With our powers combined....

I love reading the posts over at mugwump chronicles. Not only is she a thoughtful, knowledgeable and poetic blogger but she always has the best comments! So with her kind of blog in mind I share this.

Sometimes I wonder why I blog. Is it selfish? Maybe. Definitively self indulgent..

But I am not just blogging about what I am doing, I am reading about what other people are doing. So many blogs about horses! I read about eventers, reiners, trail riders, jumpers, endurance riders... people just starting out with horses, people who have been riding for years, amateurs and professionals. People who ride with bits, without bits, train with fancy sticks, whisper, or who do none of the above. Why do I bother? Why don't I just read books, magazines, and rent dvds to supplement my lessons and clinics like I used to do?

Maybe the answer is in the two links above. When I read blogs I am learning through shared experience. As horse people who blog we are all connected. We all have pieces of a big puzzle that is the horse and through our blogs maybe we can get together and finally see the big picture.

What do you think about the idea of sharing and building off ideas in the horse blog world? Are you learning something or just wasting time? Why do you read blogs?

Shawna Karrasch

Hey folks! Bodhi and I are still around though I have been very busy with grad school and Bodhi has been busy making new friends and enjoying the mild weather. I have some pictures to share and some news but for now I just wanted to share a horse trainer I just became familar with.

Her name is Shawna Karrasch. Her website is here. She has a background in training marine mammals and now applies the same concepts to horses. Talk about a woman after my own heart.
Her website has some great information about how to incorporate positive reinforcement into your training regime. Have any of you heard of her?

Video of a horse free jumping from the horse's perspective

What is natural horsemanship?

I consider my horsemanship journey to be about discovering what is ethical not what is natural.
Keeping horses in general and riding them especially is the farthest thing from natural no matter what trainer you follow.

Ethical treatment is what has steered me towards positive reinforcement, bitless riding, and why Bodhi does not wear shoes and why he is on pasture board. Not because it is more natural for him but because I am concerned about his welfare and well being.

It seems like every time I look around one of the natural horsemanship trainers is caught doing something unethical-- I am sure I don't need to show anyone these examples, they seem to be talked about to death on other blogs and forums.

My request: Read this take on Natural Horsemanship. They said it more concisely then I ever could. What do you think of what this author has to say?

Off to Canada!

We are leaving tomorrow morning veeeery early to begin our three day journey to Manitoba. Wish us luck. We are setting off with so many things unsettled. Bodhi's leave date, our housing situation etc etc. We just can't wait any longer. Everything in Florida here is closed up, boxed, and stored. Ready or not Canada here we come!

On a completely unrelated note. I wanted to share some links with you on my last post in the US!
This has been going around so you have probably seen it, but if you have not I would say it is worth your thoughts.
Disclaimer: I am not an anti, or a pro of any one training method. I feel like everyone has something to learn from everyone. You should be an open minded skeptic and not rule out any person from sharing their knowledge but you should also take everything people say with a grain of salt. It is a balance. I have learned so much from so many different trainers I am constantly gleaning useful tidbits off of everyone. That being said I am not going to financially support a trainer that uses an abusive technique. Period. He may have some good things to say, and I am still willing to learn but I am not willing to pay. I hope others feel the same. My feelings are that these methods are not appropriate. Not in any context. You should never gum line a horse as a training method.
Catwalk and Pat
Now let's focus on the positive side of horse training I have this to recommend as well!
How to Halter train a head shy horse
This is a great explanation of how to work with a head shy horse correctly with a video. Dealing with horse issues takes time and patience. When you turn them into commodities like in the show world, or the fix-a-horse in an hour clinic world, you sacrifice the horse.

Duuuuude... Chill........

