Virginia
Natural Horsemanship
Training Center

October 2005
Newsletter

Greetings from the
Virginia Natural Horsemanship Training Center
Home of Sylvia Scott Natural Horsemanship Training

Dear Friends:

We are making great progress in the final lap of our construction of the new Virginia Natural Horsemanship Training Center, LLC, here in Blacksburg, Virginia, since my last newsletter. At this time a lot is finished now (house, barn, hay/equipment shed, landscaping, grading/grass planting, etc.) except final fencing, which we are working on as fast as we can. As of this writing we have three sides of the 200' X 100' arena fenced now, but ran out of wood and are awaiting delivery of more next week. After that, we have remaining to fence a couple of paddocks and finishing up the right pasture and back pasture fencing.

I also am having poisonous-to-horses trees being removed from all pastures this week. I had our landscaper, Bill Osborne, of Southwestern Lawn and Landscaping, walk the pastures with me to identify all on my list. Since I'm not a native Virginian (moved here from California four years ago), I don't know many of these plantings on sight, so called in the experts. Afterwards, I also had Dr. Wally Palmer, Clinical Instructor - Equine Field Services for the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, walk the property with me as well, to identify those potentially poisonous-to-horses trees he felt could be an issue, and he advised having the wild cherry trees in particular removed, to play it safe. So...that we are doing! If you would like to learn more about this subject of toxic-to-horses trees and plantings, visit my web site here: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/PoisonousPlants.html

But all in all, we are starting to see the finish line here up ahead very soon. As of mid October, we are opening our doors for students and training signups. And we'll be posting clinics soon.

You can follow progress & see pictures of our overall project on my web site here, as I try to update it periodically: www.naturalhorsetraining.com/VirginiaNHTrainingCenter.html

As I stated in my last newsletter, we have been designing this center for people to come here to learn natural horsemanship and enjoy the beauty and serenity of the surrounding Virginia countryside. Our goal all along here has been to create a center where anyone who wishes to learn natural horsemanship alongside their horses can come here and be treated with respect, compassion, patience and dignity, walking away with concrete tools you can use with your horse immediately to improve your relationship. Feel free to email me to sign up for a day or weekend session and for more information if you would like one-on-one training help.

For overall horse training self-help, check out and order the Gentle Solutions book I co-wrote:

Thanks again for your patience and the tremendous amount of support we feel from everyone -- it really matters to us!

Sylvia Scott
 Virginia Natural Horsemanship Training Center, LLC
Whispering Way Farm
Email: Sylvia@naturalhorsetraining.com

 

 

Horse Training Thought For the Month - Natural Horsemanship Tenet

Don't be goal-focused when training your horse, but be progression satisfied. Horses learn in progressive baby step increments as prey animals alway seeking safety. As predators ourselves (the opposite of a prey animal), we tend to be very (too) goal focused by nature (how nature designed us as predators in order to catch our prey, for survival), always honing in too tightly and rigidly to our ultimate final goal. But curb that impulse when working with your horse, a prey animal. Horses feel out each step tentatively to see if they feel safe and they build confidence upward from there, so it is important to give pressure releases incrementally for right answer tries on the horse's part, so that the horse finds his way there. Be patient and accept the horse's baby step progressions as positive progress and praise each try zealously, lavishing the horse with warmth and lots of strokes (rub, don't pat a horse) for baby step right answers. You don't have to accomplish everything in one session. Walk away on a positive progress point and you'll be surprised when you come back later that the horse is often farther along than where you left him last. To learn why this is so, read how horse brains work on my web site here: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips21.html

Check These Out!

Natural Horsemanship Center of Oregon Grand Opening! - My good friend, Missy Axton-Wryn, Accredited Trainer, Equine Counselor-Whisperer has launched the Natural Horsemanship Center of Oregon in Estacada, Oregon. She will be hosting a horse whisperer clinic there for the grand opening on November 19th & 20th. For more information, visit the NHCO web site at: www.horsenatural.com.

Colorado Natural Horsemanship Center - Check out my great pal Jim Rea's training center in Parker, Colorado at http://www.gentlehorses.com/. I've performed clinics alongside Jim and he's fabulously talented with horses -- and wonderful with humans as well! You and your horses couldn't be in better hands than Jim's quiet, kind training program.

