HorseSense 4U » Training & Riding Tips

Heart & Soul Transformation

Dennis & Karen — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 19:34:29 +0000

A workshop dedicated to Women Only. A time to look at ourselves, to learn what leadership and partnership really is. And you might be surprised at what you find out about yourself and your horse.

The horses are allowed freedom to “choose” their human partners. An interesting exercise all by itself! It is always find out how the human’s story and the horse’s story are so similar. Spending some time in “session” prior to doing some “games” with the horses, helped us ladies see who we are and why we are “who we are”. We found out that our idea of being “the leader” might not always be the horses’ idea and then we learn how we can make that partnership better.

Horses are amazing teachers! They reach into our hearts and soul and show us our “authentic” selves. Not always who we thought we were, or who we want to be, but horses don’t lie and they are honest with us. This workshop gives an opportunity to gain greater self-awareness, learn a new way of being and connecting in relationships and explore how our thoughts and feelings impact our daily lives. We experienced firsthand the rewards of the human and horse connection.

Next year’s dates will be set up soon. A great gift to yourself, ladies, or a fantastic unique gift for your favorite lady. It is great for sisters, mother/daughter or good friends to attend together. Watch for the dates.

Connected Riding Clinic

Dennis & Karen — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 19:14:48 +0000

Have you ever wondered why you horse does what he does? Or why he doesn’t do what you want him to do? And you think you have “dumb” horse or a stubborn horse> Well, sadly enough, its often the rider who needs the training, not the horse.

The Connected Riding clinic was awesome! Sue led the riders through some exercises to help us improve our posture, our seat and our hands. Even our eyes! From learning to sit in the saddle, with a neutral pelvis to having soft eyes, our ride was more comfortable and our horses were much more comfortable. All riders and all horses can benefit from using connected riding techniques. How we sit, how we use our hands, how we relax our legs all determine the behavior and actions of the horse we are on. Connected ground work also helps us and our horse BEFORE we get on. Regardless of your riding skills (or lack thereof) or horses’ training, everyone can benefit from learning Connected Riding.

There will be another 2-day clinic next year. Stay tuned for dates.

Gaited Horse Clinic

Dennis & Karen — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 18:46:07 +0000

What a great day for those of us who were able to attend the Gaited Horse Clinic, led by Dennis Quilliams!

We learned about the various gaits that horses do- from the 2-beat diagonal trot to the 2 beat lateral pace. And all the various gaits inbetween. We learned that different breed associations call the various gaits by many different names, and that gaited horses can do a WIDE variety of gaits. Along with a smooth 4-beat gait, gaited horses can trot or pace. Breeding for the best gait is also very important.

An interesting couple of hours was spent on learning about how saddle affect the gait of the horse. Did you know that most saddles sit too far forward and hinder the actin of the scapula (shoulder) bone? Without freedom to move the gait won’t be as smooth as it could be. So move the saddle back and free up the movement. Some saddles have flared tree or flex panels that will fit better and allow for better movement.

We learned and practiced some exercies to imporve the gait of the horse. And a better way to sit in the saddle and hadle the reins in order to smooth out the gait.

This clinic will be offered again in the spring or we can come to your place and you can host the clinic. Be ready to sign up to get the smooth movin’ horse you want. AVAILABLE ON DVD

Sponsored by HorseSense HorseManShip

Clinic on Connected Riding with Sue

Dennis & Karen — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 20:26:24 +0000

Connected Riding Clinic, October 15, 2011

Sue Falkner March, Alberta, Canada

Non refundable deposit of $50 by September 30th Horse and Rider – $150 Audit – $50

Visit HorseSense Website for deposit and information

Learn these methods, which are based on classical riding principles, to promote comfort and athletic ability in horse and rider. Riders relate they have more ease and lightness in their riding and that their horses are happier, more willing partners.

