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 Sylvia
ScottNatural Horsemanship
Training
JANUARY 2008 NEWSLETTER |
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Events This Month
(Where Natural Horsemanship Clinicians Will Be Appearing)
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To Find a NATURAL HORSEMANSHIP TRAINER Near You: CLICK HERE
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Whispering Way™ 12-Step Total Training System DVDs
Learn how to effectively train your horse in 12 easy to follow steps with this comprehensive 3 DVD set!
Whispering Way™
Round Pen Leadership DVD
In this video, you will learn how to effectively communicate with your horse in the round pen to establish respect for your leadership position.
Whispering Way™ Complete Guide to Horse Breeding, Foaling and Foal Training, Featuring Bob Claymier
This 3-DVD set includes over four hours of video instruction and live demonstration covering every aspect of a successful horse breeding and early foal training program!
Whispering Way™
Natural Horsemanship Halter & Lead Rope
Exclusively designed to our exacting specifications, the Whispering Way™ Natural Horsemanship Halter and Lead Combo is a custom-made, premium quality natural horsemanship halter that provides the best natural horsemanship training communication tool on the market today.
Whispering Way™
Natural Horsemanship Training Wand
The extendable/retractable Whispering Way™ Training Wand provides a light-weight "arm extension" that is invaluable in a variety of training situations with your horse.
Whispering Way™
Natural Horsemanship Training Packages
Money saving packages combine essential training tools!
Complete Training PackageIncludes:
- Natural Horsemanship Halter
- 12' Lead Rope
- Training Wand
- Training String
- Round Pen Leadership DVD
- Whispering Way 12-Step Total Training System 3-DVD Set
- Handy Quick Reference Pocket Card
EquiPedic Saddle Pads
 We have tried many saddle pads over the years, and have found nothing that comes close to providing the benefits of the unique EquiPedic pads. There is no other saddle pad like it!
Be Sure to See the Complete Line of Whispering Way™ Natural Horsemanship Products and Training Tools
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Horse Problems Solutions in General - If you haven't discovered already on my web site, check out my Question And Answer/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
Client/Customer Testimonials - Read a few of the many testimonials we have received from around the world from those following our DVD training program: Customer Testimonials
Past Virginia Natural Horsemanship Training Center Newsletters Are Archived Here:
News & Press
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Greetings From Sylvia Scott Whispering Way™
Natural Horsemanship Training
Dear Friends:
I hope you all had a very wonderful holiday with your family and loved ones! We enjoyed having all three of our grown children gather for the holidays here with us, which is not always an easy feat to pull off as they are all so busy and spread out in their independent lives. We managed to grab everyone for a rare family portrait opportunity while they were all here.
 (Top Row left to right: Justin, Daryl & TrevorBottom row left to right: Alisha & Sylvia)
From the Scott family, we would like to wish you all a
Very Happy New Year! ___________________________________________
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Check These Out! |
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Showing Gratitude to Our U.S. Military - With our son, Sergeant Trevor Scott, in the U.S. Army 101st Airborne, scheduled to be deployed to Afghanistan in March, for 15 months, people often ask me how we can show our gratitude to our soldiers for serving our country. There is now a wonderful movement being spread to teach everyone a simple sign language we can all use when we come across one of our soldiers, to show them the gratitude we all feel for them -- it's
called the "Gratitude Campaign." Regardless of our political leanings, it means more than you'll ever know to let each soldier you encounter know that you appreciate the selfless jobs they are doing as they serve our country. Click on the following link and watch this very short clip to learn a simple sign language gesture to show your gratitude to our military -- and pass the word!: CLICK HERE
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Amazing Horse Mural - Someone passed along to me this amazing horse mural -- you have to see it to believe it! Cochrane is a community just west of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. This mural was unveiled recently at the Cochrane Ranche House. Each tile is 1 foot square, is its own individual picture, and each is by a different artist. All of them together form this huge horse mural. You can click on each of the tiles to see them in detail. Check out this amazing mural here: CLICK HERE
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Remarkable Bond Between a Cat and a Crow - Someone sent me this link to an incredible video that documents a special bond between a cat and a crow -- a true testimonial to friendship between species!: CLICK HERE
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Making Your Horse Road Safe Video - For those of you who ride horses near busy roads and traffic, check out Scot Hansen's video, Making Your Horse Road Safe. Here's more about it:
This video will show you what you and your horse need to do in order to ride safely on the roads around motorcycles and vehicles. The techniques are broken down so that you can easily see how to begin training, how to position yourself, and the aids you need to give your horse. You will learn: How to begin with basic ground work and flagging techniques, How to introduce your horse to switching eyes, How to safely introduce your horse to a vehicle, How to teach your horse to be brave and confident, How
to handle motorcycles.
