|
|
|
|
Exceptional Horsemanship Newsletter
|
|
|
|
|
|
Greetings!
Mustangs.
Many folks (including many trainers) believe Mustangs are hard to train. And yes, some can be tough. But, it's because they're smart. They've had to learn some pretty neat survival tricks, not the least, dealing with the BLM ways and means. After working with dozens of them, I know  people are much harder to train. Occasionally, you run into a Mustang that flat out won't be tamed, yet there are domestic horses that fit that bill, too. Many are super quiet and smooth even right off the range. And boy are they sturdy buggers! Look at this cute Jasmine here! Lorraine is doing a great job with her. She enjoys riding an extremely smooth gaited horse AND gets to learn all kinds of great horsemanship skills from the opportunities that Jasmine provides on a daily basis. :-) Jasmine and Lorraine's first chance out with me, on Peka, in the desert a couple of weeks ago came about when Lorraine and I took our girls to look for a loose Mustang in the desert running around Scottsdale/Phx. It had crossed Scottsdale Rd. and started up the 101 ramp. Over 100 degrees, but we loaded up to see if we could help. Lorraine had a blast galloping across the desert! Said she never went off wash edges and thru trash dumped as I 'introduced.' The folks she rides with won't. Can't imagine! :D. We did not find the bugger, though.
The past week Lorraine and Jasmine experienced how it felt to ask with the weight of a breath and have your horse answer with the same breath lightness, "Sure, you betcha!" Lorraine is a practical bugger and to have her get "welly"... WOW! Because it's that beautiful! I'd love to have everyone know that feeling, because once you experience it, you don't want to settle for less. While Jasmine does have some issues we're working on that we figure were installed in some previous 'training', it's so entertaining and delightful to watch this little darling think.
The new batch of Supreme Extreme Mustangs left whatever BLM base camp they were in to be picked up by the competing trainers in May. The finale is in Fort Worth in September. Various other Mustang Makeovers happen all over the country. Some of the trainers that participate are fabulous and it showcases the horses. Take a peek at my "Six Days with a Wild Mustang" to see how it CAN go if done right.
"A tense or frightened horse will not be able to learn, it can just obey." --Colonel Christian Carde Here's hoping the horses have people help them through their fears instead of causing them to become fearful. MAKING it obey, hoping to win. No. One of the good trainers last year had his Mustang jumping onto the back of a flatbed truck WHILE it was driving away! You won't be reading about me doing that in my "6 Days." Or any other day for that matter :-). Many of the final rounds can be viewed on the Mustang Heritage Foundation website, youtube, fb, etc.
|
So... Are You Horseman Material????
"A man learns to skate by staggering about making a fool of himself; indeed, he progresses in all things by making a fool of himself." -- George Bernard Shaw
What do you think about this quote?
Would you apply it to your horsemanship?
Are you okay with NOT doing something right the first time? Is that tooooo much to ask when it's a given? Take some kif time on this one.
What about the tenth time? Is there a number that you must be right by? And if your horse doesn't know how to do what you don't know how to do either, do you think it will take extra time? Like in a blind leading the blind type of situation?
"Imagination grows by exercise... " -- Paul McCartney
Grows by exercise! Skills too. Skills, abilities and knowledge don't spring forth fully formed. We know this on an intellectual level and we're frequently okay with it as it pertains to us. Our horse... not so much. "Stupid horse." Boy, when someone says this to me or within my hearing I just about want to draw blood. While we all like to accomplish what we set out to do, how do we know if we're rushing the training of the horse and therefore slowing down our results? Maybe we can change one little things that causes our horse to ask, "Oh, did you mean ___?"
Generally I think I'm right. Well, who doesn't? Who thinks they're wrong all the time? What would be the point? If you think that, you're probably not really thinking. And since I can't understand that concept, someone else will have to write about it elsewhere. However, if you insist you're right, that's different. Could you use your imagination and come up with another possible way? Could it be a moment more time before you correct? Could it be a different side of your horse? A hand here instead of there? Could it be looking at your horse's facial expression to see what he's thinking before you jump the gun? What about those legs? The horse's: Are they in the position to do as you asked? Or, would the horse have to shift his weight first? And if he had to shift, would you think he was being disobedient when he was actually trying to perform except your request was inappropriate for his position? What about your legs? Are they in the right position? Are you using them? Or, do you NOT know that you are doing something with them and therefore signaling your horse to do something you don't know you're asking? He's doing what you ask even though you don't know it and you think he's misbehaving?
Menniger Institute study says - The single most important quality that you can develop is flexibility. The opposite is rigidity. Unwillingness to change in the face of new info or circumstances. Don't be that!
I have a tough horse (Howdy) in for training right now and Thank Goodness! I have learned so much from this girl. I put a new blog post on the site about this particular learning experience. Yes, it has to do with the above paragraph. It's called Howdy There, Ego!
Yeah, she looks cute and is stuck to me like a barnacle, but... boy, she's tough to influence and convince. My herd says "ditto."
Please forward this newsletter to your friends and tell them to sign up for their own. Click the purple "Gimme" button on the website.
There's a difference between techniques and technique.
For exceptional results, think "how and how can I".
|
| Upcoming stuff:
"awareness" - the need for calm. maintain boundaries in order to create focus, both in yourself and your horse. ladder jumping - the art of waiting timing/feel come
I love these three bullet quotes, so even though I've used them in previous newsletters, I like to look at them often. - "Be responsible for every step that a horse takes - from the time you catch him, 'till you turn him loose." - Don Buttrey
- "Always offer your horse a feel that means something." - Buster McLaury
- "You get out of the horse what you put in - the way you put it in." - Ray Hunt
|
|
|
|
If you live in the hot part of the country and don't do as much outside during the summer, it's a great time for armchair horsemanship. Study/read/watch. Call or email me to schedule a phone or email lesson/consultation today.
Check the blog for more training and put in your questions and comments!Sincerely,
ME
Lauren Woodard
ExceptionalHorsemanship.com |
Lauren Woodard
Scottsdale, Arizona 85254
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
