I've been a busily planning little bee lately.
I figured out that I need about 150 t-post caps to cap off all the t-posts on the property (cost TBD, awesome friend Marian thinks she can get them wholesale for me), roughly 130 Sun Guard step-in fiberglass posts that are supposed to be good for temporary fencing (http://www.tractorsupply.com/sun-guard-ii-fiberglass-step-in-post-3602233), and about 3,900 total linear feet of electric polytape for the inside fence. I think I've settled on this charger--needs to be solar powered because of the location of the pasture, and this one came with high marks: http://www.horse.com/item/parmak-deluxe-field-solar-charger/BXF19/
I also found someone local who's selling a few hundred feet of good used v-mesh horse fencing for $100, which might be useful for protecting Chev from the barbed wire at the front part of the pasture where the electric fence needs to run closer to the barbed wire fence--just in case she were to get too close or decide to start pawing at something.
I also finally got out to RIDE said horse today--it always seems ironic to me that I can spend so much time planning horse things, looking at horse things and working on horse projects and never get to actually see the darn horse--but that's part of the point of moving her closer to me. I am so ready to ditch this 2 hour commute.
I did get a short riding video today too. I had to do some editing because of course I spent half the time off camera. It's really hard to set all of that stuff up from the back of a horse--I have to move her out of the way, focus the camera, then move back in to start filming...I see why you need another person for this.
I have no idea what the loud BANG is in the beginning of the video. I assumed when I turned around I'd see my camera laying sideways on the big metal barrel I put it up on--but everything was fine, so I dunno...Spirit barrel.
I did, however, get the straightest, most lifted canter depart ever on Chev yet today. We have been really working on installing specific "buttons"--a touch here controls the shoulder, here the hip, here for sidepass, here for canter--she is catching on. Unfortunately I have to be pretty exaggerated with my cuing at this point while she figures everything out, but still, it was exciting! I usually have to really help her with the bend for her canter departs, this time I just barely touched her with my outside spur in the right spot, gave a little kiss and away she went! She is also learning how hip control relates to the canter, since she is naturally built to kind of drag on into it.
I only got one depart on camera, bummer.
Without further ado...
Showing posts with label video. Show all posts
Showing posts with label video. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Bits and bit pressure--with video
ETA: (concurrent with previous post) Here's a video from those same guys detailing the force of pressure a bit can exert on the tissues of the mouth. And while I cringe at the phrase "scientifically proven" (since that's not the goal of science at all, it doesn't exist to prove things--it's a misnomer phrase), it is still interesting educational to watch. And it's complete with yet more of the worst riding hands I've seen in recent memory.
WARNING: If you are terribly squeamish and can't stand the sight of equine facial dissection, I'd recommend you sit this one out. For those of you teetering on the edge, I will say that all the hair had been removed and the focus is on tissues of the mouth. It's really not that bad.
WARNING: If you are terribly squeamish and can't stand the sight of equine facial dissection, I'd recommend you sit this one out. For those of you teetering on the edge, I will say that all the hair had been removed and the focus is on tissues of the mouth. It's really not that bad.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
This is bound to be a mistake--it's only natural!
Quite a few years ago I came across this crazy person named Alexander Nevzorov of the Nevzorov Haute Ecole. Chances are if you're a horse person you've heard of him. If not, allow me to post this incredibly over dramatic video for you.
I'm warning you though, you've got to take all this stuff with a grain of salt--both sides of it.
I mostly wanted to post this not to say (by ANY means) "Look at this guy! Bits are unnecessary! Riding horses is cruel!" (which, of course, if you've been reading the blog you'll know I don't agree with), but it does a pretty good job of showing clips of horseback riding at it's absolute worst.
I mean, there are a lot of people out there riding who just don't know better. They're riding in Tom Thumb "snaffles" or whathaveyou, in tack that doesn't remotely fit the horse or them, not releasing, cuing wrong, and a whole myriad of other issues. These are not the people I'm talking about today. There is still hope for those people. Many of us even started out that way.
I know I just said the other day that I don't see too much stuff that really shocks me anymore. But there is still something that shocks me, and that's seeing professional riders, at the top of the sport, behaving this way.
It sickens me.
And it really pours fuel on the fire of this whole "natural horsemanship" freakout debate.
As y'all have probably gathered, I am not a follower of "Natural Horsemanship" (with capital letters, no less!). I can't, won't and don't agree that ANYTHING about riding horses is "natural".
But just because it isn't natural doesn't mean it is cruel or wrong. It's also unnatural to wear shoes with comfy support in them. It's unnatural to live to a ripe old age. And it's unnatural to drive a car. Or fly in a plane. Or even walk on cement. Or have a dog. Having a root canal done to save you from terrible pain is unnatural.
But I'm willing to bet most of us have done a few of these things.
It's unnatural to breed kitties down to the adorably cute and manageable size of the ones I have living with me.
You tell this cat that he isn't wanted because he isn't natural. Go on. Say it to this face. I dare you.
And sometimes, natural things can be really bad.
It is natural for a horse to starve to death if he has bad teeth. It is natural for him to get a belly full of parasites and die a painful, colicy death. It's perfectly natural for him to injure himself out on the vast frontier and perish because he couldn't get to water. Heck, all modern medicine is opposing the natural--veterinary and human. Cancer is "natural", and so is blindness, cataracts, arthritis, infection, dysentery and a whole bunch of other nasty things. Dying from all sorts of things we can cure easily these days was, at one time, perfectly natural.
As you can probably tell, "natural" has become a bit of a buzzword for me. My favorite is when a product says it's "natural", and therefore (implied), "awesome" or "better". As in, "all natural drugs."
You know what else is natural?
Foxglove. Digitalis purpurea, if you're a plant nerd like me.
