2010

2009

TUESDAY, MARCH 2, 2010

A Good Start

You know how they say that a good start is half the finish? I’m with them.

Yesterday we took Blondie, our 4-year-old Tennessee Walking Horse mare out for her first trail ride. It was her seventh time being ridden – and four of those rides happened last fall.

When we got Blondie last June, she was mostly wild – we couldn’t even catch her. It took two weeks of taking it slow and showing her people were a good thing to finally be able to halter her. But once we had earned her trust, she turned into a different horse.

For most of her life, she had been living, pretty much unhandled, on a breeding farm. But she did have one short period of incredible handling, and I believe those few days made a big difference in this horse.

As a three-year-old, Blondie participated in a clinic with Ray Hunt. And just those few days of great handling stayed with her. We noticed it as soon as we were able to halter her. She was extremely respectful of pressure – she never thought of pulling back while tied, and led like a dream.

After we’d had Blondie for two weeks and had just been able to start handling her, a young rescue horse who we’d found a home for needed to be loaded into a trailer. This youngster, Spirit, had been badly abused and I had only been able to touch him once – and now we needed to get him into a trailer!

Spirit had bonded with Blondie, and would follow her everywhere. So we haltered Blondie and led her into the trailer, which had been backed into their pasture. She was a little bit nervous of getting in, but had been taught to lead so well that within seconds she was hopping in – and Spirit followed right behind! The hard part was getting Blondie back out, but again, her respect for pressure made it a lot easier than it could have been.

When we started working with her in the round pen, Blondie was your usual green horse – worried about new things and a little anxious about what was going on. But she settled into the routine quickly and accepted new things much more easily than you would expect an unhandled horse to do.

She was like an experienced trail horse when we rode out yesterday. She had been taught to move off of pressure so well that even on her third ride this year, she was moving off the slightest suggestion from my leg. And I got to enjoy that amazing running walk!

Even though she’d hardly had any handling as a youngster, the handling that Blondie did have was excellent. She is one of those lucky horses who has never had a bad experience with people. She has so much trust and confidence in people, and that makes her very willing even when faced with new experiences. It is so wonderful to see and experience what a difference that makes in a horse.

Thank you, Ray Hunt.

POSTED BY CELENA AT 9:29 AM      0 COMMENTS     POST A COMMENT
CATEGORIES: LAYING THE FOUNDATION, NATURAL HORSEMANSHIP PROFESSIONALS, RAY HUNT, YOUNGSTERS

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2010

Rollkur: "Absolutely Not Acceptable"

I was thrilled to hear the news yesterday – that the FEI has officially (and unanimously) ruled that rollkur is to be outlawed from the warm-up rings at international competitions.

Rollkur does not have a standard definition, but is essentially extreme overbending with the head far behind the vertical, sometimes to the point that the horse’s muzzle touches its chest. Rollkur is used by some as a training technique, now predominantly known in dressage, but also seen in the warm-up ring at show jumping and eventing competitions. The Classical Riding Club has some great information on what rollkur is and its effects on horses.

(Please note that the photo above does not illustrate rollkur, but rather a horse at liberty with his head just above the verticle as he uses himself naturally.)

There has been a great debate going on in several areas of the horse industry about rollkur. The subject has heated up and gained a lot of publicity since October 2009, when a Swedish rider at an FEI competition in Denmark was alleged to have used rollkur for a period of two hours – and to the point that the horse’s tongue appeared to go blue. The an article, including the footage, was released by EPONA.tv. The rider was not disciplined by the FEI.

Several major groups have spoken out against rollkur, including The British Horse Society and The Classical Riding Club. The British Horse Society released a fantastic statement about where they stand on the subject.



The round-table conference of twenty-three FEI directors and representatives from numerous equine disciplines met yesterday to discuss the use of rollkur.

