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January 2006 |
Dear Friends: December was a very busy month for
us here at the Virginia Natural Horsemanship Training Center,
as I'm sure it was for most of you. Aside from winding up
all our fencing projects here and working with clients
and horses, holiday time also brought
family to us as we celebrated the joy of the
season together, our first in our new home. The
new year is upon us now and we have lots of exciting new updates
to bring to you this month!
...the address I gave you guys is good. It took my buddy about nine days to get a package his grandmother sent him. That's faster than I thought it would take. Just so you know, there are no stores here AT ALL. So everybody has to rely on packages sent from home. Thankfully the 3rd Infantry Division guys [that we replaced] gave us all their left over stuff: mainly, toilet paper and snack food. They also left us a couple microwaves, TV's and DVD players. Their Lt. had like 30 care packages unopened, that were sent from his school and home town that he gave us. It was cool cause it felt kind of like x-mas. Even if all we got was toilet paper, hand sanitizer, beef jerky, and canned goods, it was still much appreciated. Right now, all I really need is a pillow, dust-off spray for my computer before it bites the dust, some Febreeze would definitely be good considering I live in a room full of guys who don't bathe or change clothes... that's really all I can think of. Any kind of food that won't go bad would be great. The food they give us here sucks so we've been living off vienna sausages, ramen, and beef jerky. That's about it for now. I love you guys and hope you had a great x-mas. Trevor I wanted to share that with you because a great number of you have called or emailed me, requesting Trevor's address in Iraq so that you, too, can send care packages. We now have his address there and it is as follows: Trevor's address in Iraq (written exactly like this): SPC Scott, Trevor A Co 1/506th INF 3rd Plt Camp Corrigedor APO AE 09381 Anything sent, as you can see, will be greatly appreciated, not just by Trevor, but also his buddies there who might not receive something from home and he can share with them. Don't send anything potentially perishable, but get as creative as you want! (We've taken care of sending the pillow and computer dust-off spray, etc. -- apparently, the second they open their laptop computers there, desert sand engulfs their computers -- yet email is one of their most crucial ties for touching base with home). We've also heard from other folks "in these trenches" that aside from food (always high on soldier's lists), they also appreciate receiving: wet wipes for bathing, off wipes (for insects), powdered drinks to hide the bad taste of water in their canisters, hand warmers, current event magazines to keep up with the U.S., non perishable individually wrapped candy to hand out to the enthralled Iraqi children who follow them around, etc. Let's see what we can do to send these soldiers some nice surprises from "home." You can also get additional ideas for what is needed "over there" by our soldiers via visiting the "Forgotten Soldiers Outreach" web site here: http://www.forgottensoldiers.org/donate-items_needed.shtml Feel free to "adopt" Trevor as "your soldier" for the duration of his deployment in Iraq. The more the merrier; it keeps our soldiers' morale boosted. And visit my Trevor page on my web site as I'll be keeping that updated (Trevor is going to post up photos from Iraq that he has taken with his digital camera, as soon as he can get to it!): http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrevorScott.html Again, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all the immense support we feel from all of you. It matters greatly.
We now offer EquiPedic Saddle pads for purchase in our online store and at our training center here in Blacksburg, Virginia. EquiPedic Saddle Pads
The EquiPedic pad is an orthopedic, anti-slip, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, machine washable saddle pad. Combining a phase change material, called Holofiber, and the most advanced impact reduction material, Confor® material, with natural wool and non coated breathable 1000 denier Cordura eliminates saddle fit problems, increases oxygen, energy, muscle recovery and keeps your horse cooler when it's hot and warmer when it's cold!
EquiPedic offers a wide variety of Western and English pads for various disciplines, and all are available for sale here at the Virginia Natural Horsemanship Training Center. We stock a variety of the standard Western Pads (32" W x 30" L), and can have any of the other Western or English styles shipped directly to you at great prices, as well. To read more or order your EquiPedic Saddle Pad today, click here: https://scotttechgroup.securelook.com/SylviaScott/VNHTCProducts.htm#EquiPedic To learn more about proper saddle fit and why I feel the EquiPedic Pad is a vital part of keeping our horses most comfortable and performing at their best, click here: Horse Problem - Saddle Fit - How to tell if horse's saddle fits well and what to know about pad (http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips40.html)
Due to popular demand,
we now offer Virginia Natural Horsemanship Training Center
Gift Certificates which are redeemable for our training
products, services and clinics.
Virginia Natural Horsemanship Training Center gift certificates are available in an amount that you choose, and can be redeemed for Whispering Way™ books, training tools, clinic participation or even private natural horsemanship training sessions. Once ordered, a certificate with the name and amount that you choose will be e-mailed to you so that you may forward it on to the lucky recipient. The recipient can then apply the certificate towards orders placed here on-line by entering the certificate number along with their other ordering information. The certificates may also be used in person here at the Virginia Natural Horsemanship Training Center towards payments for products, services, clinic participation or training. Certificates may be redeemed within twelve months of the date of issue. To check out our Gift Certificates and order one today, click here: https://scotttechgroup.securelook.com/SylviaScott/VNHTCProducts.htm#GiftCertificates
Shortly we will be announcing our Virginia Natural Horsemanship Training Center Whispering Way™ Clinic Series which will begin in spring and run throughout the year. We have lots of exciting clinics planned here in our series, including other top talented Natural Horsemanship guest fellow Clinicians we are lining up. We will keep you posted! As mentioned earlier, we have wound up our last major project here at the VNHTC: building fences. We figured out that we've now put in over 2 miles of wood fencing here! Since I've received a lot of emails requesting more information on how to build wood fencing for horses, based on our vast experience here, we have answered this question now in my Q&A section on my web site here, for anyone who might be interested: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips101.html - we learned a lot in those fencing trenches and wanted to share what we've learned (sometimes the hard way)! We all can learn from each other!