But that doesn't mean you should go around eating it for fun.
Anyway--life is complicated. Nothing is really all that clear cut, is it?
So back to the video.
I don't know a ton about this guy aside from the fact that he isn't riding anymore (I guess he decided it was inhumane). But I wanted you to watch it as an example of what you can do without a bit, spurs, various gadgetry. Supposedly. I can't vouch for how he trained these things. But in the video, at least, the closest he gets to a gadget is a neck rope and a cuing whip, which he doesn't appear to touch the horses with.
His horses actually remind me a lot of Arabian halter horses. They seem to switch on and off much like those horses do. As a side note, I certainly wouldn't tolerate that level of fooling around and frankly his horses kind of terrify me--but I guess it works for him.
Although watching his videos reminds me of The Crocodile Hunter for some reason.
And we all know how that ended.
Anyway.
Personally I felt guilty for even riding a horse with a bit after watching this video, which I suspect was some of the point. Then after a few minutes my rationality starts seeping back in. I understand the bit as a communication tool. I also understand I fear too much for my life to just throw it ALL away.
But part of me understands that the bit is sort of a psychological safety net.
I really freaked out the first time Chev and I had a canter in the hackamore.
I had all these terrifying thoughts like, "What if I can't get her to stop? What if we can't steer? WHAT IF WE BOTH DIE??"
In retrospect, and basking in the glow that always accompanies doing something that was scary and NOT dying--not even having anything WRONG happen--I realized that I was being pretty dumb about it. I know rationally that the training I've done with Chev so far has not relied heavily on the bit. She knows seat, weight and voice cues. So of course she turned, moved and stopped when I asked. Why can't I just put some faith in her? Why do I freak out a little (or a lot) when I don't have a bit in her mouth?
I think it all comes down to this idea of control that I struggle with constantly.
I know that rationally I can't "control" her, and I don't want to--but I still have a hard time relinquishing all mouth control.
The people riding in this video are riding with the kind of contact that produces bone spurs in the mouth.
I suffer from TMJ and various other jaw disorders, and I can only imagine the kind of pain something like that would produce.
This is a pretty interesting conversation on the topic of mandibular bone spurs in horses: http://www.ultimatedressage.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=57741
Of course it's specifically about Dressage, because it's authored by the lovely people over at the Ultimate Dressage forums--but my usual caveat applies--this could be ANY horse discipline. I think we see it less over on the western side of things because strong contact is so discouraged (in the open air, at least). Still, that's not to say horses don't suffer in other ways.
I'm tempted to once again quote that excellent article from Sustainable Dressage on bits, bitting and the action of the bit, but seeing as I've already posted it--two times I think?--it's time to give it a rest. No sense in beating ya'll over the head with it.
I keep meaning to do an entry on various gadgets, what they're supposed to, what they actually do, and how there's nothing new under the sun. Dressage borrows from western, and vice versa, and all over the board. But I guess that's a topic for another day.
She has been schooled in the snaffle for 3, almost 4 years now though. So she does know it very well. We both feel comfortable there. So maybe some of this has to do with me just not being all that willing to toss the comfort zone aside and start over with something new.
I'll tell you though, loping around in a hackamore does feel pretty cool.
Chevy gets her feet done tomorrow and I'll be taking out the HDR to see how it sits on her, and maybe doing some walking around. We'll see how that goes!
I'm warning you though, you've got to take all this stuff with a grain of salt--both sides of it.
I mostly wanted to post this not to say (by ANY means) "Look at this guy! Bits are unnecessary! Riding horses is cruel!" (which, of course, if you've been reading the blog you'll know I don't agree with), but it does a pretty good job of showing clips of horseback riding at it's absolute worst.
I mean, there are a lot of people out there riding who just don't know better. They're riding in Tom Thumb "snaffles" or whathaveyou, in tack that doesn't remotely fit the horse or them, not releasing, cuing wrong, and a whole myriad of other issues. These are not the people I'm talking about today. There is still hope for those people. Many of us even started out that way.
I know I just said the other day that I don't see too much stuff that really shocks me anymore. But there is still something that shocks me, and that's seeing professional riders, at the top of the sport, behaving this way.
It sickens me.
And it really pours fuel on the fire of this whole "natural horsemanship" freakout debate.
As y'all have probably gathered, I am not a follower of "Natural Horsemanship" (with capital letters, no less!). I can't, won't and don't agree that ANYTHING about riding horses is "natural".
But just because it isn't natural doesn't mean it is cruel or wrong. It's also unnatural to wear shoes with comfy support in them. It's unnatural to live to a ripe old age. And it's unnatural to drive a car. Or fly in a plane. Or even walk on cement. Or have a dog. Having a root canal done to save you from terrible pain is unnatural.
But I'm willing to bet most of us have done a few of these things.
It's unnatural to breed kitties down to the adorably cute and manageable size of the ones I have living with me.
You tell this cat that he isn't wanted because he isn't natural. Go on. Say it to this face. I dare you.
And sometimes, natural things can be really bad.
It is natural for a horse to starve to death if he has bad teeth. It is natural for him to get a belly full of parasites and die a painful, colicy death. It's perfectly natural for him to injure himself out on the vast frontier and perish because he couldn't get to water. Heck, all modern medicine is opposing the natural--veterinary and human. Cancer is "natural", and so is blindness, cataracts, arthritis, infection, dysentery and a whole bunch of other nasty things. Dying from all sorts of things we can cure easily these days was, at one time, perfectly natural.
As you can probably tell, "natural" has become a bit of a buzzword for me. My favorite is when a product says it's "natural", and therefore (implied), "awesome" or "better". As in, "all natural drugs."
You know what else is natural?
Foxglove. Digitalis purpurea, if you're a plant nerd like me.
