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Sylvia Scott |
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June 2007 |
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Greetings from the Dear Friends: First, I want to thank all of you for the many, many letters of support & condolences we received from all over the world over the past several weeks regarding the shooting tragedy here in Blacksburg, Virginia, on the campus of our beloved Virginia Tech, and I also especially want to thank everyone for the continual concern for our daughter, Alisha, who is now a Junior at Virginia Tech. The subsequent weeks were very difficult for her and for all the Blacksburg and Virginia Tech community here. But we observed that Alisha quickly set her own feelings aside and took up the torch of what we as parents have always modeled to her: she reached out to help other students who were having a difficult time coping. As an honor student and psychology major at VT, with the goal of going on to grad school to become a clinical psychologist, Alisha spent countless hours, often late into night after night, into wee early morning hours, bouncing around to reach out to those who needed help coping. We were so proud of her. But even the best counselors need a break from grief counseling, and when the semester ended, I whisked Alisha down to my native Florida for about 10 days of mom-daughter "girl time" getaway to relax her, recharge her and let her focus in on her own feelings for a bit. It was the right medicine at the right time. I really appreciated everyone's patience with me being out of circulation over that period, as I needed to just focus on "family issues" only for that necessary time. Alisha is doing really well now. What people don't seem to realize, and I would like to share is: the tragic events did not weaken the Virginia Tech spirit at all, but conversely, it greatly fueled all the students somehow even moreso now, as they share with the world at every opportunity they get how close knit they really are on campus, and how very much they all love VT deeply, and the unique community here. It is a remarkable college with even more remarkable students (all top students from around the world, who worked long and hard to get there) and incredibly gifted professors and extraordinary support staff. Nothing can or will ever squelch that "Hokie spirit." Even when...the wonderful people we lost will always be missed and never be forgotten... We will continue to invent the future through our blood and tears Virginia Natural Horsemanship Training Center Summer Break The Virginia Natural Horsemanship Training center will be closed from June 13 - June 24. This is our Summer Break period where we get to spend some family time with our now mostly-grown children, who also have breaks from jobs, school, etc., at that time. We appreciate your patience during that period and we will be back to business as usual after that date! In the meantime, learn more about our programs here: CLICK HERE Here is a typical feedback response we have recently received from a happy user of our program: I've been using your Whispering Way 12-Step Total Training System for 5 days and it's WONDERFUL! I'm working with a 2-year-old horse who is just a sponge! I can now pick up his feet, lateral flex, put his head down to calm him, he actually lifts his tail when scratched under the tail! I'm amazed. I could just go on and on! Thank you Soooo much Sylvia Scott for a Great DVD and Great information! N. R. - Chiefland, Florida And you can read here a few more of the many testimonials we have been receiving from those around the country and world who are learning from our educational program DVDs: CLICK HERE Have a great and safe month of riding, and remember to stop and love your family at every opportunity, including your "horse family!" You will never regret the amount of time you take to spend devoted time with your family...and your horses. In the end, that's all that matters!
We all can learn from each other! Sylvia Scott
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These Out! Road to the Horse Trainer Challenge Announces Next Year's Contestants - MURFREESBORO, Tenn., May 12, 2007: It's official - defending champion Chris Cox (Mineral Wells, TX) returns to the round pens for Road to the Horse March 1-2, 2008. He'll meet a packed house at Murfreesboro's Tennessee Miller Coliseum as he challenges newcomers Tommy Garland (Powhatan, VA) and Ken McNabb (Cody, WY) for prizes totaling over $15,000. Cox (http://www.chris-cox.com) wowed the 2007 Road to the Horse crowd when his horse respectfully followed him out of the large arena at the end of his freestyle round-showing the trust and bond natural horsemanship can create. Watch Cox on Road to the Horse Host Rick Lamb's RFD-TV show on May 15. You'll see the first footage from Road to the Horse 2007 and sneak a peak at what the soon-to-be-released Road to the Horse DVD will be like. Garland (http://www.tommygarland.com) comes to Road to the Horse as an expert Arabian horse trainer-bringing kind and solid horsemanship training to the horse show crowd. His horses have won in western, trail and hunter divisions and received high honors in the English and driving disciplines in the US and Brazil. He won the 2006 Equine Extravaganza Trainer's Challenge and was recently nominated by the Arabian Professional Horseman's Association as the 2006 Male Western Pleasure Trainer of the Year. See Garland's teaching style on his CPR for Horse and Rider television show. McNabb (http://www.kenmcnabb.com) has taught thousands of horse enthusiasts about kind horse-training methods through his RFD-TV show and his crowd-gathering expo and training clinics. McNabb was one of the first John Lyons Certified Trainers. He now lives the cowboy lifestyle in Wyoming. "We've turned the heat up for 2008," Owner/Producer Tootie Bland says. "There's no doubt the 'Chris Cox Rocks' fans will return with the strength of a champion. Cox is a proven winner and his fans have no doubts he can win again. The South will rise to the occasion and support Tommy Garland, their Southern son. And never discount a Wyoming cowboy. Ken McNabb will come with a fire of his own. Get ready, we won't disappoint." But there's more. A Road to the Horse crewmember has decided to literally throw his/her hat in the ring. The identity is a secret at press time, but Bland promises to reveal a clue each month-helping you guess the fourth competitor before all is revealed at the March 2008 event. Start guessing! Tickets to the 2008 event go on sale Monday, May 14, 2007 at 9:00 a.m. CST. Call toll free, 877-772-5425; log on to http://roadtothehorse.com/tickets.html Ticket Prices:
How to Order: Modern technology has its advantages. Purchase your tickets online and you can print them immediately. Plus, you'll have a chance to see the arena's seating chart and choose the seats best for you and your friends. Phone and Internet lines will be open at 9:00 a.m. CST, 10:00 a.m. EST. Log on to http://www.roadtothehorse.com before tickets go on sale to see seating choices and chart your ticket-purchasing plan or call toll free, 877-772-5425. On May 14, log on to http://roadtothehorse.com/tickets.html to order. Bonus: If you order online, you'll be automatically entered for a chance to win two Hospitality Room tickets-that's a value of $500. One person's name will be drawn. Only two Hospitality tickets granted. Online orders only, no phone orders entered in bonus drawing. Void where prohibited. Saddle Up For St. Jude - Saturday, June 23, 2007 - At Jubilee State Park Equestrian Area in Brimfield, Illinois (just outside Peoria). Organized ride begins at 9:00 a.m., followed by lunch at noon, and then the auction at about 1:00 p.m. Auction contains many horse-related items, from saddles to custom tack, feed, horse art, houseware items, etc. (including Sylvia Scott Whispering Way Natural Horsemanship Training Videos)..even a newborn filly! This is truly a very fun horse event...Fun for adults and kids. By Saturday, the Horse Park will be full, but we have an overflow area for horse trailers and trucks. There are bathrooms and water on site, but no electric hook-ups. Generators are allowed in most areas until 10:00 p.m. If you need more information, don't hestitate to call or email John Soehn, Saddle Up For St. Jude Organizer, Brimfield, Illinois, Phone: 309-645-6218; Email: sonybalony2@aol.com To learn more about Saddle Up For St. Jude in general: CLICK HERE Summer Equestrian Camps for Kids - School's out and your horse-passionate child wants to spend time with horses, but you don't own a horse? Or your youngster owns a horse but would like to have some summertime fun surrounded by other horse-passionate kids? Think about sending them to an equestrian summer camp! I have a list of a lot of horse camps for kids and a vast list of resources/additional links all in the category of Summer Camps for Kids on my web site: CLICK HERE Other Ideas for Summertime Fun for Horse-Crazy Kids - If you have a horse-lover child to keep busy on rainy or too-hot-for-outdoor fun days this summer, check out my Horse Games section of my web site, where you will see a vast list of Horse Board Games, Horse Video/Computer Games, Horse Games to Play Online, Horse Game/Activity Books, Horse Paint & Craft Sets, and Horse Puzzles. Check them out starting here: CLICK HERE I also have a large list of Horse Books For Kids starting here: CLICK HERE Horse
Problem Questions From You & Question - Going to work at a racehorse facility: Hi there Sylvia. I've been asked to go and work at a race track in New Zealand for the summer, and although I have had many years experience with horses, I am not overly confidant in this area. I have no fear of racers, but the fact that I have heard they can have rather big tempers and can be hot headed. If you know any information that might help me through this next month - to help me avoid those sticky situations, then please feel free to pass on your fantastic knowledge. Thank you so much for your precious time. Many thanks, J. - New Zealand Sylvia's Answer: Hi J. It's hard going to a racing facility like that which probably has their own ways of training horses. I have a link on my web site here that talks about some of the problems that racehorses can come with (not sure how much this will help you): Your best bet would probably be to work very closely with an experienced trainer there, to make sure you stay as safe as you can! And try to avoid being pressured to do things that you don't feel you are experienced enough to do, listening to your inner radar about that. That's the best advice I can think of, off the top of my head. :-) Good luck to you and stay safe! Reply later from J. in New Zealand: I just wanted to drop a quick e-mail just to say thank you for the notes you gave me about racers. I have just come back from my 2-month job at the racing facility. It was an amazing experience which I will never forget. I don't think I would have been as confident as I was without the notes and main ground points you gave me here. So thank you very much! Question - Horse fears saddle after saddle slip incident: Dear Sylvia: I have a problem that I'm not sure how to fix. I have a 15-year-old paint mare that I have owned about a year. We have come a long way. We didn't know much about her past or her training. She's basically green broke. We had been doing very well in the arena and trails, though she is a little spooky at times. Well, in February we were pole bending at a trot when we knocked a pole down. She blew sideways. It was the very first time we ever hit a pole; she didn't know they moved (human error), so when she blew sideways my saddle twisted to the right and was on her sideways. She was good at standing in one place, crow hoping until we got the saddle fixed. I re-mounted her and was able to show her that the poles aren't going to get her. Well now when I saddle her, I tighten her cinch up in stages, but she hates her saddle now and starts crow hoping and I'm afraid to get on her. She's lost her trust in me and I know she thinks the saddle is going to twist again. How can we overcome this? I want to be able for us to go down the trail again. I am practicing natural horsemanship. E. - Internet Sylvia's Answer: Hi E. Sounds like you're doing great work with your horse so far! I think it would help to back her up and do some preliminary desensitizing not involving the saddle at all first, to raise her fear bar there so that the saddle seems like no big deal then. Give this a try: First, back up and do some extensive plastic desensitizing and I go over in greater detail here how to do that: Once she's really good with all that (all you read there/then apply)--and only then--next, move on to do some serious tarp desensitizing, which I go over in detail how to do that here:
By the time you surmount all the above, she's going to be a braver, calmer horse, with a fear bar that is greatly raised there. Now you can bring in the saddle blanket (only) and re-desensitize her to that, just like you did with the tarp. The saddle blanket will seem like no big deal by that point because the tarp was a far bigger obstacle to overcome, in her mind. Take your time. Once she can handle the saddle pad on her back & you can lead her around, no big deal like, with that pad on her back, now (and only now) move on to saddle desensitizing, but use advance/retreat there, just like you learned to do with the plastic and tarp desensitizing. It's all about the retreat! Don't be goal focused there, but be retreat focused. If you do all the above plastic & tarp desensitizing first, she'll far more easily accept the saddle re-desensitizing lesson, you'll see! And incidentally, all the above (including plastic, tarp & saddle desensitizing) is taught real clearly and visually in my Whispering Way 12-Step Total Training System DVD set, which is helping so many people out there, with great success. You might think about stopping and getting that DVD set, because I know it's going to help you a lot there, multi-directions even! Hope this helps and let me know if I can be of any further help to you there!