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Julie Goodnight's New Horse Master TV Show - My good friend and colleague, natural horsemanship trainer and clinician, Julie Goodnight, has a new TV show that premieres this month on RFD-TV, called Horse Master. For more information on this great new show (and to check out Julie's "casting call" for her new show), visit Julie's web site: CLICK HERE
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2008 Horse Calendar For a Worthy Cause - In celebration of the horse, and to help raise funds and awareness, the Canadian Horse Defense Coalition (CHDC) is pleased to share the wondrous beauty of the horse in this unique 2008 wall calendar. The photos and stories featured highlight the amazing bond between horse and human. Here is
where you can see a thumbnail view of each month: CLICK HERE. They are only $14 each, and can be purchased from the CHDC (by cheque) or The Responsible Animal Care Society (TRACS) by cheque or Paypal in time for the New Year: CLICK HERE. |
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Horse Problem Questions From You & Their Solutions From Sylvia Scott
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Question: Horse afraid of plastic strips at opening of barn: Hello Sylvia. I wanted to ask you a question. My horse has been moved to a spot where he has a run into the barn. The problem is that the barn where my horse is boarded has plastic strips up to the door to keep out the cold weather. Well, my horse is scared to death of these things. I have tried the advance and retreat, but that only gets me so far. He will stick his head through the plastic
strips, but that is it. I try to put his head down and relax him, but it doesn't take long for that head to pop right back up. I was wondering if you had another idea here. I thought I could just start with one step down at a time, but there is no way getting him through even one. The only way I can get him through the door is if I pull all the plastic strips back on both sides. I would like to fix this before we get bad weather here, because, as it is right now, he won't come in, not even for food. He is
buddied up with our other horse, a 28-year-old mare, and she comes in and goes out with no problem, and he sees her do it, but he still is afraid that plastic is going to eat him. Any suggestions you have would be much appreciated. It takes me like 10 or 15 minutes to get him even in the barn to be able to get him out to work with him. Thanks again for your help in the past, it has made a big difference in all the horses in the barn!!
T. B. - Greenville, Ohio
Sylvia's Answer: Hi T. I would return to doing some advanced tarp therapy until your horse can carry it around "blind." You can also work to do some desensitizing "up high." If you have a mounting block, stand on that and use the wand with plastic desensitizing to get him over that fear of noisy things higher up. Or if you don't have a mounting block, sit on the top of the round pen fence and do some desensitizing from up there. In natural horsemanship halter/12-foot lead rope, ground drive
him both directions/changing eyes with you up high (on the fence or standing on the top of the mounting block, whichever feels more comfortable to do). And use the wand with plastic while you do that as well. Do that and then pull him in to you and bond with him there, with you up high. Eventually advance to riding your horse with the wand with plastic until you can wave it over his head and all around him. I think this will help raise his "fear bar" there for scary, crinkly things that are above his
head for a start. Get real brainstormingly creative here with a problem like that. You might even see how you might set up a "car wash" type desensitizing area away from the barn, like in your round pen maybe, then an arena, using "streamers" or the like -- you can see one on this web site: CLICK HERE (scroll
down that page). And teach him to ground drive at liberty through that. That, I think, will greatly raise his fear bar about the plastic strips at the barn. But I would take the baby steps above first, and step by step him there.
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Question - Horse bucking at canter: Good morning Sylvia, I have to say I am so happy for you and your family that you will be together for the holidays. While I've never had a son in the military as I am the mother of two daughters, I can't imagine the worry you've experienced sending your son overseas. I have a brother who is going to Iraq end of this month and a husband who has also gone - that is hard enough. So God bless you and your family! You should
be proud of the bravery your son has shown by being in the military.
Now to horse talk. I do have a question for you. I have a filly that I have (as a project) started and "trained" myself. First time doing this and I'm proud of how far we've come. I would classify her as an A type firey personality; she's half saddlebred and half Arab. Very brave, but has a temper (and I admit-since I've raised her she's very spoiled). At a walk she will do whatever I ask - left, right, front end around back, pivoting on her back end, and I can get her to pivot on her
front end and move her hindquarters around. She will also side pass over a pole left and right as well.
