Three Rivers Horse Training, LLC

How loud?

2012-01-15T17:04:00.002-07:00

I received this thoughtful response to the last blog from Paige Morris. Thanks Paige! I thought everyone would benefit from reading her thoughts, and I addressed her questions below.

From Paige:

This is something soooo many people need to focus on (in themselves and with their horses). The exact opposite of this is why Clinton Anderson, Pat Parelli, etc are successful. Humans always look for the instant gratification. They don't have time in their hectic lives to slow down enough for themselves so why would they want to do it for their horse. The quick result getting gimmicks blow right over this honest open relationship you can have with your horse. Yes, it might get you more interested in playing with your horse because you instantly see them "reacting" to you and you take that as a good thing. What you are talking about here though about slowing down and being clearer in what you are presenting I don't think a lot of people really understand until they start having wrecks and their horses start "behaving badly". People also need to be told it is okay to go slow... be more thorough. Be more honest. The horse seems to come along faster anyway! With more understanding, confidence, and willingness. (Listen to me talk out my butt!) I love what you said, "Having the horse search for the answer instead of being given it so that they can take ownership of it might require us to actually take ownership of what we are asking, when, how, and why. " Horses can be trained a hundred thousand different ways but when they are given the chance to actually feel apart of the experience that's when you get the "good" stuff.

Now this did raise a question for me. I’ve heard from other sources about “turning up the volume” (instantly makes me think of going faster and I get into mechanical mode) and then turning it back down. Have you ever heard of such a thing? I can't really remember (sorry for my terrible memory) the exact reason why but from what I remember it was about increasing the pressure, making the horse trot, lope, then bringing the life back down and working on quiet stuff. So the horse can learn to deal with intensity and then find it's way back down. Does that make sense? I'm not quite sure if this was an exercise for them to find balance within themselves; kind of like a child will get ramped up then a parent would have to calm them down to find it's comfortable calm space (this sounds really corrective). See here again I am not really sure what that is trying to get across. I just remember hearing about bringing the life up and then bringing it back down.

So is there a time and a place that is good to bring it up? What just popped into my head was with a dulled out horse to get a point across would be good (as long as you are clear). But I guess you are not talking about staying slow forever. Just to stop and pay attention... Okay so never mind. Just free flowing with my thoughts this morning.

Your words "glimpse of a thought" instantly makes me think of Buck/Ray's "slightest try". That is one of the differences I saw the other day when I watched you. "Slightest try" makes me think physical. Looking for that body to say something in some way that shows it is trying something different. Which when you are learning I think is awesome to start looking for those things but hearing it said as "a glimpse of a thought" really puts it in the framework of looking for the mental. A thought change. So it pulls me out of looking at just the horse with blinders on and makes me step back (not literally) and look at the picture of the horse as a whole and wonder the why, how and when.

I think this overall is a great food for thought for people look for a better way. You are right on!

On this note, while reading, a quote that I have on my fridge came to mind:

"There is more to life than increasing it's speed." Mahatma Gandhi

---Paige

From Alex:

Paige, thanks for your response! There is a lot of great stuff in there!

To address your question about turning up and down the volume. I think this is a really important thing to think about. I think this can mean a lot of different things depending on where you are coming from. I would say the more widely accepted understanding of this idea is that increasing pressure means to get tougher and more aggressive to get a response and make something happen. How I would interpret what you said about increasing the pressure and then bringing the life back down so that the horse can learn to deal with the intensity is a sort of flooding activity. Sure, a horse needs to be able to handle lots of energy and stuff going on, but they shouldn’t just be learning to deal with it, which to me means blocking it out. Instead, they should understand when an increase in energy has meaning (and so this increase in volume should be only as much as it takes to get a change), and when it is not about them but is just because I’m sloppy or careless, or because life happened. For instance, me tripping or gesturing with my hands should not mean that they have to fly away from me. They can acknowledge it but don’t have to have a reaction or response (unless it is to avoid stepping on my clumsy self that has tripped on a rock). So, I might have to get busy with my hand gestures or my body and follow through by rubbing on them to prove that it didn’t mean anything, or at least nothing to worry about. However, if I ask for some movement away from me with a quiet feel, and I get absolutely no response from a horse that should know what that means, well then I’ll turn up that volume--with my hands, noise, rope, flag, whatever-- until their thought turns loose and they get ready to go back.

I see turning up the volume as a way of meeting a horse where they are at that moment. If a horse has learned to block out a human, the volume may need to be turned up to provoke a search that will lead to a change in thought. I sure don’t want to avoid that sticky spot, because that spot might unlock a whole new level of try in that horse. To me, the difference between increasing volume until the horse learns to deal with it, and increasing the volume to inspire change, is the difference between forcing the issue and turning into white noise, and just making something clear. However, if the horse is unclear on what I’m asking because they are trying and just haven’t figured it out yet, well then I sure don’t want to turn up the volume and maybe discourage the search and teach the horse that I’m just there to block out, or to bully them.

I wish I could give you a sure fire answer for when to turn up the volume and when to just wait. I can’t (if someone else can, please email me…it would help!), because it seems like it is just a matter of what the horse needs at that moment, and this depends on so many things. You just have to keep playing with this feel and decide what works and what doesn’t. And since you will never be able to replicate a moment exactly, you’ll never be able to drill this. It’s just feel and reading the moment and the horse.

When I’m unsure, it helps me when I ask myself, is this horse trying to find an answer right now, and just not getting it, or is this horse not even hearing my question?

Good luck and have fun!

