November 2005
Newsletter

Greetings from the

Virginia Natural Horsemanship Training Center
Home of Sylvia Scott Natural Horsemanship Training

Dear Friends:

I've pushed my clinic schedule to spring so that we can focus on finishing here marathon-like, and I will be posting spring clinics here soon. I will also be booking a limited number of away clinics for 2006, and if you are interested in hosting a clinic, simply contact me (visit my web site here for clinic info: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/ClinicInfo.html). Shortly I will be accepting horses for longer termed on site training here as well.

VIRGINIA NATURAL HORSEMANSHIP TRAINING CENTER ANNOUNCEMENTS

New Whispering Way™ Products!

To order the above products, go to my web site Products Page

They make excellent Christmas gifts, too (even to yourself)!

No natural horsemanship training tool bag should be without them!

While we have become lean, mean fence building machines here at the Virginia Natural Horsemanship Training Center, and gotten pretty good at that task to finish the final lap of this state-of-the-art training center, we do take time out to enjoy our horses daily, and to attend to day or weekend clients. With the weather turning cooler now, we've been feeding up two of older horses, preparing them for winter. Feeding up supplements at this time, especially with older horses, also helps horses to grow a nice, thick winter coat to keep them warmer. Keep plenty of fresh water and salt lick/mineral block available at all times as well! As the weather turns cooler and horses are starting to build their winter coats, they can sometimes get hyped up with the cold and excitement. Refresh their memories for respectful leading manners by playing this backup lesson with them whenever needed -- it will translate up positively into saddle as well: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips31.html - I strongly believe that we can't expect our horses to lead properly unless we have taught them to understand a cue to back up on the lead line first. Practice that exercise often, and even the briskest of cool weather will have your horse respecting your space and leadership calmly and rationally.

We are now accepting and booking private weekend retreat clients here at the VNHTC, and if you are interested in locking in a private training hour, day or weekend with your horse, or relaxing couples training weekend with your horses, staying on site here at the VNHTC in comfort, just visit my web site here for more information: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/Training.html

To read testimonials to my training system, visit my testimonials page here: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/Testimonials.html

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

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE!

We want to thank everyone for their continued patience and support as we have been bringing this training center to full fruition.

We all can learn from each other!

Sylvia & Daryl Scott

The HorseTV Channel announced today its October 27, 2005 debut date for full-time availability to multichannel cable and satellite providers. The HorseTV Channel, announced and funded earlier this year, presents a full lineup of horse-related events and programming to an enthusiastic and rapidly growing, grass-roots following across the country.

“This is a very significant and exciting time for us,” said George Greenberg, Chairman and CEO of The HorseTV Channel. “We’ve been building our core executive team, amassing and creating a compelling programming schedule, developing our marketing relationships with key organizations and affiliates and really digging in to prepare this channel for launch. We appeal to a significant broad-based audience across the country that until now hasn’t had a television home to call its own. As of October 27th, we’ll be ready to welcome all of the audiences, sponsors, advertisers and retailers that have expressed a passionate interest in subscribing to and partnering with The HorseTV Channel.”

G Force Cable, the cable provider for Aiken, South Carolina, is pleased to be one of the first affiliates to join The HorseTV Channel family.  With 22,800 subscribers, Aiken is home to a vibrant and loyal horse-devoted audience.

“The HorseTV Channel is a perfect fit for our lineup,” said Bobby Vine, General Manager of G Force Cable. “The HorseTV Channel has an eager audience that we are helping to reach, and The HorseTV Channel’s support of both our local community and our cable system is tremendous. They are helping to build both our cable business and their brand at the same time.”

The HorseTV Channel will be distributed via the AMC-10 satellite, recognized as one of the premiere neighborhood locations for networks.

Headquartered in Calabasas, California, The HorseTV Channel is the first 24/7 television channel that provides audiences of all ages with entertaining and informational programming focused on the fascinating world of horses.  From silk hats to Stetsons, The HorseTV Channel offers viewers a varied and compelling lineup presenting the events, recreational activities, competitions, stories and lifestyles that are shared with horses.

# # #

For further information, please contact:

Adryn Miller

Director of Public Relations and Community Outreach

The HorseTV Channel

26850 Agoura Road

Calabasas, CA 91301

Phone: 818-598-1071

Email: news@horsetv.com

Web site: www.horsetv.com

 

John Lyons, "America's Most Trusted Horseman," joins The HorseTV Channel Team - The HorseTV Channel announced that John Lyons, "America's most trusted horseman," has joined The HorseTV Channel team and will actively assist in building audiences and introducing them to The HorseTV Channel. John will be involved in the grass roots marketing of the new channel and will be working closely with the The HorseTV Channel in developing original television programming which will reflect the diverse interests of American horse enthusiasts.

Does Your Horse Want To Be On TV? The HorseTV Channel, which will launch as a 24/7 dedicated horse TV channel, is producing a new show that will feature YOU, the audience, with your horses. We want your funniest moments, your most embarrassing moments, your bravest moments and the most unusual moments… with you and your horse. Have you ever thought when something memorable happens, "I wish someone had a camera?" Well now is your chance to capture that moment and be on TV. We are also looking for original story ideas so call us at 818-598-1088. Please email your questions and comments to clips@horsetv.com. DO NOT send clips via email!