But that doesn't mean you should go around eating it for fun.
Anyway--life is complicated. Nothing is really all that clear cut, is it?
So back to the video.
I don't know a ton about this guy aside from the fact that he isn't riding anymore (I guess he decided it was inhumane). But I wanted you to watch it as an example of what you can do without a bit, spurs, various gadgetry. Supposedly. I can't vouch for how he trained these things. But in the video, at least, the closest he gets to a gadget is a neck rope and a cuing whip, which he doesn't appear to touch the horses with.
His horses actually remind me a lot of Arabian halter horses. They seem to switch on and off much like those horses do. As a side note, I certainly wouldn't tolerate that level of fooling around and frankly his horses kind of terrify me--but I guess it works for him.
Although watching his videos reminds me of The Crocodile Hunter for some reason.
And we all know how that ended.
Anyway.
Personally I felt guilty for even riding a horse with a bit after watching this video, which I suspect was some of the point. Then after a few minutes my rationality starts seeping back in. I understand the bit as a communication tool. I also understand I fear too much for my life to just throw it ALL away.
But part of me understands that the bit is sort of a psychological safety net.
I really freaked out the first time Chev and I had a canter in the hackamore.
I had all these terrifying thoughts like, "What if I can't get her to stop? What if we can't steer? WHAT IF WE BOTH DIE??"
In retrospect, and basking in the glow that always accompanies doing something that was scary and NOT dying--not even having anything WRONG happen--I realized that I was being pretty dumb about it. I know rationally that the training I've done with Chev so far has not relied heavily on the bit. She knows seat, weight and voice cues. So of course she turned, moved and stopped when I asked. Why can't I just put some faith in her? Why do I freak out a little (or a lot) when I don't have a bit in her mouth?
I think it all comes down to this idea of control that I struggle with constantly.
I know that rationally I can't "control" her, and I don't want to--but I still have a hard time relinquishing all mouth control.
The people riding in this video are riding with the kind of contact that produces bone spurs in the mouth.
I suffer from TMJ and various other jaw disorders, and I can only imagine the kind of pain something like that would produce.
This is a pretty interesting conversation on the topic of mandibular bone spurs in horses: http://www.ultimatedressage.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=57741
Of course it's specifically about Dressage, because it's authored by the lovely people over at the Ultimate Dressage forums--but my usual caveat applies--this could be ANY horse discipline. I think we see it less over on the western side of things because strong contact is so discouraged (in the open air, at least). Still, that's not to say horses don't suffer in other ways.
I'm tempted to once again quote that excellent article from Sustainable Dressage on bits, bitting and the action of the bit, but seeing as I've already posted it--two times I think?--it's time to give it a rest. No sense in beating ya'll over the head with it.
I keep meaning to do an entry on various gadgets, what they're supposed to, what they actually do, and how there's nothing new under the sun. Dressage borrows from western, and vice versa, and all over the board. But I guess that's a topic for another day.
She has been schooled in the snaffle for 3, almost 4 years now though. So she does know it very well. We both feel comfortable there. So maybe some of this has to do with me just not being all that willing to toss the comfort zone aside and start over with something new.
I'll tell you though, loping around in a hackamore does feel pretty cool.
Chevy gets her feet done tomorrow and I'll be taking out the HDR to see how it sits on her, and maybe doing some walking around. We'll see how that goes!
Saturday, February 11, 2012
The rearing horse, part 2: when it's not the horse's fault
Oh lord.
You know how I said the other day that there's nothing that terrifies me more than a rearing horse? Especially if the rearing is sudden and unpredictable, and has little to do with the rider?
This video is an example of the OPPOSITE of unpredictable rearing (thanks to Fugly Horse of the Day for leading me to a distinct rise in blood pressure and these few minutes of my life I can never get back). Watch on...
There is so much wrong with this video it's hard for me to even know where to start. In no particular order:
1. Unbroke horse in huge shank bit on a tight rein
2. Stupid idiot on horse in shorts and tennis shoes
3. No arena (not a requirement for breaking horses, but a darn good idea)
4. No helmet (this one's debatable, but it's a still good idea given the circumstances)
5. Hightly distracting and stressful environment
6. Uncapped T-poles for the pasture near enough to get impaled on (uncapped t-posts anywhere are a big no-no...I have a personal story about that one for later)
7.Stupid idiot is wearing spurs too (OH HE ISN'T?? That's a miracle! We have to give him credit for one thing, I guess)
Remember how I said before (I did, didn't I?) that horses will rear as a result of too much information that a horse can't make sense of? This video is a perfect example of that. He's hauling back on the reins which are attached to a truly horrific looking bit (on an unbroke horse!), which the other guy pulls her head, and he attempts to kick her forward. It doesn't look to me like she could be much more braced and tense. She's getting so many mixed messages that she doesn't know what to do...so she rears. And I think it was completely justified.
He also just leaps up there with no finesse or concern for her well-being, lands hard, and screws with his stirrups FOREVER. And what does she do? Nothing. She stands patiently, even though she's nervous. She thinks that is what she is supposed to do. She is a good horse.
So who didn't see that coming? Was she just going to stand there being pulled all sorts of directions, in pain forever? Nope...
This is also a perfect example of: Brute Force Ain't No Way to Train a Horse.
This is so far away from "feel" that it's not even in the same universe.
And what has this horse learned from this...ahem, "training session"?
Looks to me like she's learned that someone will get on her, hurt her mouth, yank her head, and kick her sides until she rears and dumps them.
I also love how the other spectator runs away from the horse after the guy falls off, like she's some sort of "crazed, dang'rus an'mal, y'all!!"
What a terrific start.
Lord, that poor animal.
