Horse Journal

I have so many unique and sometimes challenging horses come my way. Often their people are struggling with them and conflicting advice and wondering if they may have the wrong match.

I am proud to say that I have been able to help many of these horses and their people through their relationship and health issues.

I am very sympathetic to the average horse owner as they are often given much well meaning advice that is conflicting. I feel it is my job to clear the fog and create programs that are customized for the horse and their person as opposed to saying this is the method you have to use. This has allowed me to help my clients achieve harmony and connection with some difficult horses.

I have one particular mare I am working with currently who came to me with a long list of "issues" some health and some behavioral. Some of her issues were biting, bucking and kicking as well as charging. Her health issues were also part of the picture. She was sore and stiff and coming off a long period of rest.

They were not sure they wanted to keep her with good reason and I wasn't sure they were a good match either. In these cases I usually ask if the owners are willing to give the horse a trial period for me to start figuring out what program may help change the dynamics of the relationship between the horses and their people.

After the first 30 days, I was able to figure out what was the horses true nature, what was communicating discomfort, and what was missing with her FUN!damentals.

I found that she was quite a like-able mare and despite her dominant bravado, she quite liked people. I also looked at her completely differently then all the people who said she was "naughty" and difficult. I saw that she actually was quite willing under saddle as long as it was not an uncomfortable movement for her (In fact I switched her from her twisted snaffle to my bitless bridle because she was so nice). I learned that she bucked in the canter, because it hurt. I saw that once she understood that we didn't agree with her dominant behavior (that was separate from communicating discomfort) it disappeared almost completely. I explained to her (in my farah way that I do with horses) that I wanted to help her feel better and though we did not take her dominant behavior personally, we showed her how we'd like to be treated when we were around her in ways she understood. Carolyn Resnick inspired work helped her and her people alot.


Although we still have a long way to go with her health and physical rehab, I am happy that she and her people seem to be enjoying each other much more because we gave her a chance. I really enjoy helping a horse like this because I knew she was being misunderstood. I thank her people for giving her that chance too.
http://www.fdhorsemanship.com/

Confident Horseman exercise part 3...Change your mind, Change your horse

Riding Mercury Bridless requires me to be completely focused on what I want to have happen and not what bad and dangerous things could happen...

I will be offering for those who want to participate, a Flower Essence mix suggestion for a new approach to dealing with fear in the horse and person. It will complement the next exercise which has 3 steps to it, is the hardest but also the most powerful.

The next part of the exercise is:

Step 1: Learn how to identify fear coming up in yourself as it starts. Then recognize the fearful or negative thoughts that follow.
Example: "Oh my horse is scared of dogs, and hear comes one" the next thought may be "oh he's going to spook and I'm going to fall off!"
So this is how the fearful mind starts to gain power or the situation.

Step 2: Recognize the the thoughts coming up and make a choice to change them to a positive thought.
Example: "I am now changing my mind about this" We are walking calmly past the dog, and nothing is going to happen" You'll note I said "we" not the horse is going to. "We" is a team, a partnership. You can add calm deep breathing to release your own fear and tension and mirror to your horse. Two other very powerful exercises is to visualize you and your horse doing exactly what you'd like. So I'd see me and my horse walking calmly past the dog together. I'd see that picture in my mind and hold it and breath. Some of you may find it nearly inpossible to not visualize a bad experience so instead, I want you to visualize something calming and soothing that may have nothing to do with that moment. Examples would be a sunset, A beach, doing yoga, a hot bath, even a glass of wine! Hold that though until you can own it and the moment has passed. This takes practice but it does become a new thought pattern with time.

Step 3: I consider an advanced exercise and a goal to set for yourselves. It involves getting to the point where you don't even get to a place of fear anymore when a possible situation arises. This is when you have mastered the power of the mind.
Example: You are riding toward the dog and you immediately send a picture of the two of you walking calmly passed the dog. In this scenario you exhibit what I call Calm Leadership. You recognize the horses concern and using positive visualization. you "Lead" your horses mind to a calm place with yours. You maintain clear focus and your horse has confidence in your Leadership and guidance. We don't want our horse to feel like he has to take over every time he is afraid because we get just as frightened as him.

One other scenario I want to talk about is "Real" fear, necessary, sensible, self preservation fear. This is the voice that says "We are in real danger and we need to get safe. That is the time to listen to your instincts and stay as clear as possible. Try to learn the difference between your gut telling you the truth and your mind taking over control of clear thinking.

