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January 2007 |
Dear Friends: I hope this finds all of you rested and refreshed from your holiday vacation time. We enjoyed having all of our three children here with us to celebrate the holidays together. With our son Trevor, who is with the U.S. Army 101st Airborne, out of Iraq now, his year deployment there completed and him safely back in the States, this was a very special holiday celebration for us in particular as Trevor spent his 30-day leave with our family here in Virginia. With lots of family quality time here at our farm, we and our children had a wonderful, relaxing holiday!
As the new year gets launched, most of us start setting goals and resolutions, many of which involve our horses. I have been getting lots of emails from horse owners stating these goals and resolutions, usually involving the wish for a deeper and more positively productive relationship with their horse this year. And this is the very reason why I developed my Whispering Way 12-Step Total Training System DVD set. There I teach a step-by-step, very user-friendly program you can plug your horse into, to create the quiet, cooperative, trusting, willing horse we all envision having, while also simultaneously building leadership confidence in you, the owner. You can learn more about that new DVD set below. We are already getting positive feedback from horse owners who have purchased the set, one of which I'd like to share here with you now: Hi Sylvia. I will try to be brief, but let me take you to the start and where I am right now with my horse. When I bought my horse, it was mainly off of hype: his grandfather made it in the big time among the Tennessee Walkers. My horse had won several ribbons in the show ring. However, I could care less about that part of it. All I wanted him for was for trail/pleasure riding. Before I bought him I knew he needed some work done in his foundation. I could tell that the moment I got on him. So I didn't go into this thing blind. What I didn't know was he was worse than what I thought! The first time I had him at the saddle club by myself, he was very tense/head high and I couldn't even get on him. In fact, I was too scared to try! So I loaded him back up and went home and put him up, very disappointed. About a week later my son and I took my horse and my son's horse to the saddle club and to see what my horse would do if another horse was there. My horse was awful! He wouldn't mind a thing. He would not stop. He acted as though I didn't exist. I was very upset at this. All I could see was money going down the drain. I was wanting to get rid of him "NOW" but I knew that would be hard to do. So I settled down and decided to work on him and give him a chance. I then gave him three lessons in the round pen using your methods, and his demeanor began to change. I started bonding with him using your bonding techniques. He was yielding his head, etc. and I could tell he was starting to settle down. Then I got your DVD set, the Whispering Way 12-Step Total Training System, and started the lessons you teach there. Yesterday my son and a lady friend of ours wanted to go to the saddle club and ride some and they wanted me to go with them. I really didn't want to, but I decided to go anyway just to see if my horse had made progress. So far he was doing well. He was listening to me, etc. So I mounted him at the club and he did very, very, very well. I was so pleased at his progress from applying your program. He listened to me in the saddle. He stopped when I said to. I was so happy I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO FALL OFF with delight!! A lady who was with us then got on him, went around the ring (ring is huge) and his conformation was perfect. I can see how he won all those ribbons, etc. He was out of shape because this was the first time he has really been ridden since last winter. While I had him out, I used the one-rein stop to see if he would listen to me, and he turned his head to me perfectly and began to slow down. At that time all I wanted for him was to look at me when we were riding when I ask for the one stop rein. The foundation on the ground was already completed but this was my first time in the saddle without any practice. Again I was so happy. This horse has changed from dark to light from using your program. I can't believe it. Formerly, he wasn't worth the gun powder to shoot him with, I thought; that's how upset I was with him at first. But now he is a real sweetheart. Picking up his feet is not an issue now; in fact, you barely touch them and he will pick them up. Backing up in saddle: no longer an issue. I can tell on the ground (as you teach) what his problems are before you ever get in the saddle. I will try and complete all his training this week. Huge progress has already been made. You are a real "sweetheart" of a teacher! S. L. - McMinnville, Tennessee Check out and order today the Sylvia Scott Whispering Way™ 12-Step Total Training System! Or think about getting my Complete Package, which contains: my Round Pen Leadership DVD, my Whispering Way™ 12-Step Total Training System 3-DVD set, and all the tools (natural horsemanship halter/12' lead, extendable-retractable training wand, training string, and the handy pocket card that lists the 12 steps) that you need to train your horse yourself, the natural horsemanship Whispering Way!
Sylvia Scott
Check
These Out! New Zealand Riding Trek Adventure with Franklin Levinson - My good friend and natural horsemanship trainer/clinician colleague, Franklin Levinson, still has a couple of rider openings left for his upcoming riding adventure trek on New Zealand's spectacular South Island, scheduled for March 14-25. You can check out more details on Franklin's web site here: CLICK HERE Cholla the horse that paints - If you haven't already seen this, check it out! Cholla is a 20-year old mustang/quarter horse who is an amazing artist who paints! You can check out Cholla and his art work -- and even watch him paint -- here: www.artistisahorse.com Skidboot the Amazing Dog - Someone sent me this amazing, heartwarming film clip of Skidboot, an incredible dog owned by a Texas farrier -- check it out!: CLICK HERE Horse