Horse Training Thought For the Month - Natural Horsemanship Tenet Approach the horse from a complete feeling of acceptance. Even problem horses deserve to be understood and accepted "as they are" for a start. Approach your horse, all horses, even problem horses, with a mindset that you accept "where they are," even when you intend to help them. I hear so many horse problems, in email, in person, at clinics, etc., and so often I hear the horse negatively labeled because they have a problem. But if you approach the horse with an opposite route, not negatively labeling, but kindly acceptingly, no matter where they are in their training/understanding learning curve so far, your mind is in the right place for helping them. Don't sweat the small stuff and it's all small stuff is one of my training -- and life -- mottos. "How do you remain so calm and patient when working with seriously troubled horses?" I get asked a lot when people see me work with a horse. And the answer is: I accept the horse completely "where he's at" and work to understand them, from their own viewpoint, so I can help them further. In fact, so that you, too, can achieve this state of mind at all times with horses, I highly recommend the book of that same name to help you to remain in that proper spot; not all inner training growth comes from horse books only, so get this book, it will help you more than you know right now as horse handlers: Don't Sweat the Small Stuff and It's All Small Stuff To learn how to train your horse yourself, step by step the natural horsemanship way, think about getting the Gentle Solutions book I co-wrote, which you can read more about and order here: https://scotttechgroup.securelook.com/SylviaScott/VNHTCProducts.htm#GentleSolutionsBook Check These Out! Time to sign your child up for summer
horse camp! - Believe it or not, though we're all still
in the dead of winter here in the U.S. (though it's summer
elsewhere in some parts of the world), now is the
time to start investigating summer riding camps for your
horse enthusiast child. According to Jan Aalt van den Hoorn,
coordinator for Spirit Lake Wilderness Resort horse camp
in Yukon, Canada:
"You can't book too soon! This allows for proper planning travel and preparation. But, of course in the real world things can come in the way of travel planning. Which is why I would suggest booking within 6-4 months before the date of the horse camp you would want to attend. This still gives you lots of time for planning. Some factors that also apply would be where the horse camp is located and of course how quickly their camps are booked up. We have a lot of repeat kids coming back the next year to our camp and also kids signing up that are currently taking lessons. So you may want to go ahead and contact the camp operator, even if you are not planning to book it yet, to find out how much availability there is." For more information on Spirit Lake Wilderness Resort horse camp: Call Toll Free: 1-866-739-8566 - Phone: 1-867-667-7268 - Web site: http://www.spiritlakeyukon.com For a comprehensive list of more riding camps for kids, visit my Horse Camps page on my web site here: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/HorseCamps.html Also Time to Plan Your Summer Equine Activities (and make reservations now)!
Horse Vacations - Want to take an exciting horse vacation this coming summer or later this year? Now is the time to begin planning and making reservations! For a list of dude and guest ranches, horse treks and other exciting horse-focused adventures in the U.S. and around the world, check out Horse Vacations on my web site here: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/HorseVacations.html Rockin'horse productions and RFD-TV team up to broadcast the World Championship Blacksmiths' Competition - Press Release: December 24, 2005 -- Albany, NY -- rockin'horse productions, the exclusive US media rights holder to the World Championship Blacksmiths' Competition (WCBC), is proud to announce it has joined forces with Rural America’s Most Important Network, RFD-TV to broadcast the first ever televised presentation of this highly acclaimed global sporting event. The competition will air on RFD-TV during the first two weeks of March 2006 as a two-part series presented by the worldwide leaders in hoof care; MUSTAD, St. Croix Forge, and Capewell Horsenails. For the first time in its 26 year history the WCBC, a major highlight of the world famous Calgary Stampede, will no longer be hidden from American viewers. The United States of America will be able to see for themselves the heart-pounding, head-to-head battle to be the best in the world of blacksmithing as 80 experts from all over the globe, as far away as Australia, Ireland, and the United Arab Emirates compete for top honors straight from the Big Top Tent at this "Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth." As Canada's largest annual event, renowned all over the globe and eliciting over 1.2 million in attendance, hosts Susan Kayne and Andrew Elsbree, CJF go behind-the-scenes, bringing viewers highlights of the heart, strength, and skill found at this exciting world-class competition. Often referred to as the "Olympics of Blacksmithing," masters from all over the world compete to be the most proficient in this demanding sport. The top blacksmiths battle head-to-head, as they are tested on a variety of skills to expose their talents. Ranging from forging, horseshoeing, and team events, judges decide who deserves to earn the coveted title of World Champion. “Using TV to showcase the farrier, is truly a Holiday gift to farriers around the globe, it is a total celebration of their skills and abilities unveiled to American public for the very first time,” enthusiastically said Kayne. So much of early America depended on the craft of the blacksmith for construction and travel, and through rockin'horse's premier coverage of the WCBC, America is able to re-connect with their roots, glorified right in the comfort of their own homes. "Shows featuring