Schedule -
Registration and arrival 8 am to 9 am

9: 00-10:30 am– Intro without horses–everyone should have a hard chair to sit on–lawn chair or kitchen type chair

10:45-11:45am –group 1 rides

11:45-12:45am –group 2 rides

12:45-1:30—lunch (Please bring a bag lunch, snacks provided)

1:30-2:30pm — group 3 rides

2:40-3:00pm –awareness work, no horses

3:00-3:50pm –group 1 rides

3:50-4:40pm –group 2 rides

4:40-5:30pm –group 3 rides
5:30 to 6:30 closing and cleanup

Sue about Connected Riding

“As a teacher, Connected Riding has given me many wonderful new tools to support physical and mental well-being in rider and horse, at the same time that its concepts are promoting increased athletic ability.
As a rider, Connected Riding has given me unique and highly effective tools to help my horse comfortably come into self carriage, free of tension and compression.”

What Sue’s Program Offers

Connected Riding and Groundwork to all disciplines with a background of Centered Riding. TTEAM Clinics with Connected Groundwork. Connected Groundwork for humans. Helping individual owners retrain horses with physical or behavioral issues, using techniques from Connected Riding and Groundwork, Centered Riding, the TTEAM method and Clicker Training. Application of Alexander Technique principals in working with riders’ posture awareness.

Connected Riding Teaching Preferences

One-on-one, small groups, lesson format, clinics, horse training, group talks, lectures, presentations, demos, horse expo.

Professional Credentials

Connected Riding Practitioner, Green
Centered Riding Level 3 Clinician/Instructor, TTEAM Practitioner II
Certified Farrier-Olds College, Riding Instructor & Horsemanship Course Okanagan College

Three Upcoming Clinics presented by HorseSense HorseManShip

Dennis & Karen — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 19:02:45 +0000

1. July 16^th, Saturday, Gaited horse clinic*
2. August 19 and 20^th, Ladies weekend with Heather Russell (more info coming) **
3. October 15^th, Saturday, Connected riding clinic with Sue Falkner***

*1. July 16: Gaited Horse Clinic Reminder: registration deadline for gaited horse clinic is June 30th- We are planning a gaited horse clinic on Saturday July 16th in Red Deer Alberta at our arena. The clinic will be about 6 hours of looking at the various gaits, overstride, understride, genetics, does your horse tend to the lateral or diagonal and more and what can we do to get the gait we want and keep it. Registration papers to be filled out are on our website www.horsesensedk.com under clinics as well as a way to pay your deposit on deposit you will have access to a free copy of the book”The Gaited Horse” by Dennis and Karen Quilliams. We will be accepting 6 horses and riders and 10 auditors.

Schedule (Please bring a bag lunch, snacks provided)
8am to 9 am Registration and Arrival
9am Classroom – What is the gait? Areas we need to cover
There will be 3 groups of Horse and Rider Sessions during the day of approximately one hour each – this will be done in groups of 2 horses and 2 riders, other participants will be asked to observe and questions can be asked from those watching. Hopefully we will have a few different gaited breeds that we can observe and learn about. There will be enough classroom time and demonstration time to cover the areas of concern that you put on your registration forms or that you bring with you. We are also hoping to video tape this clinic for distribution so please be prepared for that. We hope to wind up by 5 to 6 pm.
Non refundable deposit by June 30th of $50 Horse and rider – $135 Audit – $75

**2. August 19 and 20^th Ladies weekend with Heather Russell — – 8 participants 4 spots remaining – more details to come

***3. October 15, 2011, Saturday, Connected Riding clinic with Sue Falkner – March. This is a clinic you will not want to miss! Accepting 9 horses and riders and 10 auditors.
Non refundable deposit of $50 by September 30th Horse and Rider – $150 Audit – $50

Schedule -
Registration and arrival 8 am to 9 am

9: 00-10:30 am– Intro without horses–everyone should have a hard chair to sit on–lawn chair or kitchen type chair

10:45-11:45am –group 1 rides

11:45-12:45am –group 2 rides

12:45-1:30–lunch (Please bring a bag lunch, snacks provided)

1:30-2:30pm — group 3 rides

2:40-3:00pm –awareness work, no horses

3:00-3:50pm –group 1 rides

3:50-4:40pm –group 2 rides

4:40-5:30pm –group 3 rides
5:30 to 6:30 closing and cleanup

Know How To Choose The Right Saddle With These Simple Steps

HorseSense — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 17:43:46 +0000

Equine riding has always been a very well-known sport for much more than a hundred years. People enjoy riding on horseback whether it is on an open up countryside, or in enclosed areas. Riding on these gorgeous wildlife is often a satisfaction and can bring you a fantastic feeling of freedom. Although, horse driving is an immensely well-liked sport, you must recall that it is the suitable saddle that can offer you the suitable consolation and pleasure of riding.

