Alternative Horsemanship the Remote Horse Coach
Pets/Animals • Sports • Education
Direct access to Alternative Horsemanship with Samantha Harvey the Remote Horse Coach. Join Sam in her live videos, Q & A sessions, and get priority access to new horse learning videos, webinars, courses, and more!
Interested? Want to learn more about the community?
Horse Skills: ReLearning to Be Present

The rate of mental distraction and emotional chaos I see people bringing to their horse interactions nowadays seems to be increasing (at an alarming rate.)

With access to SOOOOO much information, thanks to technology, many good-intentioned equine enthusiasts are trying to become more aware of "options" in how they interact with the horse or understand his behavior.

People are now understanding how tack, health, farrier care, diet, and sleep can all affect their horses' behaviors. Some become interested in scientific approaches and research and studies, while others are continuously finding "new things" they want to adjust or change with their horse.

Whatever the focus or belief system, I believe the most overlooked, crucial aspect, and yet, least "popular" to acknowledge in what influences the horse- is the human's mindset, emotions, energy, intentions, assumptions and anticipation.

I want...
Yeah, but...
My horse should already...
Why can't the horse just...
Why does the horse always...
We have done this so many times and he doesn't get it...

For the folks who see the value in acknowledging the horse's feedback and communication, they would probably agree they are not seeking robotic responses. Their goal instead, is to create a quality equine partnership. They want to build the animal's trust, while having safe horse experiences.

So the simplest answer- and the hardest skill- is to first learn to be mentally present.

I know right now the world is in chaos, and it is hard to silence the deafening rhetoric and challenges of our daily lives... But if you are going to choose to spend time with your horse, please for your equine's sake, perhaps experiment with the following...

Notice on the drive over to the barn or wherever you keep your horse, where are your thoughts?
How are your emotions?
Are you carrying physical tension?
Is your body sore or coping from an injury that leaves you physically unbalanced?

As you approach your horse, catch, halter, and lead him:

Where are your thoughts? Are they horse related? Distracted by other activities at the facility? Do you assess the horse in the present or start the session based on assumptions or what occurred previously? Do you acknowledge his communication? How so? Are your emotions triggered by the horse's responses? Does your physical tension increase as your horse offers unasked for behaviors? Are you triggered to anticipate based on the horse's responses? Do you mentally checkout or avoid if the horse communicates or reacts in a certain manner? Do you ever take the time to re-set mentally, emotionally, or physically during the session?

Your answers to the above questions are crucial to help you recognize if there are "holes" in your education, perhaps patterns or limited communication, or if you offer little to no specificity to the horse, thus unintentionally teaching him to take over.

A quality foundation STARTS with the human's commitment to recognize what they are contributing during the horse interactions. Recognizing how their mental and emotional state affects their physical behaviors, will directly influence the timing and quality of their real-time communication, and the effectiveness of it. This influences the horse's mental availability, along with his physical try, trust, willingness, reasonableness, and adaptability.

The first "step" in making changes, is to first become aware of what one is currently doing. Learn to recognize patterns in your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors during the horse interaction. This helps pinpoint "where" to start by experimenting with making changes in your thoughts and coping mechanisms to become present and available to help the horse succeed in real-time.

Alternative Horsemanship with Samantha Harvey
The Remote Horse Coach

#alternativehorsemanship #RemoteHorseCoach #horsetraining #horses #horseskills #horsebehavior #horse #horseriding

post photo preview
Interested? Want to learn more about the community?
What else you may like…
Videos
Posts
The Horse's Behaviors

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?

00:01:26
Horse Training Tips

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

00:01:46
Horse Emergencies & Equine Evacuations

Equine Emergencies & Horse Evacuations

Please comment, like & share

Emergency Evacuation YouTube Video 1
https://youtu.be/52RflMZoP4w

Emergency Evacuation YouTube Video 2
https://youtu.be/jRCmOTq9mto

00:05:01
November Livestreams

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.

Subscribe to participate in this 2-part horse learning series in the November Livestreams.

Is your communication relevant?
Saturday, November 2nd 9am

Real-time Communication
Saturday, November 9th

post photo preview
The Avoidant Horse

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 ...

post photo preview
Illusions of the Safe Horse: Avoidant Horse Behavior

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, ...

post photo preview
See More
Available on mobile and TV devices
google store google store app store app store
google store google store app tv store app tv store amazon store amazon store roku store roku store
Powered by Locals