Question - African Horse Sickness & other equine threats - What to do?: We are ecstatic out here in South Africa, as we have finally had freezing weather (-2 - 0 degrees) after a terrible drought and a heat wave summer. This is always fantastic news for all horse owners here, as we live in dread of the African Horse Sickness (AHS) bugs from December to June every year. These are small midges, which transmit the virus by biting the horses. So we spend our time spraying our horses with all manner of repellents and I even make a fire in a drum every night for six months. Seems odd, but it certainly works. Frost kills the bugs, so, forget birthdays or Xmas, the first frost is the best day of the year for us! AHS is always worse when we have had a lot of rain. Not a problem this year, but we still live in terror. Have you ever heard of a similar disease in other parts of the world? Australia or South America? I would be interested to know. N. G. - Pretoria, South Africa Sylvia's Answer: Hi N. Re African Horse Sickness -- you educated me there. I really had little knowledge of that. Heard of it, but didn't know much about it myself. Some of the things we deal with around here like that is West Nile Virus -- caused by mosquitoes. But our horses can get immunized for that. And it seems to involve more farms near standing water, which we don't have too much of around us here personally, but I immunize our horses just the same for that. Also...we have Potomac Horse Fever in pockets around this region. Our horses get immunized to that periodically as well. Equine Encephalomyelitis is another that is generally vaccinated against here as well. I use the vet school here, the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, which is a large vet school located on the campus of Virginia Tech here, as my horses' vet, because they keep up with all the latest in diseases pertinent to our region and it gives me peace of mind to know my horses get the best of care from the most expert vets out there today. They bring the 4th year vet students when they make in-the-field barn calls, and so the students get to learn hands-on, even with my own horses and I greatly support that program. No matter where you live, it seems there is always some disease or another that can negatively affect horses. I know people up in the New York/NE regions of the United States deal with horses & humans getting Lyme Disease. I actually lived in New York for 15 years, way back, and I contracted Lyme Disease MYSELF when we lived there -- it was pretty nasty! But horses are getting it too and they are working on a vaccine for that now. I guess my point is: there is disease everywhere and many of them are insect-based (starting in the insects). And this is why it's so important as horse owners to have a very strong partnership/relationship with a well qualified equine vet and to have at least twice a year equine examinations -- usually spring & fall, so that appropriate immunizations can be discussed and administered for those diseases the vet feels are potential threats depending on our regions, and for those that there are immunizations for. The vet will also keep you posted on the lasted immunizations available. I have a feeling if African Horse Sickness is such a huge problem, like you described, they will maybe up the road come up with an immunization for that as well. I'm sure they are constantly working on it! It's so much better, in my opinion, to remove the potential threats via a strong, intelligent immunization schedule, but done properly and that means: spread out for some of them. It's not a great idea to give all immunizations all at once, just one time a year. That's too hard on horse's system. But a good vet will recommend the separated-out schedule that works best for each individual horse in each individual region. And that's why we need to keep a vet on our team. I consider my horses' vet a very important part of our horse keeping team, along with our excellent farrier. They keep me up on the latest studies and recommended preventative medicine routes. I respect their knowledge immensely. Thanks for educating me more on African Horse Sickness. Let's hope they come up with a preventative cure soon! Question - Preparing a young horse for gelding procedure: Hello Sylvia. Awesome web site – God Bless the Hokies and the Soldiers! We have purchased a “baby brother” for our 10-year-old gelding so he wouldn’t be alone as he lost his “big brother” a month ago. The yearling is not gelded yet – he has been well handled and is very respectful of humans. We have not gone through the process of having a horse gelded – and in reading some articles, I find that there is a little bit of prep work to do before the day of the surgery. The yearling has not been taught how to accept his sheath being cleaned and “handled” – I have been working with it a little. When he is groomed, he will drop it and I can touch it a few times before he pulls it back in, but with each touch, he brings his back leg up (and fast) – like “get away!” – I tell him “NO!” And each time I touch it with little movement from his leg, I reward by currying and saying “Good.” What are your recommendations to make sure I am not being too quick or rough? I also read that I should take his temperature to learn what his normal range is before his surgery so that I could monitor his recovery. What are ways to do this? Another “side bar” – we have a mare on the left of us and a mare on the right of us – separated by two fences each. When the yearling was delivered, he was brought with a 3-year-old mare (she went back home) – but he reared up and screamed and presented “himself” as she walked past the stall he was in. Now my husband has inflicted worry in me about his behavior in the pasture towards the mares. What kind of drive does a yearling have? The two neighbors do not have an option to move their mares away; the yearling is 13.1 hands and the fence is 54” – he is not aggressive in any way. I know this isn’t a whole lot of information, but, what kind of precautions would you suggest while we train prior to the gelding date (which may be a month off)? Thank you so much for a great web site and sharing your knowledge. I look forward to your response. K. S. - Eustis, Florida Sylvia's Answer: Hi K. Actually, I haven't personally had experience with gelding a male horse. Although I own 3 geldings myself, they all came to me later, already gelded. I do have a link on my web site about being gelded, with tips from another natural horsemanship trainer & breeding expert I lean on in this category, our "resident