I think we all need a little "brain bleach" after that one, don't we? So here's one of my favorite rides of all time: Dr. Klimke and his marvelous horse, Ahlerich, performing in New York in 1987--and still brings tears to my eyes every time I watch it. I wish I could have found a clip that was better quality. Enjoy!
You know how I said the other day that there's nothing that terrifies me more than a rearing horse? Especially if the rearing is sudden and unpredictable, and has little to do with the rider?
This video is an example of the OPPOSITE of unpredictable rearing (thanks to Fugly Horse of the Day for leading me to a distinct rise in blood pressure and these few minutes of my life I can never get back). Watch on...
There is so much wrong with this video it's hard for me to even know where to start. In no particular order:
1. Unbroke horse in huge shank bit on a tight rein
2. Stupid idiot on horse in shorts and tennis shoes
3. No arena (not a requirement for breaking horses, but a darn good idea)
4. No helmet (this one's debatable, but it's a still good idea given the circumstances)
5. Hightly distracting and stressful environment
6. Uncapped T-poles for the pasture near enough to get impaled on (uncapped t-posts anywhere are a big no-no...I have a personal story about that one for later)
7.
Remember how I said before (I did, didn't I?) that horses will rear as a result of too much information that a horse can't make sense of? This video is a perfect example of that. He's hauling back on the reins which are attached to a truly horrific looking bit (on an unbroke horse!), which the other guy pulls her head, and he attempts to kick her forward. It doesn't look to me like she could be much more braced and tense. She's getting so many mixed messages that she doesn't know what to do...so she rears. And I think it was completely justified.
He also just leaps up there with no finesse or concern for her well-being, lands hard, and screws with his stirrups FOREVER. And what does she do? Nothing. She stands patiently, even though she's nervous. She thinks that is what she is supposed to do. She is a good horse.
So who didn't see that coming? Was she just going to stand there being pulled all sorts of directions, in pain forever? Nope...
This is also a perfect example of: Brute Force Ain't No Way to Train a Horse.
This is so far away from "feel" that it's not even in the same universe.
And what has this horse learned from this...ahem, "training session"?
Looks to me like she's learned that someone will get on her, hurt her mouth, yank her head, and kick her sides until she rears and dumps them.
I also love how the other spectator runs away from the horse after the guy falls off, like she's some sort of "crazed, dang'rus an'mal, y'all!!"
What a terrific start.
Lord, that poor animal.
I think we all need a little "brain bleach" after that one, don't we? So here's one of my favorite rides of all time: Dr. Klimke and his marvelous horse, Ahlerich, performing in New York in 1987--and still brings tears to my eyes every time I watch it. I wish I could have found a clip that was better quality. Enjoy!
Friday, February 3, 2012
The rearing horse
I have been suffering from some pretty hardcore insomnia lately.
You may have noticed almost all of my posts are written after midnight.
Well, tonight's viewing of close to one million horse videos on youtube is not helping the situation.
A while back, after much hemming and hawing, I wrote I response to a woman who was wondering what to do when her (admittedly very green) horse turned to face her and started popping off his front end into a rear. If you want, you can read the original thread here: http://equine-mind-meld.2312922.n4.nabble.com/Stopping-rearing-before-it-becomes-a-habit-td4336642.html
I'm not going to lie--there is NOTHING that terrifies me more than the rearing horse.
I have seen them go up and over backwards on top of people.
I hope it is NEVER something I have to experience. I haven't ever seen anyone killed by it, but with the rearing horse, getting crushed is always a possibility. And I'm just not willing to take that risk.
Me and horses have an understanding: under NO circumstances, EVER is rearing around humans okay.
That is in regards to humans on the ground, and in the saddle.
Rearing, striking, squealing, bucking in the pasture with your horse buddies is all okay. That's the appropriate place for that behavior.
Therefore, I don't feel a shred of guilt coming down fast and hard on a horse that is getting up in the forehand.
I had to teach Chev how to lunge. She came to me able to be saddled, and someone could sit on her back. She was mellow as all get-out, and I give her previous owners serious props for teaching her to load and not spoiling her in any way.
She didn't have a clue about lunging, which is just fine at about 3 when she started her education. There were brief bouts of airs above the ground, as young horses do--but she quickly learned that rearing got her NOWHERE. Well, nowhere but a whole heck of a lot more work.
I deal with the rearing horse very aggressively. If not due to pain, rearing is the biggest finger your horse can give you. It is the most basic gesture not only of disrespect, but active aggression. And, I'm sorry. But I am the head honcho any time I'm around a horse. When I lunge I carry a lunge whip, and I am not afraid to use it. That being said, my main weapons are always stomping, rapid arm waving and screaming like a banshee.
As soon as the horse is going at a respectful clip away from me and has completely forgotten about rearing, I back off.
It's pretty simple.
Aggressive behavior from horse = THE MEGAN OF ABSOLUTE TERROR!!
Horsey rears, and subsequently thinks he is about to meet his maker. That's how terrible I become.
'Course, you have to be fair when you have this kind of power, or else you're just a Terrorist.
I always back off when I get the response I want.
Notice I didn't say "back down". I back off. I remove the pressure I was putting on horsey so I send a clear signal about what behavior is okay.
Therefore horsey becomes respectful of my position without being afraid of me.
A lot of people think this is cruel.
Personally I think what happens to a horse after he's labeled (with good reason) a rearer and a man-killer is worse.
So it's better to avoid this whole problem as much as possible.
Tonight I watched a lot of videos of horses rearing, trying to pinpoint the moment they set their mind to it.
The really terrifying thing about the rearing horse is they can do it with almost no warning.
This video stopped my heart. Fortunately for both horse and rider, he did exactly what needed to happen to save the situation. Had he pulled back or not held to the horse's neck, I think it's very likely the horse would have gone over backwards with him aboard.