Equine Artist Patricia Bevan - One of my favorite equine artists resides here in Blacksburg, Virginia. Not only will Pat create a breathtakingly beautiful portrait of your horse for you (with you in the portrait as well, if you wish), but her landscape paintings are becoming well known as far away as in the galleries of New York City. Check out more information on Pat Bevan starting here, and visit her web site: www.naturalhorsetraining.com/PatBevan.html

Horse Sale Sites - I get asked in email quite frequently where/how to sell a horse and/or the same questions for where/how to buy a horse. I have created an extensive list of helpful online horse sale sites, including further resources to sell/buy a horse. You can find that here: www.naturalhorsetraining.com/HorseSaleSites.html. I also often get asked in email and in clinics how to safely sell a beloved horse who no longer fits the owner's needs, and how to make sure someone "good" and "humane" becomes the new owner. I have posted the answer to that question here: www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips72.html. For books on buying the right horse or for information on selling a horse, visit this list here: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingBooksHorseBuying.html

Horse Rescues/Rehab Centers - I'm a big supporter of equine rescues. Periodically I plan to briefly mention some here. Visit them, their web sites, get in touch with them, see what you can do to help. And if you are looking for a new horse, rescues are sometimes the best place to start your search. Adopting a horse and giving it a wonderful new home can be a wonderful life-altering experience. This month, visit online the Roanoke Valley Horse Rescue, run by President Patty Muncy: http://www.rvhr.com/ 

Halloween Horse Costumes to Make or Buy - With Halloween only a few weeks away, and Halloween products already showing up on store shelves, it reminds me of how much fun my three kids, now grown, used to have on this holiday -- it ranked with them right up there with Christmas and their birthdays! And "what to be" on Halloween was a very big deal to them. Many years we had lots of fun making our own costumes together. I ran across some resources for horse Halloween costumes and wanted to pass that along for those of you who have horse loving children or grandchildren, or for those of us who never outgrow Halloween, as we attend costume parties. 

First, a book called Dazzling Disguises & Clever Costumes gives step by step instructions on how to make the following horse costume (click on the book to read more and order)

    

For those not as make-it-yourself inclined, the following are horse masks and costumes you can get (click on the pictures for more information):

The Discovery Channel Store online has a horse head mask you can buy:

CWD Kids has a cute horse costume for tots:

BuyCostumes.com has a large collection of horse costumes from infants to adults and for every budget  -- too many to show all here!: CLICK HERE

    

Lillian Vernon has the following cute palomino pony costume:

For more horse costume & mask links, check out this web site:

https://www.costumeuniverse.com/ (put "horse" into their search box

Horse Problem Questions From You &
Their Solutions From Sylvia Scott

Question - My neighbor has several poisonous trees very near our horse pasture. -Help!: We just purchased a new mare and foal. We never heard of some of the poisonous trees you mentioned [on your web site - www.naturalhorsetraining.com/PoisonousPlants.html)].

My neighbor, it appears, owns the trees in between our horse pasture and their property. These are large trees and branches break off in storms etc. Several of these trees are in your list of those poisonous to horses. -- i.e. Cherry and Walnut trees. Does the neighbor have the legal right to keep these trees? Can anything be done in this situation to get rid of the trees even though they are on the neighbors' property? Thank you! R.R.

Sylvia's Answer: Hi R. Thanks for writing. That's a legal issue that I'm just not totally sure about. I do know that in most states, the law allows you to trim back any trees (any way you wish) that cross over your property line. You can't cut what's on their property, but you can the branches that extend over your own property line. You might try contacting an equine attorney (they're out there!) and running this question by them as you get your ducks in a row there to take action if needed. Here's a link on my site with some links to attorneys who specialize in equine issues (left sidebar on that page): http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/EquineLiability.html

You might also try taking the back door approach of printing out the poisonous-to-horses plantings section from my web site and sitting down with your neighbor calmly and showing them the danger this poses to your horses now and enlist their help, approaching it from a non-contentious standpoint for a start. People can sometimes surprise you and come through for you when you least expect it, with the right kind, neighborly approach. You can always hint subliminally at the liability issues if your horses or other neighboring horses do get ill as a result of their trees if they balk at first. ;-) People are awfully afraid of litigation and usually will do anything to avoid that these days. Might work!