Here's where I'm having difficulty. When I ask her to canter, she takes off fast, and while I had her circling the other day and tried to keep her nose bent in, she got frustrated and started bucking. She bucked hard enough that I got nervous and bailed so I wouldn't get thrown out of control. She did come back to me. I got back on her and we walked around a bit to calm down and then I put her away. Should I have asked her to canter again? I was a little surprised as she has crow hopped
before, but this was different. She caught me off guard and it was a snorting, squealing buck fest. What do I do to get her over this? Now I'm a little nervous about getting back on. If she started again, do I tip her head to force her to circle? HELP!
J. S. - Nebraska
Sylvia's Answer: Hi J. Yes, you want to instill the one-rein stop into your horse's foundation so that you have that to call upon in any emergency like that -- drill, drill drill that one-rein stop into her (first taught on the ground, then in saddle) until it's complete reflex for both of you. Let me direct you to a link on my web site that goes over teaching the one rein stop, in more detail:
I have a suspicion that the cause of the bucking (but it's just a guess) might be because she doesn't know how to ride straight. I see this foundation hole a lot in green horses -- let me direct you to a link on my website that goes over this issue and how to fix it, if this is indeed the case there:
Another issue that is a common cause of this kind of irrational behavior is what is called an "eye changing problem" -- let me direct you to another link on my site that talks about this & shows how to fix it:
It also goes without saying, but I'll say it anyhow, that sometimes pain/poor fitting saddle, etc., can be a cause of this kind of bucking behavior at the canter -- let me direct you to another link on my site that goes over saddle fit, etc.:
One more link I wanted to send you to on my web site in case you see some good ideas that will help you there:
Hope at least some of this helps you there!
And please thank your brother and your husband for their service to our country!!
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Whispering Way™
12-Step Total Training System
Featuring Sylvia Scott
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The Easy-To-Follow Foundation Training Program For Creating A Quieter, Safer, Happier, More Cooperative, Trusting and Compliant Horse!
The Whispering Way 12-Step Total Training System 3-DVD set includes a total of nearly 4 hours of video instruction by internationally recognized Natural Horsemanship trainer and clinician, Sylvia Scott.
Three DVD Set
 The Whispering Way 12-Step Total Training System is presented over three included DVD volumes:
- Volume 1: Developing Communication, Control and Confidence (1 hr, 13 min)
- Volume 2: Refining Ground Control and Preparing For The Ride (1 hr, 26 min)
- Volume 3: Developing A Solid Riding Partnership (1 hr, 6 min)
Total Running Time (3 DVDs): 3 Hours 45 Minutes
Includes FREE "remote coaching"
support via email!
To Read Customer Testimonials For Our Training Videos and Products CLICK HERE
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Question - Foal feeding and weaning questions: Hi Sylvia, I have a 20-year-old mare that I adopted in October of 2006. When I adopted her, she was seriously underweight. Even when she had the foal in April 2007, she was still skinny. I was feeding her 4 scoops twice a day to get the weight back on. I feel that the foal is pulling her down and have decided to wean him off her. My question is: do I keep him on the senior food I have been feeding them or
do I feed him a weanling food? This is my first foal and I definitely don't have a clue what to do.
Also, I do not have the facilities to totally separate mare and foal where they can't see, smell, and hear each other. My neighbor has said that I can board the mare at her place so the foal will not be able to see her, but he will be able to hear and smell her. Will this be too stressful on the foal? He is pretty healthy except for a hernia which will be repaired next month. Should I wait until after the hernia repair to wean him or do it before?
I appreciate any and all advice you can give me.
P. N. - Internet
Sylvia's Answer: Hi P. I'm going to run your questions here by our resident breeding/foaling expert, Bob Claymier, who is featured in our Whispering Way™ Foundation Training Series: Complete Guide to Horse Breeding, Foaling and Foal Training,
Featuring Bob Claymier.