breeding expert," Bob Claymier of Desert Rose Ranch in Hume, Virginia: However, I'm going to bounce your questions here to Bob Claymier so he can help you further there. Bob Claymier's Response: Hi K. – Sylvia asked me to respond to your questions. Hope some of this helps and good luck! First the sheath handling: You are right to start this procedure now as it is a health procedure that must be continued throughout his life. I often get in geldings that have a “bean” that has developed right at the opening of the urethra which can interfere with urination and ultimately result in bladder issues if left unchecked. Boys will naturally be protective of the sheath area and it is not unusual for them to raise a leg or strike out so any training must proceed with baby steps like we do all training related to natural horsemanship. I would start by stroking his flank area while holding onto the halter with your other hand – try to stroke a bit with that halter hand as well and bend his head slightly towards you so any kicking can be controlled away from you somewhat (via pulling the lead rope to move his hind quarters away if ever needed in emergency). You will begin to find his discomfort zone pretty quickly as you get closer to the sheath – back off your stroking a tad from there and then try again with going a bit further the next time, then retreating. I would probably try to do less reprimanding (when he brings his leg up) and more trying to get him to accept the stroking as something enjoyable – you can sometimes rub on the inside and outside of his hind leg high up at the same time and he begins to find that enjoyable which automatically puts the inside hand a little closer to the sheath. When (if) he finally begins to accept his entire outside sheath area being handled, I get a bucket of warm water and a sponge and begin to do the stroking all over again – now with the intent of actually putting the sponge in the sheath opening (at this point, I will have on a pair of surgical gloves). They often accept the warmth of the sponge better than just the hand alone. The sponge should be small enough to get into the sheath opening. This now might become a two-person job as you will be bent over and it often requires two hands to proceed any further – the other person should continue to hold the head bent a bit to the side you are on, with lots of stroking. Baby steps are again needed, so proceed and back off/retreat as necessary. When and if he accepts this, you should be able to grasp the penis which is likely to be in a fully retracted position. If you are able to get this far – the goal now is to teach him to drop the penis with very gentle downward pressure as he is likely to kick out at this point. You have to be very careful of your own safety as they can “cow kick” to the side a bit and you could be hit in the head area (you might wear a helmet in first lessons for this). Continue using a sponge and warm water in the sheath opening and hopefully he will ultimately become accustomed to this area being handled. I want to also add that I graduate up to using a hose with gentle pressure warm water when I finally get my boys to accepting having their sheaths cleaned. This can help clean the area and often quickly as well. Some boys obviously never accept any of these procedures very well and if that is the case, cleaning can be done with sedation and usually geared to semi-annual dental work or the like. Now for the temperature-taking: This is again a two-person operation with one holding the head with the horse's head again bent at a slight angle toward you so the rear of the horse can be controlled a bit when needed (pulling on the head moves the hindquarter away from you when needed). As above, we begin with baby steps, now stroking under the tail (using the tops of our fingernails) and gently rubbing around the anal area. When the horse relaxes, the tail should automatically lift, indicating acceptance. You can then grasp the tail up near the dock (the dock is the top base of the tail where it connects to the rump) and move it in circles – this is a good relaxation technique for other horse training as well. When all of this is accepted – and they usually find this enjoyable pretty quickly – you can graduate to the temperature taking. I like to use a digital thermometer because it is quicker, with something like Vaseline on the end. Some people like to tie or glue a string on the thermometer end – perhaps even with a clip to attach to the hairs of the tail, but I don’t go that far. Pick up the tail with one hand, which should be easily accepted after the above training, and insert the thermometer into the rectum with the other – watch out for any quick kicking action here. You might have to go back to using surgical gloves that are lubricated and gently insert a finger into the anal opening to get them to accept this part. I usually find that horses accept temperature-taking training easier than either having the sheath cleaned for the boys or udder cleaned for the girls (which should also be done on a regular basis). The subject of his behavior with other horses & the actual gelding time/procedures: I suspect the behavior you saw there (when he reared up and screamed and presented “himself”) was just normal separation behavior as he was losing his pasture friend who left, and felt threatened. Like all things in the horse world, there are no absolutes, but a yearling should not have really developed any drive yet. I have often kept my colts (that are going to remain stallions) in with mares for sometimes up to two years of age, but watching them carefully at this point. I do this to get them a little herd behavior training on how to be a gentleman around the girls. Usually if the boy gets to be 1 ˝-2 years of age during the winter season when the mares are likely not to be in heat, then he doesn’t have any yearnings either – again there are no always or nevers when it comes to this issue. I gear my gelding dates to two things: time of year and “dropping” of the testicles. I NEVER like to geld in fly season and either do an early spring or late fall surgery to stay out of the timeframe which you are suggesting. Your chances of infection are much greater due to the flies and the heat of summer and just makes all else related to this surgery difficult. Your vet will likely not want to perform the surgery as well if the testicles haven’t dropped, which can be determined by feel from the training above. The testicles should actually be outside of the body cavity and you shouldn’t have to search for them – I think gelding too