How to send materials to The HorseTV Channel:

You can send any format (examples: VHS, DVD, Mini DVD, Beta SP or MPEG 2 files) as long as the quality is good enough for broadcast. They should be no more than 2-3 minutes. A written description of the story (no more than one paragraph) must be submitted with each tape. Tapes should be sent to The HorseTV Channel, PO Box 2820, Agoura, CA 91301. A release form that gives us permission to use the tape – which is available by mail, fax or download off our website, www.horsetv.com –  must be completed, signed and returned to us if your tape is chosen for broadcast. You also have to tell us who is on the tape and make sure we have their permission too. Tapes will be considered for airing on merit. Yes, you do have to label the tape with your name, address, telephone number, email address.

How Can I Get The HorseTV Channel In My Area?

The HorseTV Channel is a subscription-based, premium channel. Call, write or email your local cable or satellite provider to inquire when The HorseTV Channel will be available in your area.

If you would like updates on The HorseTV Channel and its availability within your area, visit www.horsetv.com and click on the "Getting The HorseTV Channel" button.

Horse Movies - Like many of you probably, I'm a big fan of horse movies. Any movie that has horses in it grabs my attention immediately. This month a new horse movie is out at theatres: Dreamer, starring Kurt Russell and Dakota Fanning, and inspired by a true story. Movie Synopsis: Ben Crane (Kurt Russell) was once a great horseman, whose gifts as a trainer were now being wasted on making other men’s fortunes. Sonya was a great horse whose promising future on the racetrack was suddenly cut short by a career-ending broken leg. Considered as good as dead to her owner, who also happens to be Ben’s boss, Sonya is given to Ben as severance pay, along with his walking papers. Now, it will take the unwavering faith and determination of Ben’s young daughter, Cale (Dakota Fanning), to bring these two damaged souls together in a quest for a seemingly impossible goal: to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Check your local movie listings for showings and times for a nice fall rainy day activity.

For an expansive list of other favorite horse movies, check out my Horse Movies section on my web site, starting here: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/HorseMovies.html

Horse movies also make great Christmas gifts for horse lovers!

Diapers for Horses?! - I learned four new things this past month that I would like to share, and it all revolved around: My older palomino quarter horse, Gabe, 25, came down with a pretty nasty hoof abscess that knocked him severely lame suddenly. He could bear no weight on his right front foot suddenly and was in immense pain. I called our vet immediately. My equine vet is Dr. Wally Palmer, who teaches the in-the-field equine rotation to 4th year vet students at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine here in Blacksburg, VA. Wally and his student entourage arrived within minutes of my concerned call. After examination, it was decided that a deeper-than-the-eye-could-see abscess was the cause, and the vets proceeded to pare the hoof down to find the abscess and to drain it for relief. They dug into the area that seemed to be the greatest source of pain to Gabe, while I kept him calmed, and low and behold puss suddenly erupted, showing they'd picked the right spot and nailed the cause. After draining and cleaning the wound as best they could, I was instructed to do twice daily foot soaks for half an hour each time in warm water with Epsom salts to bring the infection to the surface, and they left me with a jar of Magnapaste to pack the wound with afterwards (routine, I knew from past experience) and then this is what I learned:

1) Use disposable diapers, they told me, to then wrap across the now-cleaned (after soaking) infected area of the foot, slathered in Magnapaste, taping the diaper on with the diaper tapes, then wrap vet wrap around all that to further secure it onto the foot. They have found at the vet school that disposable baby diapers work better than anything to keep such wounds dry, the medicine kept in place and overall the bandaging staying in place better to speed along healing. Needless to say, I raced out to the drugstore after they left to buy a pack of disposable diapers! And boy did they work tremendously well! Twice a day I soaked Gabe's bare foot as instructed, packed it with the Magnapaste and changed his diaper (smile). He healed quite fast and is now sound and happy, past the crisis and back to work! Diapers -- Who knew?!

2) The other thing I learned that day out of the vet school was that Bute (horse pain killer) is now available in paste form in a tube much like dewormers are dispensed, with easy marking lines you can set to give proper dosages. Gone are the days of having to crush Bute pills with a pill crusher, hide them in food and hope the horse actually ingests them (we have one of our horses who is a master at eating around even the smallest of crushed Bute granules, no matter how hard you try to hide it in his supplement feed). So I just wanted to pass that along to everyone. Contact your vet and ask for the paste Bute to keep in your horse first aid kits -- they work great! One tube holds many dosages that will last you quite a long time. And keep disposable diapers handy (ahead of time!) in your equine first aid kits as well.

Incidentally, if you have trouble dispensing dewormer (or this paste Bute) to your horse using the syringe dispensers they come in, because the horse has issues there, I show how to fix that problem here: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips62.html

3) One of my clients, who is also a homeopathic physician, happened to show up during the vet visit, was in town for the day, and he recommended two homeopathic remedies to help Gabe there: Silicea and Arnica. Dr. Palmer concurred they were okay to give. I'm the first to admit that my knowledge of homeopathic medicine is very limited, but I wanted to pass that along to everyone, as we're all learning from each other!