Bob Claymier's Response:
Most feed companies have some kind of a "mare & foal" feed that I would want the baby on. You can get what is called a "creep feeder" which has adjustable slots that you can widen or narrow - you make it only wide enough that the baby can put its muzzle in to get the grain, but is too narrow for the mare. In this way you can give them two different kinds of feed. The senior feed does not have all of the nutritional requirements for a growing baby horse. You could probably put
both of them on this same mare & foal feed until the baby is weaned and then go back to the senior feed for the mare later if you wanted to go in that direction also.
I would probably want to wait until after the hernia surgery to wean the foal if you were going to have that done next month as this double whammy could be a lot of stress on the baby at the same time; either that, or hold off the surgery (if the vet agreed) until the baby is over the weaning stress.
Separating the mare and foal properly at weaning is one of the most important things I stress in my new DVD set that Sylvia so kindly mentioned. This is often one aspect of breeding that is overlooked and must be well thought out beforehand. I would look for another place farther away than your neighbor as you will only increase the likelihood that the baby specifically (but mares sometimes as well) will injure itself trying to climb over/through a fence, etc., to get back to its mother. I would
want to introduce a pasture mate in with the two right now - if you have not already done so - that the baby will be able to bond with during the separation. With no pasture mate and the mare within sight/sound/smell you are looking at a potential disaster in the making. Good luck and let us know how it all goes.
-Cheers, Bob Claymier
Note from Sylvia: Read this link on my web site for more information on foal feeders:
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Question - How do you help a horse sort out the one-rein stop from simple bends: Hi, I've read lots of your training tips and have learnt a lot from you. But there is one thing that I would like you to clarify for me. I have a new mare, and I'm teaching her to stop with the one-rein method, letting her circle until she stops. If she goes again before being cued, then I tuck her into a circle again. Ok, I get that, and it seems to be working. But
sometimes I have found her hesitant to go forward to a new area, or she stops if there is something that she hasn't seen before, nothing too fear-inducing, just different coloured ground, etc., she just gives a little tilt of her head, and she stops. So, I am patient, push her forward with some firm squeezes, but because I don't want to FORCE her to go if she is nervous, I make her do something else, so I circle her, but I have to kick her into a circle. But then she stops. So, am I not sending confusing messages
to her? Aren't I telling her, sometimes I want you to STOP when I tuck you into a circle, and sometimes I want you to GO when I tuck you into a circle? I'm just confused as to if she refuses to move forward, how can she differentiate between a one-rein stop and a cue to circle? I guess I could simplify and say, well, when you are getting her to move in a circle there is the addition to leg cues. Is that it? That and my body language says GO, not WHOA? I could continue to turn up the volume on her to get her to
go forward when she hesitates, but I'm trying to set her up for success, not failure, and I don't want to push her to the point she feels the only place she can go is up. I'm fairly new at training, and I don't want to get my mare frustrated. What are your thoughts on this? Thanks in advance.
N. R. - Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Sylvia's Answer: Hi N. Thanks for writing. Part of the problem there is that you're teaching the one-rein stop without other important foundational stuff put in there first, I believe. I go over in my Whispering Way™ 12-Step Total Training System
DVD set exactly what needs to be in the horse's foundation ALONG WITH the one-rein stop teaching. It's all about leg cues control (that is built on the ground first), so that's part of what you're missing there, I believe, as well as more I think I can see from here. By the time you finish the ground work steps in my program, your horse is much more despooked and confident, and more willing to go where you ask them to go. By the time you finish that and then do my steps in saddle, you'll also have control of
all 4 quarters of the horse so that you can direct them at times when they are stuck like that.
So, all this to say, there's so much more you need to be putting into your horse's foundation there (and is presently missing there probably) and since you are teaching her yourself (which I highly applaud!), you might think about getting my 12-step program DVD set, and I think you're going to quickly see for yourself exactly what you're missing there and easily be able to plug up all those foundation holes yourself. And if you ever have any questions as you go along applying what you learn in my program,
I'm always an email away for backup support if you ever need that. That's what my Remote Coaching Program is all about!
But, in the meantime, let me explain what I think might be going on there. Yes, it's all in the body language and mannerisms of communication. In the one-rein stop your inside rein will be drawn in taut and if you need to, you're going to bump your inside leg (back a bit) to disengage the hind quarters to stop the forward motion (disengaging a horse's hind quarters = horse's inside hind leg crosses in front of his outside hind leg and makes it so he cannot go forward). It's a clear communication
that "we are stopping now, thank you!!" You can even use a "whoa" there if you want, to make it really clear. The opposite sound to mean "go" would be a kiss or a cluck and an open rein, not drawn in.