Problem Questions From You & Question - Buying a First Horse: Hi Sylvia. Thank you for your newsletters, they are so nice. What a beautiful place you have, wow! We purchased a property of one acre. It is a big acre and flat and has a lot of potential. My dream of finally owning a horse one day soon may happen after all. I wonder if you can give any advice on buying a horse. I want a quarter horse/Arab mix, a gelding. Any ideas on what to look for? Definately I want a horse about 15.3 hands and with a nice temperament is a must. Thanks again, for everything. W. H. - Keremeos, British Columbia, Canada Sylvia's Answer: Hi W. Thanks for writing. Congratulations on moving in the direction of fulfilling your life dream! I know how exciting that must be for you now. Your vision on what type of horse to get sounds pretty good. You might aim for getting as your first horse a little bit older (over the age of 11) "been-there-done-that" horse to build your skills and confidence on as a first-time horse owner. If you are going to keep your horse on your new property, make sure he is not kept alone there! Horses are herd animals, strongly in need of herd companionship 24/7. More about that issue can be read here on my web site: CLICK HERE My best advice also is to always go check out a horse in person (never buy sight unseen) and spend time with that horse to make sure you have a "love connection." I do find, oddly enough, that the truth is: horses pick their people, not the other way around. Meaning: don't pick a horse that doesn't seem to be picking you -- that's where people tend to get themselves into trouble. And only in person can you see if that horse is picking you, seems drawn to you. Horses come with personalities, just like humans. You will mesh well with some, others you might not. So spend time with a horse you are interested in to see if your personalities blend together well and to see if the horse's personality is attracted to yours. Take your time to find the right horse. I also advise people to get a natural horsemanship trainer pre-purchase training exam, if you can, once you've found a horse you are interested in buying. A natural horsemanship trainer will well evaluate where a horse is at in his training and report honestly and accurately to you what you can expect there. Here is a list of natural horsemanship trainers to find one nearest you: www.naturalhorsetraining.com/FindNHTrainers.html -- and Canadian natural horsemanship trainers are listed here in this section: www.naturalhorsetraining.com/Canada-NHTrainers.html You might even think about working with a natural horsemanship trainer to find just the right horse for you. Also, always get an equine vet pre-purchase examination as well before buying a horse. This can save you a lot of potential grief & expense up the road, so is well worth it! I also have a few helpful links regarding buying a horse, here on the top of my "Horse Sale Sites" page on my web site that should help you further as well: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/HorseSaleSites.html Hope this helps, good luck to you there and enjoy the journey! Question - Oral-Fixated Horse: Hi Sylvia, I really like your web site. I use it as one of my closest resources. Here's my question: I have a very oral 3 1/2 year old gelding. (yes, this says a lot) He learns patterned behavior quickly. He has come a long way from trying to herd me with his mouth... I have used the "herd mare 3 second rule" along with round pen work to remedy this. (Send him away) Although he has some good respect for me now, he still quickly will take the halter into his mouth as I am slipping it onto his head. He will simply "hold" it there and wait. Since I can't continue to halter him like that, I take my finger into his mouth and "unhinge" his hold, he pops his mouth open for a few sec's and this is when I continue to halter him. I try very hard not to get frustrated but I have to tell you its annoying every time. Do you have any ideas for me? Here's another clue. He is not easy to supple up close. He protects his neck area but bends his ribs nicely. He was the youngest horse out of 5 older very dominant horses growing up. I have had him home now for 7 months. Also, I am quite sure that a snaffle bit will be easy to introduce! I have purchased a D-Ring with sweet iron rollers to keep it positive. When I introduced a full cheek snaffle (reg stainless steel mouth piece) he chewed away! ~His teeth have been checked!! Grateful for any advice, Sylvia. C. M. - Oregon Sylvia's Answer: Hi C. Thanks for writing. My husband's paint horse, Doc, has always been very mouthy too. I've found mouthy horses like that often seem to come from being weaned too early (like around 3-4 months old, instead of letting them wean more naturally past 6-8 months old, even older if a foal has a stronger need there) and I'm seeing a lot of horses out there like that lately, because some breeders are weaning too early. It's like their oral needs didn't get satiated long enough via nursing, so they remain very oral, pretty much the rest of their lives. It reminds me of kittens who are weaned too early; those kittens will suck on things (like your shirt when you're holding/petting them) for the rest of their lives. Nature allows mammal babies to satiate their sucking/oral needs via nursing, and they do outgrow that need naturally if left to nurse the right long enough length of time naturally, not ripped away from it too early. I have a link on my web site where I go a little more into this too-early weaning problem "out there":
Stallions/ungelded male horses are very oral, and nature designed them to be that way as part of their social communication. It's their job to continually be getting the mares' attention, to hopefully collect a harem. So oral tendencies in stallions are very normal. However, you can teach the horse he's not allowed to put that oral-fixated mouth on you, or anyone, or on your tack. If he grabs the halter in his mouth when you're trying to halter him, use a very loud "Shhhh" sound at the same time you jerk the halter there so it's uncomfortable for him to continue to do that. Send his feet backwards at the same time, if you can manage that. Make the right thing easy, the wrong thing hard. He'll better sort out then what tack he's not allowed to put in his mouth (the halter) and what tack he is (the bit). I'm always having to remind our paint Doc not to do that, too--grab the halter in his mouth, or the lead rope. I get very assertive at those times with a Shhhh sound (to mean "stop it") and quickly make him uncomfortable for doing that via jerking the halter or lead he has in his mouth and moving his feet backwards via that until he lets go. With oral horses like this (and I'm not talking about biting here necessarily, nor am I talking about cribbing, etc., but...the horse that continually has the urge to put their mouths on everything), you're never going to totally rid them of that propensity. They can't help it. Their mouth is like a hand appendage to them now and because they like to put their mouths on things, they're going to be constantly looking for something to put in their mouths. And many of these turn into "lock pickers," getting quite adeptly clever with their mouths. We've had to learn with Doc never to leave ANYTHING lying around or it will go in his mouth, to play with it (i.e., usually destroying it). Tack/grooming boxes, I have to keep an eye on while grooming or he'll try to grab stuff out of it. He already ripped all the screens off our barn windows because: he could. We have to hide well our trough scrub brushes/cleaning tools carefully, deeply under the troughs (that are up on wooden pallets) -- if a brush handle is sticking out there, bye bye brush, Doc'll find it and destroy it, playing with it with his mouth. We can't tie horses to a fence if Doc is on the other side of that fence either. He's gotten so clever with his mouth (it's like dexterous "fingers" to him) that not only can he quickly untie a quick