Didn't your heart stop for a few seconds when you watched that?
I want to stress again, this rear appears to have nothing to do with the rider whatsoever, and everything to do with what they say is an abscess that burst from his hoof the next day. I think it's pretty apparent from the video that the abscess was in the right front hoof, as you can see the horse avoiding putting weight on it throughout the video--one hard step onto the hoof seems to be what sets him off. When he feels his rider has heard him, he stops. Much to the man's relief, I'm sure.
So that, my friends, is why I don't tolerate rearing in any form. I consider even a little pop off the front legs a certain precursor to full on rearing, which once the seed has been planted, is a tough thing to "un-train".
The woman with the young rearing horse got all sorts of advice from people who said she was pushing her horse too hard.
The horse is a 4-year-old Arabian gelding who has enjoyed a cushy life as a pasture puff up until this point.
Unlike the horse above, and while I'm hesitant to say anything without actually seeing said horse, I'm pretty sure he was just expressing his displeasure about being asked to do anything more than eat carrots and hay all day.
I don't think 4 years old is too young to learn to go around in a large circle on the line.
Nor do I think you do your baby any favors by keeping him on a short rope--it just causes more stress and torsion on joints that aren't yet well developed.
Get him out on the line, and make him and his little uneducated hooves stay out there. It's about time for your little young'un to learn about personal space.
The girl in this next video doesn't seem to have any clue that her poor riding seems to be this horse's primary reason for his behavior. She doesn't even seem to understand how dangerous this can be, since she describes this as "just goofing around".
I think to the horse-tuned it's pretty obvious how unhappy this horse is throughout the whole ride--I feel like I saw no fewer than 7 moments before the rear that told me that ride was going south, FAST. And she ignored all the warnings. So, there you have it. It's a great contrast to the video above, because this poor horse's entire problem seems to be his rider! She doesn't even have a clue that she's training her horse to respond with this behavior every time. Not that she deserves better behavior, since she's listening to him so little.
No wonder comments are disabled.
I'm sure pretty soon the horse will be "too naughty to be ridable." Sure. Totally his fault. Poor thing.
Nip it in the bud!
You may have noticed almost all of my posts are written after midnight.
Well, tonight's viewing of close to one million horse videos on youtube is not helping the situation.
A while back, after much hemming and hawing, I wrote I response to a woman who was wondering what to do when her (admittedly very green) horse turned to face her and started popping off his front end into a rear. If you want, you can read the original thread here: http://equine-mind-meld.2312922.n4.nabble.com/Stopping-rearing-before-it-becomes-a-habit-td4336642.html
I'm not going to lie--there is NOTHING that terrifies me more than the rearing horse.
I have seen them go up and over backwards on top of people.
I hope it is NEVER something I have to experience. I haven't ever seen anyone killed by it, but with the rearing horse, getting crushed is always a possibility. And I'm just not willing to take that risk.
Me and horses have an understanding: under NO circumstances, EVER is rearing around humans okay.
That is in regards to humans on the ground, and in the saddle.
Rearing, striking, squealing, bucking in the pasture with your horse buddies is all okay. That's the appropriate place for that behavior.
Therefore, I don't feel a shred of guilt coming down fast and hard on a horse that is getting up in the forehand.
I had to teach Chev how to lunge. She came to me able to be saddled, and someone could sit on her back. She was mellow as all get-out, and I give her previous owners serious props for teaching her to load and not spoiling her in any way.
She didn't have a clue about lunging, which is just fine at about 3 when she started her education. There were brief bouts of airs above the ground, as young horses do--but she quickly learned that rearing got her NOWHERE. Well, nowhere but a whole heck of a lot more work.
I deal with the rearing horse very aggressively. If not due to pain, rearing is the biggest finger your horse can give you. It is the most basic gesture not only of disrespect, but active aggression. And, I'm sorry. But I am the head honcho any time I'm around a horse. When I lunge I carry a lunge whip, and I am not afraid to use it. That being said, my main weapons are always stomping, rapid arm waving and screaming like a banshee.
As soon as the horse is going at a respectful clip away from me and has completely forgotten about rearing, I back off.
It's pretty simple.
Aggressive behavior from horse = THE MEGAN OF ABSOLUTE TERROR!!
Horsey rears, and subsequently thinks he is about to meet his maker. That's how terrible I become.
'Course, you have to be fair when you have this kind of power, or else you're just a Terrorist.
I always back off when I get the response I want.
Notice I didn't say "back down". I back off. I remove the pressure I was putting on horsey so I send a clear signal about what behavior is okay.
Therefore horsey becomes respectful of my position without being afraid of me.
A lot of people think this is cruel.
Personally I think what happens to a horse after he's labeled (with good reason) a rearer and a man-killer is worse.
So it's better to avoid this whole problem as much as possible.
Tonight I watched a lot of videos of horses rearing, trying to pinpoint the moment they set their mind to it.
The really terrifying thing about the rearing horse is they can do it with almost no warning.
This video stopped my heart. Fortunately for both horse and rider, he did exactly what needed to happen to save the situation. Had he pulled back or not held to the horse's neck, I think it's very likely the horse would have gone over backwards with him aboard.
Didn't your heart stop for a few seconds when you watched that?
I want to stress again, this rear appears to have nothing to do with the rider whatsoever, and everything to do with what they say is an abscess that burst from his hoof the next day. I think it's pretty apparent from the video that the abscess was in the right front hoof, as you can see the horse avoiding putting weight on it throughout the video--one hard step onto the hoof seems to be what sets him off. When he feels his rider has heard him, he stops. Much to the man's relief, I'm sure.
So that, my friends, is why I don't tolerate rearing in any form. I consider even a little pop off the front legs a certain precursor to full on rearing, which once the seed has been planted, is a tough thing to "un-train".