"The first conclusion, which was agreed by everyone, was that all aggressive riding is not acceptable," said Trond Asmyr, FEI Director Dressage & Para-Equestrian Dressage, yesterday following the meeting. "Hyperflexion and rollkur is the same – it’s a position of the head which is obtained by aggressive riding, and this is absolutely not acceptable."

A committee has been formed to implement the policy, which may include using closed-circuit cameras in the warm-up rings.

The participants of the FEI discussion also agreed that the technique known as Low, Deep & Round (LDR) achieves flexion of the horse’s neck without the use of aggressive force, and is therefore acceptable.

I am sending out a huge thank you to all those who actively helped achieve this decision, including the incredible 41,000 people who signed the petition against rollkur that was presented at the FEI discussion. And now – here’s to hoping that this ruling makes a big difference to our sport horses.

POSTED BY CELENA AT 1:33 PM      2 COMMENTS     POST A COMMENT
CATEGORY: ROLLKUR/HYPERFLEXION

FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2010

Horses Make Me Happy

Horses make me happy.

For the last few months, our horses have been enjoying a well-deserved break while we catch up on office work. So I was pretty excited yesterday when I managed to escape from the paperwork and bolt up to the barn for a ride.

The first thing that I did was go into our pasture and rub all the horses. Our horses are pretty positive guys, and they were all competing for attention. Just scratching them and smelling that perfect horse smell was enough to put me in the running for the happiest person in the world.

And then I took out my big black gelding, Zephyr, threw on a saddle and rope hackamore and off we went! The ground was pretty hard and he’s been on holiday so we didn’t do too much, but even just a good trot down the road was enough to have me grinning from ear to ear.

What is it about horses that affects us this way? I don’t really know, but I love it - and I love them.

POSTED BY CELENA AT 4:52 PM      0 COMMENTS     POST A COMMENT
CATEGORIES: HAPPINESS, WINTER RIDING

SUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 2010

What Do YOU Think???

Owing Heartwood, where we have a lot of fun with our horses, lay a solid foundation and find them great new homes, is an amazing opportunity. Not only do we get to do what we love and meet great, like-minded horsepeople, but we get to experience many different horses. And what a gift that is for developing our horsemanship!

Because we are not currently blessed with an indoor arena or good weather, we are spending a lot of time this winter researching different horsemanship methods. Yes, that means that we get to read horsemanship books and watch horsemanship DVDs while on the clock. What could be better?!

Our goal is not just to further our own horsemanship, but also to outline a horse development strategy. In the spring, we plan to hire a student to come in and work with us. So far, since Anna and my philosophies are pretty parallel, we haven't laid out our exact program - that is, what we do, step by step, with our horses. But since we are bringing a student into the mix, in order to reduce the number of gaps and ensure that our horses have that real foundation, an written game plan seems like a good idea.

Anna and I have both always been very open-minded and explored many different avenues of horsemanship. We like to sort through information, take what we feel is relevant and in line with our philosophy and leave the rest. We love seeing the different methods out there and incorporating different techniques into our training as we find them.

Sometimes I wonder if it would be better to just stick with one program, but most of the time I'm pretty happy to take note of the similarities and differences in the approaches out there and use what makes sense to me.

So what do I want your input on? I want to know the one thing you have found most beneficial to you and your horse. Is there an exercise that you find indispensable? A technique? A game? Why?

As a 'collector' of horsemanship information, I'm hoping for some really neat ideas to try out!

POSTED BY ANNA-MARIE AT 8:17 PM      2 COMMENTS     POST A COMMENT
CATEGORIES: ANNA, APPLYING NH, ASPIRING HORSEMAN, DEVELOPING HORSES, LAYING THE FOUNDATION, NATURAL HORSEMANSHIP EXERCISES, NATURAL HORSEMANSHIP PHILOSOPHIES, NATURAL HORSEMANSHIP TECHNIQUES

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2009

New Year, New Resolution

Tomorrow, it will be 2010. Have you made your resolutions yet?