release knot, but 1) he's figured out how to untie the quick release that we've "locked" via putting the end of the rope through the last loop, and 2) if that fails, he reaches behind a horse's ears and pulls off their halter completely. No kidding, he's figured all that out with his mouth. He'll remove fly masks off of other horses with his mouth; he'll remove blankets off of horses with his mouth, figuring out all the connectors there. He figured out how to unlatch pasture gates with his mouth and I'm talking about the kind of metal lock you have to push down with your thumb to open yourself, so we moved all gate locks out of his neck/mouth reach. It's very much like trying to baby proof for a human toddler, trying to stay one step ahead of his too clever, too oral mouth skills/fixations. Oh & he removes water buckets out of our kept-open barn stalls (our barn serves as a run in from several pastures) and he walks off with those buckets. We have toys, balls, cones out there to keep him busy, but he's always looking for something new. In our confidence course paddock, where we have poles lined up in patterns on the ground....Doc continually picks them up and moves them all over the place. He plays with our barrels, knocks them down and rolls them with his feet or mouth/nose. We can't leave any tack hanging within his reach ever or he will grab them, walk off with them, play with them, chew them up, etc. I could go on... The funniest Doc-mouth story (if the above aren't amusing enough).... I caught Doc teaching a horse I had in for training to pick up sticks with him and whack each other with them. Seriously, I watched as he step by step showed this other horse how to pull a stick-root out of the pasture ground, nice long ones, then walk over and play-whack each other with them. Groan. Was like watching two adolescent boys playing pretend sword fight. He does all this in play, and you can see him VERY amused with himself with all the above. He's quite a character! Or maybe this is the funniest Doc mouth story that the vet school here is probably still laughing about: They came one day for immunization updates and I fished Doc out of pasture for that. He stood patiently in line as our other horses got their shots with the vet. Then it was his turn. Just as the vet was getting ready to examine and give Doc a shot, Doc turned his head to the side and dropped a huge stone on the dr's foot! Doc had brought that stone in from pasture, carefully hiding it in his mouth and waited for just the right moment to drop it on the dr's toe. It was hilarious, because his timing was so calculatingly dead on. And a typical "Doc-ism." Doc, we say often, is a "mouth on wheels." He's 6, by the way, and has always been like that since we got him when he was two. So...I just wanted to show you there that when it's in a horse's nature to be oral to that extreme, there's not a whole lot you can do about it except horse-proof his environment as best you can, then remain consistent in your "lead mare" rules about not allowing putting his mouth on you or tack you're using with him. Stay 100% consistent there, letting him hit the wall with that grabbing-your-tack behavior and hopefully he'll lessen doing that over time. Doc only does it once in a while now, grabbing the halter in his mouth when I'm trying to put it on, but I still remain ready to discipline him with the loud Shhh and jerking the rope he just put in his mouth, making him have to scoot backwards, to make it uncomfortable for him to keep doing that. It's an urge he has a hard time resisting because, to him, his mouth is like our hand: there to grab something. An innate need he has to put his mouth on everything! Doc, by the way, took to the bit with zeal. He LOVES having the bit in his mouth -- like...FINALLY..."something I'm allowed to put my mouth on!" He reaches to grab it in his mouth every time, happily, so...that's the bright side of this type of horse. I've also taken Doc's nature there and, turning lemons into lemonade, have used him to help me with horses I'm training who might be afraid of my wand with plastic on the end initially. I'll bring Doc in while I'm training the spookier horse, doing the wand with plastic all over Doc first so the other horse can see it's no big deal and then I'll set the wand down on the ground. Doc will walk over to the wand, pick it up in his mouth, wave it around playfully, and then he places it on the other horse's back. Somehow, I've found, a horse who is afraid of this tool at first in my hands, isn't afraid when Doc does it on them, so, it helps them to start getting past that fear obstacle. The first time Doc did that for me (on his own), I was stunned. After that I just let him do it and it seems to help the more frightened horses tremendously. Now if I can just teach Doc to complete all the rest of the horse's foundation training, I could sit back & put my feet up! :-) Doc's a smart, clever horse, and he never ceases to amaze us with his silly mouth, annoying as it is at times when he shouldn't be doing some things, so those times I stay on him about that if it involves: grabbing tack or putting his mouth on humans. But I've learned: his mouth is a very strong part of his exploration senses and some of it will always remain. Just keep showing the black & white zone. White zone: they're doing what you want, so no pressure is put on them. Black zone: they've crossed the line to doing what they're not allowed, and pressure is put on them to stop. And remain 100% consistent there with "the rules." As for your other issues there re yielding, you just need to do more on-the-ground yielding work, breaking it down into smaller baby steps. Let me direct you to a link on my site that goes into more detail about how to do that:
Question - Aggressive Colt: Dear Sylvia, I have been working with a colt whose owner is out of the country. She left the colt with her parents. The colt is in a 10 acre pasture by itself. It can go in and out of the barn at will. It comes into the barn for water, food and shelter. The owner's brother keeps the horse fed and watered, but he is scared of the colt and does not do much else. The colt has always been aggressive and has reared and tried to bite people. The colt was born the latter part of January 2006 and the owner acquired him when he was three months old. I had the colt where it would lead and let me clean his hoofs. I have been going out to see the colt about twice a week and I would catch him, put a halter on him and lead him back to the barn where I would brush him and clean his hoofs. Then I would lead him around the pasture for about three miles. He was responding to this pretty well. We had the colt gelded on October 23, 2006. The veterinarian castrated him, removed his wolf teeth and discovered he had round worms. We treated him for the worms. I continued with my routine with him and things were going well. On November 30, we had a 15 inch snow storm in Oklahoma (very unusual for Oklahoma) and I did not go to visit the colt until December 9. There was still snow on the ground. I caught the colt and brought him into the barn where