Though, this sport has been close to for much more than a hundred years, it does not tumble short of the amount of stores that possess introduced out wonderful saddles in due time. You can see quite a few retailers bringing out a plethora of choices in them that can even make you puzzled on what to choose! Not to point out, the number of shades that they come in are extremely amazing. The a lot common sort of saddle which has been a selection of quite a few just lately is the circle saddle. These saddles offer you great comfort along with a excellent balancing structure.

Here are some few actions that can improve you in choosing the suitable saddle for your horseback using:

Research: the really first thing that you do do whilst picking a saddle is to do a tiny research on what sort of saddles are readily available in the market. Although there is a extensive range of assortment, the most frequently used is the Developed and the general saddles. These saddles are great for your recreational riding. While studying, you need to see the right tree and bar dimension alongside with which type of material is put into it, and its durability.

Size:robust> measurement issues quite a few once it will come to saddles, because it is in accordance to the dimension and the correct measurement that can offer you great comfort although composing. Regrettably, individuals commonly generate a mistake of obtaining a saddle that appears great but does not possess the right dimension. Obtaining a saddle that is too snug or too loose can make you experience very uncomfortable. This also will increase the threat of dropping down.

Blanket: this is just a reminder for folks who know, that a blanket should be positioned beneath the saddle. A excellent blanket which is at least an inch thicker ought to be placed beneath your saddle by creating on horseback. This makes your equine sense comfy and does not damage it. It is really vital that you make your mount really feel snug, so that you can experience comfortably.

These saddles come in a wide variety of size, layout, sample and charges. The price ranges of each and every rely upon the variety of design and the materials it has been created up of. Therefore, thinking about your needs with a saddle could help you in correcting up a funds for investing in them.

This article brought to you by Saddles

How To Catch a Runaway Horse

HorseSense — Tue, 31 May 2011 16:38:41 +0000

Written by Parelli Natural Horsemanship

Catching a horse is intended to be hard to do…that’s how horses have survived for millions of years.

Horses have the innate ability to out-think their predators on the ground. A human trying to catch a horse reads like a “predator” to them, so they use their best evasive maneuvers to avoid capture. When you’re trying to catch a horse and they’re Steering clear of you, they’re not being difficult; they’re just trying to endure!

When a horse is hard to catch, people tend to gang up and encompass the horse…just like wolves or other predators would do. They cor the horse, then lunge and grab at him. This scares the heck out of a horse. In response to any aggressive measures, horses will go into total panic mode. In an effort to survive, they’ll fight, try to jump over tall walls or run blindly right over the top of you.

These behaviors sound extreme, but in order to comprehend what’s going on in the horse’s mind you need to recognize that to the horse, the circumstance is extreme. Your horse isn’t afraid of being caught when you are chasing it, he is frightened of being killed and eaten.

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The Parelli Natural Horsemanship encourages you to think in terms of the relationship with your horse. If you couldn’t catch your spouse, child, or friend, would you insist the dilemma was with the other person and that he or she is just “challenging” – or would you look at the dynamic of the relationship itself and wonder what the problem was? The natural horse training approach is that alternatively of employing strategies for catching a horse, you think about ways you might “attract” your horse, i.e. learn to develop a relationship that will make your horse want to be with you rather than run from you, which is what our Horse Training DVD is all about. It’s not really horse training that’s needed when a horse is hard to catch; it’s relationship training. Learn to be really good at relationships and your horse will come running.