early might also lead to more geldings being “proud cut” which leads them to being a bit studly throughout their life. Your vet can help you with what you are likely to see after the surgery, but the two obvious concerns are excessive bleeding and then swelling that does not subside in a few days. He will naturally drain some fluid after the surgery, but it will be lighter looking than blood – any stream of blood is an obvious sign of concern, but dripping initially is natural. They should be confined for perhaps a day after the surgery to ensure the bleeding is under control and then they need limited turn out to help the swelling reduce with exercise. Sometimes longeing is required to get that exercise as they likely will not feel much like moving for several days after the surgery. Cool water hosing of the area for cleanliness and to help with the swelling is a good idea as well. Good luck with your efforts and let us know how it all goes. Cheers, Bob Claymier Note From Sylvia: We here at the Virginia Natural Horsemanship Training Center are in the process of producing Bob Claymier's upcoming video on Pregnant Mare Care, Foaling and Foal Care/Foal Introductory Training. We are so excited about this project as most all of the footage has been shot and it is now in production stages, and Bob has done a phenomenally excellent job there of teaching horse owners everything they need to know in those endeavors. We will continue to keep everyone posted on the near future launch of this fabulous, one-of-a-kind video! Question - Trailer Loading for Beginners When Alone: First let me say that I am a new horse owner and know next to nothing about trailering. I have a question regarding unloading a horse trailer. I understand where you would want to secure the butt bar first when loading the trailer, but when unloading, if I undo the butt bar last, won't the horse back out with no lead or control from the handler (who just released the butt bar from the back of the horse)? How do I keep hold of my horse if I am trailering alone? I just don't understand how I can grab a rope when I am at the rear of my horse, nor how I can help her control her speed when asking her to back out. Some horses might back out quickly the moment the butt bar is removed. Do I attach a lead rope when I untie her and throw it over her back? Then grab for the rope as she backs out of the trailer? Thanks, I just bought my first trailer (straight load) and I'm unsure of this aspect of trailering, D. J. - Internet Sylvia's Answer: Hi D. Yes to your last statement there [Do I attach a lead rope when I untie her and throw it over her back? Then grab for the rope as she backs out of the trailer?] -- that's how you do it when alone. Best thing to do is to practice this a dozen times with your horse when at home, on a quiet day when you have plenty of time to devote to dozens of repetitions of loading/unloading, and not really planning to go anywhere. That way your horse gets the routine down and doesn't rush out of the trailer. [Note: You can even park your trailer inside an enclosed arena to put your mind at ease re the horse getting away during first practice lessons] For more on this topic here's a link on my web site:
For my link on how to teach your horse to trailer load: Seriously, since I can see you're a little nervous about this procedure, spend some non-pressured time repeating it over & over again at home in a lesson format (make sure the trailer is hooked to your car & the car emergency brake on, even for this practice lesson!), and I think you'll see how easily your horse can get this down, and so can you. If he rushes out, break it down into smaller baby steps like I teach in that second link above there, so he learns to back out calmly, rationally. Hope this helps! Question - Filly lies down suddenly in lessons: Hello,Sylvia! First, let me say thank you for all the help I have found on your web site over the past two years. I am another "back to the horseworld after children" owner that found this time the horses available in my price range are full of problems...have they become less trained, more sensitive, or more easily "thrown away?" I was always the odd one as a horsekid, who preferred the "Indian" ways of handling horses. I'm so glad this time around there are trainers like you who not only believe almost every horse is a precious being trying to do its best (even if that means trying to stay alive) AND that you can help all of us to help all of them. Bless you! I have a girlfriend in Pennsylvania, who doesn't have access to a computer. She has discovered a new twist in the world of training young horses and asked me to email you for possible insight into solving this puzzle. She has raised a quiet, gentle yearling filly who currently stands 14.1 hands! (The filly will be a big girl, like her own mom). Last week my friend took the filly into the round pen to start her ground work training. The filly already leads pretty well, picks up her feet, and generally is not sensitive to noises and fuss around her. All was going well with go forward cues on the 10-foot lead, and stop cues turning toward you. For about 10 minutes. Then grass in the round pen began to be more interesting...urging with voice commands, kissing sounds, wiggles on the line - the filly could care less. Finally, my friend decided to use a carrot stick tapping on her hip...worked fine for three or four turns. Suddenly the filly stopped and "hit the ground!" My friend thought she had suddenly lost her balance, and approached the filly to help her. Urging her to her feet, the filly started again to eat, and eventually, got going around the circle when swishing her tail at the carrot stick didn't work...another two turns and she hit the ground again - not in distress or fussing - just lying down and refusing to move. This time, my friend, knowing there was seemingly nothing wrong, decided to watch and wait. Three minutes later the filly decided she'd rested enough, got up easily and started to eat. My friend tried one more time and sure enough, the filly had her "trick" down. The filly's mom is an older halter horse with winning experience in the show ring. Later in life, she was saddle trained for a little girl to ride. The mare was a sweet, gentle ride until she decided time was up for working. Being rather large, the mare would slowly lie down - and the rider would have time to scramble off. Who says genetic imprinting doesn't happen? The filly has been checked by the vet - no leg problems, no imbalance problems, no lack of energy - she's a healthy yearling...and we're convinced