4) Finally...I learned something the hard way there: use gloves when treating your horse's (bacterially infected!) abscesses and wash your hands (and under your fingernails) thoroughly with anti-bacterial soap immediately after handling. Though I keep a box of surgical gloves for this purpose in my tack room, I simply forgot to use them this time. I must have rubbed my eye at some point afterwards, and before washing up, and I unfortunately contracted the same bacterial infection in my eye. Ugh. A trip to my own doctor then ensued and I had to be on oral and topical antibiotics for quite a while to get rid of the nasty infection. Sometimes we are so concerned about our horse's welfare that we forget to keep ourselves protected there. Humans can catch such infections from horses if we aren't careful enough. We can even contract thrush from them if treating thrush in the hoof (been there, done that, not fun). So be more careful than I was there! Gabe was actually back on his feet faster than I was after that. Live and learn!

Horse Prosthetics - I wanted to call attention to an amazing equine vet who is doing remarkable work with horse prosthetics. Dr. Andrea Floyd, of Serenity Equine, based in Evington, VA, is an equine veterinarian for 23 years, and has devoted her life and professional practice to the study of laminitis, lower limb trauma, and prosthetics and orthodontics for horses. Dr. Floyd has been published numerous times, and has spoken at such prestigious events as the Bluegrass Laminitis Symposium, held in Kentucky. She is a member in good standing with the AFA (American Farriers Association) as well as the AAEP (American Association of Equine Practitioners). She also has a new text book -- the first of its kind -- set for publication in the Spring of 2006. Thanks to her tireless efforts, the number of horses that will potentially be helped by her cutting edge research is limitless, and this is what we as horse owners as well as equine professionals wish to see more of! Please take a moment to visit Dr. Floyd's web site at http://www.serenityequine.com/ and read about her amazing work, as well as the resident horses who have been saved by her efforts.

You will be amazed at the story of "Gideon," a Missouri Fox Trotter stallion, who has the distinction of being the oldest living horse with a prosthetic limb. The story of little "Jack" will also touch your heart! Jack is only a year old, and also has a small prosthetic for a hind limb. These horses and more (such as "Cricket" and "Jane") are here today due to the efforts of this amazing doctor and her determination to find a healthier and better way to help our beloved equine companions in need. As a side note, donations of materials, feed, hay, and money are being accepted on behalf of the resident horses by the Cashvan Family Memorial Equine Fund, a 501(c)3 organization. Please contact Dr. Floyd at serenityeq@aol.com for more information.

For a list of other equine rescues around the country/world, visit here: http://horsewelfare.8k.com/ or here: http://www.equinerescue.com/staterescues.html

Just 1 month ago I took on a 5-year-old with numerous behavioural problems who just about everybody had written off as being just good for dog food. He had terrorised his former owner to the point of a nervous breakdown and had a list of behavioural problems that made him a nightmare for anybody to handle, and as for being ridden, let's just say he treated any rider fool enough to get onboard with equal disrespect.

When I first met him my heart broke, he was so beautiful, but my goodness his behaviour was so aggressive and dangerous it was awful. He was totally not what I was looking for but something inside of me told me that I had to at least try to help him, so as to avoid him ending up at the abattoir. In fact, if I'm honest, I'd say that I swear to God he was begging me to help him. I couldn't sleep at night for thinking about him and his terrible situation. Anyway, being fairly experienced with horses and having done some natural horsemanship in Australia, I volunteered to try and work with him and I set about scouring the Internet for some natural horsemanship tips to deal with specific behavioural problems and came across your site and your book you co-wrote - Gentle Solutions.

Well for the past month I have followed your Gentle Solutions system of training to the letter and have been rewarded way beyond my expectations, and I now have a wonderful horse who is sweet, kind and trusting. Ok, we're a long way from perfect, because he's still an aggressive thug with third parties, but we're working on that too. But all of the ground problems have been solved and today I swear he "invited" me to get on him - so I did!  And I was rewarded with the most wonderful ride of life. He was young and unbalanced, but there was not one iota of naughtiness, just the absolute desire to do the right thing. By the way, my absolute favourite of your training tips is the feet handling "trick" with the rope (http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips16.html). From it being nearly impossible to handle his feet without sustaining injury, he is now 100% cured of that problem. The farrier came and trimmed his feet last week without incident. The farrier actually assumed that it was a different horse he was dealing with!

But I would really appreciate your tips on improving his behaviour and general reaction to other people. He's basically very respectful around me (he accepts me as lead mare) but he is still aggressive to others and will try to bite and kick anybody else who approaches him.

Your advice would be much appreciated. Kind regards, J.B. - United Kingdom

As for now getting him past his issues with others, what I like to do with a horse like this is to get more people involved in the program, teaching them how to help the horse as well as you are, and have them one by one work with the horse, with you guiding them. Males and females both.

Maybe you can go the route of having people close by, but you in control, while you do relaxation techniques to "cool down" the horse's reaction around others (using these bonding/relaxing techniques -- most important being: getting the horse's head down using pressure/release on the lead rope, and your finger in the mouth feathering the tongue to get the horse relaxing/letting down: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips58.html). That will work for a start to begin reprogramming the horse's brain to RELAX around people. And this will also keep other folks safer if they're too scared to work one-on-one with this horse without you at first. Give that a shot. And then ease them into the picture to work with the horse as well, starting with bonding. The more people you get working with the horse consistently now, using the same methods, the more he will lose his aggression and fears involving all humans and settle down to trusting humans in general for once in his life. If he sees you in close proximity to the lessons you guide others to do with him now, then he'll build greater trust for whom you send in to work with him, and that will eventually translate outward to all other humans. That's your next step there and it will do him good, you'll see.