Feeling a Thought

2012-01-10T08:54:00.003-07:00

In the spirit of the new year, I'm going to take a new direction with this blog. I'm not interested in producing any sort of how to manual. I read a lot of blogs, websites and articles where trainers seem to have it all figured out. The reason I love working with horses so much is because they are always a challenge. There is always more to learn. To me, working with horses is an exercise in self-improvement and self-awareness, both in and out of the saddle. I think I've got some pretty good things going with my horses, but I really hope that in five, ten, twenty years (or maybe even tomorrow), things will look completely different, and be better between us. I think when we think we've got it all figured out with horses (or maybe in life..but I'll stick to horses) it's probably time to quit. Horses deserve more respect than that, and knowing it all opens the door to forcing a horse to fit into our system, instead of trying to step into their moment. So, I'm going to let this blog be a place where I share some of my own journey towards understanding. Hopefully it will be useful to all of you, and feel free to email questions, comments, thoughts or specific subjects for discussion. alex@threerivershorsetraining.com

Feeling a Thought

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about slowing down. The last time I was with Harry and I was working on slowing something down, I said to him, “I never knew it could take so much energy to go so slow!” He just laughed, and then told me to go slower. But it’s really true. Going slow with a horse (and maybe in life…) means so much more than just speed. It means doing less, waiting more and only doing things that mean something. That’s not exactly how most of us live our lives, and so I really think it’s an exercise in a lot more than horsemanship. I think it has a lot to do with resisting the urge to just control the situation, and instead really being in the moment.

What does it take for you to ask your horse to turn? Most of us probably don’t even think about all that goes into it, but there is a lot! Deciding where you want to go. This probably involves something causing you to want to change direction, a look towards the new direction to decide a path, and then a decision that you are ready to go. Now you have to decide to ask your horse to do it, and then tell your body to do whatever you do to ask. Then there’s the actual physical act of asking. Next comes the horse actually understanding that request. That could be a whole other series of events, because I’d assume the horse goes through as many or more steps as I do in understanding the request, deciding to do it, and then actually making it happen with their body. And finally, (hopefully) everyone is going where you decided to go.

But in the moment, what do most of us notice? Just the asking (or telling) and the going. Pull this rein, go that way. Maybe you were taught to look where you want to go as a first step, maybe not. Maybe you do it, maybe not. But what if before and during any request, you said all of these steps aloud? I’ve played with it. “I’m going to go over to that post. There is a clear path. I’m going to ask now. I’m asking. My hand is moving. We are going” Etc. Etc. Etc. You can narrate until you are blue in the face. I’m not saying we should be chatting to ourselves all the time when riding, but it’s an interesting exercise to slow down and really be in these moments with your horse.

I’m always thinking like this these days. How little can I do to effect change. This really means, how clearly can I present the request in a way that is easy to understand and was presented at just the right moment so that the horse picks up my thought with very little effort. I’ve been thinking about this a lot while halter breaking a few fillies that up until a few days ago had never been touched. When working with a horse that has truly no idea of expectations, it really magnifies the need to take little glimmers of a thought. So to me, this means recognizing all the above steps I listed in terms of the human, from the horse’s point of view. I think about what the earliest moment of the horse understanding my request would be. Is it just a shift in weight, a blink, a glance, an ear? Sometimes I think if I’ve waited for the ear I might be late! Something told that ear to move, why couldn’t I have noticed that thought? I probably couldn’t have seen it. But I’m learning to feel it.

Yes, it might be a little different if the horse knew something about what I was asking but had learned from the human to be sloppy or sluggish, and the intensity of their resistance to changing a thought was a bit more, but still, getting even that dulled out horse to think things through will mean to slow some things down and make sure everything is clear. Again, slow doesn't only mean speed, but also intention and clarity. Even if the expectations of the actual physical performance are a little higher than that of the colt who has never felt human touch, the goal and philosophy can stay the same.

Having the horse search for the answer instead of being given it so that they can take ownership of it might require us to actually take ownership of what we are asking, when, how, and why. Often times as an exercise in self-improvement, when I think I’ve got something going pretty good with myself (not with a horse…but the me part), I take something away from myself, whether it’s a tool, an action, or anything else that maybe I could use as a crutch (like a flag, a noise, physical contact…). I take something away and see if I can get results I like as much with less. I like to force myself to be a little choosier with my asks/actions, because I can’t always be trusted not to use a tool if it’s in my bag of tricks. I give it back to myself once I think I can use it responsibly! Kind of like when I realize I’ve just been talking but have nothing to say. I listen more to the people who don’t talk for no reason, because I know when they do talk, it’s worth listening. So I try to take a lesson from that with the horses (I’m not as good at practicing this with people…). I say a lot with the space before and after the action, so maybe if I pay more attention to that space, there will be less to do.

So, tonight I’ll go to sleep thinking about what I could have slowed down today. What I could have let the horse find in her own time that maybe I rushed. What a horse gave me that I didn’t deserve. And tomorrow, maybe I’ll do it better!

Ross Jacobs Clinic

2011-11-08T07:09:00.002-07:00

Hello friends,

Ross Jacobs, a talented horseman based out of Australia, is planning a United States trip next summer and I am hoping to have him out to my place in Three Forks, MT to give a 3 day horsemanship clinic. Ross has an extensive background and is a continuing student of Harry Whitney, and has a lot to offer us all. If you have not seen his website, please visit. Ross does a great job of writing articles, stories and an awesome blog, and you could read on his site for days without running out of new and useful information. www.goodhorsemanship.com.au.

That being said, I am putting feelers out with regard to interest in his clinic. I hope to host him in the summer (July, August or September), and will need 8-10 participants per day. Cost will go down for the participant the more enrollment we have.

I will be riding in this clinic and think this is a great opportunity for everyone. Please let me know if you are interested (or MIGHT be interested), and if you have a weekend to work around in that time period. I will be working around the Montana Harry Whitney clinic in August to make sure we can all attend both.

Thanks!
Alex

Apologies from a neglectful Blogger!

2011-11-06T15:10:00.001-07:00

Hi Everyone,

It’s been a long time since I’ve updated this blog, and I do apologize. I’ve had some not so subtle hints lately about posting more often. I will make a better effort this winter to post, and please feel free to email me with questions or topics you would like me to write about. To get us started, here’s an update about the last year, and the year to come!

It has been a busy and exciting warmer season, and I’m sad to see the above freezing weather fading away! I’ve had the privilege of working with a lot of horses this year, of all breeds, ages, colors, shapes and sizes! Everything from Paso Finos to Quarter Horses, Foxtrotters to Arabians, Thoroughbreds to Tennessee Walking Horses, Paints, Mustangs, and Warmbloods! And…everything in between! It’s pretty special that Montanans are so varied in their taste in horses; I appreciate never knowing what’s going to step out of the horse trailer when a new horse shows up!