a smart young lady too. She seems to have listened well to her mare mom: "Honey, when you've had enough, just lie down - they'll leave you alone." Sylvia, how would you approach this one? My friend COULD insist and get mean about it - but like us, believes in humane treatment. It's curious and funny except Emma is only going to get bigger - and did I leave out that my friend only weighs in at 97 pounds. She'd rather have this trick in hand as the filly matures. We'd appreciate any thoughts and suggestions you might have! Thank you for any help. Hope to hear from you soon! R. S. - Internet Sylvia's Answer: Hi R. This is a funny one! :-) Funny in that this youngster is well training her owner that she can do as she pleases, and what she pleases is: lying down when she feels like it. Oops. Not okay. First...one of the problems there is: they shouldn't have grass in the round pen "classroom" and I go over the why's here: Second...your friend needs to separate out that there is a difference in "being mean" and "being assertive as the lead mare of her herd of two." They are two entirely different things. She shouldn't be afraid to get assertive when a horse is misbehaving. And lying down when the "lead mare" didn't tell her to is: misbehaving. Your friend needs to nip that behavior in the bud, because this horse is crossing the line now into slowly getting spoiled. To me personally, there is nothing more dangerous out there than a spoiled horse. Those are the ones that people get hurt from more than any other kind of horse, in my opinion. So...your friend needs to take this behavior seriously. It's easy to discourage. The second she sees the horse start to want to go down, she needs to jerk the lead rope repeatedly downward (with some slack in the rope) and walk into the horse at the same time she makes a loud "shhhh" sound to mean "stop it!" If the horse does go down and she didn't catch it fast enough, your friend needs to get very "big" there and assertive and kick dirt at the horse, making a real ruckus, loud "Shhhh" sounds, snapping the lead repeatedly until the horse gets back up. Then pressure off/get quiet again for: right answer. Make the right thing easy, the wrong thing hard. Last thing you want is a horse who lays down at will like that. Would be dangerous up the road, so she should take this problem seriously and get it stopped. I want to direct you also to a another link on my web site that touches on this type of behavior: Your friend needs to teach her horse this exercise too, so she has better control of the horse's feet at all times: Always remember: All horses learn from the release of pressure what it is you want/what is acceptable behavior, not from the pressure itself. So...when you release the pressure and give the horse a sudden rest-release of pressure for the wrong behavior - like the above horse lying down, unasked for, and the owner releasing all pressure for that - you just accidentally taught the horse: it's okay to do this! When it's not. Get your release timing very quick for right answer responses, and don't release pressure for the wrong behavior. Hope this helps! Question - Yearling gets stuck when asked to trot on lead rope: Hi Sylvia. I have a 13-month-old quarter horse gelding who overall is coming along nicely. I round pen him regularly, do lots of backing up exercises and extensive desensitizing with him. He leads fine at the walk and on a very loose lead line and stays out of my space. My problem I'm having now is that I can't get him to follow me at a trot. As soon as I try to pick up the pace while leading from a walk to a trot, his feet get "stuck." I'd appreciate some help on this. Any ideas? As an aside, I regularly review your web site and find it most helpful. Keep up the great work! Respectfully, D. B. - Manteca, California Sylvia's Answer: Hi D. This isn't an uncommon problem with youngsters, actually. They're kind of still figuring out where their feet are! :-) What you can do there for this problem is use a training wand (like mine HERE) with plastic tied on the end (after already desensitizing the horse to that so he doesn't fear it: CLICK HERE TO LEARN HOW TO DESENSITIZE A HORSE TO WAND WITH PLASTIC) as an aid to show him better what you want from him: faster speed. Start off with exaggerating with your own feet, high stepping a trot yourself. Horses are mirror creatures and will often mirror their leader. So start off with yourself over-exaggerating that you are trotting. That's step one. These steps are going to happen fast, 1-2-3-4 like, in progression order (sequence of pressure, from low to high always). As you do that, you'll be taking the slack out of the rope. That's Step 2. If the horse looks like he's going to remain stuck there, not speeding up with you, make a kiss sound pressure (Step 3) added in there now, keep kissing until he complies (stop kissing when he does), and at the same time, (Step 4) have an assistant tap the rump of the horse with the end of that training wand to add in "up the volume of pressure" there. Have the assist always start with very small taps and build up incrementally there as needed. But the minute the horse complies with that request, and speeds up, the assistant needs to stop the tapping, remove all pressure there immediately, but run alongside the horse there with you. All horses learn from the release of pressure that they are doing the right thing, not from the pressure itself, so it's important for that "tapper helper" to release instantly all pressure there when the horse is doing the right thing. If the horse balks again, the tapper with wand taps again, starting low on the "volume" first always, building up as needed, releasing again (no tapping) when you get what you want. Do this all in very clear 1-2-3-4 progressive order, so the horse will see the sequence there. Pretty soon just your kissing noise is going to get the horse doing what you want there, now "lower on the volume." Soon just seeing you trot will get the horse trotting. It's really easier to have an assistant there for that backup help at first, when the horse is first learning this behavior request, because that allows you to keep slack in the rope appropriately rather than tugging on the horse. But you can do this yourself, as well, with a long enough wand and enough coordination there, using it behind you to tap behind the shoulder/drive line, asking for more impulsion, but it's a coordination thing when doing it alone, so often helps to have an assistant in this particular lesson at first. Give that a try and let me know how it goes! Question - Hard keeper