Let me know how it goes and hope this helps.

Follow-up letter from R.R.: Thanks! The neighbor wants to cut the trees down.

Note From Sylvia: Get informed about plantings in your horse pastures and surrounding farm to assess what might not be safe to have around horses. Putting my money where my mouth is here, we had all our plantings assessed here at the Virginia Natural Horsemanship Training Center by a top landscaping architect and an equine vet instructor from the top vet school here, and indeed a great number of potentially poisonous-to-horses trees have had to be removed. To see photos of that removal project, click here: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/VirginiaNHTrainingCenter47.html

Question - How to become a natural horsemanship trainer: Hi Sylvia, I work in the office of [another natural horsemanship clinician]. I have really no experience with training horses, but God, do I love them. I know you know what I mean. I noticed when I was a very young girl that I had a natural connection with animals. No matter what kind or size. I have very little one on one time with horses as I do not have the funds to have them at my home. My father and stepmother had 6 horses up until about three years ago, so I do have some knowledge, but it’s not extensive. Anyway, I really do not agree with some of the methods I've seen [this clinician] use. I know they work, but the horses have to be somewhat traumatized. I was looking for a way to get into training when I got this job, but now I really don’t know if this is the right way to go. I would like to know how to break into the natural horsemanship world. I want to eventually be a trainer, but I have a young family and can’t afford much. This is what I am supposed to do with my life, I know that. I just need someone to tell me how to get there. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you so much for your help and time! B.T.

Sylvia's Answer: Hi B.T. Thanks for writing. I hear ya. Part of the learning curve in this natural horsemanship field is the disillusionment at some point in finding out that those we initially looked up to out there, some leaders in this field, are actually doing things with horses that makes us uncomfortable or doesn't "feel" right when we dig deeper/learn more/see more firsthand. I see that a lot in this field. Follow your heart and you get good at this stuff. However, the best way to learn NH is to learn from many directions. Observe and discard what you don't like as you go along, plug in what you do feel is right from other directions. My own natural horsemanship training program is an eclectic blend of all I've learned from many, many directions, but that's because I studied from or with all the top masters in this field as I came up. But as I discarded what didn't feel right, I came up with my own more humane methods to replace what I didn't like from other directions. That really is how you get good at this, I think. It's a kind of philosophy I follow that "you don't throw the baby out with the bathwater." Meaning: get the gist of the concepts you see from an NH "master," but learn more and know enough as you go along to know what needs to be discarded and a better method used in situations to replace what you just learned or witnessed. The more "tools" you gather in your training repertoire, the more you then have to draw upon.
 
How do you break into the NH training field world? Be a sponge! Read as much as you can on the subject, watch as many videos as you can. Attend as many clinics as you can. And most importantly: get your hands on as many horses to practice on as you can. The horse is the best teacher there is! :-) And you don't even have to own a horse if you can't right now. I think the best early on experience one can gain is by volunteering at a local equine rescue and work on rehab training the horses that come thru those rescue doors. Most all rescues welcome such help! Here's a link that shows rescues around the country: http://horsewelfare.8k.com/rescues.html and here: http://www.equinerescue.com/staterescues.html
 
Also, books are cheap (in the larger scheme of things), so you can be absorbing education from books while your kids are young and you're not quite as freed up to travel to clinics. I've got a list of recommend NH books on my web site starting here: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/HorseBooks.html
 
Some I'd definitely recommend as beginning staples in your library:
The Gentle Solutions book I co-wrote: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/GentleSolutions.html


Tom Dorrance's True Unity: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingBooksTDorrance.html


Bill Dorrance's True Horsemanship Through Feel: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingBooksBDorrance.html
(Tom & Bill Dorrance are considered the grandfathers of the natural horsemanship movement as we know it today)
 
All the rest you see me list in that section on my web site are great to learn from as well. When my kids were younger, I kept a current-reading NH book in my car at all times as I chauffered kids all over the place, would often get stuck waiting and would pull a book out. I read many an NH book solely in my car, cover to cover, so that's how I fit in immersion learning surrounding the raising of kids! I'm now an empty nester here, as my last #3 child, daughter, headed off to college. She's the last to leave the nest as my 2 older boys are already launched in life. The older your kids get, the more freed up you become to pursue this field on stronger and stronger levels while still keeping your family values intact. I wouldn't trade for anything the years I spent raising my kids. They taught me so much that I now apply to NH training. It's all the same to me. Raising your children humanistically is the groundwork for doing the same with horses, as I see it. I find many experienced moms make some of the best NH trainers out there today if you ask me! And I would personally like to encourage more women to join this ever-growing field.
 