the heritage of rural America have proven to be very popular with RFD-TV's national television audience," stated Mike Hansen, Executive VP and Director of National Sales for RFD Communications, Inc. "For the first time, viewers will be able to watch blacksmithing competition from this top event, which has been most requested. Mustad considers its sponsorship of the WCBC coverage to be a great investment in the global blacksmithing community. It will serve to elevate the recognition of this important craft, trade, and skill. "At Mustad, we believe in the importance of improving hoof care knowledge and skills for horse owners, horseshoers and veterinarians, said Carlos Lara, president of MUSTAD USA, "what rockin'horse is doing is very unique. It has taken the lead in educating the equine public on the role the farrier plays in the performance horse industry, and in the case of the WCBC show, the impact blacksmithing has had in the building of America. We are very pleased to offer our continued support for their efforts." "Through this first ever televised blacksmithing competition we can show viewers the work and art of the blacksmith, a trade that has turned the hands of time for centuries and today serves as the foundation to the multi-billion dollar performance horse industry,” said Susan Kayne, creator and producer of the show. "The World Championship Blacksmiths' Competition is absolutely the finest opportunity that farriers have ever had to showcase the breadth of their accomplishments and arduous work to the entire public arena. This is so much more than a competition; it is the beginning of a perfect relationship between entertainment and education through both the blacksmithing industry and television. This groundbreaking opportunity celebrates the absolute best blacksmiths in the world, and educates both the horse owner and the general public on everything farrier. The WCBC has stood 25 years strong, but as we forge our way into the future with rockin'horse productions, this next quarter century is sure to be a true mark of excellence," said Marshall Iles, CJF. About rockin’horse productions (r’hp): Founded in 2003, r’hp produced the first ever award-winning equine lifestyle series on broadcast TV in UNBRIDLED with Susan Kayne. r’hp is a fully integrated media company serving equine industry leaders around the world. For more information visit: www.rockinhorse.tv About RFD Communications, Inc. – Founded in 2000, the company launched the first 24-hour television network for rural America (RFD-TV), and is now serving over 28 million homes as a basic channel on DISH Network, DIRECTV, Mediacom cable, and NCTC cable systems. In July/2003, RFD-TV The Magazine began publishing a program magazine which is now mailed to over 70,000 subscribers on a bi-monthly basis. The company is based in Nashville, Tennessee. For more information visit www.rfdtv.com About MUSTAD – Founded over 150 years ago, MUSTAD and its family of companies are the world leaders in equine hoof care manufacturing a wide-range of superior, high-quality products; farrier tools, pads, studs, hoof supplements, Tuff Stuff, Thrush Buster, therapeutic shoes and horse shoe nails. For more information visit www.mustadinc.com For a Press Kit, samples and pictures or to schedule an interview contact: SARAH BLOOM rockin'horse productions TELEPHONE: 518 966 5935 EMAIL: RockinHorseMedia@aol.com Horse Rescues/Rehab Centers - I'm a big supporter of equine rescues. Periodically I plan to briefly mention some here. Visit them, their web sites, get in touch with them, see what you can do to help. And if you are looking for a new horse, rescues are sometimes the best place to start your search. Adopting a horse and giving it a wonderful new home can be a positive life-altering experience. And volunteering time at a rescue can help you to learn more about horses -- horses are the best teachers there are! This month, I'd like to call attention to Eagle Valley Horse Rescue in Eagle, Colorado. Visit their web site at: http://www.eaglevalleyhorserescue.org/ For a list of other equine rescues around the country/world, visit here: http://horsewelfare.8k.com/rescues.html or here: http://www.equinerescue.com/staterescues.html Personal Ponies - I wanted to point out a unique non-profit organization dedicated to providing children with special needs a tiny Shetland Pony to love and care for -- completely without charge. Personal Ponies began with the dream of their founder, Marianne Alexander (and just two ponies), to do something special for special kids. As a breeder of Connemara Ponies and Irish Sport Horses for more than thirty years, Marianne wanted to give something back -- and when she discovered the incredible sensitivity of the UK Shetland Pony to children with disabilities, and saw first hand how they changed children's lives, she knew what she had to do. Personal Ponies mission is to make MAGIC in children's lives, to bring smiles and joy in a most unusual way. They believe (and have seen it happen over and over again!) that the lives of children with special needs are immeasurably enriched by having a small equine companion to love and care for -- so this is what they do! Their ponies are uniquely suited in temperament and size to small children, and are provided to families completely without charge -- their version of the Velveteen Rabbit. To learn more about this wonderful organization, visit the Personal Ponies web site at: http://www.personalponies.org/ Horse
Problem Questions From You & Question - Horse afraid of clippers
and scissors (noisy things): Hello Sylvia. Firstly, love your web site and am thrilled to have found
it! :) My question is how do you go about desensitizing
a horse to clipping/trimming? I have a 17hh clydie cross
who is generally good to handle on the ground but hates
anything with noise, i.e. clippers, the sound of scissors
snipping, etc., etc. Should I approach this in the same
manner as his spray bottle dislike or do you have any further
advice that you can provide? Many thanks.