I brushed him and cleaned his hoofs. Because of the snow on the ground, I only walked him around the pasture one time (about 3/4 miles) because I was slipping quite a bit. The following Tuesday, December 12, when I went out to catch the colt, he would turn his back to me and put his ears back. I was able to finally walk up to him and put the halter on him. I walked him to the barn and brushed him and cleaned his hoofs. We walked around the pasture several times and returned to the barn. I cleaned his hoofs again because they were full of mud from the wet ground from the melted snow. I gave him some fresh water and a hand full of grain. I then walked out of the back of the barn and walked across the pasture to my truck. The colt came running out of the barn and ran at me. I yelled at him and he stopped. I started walking again and had walked about 20 or 30 feet, when the colt ran at me again and knocked me into the fence. I still have bruises and sore ribs from that. I fussed at him and walked to the gate. He came over to me at the gate and I talked to him. He had his head down eating grass and kept trying to bite my ankles. I kicked each time he did and he raised his head and hit the gate which is made of pipe. I don't know if he thought I was hitting him. When I went out of the gate he went off and ignored me. On December 14, I went back to visit the colt. Again when I went to catch him, he put his ears back, turned his rump to me and walked away. I was eventually able to walk up to him and put the halter on him. When I started to lead him to the barn, he swung his head, reared, took off running and tried to kick me. I kept hold of the lead rope and jerked him back. He then ran around me a couple of times. I finally got him by the barn after rearing a couple more times. I usually grab his nose and push him back when he rears. When I got by the barn, I tied him to the gate post and talked to him and rubbed him, hoping to calm him down. I then walked him down the fence further and tied him to the pipe fence. I brushed him and cleaned his hoofs. I had to tie him pretty short because he kept trying to bite me. The owner's parents were leaving and I would have been there alone, so they asked me not to walk him because there would not be anybody there if I got hurt. When I try to lift the right rear hoof, the colt starts bringing his rump around toward me. I have to keep pushing him back around. Then when I do lift his hoof, he tries to sit on me. I have even had him sit on the ground. I have elbowed him trying to get him off me. I also kicked him a couple of times trying to get him to quit leaning on me. We tried to get him a companion, but have not had much luck. We put a steer in with him once and he chased him all over the pen they were in. We put a bull in the pasture with him and the bull let him know not to come too close, but the bull owner sold the bull. How can I deal with this aggressive colt? I would appreciate any help. P. W. - Oklahoma Sylvia's Answer: Hi P. Thanks for writing and for the very thorough overview. Helps me to see a lot. First...part of the problem there is indeed the fact that this horse is being kept alone/not with other horses. Let me direct you to a link on my web site that goes into this in more detail and why keeping a horse alone, especially a young horse like that, can create a brat-monster real fast:
Might I suggest you call in a natural horsemanship trainer that you can work with one-to-one to help you with further training there. I have a "Find a Natural Horsemanship Trainer Near You" section on my web site and it starts here: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/FindNHTrainers.html Or...If you can't locate a natural horsemanship trainer near you and/or you really want to train this horse yourself, and in the process learn to be skilled in natural horsemanship, my advice is to start with the right ground work first to build the horse's foundation from the ground up. Round penning is a good place to start for the very bottom of building a horse's foundation the natural horsemanship way. That's where I start with most horses myself (and where I would definitely start with that particular horse there were I his trainer). It sets you up as leader of their "herd" and them finding comfort in being the quieter, more compliant, more properly submissive follower, for a start (it also fixes hard to catch horses, etc.). Use my step-by-step round penning tutorial that starts here on my web site: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/RoundPenning.html I also have a Round Pen Leadership DVD that teaches this art visually & you can read more about here: CLICK HERE For the next steps after that, to faster track you there, I would suggest applying horse whispering/natural horsemanship training techniques in a very clear step-by-step program, which you can learn more about in my DVD set, the Whispering Way 12-Step Total Training System, and you can check out/order that here: CLICK HERE After watching the videos, and after learning and applying the methods, you, as the horse's primary teacher will have taught the horse:
This video set will help you to lay down an even stronger, more solid and trusting foundation under your horse there that will then serve you well, tremendously, actually, when you do step up into the saddle later. By the time you complete the steps, you will have a transformed horse. The final couple of steps are in the saddle and those exercises will more deeply plant into your horse's foundation the one-rein stop/the "safety zone," and more, that will turn your horse into a far, far more rational, trusting, happier -- and safer -- horse in saddle as well. And you can do this yourself if you just back up and learn a few things yourself there. This video set will get you there the fastest with your horse there, which is why I'm recommending this route. It's designed for anyone on any level, horse or human, to get professional trainer-like results. And incidentally...my Whispering Way Complete Training Package contains all my above mentioned videos and training tools (natural horsemanship halter/12' lead, extendable-retractable training wand, training string, and the handy pocket card that lists the 12 steps) that you need to train or retrain your horse yourself the natural horsemanship Whispering Way. You can check out/order the Whispering Way Complete Training Package on my web site here: CLICK HERE I'm a very strong believer that every horse owner/handler is their horse's primary teacher/trainer whether they realize it or not. Every time you are with the horse, your horse is learning something. You just want to make sure the horse is learning what you want them to learn, not what you don't want them to learn! My natural horsemanship training techniques are gentle, effective, and powerful. Works with every horse every time! This route will absolutely get that horse there past all of your issues, and more, I assure you. And as you get going in the program, if you ever have any questions as you go along, I'm only an email away for quick answers! In the meantime...work on this one particular exercise so that you'll gain far better ground control there, will have the horse respecting you better as leader, and this will keep you safer there as well:
Hope this helps and good luck to you there! Question - Training Wild or Abused Horses: I was wondering if you could help me out - words of wisdom that you might have, or maybe you have shared similar experiences. In February an abused horse came to me. I took him in, gently started him, got him going and still have had one problem that has not subsided. In the saddle this horse is confident, has a low head, long stride, and is awesome to ride. But on the ground he is a totally different horse. I do natural horsemanship and have not pushed this horse. I have not forced him to submit in any way, but he is SO afraid of people. When he's out on trails, or with other riders, he's great, until he sees a human on the ground. It seems if I work with him steady for a good week, he makes some progress, and if I take a few days off, he starts his day extremely nervous again. The latest project horse I have is a wild mare. I've had the mare and her foal for a month or so now. She is similar in the respect that each day it seems we start from step one again, though the more I work with her, the shorter that step lasts. She's had the saddle on, and done some ground driving, and lots of moving her around, stopping and rubbing, ropes, anything I can think of really. Is it common for abused or wild horses to keep that wildness to them - when they first see you? Or is it something I am not doing consistently that is causing them to test me every day - to see if I am still the same human being? Should I do lots of short sessions with them, or do you have any recommendations? The abused guy is an Arabian, about 7, it seems the only hands he had before me were rough ones, and the wild mare seems to be a thoroughbred, about 4... never been touched. Any suggestions could be helpful, if there is anyone you recommend I talk to, or spend time with, would be appreciated. Thanks so much for your time. Have a wonderful day. S. W. - Princeton, British Columbia, Canada Sylvia's Answer: Hi S. I've found in my experience that the older the wilder horse is, the longer it can take to let go of those kinds of "wild-ways" fears. The cut-off in my mind for those that don't take as long, I find, are aged 3 & under (wild horses, I'm talking about). Four and older -- and certainly 7 -- is going to be a bit more difficult to gentle when they've been left wild so long. Doesn't mean it can't be done, but it does mean: when afraid, they are going to more quickly revert back to wild prey animal mode, instinctively. So the key is to place in their foundation something that interrupts that wild response reflex. Let me suggest a couple of things. For one...on the ground, regularly use manual relaxation techniques, some of which I go over on this link on my web site:
Once you work on that for a while, then get a number of people to come in and do the same thing, one at a time. The problem with abused horses or wilder horses, especially the older ones at first...they compartmentalize learn that maybe only YOU are safe for them to be around, but maybe no other humans are. Whenever I get called in to gentle a wild horse (or a formerly abused horse), after I've accomplished what I need in that first session and the horse is now relaxed and no longer afraid, I then introduce the horse to more people, one at a time, and I direct them to do the same. Bond with the horse. Finger in the mouth to get the horse working the mouth. Then drop the head. Here's a link on my web site Q&A section that goes a little more into that/people fears: This approach helps the horse to begin to recompartmentalize that...wait...maybe all humans are safe, not just my trainer here. I had a horse I recently trained and among one of his many problems I fixed was: a morbid (and quite volatile) fear of vets. After retraining him, I then brought in some vets from the vet school here and had the vets come in and first using advance/retreat (to allow the approach), then bonding with the horse, getting the finger in the mouth and dropping the head, then they "pretended" to give a shot, then exited/retreated. Step by step the horse let go of his vet fears (which wasn't about the shots, but about the past heavy abusive handling he'd had before a shot/treatments by some more abusive vet somewhere). And the horse then compartmentalized that: "hey...vets aren't dangerous predators after all; I'm okay here!" So...it benefited the horse as he completely let go of his violent fear of vets, in one session, but it also benefited the vet students to learn horse whispering "tricks of the trade" to relax a fearful horse. I would also recommend doing a lot of desensitizing of those horses there, because the opposite of fear is: confidence. Don't avoid the things they are afraid of, but instead, head into them and help the horse to be desensitized to them. This raises a horse's fear bar so that less things frighten them, and it also creates a more confident horse all around. Some things to work on to raise the fear bar in the horses you've got there, which should help multi-directions --- and I'll direct you to links on my site that go into each in more detail: Rope Fears - Horse fears ropes on and around the body - how to desensitize
Finally...after you've accomplished all the above, then work (from the ground first) to teach the ever-important one-rein stop/safety zone, which I teach in greater detail here:
All of the above (and much, much more) is taught in my Whispering Way 12-Step Total Training System DVD set. Usually it helps to see this natural horsemanship art taught visually, to really understand how it is all done. You can get that DVD set here: CLICK HERE Lastly...do a lot of ponying of those horses off another very domesticated, obedient horse, which I go more into here:
Wild horses can be different! It takes more time and lots of patience, and in all honesty, with the older ones (like 7 & older just starting them out -- and I mean mustangs especially here) some of them may stay wild in some form or another forever. It's much like, I feel, trying to domesticate an adult feral cat (feral cat is a cat born of another feral cat) and often they can just get too old to ever expect them to be domesticated on the level that we perceive a domestic cat (or domestic horse) if/when we try to gentle them too late/too old. That's my personal opinion, based on working with so many wild horses. The problem with the older wild horses: if/when they become afraid, they are very quickly going to revert back to prey animal instinct in a nano-second, it's been too long ingrained in them. So...you have your work cut out for you with the 7-year-old there, especially if he was kept wild all those years! But it will be a learning experience for you as well. And since every horse we work with teaches us something new, that's a positive for you. It's the more difficult horses that are put in our path to work with that seem to teach us the most! Hope this helps and good luck to you there!
