Check These Out!

California Wild Fires Update - Like most of you, we've been watching the news reports daily on the horrendous wild fires in Southern California which have affected such a huge population, including many, many horse owners. As former Californians ourselves, and as horse farm owners, here now in Virginia, we wondered what we all could do to help other horse folks who have lost so much in the catastrophe which has been nicknamed "Hurricane Katrina with fire." I've listed here some resources you can check to make reaching out and helping easier:

New Wild Horses 2008 Wall Calendar - For a Good Cause! - With photography by Rita and Charles Summers, this calendar celebrates the freedom of horses on the open range and reminds us of the need to preserve open range for horses. Calendar sales benefit the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary in South Dakota, where more than 100,000 acres are home to unadoptable wild mustangs. This calendar makes a great Christmas gift too! For more information: CLICK HERE

Want to learn how to ride like the Cavalry while on an exciting horse vacation? - The United States Cavalry School contacted me recently and passed along to me a fantastic program they have put together that I would like to share with all of you. Here's more about it:

The United States Cavalry School has the best horse history vacation in the West!!! Ride with us at our headquarters, situated in Washington State's majestic Methow Valley (Northern Cascade Mtn Range), at the location of your choice, or at our school at the amazing Battle of the Little Bighorn Reenactment/Custer's Last Stand encampment at Crow Agency, Montana. Our mission is to preserve the culture of the United States horse cavalry through education in cavalry history, horsemanship, tactics, Native American cultures, and Army life on the American frontier. Learn how to ride military style, experience what it would be like to participate in a thundering cavalry charge, fire weapons of the period in a Cavalry skirmish line, how pack animals were used, and relaxing around the campfire after your day in the Cavalry, the US Cavalry School has a place for you. Open to women and men over 14 yrs old, as well as all levels of riding skill. Experience history first hand by riding across the Little Bighorn River and the ground/Battlefield Custer and his men covered the last hours of their lives. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

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Water Rover™ Portable Horse Watering Device - Fresh, Safe Water can now be available for your horse anytime, anywhere. Avoid the dangers of shared troughs and potentially contaminated streams when away from the stable! A unique product, the Water Rover™ for Horses is perfect for carrying in your large saddlebag. With a durable wide-mouth 1.6 liter bottle and attached bowl, this portable horse watering device is ideal for: Trail - No need to look for water; Trailering - Quick and easy to use; Electrolytes - Pre-mix in the bottle; Endurance - Save time at vet and water stops. No Need to Get Out of the Saddle. You can even water your horse without dismounting! Simple to Use: When your horse is thirsty, just unplug the bottle and hold the Water Rover™ horizontally to allow the water to automatically flow into the bowl. When your horse is finished drinking, tip the extra water back into the bottle, replace the plug, and put the unit back into your saddle bag. Check it out! CLICK HERE

A little background on my 15-year-old quarter horse: She stands very well for the farrier. She's been practically 95% of the time in cross ties and is fine with it. Only recently did "something" happen. I was in the feed room at the time so I don't really know what caused her to spook, but she went ballistic hitting her head on the ceiling, knocking down whitewash. She broke one of the cross ties! I peeked my head around the corner when I heard her start to slow down and simply talked to her and used my body language (standing still like there was nothing wrong). So, she seemed to get over that and I had her back in cross ties for the last couple weeks with nothing going wrong.
 
Well, I had health issues and wasn't out to see her for 10 days, which for me is long. I had a farrier appointment with her tonight (here in Wisconsin it was a cool night with a light rain). The farrier completed one hoof and was going to her back hoof when she went ballistic for no apparent reason, hit her head again on the ceiling and gave herself a couple wounds, one of which drew a little blood about an inch from her eye! Again, when she stopped, I used a soothing voice and kept my body language apparent to her as though nothing happened. The farrier and I talked for several minutes on what had happened and he then continued on with the next hoof and suddenly again she went ballistic. This time she somehow pulled her head out of the halter, turned around to walk away from us, found an empty stall where she noticed grain, and started eating. We went to the stall, the farrier adjusted the halter tighter, I put it on her, lead her back and she acted like nothing was wrong! He then said I should simply hold her as "some horses simply don't like cross ties." She was fine - head hanging down, chewing, not a problem in the world. She was fine after that! When he was done, out of my own curiosity, I tried putting pressure on the lead rope to have her drop her head and she responded just fine!! 
 
Well, I don't know what to do in the future. I certainly don't want her to go ballistic again in the cross ties and cause injury to herself. My farrier thought maybe I should simply not put her in cross ties again, but to me it seems like that's only a band-aid to a problem. He also thought maybe the weather had something to do with it as it was a cooler evening than usual. Oh yes, and before the farrier arrived, I had longed her and she appeared just fine! Help - please advise me on what to do next. THANKS A MILLION!

R. B. - Seymour, Wisconsin                            

How do you teach horse to cross tie?

Whispering Way™
12-Step Total Training System
Featuring Sylvia Scott

The Easy-To-Follow Foundation Training Program For Creating A Quieter, Safer, Happier, More Cooperative, Trusting and Compliant Horse!

Three DVD Set
The Whispering Way 12-Step Total Training System is presented over three included DVD volumes:

• Volume 1: Developing Communication, Control and Confidence (1 hr, 13 min)
• Volume 2: Refining Ground Control and Preparing For The Ride (1 hr, 26 min)
• Volume 3: Developing A Solid Riding Partnership (1 hr, 6 min)

Total Running Time (3 DVDs): 3 Hours 45 Minutes

Question - Wearing sunglasses when training and working with spoiled horses: Dear Sylvia: Thank you for providing wonderful and accessible advice on your web site. I consider your sharing of knowledge a generous gift to me.