E.C., Hoon Hay, Christchurch, New Zealand Sylvia's Answer: Hi, thanks for writing. I would tackle this problem step by baby step, but backing up and desensitizing your horse first to plastic bag, first in your hand, then on the end of a training wand, because that will go a long, long way there, you'll see -- I teach how to do that here: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips78.html By the time your horse can handle that plastic flying all around him, and rubbed all over him anywhere, his fear bar will be raised tremendously. I myself (as I do with all horses in my training program) would want to also do some tarp desensitizing, because that too raises their fear bar to "noisy things" tremendously and helps build inner confidence in them -- I teach how you can do that here: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips84.html This is a "long way is the short way" approach, as we say in natural horsemanship. The time you take to back up and do that extra desensitizing, the right way, the easier the clippers and scissors issues will be forever. By the time you've accomplished the above, you'll have a braver, more self-confident horse and then you can reintroduce the clippers. For this lesson, start with one hand stroking the neck of the horse (keeping that hand on the horse at all times) while the other hand holds the clippers, but at first keep the clippers far out to the side of you, away from the horse. As you stroke the horse, have the other hand with the clippers just nonchalantly wave it around in the air repeatedly, far from the horse. Have no eye-to-eye contact throughout this lesson -- eye to eye contact is a pressure, and you want the horse relaxing there, not feeling pressured. Then start with advance/retreat, which is a real fine art. Perceive where the horse's threshold line is there (where he feels he needs to move, or the whites show in his eyes), and stay on the comfort side of that threshold line until you see he settles as you continue your clippers waving around; next, dart over that threshold line quickly but only about an inch, and retreat back just as quickly to where the horse felt safer. Return to waving it around away from the horse as you continue with stroking. Repeat. Don't push too far too fast, don't be goal focused; be retreat focused. It's via the retreat that horses gain inner confidence. All horses learn from the release of pressure what it is we want, not the pressure itself, so get your retreat timing very quick there for "right answers." The right answer here is: stand quietly when in the presence of the clippers. Slowly the threshold line will be redrawn closer and closer to the horse as you use this advance/retreat route. Quickly you'll be able to touch the horse with the clippers, but just as quickly retreat. If the horse is getting increasingly tense there, set the clippers down and return to bonding techniques to relax him; most specifically ask for the head down (head down is relaxed horse; high head is tense horse, where the head goes, the mind follows) and get your finger in the horse's mouth, feathering the tongue, to get him working his mouth to relax more -- I go more into these bonding/relaxing techniques in more detail here: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips58.html Using advance/retreat, and the bonding/relaxing techniques when needed there, slowly the horse will allow the clippers to touch him, but I would advise touch him in the saddle area of his back first, not the mane or ears (if that's where you are clipping). Most horses will best accept something strange to them in the saddle area of their back first. Use your fingernails to give him a pleasureful scratching there as the clippers touch him briefly, so he can file it mentally as something that feels good, not scary. Do lots of retreats. You cannot do too many retreats in my training belief system! Once he accepts that in the back area, linger longer and longer between retreats until he accepts that completely. Next, follow the same advance/retreat procedure to redraw the threshold line up his body to the area you want to clip. Rubbing as you go. Again: be retreat focused, not "get the trimming job done" focused. The time you take to do multiple retreats there this time will shorten the time in all future clipper trimming sessions -- and, done right, should be fixed for good in just this one session. I fix this problem all the time and indeed it usually takes only that one session, done correctly, to fix the problem for good. If your retreat timing is quick, retreating before the horse feels impelled to retreat, you'll get there faster, so it's all about heightened perception, tuning deeply into him, and retreating fast before he does and you'll get there. Keep it pleasureful, nurturing, help the horse to relax himself if he's not capable of doing that for himself, using the relaxing techniques and you'll get there fast. Use the same methods as above for the scissors issues. It's all the same. All desensitizing is about excellent advance/retreat timing/perception. And here's a link to help you with the spray bottle fears: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips92.html Don't push too far too fast and read the horse well so that you retreat before he retreats and you'll get there. These are common problems, by the way, but grasping what desensitizing is all about, and following the above respectful nurturing approach, using advance/retreat correctly, gets them past these problems quickly, you'll see. Try all that and keep me posted how it goes. Happy to help! Question - Horse showing resistance when ridden: Hi Sylvia! I found your web site and am really glad I did. I just purchased your training package as well because I believe in natural horsemanship, not manhandling or training gimmicks. I have a 3-1/2 yr. old AQHA filly. I bought her in April of this year and ride roughly 4-5 days a week. We are training her for reining. She has been super responsive and a delight until recently. She will be willing enough to go into the arena, but not as willing as before. She will go through the flexing and bending exercises fine, moving her hip and shoulders at the walk is fine. But when I ask her to trot off she is not as willing, but she will and stays in it fine. She'll move into the lope from the trot fine too. But when I ask for the lope from the walk or standstill she'll simply STOP moving, or move off to the right (never to the left) in an evasive way. I can raise my right hand with my right rein and tap her hip with it and get her to go, but she'll put her ears back at that point. I can get her to do it but I don't feel like I have a truly cooperative partner. I'm wondering if she's uncomfortable somewhere, or if she's simply resisting me for another reason. Help!! Please. And...thank you! S.H. - Bronson, FL Sylvia's Answer: Hi S. Thanks for writing (and the order). It looks like to me, from here, that there is potentially pain involved and that's maybe causing the sudden resistance there. I would definitely thoroughly rule that out first before assuming it's behavioral. I'd suggest this: get a vet check and especially have the vet check her back for pain/issues there, as well as everything else (mouth, etc.). Have your vet do a complete wellness exam, letting him/her know the problems you're having there so he/she can look for certain potential physical issues there. Also, let me direct you to a link on my web site in particular so you can read about checking for proper saddle fit and more about good pads (vs. bad pads -- I'm a fanatic about using the right pad, as sometimes that can make all the difference in the world comfort wise for the horse), but you can read more in depth about that here: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips40.html Also...read this link on my site about potential bit issues and what I recommend there (because a horse can also balk like that if they have mouth or bit pain/discomfort issues): http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips5.html If all that rules out, then you are left to assume that this is a training issue. On one note, she looks to me like from here that she might have an eye-changing problem that left unfixed (from the ground first) can translate upward into saddle often like you're seeing there. Let me direct you to a link on my site about eye-changing problems, what that's about and how to fix it (safely on the ground first): http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips65.html - I just have a feeling that might be what's going on there maybe. But do rule out potential physical causes first, every direction, because a horse in pain/discomfort can't concentrate on lessons properly, as you can imagine.