Question - Pregnant Mare Care: In your last newsletter you had answered a reader's question on whether it was better to ride before or after a feeding and you explained how your horses are out 24/7. I too believe in 24/7 turnout with free choice hay and pasture. I do grain my horses twice a day now that the cold weather has started and the pasture is becoming scarce. I own 2 quarter horses and 2 minis. My quarter horse mare is in foal, due end of next April. You wrote that you only give a scoop of feed with a few supplements. Do you think that twice a day is too much? I was told my mare needs it for the foal. This is my first time breeding. My 2 minis don't get anything more than a handful of grain. I totally believe in letting a horse be a horse. There is a barn just down the road from me and the horses there are never out. They don't even have a fenced pasture to graze. They are only brought out to be lunged in a small arena. I think it is so sad. What are your thoughts on feeding a pregnant mare and would you think it would be ok for her to foal out in a pasture or should she come into the stall? Any info would be appreciated. Sincerely, P. R. - Suffield, Connecticut P.S. I love your newsletters and look forward to them! My thoughts and prayers are with your son, enjoy your holidays with him and hopefully he'll be home to stay for good soon. Sylvia's Answer: Hi P. Re your question about the pregnant mare, I'm going to direct you to a very good natural horsemanship trainer friend of mine, Bob Claymier, who is very active in breeding horses, as well. He's quite a good natural horsemanship breeding expert resource, and I often bounce to him any breeding/foaling/pregnant mare care issue questions, because I really respect his opinions there. Bob is working on a foaling/mare care/foal care video presently, as well, and it will hopefully be out this spring/summer. Watch for it (I'll announce it in my newsletter when Bob has it all ready to go), because I think it'll help you out a lot overall. Here's Bob's response: Sylvia put me in the loop on this one and I always appreciate her referrals. A trainer can tell you a lot of “things,” but having it come from a fellow trainer – and even better yet, from an actual horse that the trainer was involved with – is always the best source of info. I too like my horses to be “horses” whenever possible. We often splice human requirements onto that of the horse and always to their detriment. They are by nature claustrophobic and therefore don’t like stalls and are also genetically made to subsist for the most part on grass and hay. I do watch my geriatric and pregnant horses more closely than others, but still try to abide by the same philosophy on feed and care. I still have fairly good pasture so my pregnant mares are currently out on it – the quantity and nutritional value is diminishing so I will soon be supplementing with hay. I would want to know more about the age and condition of your mare before recommending anything but here are some issues to consider. I would want her body condition to not be plump going into winter, but I would want good flesh – i.e. – no ribs at all. I would have her teeth checked and floated if necessary. I would watch your pasture and begin feeding a good quality hay as soon as necessary – if you are not already. As indicated above, I’m not currently feeding grain and won’t until later in the gestation cycle – say around the 9th or 10th month when the baby really starts to pull on the mother’s condition. I then begin to feed Triple Crown Mare & Foal that I get from Southern States – other brands are just as good as long as they have specifically been designed for pregnant mares & nursing foals. I continue to feed this until after the foal is born and it will begin to naturally share with its mother – this gets the foal prepared to eat on his own after weaning. Make sure that the mare has gotten her 5, 7, and 9 month flu/rhino shots – especially important to prevent spontaneous abortion. I know my mares really well and some have to be on a hormonal supplement product called “regimate.” They only need to stay on that for about 90-120 days after breeding and you should be beyond that now. In the future, I would have the vet perform a hormonal check to see if the mare needs this product – it is fairly expensive (about $300 for a 1000 ml bottle – given at a dose of 1cc/100 weight of the horse) but it is cheaper than losing a foal. About 90 days before foaling date (60 days absolute minimum), I like my mares in somewhat of a dry lot where I’m feeding a “non-fescue” hay – it is ok for them to still be out if the pasture is really gone at this time but it is important that they get off fescue which can cause some really bad things to happen – delayed milk production, thickened placenta and the like. Since you are new at this, I would probably get a milk testing kit which will assist you in predicting when she is getting close to foaling. I buy from a local firm, but there are others available as well. Fescue also effects the accuracy of this test, so another good reason to avoid that kind of hay – you can go to a timothy, alfalfa, or even grass hay if you know for sure that it does not contain any fescue – I would be careful about feeding alfalfa alone as it can be a very “hot” feed. You also asked about foaling out or in – I have done it both ways (usually the mares take care of that – ha!) but here is one place where I try to control things a bit more. The vast majority of births are perfectly normal and never need owner/vet assistance but when one goes bad, you often have a really short time to get it back on track. I like to have inside births with me sleeping right next to the stall – I have specific stalls for that and they are at least 12x24 feet. I bed with straw really deep and obviously keep them as clean as possible. The mares get turned out during the day because they still need exercise, but I then put them in late at night – I usually start this about 2 weeks or so before expected foaling. I have a whole routine of items that I like to have on hand and we should discuss that at a later time – as just one example though would be to have a couple of “fleet enemas” that I give after the baby stands, to help break up the tarry substance that blocks the anal passage and is often difficult for them to discharge. I also have a way of tying up the placenta onto the tail so it doesn’t get stepped on, but still provides natural weight for expulsion so that the vet can examine it the next day to determine that none was retained – bad infections etc. occur if that happens. As Sylvia mentioned, I am collecting footage for a breeding, foaling, imprinting and baby training video that I will have out next year – wish I had it right now for you. I need some actual live foaling footage which I need to collect next, but if you would like to keep in touch with me up to and when your foaling is expected, I would be glad to share my experiences with you. I hope this has helped with some of your questions – please let me know if I can be of other assistance and also stay in touch with me if you like as it gets closer to foaling time. It is an absolutely exhilarating and still for me, heart pounding experience, to be involved in the creation of life and then the final foaling process – I suspect you will find it the same. Anyway – good luck and stay in touch. Cheers! Bob Claymier - www.desert-rose-arabians.com Question - Perfect Horse Wants To Be First When Cantering: Hi Sylvia. I saw your web site and have a training question you might be able to help me with. I have a now 9-year-old Arab I got when he was 4. He was green broke. I have trained him myself. We have completed Clinton Anderson's 2nd tape, riding with confidence. On our own he will do a sliding stop with just my breath. He moves each body part instantly with just a touch of my leg. We trail ride for miles and miles, have ridden through the suburbs etc., etc. This is my perfect horse. Until: I ride in a group. My super responsive horse tries to pull, buck, etc., to be in the lead (not when walking, but when we do faster paces). He does not do this when in the lead. Everything he knows gets ignored. I do the one rein stop and stop him even if the others