This year was full of new human faces as well, and I had a lot of fun holding clinics out of some new facilities. After a very successful three-day clinic in Ennis at the WC Stables & Arena this spring, I’ve been happy to go back to Ennis every few weeks to teach lessons. I’m so thankful for the support of Bill and Brenda Clark, the owners of the WC Stables, and hope to continue teaching out of their facility through the winter and into the New Year.

This winter I have plans to continue my own education, spending time learning from Harry Whitney, and incredible horseman and clinician. Next week I’m heading to Salome, Arizona with clients and horses and we are participating in a weeklong clinic with Harry. I’m thrilled to be riding a wonderful solid colored Paint horse named HZ, who I have had the privilege of riding all season and am completely enamored with. I will post photos and a recap when we return from our journey! Hopefully the weather will cooperate for our drive from Montana to Arizona, and back!

Then, I will be returning to Salome for the month of March to continue learning from Harry. It is a privilege to spend so much time at his ranch, and I am so looking forward to doing so. I hope to come back to Montana reinvigorated with many new ideas to share! If any of you have the chance to ride with Harry, or even just audit one of his clinics, please do. Horsemen of his caliber are hard to come by and he is a great teacher on top of it, so you really cannot go wrong.

Because of my travels I will not be accepting horses into training for the month of March. I will begin training again the first week of April, though I am fairly full for the month so if you are hoping to get your horse into training in April or May, please let me know as soon as possible. Unfortunately I can only take so many at a time, and try to cap my full time training horse numbers at 6 or 7 so that I have time to teach lessons each day and not feel rushed. You all know I like to talk!

Despite a tough horse economy this year I have been lucky to find success in finding good homes for the various horses I have had for sale. I’m thankful for that, because I absolutely hate selling horses, even for other people! I just worry too much about where they are going, who is going to ride and care for them, and what their lives are going to be like. But, this year I am happy to report that I felt really good about all of the sales I made, and those buyers who have stayed in touch have had nothing but happy, loving things to say about their new partners.

There is one horse that did not sell this year, and that is Easy, the Rocky Mountain Gaited Horse. He is one of the nicer horses I have had for sale in a long time, and I do hope he finds his forever home soon. He needs a somewhat experienced rider, but is not a “scary” horse, he just needs a bit more support to feel confident about life than a novice rider can provide. He gets a little jumpy without that support, but not in a bucking kind of way, just a bit of worry. Otherwise, he’s lovely, with a beautiful gait, charming personality and no real bad habits to speak of. There are photos of him on my Facebook page and I would appreciate it if everyone spread the word for this lovely horse.

Speaking of lovely horses, my little filly, Fia, who was born this April, is now approaching 7 months old! Time flies! She is just about as good as it gets, with an incredible personality, a lot like her wonderful mom, Cassie, my loyal lesson mare. I’m enjoying every second of Miss Fia’s growth, and am so hopeful for her future as my partner.

Again, please send thoughts, questions and ideas for blog posts and I’ll do my best to continue posting some winter reading material for cold days. As always, thank you all for your continued support as you allow me to do what I love to do every single day! I’m so lucky to have such wonderful people to work with, and to learn from horses for a living. I appreciate it every day, and look forward to 2012!

--Alex

Communication Issues--Follow Up

2011-04-13T18:58:00.002-06:00

Here's the follow up email conversation to the last blog entry!

Hey, Alex!

It's Shelby again! I took your advice and I started from scratch. I also bought a book by Craig Cameron which also gave me some ideas. I also ordered a bosal hackamore since I found another problem with her. I don't know if it's a lot of horses or it's just her, but she always plays with the snaffle. She'll move it, try and bite it, grab it. It's like a toy to a child and it's like she doesn't understand why it's in her mouth. I do bending exercises where I'll pick up on the rein/lead line on one side of her and she instantly touches her nose to her belly. She responds to the halter fantastically but with the bit, it's like she absolutely doesn't understand. After a few seconds of pressure, she stops messing around, touches her belly, and goes back to playing.

She responds to a rope halter far better than a bridle. I also worked on leading her. When I start walking, she does. When I stop, she stops. However, she doesn't back very well when I back up. I have to face her and put pressure on the lead line for her to back up. And it's like she's stiff. So when I go for more than a few steps, she just totally stops and she'll put her head anywhere except for where it needs to be. I don't think I am doing anything wrong ( I could be ) because when she takes one step back, I instantly release pressure. Two steps, same thing. And I'll build on that but after awhile, she tosses her head, stamps her feet, rams her head on me. Is there such a thing as backing up too much?

I also rode her. Granted it was bareback with a halter, but I rode her. She was way more willing and soft and just great! We had the never-moving-problem completely disappear. I sat on her and rubbed and scratched her and wiggled. She didn't mind at all. Then I would squeeze with steady pressure until she took a small step and I released and I praised her. It was all downhill from there! After a couple minutes, I had her taking a walk! And she was so kind! I've never seen this side of her. She listened to my legs and my hands! Haha I don't know if it's bad that I accomplished this bareback with a halter, but couldn't this be considered as a start?

That was the good news, but there is bad. It's like she has off days. It was windy on Sunday and when I excitedly went out to go riding again, it was like someone stole my sweet, willing mare! Usually she comes when she sees me but this day was different. She started towards me and just stopped and waited. I got to her, I haltered her just fine. I did some bending and moving exercises and when I thought she was fine, I went to get on. Bad idea. She wouldn't have it. When I put my hands on her back, she moved away and bumped her butt up at me as if to say " I'm not doing anything today!". She did this several times varying from going to bite, bumping her butt at me, pushing me away with her head, facing me and stepping towards me.. I didn't know what was different! It might have been the weather but she just would have it. I ran my fingers down her spine to maybe see if her back hurt but she didn't display any discomfort. But when I leaned on her, put my arms on her back, she was instantly mad. Do you think it was just an off day for her?

Well, another looong email but I had to tell you. I was so stoked about riding. I'll be attending the clinic this weekend for sure! I think my cousin may come as well. Thank you so much, Alex!