If/when a horse doesn't want to go straight (let's just look at it here in that respect: a horse doesn't want to go straight somewhere that you've asked, for whatever fear reason, basically not trusting the leader to make those decisions suddenly)
so you decide to put their feet to work instead, zig-zagging even. You control all 4 quarters with your feet, not just the reins.
Think of it like this: you're straddling the horse, facing forward. Say you want the horse to turn right: You want the horse's left shoulder to move away to the right, so, you're going to move your left foot forward and tap that shoulder (do it exaggeratingly in the beginning, foot real far forward, when the horse is early on this learning curve, for clarity); if you need to, you're also going to take your right leg and move it back to tap/bump and ask for the hindquarter to move to the left to create that
needed bend. To turn left, you do the opposite: your right leg is going to tap that right front shoulder, your left leg is going to reach back to bump the inside hind quarter to the right.
Maybe try practicing this on your horse, just at a standstill. One quarter at a time, with your foot. If the horse seems confused, climb off and do it on the ground with the stirrups, one quarter at a time, breaking it down for the horse (actually, I always teach this on the ground first. First with just my
hands, then with the stirrup. Then I climb on and do all four quarters separately, one at a time, at a standstill, until the horse connects brain to all four feet individually).
Once the horse gets that down, I'll then go ride/weave around a line of cones, for example, in my arena, trying only to use my feet to steer the horse as much as possible (this is a real visual thing, which is why I initially pointed you to my videos). This exercise is really, really helpful, because real steering of the horse shouldn't be just about the reins, but in the end: see how much steering you can do with just your feet, breaking down all four quarters separately and clearly. Again, exaggeratingly
at first, but as the horse gets it, your feet won't have to go so far forward or back for the horse to understand exactly which of the 4 quarters you are directing there, until it's eventually almost imperceptible to see.
Back up and work on just that for a while and I think it's going to help you a lot there. Then once the horse really gets it well in the "safe place," try venturing out and working on it in the "scarier" places. Keep the horse's feet busy there and they
won't have too much time to be making decisions. Of course, I do add in the reins there as well, but I think it's real important to get your feet connecting to the horse's feet as well, as it's going to serve you well if/when the horse suddenly gets sticky. I'm going to put them to work (not meanly, just "busily") if they get stuck suddenly, them thinking they're supposed to be making decisions there on their own. We're going to go right, left, bending with my feet, directing each quarter. A horse can't
think of more than one thing at a time really. Get his feet really busy there, but very directed by you, and he's not going to have much time to think about "I don't want to go there."
The trick to getting a horse to go straight somewhere when they don't want to is: don't go straight, go in zig-zags and working those four quarters correctly. The engine of the horse, by the way is: in the rear. So, even when going forward, we are steering the rear/hind quarters, kind
of like a motorboat, with the motor in the back.
So, unsticking a stuck horse who doesn't want to go forward somewhere involves moving those hind quarters over until you regain control of them. But in both directions if needed. I think you'll see what I mean when you get out to work on this in particular.
If a horses is REALLY scared of a certain location (and that's a feel-read thing), there is absolutely nothing wrong with climbing off and ground working/ground driving them around that location until they see: nothing bad happens to
them there; you'll take care of them. Always wind down that ground work into a one-rein stop and bond on them in that "safety zone," so they see, "we always return to this safe, loving place, see? I'll take care of you; you needn't worry!"
Whenever I'm training a horse that is learning a lot of new things like that, I find it really helpful to go ahead and put your natural horsemanship halter underneath your bridle/bit (if you're riding with that) and tie off the
12' lead rope, so that if/when you do climb off to return to some remedial ground work like that, you have the natural horsemanship halter/12' lead to back up and ground work them through a problem area and that's the best communication "tool" for that groundwork. Don't stay stuck in the saddle when teaching a suddenly clueless horse something if they've just completely shorted out, if you know what I mean. Climb down and break it down into smaller groundwork baby steps so they can "connect the
dots" better.
I hope this answers your questions. Let me know if I can be of any further help to you there.