While lots of people’s New Year resolutions center around becoming more physically active, my resolution is a bit different – to really focus on getting emotionally fit.

I realized the other day that I have much more in control of my emotions when I’m out with my horses than in other areas of my life. Out there, I see difficulties as puzzles that I haven’t yet worked out. I reward my horses just for trying to understand me. I analyze my horses’ personalities and try to understand exactly what their ideas are.

I’m better at mastering my emotions when I’m with my horses because it’s what I’ve trained myself to do.

I’ve done a lot of thinking about this over the past few days, looking at the correlations between natural horsemanship and the rest of my life. Doing natural horsemanship really is like therapy – it makes you think about and address all sorts of problems that are mirrored in your own life. Sometimes it makes you see things about yourself that you aren’t particularly proud of.

My sister, Anna-Marie, was telling me about emotional reactions the other day. She’d been reading this book, My Stroke of Insight by Jill Bolte Taylor, a brain scientist who writes about her experiences and epiphanies after experiencing a stroke herself.

Ms. Bolte Taylor says that when something happens to you, the first 90 seconds of emotional response after the incident is pure reaction – we can’t control it since it has to do with our biochemistry. But after that, the way we react is dependent on the circuits that we’ve created in our brains – if we continue to feel the emotion after that initial 90 seconds, we need to look at the thought patterns that are replaying this response over and over again.

Translation: after 90 seconds, how we respond is our choice, whether we are aware of it or not.

To change these circuits takes real focus – a real determination to change. The easiest thing to do is to let the circuits continue – but the healthiest thing, for us and our all of our relationships is to make a conscious effort to change how we react. Let yourself feel that strong emotion for one-and-a-half minutes – and then decide how you want to react.

So this is my New Year’s resolution, typed up here for all the world to see (just for some added accountability!): I am going to think about my reactions and decide how I want to respond, not just go along with the pre-programmed reflexes. I am going to focus on my emotional fitness.

P.S. If this kind of thing interests you, Jill Bolte Taylor explains the basics in an interview: http://www.bleepingherald.com/apr2008/taylor?page=0%2C1

POSTED BY CELENA AT 2:03 PM      0 COMMENTS     POST A COMMENT
CATEGORIES: ANNA-MARIE, APPLYING NH, EMOTIONAL FITNESS, HORSEPEOPLE - A BREED OF OUR OWN, NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2009

Dashing Through the Snow

Is there anything better than riding in the snow?

Well, yes actually. But tacking up on a crisp day and going out for a jaunt through the snow is definitely the best part of winter. Anna and I went out riding the other day on two of our young horses, Chica and Rosie. Chica, as always, marched through the snow with great enthusiasm. Rosie, an Andalusian-Arab cross who is our newest acquisition, was also eager to be out and about, despite not being in as good shape as Chica.

There was a definite chill in the air, but aboard the beautiful Rosie, I really didn’t care. We walked and trotted on the logging roads in the mountains behind the farm – and with that dusting of snow, the scenery was truly breathtaking and made all the better by being on horseback. We stopped and looked at animal tracks in the snow – Anna and I agreed that we need to get better at identifying tracks – and picked out a Christmas tree to chop down later.

Then we got to the meadow where we often canter the horses. Anna and I looked at each other and grinned, each knowing the other was up for a canter. Rosie is green and we hadn’t cantered her yet, but she was feeling fantastic – her gaits were smooth and easy, and her attitude was willing. I was sure she was ready for it, and I was eager to feel the canter that I had seen her do from the ground.

It was amazing. She stepped right up into the canter and followed Chica, winding through the meadow on the snow-covered logging road. She didn’t try to pass or lag behind – she maintained the exact same distance behind Chica the whole time. And she didn’t disappoint me – her canter was wonderfully balanced and rocking. It was, without a doubt, the best first canter I’ve ridden.