older rescue horse - how to help her?: Hello. My daughter and I are somewhat new at horse keeping. We are very passionate about the health of all our animals. We agree that if you can't feed 'em, don't have 'em!! Anyway, about a year ago we had some bad wildfires come through our area. In the process of fighting and escaping these fires, we came across a very, very skinny and sickly mare. I let the owner know that we would give her a home or call animal control. He relinquished the horse to us. Well, after all the vet care, she still is not gaining weight like she should. Only 400 pounds or so in a year or more. Is this a normal weight gain? We feed Purina Equine Senior, along with a scoop of trace minerals; a round bale of good coastal hay is available for her and our other horse and donkey at all times, and a bit of alfalfa every day or two. She has had her teeth floated and has no back teeth whatsoever so her feed is watered down. I wormed her once with combo-care and almost killed her by doing so. She is about 25 years old. She is sweet as pie and was once extremely neglected. What can I do to make her feel better? I can look into her eyes and see that she is not well. Her condition is now out of the hands of vets. Please help if you can. This girl is a real sweetheart! Thanks. C. F. - Internet Sylvia's Answer: Hi C. I have had very, very good (excellent!) luck using the supplement called "Weight Builder" for such hard keepers - here it is online at Valley Vet, but you can also usually find it in tack/feed stores - CLICK HERE FOR WEIGHT BUILDER That Weight Builder supplement in particular works wonders in very underweight horses if you use it magnanimously, like....two scoops/per feeding (comes with its own scooper in the container), even a couple of times a day, added to their equine sr. feed. Going that route, they usually gain all the weight needed really fast, sometimes in just 4-8 weeks. Goes fast! Now....that said....if the horse has lots of worms, there's just no way the horse is going to gain weight easily. Horses should be dewormed every-other month (when paste deworming), year round, or I guarantee you, they probably have worms. Maybe try a gentle dewormer from here on, and don't give as much if the horse has a hard time with that (though check with your vet first on that). But definitely try the Weight Builder. It's in fine powder form, so easily dissolves into the mash you're giving there. You should see very quick results using that supplement religiously. Also...I wanted to say...at 25, this horse may also just be on her way out simply due to old age. You didn't say what breed this horse is (or if you even know), but, say, if she's a quarter horse breed, the average lifespan of even the healthiest of quarter horses is: 24-26 years. Might be the case there, that she's just on her "last life lap" so to speak. But couldn't hurt to give her weight builder (double dose each feeding) every time you supplement her Equine Sr., just to keep her most comfortable. By the way...if you do decide/realize that she indeed is on her way out...I learned something the hard way (as have many others), and I wanted to pass this along to you: do NOT stall her, but keep her in an open area. Like: pasture, or paddock, or arena, etc. The reason for this is: if she dies in a stall, it's incredibly difficult to get their bodies out of the stall. Keep her in an open enough area that will allow you to easily get to her body (like with a tractor) to bury her, nonstressfully to you. I know that's an uncomfortable thing to bring up, but it's something we learn in these trenches with older horses who are on their way out, or when you suspect they are on their way out, even if you've put all great efforts into them. Just something I wanted to pass along, "just in case." That "look in her eyes" that you described is indeed how they look not too long before they die/at the end of their days (days/weeks/few months?), so, just wanted to prepare you as best I can there to ease the stress on you if it comes to that. She's lucky to have you in her life to try to help her, by the way, even if she's potentially on her way out! Even old, sickly horses appreciate lots of love and care in their last months! It matters! Question - Horse afraid of being touched after static electricity shock: Sylvia: I just finished your article on the problem of "pulling back". While I found it to be VERY helpful, I wanted to find out if it truly applies to my horse. I have a 10-year-old mare that I have been showing successfully for some time. She is probably the best-minded mare that I have worked with and I just love her. That said, here is our problem: We live in Nevada where the air can get very dry. One evening I had my horse tied and I was grooming her and getting ready to put her away after a workout. I approached her to praise her and tell her what a good girl she is and I shocked her right on the face (static electricity). She freaked out, pulled back and broke the ring on the railroad tie and ran off. I felt horrible! I didn't think much of it, I guess in hopes that it would have been an isolated event, but it happened again. I went to untie her, shocked her and this time she flipped over backwards and landed on her back. My horse is now afraid of me approaching her face. It's as if she thinks I have some super electrical powers and she is terrified that I'm going to use them on her! I need your help. I am so afraid that she is going to injure herself, or worse, and it makes me feel just horrible that she is afraid of my touch What are your thoughts on this one? I would greatly appreciate any info you can offer! K. G. - Wellington, Nevada Sylvia's Answer: Wow. That's a new one on me! But probably pretty common, especially in dryer climates. First...for the pull-back problem, aside from what you read there on my web site (I don't think you have a "general" pull-back problem horse per se), you might think about getting Blocker Tie Rings put in there, then if the horse spooks there, they won't pull back so far or fight being trapped. We have them all over my training center here and they work great. You can check out/get blocker tie rings here: http://www.blockerranch.com/ It sounds like you need to back up and desensitize her face now to touch again. Horses live in the "now" spot. Her present "now" spot thinks you have something shocking in your hand when it touches her face. But the good news is, because they live in the now spot always, you can create a new now to show her your hand isn't supercharged after all. Start where she's comfortable being stroked