Keep up the good work! Proud of you!

Would you have a suggestion for us on a blanket for him? We know very little about them, and the prices vary tremendously. He takes the weather fine, unless it is cold and rainy, or it is blizzarding. Would a blanket be helpful in these conditions, and which one? Our horses have never been barned, they just have a wind break. We plan to only use it in the bad weather. Is that unrealistic?

Secondly, we still ride him a few times a week, so I wondered if we should be trying to go bitless on him for teeth upkeep. Like try a hackamore. Right now, he has a roller-bit, but he seems to let it hang in his mouth. Also any grazing done on the trail is impossible for him.

We also got another horse in June, which we are questioning what type a bit to use on her. She is about seven, and is a welsh/paint. My daughter rides her bareback, and she seems to think she reins better when just using lead ropes on the halter. The previous owner said she used a snaffle on her, but this owner trains horses for sale barn horse sales, so I wonder about her training methods. In fact, we still haven't cantered her without getting bucking action. (We have looked at that problem question on your web site.) We know nothing about a hackamore, so we wondered if we should be trying that instead, or if it was too late to change from the bit?

Thank you for your time. You can answer as time permits, because I can imagine you are very busy with your building project. My daughter would love to go to a training center like yours, but I guess she will have to rely on her book reading abilities and help from other horsepeople. Take care, P.M. - Minnesota

But since you can't find the Purina products near you, see if you can find the Legends Triple Crown Sr. feed because I've been hearing from trainers I respect that it works great as well. Nothing wrong with adding corn oil to his feed, that's good too, but with real hard keeper horses, especially the older ones, that might not be enough to bring the weight up to where it should be and keep him nutritionally as sound as he can be, I fear.

Secondly, regarding the blanketing issue, I'm a big proponent of pasturing all horses 24/7, year round, regardless of the weather. Nature designed them to live that way and they will grow coats for all weather conditions, about 98% of most normal, healthy horses. My own horses live outdoors as such, even through our cold, snowy winters here in Virginia, and they grow extremely thick coats that keep them perfectly comfortable and happy. Good nutrition is the key! Our hot summers, they shed out into very thin coats. Rain, snow, sleet, sun, they live healthily outdoors. Again, it's how nature designed horses to live if we don't interfere with that. At our new center here, our barn also serves as a run in for them if they desire that, but most horses even when having access to a run in, will choose to be outdoors instead. And 2 of my horses are older -- one 25, one 23. Old, but sound and very healthy. How folks can interfere with that coat production that nature designed for them is: to blanket them unnecessarily. Blanketing can interfere with the mechanism that tells their body when to grow thicker fur, so sometimes blanketed horses can be even colder than non-blanketed horses because their bodies didn't grow thick enough fur for their climate.

Now...that said...that is the case with about 98% of all horses out there. However, as horses age, some of them (though by no means not all) start having slower metabolisms that just can't keep up with that, producing more needed fur, and if they are underweight as winter comes along, they will feel the cold even more so as well. What keeps them warm in colder climates is: eating. Eating alone warms their metabolism, so it's real important for horses to have access to hay/roughage at all times, but especially in winter. Nature designed them to eat nonstop during colder periods and that is indeed what triggers the coat growth mechanism. People who feed horses on a sparser schedule (like we do dogs) and the horse has no access to roughage around the clock, are not well cared for and is not how nature designed their bodies to work as grazing herd animals.

Also, access at all times to fresh water is imperative, especially in winter, so ice needs to be kept off of water supplies in winter. The more water they drink, the warmer their systems become. Adding a palm-sized measure of ordinary table salt to their daily supplement feed in winter will get them drinking more which is what they need to do in winter. Some horses are reluctant to drink really cold water when it's frigid out (which is why it's important to keep ice off the water supply as best you can in winter), but adding that salt to their diet in winter makes them have to drink, so that helps. It is like us after (or during) eating a bowl of salty popcorn, it makes us crave to drink, so adding salt into their feed in winter works the same way with horses and is vet recommended for colder climates.

Just telling you the above because there are other ways to keep horses warm & healthy in winter and their coats growing nice and thick to keep them warm naturally, other than blanketing them.

However, even doing all the above, if your horse is very old, or frail, he might still need blanketing help after all of the above has been tried and if he still does not grow a thick enough coat. I would suggest seeing how your horse does come winter. If he's shivering, then he needs extra help there. And I understand this worry well. When we moved from California (warmer climate) to here in (colder/snowy) Virginia 4 years ago, bringing our California born & raised horses with us, I was genuinely concerned at first about how they were going to handle REAL winters for the first time in their lives. But I held off assuming they would need help and I let nature take its course (following all the above I relayed there) and man oh man did they become wooly mammoths here in winter! So much so, I didn't recognize them at first. Being quarter horses, I just wasn't accustomed to seeing them look that furry at first, but nature did her job magnificently and my horses were perfectly comfortable throughout our winters here and I've never had to blanket them.

Also, some horses, unfortunately, have been purposefully bred by Man to not grow heavy coats, some thoroughbreds being one example, used for racing. Not all, but some. Apparently those breeders felt having a lighter coat and no additional coat in winter would produce a more streamlined, faster race horse, so those horses do need help with blanketing in winter depending on where they live. But I think it's important to not interfere at first to see how much coat they can grow naturally before stepping in to interfere or assist.