No matter how many horses I start, seeing them progress never ceases to amaze me. Riding out in the snow, having such a wonderfully positive ride and first canter, really made my day.

POSTED BY CELENA AT 9:27 AM      0 COMMENTS     POST A COMMENT
CATEGORIES: ANNA, CHICA, LAYING THE FOUNDATION, ROSIE, WINTER RIDING

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2009

The Power of Soaking

One of the best things that I have learned through natural horsemanship is the concept of ‘soaking’ – that is, giving the horse time absorb the information or lesson. My background is in hunter/jumpers, and we just rode. If our horses did something wrong, we did it again. If our horses did something slightly better, we did it again. If our horses did something well, we still did it again!

My horses have come so far just because I give them a chance to soak up the lesson. You can see them start to think about things and understand more and more. As a goal-oriented predator, it can be hard to stop for a few minutes instead of ‘working towards the goal’. But one of the things that I have come to understand and witness time and time again, is that just stopping and soaking at the right moment can get you way further towards the goal than endless repetition.

Don’t get me wrong – repetition is not a bad thing. Horses learn best by repetition. With experience, you start to be able to feel when repetition is needed and similarly, when soaking is needed.

The day (or a few days) after having had a great session with a horse, I love to feel the changes in them. A lot of the time, you don’t just start where you left off. Sometimes you get on that horse and you can’t even believe the change. Sometimes, I swear, my horses spent the whole time out in the pasture thinking about what we had worked on and decide to come out and blow my socks off.

POSTED BY CELENA AT 9:34 PM      0 COMMENTS     POST A COMMENT
CATEGORIES: APPLYING NH, EMOTIONAL FITNESS, INNER PREDATOR, SOAKING

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2009

Ben Meets Owl

I was out at the barn with my fifteen-month-old son, Ben, a few days ago on a day off. We were going around, playing in the dirt and with the animals. Luckily for me, Ben absolutely loves animals and the outdoors. On my days off, when I still want to go up and visit the ponies, he is always happy to accompany me and get just as dirty as he possibly can. I don’t mind – I’m just happy that he’s happy out there!

My business partner, Anna, was riding one of our horses in for training while Ben and I tottered around. We would go over and watch the horse’s progress for a little while, then go find some animals to play with. I was trying to encourage Ben to play close to the arena so I could see how the horse was going, so I pointed out a plastic owl that lives on a post beside the arena. He seemed interested, so I picked him up to have a better look at it.

Well, I’m not sure if it was the staring yellow eyes or the black beak, but my animal-loving little boy started shaking and crying, scared half to death of this fake bird. I had never seen him have that kind of reaction to anything, and I quickly moved away from the owl and reassured my son.

Once Ben had calmed down, we went back over, this time to the back of the bird where there was no scary face. I scratched the owl’s plastic body, and Ben was intrigued by the noise. I would scratch it, then suggest he scratch it.

Using this technique, we slowly moved around to the front of the owl, making the funny sound on its plastic feathers. If Ben got worried, we’d move away from the face; a few minutes later we would once again make our way towards the fierce face. Within a few minutes, Ben realized that the big staring owl wasn’t a bogeyman.

In the meantime, Anna had ridden over to the fence and was letting the horse ‘soak’ while she watched me and Ben with the owl. She started laughing, and said, “Celena, do you realized that you just desensitized Ben to that owl the way you would desensitize a horse?”

As soon as I became immersed in natural horsemanship, like many others, I recognized that the philosophy was applicable in many areas of my life. But I can’t say that I ever expected to use advance and retreat with my child!

POSTED BY CELENA AT 6:52 PM      0 COMMENTS     POST A COMMENT
CATEGORIES: ANNA, APPLYING NH, HORSEPEOPLE - A BREED OF OUR OWN, MY FAMILY

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2009

The Pursuit of Unconscious Competence

I didn’t come up with the idea of the pursuit of unconscious competence and the steps involved in getting there on my own. One of my mentors passed on this pearl of wisdom, and I think of it often. Like everyone who’s passionate about what they do, we horsepeople want to attain a level of ‘unconscious competence’ in all areas of our horsemanship.