I have two questions.

I noticed in some of your photos that you wear sunglasses. I have avoided wearing sunglasses with new or untrained horses so that they can see my eyes. I would have a rough time if my horse's eyes were not visible while training so I thought my horse would dislike not seeing my whole face. Does wearing sunglasses matter to the horse?

I have worked with several untrained, slightly disrespectful and never touched horses in the past to establish basic beginning training. These horses easily took to the round penning and halter training techniques. I took on a neighbor's horse that is a 6-year-old gelding and has never been round penned, halter trained or ridden. I knew this horse would be a handful, but knew also I could return the horse at any time that it was no longer fun. I took on this horse for my education and it is really testing my skills.

The gelding is extremely disrespectful and the neighbor's wife and daughter did not trust him when they were in the pasture. I have worked with the horse for 4 days and he is moving forward and changing direction fairly well but is not joining up with me as I would like.

He will stop and turn his head towards me (not body) but that is the extent of his joining. He shows only a few, weak signs of submission - no ear or eye focused on me, no head lowering, lots of rear end views. I end each session on a really positive note. When he looks at me with attention and submission, I leave the round pen. This is my first time to work with a horse that is massively spoiled and I would welcome any advice that would let me know that applying consistent technique will transform this nasty monster of a "backyard" horse into a calm, willing and submissive partner. Thanks again for all that you do.

E. H. - Farmersville, Texas 

Sylvia's Answer: Hi E. Thanks for writing. First: the sunglasses question. I have found, from years of experience, and training hundreds & hundreds of horses, that it really doesn't matter if you (or I) wear sunglasses. What I've found is, even when you are wearing them, they feel the focus of your eyes. Horses have an uncanny ability to feel focus, even far beyond our own sensory abilities there. I've experimented with this greatly, and I know this to be true. So I've found that wearing sunglasses doesn't affect training negatively whatsoever in my program.

I personally actually have to wear sunglasses when outdoors, don't have a choice. Not only do I have really, really sensitive, light blue eyes, but my eyes are actually allergic to the sun/bright light, I was informed by an eye surgeon many years ago. If my eyes get exposed to sunlight/ultraviolet light, they actually get an allergic reaction. So I have to wear sunglasses at all times when stepping outdoors. I don't have an option not to. I literally can't even open my eyes outdoors in bright light without sunglasses, they're that sensitive. Has been that way since I was born.

But wearing sunglasses honestly has never hindered my training of horses in my natural horsemanship program whatsoever. (Incidentally, I wear rubber safety sunglasses and one time they actually saved my eye when I got kicked in the face by a horse years ago!) Horses are instantly responsive, even when I'm wearing sunglasses and I know they feel my focus, what body part I am focusing on, on them; I've seen it time and again. But it's important also to learn how to focus on a particular body part so they feel it, with the right accompanying body language. I actually go over this in greater detail in my Round Pen Leadership DVD.

And that's what I wanted to bring up next. I can see from here what you know and what you don't know, and what would help you greatly there to speed you along this learning curve. I think you should think about getting my Training Videos Package in particular, which contains my Round Pen Leadership DVD & my Whispering Way™ 12-Step Total Training System DVD set. And you'll quickly see what you're missing there. My program is very user-friendly, I explain the why's of everything very clearly, and everything is broken down into easy-to-learn step-by-step fashion. And if you ever have any questions as you go along applying what you learn in my DVDs, I'm always an email away for backup support, if you ever need that. That's what my Remote Coaching program is all about, which you can read more about here: CLICK HERE

And you can read starting here a few of the many testimonials we have received from others following my program, world wide: TESTIMONIALS

I really think this route would help you a lot, and greatly speed along your natural horsemanship training learning curve. I've even remote coached, going this route, quite a large number of people out there, who have since gone on to become very successful NH trainers out there, that I'm so proud of. Think about this, because I know it will really help you a lot there, and I'm happy to back you up all you need as you go along!

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Hi J. I'll weigh in here a bit, but Sylvia's answers agree with mine. Your current set up is not ideal for proper weaning, as both mare and foal should be out of sight and smell from one another, or you just will be asking for an accident to happen. One or the other - and usually the baby - will try to get through or over the fence and injure itself in the process if they are too close.

 

I prefer to keep the baby in its normal surroundings and with buddies, while moving the mare to another location. If you don't have a friend or someone nearby that you could move her to, then I would probably recommend the cold turkey approach and just wean at the time of the sale. The new owners should do all of the things that you would ordinarily do on your end, such as monitoring the foal's health for signs of stress. He should continue to eat and drink normally and not develop a fever from being upset. I would have them put him in a safe place for at least a couple of days and hopefully with a new buddy.

 

You would take the same care on your end with the mare while also monitoring her udder to ensure she does not develop mastitis. Again, though, this is not ideal and I would first try to move your mare away so that you could keep track of the foal during weaning and well before it departs.

 

Sylvia was kind enough to mention my new DVD set which explains this process in much greater detail than we described here. Good luck and let us know if we can be of further assistance. Cheers, Bob

*Whispering Way 12-Step Total Training System DVDs (3 DVD set)

*Whispering Way Natural Horsemanship Halter/12' Lead

*Whispering Way Training Wand

*Handy Quick Reference Pocket Card

Saddle Fit - How to tell if horse's saddle fits well and what to know about pad

Stopping Horse-to-Horse Aggression - How can I stop one horse from biting/fighting with another?

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Feeding Time Aggression - One horse aggressively dominates all feed buckets

Stopping Horse-to-Horse Aggression - How can I stop one horse from biting/fighting with another?