Collect NH training videos, too. I myself own over a hundred NH videos and still counting, still collecting. Videos are a great way to learn -- and keep learning -- this stuff. The better you get out in the field, the more you see on deeper, multi layers in videos. Here's a list on my site of videos I recommend: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainVideos.html
 
Start your collection! Have family members give them to you for your birthday, Christmas, anniversaries, etc., and pretty soon your collection will be growing and you'll learn so much from them. (You can also find many of them on ebay, inexpensively).
 
Finally...I'm in Blacksburg, Virginia and I've spent this past year building/launching the new Virginia Natural Horsemanship Training Center (you can follow progress here: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/VirginiaNHTrainingCenter.html). As soon as we're done here with the final building projects, we will be setting it up for people to come to learn here, a school for those who wish to come learn natural horsemanship. I'll be giving lots of clinics here and private sessions, as well, what I'm setting it up for here. I'll keep you in my data base for future news on our center unfoldings and you are welcomed to come learn here as well. 
 
Listen to that drive in your heart. The heart knows best what we should be doing in life. :-)

The world needs as many natural horsemanship trainers as we can develop and get out there teaching!

Question - Pull-back problem: Hello Sylvia, I'm having a little problem with a horse and I was hoping you would be able to help me resolve it. I ride a 4-year-old paint gelding on a regular basis. Normally if I go into his field, he'll follow me around like a puppy dog or when I'm leading him anywhere he'll follow right behind me on a loose lead rope. Recently I've been having some problems with leading him though. People have been telling me that he is stopping and backing up a lot with the kids at a summer camp my barn runs. Now, he hasn't done this with me before but just a little while ago I was grazing him and asked him to go back into the barn and he stopped threw his head up in the air and backed up; if I pulled a bit on the lead rope, he would back up faster. If I let him finish backing up until he stopped, by letting the lead rope go loose, and then ask him to walk forward again, he would throw his head up again and back up. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much for you time. N&D

Sylvia's Answer: Hi. Thanks for writing. Well, this type of behavior could be caused by a number of things. First, if this horse is in any pain anywhere, he's going to be resistant about being brought out to work. Since this is suddenly happening, and very uncharacteristic of him apparently, you might think about having a thorough vet check to rule out if something is wrong physically. Sometimes when horses have hidden injuries or foot abscesses coming on, etc., they can show us quite clearly that they are uncomfortable, but we have to listen and see what we can do to get them sound and comfortable again.
 
If the vet rules out anything physiological as the problem, then you might want to take a look at what is happening to him at the summer camp. Are the children taught humane treatment of horses? Are they taught not to kick them and hurt them when riding them, and not pulling hard on the bit in the mouth? There are more questions here than answers, but since this started (sounds like) when he started being used as a camp horse, I would have to consider that as part of the problem. Horses aren't unfeeling vehicles we ride, like our cars. They are thinking, feeling beings and if there is any misuse occuring in the summer camp, he is going to act out resistively and not want to come out of his pasture for any type of work because he's lost trust that he will be well cared for.
 
These are just guesses. If you carefully and thoroughly rule out all of the above as causes of this behavior, then you are only left to assume that this is strictly a training/behavioral problem. Perhaps the kids in the summer camp didn't know how to properly direct this horse as leader and accidentally released for this backing behavior. All horses learn from the release of pressure what it is you want, what it is they are able to do, not from the pressure itself. If you release the pressure constantly for the wrong behavior, then the horse indeed learns the wrong behavior. Even your letting the horse continue backing there, by letting the lead rope go loose when you were asking for forward, was releasing the pressure for the wrong behavior and only going to reinforce that further. You need to do the opposite: you need to let him hit the wall there with a taut rope when he pulls back like that.
 