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Question - First horse fears: My new horse is a 3-year-old mare palomino. I am 47 years old and I have been riding 8 weeks. I took lessons, western, I have a round pen, but I am scared to death. There is something about the round pen that makes me uneasy. My horse has a big motor and a lot of energy. I just want to ride on trails and around my home. I can get in the pasture with her. She has a lot of sense, but when she gets in the round pen and
starts running fast, I have to get out. We saved a long time for a horse and for lessons. I have the basics and I do something with her every day, just not riding every time. Do you have any suggestions on how to get rid of this fear? I love horses, everything about them, so why am I so afraid? I want to be able to go and saddle up and just ride. Can you help me at all? Anything, any suggestion. I am desperate. Thank you.
L. G. - Internet
Sylvia's Answer: Hi L. I'd like to shoot straight here, but hear it kindly please. You're afraid because: this horse is a very bad match for you as a beginner, I think. There's a saying in the horse world that goes like this: green on green = black & blue. Meaning: the worst horse/human match possible (and which too often results in injuries) is a beginner person with a young/beginner horse; i.e.: "green on green." Your horse is too young for you
(they're not adults until around the age of 7; until then, they are "kids") and too green for you. The better match should go like this:
*Inexperienced person matched with a very experienced, been there/done that well-trained, OLDER, safer horse.
*Green and young horses should be matched only with very experienced horse people/riders.
When you step outside the realm of those two "better matches," instant problems occur. And even serious injuries. This is too much horse for you with your limited experience and knowledge, it appears from here. I would suggest selling the horse to someone who is more experienced and work to find an older (past the age of 13 ideally) horse that is safer and well trained and more experienced, to build your skills on for a few years. See, in your case there, I happen to feel that
fear you are feeling is not necessarily a bad thing. That fear is an inner self-preservation alarm that is blaring to you as loudly as it can, that you are in danger there. And you are potentially! And those are the kinds of inner alarms you don't want to shut off manually. They will shut off all by themselves, when no longer needed. If you feel you absolutely cannot sell this horse, then your only option, I feel, is to see if you can work one-on-one with a natural horsemanship trainer, them
working not only with you to build your skills and confidence there, but with your horse as well -- there's no way a 3-year-old horse is "finished." If anything, their training is only just starting. And a 3-year-old is not really going to be mentally or physically mature for 4 more years! That's a lot of time to potentially waste, waiting to have fun in your horse endeavors. I have a "Find a Natural Horsemanship Trainer Near You" section on my web site that starts here if you choose to go
that route: CLICK HERE
But again, I would more strongly advise thinking about selling this horse and moving on to a horse that is a better (safer!) match for you that is older, more experienced (and then STILL work with a natural horsemanship trainer to build your skills and confidence on that safer, more mature horse now).
I know this probably isn't what you want to hear, but I think it is what you need to hear. Without safety as our focus at all times with our horse endeavors, we would have
nothing (and/or be in too dangerous situations).
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Question - Horse afraid of saddle: Hi Sylvia. I bought your program and have been using it well. My horse, a 7-year-old Arab/thoroughbred, has responded real well. EXCEPT put a saddle on him and his head goes straight up. No amount of pressure will bring it down. Finger in the mouth? Head goes so high I can't reach him. It's almost like he knows I'm trying to relax him, but he is having no part of it. I can ride him bareback, I can get in the saddle, by ally-oop.
The use of stirrups is taboo. Help! I would like to get over this hump. I have had a vet check him, and the saddle fits, both are fine.
D. C. - Virginia Beach, Virginia
Sylvia's Answer: Hi D. Break this problem down into smaller baby steps, using advance/retreat. Let me explain. Since you've ruled out pain/poor saddle fit, let's assume this is a past sensory memory fear then. When you flush out a fear like that, you are going to use advance/retreat to get them past the fear issue. Here's how: Bring the saddle close to the horse, but then retreat. Figure out where that "bubble space line" is where you see the horse
tense up about you holding the saddle near him, and do dozens of repetitions of you advancing, staying just this side of that bubble space tension line, then retreating. Over and over again until you see the horse start to relax about just that one stage. Pause a few seconds after every retreat, away from the horse, to give the horse time to digest that retreat/success.
Now advance just one step over that "bubble space" line and then retreat away (you are holding the saddle in your
hands throughout this). Do that dozens of times. Soon the the line is redrawn and there's a new "bubble space" line, but closer to the horse. Advance/retreat, but try to retreat, then pause, before the horse has time to tense up. It takes as long as it takes.