Warm regards,
Shelby Zipperian :)Hi Shelby

This is GREAT! Often horses who are troubled and don't have clarity in their lives play with the bit. It may also be worth having her teeth checked by the vet if you haven't done that already..sometimes a tooth issue causes issues with a snaffle, as well. For green horses like Sage, I prefer working in a side pull bridle, rather than a hackamore, because a side pull applies pressure from either side, so it is more direct than a hackamore and more similar to a snaffle bit. This is the side pull I would recommend: http://www.rods.com/Flat-Leather-Nose-Sidepull,425.html?sc=WGB&utm_source=Froogle&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Froogle11&ns_md=Feed&ns_sc=Froogle&ns_cn=Froogle11

You will find she responds to the side pull a lot like she does to the halter. Try your hackamore and a side pull, and make a decision for yourself. You can always sell one on craigslist! Though I think a gal can never have too much tack!

Your progress sounds great with the leading. With regard to the backing, I think you should try getting her to back by shaking the rope up and down, while holding it loose at the end of the lead. Get as big as you have to for her to take a step back, even if it means making some noise and stepping into her while shaking the rope (because I think she might be really dull and able to just ignore the rope alone) and then quit. If you want to back her from the base of the halter under her chin, start with a TINY amount of pressure and just wait. It might take 5 minutes but eventually she will just slightly rock back or drop her nose, and then you release. Keep doing this until she starts backing without feeling stiff. NEVER release while she feels still. Always wait for a physical and mental softness. She needs to THINK back. There is no such thing as backing up correctly too much. But if you are backing her incorrectly, and releasing when she is braced (stiff) , then even one time is too many.

Riding her bareback with a halter still counts, good job! You will find that as you fix one thing, other things seem to fix themselves, like the never moving problem. This is definitely a great start, keep at it! Take it slow and don't expect too much. Concentrate on getting her to turn and stop and back softly while you are riding her, applying the same cues and philosophy as you do when you are on the ground.

With regard to the bad day. Yes, you can expect off days from any horse. Just like you and me, they have bad days. The wind is a tough thing, and often horses are very unsettled in the wind. You don't yet have a completely sound relationship with her, so her fear of the wind overcomes her ability to pay attention to you. Eventually, if you continue on this path successfully, you will be her source of comfort and feeling good, so even in the worst of environmental situations she will look to you.

However, if she is acting "mad," and it seems directly related to you putting pressure on her back, it is definitely something to keep an eye on. Have you worked her again since then? If she starts showing these signs of not wanting you to put pressure on her back regularly, especially if it happens when there aren't other factor such as the wind. Then it might be an indicator of a physical issue and she is trying to tell you that she is in pain. But, I wouldn't assume this if it is an isolated incident in the wind.

Lastly, I'm not sure if I recommended any books to you before, but since you mention buying books, here are a couple I think you will enjoy. "A Horse's Thought" & "Between the Reins" by Tom Moates. Read them in that order. You can order them online at www.tommoates.com.

I'm looking forward to seeing you this weekend and am going to post this follow up email to the blog!
Thanks and good luck!
Alex

Communication Issues

2011-03-29T18:57:00.003-06:00

Hi everyone! I recently received this email and thought it would make a great Q&A for the blog. Hope you enjoy it and feel free to ask follow up questions or provide other thoughts for Shelby! There's a lot to be said, and I only scratched the surface with this blog entry. Enjoy your horses!

Hello, Alex!

I am Shelby from Townsend. First off, I'm totally in love with you're grey mare, Justin's Pickles! Although I can't afford her, I've been eyeing her haha. Dreaming basically. Well, I have a question and personally, I need some advice. I've been looking around your site and I'm so impressed! Okay, anyway... I have this 5 year old mare. Some strange man gave her dam to us without knowing she was pregnant so we were surprised with a foal. I am only 18 so when I was 13, I started the foal myself. At first, I thought it was brilliant but now, I'm not so sure. I know nothing about my mare's breed, her dam or sire, nothing. She's very stocky but she doesn't have a lot of Quarter Horse features. Anyway, I have trained this mare from leading to the saddle but there's just a few problems. One, she is absolutely disrespectful because I never have been big enough to push HER around. Now that I'm old enough to get her attention, she still does not respect me. Two, she won't lunge and she becomes crabby when we try. Three, she will move her feet when I put the saddle on her but once I or anyone gets on, she won't budge. I have not tried spurs yet but I plan to. And last but certainly not least, she refuses the trailer.

I don't have enough money to get her fixed so I was wondering if you might have any advice for me. I'm sorry this was so long! But really, I want advice/tips from a professional trainer. Gosh, sorry again! I hope this wasn't too long or irritating. But thank you so much for your time (if you had enough time to read this ha..)!

- Shelby

Hi Shelby

Thanks for the email and the compliments! Glad you enjoyed the website.

Without seeing you and your mare together, I can’t give you exact answers, but I can certainly give you some ideas and hopefully get you started towards a better relationship with her.

It sounds as though there is a lack of clarity between you and your mare when it comes to what you are asking of her. I would offer you the idea that you don’t need to be “big enough to push her around,” but clear enough in what you are asking her to do that she wants to participate. In general, horses are very willing animals and when they display this sort of pushy, crabby behavior it is because they don’t understand what you are asking and are frustrated with the situation and lack of direction. This lack of clarity produces a lot of anxiety in a horse, and I think the behavior you are describing is an expression of this anxiety.

Imagine if you had a teacher, parent or friend that kept asking you to do something. When you tried to do it, they just asked louder and louder, using the same words but with a tone that told you that you were not doing it right. You kept trying, but they just seemed more annoyed at you, no matter how hard or what you tried. Then, suddenly, the stopped asking and walked away, with no clarification as to what they had wanted and if you had ever gotten it right. The next day, you run into this person again. The same thing happens. From then on, every time you interacted with this person, you had this same sort of experience. What do you think this would do to your mind, spirit and confidence?