If after that you still feel help is needed (if the hard keeper horse is clearly chilled, shivering, even after all the above is followed), a good blanket on the market today that I would recommend to help with those few horses who do need that extra winter help there is the revolutionary "Thermal Horse Wrap," which you can read more about on the "Boastful Horse" web site here: http://www.thermalhorsewrap.com.au/

If going the blanketing route, it's very important to remove that blanket when the weather warms up or horses can overheat. I see that out there a lot, unfortunately, so, I wanted to mention that.

So, give your horse a good fair chance to grow a heavy coat by himself, and only step in with blanketing him if absolutely necessary/last resort. They stay far warmer in their own naturally grown fur than most people realize. Just because we humans have to wear outer coats during cold weather does not mean horses do! The healthiest horses are those allowed to live outdoors in all weather conditions (with a voluntary option to run-in is ideal) and not only do their bodies grow what they need for whatever given weather situation they live in, but, they actually are far, far happier emotionally that way!

Regarding your bit questions: If his teeth are floated on a regular basis (at least once a year and some older horses need it twice a year), a bit will not interfere there. So don't worry about that aspect. Rollers are not a good idea on bits in my opinion. The only bit I like to recommend is a snaffle, like a full cheek snaffle (first choice) or a D-ring snaffle (2nd choice). They are mild, humane, but communicate well. Here's the type of full cheek snaffle I recommend: CLICK HERE

Or John Lyons sells full cheek snaffle bits, as well as D-ring snaffle bits here: http://www.johnlyons.com/store/home.php?cat=255

If you would like to buy a complete headstall/bridle set, including bit, etc., I recommend the John Lyons headstall -- I own it myself!: http://www.johnlyons.com/store/product.php?productid=16173&cat=255&page=1

Your horse should be able to graze just fine in those.

It's important to point out here that bits do not control horses, good pre-training does! Think about getting the Gentle Solutions book I co-wrote to show you a step by step program that will have you creating a quiet, trusting, cooperative horse. At the end of my clinics, my clients are often surprised when I have them riding their (now better trained) horses with just a piece of twine successfully!

Finally, I don't recommend riding bareback any horse that has bucking potential. That simply is not safe nor wise. I would recommend the same as what I said above about snaffle bits. You want more control with a horse like this and you will get that with the snaffles I directed you to. Additional ground work/better training, as well, which the book teaches, will help you.

Get the one-rein stop down REAL WELL with this new horse, first at the walk, then the trot, before you ever go into the canter, and immediately teach her the one-rein stop as you introduce the canter after all that. Here's more about the one-rein stop and why it's so important to plant that into the horse's foundation, from the ground up: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips94.html

If you have a bucking problem, I suggest using a saddle to keep you safer, but follow that link on my site that you saw about how to work on fixing buckers: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips9.html

Finally, FYI, we are presently set up here at the Virginia Natural Horsemanship Training Center for people to come here to stay (think of it as a vacation destination), bring their horses and have one-on-one natural horsemanship training with their horse if they wish, or partake of clinics we'll be holding here starting in spring. This is what we are designing the place for and working on 24/7 to get ready for!

Desensitize them to dewormers, which are going to be a part of their life from now on, every other month (paste dewormers should be given on an every-other-month schedule): http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips62.html

Another important thing to get them used to is hoses/being washed, breaking that down into smaller increments, getting used to the hose first, then water. I've seen folks who haven't done that and suddenly the young horse gets a leg injury that might require cold water hosing to reduce swelling, and that's not the time to desensitize them to that for the first time, but far before that. So...that might be something you can get them used to. I go over that topic here: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips92.html

By the way...an excellent video, I think, for foal handling/training is Josh Lyons' "Foal Handling the Lyons Way" which you can find here: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/JoshLyons.html (scroll down & click on the video picture there). Very, very good video in my opinion, best on that subject, worth your while to get. I own over a hundred natural horsemanship videos myself, so often I know which ones to recommend to folks at a given time. That one I give a two thumbs up! And I think it will help you a lot.

Hope this helps and good luck to you there -- keep up the good work! :-)

I guess basically when I tie him up and leave him there, he bucks rears and attempts to jump over what I am tying up. It actually does scare me as I am even worried he could pull down the fence, etc. And I don't have any suitable trees or anything to tie him up to either.

I also have another problem. When I am on the ground saddling up my horse, brushing him, etc., he moves around all over the place, then throws back his head, pulls on the lead rope, so when I try picking his hooves, he will snatch them off me and move away as far as possible against the fence. This sort of behaviour continues until I am actually on him and he turns much quieter and calmer (the majority of the time).  Basically any time he is tied up, his manners are shocking and it fairly well ruins my confidence before I am even on.

My horse came from living within a herd of horses to my house where it is just him and my thoroughbred. They are not paddocked together, but they can easily see and whinny at each other. My horse is extremely attached to the thoroughbred and when he can't see the horse, he will get very, very pushy (but only on the ground, not when I'm on him). I believe the tying up issues may have something to do with the other horse (as he can't see him when he is tied up) But the other horse does nothing to encourage my horse and doesn't even look at him let alone whinny back at him.

