“The State Of Our Horses Address”
(and a free book for you)
A couple weeks ago our president delivered
his State of the Union Address…
So here I am with my:
“The State Of Our Horses Address”
<applause> Thankyou.
Thankyou. <applause> Thankyou.
Please be seated. Thankyou….
Men, Women, Trainers, Riders
and other equine dignitaries…
I come before you today to discuss the
state of our horses, their care,
their health and well being.
We have accomplished much this past
year as we have learned and applied
our knowledge and have taught and
trained our horses for a better cause.
We have overcome adversity and bad
behavior. We have thrown out the
old problems of the past and now
ride safer. We have built stronger
bonds with our horses and have
developed lasting relationships
with these majestic animals that now
result in mutual respect.
We have kept all of our promises to
ourselves and to our horses and seek
not fame but simply more humility.
While the pundits would say we have
much yet to do or we haven’t moved
fast enough to correct the problems,
we have come far.
Let no one take away the accomplishments
we have achieved.
blah…
blah…
blah…
Sorry…but I just can’t carry on.
I think I’d rather muck the stalls.
It’s not near as deep there.
<applause> Thankyou. Thankyou.
———————————————–
How about a horse tip:
“Horses And Bein’ Caught With Yer Pants Down”
There’s an old saying that goes:
“Being caught with your pants down.”
Listen to this.
In January 2004, 3 men in Spokane
Washington decided to streak through
a Denny’s restaurant at dawn.
They wore only hats and shoes.
They got out of their car and left it running.
And that…was their mistake.
In the middle of their streaking escapade,
someone stole their car.
Unfortunately for them, their clothes
were in the car too.
The 3 naked guys had to hide behind
parked cars until the police came to
put them in jail.
That’s the epitome of being caught
with your pants down.
One of the worst places to be caught
with your pants down is with horses.
As you know, horses can be full of
surprises and you want to eliminate all
the surprises you can.
That’s why we do things with them
such as desensitize, lunge, lead,
drive, and others.
One way to eliminate some surprises
and help your horse understand what
you want is to drive him.
When I say drive him, I mean you’re
standing behind him on the ground and
asking him to move while you steer, stop,
and back him.
It has lots of benefits.
It teaches your horse what it means
when you pull on a line to get him
going left or right.
It gets him used to having something
and someone behind him.
It gets him learning to listen to you
while you’re behind him.
It’s a great way to reinforce “whoa” and “Back up”.
There’s a lot of good you can do with it.
Plus, it’s pretty safe for you to do
because you’re on the ground.
So the question is, how do you do it?
I’m glad I asked. 🙂
Here’s a few notes from Sue Robertson’s Groundwork
DVD to give you the gist.
Before you drive your horse, he should
know how to tie, lead, lunge, change directions,
back up from the ground, saddle, and lunge with a saddle.
First, use a snaffle.
People disagree on the bit to use but
the snaffle is easiest on the horse’s mouth.
(See our Beery 4-Way Snaffle Bits for this:
http://www.horsetrainingresources.com/BeeryBit/)
But even if you have hard hands you
can still hurt the horse so be aware of that.
Get two 22 foot cotton lines.
This is essentially cotton rope that
is 5/8″ thick.
Next, put the saddle on the horse and hobble the
stirrups. (This is assuming your horse is
already used to a saddle)
Hobbling the stirrups means tying them
together underneath the horse so they don’t
flop around. They can be a little loose but
you don’t want ’em flopping around.
Next, always start on the “off” side.
The off side is the right side.
Run the line through the stirrup and hook
it to the snaffle. Run the other line.
Talk to your horse at all times – especially
at first because this is new to him and he’ll
likely need reassurance.
Plus, you’re his protector and he’ll need
to learn to trust you.
Now your horse may get antsy and anxious.
This is normal for a horse that’s not been driven.
It’s even more normal for a young horse.
Also when driving, the horse may look back
and that’s okay.
Once they’re accepted the rope and they see
it won’t hurt them you can start to drive them
like you’re lungeing them.
It’s best to drive in a round pen if you
can because if you drive in a large open area you
may be constantly fighting your horse for control.
So doing it in the round pen you can stand
in the middle. It’s keeps you away from his
feet, keeps you safest, and lets you do the job.
Then ask them to move.
My favorite command is “Step”.
Just one word.
“Step!”
You don’t have to yell it. You may have
to increase your volume a bit to increase the
urgency to your horse though.
As you ask him to step forward, make sure you
give him an opening. In other words, don’t
stand in front of him and close him off.
Always have an open door.
You may have to kiss to him to move if and
when he doesn’t understand to step.
Do figure 8’s, small circles, and large circles.
Why?
Because you want them to keep thinking.
Otherwise, you’ll bore them – just like
what I talked about in past emails.
A bored horse is a poor student.
Also work on teaching them whoa.
You also want to teach them to stand
and back up with it.
If you’ve never done this with your horse, you should.
It’s fun and it gives that extra feeling
of knowledge and confidence you should have.
Plus, you may find some holes in your
horse’s training and you can fix them.
If you want to see this done, you can
see it on Sue’s DVD. To see more, click the
following:
http://www.horsetrainingresources.com/dvd-robertson.html
A couple more things.
If your horse doesn’t want to pay attention
to you, then make him do “S’s”.
He’ll learn to put his head down and pay
attention to you.
If he wants to go left, you make him go right.
Never, ever let your horse decide what to do.
Why?
Because when you’re in the saddle and he
decides what to do…you’re in for a wreck.
He should “ALWAYS” look to you for instructions.
Never, ever, ever let him decide what to do.
There’s more to the driving thing,
but this gives you a great start.
I suggest you get Sue’s DVD to learn a
lot more about this and a whole lot more.
I hope you try it because it’s good for
the horse and you.
http://www.horsetrainingresources.com/dvd-robertson.html
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Ok… that’s it for today.
Take a kid riding…teach them early.
They’ll remember it for a lifetime.
But PLEASE – Stay safe out there.
Charlie
P.S. The Horse Library is the best bargain on the
Internet for online horse training videos, books,
articles, movies, and more. Have you checked
it out yet? You’re missing out if not:
http://www.horsetrainingresources.com/TheHorseLibrary.html
Did you get your free copy of Black Beauty yet?
Read below….
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“thank you charlie! for black beauty, i had read the book
as a child, but had forgotten how much i loved it! how i
had identified with the horses in the story, how much i
wanted to just jump into the book & right all the wrongs
that were done to them! rereading black beauty has in a
way put me back in touch with my horse feelings,
feelings that sort’a got swept aside in the every day
hustle&bustle of this fast paced life we live, though
i’m way past youth, it brought a little back!
thanks!!! ……skeet”
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Here’s the download link for your free copy:
http://www.horsetrainingresources.com/BlackBeauty.html