Question - How to feed colt so mother won't get into the food: Hi Sylvia. We have a colt that is a week old, and have read that he
can start eating grain now? And alfalfa in several weeks?
Is there a container he can eat out of so the mother doesn't
get his food?
We have been handling him daily, picking up his feet, stroking him, and we have them separated from the other horses, he and his mom. We've noticed when we take them out of their separate stall, the mare on the lead rope, he runs crazy all over the place! We thought he would stick close to her, but he is having so much fun running around that he is difficult to get back into their "special place." I suppose we should begin halter training, teaching him to yield to pressure already, and training with a lead rope, as he is getting harder and harder to bring back after running wildly around feeling his oats? Help! V.R. - Internet Sylvia's Answer: Hi V. Thanks for writing. What a funny picture that sounds like! Foals usually do stick right by their mother, like glue. How funny he's running around like that. You might be wise to put them in a larger paddock now, not the stall, so he doesn't get so bottled up energy wise. In the wild, or even in domestic herds, foals run around and play with other foals to burn up that kid-energy, in between nursing and napping. While the moms keep a close eye on them. At the vet school here in Blacksburg, VA (the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine) every spring they have about a dozen foals born there, part of their educational breeding program, and those mares and foals are turned out all together from the get-go, a maternity herd so to speak. It's so fun to drive by and watch all the foals playing with each other every day, even right at your foal's age, while the mares graze. Is the cutest sight in the world. Even more amusing to drive by mid afternoon and see every single foal on the ground sound asleep near their mothers. The mother will teach the baby how to eat, I wouldn't worry too much about that. Mother's milk is still the best thing for foals at that age. You asked about feeding a foal grain so the mother can't get to the food. I was in a feed store recently and ran across a "foal feeder," that has adjustable bars, designed so the foal can eat the grain, but the mother can't get to it. I went on the Internet and found links to this type of foal feeder and wanted to direct you to them -- here they are: On Valley Vet: CLICK HERE PetVetSupply: CLICK HERE and another one: CLICK HERE And I ran across this interesting article about "Creep Feeders": http://ianrpubs.unl.edu/horse/g1276.htm Just wanted to pass that along to you for whatever it is worth to you! And yeah, I would get busy teaching him how to lead soon. Just be careful of the neck, not pulling on that hard as baby horse necks are pretty fragile. I have a link on my web site that goes over what you can be doing with your foal training wise: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips15.html Another email from V.R. a couple of weeks later - Question - Other horses aggressive to mare/new colt & what to do about underweight new mother mare: We have had our mare and her colt separated from our other two horses. The other two horses are a gelding and another mare. We have tried on several occasions to reintroduce the mare and colt to the other two horses but the other two horses are aggressive. We can't tell at this point if they are being this way toward the mare or the colt! The mare is protective and we end up separating the mare and the colt again. We have only tried to put them all out in the same area twice. The last time we tried putting them all together the mare with the colt got kicked and hurt. She went back into her stall with the baby and laid down and didn't want to get up. I am afraid she will end up getting hurt badly while protecting the colt. Is there an answer to this dilemma? When we turn out the gelding and mare, we have to put the mare and colt in a stall and vice versa. What do you recommend? Another question I have is the mare with the colt looks too thin in her rib area and her mane feels like hay. She is palomino. I used to brush her mane all the time. It was so beautiful, but now it is choppy and hard; this is recent. I know it has been below freezing and dry, but her mane is suddenly choppy like she has lost a lot of it. Could this be from the weather? Also I am concerned because of her ribs showing. Her belly is very full, producing a lot of milk, but her mane and ribs bother me, any ideas? We are feeding her a pound and a half of 14% protein with an alfalfa mix and good hay all thru-out the day. Thanks Sylvia, I always ask you when I have a problem!! V.R. - Internet Sylvia's Answer: Hi V. I would absolutely keep the mare and colt separated from the herd for as long as it takes. They are clearly not ready to join the others and you need to see that, listen to that, and keep them protected. Don't worry, it won't be forever. Colts grow fast and will be big before you know it and the mare will get less protective and relaxed about it as the colt gets bigger. Work to introduce them to the herd