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Exceptional Horsemanship Newsletter
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Greetings!
KRIEKEEE! Another year? I hope everyone had a good holiday season and plan on gifting yourself a journey into better, dare I say, exceptional horsemanship. I had a "Lived to Tell About It" incident with my Peka girl since the last newsletter and you can read about it here! SHEESH! Skyrian horses? What? Who knew!! The national breed of Greece. Are they cute or what! Turns out there's this guy, Franklin Levinson, who lives in Corfu, Greece. He's a trainer/instructor there AND... he thinks like me! Ha!  He came across my newsletter, checked out my site and we've been exchanging emails on our concepts of considering the horse FIRST! How does your horse think? What does your horse think? And how is that going to impact your horsemanship? How do I go about influencing my horse in the best way? Franklin does a lot of writing about these concepts on his website, wayofthehorse. All good stuff. In addition, he's involved with the Silva Project which strives to preserve the Skyrian breed of which there are only 235. I used to think I knew most of the breeds around the world and I'm finding that there are obscure breeds all over the ding-dang place. Verrrrrry interesting! I thought about writing a bunch of info on Franklin and the breed here, but it will take up a lot of space, so please click on the links and you'll get all the info you could want on him and the horses without me typing it :D. This is Cherry Sweig (photo). She's also involved with the preservation of the breed in addition to being a fine artist. You can check her out on her website.
Now I have another treasure for you. A late Christmas gift, if you will. I found Miller's Equine Wound Salve and Spray. Okay, it wasn't lost, but... did you know about it? Turns out Helen Miller has developed it and I LOVE IT! Now, I've been a confirmed Dynamite Wound Balm and WonderDust girl and I will still use them. But, I'm going here first. This stuff works fabulously well and smells great to boot and is clean and... just lovely. The salve comes in these great tins that fit perfectly in your pocket. And, it's great for dogs and people, too. And, itching and keeps bugs away. AND Helen recommends spraying it on a bandana, tie it around a wrist or your neck and ride in comfort. I'm all in.
If you're new to the newsletter, be sure to pop over to my archives button on the right side of the column below the book info on my home page. You can catch up on all the training ideas you've missed.
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So... Are You Horseman Material????
The Challenge:
Make arrangements to meet with a friend of yours. As the two of you approach, put your hand up about head high and when your friend is close enough, place you finger tips on their eyebrow area, flatten your hand on their face and drag it down over their nose and lips.
Bet that would go over well, eh?
Yet, we don't think a thing about infringing on a horse in this respect. Or is it lack of respect? Of course it is. It's the assumption that we have the right to do this without thinking. Does it make you an ax murder? NO. But, if you START thinking like this, your horse will become a fascinating puzzle. And I guarantee that when you start looking at your horsemanship as a puzzle, you won't be able to stop, it will become all encompassing, you'll see puzzle pieces everywhere! And you'll be driven to find how they fit.
Now I'm not not saying not to pet your horse's face. I'm saying be aware of how your horse feels about you and you petting her face. You may need to take the time to train your horse not to turn away when you raise your hand for a face swipe. This is what I call the "High Hello". Put your hand up above your head and a bit forward. Stand a couple of feet back from your horse and SEE what your horse does. As you softly bring your hand to the area between/above the eyes you may need to repeatedly ask--with a soft directional request on the halter with the other hand--that horse keep their head facing you and at the level that is good, i.e. eyes about the level of your eyes. Horses will evade up/down/left and right and move their feet. This just means that they aren't comfortable with this and it is up to you to teach them that you aren't hurting or bothering them (well, you are bothering them in the teaching stage, but that's for anything we teach them--and us). Ask yourself if you're comfortable with your horse NOT liking you to pet the face? Has your horse trained you to always keep your hand low regardless? Or pet the neck because he turned his head away? Does horse have a time frame--can you have a quick pet but not stay a bit longer or massage the muzzle? Just sayin'.
A huge number of people have no idea about this subject and are shocked when their horse shows it.
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".
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| Upcoming stuff:
El Gaucho Domado
What does it take? What are you missing? If you're missing it, how do you know it?
The key is not to prioritize what is on the schedule, but to schedule your priorities."
Stephen Covey
"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
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Get a jump on your new horse year. Give your horse the gift of a better person. Gain confidence, refinement, skills and fun on a whole new level. Call or email me to schedule a lesson, training session, phone or email lesson/consultation today.
Don't forget to check the blog for more training and put in your questions and comments!Sincerely,
ME
Lauren Woodard
ExceptionalHorsemanship.com |
Lauren Woodard
Scottsdale, Arizona 85254
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