Where does your horse’s tension come from?
Becoming aware of blockages in the body Where does your horse’s tension come from? Jane came to me with headshaking problems. We often tend to think that therefore the tension must lie in the neck and poll area, however, this isn’t the only source. Watch the video below to find out more! 👇
Are you the Mommy, the Dictator, or the Mentor?
Are you being the best mentor for your horse? When it comes to our horses, we can have many different relationships. But in broad lines, we can narrow them down to three types: 1. The Mommy;2. The Dictator;and 3. The Mentor. However, only one of those will actually give our horses the room to grow […]
Haltering a difficult horse
Haltering a difficult horse Do you have a horse that puts his head up when trying to put the halter or bridle on? Here’s how you can turn it around and teach your horse to lean into the halter. https://vimeo.com/949122469/fbf4b29ec4?share=copy Step #1: Lower the tension First, start by making your horse aware where he’s holding […]
Training with distractions
Training with distractions How do you approach the groundwork when you don’t have a quiet, enclosed indoor arena? Or when the only space where you can train is a small patch of grass? In actuality, you might actually make more progress than someone training in an indoor. I explain why in the video below 👇
Ground shyness
Solving ground shyness It’s not about the spooky thing Tire tracks. A scary corner. A ray of sunlight, or even a speck of straw: it can be enough to spook our horses. It’s natural to think that these things are the cause of our horse’s tension, so removing the object will remove the tension, right? […]
Don’t ride when you can’t touch
Don’t ride when you can’t touch When I met Nina, her owners told me she was tense under saddle. The traditional fixes didn’t seem to work. We took a step back and approached the training without a saddle. https://vimeo.com/930313535/987804e358?share=copy The tension wasn’t just under saddle. If you can’t touch all the areas where the saddle […]
Handling grumpy faces
How to deal with grumpy faces What do you do when a horse comes at you with their ears pinned and their teeth bared? And how can you safely change the behavior? It might just be a habit your horse has picked up from another horse. It doesn’t mean anything to them. But if we […]
Starting young horses the right way
VIDEO The first steps of starting a young horse When you start training your young horse, it might seem like the goal is just to get the saddle on and start riding. But rushing into it can lead to your horse not really understanding what’s going on. This misunderstanding can cause problems later, like running […]
Trailer loading: Going into the trailer is not the end goal
Trailer loading Going into the trailer is not the end goal Often, with trailer loading, people focus on just getting the horse in the trailer. And once he’s in, they will quickly close the bar and ramp, preventing the horse from running off. But it’s not about just getting the horse in the trailer. It’s […]
Entertainment at horse shows
Loud Music and Applause Entertainment or Needless Anxiety? Last year, I was at the Dutch stallion show where they had added quite a remarkable element to the judging of the test. At the end of each test, the audience got the opportunity to rate it by applauding. The organization recorded the decibels and the rider […]