over time but over a fence line. Re the weight/mane, etc. problem. This is about nutrition and that's indeed what a nursing mare who isn't getting the proper nutrition will look like. I would advise immediately putting her on a supplement feed that is designed for a nursing mare, like Triple Crown Growth Formula (http://www.triplecrownfeed.com/growth.php) or Purina's "Strategy" (http://horse.purinamills.com/products/prd_Strategy.html) I particularly like the Purina line of equine feeds and is what I feed all the horses at my training center here, as well as my own horses, and it is the line of feeds that the vet school here recommends as well. The Purina Strategy is designed for the lactating mare as you'll see here: http://horse.purinamills.com/products/build.html (scroll down that page to "lactating mare" and "nursing foal"). And make sure she has free access to hay 24/7, around the clock as well. Not just some at structured "feeding times" which horses don't do well with that regimen and not how they are designed; they are designed, as grazing animals, to have access to roughage at all times. I'm a big believer in supplements, not just feeding hay/grass. Especially in wintertime it is a must, I feel! Just to give you an idea of what I feed my own horses (daily for sure in winter, aside from free access to good quality grass hay at all times): My 2 older horses (aged 25 and 23) get daily: Purina Equine Sr. (they come in 50 lb bags), plus a small scooper of "Grand Complete" (http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?pgguid=30e0802e-7b6a-11d5-a192-00b0d0204ae5), hoof builder supplement (one scooper) -- there are all kinds of good brands for that. And I add, when the temperatures are around freezing, a palm-sized helping of table salt, which helps them to drink more water which is crucial, especially during winter (so they don't winter colic) and especially important for a nursing mare to keep drinking (the salt makes them thirsty and makes them drink more). My younger (5 years old) horse gets all the above, except I feed him Purina's Equine Adult, instead of Equine Sr. Incidentally, you can feed as much Purina equine pellets as the horse wants to eat; it is a complete feed. When they're underweight, that would mean probably 3 large scoops (those big size scoopers you can get at any feed store - or get here: Plastic Feed Scoops), or more if she'll eat it in one sitting. Notice how much it takes to fill her up in one feeding and feed her that amount until you see her start to walk away (leaving some), and adjust accordingly. Once her weight is up to where it should be (no pronounced ribs when you rub along her side), you can then maintain her at just one scoop a day of the feed with the other supplements mixed in and she'll be fine on that. All horses I have in for training get the same as what I described. And it makes all the difference in the world. Very quickly you see results. I have one horse I took in for training here a few weeks ago. He arrived a little bit underweight and his coat and mane/tail were dull looking and he was a bit stressed out in general as well. 3 weeks later on the above feeding regimen and already his weight is where it should be and his coat is so bright and shiny, as well as his tail and mane and he's very relaxed/content now. Also, since your horse is so underweight (you shouldn't be able to feel ribs that much/like that), I would advise also supplementing daily with "Weight Builder" (http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?pgguid=2e87bf32-7b6a-11d5-a192-00b0d0204ae5). One tiny scoop a day of Weight Builder put into her feed mixture and she'll gain weight real fast you'll see. Very fast, within a couple of weeks, a month tops. My own old horse Gabe (25) is a hard keeper in winter sometimes if I don't add Weight Builder into his feed mixture, which I do especially in winter and he keeps weight on nicely. The above supplements, given daily, will get your mare plumping up, growing nice shiny thick fur for winter, and her mane and tail getting lusher and thicker as well. Having this foal in winter (which isn't when nature designed horses to give birth ...nature designed them, in the wild, to give birth in spring) just is taking a lot out of her physically, so do get real pro-active there, take my supplement advice and you'll see a turnaround real fast there. What I advise for now/winter time when it's real cold out is give her all the above, mixing it all in a feed bowl together and then running hot water in it to make a hot mash. This will warm her up and that'll help her metabolism overall as well. When it's cold out like it is here right now, I like to feed them the above supplements (hot mash) late at night, after dark, because that sends them into the night warmed up and happy. Incidentally, someone emailed me recently asking what to do for horses that tip over their bowls during feeding. Here at my training center, we have these feed bowls so they cannot be flipped over: 3-Ring Fortex Rubber Feed Tub - we use double end clip/snaps to clip them into the corner of a stall floor and no horse can flip them over! So, that's my advice there!