The woman with the young rearing horse got all sorts of advice from people who said she was pushing her horse too hard.
The horse is a 4-year-old Arabian gelding who has enjoyed a cushy life as a pasture puff up until this point.
Unlike the horse above, and while I'm hesitant to say anything without actually seeing said horse, I'm pretty sure he was just expressing his displeasure about being asked to do anything more than eat carrots and hay all day.
I don't think 4 years old is too young to learn to go around in a large circle on the line.
Nor do I think you do your baby any favors by keeping him on a short rope--it just causes more stress and torsion on joints that aren't yet well developed.
Get him out on the line, and make him and his little uneducated hooves stay out there. It's about time for your little young'un to learn about personal space.
The girl in this next video doesn't seem to have any clue that her poor riding seems to be this horse's primary reason for his behavior. She doesn't even seem to understand how dangerous this can be, since she describes this as "just goofing around".
I think to the horse-tuned it's pretty obvious how unhappy this horse is throughout the whole ride--I feel like I saw no fewer than 7 moments before the rear that told me that ride was going south, FAST. And she ignored all the warnings. So, there you have it. It's a great contrast to the video above, because this poor horse's entire problem seems to be his rider! She doesn't even have a clue that she's training her horse to respond with this behavior every time. Not that she deserves better behavior, since she's listening to him so little.
No wonder comments are disabled.
I'm sure pretty soon the horse will be "too naughty to be ridable." Sure. Totally his fault. Poor thing.
Nip it in the bud!
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Videos + hackamore ride #3
Yesterday was the kind of day that made me happy I moved to Wyoming. I even saw a bald eagle on my drive to the barn.
It was warm and sunny with no wind--almost t-shirt weather!
I feel like Chev is regressing somewhat with her indoor arena rides, and I was really happy to see how lovely the weather was. It meant we could ride outside.
So I don't know if it was my good mood or hers, but we had a pretty good time.
I did notice one strange thing when I was grooming her. She was really touchy about her right ear. She usually loves her ears rubbed. I couldn't see anything, but likely one of her neighbors caught it with their teeth, or it got banged on something because it was obvious she preferred I left it alone.
Can you tell which way is her bad canter lead?
The violent head shaking that happens around 1:30 is definitely because of her ear. Poor girl. After the ride it seemed to bother her much less.
After a brief ride in the snaffle, which I felt was kind of mediocre, my riding especially, she did alright--we moved on to ride #3 in the traditional hackamore. This video is complete with her first lope in the bosal!
I was really happy with how responsive she was to it today. It becomes pretty apparent how much more stiff she is going to the right, which is also her difficult canter direction--that's the only way I needed to correct her, I think you can see me do that pretty clearly in the video. Still, even though it's just her 3rd time in the bosal, she's already starting to understand the mechanics. She seems to just sort of naturally "get it".
I apologize for the amount of time I spend trying to get the lead end of the mecate reins secured. I first tried my jeans loop, but it kept working loose, so I finally settle on the horn...I'm not asking Chev to flex her neck around, she's doing that on her own trying to figure out what the heck I'm doing up there. She does stand nicely for it all though.
We cut the ride a little short because a friend of mine appeared with her sweet gelding, Speedy.
As I said in a previous post, I am a believer in bits. But Chev seemed very happy to not have anything in her mouth. She even looks a little confused on the first pass by the camera at the lope, like she doesn't know quite what to do with her head without a bit in her mouth. It's long occurred to me that she might be the sort of horse that was made for the hackamore.
She is definitely the kind of horse that you can't muscle down. That's why I had to install the kind of stop on her that I did. You can't yank her down, she just pulls harder. She resents strong bit correction, and with good reason, I think.
The traditional hackamore intrigues me. It is not a tool of force or leverage--a horse can "pull through the hackamore in a flat second" (to quote mugwump). It easily exposes deficiency. It doesn't allow nitpicking. And it doesn't let you to hold up your horse.
There shouldn't be any contact on the bosal like you would take with a snaffle bit. Stops are all about you, because you can't pull a horse down in the bosal like you can a bit.
I hope we'll have more sunny, warm, and most importantly, wind-free days here in Wyoming--I'd like to have more rides in the hackamore!
After what was by no accounts a stressful arena ride (pretty much the whole ride is encompassed in these two videos), I swallowed my fear, put her back in the snaffle bit, and hit the trail.
"The trail" is really just about 70 acres of wide open space, with cliffs, bluffs, rocks, prairie dog holes, scrub, cacti, etc--what you'd expect from open plains land.
Chev is not a trail horse. She hates the trail. She is absolutely, 100% an arena baby, and she likes it that way. But for the last couple months (or years, or whatever), I've had this growing fear that one day she would get so bored of arena life that she would have a total meltdown.
So far, so good. But...
I feel like getting her out there will strengthen our relationship and give her some confidence in herself. Or something. That sounded a little too "my horsey is my best friend"/anthropomorphic--but really, if she could trust me to put her places that are safe--well, I feel like that could help things a little.
She is a bloody mess out on the trail. Stiff, upright, spooky--she almost came unglued when we saw four white-tailed deer, white flags in the air as they sprung away, but we did manage to hold it together. I got her moving, she jigged, I sidepassed, she jigged some more. She blasted up hills. I pretty much fought her most of the way.
Still, half-way through the ride, which was a pretty big loop--I kept wanting to turn around, but then she would do something silly and I didn't want to reward her for it by heading back--I realized all the spooks, etc I've been riding in the indoor arena have really helped my seat for out on the trail.
She also started to become light in my hands.
And it's not like you want it out there, but I could feel how powerful she was behind. I suddenly had a light as air powerhouse on my hands. I'm sure a canter out there would have been spectacular. But, I also had this feeling in the back of my mind that if she got going I wouldn't be able to get her to stop.
