Tonia, Gracie’s breeder, is a wonderful correspondent! These photos of Grace’s sire Anne 340 greeted me from my inbox this morning.
Tonia bred Hillie, Grace’s mom, back to Anne 340 last spring. We agree it is a wonderful cross!
Anne 340 Friesian Stallion
Anne 340 Trotting Loose
Anne 340 Spanish Walk In Hand
Anne 340 Spanish Walk Bareback
While updating our resource of “Horse for Sale” websites over at wvhorsetrainer.com, we found a new site showcasing classified ads of naturally trained horses.
We’ve thought about hosting free classified ads for the natural horsemanship community here at Horses…Naturally! I’m always reluctant to feature anything I haven’t seen “with my own eyes,” and this includes thousands of strangers’ horses!
On the other hand, it could be a valuable resource to connect natural horsemen and women with their equine partners-to-be, and to help good horses find homes fluent in natural horsemanship.
So, dear readers, sound off! Would you like to see a corner of our site dedicated to naturally trained horses for sale? We could We love to hear your opinions!
Indian summer weaves its way between cold snaps here in wild, wonderful West Virginia. I welcome the warm sunshine which glows through the foliage. I can take off my winter coat, but the horses can’t.
As I wait for the wash bucket to fill to sponge off a very sweaty Bogey, I think about the challenges Indian summer presents to horses, and the ways a natural horseman can meet those needs.
Provide plenty of clean water. Even if he doesn’t appear sweaty, your horse is struggling to keep his temperature down under all that winter wool.
Make sure your horse has access to the electrolytes and minerals that he needs. Whether you use a traditional salt block or, as we prefer at Natural Horse Training Methods, free choice loose minerals, be sure your horse is provided for. If your horse is in heavy training, this may be a good time to supplement with additional electrolytes. Beware of formulas with lots of sugar and artificial flavors and colors.
Be aware of your horse’s exertion level during work. A natural horsemanship exercise which may be easy under normal circumstances may cause more stress on a warm day to a horse with a thick winter coat. Adjust rest periods accordingly.
Rethink your routine. If heat is going to stress your horse unduly, plan on a slower workout. Practice perfecting tough exercises at walk. The precision you gain will enhance those same movements at faster gaits when the heat wave breaks.
Sponge your horse off well after a training session. Slosh him with cool water then immediately scrape him, several times over. Body heat transferred to the water will be removed when you use your sweat scraper. If you do not sweat scrape, the layer of water on the horse will have the same effect as a thermal blanket! Sloshing and scraping over and over will help pull heat out quickly.
For a more comprehensive list of suggestions, check out our free article, Natural Horse Care in the Heat. Do you have any tips and tricks you’d like to share with our community? Sound off in the ‘Comments’ section of this blog post.
Natural horse trainers–these suggestions also apply to you! Often we get so caught up in caring for our horses that we forget our bodies need the same care and nutrition we give our horses. Drink more water than you think you need, sample some new flavors of Gatorade, and remember your sunscreen!
The family was finally ready to live their dream of a family trail ride. I trailered the ever-dependable Lucy over to join them. While the family was tacking up, Lucy and I fully enjoyed playing in an actual ARENA. Our grassy riding area at home has lots of obstacles and natural challenges, but the consistent sand footing and an actual “rail” were a nice change.
Laura was ready first. we played a couple of games with bending poles and pick-up cones waiting for the others. Lucy settled right in with the strange horses to give her nicest canters ever and even show off a little in the games. At around 16.2 hands, Lucy towers over the family’s Quarter Horses. Her long and floating strides made the arena seem small.
Everyone assembled, made sure their breaks and steering worked, and checked their girths a final time. I hung the camera off my saddle.
Love, dedication and natural horsemanship laid the foundation. Autumn’s glory set the stage. Let the Dream unfold!
“Ready to Ride!” The Knock family and Lucy. I’m on Lucy’s back, shooting the picture.
Straight from Lord of the Rings,”The Old Man in the Tree” looks like one of Tolkein’s Ents
We pass the guys assembling a new chicken coop in the back field- and see another kind of Deere.
“Do they know what they’re doing?” June seems to ask.
…Now to find a husband horse for Dad!
I started teaching the Knock’s several years ago. Their dream was to trail ride as a family. When we started, they had one young, barely broke, extremely fearful Quarter Horse. Hardly material for group pleasure ride success!
Stormy the been-there-done-that school horse joined the family. The flashy but fiery Tommy “followed them home” from a horse sale and left later, much better behaved but still too exuberent to trust to a family trail ride. Saintly Molly the Mule looked to be the perfect husband horse but a vicious, aggressive tumor took her all too soon.
Through it all, Christa persevered with Ebony, the original QH filly. Natural horsemanship techniques built her confidence and her skills in both the English and Western disciplines. Clicker training gave her a “why” (release of pressure, “good girl” and a scritch weren’t motivation enough for her deeply introverted personality). Christa’s horsemanship and equitation blossomed. When we realized according to an arbitrary rule that Ebony would need to wear a curb bit and do flying lead changes (neither of which she was ready for) to show in the next Western division, we quickly taught both horse and teenager the basics of hunt seat and jumping and sent them to clean up in the English arena.
Christa and the younger Laura (matched with ever-reliable Stormy) dominated the local show circuit. Mom Kathy tested and expanded her horsemanship with Tommy and Molly. Dad joined in for field trips to horse expos and Parelli Tour Stops, but “Family trail ride” lingered untouched on the goal list.