Incidentally, you say he shoots his head up high as he does this pull back now. High head is a tense, fearful horse. Is there something about being brought out of pasture/into the camp that is continually upsetting/frightening him? These are all questions that need to be asked, need to be gotten to the bottom of and answered. I kind of follow the philosophy that most horses speak loudly & clearly that something is upsetting them and most times we need to get to the bottom of what's happening to them to make them upset and fix that, not just assuming they are being "stubborn" for no reason. And often it is the human who is at fault, not the horse.
 
Not every horse is designed for a camp environment either, multi people taking turns riding them, especially sometimes clueless kids. Some are better left as one-human/one-horse combinations, especially the sensitive horses.
 
Now...that said, you are still left with a behavior problem, whatever the cause of it, but I just wanted to speak in advocacy for the horse first, in case that is needed, so do explore that first. To fix a pull back problem, which is about a horse not yielding to pressure, I have up on my web site how you can back the horse up in his schooling to fix this problem, using a "belly rope." I show/teach how to do that here:
http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips30.html
 
Try that to reschool him and that should get him past this problem. But do take the time to vet check him and examine what exactly is happening in the summer camp that could conceivably be upsetting him. He is owed that much careful consideration there to get to the real bottom of this problem.
 
Hope this helps and good luck to you there!

Question - Horse who rushes home: Dear Sylvia, I have 2 horses, a paint & an American saddlebred. Both are used mainly for trail/pleasure riding, and a lot of the time, my dad & I ride together. But his horse (the saddlebred who is 16-years-old & was a barrel racer) has been rushing home. I have tried everything I know to do, including trying to get his mind off of going home, making the right thing easy & the wrong thing hard and lots of other methods. Pain has been ruled out & I use a tom thumb snaffle bit on him. When I ride him by myself just back the road without the other horse, he is fine, he doesn't rush home at all. But when the other horse is riding along he's awful! He ignores everything we ask of him & just bolts straight for home. I can't figure out why he is doing this when it's just when the other horse is also being ridden, because she minds her own business. I would like to try to get him on the right track because occasionally he tries to rear if he is really upset, but not very often. I would like to continue to use him as a trail horse because he has never spooked at anything and is really dependable (when going away from home!). He has such a sweet disposition and is very willing whenever you ask him to do something else and I was wondering if you have any training methods I could try with him. I am about desperate because if we can't find a way to help him calm down, then we may have to get rid of him because my dad is scared to ride him, and so I usually ride him, but I would like to be riding my own horse because I feel that I am letting her down when I don't ride her. Thanks for taking the time to read this and I really appreciate any help you can give me! Thanks again. H.O.

Sylvia's Answer: Hi. Thanks for writing. Actually this horse still has holes in his training foundation that you can plug up yourself -- I can see them from here. And it's a common problem with former track or barrel race horses. You need to plant into his foundation the one-rein stop and I go over that in detail here: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips94.html

Practice what I teach there in a confined area first, thoroughly, until the horse has it down completely before ever riding him out again. And even when riding him out, practice it dozens of times before going out on a trail, until it is absolutely automatic in this horse, a reflex.

I would also like to suggest switching bits. The tom thumb is too harsh and he is going to react the opposite (running off) with it, rather than what you want (slowing down), and he will run right through that bit rather than stopping. Bits don't stop horses -- good training does! :-) I would suggest switching to a full cheek snaffle bit, which is less harsh as you reschool him, using the exercise I directed you to above. I go over bit issues here & what full cheek snaffle I recommend: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips5.html

I hope this helps and let me know how it goes.