Instead of chasing a horse that is running away from you, try the opposite. Chasing the horse just adds fuel to the fire; backing off is the better way to go. When you walk away, you get rid of the pressure and defuse the chase. Sure, it’s natural to want to run after the horse, but it just makes the predator/prey dynamic worse. If you back off, he’ll come around.

Every time you go out with a halter and lead rope, your horse knows what’s coming mainly because you never do anything unique. So try some thing new instead. Walk over to him with the halter, but just give him a scratch or a carrot or something. Don’t try to catch him, just visit him. Just rub and scratch him with the halter–use it as a tool to “make nice” and that’s it. Or walk out there with your equipment and just leave him alone; don’t even try to approach. His conditioned responses and associations will change and so will his running away conduct.

These are just a few natural horsemanship strategies to catching a horse. Notice that none are punishing or aggressive, and all are intended to break the predator/prey hurdle in the human/horse interaction – the secret to the partnership relationship.

Keeping Your Horse Occupied within the Stable

HorseSense — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 12:12:11 +0000

In an ideal world your equine spends most of its day outdoors where it obtains physical exercise and clean air. In case your equine has to be kept in its stable it’s essential to keep it entertained. If your equine is bored stiff, it might develop bad habits such as wind sucking, vices that are extremely difficult to get rid of.

The most efficient way of keeping your equine entertained is to have sufficient light, air and visibility. Horses’ sense of scent and sound are a lot more powerful than humans and they like to see where those smells and noises may be coming from. If your stable is dark and confined, chances are that your equine will get sad or outright hostile.

Having sufficient hay to munch on is an additional important aspect when attempting to keep your horse occupied. An eating horse is never bored. It’s a great concept to use a hay net when feeding hay because it will make getting hay just a little more challenging.

An additional good method to keep your horse occupied is providing it a toy to play with. The horse riding market is full of gadgets that horses can kick around and play with or that could be filled with treats or feed.

You can also get a mineral lick that attaches towards the ceiling of the stable and twists around when poked, making it much more difficult to get to it. Horses will do everything to get food or sweets so these are guaranteed to keep your equine entertained.

Apart from the extensive range of manufactured toys, it is simple to make toys of your own. Tying a lid less milk carton from the ceiling and filling it with treats will give the equine some thing to do because it tries to turn over the carton to get to the goodies.

Many horse psychologists recommend setting up a mirror in the stable as some research indicate that this is a particular aid in relieving the effects of anxiety and ensuring proper horse health . Consult an expert prior to installation as too large of a mirror can be intimidating.

It may take a while to discover the greatest answer to stable boredom. It’s important to go through this process as keeping your equine occupied in a steady will save you from having to deal with an anxious equine.

Some Rules for Effective Horse Riding.

HorseSense — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 03:09:36 +0000

In the immortal words of one Dr Bristol, “The Bit is the Key to the Horse”. Whom exactly Dr Bristol is or was is a little bit of a mystery however the quote is accurate. Putting it a different way look at horse bits as the “signal switching station” of the horse What I mean by that is that for the horse to do what is desired one needs to send specific signals to different parts of the horse. The bit combined with the bridle sends the “signals” from the rider and “switches” them to those parts.

The large variety of how you indicate to a horse to do the rider’s will is confirmed by the large variety of different style of horse bit on the market. The different types, styles and variations to these horse bits are there purely to send a specific signal to a part of the horse.

One must not forget the importance of other signaling tools such as the rider’s legs and backside generate important signals, but it is the horse bit both directly and indirectly via the bridle that gives the most options in getting the horse and rider working as a team.

Remember the fundamental thing is that horse bits are designed to work by applying pressure on these specific points of the horse and definitely not pain. Always treat your horse with respect and review your own riding skills and your chosen bit and harness first, rather than immediately blaming the horse. Under no circumstances should you attempt to fix an issue by increase the amount of pain you inflict!

So how do these signals work?

The tongue – some bits break in the middle such as a jointed pelham bit. These types of bit have a nutcracker action squeezing the toungue and thereby getting the horse’s full attention .