As for the Flower Essence part of this. There are Essences that can help release the grip of fear and "Stuck Thinking Patterns" I am offering to help anyone who may feel they need additional help of Flower  Essences to help release a really stuck pattern in themselves and or their horse. Respond in the comments section. Let me know how your confidence is improving!
http://fdhorsetraining.com/
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Conversation

Mercury and I having a Lively Conversation! The most fun ones!

As I have become more experienced in my approach to horses, I have learned the value of a Two way quality Conversation with a horse as I value a good conversation with a person.

I often see in my travels, People shouting, talking over, and cutting off their horses side of the Conversation. I look at it like a bad conversation with a person. I wouldn't like it if someone asked me question, then before I had a chance to reflect on it, asked me three more questions then just when I was about to "Try" to respond, cut me of and yelled at me (so to speak) for not answering quick enough and getting the answer right. I would start to not want to be in that conversation anymore.

 Being good with a horse has as much to do with Being a good Listener as it does to a good conversationalist and being a Quality "Leader".

My conversation would look something like this. I'd let the horse start by telling me some things and then I'd come in with an "I understand" and "I see your point" and a "I could definitely see how you could see it that way" and then a question like "How about if I asked you to do "X" "How would you feel about that?" and then I'd leave space for him to tell me how he felt about it. Good or bad.

So what does a bad Conversation look like? Well for starters it looks like "Talking or Making orders" too quickly with not enough space in between for your horse to read what you said, respond positively or try to change the subject. Trying to change to subject means just that. Your horse saying "Hmmm I hear what you're saying, but maybe we could eat grass instead or "fill in the blank"...

It could also look like your horse not being clear about your request because it was too fast or too complicated and needs to be spoken slower and maybe spelled out one letter at a time. Meaning break it down to very small steps.

And my personal favorite is Are You Speaking Clearly AND Thoughtfully. If you are unclear about how to explain your request to your horse, Don't expect him to be clear about it either. That doesn't mean you shouldn't try to do it if you aren't clear. It just means be as clear and precise as you possibly can so your requests are easy to follow. Imagine someone trying to explain a concept to you in a foreign language but they're not quite sure how to get it across....Sounds tough right?...Exactly.

I often look at the different incarnations of Natural Horsemanship and Traditional Horsemanship and they all are some sort of "Horseglish" or "Eqglish" if you will. You will understand if you've ever heard the term "Spanglish" It means no matter how good you speak "Horse", you'll speak it with a human accent and the accent of the place you're from and throw in a few Human words when you need them. That actually means our horses learn to understand "Horseglish" as well.

So Training or your time with your horse should be a great conversation. One that stimulates both of you, makes you both think, laugh, sometimes a whisper, sometimes loud, and sometimes lively and animated. But you both walk away feeling like you listened to each other and made strides to wherever you may be going together. Also remember, a conversation that seems firm and about yours or your horses "likes" and "dislikes" (if you know what I mean) can lead to a better working partnership just as it would between you and another person. More food for thought....
http://fdhorsetraining.com/

Challenges...

My partnership with Mercury is proof that challenges can lead to amazing places...

How many of you view stumbling blocks and challenges with your horses as opportunities? Opportunities to build trust, training, communication and connection amongst other things.

Fear in the rider, Fear in the horse or both are common challenges. Other ones can be about a variety of things from jumping problems, trailer loading, separation issues, Dressage, Reining, whatever your discipline or goals with your horse, you are bound to have run into some personal challenges along the way. Challenges with your horse can be based in confusion, discomfort, and dominance as well.

So here is the REAL challenge. Can you stop, breathe, evaluate and creatively problem solve WITH your horse so that the experience strengthens your connection, trust and furthers your partnership? If you can't figure it out today, can you leave it and meditate (even do some visualizations) on it and come back to it when you are more clear about how to work through it in a positive way?

The last few years, I have had several non-cookie cutter challenging horsenalities come through my program including my favorite boy, Mercury. It seems most of my clients have found themselves also with challenging horses in their lives as well. What has happened though is these horses have brought many valuable lessons and understanding with them as well as a sense of huge achievement when progress is made at home or in the show ring. Something you don't get from an easier counterpart.