Soon you'll be closer to the horse. Touch him on the side with the saddle, but instantly retreat (would help if you had someone else holding the horse in halter/lead throughout all this, so the horse doesn't wander away during
this desensitizing lesson). Pause. Then repeat. Once the horse can handle you touching his side with the saddle and you retreating, and he's more relaxed about it, now approach and raise the saddle up a little higher and touch him higher up there with the saddle, but instantly retreat. Do this dozens of times until he's completely relaxed about that.
Now, switch around to the other side of the horse and start all over and repeat this entire exercise so he gets desensitized on both sides equally.
Advance/retreat. It's during the retreat that the horse gains confidence with something they fear, so be very retreat focused there, not goal focused.
Pretty soon being touched on both sides with the saddle raised up high is not going to be a big deal to him IF you've done enough quick retreats there. Retreat, retreat! Can't do too many retreats in my opinion!
You might end the lesson on that point for the day if the horse surmounted just that, and let it soak for a
day or two. However, if he's doing really well with all that, you can move on if you feel he's ready.
The next step is to gently raise the saddle onto the horse's back, but just as quickly remove it and walk away/retreat. Pause a few seconds, your back or side to him (no eye-to-eye contact during the retreat phase) so he digests his success there. Do this stage many, many times. Again, be retreat focused, do dozens of times of putting saddle on, taking off fast, retreat. Do it on both sides of
the horse.
After the horse handles that well with complete relaxation, both sides, now set the saddle on and leave it on for 5-10 seconds, then remove, retreat. Many times. Do equally on both sides.
Once the horse is okay with that, now leave the saddle on for 20 seconds, then remove/retreat. Pause. Repeat. And so on. Soon you'll be up to a minute of the horse quietly handling the saddle on the back. Might be a good place to end the lesson for the day to allow the ultimate
release of pressure for "right answer." And let that lesson soak.
Keep working on the problem like I show above: advance/retreat, adding more & more minutes to the time the saddle rests on his back before removing/retreating with the horse relaxed about it, and soon the horse is going to get past this problem altogether.
I would then work on desensitizing the horse to fear of the stirrups like I show in my DVD set. You should have already accomplished the moving of all four quarters with just your hands, like I teach in my DVD, so the stirrups now shouldn't be as big a deal, but start off very softly there with the stirrups and show the horse that you're just asking for individual quarters just like you did earlier with your hands, but now with the stirrup. If he has problems with your hands alone doing that, you need to
back up and work on just that for a while.
I wanted to pass to you a link on my web site that talks a little more about saddle desensitizing in case you didn't see it earlier:
Work on advancing/retreating, breaking this down into better baby steps and you should be able to get him past this fear. Again, I can't emphasize enough: don't be goal focused there, be: retreat focused! Hope this helps!
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Question - Horse bolts when being lead: Hi Sylvia. I have adopted a six-year-old "green broke" paint mare from a local horse sanctuary and we've started your training program (I recently bought your Complete Package). In just a short time, I have seen many positive
results in areas that needed improvement!
There is something that she has done a couple times that concerns me and I'm not sure what to do about it. When I am leading her outside of her pasture, she has a tendency to get nervous. I spent a lot of time leading her in the pasture and now I'm trying to venture out with her a little more (playing your red light/green light game). I can tell she is getting nervous because her breathing changes and her head shoots up. I do a lot of retreating back to the pasture fence line -- go out a little ways and
then come back, go out a little further and come back. I try to get her to think about doing something such as dropping her head to relax or back up. That seems to help a lot and gets her to focus back on me instead of her perception of the scary world out there. She has a tendency to crowd into me and I've really been working on that (helicopter with the lead rope, flapping my arms, backing her up). I'm patient with her because I know she is reacting out of fear, not aggression.
This is the problem: I will be leading her and feeling like everything is fine -- she is not breathing hard, she's not dancing around, she's leading fine, but then all of a sudden before I even knew what happened, she has flown past me and ripped the lead rope out of my hand. She bolts so darn fast, without any warning, she is gone before I even know what happened.
The first time it happened she actually tried to kick me as she was passing me by. As I think more about it, I think she was trying to kick the rope that was "chasing" her as she ran away. She doesn't go very far even though she could run to Timbuktu if she wanted to. I thought for sure that I'd be spending hours trying to get her back home, but I was truly amazed at what happened next. She will run about 10-15 feet, stop and look at me like she is saying "help." I can then draw
her back into me with my body language and she'll walk right back up to me without me even having the lead rope. I'll reassure her, she gets calm and then we are on our way again.