The roof of the mouth : the jointed bits mentioned above when they break can touch the roof of the horse’s mouth. As the bit breaks at its centre the point of the inverted ‘v’ shape can impact the roof of the mouth so grabbing the horse’s attention.

The bars – the bit mouthpiece sits on the gums or “bars” of the horse’s mouth, This is the gap behind the front incisors and before the molars. The common snaffle with a straight mouth works simply by applying pressure in this area.

The lips : the horse’s lips are a signaling target for the bit. Some more severe horse bits with chain based mouth pieces pull into the sides of the mouth providing quite a stiff signal. Such mouth pieces can be seen in gag bits. Only very soft hands should be needed with this sort of bit.

The poll – A part of the head between the ears that is a sensitive point for the horse. It provides a point of focus for the horse bit and bridle that can modify the horse’s behaviour. When the reins are pulled and the bit brought into play the crown piece of the bridel pulls down on the poll. The poll and its position is also a useful guide to how well the horse is working with the bit. As a specific example in classical dessage one should see the horse’s poll at highest point on the horse signifying that the horse is not fighting the bit.

The variety of effects of the horse bit are numerous. By understanding such effects achieved by the horse bit and bridle one can get the most from your horse. Sometimes your needs may require that you look at custom horse bits for your solution. But be sure to seek advice.

Is Your Horse Bit Hurting Your Horse?

HorseSense — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 14:48:47 +0000

Addressing a problem often requires some sort of 2 way communication between the parties. Speak the wrong language and problem resolution will be difficult or even impossible. However when it comes to addressing problems between man and beast just ask any Veternarian, communication takes on a different challenge.

Horses have been ridden for many centuries for business and pleasure and getting the most from the horse has always been a challenge. For professionals that train and race horses they have systems to ensure the horse can reach its full potential. However for the average horse owner often they are not training the horse from a very young age. A lot of horses are pre-owned and the new owner will of course be inheriting the good or bad results of that prior owners training skills.

Fixing your horse problems mayrequire a little behaviour analysis and maybe the occassional bit of bribery to get your way.

One of the most important aspects of riding is choosing horse bits. The communication between the rider and the horse often relies on trial and error to arrive at a satisfactory outcome and there is a whole catalog of horse behaviours that are considered problematic. It can be that some of them are due to a poor choice of horse bit. Shaking their head, refusing to take the bit, clenching their teeth, being unresponsive due to hard mouths often caused by bad bit use by previous owner. Maybe the horse simply has bad teeth so a trip to the dentist may be necessary.

Bit based behaviour issues are addressable. Or at least one should strive to address the common issues. If he refuses the bit maybe you need to try a little cunning. There are a few stories of wrapping the bit’s mouth piece in a “fruit roll” or covering it with molasses so that the horse associates the bit with pleasure and not pain! On the subject of taste you can of course buy horse bits with sweet iron mouth pieces or copper snaffles that pander to the tastes of the horse. If he just seems to hate the bit then the bit might not be the right bit. Is it the wrong size? Are you guilty of “over bitting” your horse where the bit is too extreme, maybe with huge shanks that generate too much force. Based on how light your hands are and how much control you need to get the horse to respond, choose your curb bit carefully .

Check that bit width is correct, typically around about half inch each side should ensure it is neither too tight or too loose. Check that the bit is not pinching the sides of the horse’s mouth and it should sit loosely in the horse’s mouth after letting down the cheek pieces. Using bit guards can help and are often a simple and effective solution.

Be aware of the effects of broken bits such as the jointed pelham bit where the bit breaks in the centre. You can also get a nutcracker effect by squashing the tongue and also even stabbing into the top of the mouth. Some horses respond well to this but others no so much. Remember the horse may not just behave badly when you engage the bit. The thought of a jolt of pain coming from your pulling on the reins at any time would be enough to cause the horse some issues don’t you think.

If you have the luxury of trying different bits out then do so but also be sure to follow the basic rules. Start of simple with basic snaffles and take it from there. If you are dealing with engrained issues in a pre-owned horse then thinking outside of the box might be the only way to go.