If it were me, I’d get angry, and maybe yell back. I know other people that would probably get really quiet and nervous and some that would even run the other way when they saw this person walking towards them. Some people would try for a while and eventually just quit trying and give up, and whenever they saw this person they would just sit there and stare at their feet until the person went away. I know other people that would just keep trying to get the answer right, no matter how frustrated, scared or upset they were…and then maybe one day years down the road have some sort of nervous breakdown or explosion.

We are all individuals, and all respond to confusion differently. The same goes for our horses. You have had this mare from birth, and while you have some good stuff going, for the most part this mare has never understood exactly what you were asking, from leading to lunging to saddling to riding. This lack of understanding is manifesting itself in many ways. Sometimes, she runs on top of you and “disrespects” you. I see this as her trying to control a situation she finds stressful by pushing on you. She doesn’t know where her boundaries are and this is unsettling. Other times, she does not go forward (like when you try to lunge her or ask her to move under saddle), because there is no clarity to your request to go forward, so she is crabby about it, or simply ignores you. To her, you are just bugging her, over and over, louder and louder, without meaning. You are not important. When you try to saddle her, she is probably nervous and her brain is elsewhere, so she moves her feet to try to get her feet where her brain is—which is anywhere but where you and that saddle are.

You mention trying spurs on her, and I don’t think that spurs are your magic cure. If your horse were unable to move, she wouldn’t dance around when being saddled. Horses are large animals, and if she is dull in responding to your leg, or any other aid when on the ground, she will easily dull out to a spur if used incorrectly. It might irritate her enough to move her forward for a while (a day, a month or a year), but eventually the old behavior will return and she will just stand there and ignore the spur like she does your leg now.

Instead, I would recommend establishing a better line of communication between you and your mare, so that she can go through life with a quieter mind and a clearer understanding of what you expect of her. My guess is your biggest issue is that you cannot direct where her mind is. Her mind is stuck on whatever she is thinking about at that moment, and she is unable to let go of that thought. It sounds like most of the time she has her mind working on blocking you out and dissociating from the situation, which is why she is so unresponsive. After years of unclear signals from you, now when you make a request, she just locks down further, rather than engaging with your request and trying to answer properly. She is the person that tries to get the right answer for a while and when she can’t please you she eventually just sits there and stares at her feet until the annoying person goes away. When she just stands there not wanting to move, she is just waiting for you to go away. It has worked in the past, probably better than anything else she has tried.

I would start with working on her leading. When you ask her to walk forward, is her response dull or lively? In other words, do you have to pull her forward, or does she respond merely to your body moving forward, and follow without taking the slack out of the rope? Where is she looking when you are walking forward—at you, behind her, over you, to the sides, or bouncing all over the place? When you stop, does she stop exactly as your feet stop, maintaining the same distance between you and her, or does she keep walking and end up on top of you or walking passed you? Ideally, there is no tension between the two of you when you lead her. Everything is soft, she is focused, and there is a consistent expectation of attention and distance between you two as you interact. She should understand this and feel good about this, as the boundaries should be very clear and horses appreciate knowing what is expect of them, just like you and me. To give her this clarity you need to be clear about your expectations. You need to know where her feet and her mind are at all times. If she doesn’t stop when you stop, you need to fix that, every time. Be picky without being critical. She doesn’t know what you want, so don’t get mad when she gets it wrong, but don’t accept a wrong answer, either. Help her get it right.

Also work on directing her thought. There are many ways to do this, but I will give you one idea and you can experiment from there. Standing in front of her, can you ask her to look one way or another? When I say “look,” I actually mean think. Your focus should be on where her attention is, and her eyes are a nice window into her brain. Horses are perfectly capable of bending their neck in either direction without ever thinking in that direction. While you are reading this, try to turn your head and neck in another direction but keep your eyes on the computer screen. You can do it, pretty easily I would imagine. So can she. Make sure that when you ask her to look one way, you wait with your request until she actually looks over there, not just until her neck goes in the direction you are suggesting. You can ask in many different ways, whether it is with the lead rope, the halter, or gentle putting pressure on her nose to tip her thought back and forth. It doesn’t really matter how you ask, as long as you do not release whatever pressure you are using to request the change in thought until you see her truly commit to thinking in the direction you have suggested. Once you get this, maybe ask her to take her feet in that direction for one step, then two, then three, then a whole circle. But the second her brain isn’t where you are directing her to be, you need to make a change.

Don’t worry about asking with more force if she doesn’t get it right away, just keep asking with the same amount of soft pressure until she finds the answer. She might try some wrong answers first, when blocking you out doesn’t work, but that’s no problem. Just keep asking what your asking until she finds the right answer, then stop and pet on her. She’s so used to blocking you out, it is going to take a while for her to realize that there is another way to interact with you, so be patient and committed, and don’t quit just because she doesn’t know what you mean. The second you release your request, you have taught her that that was the correct answer, so don’t release until you really want to say Good Job! At first, Good Job might come after just a small try on her part, but by next month you will have much higher expectations. Don’t expect perfection on the first try, but always have it in your mind what you are aiming for, and only reward steps in the right direction.

While I have given you some vague exercises to work on, really what I would like to make clear is that this is more about communicating clearly and with consistency than it is about getting her to do something. Be clear with yourself about what you want, and then be clear with her. Once you can direct her thought around, many of the other issues will disappear, as really what you need to be concerned about with your horse is where her mind is and what she is thinking about, not what her feet and body are saying. The mind is what directs the body, and if her brain is elsewhere, it doesn’t matter how well you ask, she will not be able to comply because she will not be present enough to respond willingly.

If her mind is not quiet and soft, you will forever have a stuck, pushy, disrespectful horse. There simply is no other way to be in the world if you are constantly confused, worried and frustrated!

I hope this gives you some ideas about what might be going wrong between you and your mare. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress!

Alex

Ask the Trainer

2011-03-02T17:05:00.002-07:00

Hi Everyone!

In an effort to keep this blog a bit more current (I admit, I update the Three Rivers Horse Training facebook page more than this blog...), I am opening it up as an "Ask the Trainer" forum. I've been inspired by some awesome email conversations I've had with riders lately, and can't wait to hear from more of you.

