Huge empowering evening tonight. I need to keep asking myself some questions while I am dealing with my horses. The main question is, "why not ask THIS of my horse!" I need to stop focusing on things that I believe aren't possible, and "ask." I also need to be more courageous in my lessons learned and point them into different directions when dealing with my horses. I have to tell you that tonight's "let's see what happens if I do this," lesson was HUGE! :)
The Educated Equestrian's had a workshop given this past weekend on trail riding. It was the second workshop on this topic that I have attended. (I can't get enough!). Julie Robin's assistant, Kendra DeKay gave both workshops. In both of them, one of the main lessons to be learned was to "protect your space." This is while you are on the ground and other horses are approaching you, or if you are in the saddle and you are having another horse coming too close in front or behind your horse. Twirling of the rope as if it was a fan to back off the approaching horse. This all makes tons of sense, but the HUGE part of this is
that you horse gains more respect for YOU when you do this.
Re-read the last sentence...
So, here I am tonight with a calculating, pulling my chain, horse Gator and his unwillingness to come to the barn for dinner. Hmm - wonder why right? My mind raced for the last two nights and thought only that he was in pain. He has had laminitis and I thought that maybe, just maybe, he didn't want to maneuver down the hill to the barn. Oh, two banamine shots, and loving care of a catered dinner of apples/grain and hay to his paddock instead of the barn, I realized something. He was not in pain. He was avoiding the barn because he thought I just might keep him in his stall for the night (as I did four nights ago.)
When I realized this, I confronted (verbally) my thoughts on this to him. He then swung his head in a stallion manner and galloped down to the barn and into it at full speed. Yes, I was left in the dust.
Tonight, I thought, "Gator is coming to the barn in a halter and I am taking him."
My ego was bruised from the night before and I was determined. I walked into the pasture and haltered him up. Started leading him down to the barn. Low and behold my mind was not thinking about my alpha horse and the other two behind me. I heard the thundering hooves, and thought "protect my space!" I whirled around and my alpha Jester was headed straight for us! "No way," he thought, was Gator getting to the barn before him!
I twirled. He backed off and bucked. Gator ran behind me and to the side and huffed. Like, "I am out of here!" I still had the rope!
Then, it was a lightbulb, AH HA, moment. Gator realized that I just protected his space. The other two horses (Guinness and Beau) realized that I just moved the alpha Jester's feet away from Gator. Jester realized that maybe, just maybe he was not the alpha in this herd at the moment. MOM WAS! OH MY GOODNESS!!
HUGE CHANGE in the entire herd. Gator came up and stood right behind me with his head at my shoulder to say "let's get after Jester!" or "way to go MOM, thanks for taking care of me!"
Jester became an obedient soul.
All of this from a fan twirl of a rope, and a protect my space and my horse's space
attitude!
Isn't this stuff grand!
The Educated Equestrian's had a workshop given this past weekend on trail riding. It was the second workshop on this topic that I have attended. (I can't get enough!). Julie Robin's assistant, Kendra DeKay gave both workshops. In both of them, one of the main lessons to be learned was to "protect your space." This is while you are on the ground and other horses are approaching you, or if you are in the saddle and you are having another horse coming too close in front or behind your horse. Twirling of the rope as if it was a fan to back off the approaching horse. This all makes tons of sense, but the HUGE part of this is
that you horse gains more respect for YOU when you do this.
Re-read the last sentence...
So, here I am tonight with a calculating, pulling my chain, horse Gator and his unwillingness to come to the barn for dinner. Hmm - wonder why right? My mind raced for the last two nights and thought only that he was in pain. He has had laminitis and I thought that maybe, just maybe, he didn't want to maneuver down the hill to the barn. Oh, two banamine shots, and loving care of a catered dinner of apples/grain and hay to his paddock instead of the barn, I realized something. He was not in pain. He was avoiding the barn because he thought I just might keep him in his stall for the night (as I did four nights ago.)
When I realized this, I confronted (verbally) my thoughts on this to him. He then swung his head in a stallion manner and galloped down to the barn and into it at full speed. Yes, I was left in the dust.
Tonight, I thought, "Gator is coming to the barn in a halter and I am taking him."
My ego was bruised from the night before and I was determined. I walked into the pasture and haltered him up. Started leading him down to the barn. Low and behold my mind was not thinking about my alpha horse and the other two behind me. I heard the thundering hooves, and thought "protect my space!" I whirled around and my alpha Jester was headed straight for us! "No way," he thought, was Gator getting to the barn before him!
I twirled. He backed off and bucked. Gator ran behind me and to the side and huffed. Like, "I am out of here!" I still had the rope!
Then, it was a lightbulb, AH HA, moment. Gator realized that I just protected his space. The other two horses (Guinness and Beau) realized that I just moved the alpha Jester's feet away from Gator. Jester realized that maybe, just maybe he was not the alpha in this herd at the moment. MOM WAS! OH MY GOODNESS!!
HUGE CHANGE in the entire herd. Gator came up and stood right behind me with his head at my shoulder to say "let's get after Jester!" or "way to go MOM, thanks for taking care of me!"
Jester became an obedient soul.
All of this from a fan twirl of a rope, and a protect my space and my horse's space
attitude!
Isn't this stuff grand!
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