My horse Mercury who I have dubbed my equine four legged soul mate, Has challenged me at many turns with his antics, mischief, clowning, dominance and spookiness. I also have the deepest partnership and connection with this horse I have ever had. I have learned infinite things from him about stallions (he's now gelded), the power of deep connection and trust when things get sticky and scary, and loving him for who he is purely and not his talent, athleticism and incredible good looks (he'd want me to add that...He thinks he's a super model!).

So as an exercise, you could write down any challenges you are having with your riding or your horse. Then pick one thing off the list and see if you can find a way to make that challenge a positive growth experience for you and your horse. You can enlist some outside help or even ask me in the comments section for some help. Let me know what you come up with and how it goes.
http://fdhorsetraining.com/

FDT

Relationship problem vs. Training Problem

What Connection,Trust, and a strong bond can do...Mercury and I riding bareback, bridless, cantering and about to jump

In my travels as a trainer, I have obviously come across many horse-human problems. I have been called in to help the human with the horse. They say the horse does "x" and I don't like it or it scares me. As a career problem solver, I have learned to put things into categories so I can facilitate the problem solving process for both parties. The first step is asking is this a Relationship problem or a Training Problem? Also there is another category. Technical Training versus Behavioral training but that is for another blog.

What are some things that fall into Relationship problems? Hard to catch would be one, Head shyness could be another. Refusing to go certain places, or anxiousness and tension. Some people would say these are respect and obedience problems but I look at things from the horses point of view.
If a horse doesn't want to be caught, they may not be looking forward to some things that happen after they are. That list could be a long one starting with hard work programs to just plain bad chemistry with their person, Poor fitting equipment, leaving friends etc. This is a Relationship problem because if the horse was bonded, connected and trusting the person who comes out, they will most likely happily come to you or at least allow you to walk up and halter them.
Another symptom of a Relationship problem would be a horse exhibiting tension while being ridden and spooking. Another symptom of Lack of trust and not having confidence in the leadership of the person handling them.
As someone who has built connection with some horses who really didn't want to work for anyone, I have seen first hand that they will give so much when you take the time to build Relationship with them. Often a lot of misunderstood horses can be worked with to gain a great partnership if only you are willing to take the time. I find far too many people just can't be bothered to work with a horse that is not absolutely simply and calm. These horses often have a lot of untapped talent and heart. But the problem is often how people relate to them and their not so easy behavior. Calling them stupid or bad or disrespectful.
The word Respect is thrown around horse training far too casually and it becomes the label for every problem behavior. Some Disrespectful behavior has developed from the persons disrespectful behavior to the horse. Respect is a two way street. This is how I explain it to a horse. I'm going to respect you and your feelings and I expect the same in return. Once these things are in place Technical Training becomes a pleasure and much easier for both horse and human. Think about your horse and how good your relationship is and if it could use some building or he's your best four legged friend!

Focus

I am frequently asked to address Focus issues in horses my own included. The funny part is often the people state they too have trouble focusing...Interesting. I often am asked to deal with Fear issues in horses and surprise! The owners are fearful too!. So what's the point here? Well if our goal is to be a good leader to our horse and garner our horses respect and bond to us, The work starts with us. The reason the horses improve when I work with them is because I give them 100% focus and I am generally not afraid because I don't put myself in positions which scare me. People say to me "Farah you never seem afraid even working with so called "dangerous" horses" And that's because I know what steps or exercises I need to do for myself to feel safe, Then as a natural result I am not afraid. You notice how I said I do things with the horse to help me feel not afraid not the horse feel not afraid because as a result the horse gets more focused and less afraid.
Your horse requires 100% of your attention if you expect his. Some methods rely on the horse having to pay attention, regardless of if we are or not. This doesn't seem fair to me. If a student is in a class room and the teacher is off in La La land. That class is going to find other ways to entertain themselves good or bad. They are also going to resent and not respect that teacher too much.
If you and your horse are completely focused on each other as much of the time as possible, the communication should be more effortless and as a result you should pick up on subtle cues that your horse may be getting nervous about something. Then you can take measures to prevent a spook or redirect your horses energy somewhere else.
I feel that a lot of accidents are a result of lack of focus and awareness in the horse and rider.
So try this exercise if you feel you have an unfocused or spooky horse. Take measure to make yourself feel safe, and spend a whole session completely focused on what your are doing and who you are doing it with. Let me know how it goes in the comments section!