Question - Introducing new horse to new pasture mates: What would you do? The horse I wrote to you about recently, well, I haven't been able to ride for 2 weeks due to lameness. I think she is getting kicked or something in the new pasture she is in. I realize that the horses establish their pecking order when new horses are introduced. She turned up lame a day or two after first being put into this very large pasture with 5 or 6 other horses. I watched her and the lameness began to get better after a couple days, not hot spots or obvious other reasons for lameness. After a week she looked ready to go again. I was excited to ride her that weekend, showed up, and ughhhhh! Lame again! This is the 2nd week and second time she is lame. I have observed her and she is not dominant at all, and was completely excluded from the herd for the first week. This week only one horse is showing her companionship. This is the second pasture she has been in since leasing her and the first was no problem, no injuries. We moved her because the other was smaller and crowded. I can't watch her like this, she seems unhappy. I feel like it is now really hindering our momentum we had using your wonderful techniques. I am unfamiliar with the large ranch problems since I always had the same horses growing up. Do you just ride it out? Thanks again. R.B. - Hauula, Hawaii Sylvia's Answer: Hi R. I get asked questions in this particular problem category a lot, so I decided to add that up into my Q&A/Horse Problem section on my web site, and I included photos of a horse I have in for training and how he got introduced to my "herd" here -- you can read all that, and the solution to this problem here: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips99.html
Question - Horse won't allow mounting: Ma'am, In June we moved my 8-year-old Quarter House mare and my daughter's 7-year-old Buckskin gelding from our boarding and riding location in Virginia to our property in Pennsylvania. The gelding has always been diffident about being mounted, but is amenable to being ridden. Shortly after our arrival, he became impossible to mount. He does not fight being saddled, or taking a bit and bridle, but we cannot mount him. We tried the approaches you recommend on your web page, and even the methods in your book. To no avail. The gelding is gentle, curious, and friendly, and has no other behavioral problems. Once he's mounted, he's a gem to ride. Can you help us get back on board? Please! Thanks for your help and support. H. K. - Sidman, PA Sylvia's Answer: Hi H. Thanks for writing. Since you've already tried (sounds like) what I show here: Cinchy Horse & Mounting Problems - Horse overreacts to cinching & mounting process: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips12.html and if you are absolutely sure you are not dealing with ill-fitting saddle/back pain, which I go into here: Saddle Fit - How to tell if horse's saddle fits well and what to know about pad: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips40.html, then you are going to have to get assertive with him about this. Try this: First...make sure when you are mounting that you are drawing the head to the inside, turned toward you so that he can't go forward, only turn into you in a circle if he moves. But the second he moves off there when you've started your mount, take the lead rope or reins and jerk them down repeatedly with a very loud "Shhhhhh" sound, and force the horse to skedaddle backwards many steps there. The jerking downward repeatedly alone will trigger the horse to step back, but keep going, keep jerking and use the Shhhhh sound which means "stop it." Pause. Stand there quietly and let the horse digest what just happened, what he just did wrong there. Important to give the horse some moments to just think, nothing happening, you just staring at them quietly with full eye-to-eye contact. Via thinking, they learn. Watch for the mouth working; that means: "I understand." Then repeat the mount. Horses hate to be sent backwards fast like that and with the loud "Shhhh" sound thrown in there, this will begin to make the right thing easy, the wrong thing hard, as we say in natural horsemanship. Life is easy and quiet for him when he stands still and politely for mounting. Life gets pretty annoying for him suddenly if he moves off rudely when mounting. That's his choice there you are posing before him. Stay calm, don't get mad, just react there rotely, consistently. But I advise breaking this down into smaller baby steps. Find out the threshold point where he tends to move off. Maybe that's when you just raise your leg getting ready to put in the stirrup, or some other point. Find that threshold point and when he moves at that point, discipline him like I just described. Don't worry, it doesn't hurt the horse, but just reminds him who is the leader here and who is expected to be the follower. See...horses follow an instinctive dictate that goes like this: he who moves the other's feet is higher up on the pecking order and therefore the leader. He's learned to move your feet via him moving off when you try to mount. Take back the leadership and discipline him like I've described. But aim to break it down into steps. If he moves off when you just put a foot up in the air, discipline via sending him backwards, jerking the rope, using "Shhh," then pause, wait, stare, let him digest that. Try again. If you succeed past that initial threshold and he stands still for you just raising your foot now, do only that, then retreat the foot back to the ground, stroke and praise him for the right behavior there, "good boy!" Make a big deal that he did the right thing there, warmly, rewarding the baby step try for the first stage. See...you're showing him the black & white zone there. When he cooperates, stands quietly, he is rewarded, and life is also easier for him. When he crosses over into the black zone to unacceptable, unsafe-to-us behavior (moving off while mounting is quite dangerous), he will be put to work, and uncomfortably. In this case, try the sending him backwards like I've described. Then slowly build up to half mounts (just up on one stirrup) and if he cooperates, you retreat, climb back down, praise profusely. If he doesn't, send him backwards with the shhh sound. And so on. Follow me there? Break it down into smaller baby steps so that you are afforded the opportunity to reward him more times for "tries" in the right direction and to show him the white zone more clearly. Once mounted, dismount immediately (keep his head over to the inside, not releasing it until you are completely dismounted!). Repeat a dozen times, even mounting from both sides until he gets that: he must stand still. But break it down and you'll get there, you'll see. Don't be afraid to get assertive when horses are clearly misbehaving. Get assertive, not aggressive (there's a difference!). And when he's behaving, remove all pressure, go soft, warm in your demeanor so he finds the white zone a very comfortable place to be. All horses learn from the release of pressure what it is we want, not the pressure itself. So breaking it down gives you the opportunity also to give a lot more releases for right answer baby step tries on the horse's part so he connects the dots better there for expected behavior. Incidentally, after you've mounted, still keep his head turned to the inside with the drawn-in rein (off side rein slack) until you get your offside foot safely in the stirrup, and then before releasing that head, love on his turned-into-you face/head from up there; this is the "bonding/safety zone" that you want him to get familiar with, even