Question - Newly gelded horse acting like a stud: Hello Sylvia, I purchased  a gelded paint for my 9-year-old daughter in March. He is a reining horse and well trained. At the ranch where he is cared for, he broke through a fence and tried mounting another mare. Because of this behavior we had his blood tested and it returned that he was not gelded properly, that he was a cryptorchid. We had surgery on him that was quite extensive due to the difficulty of finding the testicle. After 3-4 weeks of recovery he has been able to be pastured with other geldings and is in good health. However, he still acts up around mares and today while my daughter was riding with her trainer, who was riding a new mare, he was a handful and even dropped his penis as if to do something. Then she went on a trail ride and he got real studdy around a stallion that was fenced along the path she was riding. He did not show these issues while she was riding him prior to the surgery. However, the circumstances are different with mares in the arena with him now. Nonetheless, I cannot be comfortable placing my daughter on this horse acting such a fool even after the surgery which took place over two months ago. He is a four-year-old and I have heard it could take up to 6 months to change his behavior. What do you know that can be of assistance? I am close to asking her trainer if we should look for another horse. Thanks. T.S.

Sylvia's Answer: Hi. Thanks for writing. Yeah, it can take from up to 6 to 9 months for the stud-like behavior to leave after such corrective surgery, so patience is the name of the game there. It just takes that long for the last of the testosterone to leave their systems. He should settle down after about 9 months, they usually do. If you're not comfortable waiting, by all means, find a safer horse for your daughter! You don't want a child to be put in that kind of situation trying to handle stallion-like behavior that puts her at risk. If you want to keep him, you might think about just pasturing him with other geldings until he settles down there and gets past that wait period and then work on reschooling him after that. Is your decision, but I did want you to know that all you're seeing there is still in the "normal" range for post castration or cryptorchid corrective surgery.

[For more information on cryptorchids click here: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips67.html]

Question - Bit and mounting problems: Dear Sylvia: About 3 months ago my husband and I rescued a filly about 3 or  4 years of age. We have been using your methods. Our problem is when we try to mount the filly, she raises her head and tries to bite. But when we are on her back she is fine. We have tried using the mounting block, but as soon are you step up that's when she moves forward and raises her head. Second, I have tried your method with molasses on the bit, but as soon as she licks the bit she clams her mouth shut, so I have been using a hackamore, no problem. Please help. This filly is smart and I don't want her as lead mare. S&R.H.

Sylvia's Answer: Hi. Thanks for writing. For the mounting problem, see my link about that here:
http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips12.html
 
As for using the mounting block, she sounds to me like she's still not desensitized to people "up high." To fix that moving off problem, start making "the right thing easy, the wrong thing hard." Place the mounting block closer to a fenceline so that it rules out moving sideways, as you create an alleyway there. But do take the time first to get her used to a human up high on the block by using advance/retreat. Step up one step, then step down, repeat until she can handle that, then 2 steps up, then back down, repeating that. Too many people get way too goal focused there when a horse has that kind of issue, when actually the retreat is what teaches them to be okay with that there. You cannot do too many retreats in my training book! The retreat is everything in desensitizing a horse to something they fear (and this is fear you are seeing there, whether you realize it or not).
 
After you've desensitized her to a human up high on the mounting block, then if she tries to move off as you mount, start making the right thing easy, the wrong thing hard. If she moves off, make her work by driving her in circles around the block. To teach your horse how to be driven from the rear (which all horses should be taught before we ever ride them) I teach how to do that here: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips39.html
 
The only place she gets a rest there then is: right by the mounting block. As you drive her around the block, slow her down as she nears the place she's supposed to stand still so she knows that's the resting/quiet place. Everywhere else is the "work harder" place. If your timing is good there, she'll quickly figure out that the exact spot you want her to stand by the mounting block is the rest/non work hard spot. When she stops there where you want her, stroke and praise her and use bonding techniques to relax her before mounting again -- specifically the lower the head exercise and your finger in her mouth to get her working her mouth to relax her, all of which I show how to do here:
http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips58.html
 
I would also stongly suggest teaching her the back up cue, so you have that in her foundation handily for if you need her to back up there to be in just the right position for mounting by the block -- I show how you can teach her that here: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips31.html
 
As for the bit problem, it's not just about the molasses, but also the method I show there for advance/retreat. Again, the retreat being the most important factor there to focus on. Don't be goal focused, be RETREAT focused. Real important to follow those instructions to the letter to get her past that issue. Also, make sure you can put a finger in the corner of her mouth; use molasses on your finger if you want at first, so she gets comfortable with just the feel of something (your finger for a start) in her mouth in the corner there.
 