Email me thoughts, questions or even youtube videos you would like me to comment on. alex@threerivershorsetraining.com

Please note, if you send me specific training questions I will do my best to address them from a variety of directions, but I can't provide specific answers that I know will do the trick without working with both horse and human. I'll provide information, thoughts, concepts, possible exercises and all that comes to mind hearing your question, and get you started!

I'm looking forward to hearing about your horses!

Alex

The Long Winter!

2011-02-23T09:22:00.000-07:00

Hello friends!

I hope you are all doing well and staying warm through this very cold and now windy winter! It always seems like winter is never going to end, and I am looking forward to being able to ride every day without frozen feet and ten layers on, but I know summer will be here before I know it!

I am beginning to book training spots for this spring. April through July tend to be my busiest months in preparation for summer riding, so please consider booking now to ensure your horse is ready by summer! I will continue to offer training packages by the week, rather than by the month, in order to best tailor the training process for individual horses and owners. Please contact me for rates and details.

I am in the process of putting together my 2011 spring and summer schedule and have a few noteworthy dates to mention.

Saturday, April 16 10am-5pm
Open House & Lesson Day
Three Forks, MT (Three Rivers Horse Training facility)
$35 for individual one hour lessons.
Auditors FREE
Please bring a sack lunch, a chair and lots of questions!
Pre-registration for lesson spots required.

May 20-22 8am-6pm
Horsemanship Clinic
Ennis, MT (WC Arena & Stables)
$50 per day per rider: Pre-registration required
Auditors $10 per day: Pre-registration preferred
Lunch included for those who pre-registered.
**Please note, as of now the website has this event listed as a Saturday/Sunday event, but due to demand we have added Friday. There are still a couple spots left for Friday, but please book soon as they are filling up quickly. Saturday and Sunday are completely filled but we are keeping a waiting list in the event of cancellations.***
Contact Kelly at 406.682.3059 or kellyrobinson7@gmail.com to book your spot!

July 30-31
I will be judging the Missoula 4-H Horse Show. I will be available for lessons in the Missoula area (or along I-90 between Three Forks and Missoula) on Friday, July 29 and Monday, August 1. I may also be available for evening lessons and consultations that Saturday and Sunday.

As always, you can check out my website (www.threerivershorsetraining.com) for upcoming events, and follow me on Facebook by searching "Three Rivers Horse Training." I often announce new events and adjusted dates on Facebook before they are posted to my website. I have a few other clinics in the works that I am not ready to announce yet, so please stay tuned!

If you would like to host a clinic in your area, please contact me for details. I am available for two to five day clinics, and will offer one day clinics within 60 miles of Three Forks.

Stay warm and I can't wait to see you all this spring!
Alex

Please cast a vote for horse rescue!

2010-11-10T17:34:00.002-07:00

Hello friends...

The Animals Voice is a wonderful organization offering a retirement home to horses and mules who spent their lives working hard for the U.S. government and would have been sent to slaughter upon retirement. They are eligible for the Pepsi Refresh Project grant of $25,000! Please vote for the Animals Voice--you can vote every day until November 30. Visit http://www.animalsvoice.com/ for more information about the organization. To vote, visit http://www.refresheverything.com/saveourequinetroops. It only takes a minute! Please vote often and forward widely!

Thanks!

Featured rider and horse!

2010-10-23T18:00:00.004-06:00

Hello friends!

I promised some spotlight time for one of my great lesson riders, Helen, who has been learning (and loving!) Keller, my one-eyed wonder! They are such a great pair.

Hope you enjoy the photos!

16 ft Gooseneck Stock Trailer!

2010-10-03T12:04:00.003-06:00

Please spread the word!
For sale! 16ft gooseneck stock trailer. 1982 Jackson. Sanded and repainted last year. Good floors and all around condition. Does not look its age! Used regularly with no issue. $3500 OBO. Contact Alex for details.

Thanks!

Meet Lady!

2010-09-10T20:41:00.004-06:00

Hello friends!
Sorry it's been so long since I've updated this blog. I have a few entries in the works and will do better as the busy summer season comes to a close. Though, I am sad to see the warm weather start to go! It will be a long winter, but we'll make the most of it, as always.

In any case, I'd like to introduce a very special horse that's a part of the Three Rivers family, but is currently looking for her forever home. She is a 4 year old (born 2006) AQHA mare. I call her Lady, though her registered name is "Justins Pickles."

Lady came into my life a little over a year ago. I was looking for some youngsters to start for the summer and heard about some nice colts through another trainer. When I showed up, there was in fact one colt that looked in decent condition (he had apparently only been there a month or so), but then there was Lady. She was WAY to thin, wide eyed and terrified, and was bleeding from her chest because they had "run her into the barbed wire to catch her" for me to look at it. Needless to say, despite her pathetic appearance (or maybe because of it) I HAD to take her. So some money exchanged hands and both colts jumped in my trailer. Don't know if she'd ever seen a trailer before, but both of them couldn't get out of that place fast enough!

Lady came home and I could hardly touch her. She and the other colt lived next to my house in a small pen and I caught her many times a day and loved on her, and she quickly realized that things were okay here. Within a couple weeks I was riding her! Not hard, because she was still too thin (but gaining weight FAST!) but enough to get her used to the idea.

Now it's a year later, and she looks like a different horse. She is a small, stocky mare with a lot of brains and enough heart for five horses. I put her first 30 days on her and since she has been ridden by a few students here and there, but primarily by Marty (my farrier and an excellent horseman in his own right) out in the hills. She has A LOT of miles on her for her young age and is a horse that would jump right off a cliff for you if you asked. But, she's not for just anyone, as she is so smart and she is young, so I'd like her to go to someone with some experience.

Lady is looking for a FOREVER home, and will have one here until the perfect person comes around. She's quite the horse and I love having her around, so I'm going to be very picky. But, she deserves lots of love and attention, and the more she gets ridden the better she gets. She's the sort of horse where if I keep her near my house and turn her loose to graze in the front yard, she comes running when I walk out the door and yell her name. She will be your best friend and a dedicated partner.

Please spread the word, and let me know if you are interested!

Riding the Roads

2010-06-11T22:04:00.000-06:00

Hello friends!