are cantering ahead. Then when he is good I let him go. However, I have been doing this a while and it does not seem to help. He is not a herd horse and I can ride him away from others; it's just this need to be first when doing a fast pace. I ride in a 3 piece lozenge bit and refuse to go to a stronger bit. Should I just put him in an English Hackamore when riding with other horses at fast paces? I hate and refuse to pull on his mouth, but this having to stop all the time because he wants to be in front is not fun either. Not only that, I don’t want his training ruined by learning to be heavy on the bit. When I ride by myself I hardly need any contact at all. Any advise, please help. K. T. - Internet Sylvia's Answer: Hi K. Thanks for writing. It sounds like you've done great work with this horse so far! It's not about the bit. It's about gaining control with the right methods. I only ride all horses I train in a full cheek snaffle bit. Or sometimes in my natural horsemanship halter with the lead rope tied into reins, no bit at all. Let me direct you to a couple of links on my web site that discuss this kind of problem you're having there: Riding in Front - Horse insists on being in front when riding with others/takes over Lead Horse Battle - Horse wants to be in lead when riding & wants to get back to pasturemate
Get your trail riding friends to help you out there; set up this problem, flushing it out openly, allowing you the opportunity to school him on this now. As you're schooling him there, putting him to hard work away from the horses briefly, they'll just be quietly walking on slowly ahead, but waiting for you to rejoin them. If/when you rejoin and your horse finally follows quietly, remove ALL pressure from him instantly to show "right answer." Put slack in the reins, leave him alone, show him that life is real easy when he listens and follows the horse you tell him to follow there, and he'll shut off taking over thoughts and realize: you are the leader he is supposed to be listening to at all times, regardless of what other horses are around. Give all that a try and you should be able to work past this problem quickly. Good luck to you there! Question - Horse Gets Tense & Spooky in Saddle: Dear Sylvia, I am sorry, but I have looked through your web site and couldn't find anything about this topic. My horse seems to get more scared when I am riding him. I have been walking him every day on the trails to help his spooking problem. He is getting much better. But, I can see him looking for more things to spook on when I am about to climb in the saddle. After I swing my leg on him, he picks up and looks around much more. I have to turn his head to me the whole time. I was told by another NH trainer years ago to pull his head lightly to me and wait until he looks me in the eye. I think this is to get his attention back on me. I release when we make eye contact. Well, when I start riding him, this is all I can do. He gets excited and looks for things to jump out. I used to ride him in an arena, where he was boarded 3 months ago, all day long with no problems. I have been working on him with tarps and desensitizing him. He should have no reason to be scared when I ride him. I have never hurt him and I just got a really nice new saddle that fits him much better than the old one. (It's a circle Y flex light) So I don't believe he is any pain. I am really stumped. I couldn't even ride him the rest of the way home. I was scared he was going to go crazy from seeing his own shadow. If you have any tips, or if I missed one of your articles, please let me know. I really appreciate it. Thank you a million times! T. H. - Bolivia, North Carolina Sylvia's Answer: Hi T. I'm not sure exactly what's going on there, because I can't see for myself. But...my gut tells me...it sounds to me like you could be dealing with a training foundation hole called an "eye changing problem." Read this link on my web site that goes more in depth into that, and what to do about it:
Also, work a lot on teaching the one rein stops, like I teach here -- all starting with working on it safely on the ground first: Work on both of the above (the links I've directed you to) and you should see improvement there. All of the above (and much, much more) is taught in my Whispering Way 12-Step Total Training System DVD set. Usually it helps to see this natural horsemanship art taught visually, to really understand how it is all done. You can get that DVD set here: CLICK HERE Hope this helps and let me know how it goes after you've worked a while on the above. Question - Owner has Mounting Fears: Hi Sylvia. I have a little 12.2 hands high riding pony gelding that had a pinched nerve in his hip for a long time, causing him to drag himself along with his front legs rather then pushing with his back legs, so when I got him, he had come from a home where he had lived a long time and the children there used him for showing and pony club. When I got him, I didn't know about the problem and I don't think his former owners did either. The day after I got him I went to mount him and of course he was nervous and flinched as I got on, but once I was on him he was beautiful to ride, a perfect gentlemen. The next time I went to ride him, he bucked me off just as I was seated so I was completely surprised. After that I realised that it must have been the saddle, so the next time I rode him I used the saddle I had used on him first, and again he flinched while mounting but the ride was perfect. It didn't take me long to realise that this was a back problem, so I got a reputable chiropractor to come and fix him and he told me that my horse would change virtually overnight. Well he was right. The next day he was a different horse. He was way up the back of the paddock when he would normally be standing near the dam, so that he didn't have to walk for water, and when I left I saw him gallop up the paddock, something I'd never seen him do. The only problem now is me. I have lost my confidence. While I've had horses in the past that have bucked, that's never been a problem to me. I think it's the fact that he did it while I was mounting and now it's hard for me to bring myself to get on and I really think he senses how nervous I am, because he still gets funny around me. I got to touch him around the back area which only makes me even more nervous. I bought him to show, and at the moment am unable to do that because of my problem. Is there any way to build a trusting relationship with him and get my confidence back? K. Internet Sylvia's Answer: Hi K. I totally understand your fears there. It's perfectly natural. The subconscious mind (which is out of our control) has a way of "overprotecting" us when things have happened to us, setting off inner alarms to blare when the subconscious mind sees us starting to repeat the behavior that earlier caused us harm. It's an over-alert system the subconscious mind does after such accidents. This is, in a way, post traumatic shock symptoms. The way to work past that is to repattern the brain, but this time differently. If you can, find a friend's very been-there-done that horse to reapproach riding on -- a horse you know is bomb proof. That's a good start to rebuild your confidence there. Then, when you feel ready, start using advance/retreat when approaching your own horse. Approach him, stroke his back area there, then walk away/retreat. Sit down somewhere, relax, breathe in and out in deep cleansing breaths. Pause there. Then repeat. Advance/retreat. Dozens of times. It's during the retreat that you'll start to feel confidence build. We use this method to desensitize horses to things they are afraid of, but I find it works really well with traumatized people too. Approach the horse, stroke quickly, then retreat. Relax the body through deep breathing during the retreat. Pause there a bit (take your time!), then approach again, retreat again. End your day's lesson on that. Do it for several days if needed. This will start reprogramming/repatterning the subconscious side of your brain that: nothing bad happens to me when I am near this horse. That's a good start. But I really want to emphasize here not to be goal focused with the stroking, but be retreat focused. Again, it's during the retreat phase that your body and mind starts to repattern there and gain more confidence in you. When you feel ready, after that, to try to ride this horse again, instead of riding this horse solo like you did before, approach it with a two-people approach. Put a natural horsemanship halter with 12 foot lead rope underneath the bridle/bit. Have a very trusted, horse knowledgeable friend hold that lead rope, keeping the horse under control calmly there. From here…I want to direct you to a link on my web site that shows in more detail the 2-people approach to use there -- it's an approach I use to start all green horses in saddle, but it works really well, too, for getting someone over past horse fears:
My program will help you to rebuild a better trusting relationship there all around, while it simultaneously builds confidence in you. And after you get going in the program, if you ever have any questions as you go along applying it, I'm always only an email away for quick answers! I hope this helps and let me know how it goes! Question - Radical Change in Behaviour in an 8-Year-Old Thoroughbred: Dear Sylvia, I enjoy your web site very much. Thanks for sharing so much of your knowledge. I have an 8-year-old thoroughbred who has changed his behaviour radically recently. He lost his best stable pal about a month ago with a broken femur and that no doubt has some bearing on how he's feeling now, but the change actually started before this loss. He was a very quiet guy with, I hate to say it, not a whole lot of personality. Sort of a bland, anybody-can-ride-me or work-with-me-kind of guy. Now when we are in the stall with him he yawns widely several times, works his mouth, and then lays his ears and lunges to bite. I don't understand why he displays the typical signs of accepting us as a friend and leader and then tries to bite. He means business, too. Any ideas as to what might be going on or how we can handle him? He also bucks now which he never did before to my knowledge. We've had him in our stable since June. Thanks for any help you can give. P. D. - Nova Scotia, Canada Sylvia's Answer: Hi P. Thanks for writing. It's really hard for me to tell from a distance and without seeing/working with this horse personally to know exactly what is really wrong (deep down), but he's clearly unhappy about something! I would want to rule out physical causes first by having a really thorough equine vet exam, telling the vet everything. If your horse is unwell or in pain somewhere, that can totally change the temperament of any horse. I also wanted to point out a couple of things there. First...yawning is not what you think it is there. It's a release of uptight tension and you can read more about yawning here on my web site:
Once you've changed that (which I think will help multi-directions), to deal with the bucking issue (again, rule out pain issues with the vet there first!), you might think about getting my DVD set, the Whispering Way 12-Step Total Training System, because as you follow the steps in my DVDs there, you will step by step be closing up foundation holes that were probably previously hidden from you, and in the end, create a quieter, more compliant and far safer horse. You can get that DVD set here: CLICK HERE Or you can get my Complete Package that contains my Whispering Way 12-Step Total Training System DVD set, plus my Round Pen Leadership DVD, as well as all the tools you'll need for my program (the natural horsemanship halter with 12' lead rope, the extendable-retractable training wand, the training string, and the handy pocket card that lists the 12 steps) and you'll have all you need to retrain your horse the natural horsemanship way, all by yourself. You can get that Complete Package here: CLICK HERE And if you ever have questions as you go along applying what you learn in my DVDs, I'm always only an email away for quick answers for backup support! I hope this helps and good luck to you there! Question - What Does it Mean When a Horse Rests His Head on Our Shoulder?: Dear Sylvia, Before I ask you my question, I want to thank you for your web site. It has been so much help to me and my daughter. We have some of your DVD’s on order from you that I know will help us with our 3-year-old quarter horse. The question I have for you is this: What does it mean when a horse lays his head on your shoulder or just wants to keep it against you? He doesn’t show any aggression at all and allows us to pet and rub him all over his head, we’re just not sure if he is trying to show domination or love. At times he does want to play and we have to be careful and let him know we don’t want to play. He did have an injury that we had to treat every day for about four months, and through it he did start to bite, but through your advice on your web site we got it stopped right away. We don’t want to correct him if he’s just showing love and friendship; we’re just not sure what’s going on. Thanks Sylvia! S. S. - Luthersville, Georgia Sylvia's Answer: Hi S. I think you have to just go with your gut instincts there. A horse can be doing that because he feels that's showing affection, or he could be doing it to show dominance. Only you can read that there, just doing a "feel" read. If he's doing it and freezing himself perfectly still, hoping you'll allow it, it's probably affection. If he's moving it around, or attempting to move you around, then it's dominance. I'm sure you've got good instincts there to read that probably, which one it is. Just set up a clear black & white zone there if you want to continue allowing it, if it's just affection. White zone: He can't move his head around once it's there, he has to freeze it in place (and no pressure is put on him, only strokes/love given). Black zone: Anything else gets his head pushed away with a pointer finger (pressure put on him). He sounds like he's just a sweet touchy-feely horse who likes lots of physical contact and those are wonderful horses to have! My favorite kind of horse! He's trying to figure out probably how to bond with you physically, show appreciation, and what kind of "mutual grooming" type behavior you'll allow. What I do if I have a horse like that who is trying every which way to show affection, but can't figure out what we'll allow is: drop his head (through pressure/release) and let him put that dropped head (mouth pointed down) buried into me, often with their eyes closed. You've got to protect your own head/face there when allowing that though, because if a horse gets startled, he'll shoot his head up high fast, which is pure "on alert" instinct, which is out of their control, and you don't want them klonking you in the face/head!! You'll see me go over some of that in the video you ordered, so it might answer some of these questions for you as well. Always put your own safety first. If it doesn't feel safe him putting his head on your shoulder, then don't allow it (listen to radar alarms inside of you). My old horse, Gabe, my longtime partner (who passed away of old age a couple of months ago, sob) used to do that, just rest his head on me, but Gabe was a VERY gentle soul, not just with me, but with all other horses as well. He didn't have an aggressive bone in him. So...I allowed it. Would I allow another horse to do that? I don't know. It would have to be a case-by-case read. Probably: not for most of them. I'm a fanatic about safety, MY safety. Not unless I knew a horse really well and read it as complete affection, would I allow it, but I'd also set up clear boundaries about it as well. And if a horse is doing something that could even remotely risk my safety, I don't allow it. Hope that answers your question. I hate to say never and I hate to say always, because there are exceptions sometimes. Go with your gut, while making sure you are staying safe at all times is my best advice. :-) 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: Horse Training Tips and Solving Common Horse Problems - Q&A - 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 success stories with our Natural Horsemanship Training Program - Click here: Letters of the Month Past Virginia Natural Horsemanship Training Center Newsletters Are Archived Here: News & Press |
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