I understand the above is probably a respect thing, but how should I teach him to behave using a method which will make sense to him? His tying up issue and the fact that most of the time he won't let you pick up his feet is frustrating and the farrier had a lot of trouble, so I really need some advice.

Thank you very much for your time and I look forward to your advice!! Kind Regards, E.- Internet

First the "pull-back" issue when tied. Do NOT go that inhumane route you've been advised there to tie him all day, etc., as that is quite cruel, plus will only make the problem worse, not better. The reason he pulls back there is he's never properly been taught to "yield to pressure." To fix the pull-back problem when tied, I go over step by step on my web site a procedure that will fix it using a "belly rope" and I teach how to do that here: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips30.html

Do not tie this horse until you've retrained him going that route, as pull-back horses can get very seriously injured, or even killed accidentally, when they don't know how to yield to pressure yet and they fight the tying process. I've fixed many a pull-back horse going the retraining belly rope route -- works every time, but follow the instructions there to the letter, not skipping steps.

Another exercise I'd like to suggest working on him with, to instill better ground manners when on the lead rope, which also will reinforce yielding to pressure, is here: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips31.html

As for the foot handing problems, I go over how to fix that problem here: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips16.html

I wanted to bring up another issue and it's about how you are keeping him away from other horses. Horses are *herd* animals, designed by nature to live with other horses, having that intimate companionship 24/7 so they will feel less anxiety. I want to show you a horse problem I put up on my site that is similar in some respects, some not, but there's a message there I want you to read: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips54.html

So...all that to say, some of the anxiety you're seeing there in your horse is actually being caused by your keeping him alone, not in with another horse like nature intended horses to live. And "horse shouting distance" is not good enough. Horses bond & groom each other, are very physical with each other, and they need that "pair bond" companionship with another horse to be emotionally healthy. So I suggest putting your horse in with that other one and let them develop a bond -- he will be far more healthy for it.

Take a moment to read my "What is Natural Horsemanship" link here so you can learn a little more about NH and horses as a prey animal: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/WhatIsNH.html

To quiet your horse when he's stressed, let me direct you here to some deeper bonding techniques you can be using with him to help him out and calm him down: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips58.html

Finally, what you really need there overall, I can see very clearly, is a training program you can get busy with that is a highly effective, yet gentle approach and here's where I'd like to suggest you think about getting the Gentle Solutions book I co-wrote because it teaches a step-by-step natural horsemanship training program you can apply all by yourself and your horse will transform before your eyes -- you'll find that book here: https://scotttechgroup.securelook.com/SylviaScott/VNHTCProducts.htm

I personally would not be riding this horse yet until these foundation holes are closed up or you are headed to potential disaster and I want to see you kept safe there. Get the ground work foundation laid first, then he'll be far safer to ride, and that's what the book teaches.

Hope this helps and let me know how it goes there. Good luck to you!

Now here is the question on the chestnut: there is quite a history here. I could write a paper on the trials and tribulations of this horse. When I go to mount him, as soon as I put weight on the stirrup, he moves away from me. If I lay my weight across the saddle without putting my foot in the stirrup, he stands. I took the saddle off and laid across his back; he walked around with me dangling across his back, no panic (did this about 3 times). Yesterday I just crawled up on him bare back and he carried me around fine for about ten minutes. I got off of him and got back on him for about another ten minutes, then gave him huge praises for his good behaviour. The saddle sits nicely on his back, but the cinch only really connects tightly on the bottom of his belly. I can put my hand in along the sides. Would it be the cinch pinching some skin and that is what is bothering him? I have a professional choice neoprene cinch on him; if you think it is the cinch, can you suggest a cinch that may work better on this egg-shaped horse.

Do you think maybe it might be a physical problem like a rib out or something? I do that tail thing that you suggested, stroking under their tails and they love that. Regards, T.W. - Internet

Incidentally, in this month's (November) issue of John Lyons' Perfect Horse magazine, there's an excellent and thorough article about cinches. To subscribe to this magazine: http://www.perfecthorse.com/

If saddle/pad is okay, back up and do some further cinch-sensation desensitizing -- without the saddle at first. Put him in (ideally) a natural horsemanship halter with 12' lead rope -- no other tack (no saddle). Stand on the left side of him. Run the lead rope from your side over his back right behind the withers. Reach underneath (carefully!) with your left hand and draw the end of the rope underneath his belly and up toward you. Have your left hand holding the rope end that's up on his back, your right hand holds the other end of the rope that is now drawn up under his belly in the cinch area. "Saw" the rope gently back & forth there for a start so he can get used to the sensation of a cinch moving (cinches do move when we mount and that may be what he's reacting to there). As he gets used to that and remains still, stop (release for right answer there - right answer being: stand quietly) and stroke/praise. Once he's good with that, now draw up the rope tighter using both your hands on each end of the rope so he can get used to the rope tightening there. Start in baby steps and release for him remaining calm, stroke/praise. Increase the pressure incrementally, pausing for releases when he stands still. If he has issues with the cinch sensation, this will indeed flush out the problem and you'll be afforded the opportunity to work on more desensitizing there for cinching. That's the best exercise I know to desensitize horses who aren't accustomed to cinches yet.

