Recently I’ve been in social situations with my horse and other riders where I’ve been faced with how differently I do things.
I have come to a rift in thinking with most people who ride or work with horses. The popular jargon states that we must “make our horse do things” and “keep the feet moving” and “don’t give up on the activity or the horse will have won.” “I run my horse around in the round pen so I know what kind of horse I have before I ride.”
Last year, my older gelding Khami, at 24, was diagnosed with Cushings. This is common for older horses these days. But there are many things that can be done to maintain the health of an older horse so that his organs and other body parts function well, in spite of the aging process.
Riding is the next step in our relationship with our horse. Working with relationship on the ground comes first, then the saddle.
Continue reading Better riding through Ortho-Bionomy on horseback
Yes, this is exciting, but don’t try this without professional guidance! You will need to know your horses inside and out and know you have the balance required to accomplish this feat!
I ask this question because it is a part of the whole perspective about experiencing Liberty Horsemanship with your horse — the getting-to-know-you part that’s so important.
The herd grazes on the high desert plains, snatching mouthfuls of grasses if there are any. When they are thirsty, they are generally thirsty as a group, because the water hole may be some distance from where they are grazing.
Continue reading Feel invisible threads of connection with your horse
This is a refrain that I heard recently from an owner who was startled by the news. It’s not new; I’ve heard it many times before, spoken to owners with horses who have some behavioral issue. What is going on here?
In Liberty Foundation Horsemanship, we talk a lot about “leadership,” which is also talked about in other forms of horsemanship. Basically, what that means is that a person must earn the “respect” of the horse, which begins with forming “trust,” or some sort of healthy “bond.”
Horses are fearful by nature; they are flight animals. How we address fear in the horse has to be a very fluid and dynamic thing because not all horses will respond to the same approach. A frightened horse is potentially dangerous because they are hard wired to flee or react suddenly when frightened.