or scratched -- and that might be her back, her neck -- find that "threshold line" heading toward her head that she starts to tense up if you cross it, and for a start, stay this side of that line and just stroke & scratch her (not patting -- patting tenses up horses, doesn't relax them; only stroke or scratch). Use your fingernails when you scratch, make this pleasurable. As you scratch in the "safe areas," slowly move your way toward that threshold line and then retreat, keep scratching/stroking (whichever the horse likes best--scratching usually gets you there faster because it feels really good to them). Advance to that threshold line, retreat. Several times. Next, advance toward that threshold line with your scratching, go slightly over it real fast with your scratching hand and instantly retreat back to where the horse felt comfortable. And do again. Advance/retreat is how you desensitize a horse to being touched somewhere they are afraid to be touched. Don't be goal-focused. Be retreat-focused. It's during the retreat phase that the horse learns to feel confident about you crossing that threshold line. Retreat, retreat! Even while making progress. Slowly the threshold line gets redrawn, closer to the target area, going this route. Soon you'll be stroking/scratching the face real fast, then, retreating fast. But be cognitively aware of where that threshold line is at all times and only go over it briefly, then retreat back to where the horse was comfortable. That line will disappear shortly and a new line redrawn. Advance/retreat is the name of the game here! Also...you need to teach your horse to relax throughout this, namely: your finger in the mouth to feather the tongue, to get the mouth working and lowering the head -- let me direct you to a link that teaches this on my web site:
Incidentally, all of this is shown real clearly and visually in my Whispering Way 12-Step Total Training System DVD set-- I think it might help you to get that so you can fix this problem for good. I teach desensitizing and so much more there that would probably help you multi directions even. But for a start, the above is what I would advise. Don't worry...you haven't permanently damaged her. Horses can have problems undone -- make sure in the future that you touch something else or some other part of her body first that is less sensitive (like her back maybe) if static electricity charging up in you is a continual problem. We get that indoors here in wintertime and we kind of learn how to touch a less sensitive part of someone first so we don't shock each other all the time. Question - Horse paces in stall: Hi. I just purchased a horse that is stalled a lot now. And at times he paces in circles. He is in a barn with other horses. The people I bought him from said he likes to be outside, but at this time he is at a trainer's and I am trying to get him ready for the show season. So he must be a horse that can be stalled. I assume this is a behavior problem and I hope there is something I can do to alleviate this anxiety problem. This horse is 13 years old. Any information would be appreciated. Thanks! D. H. - Internet. Sylvia's Answer: Hi D. I'm going to shoot real straight here, but hear it kindly, please -- I am always only about kindness and support, and education on natural horsemanship. I'm not a believer in stalling normal, healthy horses, to be quite honest (except in cases of unfortunate medical/injury layup). I go over this issue and how detrimental it is to horses physically and mentally here: So...I'm trying to show you here that no, it's not in the category of a "horse problem" there with your horse, but is in the category of a "human problem" -- Human-created by keeping a horse not the way they were intended to live. It's jail/solitary confinement, and goes against everything nature designed for a horse to be, mentally and physically. The more enlightened you get about natural horsemanship and natural horse keeping, the more horrific you see the act of too much stalling of normal, healthy horses can be. This is not just my opinion, but probably every natural horsemanship trainer/clinician today that you talk to. We're working long and hard in our profession to enlighten people on this aspect of horse care, for the horses' overall well being. My own horses here at my Virginia Natural Horsemanship Training Center and any horses I have in for training are never stalled (except for brief supplementary feedings sometimes, so there are no pecking order games for that supplement feeding, but they are let out immediately afterwards/after eating their supplement). They are kept pastured 24/7 with lots of run-in cover ability if they so wish. Most horses don't chose that shelter. That's predator-thinking (we are predators who crave shelter, caves; horses are herd, prey animals -- more comfortable in wide open spaces, to watch out for predators, and living with companionship at all times -- two completely different beasts of nature). Prey, herd animals, which is what horses are down to their DNA core, are designed to live within a herd (and just two horses can serve as a "herd") and out in open spaces/outdoors at all times. Stalling is the complete opposite of what a horse is designed for and: it sometimes can be cruel in my long experienced, seasoned opinion, depending on the individual horse -- as hard as I know that is to hear for the first time maybe. So...my advice is to let your horse live outdoors, pastured 24/7, ideally with other horses, and fast, before he starts to develop un-doable aberrant behaviors like pacing, weaving, cribbing, wind-sucking, etc. (all behaviors never found in the wild or in properly kept pastured horses, but only in stalled horses; and once the habits set in, releasing endorphins in their brains neurotically, they can get hooked on them -- it can be very, very hard to break them of those habits later); and if your present trainer does not provide for that pastured/more natural setup, I myself would not go with that trainer and I would protect my horse first and foremost. FYI...I have a vast list of natural horsemanship trainers up on my web site here, to help people find one closest to them: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/FindNHTrainers.html I know this is probably not what you want to hear, but is what you need to hear. But again, hear it kindly, please. There are times when I have to speak for the horse in my profession. 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 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
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