Think about something that you know how to do so well, you don’t have to think about it – like typing or driving. In fact, if someone asked you where the ‘a’ key on the keyboard or the brake in your car is, you’d probably have to think about it. You have developed muscle memory and habit; your body knows what to do, and it requires very little thought to complete the task. This is unconscious competence.

Unfortunately, the road to unconscious competence in horsemanship is often a bumpy one, involving many mistakes and many, many hours. Most people who get into horses start at unconscious incompetence, for a little while, at least – and many people never leave. They have no idea just how incompetent they are with horses. And if you’re not aware that you are incompetent at something, it’s hard to improve. There is no progress, no forward momentum. After all, you can do everything already! (Or so you think.)

Getting to the next stage of conscious incompetence is a great achievement. Even though it’s an uncomfortable, awkward and often frustrating place, being there is great! You know that you’re doing something – some days it may feel like everything! – wrong, which generally makes you want to improve. Moving on to this second stage is vital if you are serious about horsemanship – or anything else. It motivates you to seek answers – read, watch DVDs, attend clinics, talk to people. By being aware of your own shortcomings, you are inspired to improve.

Conscious competence comes next – you are competent at the task, but you haven’t formed the habits yet. At this point, your body still needs your mind to reason things out, to walk it through the steps. But you’re getting it. Things are making sense, things are working. You are having more and more fun every day.

And then comes the sought-after state of unconscious competence. You know where any one of your gelding’s feet are at any given time. You know just what your mare needs to work through her anxiety. Your timing is exact. You don’t have to think about it; you just know. Unconscious competence is what the horsemasters have achieved.

Once you break free of unconscious incompetence, you will quickly find that you are consciously competent at many things, but may also be consciously incompetent in many areas. It’s okay – everyone who ever got anywhere in their horsemanship had to go through the conscious incompetence stage. Persevere, play around with things and ask for support when you need it.

I have a lot of conscious incompetencies – and one of my greatest fears (right up there with bees and small children) is that I’m still unconsciously incompetent in some areas. It can be hard to break free of your own assumptions, and I find that having people to talk to about ideas and problems is invaluable. I also have many conscious competences and a few good basic skills that I don’t have to think about anymore.

What about you?

POSTED BY CELENA AT 7:50 PM      0 COMMENTS     POST A COMMENT
CATEGORIES: ASPIRING HORSEMAN, HORSEPEOPLE - A BREED OF OUR OWN, UNCONSCIOUS COMPETENCE

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2009

More Than Balls & Pedestals

When I started out doing natural horsemanship, I thought that ‘natural horsemanship’ was a discipline – like jumping or reining. I devoted myself completely to it, thinking that if I was doing natural horsemanship, I was limited to playing with balls, pedestals and the like.

Hey, I’m not knocking balls and pedestals – they’re lots of fun to play with and help to increase horses’ confidence. I love doing that kind of thing! But I was missing the point.

What I failed to understand was that a philosophy can be applied to any situation – and that natural horsemanship can be used to train high-level dressage horses and cutting horses alike. Natural horsemanship isn’t the end – it’s the beginning. It’s where you and your horse are going together.

Getting into natural horsemanship doesn’t mean that you can’t ride or compete in a discipline that you love. It gives you a challenge – learn, experiment, and put a purpose to what you were already doing. You’ll be amazed at how those natural horsemanship concepts suddenly make a lot more sense to both of you.

What discipline are you riding or competing in using natural horsemanship techniques?

POSTED BY CELENA AT 9:16 PM      0 COMMENTS     POST A COMMENT
CATEGORIES: APPLYING NH, DISCIPLINES, NATURAL HORSEMANSHIP PHILOSOPHIES

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