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Displaying Posts in Category "Natural Horsemanship Techniques"

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FRIDAY, JULY 16, 2010

Doctoring: Natural Horsemanship Applied

Four years ago, I volunteered at a natural horsemanship-based ranch for the summer. It was an incredible experience, and what I got out of it was definitely worth forfeiting a paycheck for. One story from my summer there really stands out for me – about truly understanding and applying the concept of approach and retreat.

One fateful day, one of the horses decided to attempt to saw his leg off on a vinyl wire fence. It wasn’t pretty. He cut all the way through the skin and right down to the cannon bone. So we had a nasty wound that couldn’t be stitched up to doctor twice daily.

Oh right, I forgot to mention – up until a few months earlier, this beautiful gelding had been untouched. Since then, he’d been gelded but not handled too much. So we were doctoring a gaping wound on a partially wild horse!

Prior to his injury, we could catch him but it took some time. By the time I left the ranch to return to school, we couldn’t get him to leave us alone when we were out in his paddock.

We had obviously done something right. Instead of being more sceptical of people after having his wound scrubbed out several times a day, he wanted to be with us. And in my opinion, it’s all because of how we used approach and retreat to care for his leg.

This guy had never been hosed, but this wound needed hosing. We started by putting the water on and trying as best we could to keep it on his leg while he danced and pranced and worried (approach). As soon as he calmed down – voila! – the water came off his leg (retreat). Then we repeated. And repeated.

And repeated.

Same thing when we were scrubbing the proud flesh out of it; when he got worried or lifted his leg, we kept cleaning until he put it down (approach). When he relaxed, we’d give him a break (retreat), then start again.

Soon he just stood there for anything, and would actually wait at the gate to be doctored, eager to come and hang out with people. Oh, and giving him a bit of grain when he came out of his paddock may have helped, too!

Since then, I haven’t had any problems doctoring horses, no matter how bad the wound. By staying calm and continuing what you were doing while they throw a fit, then rewarding them for relaxing, they start trusting you and, even if it hurts, they’ll put up with more. By doing this, you can turn a potentially bad experience into a good one – and even into a training opportunity.

POSTED BY CELENA AT 1:04 PM      0 COMMENTS     POST A COMMENT
CATEGORIES: APPLYING NH, DOCTORING, NATURAL HORSEMANSHIP TECHNIQUES

THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 2010

Repetition, Reward & Recovering Perfectionists

I am a recovering perfectionist. I used to be so afraid of doing something wrong – or worse, something “bad” – that I didn’t want to try new things. I wanted to sit in my little comfort zone and do things the way I had always done them. I didn’t even want to cook because what if – gasp – it didn’t turn out!

I am slowly recovering. It is a long journey, full of discomfort and mistakes. I have to keep reminding myself that mistakes are good – you really can’t progress without them. Figure out what doesn’t work and change how you’re playing the game.

One of the things I’m recognizing now as I try out new techniques and give myself permission to be wrong or awkward or a downright mess, is that I’m starting to see the small changes in my horses. It gives me more incentive to keeping trying because I can see those little tries and improvements.

Horses (and we) learn by repetition, and it’s hard to keep repeating something that feels all wrong if you don’t think you’re really getting anywhere. But becoming more aware of those positive changes in my horses keeps me at it.

I feel and reward the little improvements, which does two great things – it makes me want to repeat the lesson the next day, and best of all, it lets my horses know that their little tries are being recognized and appreciated. When I feel that small change and reward them for it in a way that they understand, they start trying even harder and they learn so fast!

When you keep each exercise short (repetition is the key, but it can easily be overdone!) and just keep looking for the little tries, it is incredible how quickly horses come along.

POSTED BY CELENA AT 7:46 PM      0 COMMENTS     POST A COMMENT
CATEGORIES: APPLYING NH, EMOTIONAL FITNESS, NATURAL HORSEMANSHIP TECHNIQUES, REPETITION, SOAKING

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 CELENA 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