him, without triggering his fear?
Horse Training Tips
Teaching the Horse to Learn how to learn, think, search, and try while building his confidence, willingness, and adaptability.
Full video on the Alternative Horsemanship YouTube Channel
#alternativehorsemanship #horses #horsetraining #horsebehavior
Equine Emergencies & Horse Evacuations
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Emergency Evacuation YouTube Video 1
https://youtu.be/52RflMZoP4w
Emergency Evacuation YouTube Video 2
https://youtu.be/jRCmOTq9mto
Equine enthusiasts are often focused on task accomplishment without having a foundational understanding of how the quality and timing of their communication affect the horse's future willingness, adaptability, and try.
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Is your communication relevant?
Saturday, November 2nd 9am
Real-time Communication
Saturday, November 9th
Recognizing and Addressing Avoidance
If I asked what is the horse in the picture doing? Most people would say, "Standing there."
Their answer would be looking at the horse's physical lack of hoof movement.
But what if we look at the direction of his eyes, the tightness of his ears, the locked up posture of his knees, the bulge in his rib cage, blocking with his left front shoulder... He is obediently standing there, but nothing about him in this moment reflects mental presence, available, or physically softness.
How would the information from the assessment affect what you address or ask of him next?
Your evaluation would "tell" you that instead of saying "yeah he accomplished the task, let's move one," you perhaps say, "Wait a minute. I need to help him mentally participate in what we're doing, rather than physically tolerating it. I need to first engage his brain to focus on what we are doing, rather than physically standing but without an availability to my communication. I need to ...
This describes a horse who is mentality unavailable to hear the human; frequently referred to as one that is "shut down, dull, dead sided, lazy, heavy or leaning on the bit, bombproof, kid proof, husband proof, etc. Orrrrrrr one that is, "always mentally anticipative and physically chaotic."
The misnomers come from a person's misinterpretation of the outwardly slow, still, and "quiet" behavior, thinking this is a reflection of the horse being okay with life.
The overly lethargic movement, postures and responses can actually be a build of emotions brewing inside that have been contained; until the day the human unintentionally presents something unexpected, and then the horse "suddenly" gets dramatic in letting out those pent up emotions and stress.
The contained horse will offer "quiet responses" to evade confrontation and to avoid conflict or reprimand. These are often displayed physically as:
Tucking the chin towards the chest to create slack in the rein, or evade the pressure of the lead rope, rein, ...