Before I've ever introduced a bit to a horse I've newly trained, I've already had my finger in their mouth hundreds of times (to help them relax), so it feels perfectly natural to them by the time the bit is introduced.
 
And the type of bit you use is crucial. Again, I go over all this on this page here: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips5.html (I've recently updated that page, with pictures). There's not a horse I know that I can't get past that type of bit problem going the route I show there, and in usually just one session. So...this is a human approach problem, but I can't tell from here how you're getting that wrong. :-) Maybe read that page again and see how closely you're following that route. And if you haven't had your finger in her mouth dozens of times already, well...then you know you've got work to back up & do there. Get her used to your finger before you even think about introducing the bit.
 
Also...have you had her dental vet checked? Very important to have her teeth floated and any wolf teeth removed before you ever approach putting a bit in the mouth. Since she's so young, you want to especially make sure she has no wolf teeth there still. Your vet or equine dentist should do a check for that if they haven't already. A bit can hurt if the wolf teeth are still present.
 
You might think about getting the Gentle Solutions book I co-wrote, if you don't have it already, because I can see holes in your horse's foundation from here. The reason I say that is because the category of problems you're having there are actually usually symptoms of holes in their training foundation that haven't been plugged up yet. So it's jumping A to N there riding her just yet, when you need to plug up and teach her the "letter steps" in between A and N, if you can follow me there. Our book will teach you how to close up all holes, safely on the ground first, before riding her, and you'll have less problems in these categories you listed here and a far more cooperative, trusting horse. Here's the book: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/GentleSolutions.html. It's a clear step-by-step approach, from the ground up, so that everything makes perfect sense to the horse later up in the saddle. You're skipping some crucial steps there and need to back her up in training to close the holes. :-)
 
Hope this helps and good luck to you there!

 

 

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Announcements

 

Hurricane Katrina Announcement:
Help The Equine Community Affected
by This Devastating Hurricane - The following message is from NetPosse:

"In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina we have seen the horrible destruction that can be caused by nature's forces. Our hearts go out to everyone affected by Katrina. As part of our ongoing commitment to help victims, NetPosse is aiding in the recovery of animals during Hurricane Katrina. Anyone who has lost or found a horse or pet during this time is encouraged to file a report with NetPosse to be posted on our special Katrina section. Please check out Katrina's Missing Animals. Fill out our form, then email, if available, a picture of the horse to: katrina@netposse.com. Just a reminder, pictures are a very important tool in identifying missing animals." Visit the Net Posse Web Site Here

 

For more web sites helping Equine victims of Hurricane Katrina, click on the
following links for more information on how we all can help:

HorseCity
USEF
Bloodhorse
HorsesAbout

 

Save a Child's Life Follow-up 

(Sent to me in email)

 

Sylvia, Thank you so much for posting the announcement [in your last newsletter] about the child who was killed by her horse. It is too often that careless mistakes take the lives of children. And we should all strive to educate our children on the dangers that go along with horse activities. I passed your newsletter along to several of my email buddies.

 

I was dragged when I was 11 by a 2-year-old mare after I had wrapped the lead around my hand and stuck it in my pocket. I spent 3 months in MCV and several years of reconstructive surgery. All because of a lack of education and a very young, very green horse. Thanks again.

-NK-A

 

Note From Sylvia: Never ever tie a horse's lead rope to any part of your body. Don't wrap it around an arm or hand either. Grip the rope in your hands without wrapping it, keep astute track of where the rope is at all times, and stay free enough of the excess rope to be able to let go in extreme emergencies. Safety is first and foremost in all horse endeavors!

Check Out These Other Natural Horsemanship  Web Sites

Since I firmly believe we all can learn from each other, I will periodically direct folks to the web sites of other fine NH trainer colleagues of mine, where more can be learned. Check out these when you get a chance:

Clay Harper: www.clayharperinc.com

Bob Jeffreys: www.bobjeffreys.com

Pam Tanner www.pamtanner.com

For a list of more leading natural horsemanship trainers, click here: Other NH Trainers.

 

Events

To see where other Natural Horsemanship trainers and clinicians will be appearing nearest you: CLICK HERE
 
Sylvia Scott
Natural Horsemanship Trainer & Clinician
Virginia Natural Horsemanship Training Center, LLC
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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