look forward to. Then without allowing him to move forward, ask for the head to yield to the offside, loving on his now bent head on that opposite side from up there now. Ask for a step or two, then repeat, ask for the head over to the side. This shows him that you are in charge of his feet and also will shut off the idea in him that he makes the decisions about moving off once someone is mounted on him and that it's your job to decide about that. Try all that and he should get on a better track there. Let me know how it goes. Question - How long should stirrups be?: Hello Sylvia, Greetings from Tennessee...In your opinion how long should stirrups be? Some say as long you can put a couple of fingers between your crotch and saddle that's about right. Others say while on the ground stretch your arm out as far as it will go up the saddle and place the stirrup under your arm to see if it touches your armpit. I have tried that and if that's true my stirrups are too long. I am really interested in your opinion especially on this one. Also I have heard while in the saddle take your foot out of the stirrup and if the stirrup comes up to around your ankle while your leg is hanging/foot down that is about right. I know all this stuff is trivia, but what say you? S. L. - McMinnville, TN Sylvia's Answer: All of this is about right. Let me elaborate further. I find the arm extension test is one of the best starting points. Stretch the stirrup out, put it under your armpit and place your fingertips at the other end of the stirrup against the saddle and that should be approximately right for you; set the stirrups there for a start -- the theory there being: most people have the exact same length arm as they do length of leg = same measurement, though there are exceptions to this rule in some individuals of course. But that's at least a good starting point to set the stirrups at first, then adjust as necessary. Basically in saddle you want to be able to stand up in your stirrups for "posting," having enough room to rise like that. If you don't have that room to stand/rise up there, then your stirrups are probably too long. If you end up too high off the saddle, then your stirrups are too short. You should be able to fit a fist under your bottom when standing up in the saddle, but not much more than that. If you find your foot slips out of the stirrup too often accidentally when riding, then the stirrups are probably too long, go up a notch. Some people have different length legs, too, so if your foot is slipping out of one stirrup, not the other, either you're off balance yourself (leaning too far when in saddle one way or the other instead of remaining erect, balanced evenly in the middle of the horse, or you might have one leg slightly longer than another. If one leg is clearly longer than the other, then you'll have to adjust that stirrup accordingly. Incidentally, never shove your whole foot in the stirrup up to your heel, that could be dangerous if you ever came off the horse suddenly, because the foot could get hung up there and you'd be dragged (and seriously injured/trampled by the horse, even killed). Only stick your toes in there up to the balls of your foot, which will allow you to stand up in the stirrup for posting, but also allows you to quickly remove your foot if you ever needed to. Only ride in boots with heels for safety sake. One more "in case of emergency" tip -- if you ever do come off a horse accidentally and your foot does get hung up in the stirrup, just quickly roll onto your belly and that will release the foot. Hopefully, that will never happen, but good to know! Horse Problems Solutions in General - If you haven't discovered already on my web site, check out my Q&A/Horse Problems/Training Tips section for solutions to common horse issues. The problems are listed in alphabetical order by problem, and I add to the list regularly. You can check them out here: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips.html - If you have a horse problem that you do not see listed up there, feel free to email me and I will get back to you as soon as I can. Training Success Letters of the Month - Read latest successes stories with our Natural Horsemanship Training Program - Click here: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/LettersOfTheMonth.html Past Virginia Natural Horsemanship Training Center Newsletters Are Archived Here: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/News&Press.html
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add you onto our list: Announcements Reigning Road to the Horse champion Clinton Anderson will be on hand at the 2006 event to present his colt starting and advanced riding demonstrations Saturday and Sunday February 25 and 26, 2006. Each demo will be held as soon as doors open and before the Road to the Horse challenge begins each day (7:00 a.m. on Saturday and 8:00 a.m. on Sunday). Be there to learn from Anderson, then watch as Craig Cameron, Van Hargis, Martin Black and Stacy Westfall vie for a chance to claim their own Road to the Horse championship title. 2006 Road to the Horse Colt Starting Challenge In Murfreesboro, Tennessee, February 25-26, 2006 - emceed by top equine radio host Rick Lamb, of The Horse Show and The Horse Show Minute Tickets are on Sale! For more information, visit the Road to the Horse web site at: www.roadtothehorse.com Check Out These Other Natural Horsemanship Web Sites Since I firmly believe we all can learn from each other, I will periodically direct folks to the web sites of other fine NH trainer colleagues of mine, where more can be learned. Check out these when you get a chance:
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Horse Training and Instruction Liability Release The information in this email is provided by the Virginia Natural Horsemanship Training Center, LLC, ( hereafter called VNHTC) under the following terms and conditions. By making use of this VNHTC email and/or any referred-linked web sites or any of the information that they contain, you hereby agree to the following: RELEASE and WAIVER: If you use this email information or NaturalHorseTraining.com web site (hereafter called NHT) or other referred-linked sites, you agree to release Virginia Natural Horsemanship Training Center, LLC, everyone involved with the NHT site, or others referred, from all claims of and liability for, damage, death, injury or loss related in any way to VNHTC/NHT. You agree to indemnify fully VNHTC/NHT from all claims of, and liability for, damage, death, injury or loss to others with whom you share VNHTC/NHT information. You agree to assume the risk of your own horse activities. You understand that horse riding, training and handling is a high-risk sport and endeavor, and you are participating and/or allowing trainer instructional participation at your own risk and/or trainer's own risk. You, HEREBY RELEASE VNHTC/NHT, Sylvia Scott, her family and heirs, from all claims, demands, action or cause of action of any kind or nature whatsoever, whether now known or ascertained, or which may hereafter develop or accrue you in favor of yourself, representatives or dependents, on account of or by reason of any injury, loss, or damage, which may be suffered by you or them, or to any horse or property, animate or inanimate, belonging to you or used by you, because of any matter, thing or condition, negligence or default whatsoever and you hereby assume and accept full risk of danger or any hurt, injury or damage which may occur through or by any reason or any matter, thing, or condition, by any person whatsoever.
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