How do I get around that fear? Probably by just blasting her around one day when I decide to stop being such a wimp, and treat the trail like I treat the arena--nerves just earn you more work. I'm sure after about a half mile of cantering she would quiet down, and we could both enjoy the ride.
I think it comes down to me not trusting her to be a horse and be able to travel over the ground without stumbling.
At some point I need to give her my trust to carry us safely along on the trail as I do in the arena.
I was able to ride her on a loose rein when she was in sight of the barn property, and she didn't try to rush back when it came back into sight, so that's something, right?
It was warm and sunny with no wind--almost t-shirt weather!
I feel like Chev is regressing somewhat with her indoor arena rides, and I was really happy to see how lovely the weather was. It meant we could ride outside.
So I don't know if it was my good mood or hers, but we had a pretty good time.
I did notice one strange thing when I was grooming her. She was really touchy about her right ear. She usually loves her ears rubbed. I couldn't see anything, but likely one of her neighbors caught it with their teeth, or it got banged on something because it was obvious she preferred I left it alone.
Can you tell which way is her bad canter lead?
The violent head shaking that happens around 1:30 is definitely because of her ear. Poor girl. After the ride it seemed to bother her much less.
After a brief ride in the snaffle, which I felt was kind of mediocre, my riding especially, she did alright--we moved on to ride #3 in the traditional hackamore. This video is complete with her first lope in the bosal!
I was really happy with how responsive she was to it today. It becomes pretty apparent how much more stiff she is going to the right, which is also her difficult canter direction--that's the only way I needed to correct her, I think you can see me do that pretty clearly in the video. Still, even though it's just her 3rd time in the bosal, she's already starting to understand the mechanics. She seems to just sort of naturally "get it".
I apologize for the amount of time I spend trying to get the lead end of the mecate reins secured. I first tried my jeans loop, but it kept working loose, so I finally settle on the horn...I'm not asking Chev to flex her neck around, she's doing that on her own trying to figure out what the heck I'm doing up there. She does stand nicely for it all though.
We cut the ride a little short because a friend of mine appeared with her sweet gelding, Speedy.
As I said in a previous post, I am a believer in bits. But Chev seemed very happy to not have anything in her mouth. She even looks a little confused on the first pass by the camera at the lope, like she doesn't know quite what to do with her head without a bit in her mouth. It's long occurred to me that she might be the sort of horse that was made for the hackamore.
She is definitely the kind of horse that you can't muscle down. That's why I had to install the kind of stop on her that I did. You can't yank her down, she just pulls harder. She resents strong bit correction, and with good reason, I think.
The traditional hackamore intrigues me. It is not a tool of force or leverage--a horse can "pull through the hackamore in a flat second" (to quote mugwump). It easily exposes deficiency. It doesn't allow nitpicking. And it doesn't let you to hold up your horse.
There shouldn't be any contact on the bosal like you would take with a snaffle bit. Stops are all about you, because you can't pull a horse down in the bosal like you can a bit.
I hope we'll have more sunny, warm, and most importantly, wind-free days here in Wyoming--I'd like to have more rides in the hackamore!
After what was by no accounts a stressful arena ride (pretty much the whole ride is encompassed in these two videos), I swallowed my fear, put her back in the snaffle bit, and hit the trail.
"The trail" is really just about 70 acres of wide open space, with cliffs, bluffs, rocks, prairie dog holes, scrub, cacti, etc--what you'd expect from open plains land.
Chev is not a trail horse. She hates the trail. She is absolutely, 100% an arena baby, and she likes it that way. But for the last couple months (or years, or whatever), I've had this growing fear that one day she would get so bored of arena life that she would have a total meltdown.
So far, so good. But...
I feel like getting her out there will strengthen our relationship and give her some confidence in herself. Or something. That sounded a little too "my horsey is my best friend"/anthropomorphic--but really, if she could trust me to put her places that are safe--well, I feel like that could help things a little.
She is a bloody mess out on the trail. Stiff, upright, spooky--she almost came unglued when we saw four white-tailed deer, white flags in the air as they sprung away, but we did manage to hold it together. I got her moving, she jigged, I sidepassed, she jigged some more. She blasted up hills. I pretty much fought her most of the way.
Still, half-way through the ride, which was a pretty big loop--I kept wanting to turn around, but then she would do something silly and I didn't want to reward her for it by heading back--I realized all the spooks, etc I've been riding in the indoor arena have really helped my seat for out on the trail.
She also started to become light in my hands.
Looking towards Casper Mountain
And it's not like you want it out there, but I could feel how powerful she was behind. I suddenly had a light as air powerhouse on my hands. I'm sure a canter out there would have been spectacular. But, I also had this feeling in the back of my mind that if she got going I wouldn't be able to get her to stop.
How do I get around that fear? Probably by just blasting her around one day when I decide to stop being such a wimp, and treat the trail like I treat the arena--nerves just earn you more work. I'm sure after about a half mile of cantering she would quiet down, and we could both enjoy the ride.
I think it comes down to me not trusting her to be a horse and be able to travel over the ground without stumbling.
At some point I need to give her my trust to carry us safely along on the trail as I do in the arena.
I was able to ride her on a loose rein when she was in sight of the barn property, and she didn't try to rush back when it came back into sight, so that's something, right?
The open prairie
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Video--Just for comparison's sake
I like to think Chev and I have come a long way in a year and some odd months.
This is from her second greenie show on 5/8/10. I remember we didn't do cantering under saddle yet so I just showed her in the walk/trot classes. We did two that day. That was all my legs could take. Believe it or not, we took second in this class.