Is it possible to know when she is going to bolt like that? Am I missing a sign? I understand that it is fear-based and she is going to need more confidence in me as well as in herself. I'm trying to be a good leader and lead with confidence and reassure her when it feels right.
I have spent a lot of time desensitizing her. The lead rope is not a problem for her until it's "chasing" her. As part of desensitizing her to the rope, I have asked her to walk while I've dangled the rope all over her legs and it's not an issue for her. The bolting has happened three times now and I don't want her to think that this is the best option for her. It would be wonderful if she would think, "Ok, great, I'm going for a walk with my owner. She's pretty cool and she's never
let anything hurt me. She's my leader and I'll trust what she says." Is this just going to take more time? I've had her for about two months and prior to living with me she was extremely neglected. Most of the time I get the feeling that if she could, she would jump into my pocket just to finally be able to be close to someone. She finally has a friend, our 35-year-old donkey, but I notice she does a lot of pacing around her 1 1/2 acre pasture fence line as if she is looking for something else. I wish
I could read her better. Any suggestions you have would be greatly appreciated!
K. C. - Shingletown, California
Sylvia's Answer: Hi K. Good letter! You're actually doing better than you think there! Multi-directions you're doing better than you think. And you're doing everything right! But let me add in something new you can do there so that she starts "hitting a wall" so to speak for bolting/breaking away behavior (and it's for her own good that she hits that wall/rules that out as an option once and for all; she's scaring herself with this bolting
behavior and so think of this next route as: therapy, so she can stop scaring herself so much, and instead will learn to turn to you at all times for reinforcement reassurance, you as her leader there).
For this next step, to work on this particular problem, let me direct you to a link on my web site that will go into more detail about it, and how to use a "belly rope" to fix this breaking-away problem now:
Work on that exercise, exactly as I've taught it there, skipping nothing and this'll work, you'll see!
The other thing I would suggest is in the category of further desensitizing her to the dangling ("chasing") rope. If you have access to a round pen, do it there, that's the ideal place to work on this (otherwise, a paddock will do as well). Tie the natural horsemanship halter/12' lead rope on like usual. Do your rope desensitizing, then, take the lead rope and dangle
it over her back so that it touches the outside hind leg, then flag her off and away from you. If she's not too "whoo-hooey" about it, go ahead and round pen her there with that rope just dangling behind her, having her change directions, etc. If she gets kind of spooked about it and if she is at potential risk of ignoring your directions there (risk of running into you there, etc.), just clear out of the round pen the second you toss it over her back/flag her away, and immediately exit the round pen
& leave her in there for a while, "living life with a rope dangling behind her." She'll work it out! This will serve you well in that as she learns to cope with that "chasing rope," that in the end, is very harmless to her there, she's going to regain new confidence. The opposite of fear is: confidence. So, the more creative desensitizing you do there, not tip-toeing around her problems/fears, but getting real proactive there, the more this raises her confidence level and erases her fears
altogether.
With really over-reactive horses like that, I do that often -- toss the rope over their back, leave it dangling by their back feet, dragging behind them, and I exit the round pen/go take a break, and let them just live life with it for a bit, until they settle down about it. They work it out pretty quickly all by themselves there! Only after they have settled down about it at liberty there, all by themselves, do I then go back in and start round penning them at liberty, with the rope still dangling.
After they're okay with that, and they follow my directions there completely, them finally ignoring that dragging rope, then I'll approach them, stroke reward, relax/bond with them, removing the rope; and then I go to the other side of the horse and toss the rope over to the opposite side now and repeat the exercise (remember: what you teach the horse on one side does not necessarily translate to the other, so you have to desensitize both sides separately, but equally!).
Hope all this helps.
Put those suggestions to work and you're going to make even more positive progress there, you'll see! But you're doing great so far overall! Know that. Proud of you! :-) | |
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Sylvia Scott
Whispering Way™ Natural Horsemanship Training
Whispering Way Farm
3850 Horse Farm Road, Blacksburg, VA 24060
Email: sylvia@naturalhorsetraining.com
Web Site: www.naturalhorsetraining.com
Phone: (540) 953-3360, Fax: (540) 953-3370 | |
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