I have a couple more links I wanted to direct you to on my web site that I think will further help you there: Cinchy Horse & Mounting Problems  - Horse overreacts to cinching & mounting process: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips12.html

and Saddling Problems/Cinchy Horse - Horse explodes after cinching/saddling: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips71.html

Plus...I wanted to show you a link on my site that teaches how I like to start green horses in saddle -- very gentle, but highly effective way: Starting Green Horse In Saddle - What's the best way to start riding green horses?: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips26.html

It goes without saying that I do a whole lot of natural horsemanship ground work training before ever starting the horse in saddle, making sure they are soft, compliant, understand yielding well and are in a good spot ready for that challenge.

Try all that and I think you'll progress nicely there.

Let me know how it goes and thanks again for writing.

Question - How to introduce pressure/release after first haltering: Hello. First I'd like to say you have a fabulous website. I used your round pen and haltering techniques to tame my wild two-year-old. She is a completely different horse now. I do have a question as I'm stuck now, and wondered if you might be able to help.

I can halter her, but once she feels ANY resistance on the halter (or anywhere on her body for that matter) she goes into instant flight mode. Right now, a tiny pull and she's backing off without a chance for a release.

Any ideas are welcome. K.W. - Ontario, Canada

Also, search touch all around her face, ears, neck, etc. to find out her favorite places to be scratched (scratch or rub, don't pat) and memorize them to return to often. Do all that before gently asking for the head down using pressure/release. Having her head lowered will be a huge emotional breakthrough for her, because a lowered head instantly produces a relaxed horse. Where the head goes, the mind follows. Immediately. But with a really fearful, wilder horse especially, you need to deeply bond with her first and show her via your finger in her mouth (remove it once she works the mouth!) that you can help her relax. They don't realize you are producing the relaxation in them going this route. All they file away is, "wow, when I'm with this particular human, suddenly I feel more relaxed!" So back up and work on only that at first. After you've got that well in place, then use the lead rope to very gently apply pressure to ask for the head down. Minute ounces of pressure there at first, and release for the smallest try, slightest change in the right direction. All horses learn from the release of pressure what it is we want, not the pressure itself, so get your release timing very quick for right answers, but reward the try in the right direction with a release as well. If you need to, without releasing the pressure, stick a finger in the corner of her mouth to get her working her mouth as you apply the rope pressure downward. This working of her mouth relaxes her neck and it instantly makes her drop it. Voila, release the pressure for that head lowering quickly and she'll learn that was the right answer there. A lowered head is a relaxed horse; you're teaching her to relax at the same time you're teaching her to yield to pressure.

If she gets scared, just stop what you're doing and return to bonding. I strongly believe you cannot ask anything of the horse, especially the wilder more fearful ones initially like that, until you've well got the bonding/relaxing techniques down. Think of your lessons as you "helping her," not about you getting her to "obey" if that makes sense. It's a mind frame that puts you in the right nurturing mode for teaching her to trust, to get past her fears and helps her to understand what you are asking of her as you go along there. As my training colleague Clay Harper says it, Work with your heart in your hands.

Don't teach your first pressure/release lesson with a horse like this for leading, but teach her to drop her head using pressure/release on the lead rope. That's more important. Lowered head is a relaxed horse - automatically, instantly. Get that in her foundation first and then from then on when she's afraid or spooks, come in and help her to relax again, finger in mouth, ask for the head drop.

Nurture her along the way and return to bonding as often as you have to, if she ever feels afraid, and you'll make faster, more productive progress there while simultaneously building trust in her for your fair, kind leadership.

Question - Should I take a free yearling who has had no human handling?: Hi, Sylvia. I am fourteen years old. But I need your advice. I am an intermediate rider, and I recently got offered a registered quarter horse yearling for free. I had been looking for a beginner horse, but I don't think I can pass up the chance to get a great horse given to me. The only problem is, he has never been handled at all. I know nothing about ground work, but I really think I could train him. Do you think I should grab at the chance, or do you think it is too advanced for me? Please give me your opinion. Thanks, A.K. - Internet

So...it would be a very long-haul time before this horse is rideable and many hours put in for professional training to get the horse there in the first place (and a long time waiting). That would consume years in your teenage life that could be better spent riding a fun already-started horse!

You would be far happier, I think, keeping looking for a rideable, more manageable beginner horse with more training on them. Getting the yearling will only lead to frustration and potentially more money spent up the road than you anticipated, I think, and there's a physical danger risk factor as well. Get a more been-there-done-that older horse and you'll have far more fun. Let your parents see this letter please, so that they are informed as well.

I know this is probably not what you want to hear, but it is what you need to hear. :-)

Question - Formerly hard to catch horse suddenly comes in too aggressively: Hi Sylvia. I am confused! And hopefully will be able to put in words exactly how this happened and maybe you will be able to tell me why my horse behaved(s) in such a manner.

Using your round penning lessons, I've retrained my formerly fearful hard-to-catch horse. Now, I am not bribing him with food into stall for catching anymore and it has been working great, he comes right to me now. Monday evening he gave a few snorts, but allowed me to catch him in camp. Tuesday he ran around a little bit, but came to me for the catch. Wednesday evening he started snorting and pawing the ground with a lowered head when I climbed into the camp with the halter/rope. It felt for me as if he was going to come in for the "kill" so I sent him on his way with a slight rope toss towards his hindquarters. This happened in a more closed part of the camp in front of the stable, so I moved out into the bigger space of the camp. He circled me a few times - stopping to face me, head down, snorting and pawing the ground. I then turned my back on him to invite the join up but he would then just dart off again. About the third time of turning my back he - as cool and calmly as a baby lamb - just walked straight up to me until his head was at my right shoulder and I stroked him and could easily halter him.