We interrupt this post to share two relevant links for my fellow bloggers.
Check out Behind the Bit's post about the new Horse blogger group she started

Check out the latest post from Dressage Mom about the contest she has entered. Support a fellow blogger and vote!
Ever wonder what Mr. Golden is up to? I convinced him to write my blog entry last night over at Ethical Eats.
It is June in the sunshine state. Temperatures in the mid 90's with the humidity bringing the heat index up to unspeakable numbers. Everything is sticky and simple tasks outside have now become trials. Why is it then, my fabulous followers,my rotund little golden pony has grown rocket boosters?

Bodhi has always had more whoa than go at the best of times. He is also not a fan of Florida summers, turning into an itching(allergies), sweating, groggy mess. One of my constant training challenges has always been to keep him "light". I would say he varies normally between average to very heavy and slow in his responsiveness. He can be slow as malasis on a hot day. I have ridden him with spur buds and a dressage whip (with my trainers insistence) before. I have been working lately on his responsiveness to my legs with clicker training as well.

When Bodhi was up and charging forward on our conditioning ride in the big pasture I thought that was normal, but on Sunday during our ride in the ring he jumped three caveletties at once (!!!) and leaped into the canter at the slightest leg. Monday I decided to work on tempo regulation and only did trot work but he was super sensitive and as forward as forward can be! We are still in the learning stage of the new bridle but Monday I finally got his head and neck more relaxed and his back more rounded but I had to continually remind him to slow down!

Is this a real problem? I am not sure. If it is, it is a nice problem to have. I have no fear of getting run off with. He still stops on a dime. Yes the haffie power trot is a little exhausting to post, but to actually have a forward horse-- I'll take exuberance even if it is a bit over the top.

So causes of this sudden shift? Here is what I have so far...

• Bitless bridle a) he feels more free to move forward. I have heard that "lazy" horses can become more forward when you remove the bit? b)he does not like the new bridle and feels anxious about it and wants "to get it over with"
• He is in shape - we did a ton of rehab and he may be in better shape than he has ever been before.
• A Maturity thing -young horses go through phases, maybe he is feeling more confident with his better balance and muscle
• Flax seed=rocket fuel?? he is now on flax seed to help his skin allergy.
• My upper body= crap. He could be running forward because my upper body is a wet noodle lately.
• Clicker training; I have been rewarding exuberance and responsiveness lately, especially at the canter. Could this account for his new and improved work ethic? That is what it *feels* like to me. That he is trying really hard to get that click. Unfortunately he is trying too hard.

I am sure it is a combination of several of these things. He definitely feels like he is jumping to conclusions and rushing to answer questions I have not even asked yet. It feels wonderful to have such a enthusiastic student but my role as his teacher now is to ask him to just relax! My challenge will be to find balance in this new issue. Ask him to soften and balance his body off the forehand without loosing that exuberance. If we can shape this wave we will definitely be at a break through.

-- 

Many ways to train a horse

There are so many methods out there today isn't there? Everyone has their trainer that they follow or their discipline they stick to etc...
The truth is that there are many ways to train a horse! Yes almost all of the methods work! Horses are amazing creatures and will adapt to almost any training method. The differences I have noticed between the methods though are how long it takes for a horse to learn, how readily the horse remembers the lesson, and what the residual side affects of training on the horses behavior.
Check this out:
Bookends Farm had an excellent post that I would love for you guys to read. I think it really explains the consequences of different training methods on the horse.

What I have personally noticed with + reinforcement is that it takes Bodhi less repetitions to learn new skills, and that he almost never forgets what he has learned. I have had very similar experiences to the blog post above where I slip back into traditional training and correct or even punish and I always regret it. As she says it does work, but is it really worth the stress in our relationship, or the negative consequences?

Yet another reason to love Steffen Peters... he is a clicker trainer! I am not surprised but I am definitely proud to learn that the riding team that won Rolex use clicker training!

A great blog-a great post

I wanted to share with everyone a blog that I really enjoy-Ethical Horsemanship. The most recent post is about Klaus Hempfling's take on Rolker. I found it very thought provoking and I think many of you will too! Hope you check it out.

Man two posts in one day. Look out!