As the weather gets warmer (sort of) and more and more of you are coming out for lessons, I’ve noticed that there are a few questions that I seem to answer all the time. So, I thought that I would post some of my most used explanations.

If you have a question that you would like me to address on the blog, please feel free to email me at alex@threerivershorsetraining.com. I would prefer to answer more general questions on the blog than issues specific to your horse, as without seeing you and your horse in person it is hard for me to make accurate evaluations of what is going on and what needs to be done.

Riding the roads: Encountering bikes, ATVs, cars, trucks and the dreaded UPS truck

As spring and summer come around, a lot of you will be riding on county roads, crossing busy streets to get to your favorite trails, or sharing the mountains with bikes and ATVs. I am asked quite often how to properly prepare a horse for these sorts of encounters. There are many ways to do this, but the long and short of it is that you need to have your horse’s confidence and attention to ensure a safe experience, because you can’t possibly expose your horse to every “scary” thing in the world. However, I’ll give you the exercise that I find most helpful when working with scary things on wheels, and it will be a great place for you to start.
To begin with, think of the environment you are going to be practicing in. If your horse is deathly afraid of bikes, I would recommend getting an old bike and bringing it into an enclosed area, like a round pen or an arena, and making the introduction within the confines of a fence. Likewise, if traffic pushes your horse over the edge, please don’t go out and try these exercises on a busy, paved road. Stay on a driveway in an area you know well, and even consider having a friend drive over on a car or ATV and act as your assistant, so you can properly “control” the traffic while you train.
Once you are confident in your surroundings, think about how the horse has been perceiving these “scary” situations. Horses are prey animals, and the worst feeling in the world for a prey animal must be for something to sneak up behind them, or to be approaching at a speed greater than they are traveling, appearing to “chase” them. Often times, the goofy behavior prompted by a car or bike driving passed us on the road, is really the horse’s anxiety of having something seeming to chase them, and they are simply acting on their instinct to flee. When we block them with our seat and reins, and don’t allow them to move their feet in accordance with this flight instinct, goofiness ensues, because they don’t know what else to do!
So, I would suggest setting the situation up so that you reverse the roles prey/predator roles, and allow the horse to move its feet the way their instincts tell them to. To do this, have the horse chase the bike, car or ATV. In an enclosed arena, have a friend ride a bike away from you, and set it up so your horse feels as though they are chasing the bike away, just as they would a cow, or that pesky dog trying to get into their food. Have the horse trot after the bike with purpose, and when you stop your horse, make sure the bike continues on, to give the horse a feeling of accomplishment. Suddenly, you’ve given your horse the confidence of a predator! (This strategy works for introducing all sorts of “scary” things. For instance, introduce your flag or tarp by dragging it in front of the horse and letting them chase it, just like the bike.)
Now what about traffic? If I’m riding on the road with a horse that I’m not sure will be able to handle a car coming by, and I hear a vehicle approaching behind me, I will ask my horse to turn around and face the vehicle. As the car gets closer and passes me, I tip my horses nose to follow the car as it drives by, and once the car has passed I cue my horse to trot after it. Most likely, the car will be going faster than my trot, and the horse will feel as though they pushed that car right out of your territory! By turning the horse towards the car as it approaches from behind, I avoid letting that vehicle get into my horse’s blind spot and sneaking up on us. By turning with the car as it passes, I allow the horse to feel like they are in control for the entire situation, and never let the car get into a position where it feels as though the horse is being chased.
You will probably only need to trot after the vehicle once or twice. Eventually, just turning the horse to face the traffic and letting them track the vehicle as it passes will be enough. Sooner or later, all you will need to do is tip the horse’s eye so they can see what’s coming up behind them, and they will track the vehicle on their own without having to physically turn and chase the vehicle.
Many of you ask me if there will ever come a day when you don’t have to tip the horse’s eye when you hear a car coming up behind you. Sure. Eventually your horse won’t have any issues with moving vehicles, and will act like they are not even there. However, I never ride my horse assuming that they will not be startled by something coming up behind them. If my dog stays behind a few hundred yards, and then races to catch up when I call her, I tip my horse’s eye to watch her coming. Not because my horse is afraid of dogs, but because I’d like to avoid any unnecessary startling of my horse, or me for that matter!
So, that being said, if I know something is coming up behind me, or into any blind spot (or even just a spot my horse happens to not be looking at at that moment), I try to draw my horse’s attention to that potentially scary thing. Even the brokest of broke horses can be startled, and as the rider and leader of my partnership with the horse, I feel it is my obligation to prepare my horse as best as I can for what’s about to happen, to make our ride as successful and enjoyable as possible. So stay alert, and pay attention to the bigger picture: where your horse’s mind is. If your horse is so focused down the road, because that’s where the barn is, and is paying no attention to you or your surroundings, most likely if a car comes up behind them they are going to spook. Don’t let it go that far. When you notice your horse is not paying attention to their surroundings, get to work asking them to focus on you and what’s happening around you, and save both yourself and your horse a lot of unnecessarily stressful riding.

Good luck, be safe and have fun!

Meet Zane: Beautiful Palomino Missouri Fox Trotter

2010-06-07T21:07:00.003-06:00

Hi everyone! Great news, the featured horse below, Doc, has been spoken for! He is going home with a GREAT family, and I'm thrilled for how bright his future looks!

But, there is another special horse in my life that is now on the market! Meet Zane. Zane is a 6 year old palomino gelding that I had in full training all winter and spring. I've ridden him all over the hills, in the arena, and even worked colts off of him. He gaits beautifully and is a blast to ride. He's not for a novice rider, because he has lots of energy, personality and enthusiasm. But he will put out a lot of effort and would make a great horse for trails, ranch work, or even to finish for the show ring. He has a ton of potential. He is only being sold because his owners are just beginning to ride and need a quieter horse without quite as much "go."

Contact me for more information!

Open House 2010 was a success!

2010-05-16T08:47:00.004-06:00

Thanks to everyone who came to the Open House yesterday! I had a blast, and I hope everyone else did as well.