I think this may have been the judge noticing Chev was the only one in the class who was actually "green". There was a whole lot of crank/yanking going on with some of the other horses. You can see some of it in the video.
But no matter!
My point with posting this video is to show how much her movement has changed from that time.
In case you can't tell, Chev is the Amazon...I am in the blue hunt coat simultaneously trying with all my might to keep her going, while attempting to steer clear of other horses (and the judge) on a horse that is just learning how to steer.
I remember I was actually, literally sweating through all of this. Half way through I felt like my legs were going to give out. Some of it was nerves, but most of it was sheer muscle exhaustion.
She took so much leg at this point to keep going that I remember I almost died when the announcer asked for "extended trot". Crap! That's what we were doing already! Where do I go from here?
Are you surprised that one of my goals in her training has been for her to take light leg? Ha, ha. My equitation is understandably terrible in the video as I attempt to keep us from dying.
You can also see pretty easily how much she is "on the forehand" here. She is really heavy up front. And I am not helping the situation much with my death grip on the reins.
HOWEVER. As a young horse Chev needed a lot of support from her rider. She needed something to help her keep balance. So my contact at this point at least has a reason behind it.
There is a brief moment at 1:04 where she drops her head and powers up over her back from her hindquarters. It lasts about 2 seconds. That was about all the collection she could maintain back then. But I remember it happening--it felt like she locked into powerhouse mode. Like she was finally all the way in gear. It felt great. She could really move in that position, but she didn't yet have the muscle to keep it up.
I also submit this as evidence that I am actually a huntseat rider.
Not that you'd know it these days...
This is from her second greenie show on 5/8/10. I remember we didn't do cantering under saddle yet so I just showed her in the walk/trot classes. We did two that day. That was all my legs could take. Believe it or not, we took second in this class.
I think this may have been the judge noticing Chev was the only one in the class who was actually "green". There was a whole lot of crank/yanking going on with some of the other horses. You can see some of it in the video.
But no matter!
My point with posting this video is to show how much her movement has changed from that time.
In case you can't tell, Chev is the Amazon...I am in the blue hunt coat simultaneously trying with all my might to keep her going, while attempting to steer clear of other horses (and the judge) on a horse that is just learning how to steer.
I remember I was actually, literally sweating through all of this. Half way through I felt like my legs were going to give out. Some of it was nerves, but most of it was sheer muscle exhaustion.
She took so much leg at this point to keep going that I remember I almost died when the announcer asked for "extended trot". Crap! That's what we were doing already! Where do I go from here?
Are you surprised that one of my goals in her training has been for her to take light leg? Ha, ha. My equitation is understandably terrible in the video as I attempt to keep us from dying.
You can also see pretty easily how much she is "on the forehand" here. She is really heavy up front. And I am not helping the situation much with my death grip on the reins.
HOWEVER. As a young horse Chev needed a lot of support from her rider. She needed something to help her keep balance. So my contact at this point at least has a reason behind it.
There is a brief moment at 1:04 where she drops her head and powers up over her back from her hindquarters. It lasts about 2 seconds. That was about all the collection she could maintain back then. But I remember it happening--it felt like she locked into powerhouse mode. Like she was finally all the way in gear. It felt great. She could really move in that position, but she didn't yet have the muscle to keep it up.
I also submit this as evidence that I am actually a huntseat rider.
Not that you'd know it these days...
Chev as a 5 year old, her past life as a huntseat horse
Video--indoor arena ride #3
I had a pretty good ride on Chev today.
She looked absolutely FANTASTIC on the lunge today. She was free moving and seemed to be in a darn good mood.
It was windy and cold again, so after her warm up we headed to the indoor arena for our 3rd ride there.
I was smart enough to bring the camera this time. I unfortunately wasn't smart enough to bring more batteries, so the 2nd video I thought I was taking didn't work out so hot. I did get this though.
She looked absolutely FANTASTIC on the lunge today. She was free moving and seemed to be in a darn good mood.
It was windy and cold again, so after her warm up we headed to the indoor arena for our 3rd ride there.
I was smart enough to bring the camera this time. I unfortunately wasn't smart enough to bring more batteries, so the 2nd video I thought I was taking didn't work out so hot. I did get this though.
I'm showing this to you for a few reasons.
For one, a laugh. Watching me mount up is pretty hilarious.
I didn't realize I looked so ridiculous. I mean, I knew if she were just a fraction of a hand taller I wouldn't be able to get up there, but this is just silly. I will be using the mounting block in subsequent videos.
Mostly I want to post this as an example of riding I consider to be pretty sub-par. It's obvious how nervous the horse is.
She's fidgety and playing constantly with the bit. Her body is stiff and over-reactive.
In turn, I'm being way too heavy handed.
We both look pretty uncomfortable.
You can see that at the far end of the arena, she's constantly either trying to break stride or rush out of there. There are also a bunch of sticky moments where bending either is happening too much or not enough.
Of course, you know the background for this ride already if you've read my posts on day 1 and day 2.
I like the part where she spooks right in front of the camera.
You can also hear the wind howling and her buddy screaming in the background.
Still--this is a vast improvement on her last ride in the indoor arena--ride #2. Unfortunately this arena is too small to get any really good work in. For a horse as big as she is, it's a challenge. Her canter felt a lot more hair-raising than it looks in the video, but having said that, it still looks pretty bad.
After this we braved the wind and had some really nice canter transitions outside. Again, my draped rein, nicely collected horse was back.
I noticed something today, too. She can be straight as an arrow in the canter. For a few strides anyway. We had some really nice moments of her being lifted, straight and supporting her weight and mine without much help from me.
I'll try to figure out how to get a video out there sometime, so you can see me getting blown off my horse.
Obviously she's a lot happier working in the environment she's comfortable in. Isn't that true of all of us?
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