June joined the family this summer. Not the perfect pleasure mount, but she and Kathy clicked. Extra training sessions brought her along quickly. Most importantly, Kathy’s confidence soared. After all this time supporting her daughters and diligently taking lessons, she had a trustworthy horse “of her own!”
At last, the stage was set for the dream to come true.
We’re exploring our beloved SmugMug as an alternative to YouTube. SmugMug already hosts our Laughing Gypsy Photography and TerraWolf Photography. We’ve been thrilled with the sites–and with the print quality of the photos they produce!
Now they support video… happy dance!
Here is a jousting pass from the Maryland Renaissance Fair on Labor Day Weekend. Let us know if you agree that the video quality is waaay beyond YouTube! We welcome your comments!
Our southern cousins Lady Alienor and Lord Reinmar hosted an SCA equestrian practice at their farm. We loaded up the beasties and dragged Scott and Noel along as well. Scott and Noel rode at Siege of Glengary when we hosted the equestrian events. Noel now owns my old warhorse, Sioux, veteran of Gulf Wars. It was just like old times!
The two young horses I brought had never played the games before. Gideon was a little leery–especially of the heavy machinery next door! Lucy, my Thoroughbred racetrack rescue, took it all in stride:
Our novice horses faced new places, new horses, and new challenges…even new outfits! The natural horsemanship foundation laid at home gave them a solid grounding for acceptance and quick mastery of new experiences. Clicker training accelerated the horses’ comfort level with flailing swords, bobbing lances and billowing costumes.
Everyone rode well and had a blast! Lady Brandwyn Alston again marshalled. Our thanks to the ground crew who kept everything running quickly and smoothly. My hands were too full with 2 horses to take photos. Next time I promise to get more!
The Web Whisperer just overcame a longstanding glitch in our systems. We are now able to access all the horse training, horse showing, and adventuring media we have been creating through the last few months. Expect a bunch of belated updates!
Our friends in a neighboring kingdom hosted an SCA medieval equestrian practice. We jumped at the opportunity to play our favorite medieval horsemanship games with great people while increasing our horses’ competencies. We love win-win-win!
Our horses faced new places, new horses, and new challenges…even new outfits! Natural horsemanship laid a solid foundation for acceptance and quick mastery of new experiences. Clicker training accelerated the horses’ comfort level with flailing swords, bobbing lances and billowing costumes.
Lucy, of course, took it all in stride:
In uploading video from this weekends’ Cavalry demonstration, I noticed another example of natural horsemanship principles at work in the very unnatural setting of the sabre skirmish:
Watch the grey and the palomino. Notice their riders aren’t carrying weapons. (Notice, too, the grey starts out clearly saying “no way!” to the engagement!)
It appears that these two horses are new to mock battle. (We saw the palomino being introduced to mounted shooting with a horsey buddy to give him confidence.) Their riders weave in and out of the circling horses and clanging swords.
Moving forward through a series of achievable, progressive steps is the hallmark of an effective horse training program. How better to teach a flight animal to willingly plunge into battle!
The Horse Whisperer. Both history and the pop culture notion of natural horsemanship paint an image of the silent, mystical horseman whose mere presence calms the wildest equine outlaw. By using skills invisible to the average human, the horse whisperer inspires the most savage horse to willingly submit and perform any feat.
People attributed this ability to “whispering” after the sensational 19th century “horse tamer,” John Rarey. Among other things (primarily immobilizing the horse with a leg strap), Rarey would gently blow into a horses nostrils or ears. With this, a myth was born that grew along with the development of natural horsemanship as we know it.
But ask the successful modern day “horse whisperer” her or his secret. The key to success with horses (just as with people) begins with LISTENING.
The effective horse trainer “listens” with every sense available. The more acute the trainer’s awareness, the more accurate the understanding of the horse which emerges. Natural horsemanship is based on using the horse’s nature to make the right thing easy. To understand the horse’s nature, we need to listen.
I once read an insightful forum post by a backyard horseman. In convincing a novice to send a young horse to a professional horse trainer, she pointed out that the pros can see a wreck coming well in advance. They perceive the signs of the impending explosion and can prevent it from happening.
The horse trainer in this scenario is listening to the horse more sensitively and more completely than the novice. The pro can see the look of concern growing in the horses eyes, can hear the speed of the hoofbeats slightly increase, can feel the horse’s tension mounting. The pro can immediately redirect the horse to defuse the situation before it gets worse.
The novice, whose “listening” is still rudimentary, doesn’t notice these details. She continues on. As the horse’s tension and confusion increases, so does the “volume” of his nonverbal communication. If the novice still doesn’t “hear” the horse’s concern, the horse starts “yelling:” bucking, rearing, bolting, kicking. The horse’s training backtracks and someone could get hurt, simply because the human wouldn’t, or couldn’t, listen.
Natural horsemanship and classical dressage training share the tenet of starting in lightness. When you apply an aid, begin with the lightest suggestion, increasing in strength until the horse responds. The horse learns to listen for the whisper of communication, knowing that it will increase to a “shout” if ignored. No one likes to get yelled at.
The effective horse trainer “listens” the same way she “speaks.” Listen for the horse’s lightest whisper.
Horses are generally happy to listen back.