Last night, however, I was really, really scared of him! He immediately put distance between us when I climbed into the camp and my other horse, my mare came up to me. I thought OK lets bond here a little bit (with the mare)! So I haltered her and really doted on her. My gelding came running straight at us, turned with hindquarters into her face and I really did not have the guts to wait and see whether he was aiming at me or her! I lifted my left arm which sent him off. I immediately took off the halter from the mare and walked into the bigger space of the camp. He was watching me and then he came full speed directly towards me! I saw he was NOT thinking about stopping, so once again I "tossed" the rope towards him and he would circle me, stop, lower his head snorting and then charge directly towards me again. This kept on for about 5 to 10 minutes and only then could I see him starting to relax, and I bravely turned my back to release the pressure, but made sure I could still keep a watchful eye on him!  He came in then, walking towards me, snorting, I turned slightly towards him, lowered my posture and stuck a right hand out for him to smell. He came right up to me and allowed me to put the rope over his head and then dropped his head for the halter.  What must I make out of all of this? He also, once in halter, did not really like me to try anything on his right side. He yielded his head to the left beautifully, but as soon as I tried the right side, he starts back and sideways movement. I did manage to get him backing up - back up cue I'd taught him earlier that you showed me - but only on the highest of the V of pressure would he do it. He worked his mouth and I think decided he did not like this idea at all, for he started to circle me thereafter each time. I try to stand in front of him so I can get him down on the V of pressure with backing up.

I do not know if he is just jealous - of the mare or of me, or trying to overpower me by trying to take higher pecking order. I only have about half an hour each evening to work with him so I want to get it right. Or let me know if I am really doing something wrong here suddenly. Kind Regards, A.V. - South Africa.

This is normal what he's doing suddenly but it's a positive testament to you that you're actually making great progress. And you're doing everything absolutely right there as lead mare. He's just trying to find out where the "black & white zones" are now, what's acceptable, what's not, with his leader. Just stay as cool as a cucumber, not letting him get a rise out of you, but remaining assertive in sending him away when he acts like that. Showing him the "rules" for coming up to you when at liberty.

Let me show you a better way to send away safely in situations like that when a horse is "charging" you at liberty or coming in too fast, too rudely: spin the rope, don't toss it there. This gives you better/safer control in such circumstances. Spin it overhand, not underhand and spin it vertically (up and down), not horizontally. And if you have to, let the rope slap the ground loudly as it spins (an added sound pressure). If he charges forward still, well...he's going to run into that spinning rope, a safe distance from you, but all by himself and not like it one bit, but he will know full well that he did it to himself (not you hitting him) and he will back off to think about it with an "oops, shouldn't have done that!"

This is about: making the right thing easy, the wrong thing hard. If he comes in softly, safely, respectfully, well, life is easy & good for him and that's the "white zone", the acceptable spot; but if he comes in too fast or aggressively like that, he'll be sent off by the "lead mare" (you) assertively with the spinning rope (AND A "SHHHHH" SOUND -- important to plant that sound into his foundation as you discipline so it becomes a cue eventually that means, "stop it!") and that's the black zone, unacceptable behavior. Horses don't like to be under pressure like that, and they learn from the release of pressure what is acceptable and what is not, as they sort that out. When he exits after sending him for that rude behavior (and he complies with that exit request), go immediately soft, just like you're doing, but DO keep tabs on him out of the corner of your eye to be ready to spin the rope again if needed. But you're doing great there! You did absolutely nothing wrong there, and everything right.

Always listen to your gut as to whether to squat or not, by the way. I'm reeeeal careful at first what horses I squat around, what ones I won't for a while. Keep your radar on there! It's sometimes best to bend forward at the waist first, lowering your stature, eyes averted down, to appear less threatening at those "inviting in" junctures.

You're also witnessing a typical training phenomenon I talk about often in natural horsemanship training. The way a learning curve goes in horses is often: two steps forward, one backwards and this is NORMAL. And often, suddenly it gets worse right before it gets permanently better.

Can't remember if I directed you to this link on my site yet about horse brains and how they work to learn, but it'll explain more about that phenomenon and the "why's" so it makes more sense to you: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips21.html

As for the not wanting you on the right side, this is a very, very common problem -- so common, I'd say most all green horses come with it initially to some degree, and it's called an "eye changing problem." Let me direct you to a link on my site that goes more in depth into it and how to fix it: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips65.html

You're doing great there! Better than you think there. Keep up the good work. Proud of you!

Question - Buddy Sour Horse - afraid to go out alone to ride: Hi. I have heard great things about your methods and that they really do work.

I have recently started riding a five-year-old gelding. He has been recently broken and is understandably nervous. He has only ever been ridden in the company of his half brother who is the same age, etc.

Whenever I try to take him out alone, he gets very upset and usually bucks repeatedly until he gets me off in order to return to his friend in the stable. I have tried schooling him in the nearby field, and have someone stand at the gate holding his brother, but even this did not stop his bucking.

I would be really grateful for some advice as I am really starting to lose my confide