Early in the day we conquered the obstacle course of games meant to challenge and teach partnership between horse and rider. All of the obstacles could be completed from the ground or under saddle, and many of the participants did both! The horses were so impressive handling all of the games we threw at them. I hardly saw a skitter or a jump all day! I took some pictures and will post a couple here, but search us out on facebook (Three Rivers Horse Training) to see the complete album!

The afternoon was full of lessons and thought provoking questions. We had a variety of breeds, experience level (both horse and rider) and issues to discuss. Kayla and her foxtrotter worked hard on building her confidence, and by the end of the lesson they were taking barrels at a gait like they weren't even there! We worked hard on giving Kayla some ideas of how she could bring her horse's mind back to her when he got distracted...even though he is such a big horse and she is such a small girl! She figured out it was all about keeping him busy and giving him a job. And she did it all with a smile. I think they both felt better by the end of the hour.

Julianna and her older Arabian, Buck, were definitely a hit and inspired a lot of great questions. Buck was a little nervous when he came in because of the audience, and it was a great opportunity to discuss how to be a leader without being a bully, and to let him find the confidence to pay attention to Julianna, and not be so preoccupied with everything else going on. Then they worked both from the ground and from the saddle on their walk-trot transition, because Buck is known for his uncomfortable trot, and we knew there was a nice, happy trot in their somewhere! I think the thought that was left at the forefront of everyone's mind after this lesson was how to keep things about the horse's mind, and keeping things soft and focused, and not get preoccupied by a "goal." In this case, that goal might have been "get Buck to TROT," since we were working on transitions, but as Julianna demonstrated it was more about getting Buck to be soft, focused and attentive to her energy, since we were looking for a specific sort of trot, not just any old two-beat gait. So she had to do some stuff that might not even seem like it had anything to do with the trot! But it definitely did! On the flip side, Julianna had to present that trot, and everything else for that matter, in a way that was clear and consistent, so Buck didn't get locked up and feel like he was being forced into that trot.

Next up came Nicki and her Rocky Mountain Gaited Horse colt, Chessie. Nicki is a very experienced rider trying to "reinvent" herself with this colt, and she has only ridden him about 3 times since I started him last fall, so they are in the process of getting to know each other. But, you wouldn't have known it by watching them together! We worked on some exercises she can work on to build her timing and Chessie's softness, like stepping his hindquarters over and nice soft bends through the round pen. We also worked on how to find that gait that the Rockies are known for, and took a lot from Julianna's lesson as we worked on getting Chessie to a big walk and back to a small walk using just Nicki's body, and then eventually getting that walk big enough that he "found" his gait. Once again, we found it wasn't about forcing that gait, but letting him happen upon it, and then being happy even if we just got a couple steps of it. Nicki and Chessie are heading out to the hills to ride, and so I have a feeling that by the time they get back, Chessie will be gaiting up a storm without either of them even thinking about it!

Last was Joe and his Arabian cross horse, Tuffy. They have worked together a lot in all sorts of "real-life" settings, from moving horses to feed lot work. Joe and Tuffy just went to work one day, and four years later Joe felt like there was something missing in their partnership. We worked on breaking down what looked like "pushiness" on Tuffy's part, and found that a lot of it was anxiety and insecurity, since Tuffy didn't really have any clear boundaries from Joe. So, we started breaking things down even further, so that Joe could work on being able to change and direct Tuffy's mind, even if it was just a little look from one direction to another, or a few steps back without pulling on the halter. Within 15 minutes that horse looked happier, and Joe was no longer fighting off Tuffy pushing and rubbing all over him. Joe then got in the saddle and we worked on getting Tuffy to break at the pole, raise his back and soften to a feel on the reins, instead of bracing against it. Tuffy got pretty worried there for a minute, because he thought in the last 4 years he had trained Joe pretty well, and all of a sudden the game changed! But they came through it, and the lesson I think we all walked away with was that things have to be consistent to be important, and even when Joe wasn't thinking about "practicing" these things, he had to still embody them, or Tuffy wouldn't get the message.

Well, thanks again for stopping by, and if you missed it I hope you will stop by and say hello sometime soon!

Meet Doc: Awesome AQHA gelding for sale

2010-05-06T10:57:00.007-06:00

Meet Doc!

Registered name Tiny Dollar Bar.

Doc is a 2006 AQHA gelding by JD Clarks Poco Bar and out of Rythm Tiny. He has Clarks Doc Bar, Poco Bueno, and other champions on his papers! Foundation breeding galore!

Doc is well started and has an excellent foundation. He has been ridden primarily out in the hills and is not spooky. He is ridden around gunshots, crazy cow dogs and birds being flushed under his feet and he handles it all in stride! Doc has very comfortable gaits and will go all day. He's easy going and mellow with an awesome disposition, but will get up and GO when asked. But, he can race all out next to another horse and then come down to a calm walk like nothing happened. Awesome prospect for roping or ranch work.

He has beautiful conformation, a big hip and a nice foot. He's easy to trim and pleasent to be around in general.

Call or email for more information! This guy needs a great home that will appreciate him. He really is a keeper!

Welcome!

2010-05-06T09:33:00.004-06:00

Hello friends!

We are a little over a week away from the spring Open House, and I hope you will all be able to stop by and say hello!

10am Welcome Hour
11am Play Hour: Obstacles and challenges in the indoor arena. $10 per horse
Noon Lunch: Bring a sack lunch a your questions!
1-6pm Afternoon Lessons $30 per hour
Auditors Free

Also, 10% off all horses for sale!

Call or email for directions.

Please make sure to call or email if you are planning on bringing a horse for a lesson, the play hour, or to be trimmed, shod or for a barefoot consultation. Remember, discounted barefoot trims at $25 per horse. Email Marty at martymaddalena@gmail.com for more information.

Also, remember that this will be a public event, so make sure your horses have been vaccinated, and please leave them at home if you have noticed a runny nose, cough or other signs of illness in the last few weeks. We all appreciate it!

Don't forget to bring a sack lunch and a chair if you plan on spending the day.

I hope you are all enjoying our snow and wind-filled beginning to May! Please forward widely. I appreciate your support and am looking forward to seeing you all!

--Alex