This page
is devoted to the education of Horse People everywhere, in the hope
that one small thing learnt will improve the life of their horse.
If I 'get
up your nose', ignore it. I say things with a 'glint in the eye' and
mean the best for you and your horses.
**
ALL PHOTOS ON THIS SITE ARE FREE TO USE.
Turn up the volume
Disgust over Winchelsea pet horse
mutilation
Jane Harper
November 28th, 2008
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OUTRAGED residents say they are shocked and disgusted by the killing
and mutilation of a horse in Winchelsea.
The family pet was killed by a blow to the head and then had its ear
and part of its scalp removed with a knife.
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"It's absolutely horrendous," Ashlee Martin said.
"We haven't lived here long, but it makes you scared to be in your
own house, knowing there are people out there capable of doing
something like this."
The killing of the horse on November 11 is reportedly the latest in
a number of attacks on animals.
A dog and a cat died recently of suspected poisoning, and a second
dog was reportedly poisoned just three days after the horse was
killed.
But residents say a host of problems in the town, including drugs,
assaults and threatening behaviour, have been escalating over the
past 18 months.
"People are just doing whatever they want, because they know they
can get away with it," said one resident, who asked not to be named.
"People are scared to speak out because they are afraid it will come
back on them.
"You can sit in the pub and hear people bragging about things they
do because they know they can get away with it."
Residents say along with drug use, drink-driving and vandalism,
incidents during the past year have included people being run off
the road and car windows being smashed with a chain while a mother
and daughter were inside.
But Senior Constable David Vanderpol said he thought any problems
were in line with other towns of a similar size.
"I wouldn't have thought we had a huge crime wave," he said.
"Just the usual. A lot of the time people will call us on Monday to
report something which happened on Saturday, which by then is a bit
late.
"They may think they know who is responsible, but we can't work on
assumptions, we have to have facts."
Sen-Constable Vanderpol said there had been no official reports of
animal poisonings, and officers had to wait for a written autopsy
report on the horse before following up all leads they uncovered.
27th November, 2008
Picking Mrs. HP up
tomorrow. Been cleaning House and washing like you wouldn't believe
:)
**********
THE WAY OF THE HORSE
Now to young Warwick.
The fact is that all
three Horses were outstanding in Temperament and typical of the
Breed. Had Dan have had either of the other two, the result would
have been exactly the same. (Don't worry, he is not getting away
Scott Free :) Tomorrow night I will talk about him. Some people
would be forgiven for thinking that Warwick's Horse was a bit of a
Handful but that is not the case from where I sat or from where a
number of other Professional Horsemen and Clinicians sat.
Due to the inability
to catch a proper 'Breaker' both Shane and in particular Warwick,
were really 'dead in the water' from the start but in Warwick's
case, the systems that he used (or lack of) did nothing but tell his
Horse that he was a "predator" Apart from doing two weird things
like putting a Feed Bin in the yard and building a plastic yard, he
spent the entire first day walking around with one hand in the
pocket and just staring at the Horse. By the start of the second
day, when he was put into a 3 metre diameter yard with the animal
and Warwick had this Giant stick in his hand as well, well what do
you reckon the Horse thought. He was defiantly a "predator". ...and
the Horse proved it to him.
Then, next day, in the
yard inside the yard where the Horse was dropped off, the Horse felt
very threatened indeed. This was the result.
However, in the end, to his credit, he got a
Halter on the Horse and I am sure he was suddenly very surprised
indeed. In no time, the Horse went mellow in the eye, didn't even
move with arm over the back stroking and then basically immediately,
jumping up and down along side the Horse as Warwick suddenly saw the
possibilities. What could have been.
All was going great then, until.....
Warwick introduced a system that must have
something to do with Mouthing, jagging the rope Halter against the
bridge of the nose of the Horse to get it to go backwards. This is
the result.
Note the threatening Horse come back due to
self preservation and the reversal of the opinion of the Horse about
the Handler.
So why is all this so and why did Warwick have
to retire?
It simply got down to
a failure to catch an unbroken Horse. A failure to do something to
prove one's self to the Horse, to apply some pressure so that relief
could be given and the identification process of the Horse could
understand that perhaps he was a good Guy after all. Some meaningful
advance, not creeping and eye balling. Then of course the stick up
close and personal. Once it had been proven to the Horse that he was
an alight Guy, the Horse went to the same temperament as all the
rest of them. Game over but.........just as with the 'floating of
the ropes to zone 2" on a complete non understanding 'Breaker'
frightened the Hell out of the Horse, so did the 'jagging on the
Nose" and the immediate introduction of the whip in conjunction. The
Horse would have thought, "I changed my mind, I gave you a chance, I
accepted you, I stood for your touch and did not run when you jumped
up and down and now you give me pain, stress and fear" I am now not. Rearing is not something I would
want to teach a "Breaker" and any system that promotes it
is not one that I would use.
I did feel very sorry
for him. I admire his tenacity and his Guts, not to forget his
athleticism :) He did the right thing and I can understand his need
to go on with the Horse. Very big of him. NIce Lad.
So tomorrow night, "Young Dan" :) Can't let
him get off Scott Free :) Who knows, if he is an open minded young
fulla, he may even learn something.
EQUITANA MANAGEMENT
You were 'bollocked " last time by David
Farmilo so you shifted it to from one day to two days. You don't get
the hint. You are being unfair on Horses where the Horse is supposed
to be your greatest benefactor. Two Days is unfair!!!!!!!!!!!
Equitana is run over 4 days. Helloooooooooo, for God's sake do the
right thing on the Horses, the Handlers and the Public. Turn it into
a proper learning experience and look after the Welfare of the
Horses. Take the "Ego" out of it that you are causing by your Clock.
Then there is the ridiculous size of your
Round Pens. Not fair on Trainers and causing much more pain to
Horses because of the tyranny of distance distance. and finally,
Get rid of NH "Float the Rope a Dopes" and let
real Trainers compete. Bill Willoughby must have been grimacing
indeed. Oh, the Judges. What are Dressage Judges doing Judging this
event? That is not fair either because if you get three proper
Trainers, only Proper Judges will be able to split them and it would
be grossly unfair to have Dressage Judges involved. Reputations are
on the line in those Round Pens and you should be protecting them by
providing proper Judges and not setting innocent non qualified
people up for a Fall!
************
THE MAGNIFICENT STANDARDBRED
23rd June, 2008.
Remember this HOrse???? Well the Rider had never ridden in his
life.
Here he is last
Weekend :)
With the HOrse....at a proper Hack Show :)
LETTERS OF THE DAY
Totally agree about the round yard
size. Dangerous. The breaker up the road who is an 'options' NH
trainer says anything under 25 foot diameter is useless as the horse
'can't move his feet and make choices.........'
ROFLAO The big yards
really gave them choices hahahaha. They moved their feet alright :)
***********
Hi John,
Great to meet you at Equitana. I was keeping an eye out for you but
didn’t expect to see you at all
amongst the thousands of spectators but was quite pleased with
myself when I actually bumped into
you (Jacqui, looking at horsefloats). Thanks for your time and
advice with the floats.
We had to leave to drive back to Adelaide at lunchtime on Sunday so
didn’t get to see the last
instalment of ‘Way of the Horse’. Did anyone else except for Dan
James get to ride their horses?
I commented to my friends on the Saturday at the first session that
it was obvious that Dan was the
only horseman there. The others may have been experts in their field
(well, Warwick anyway) but
that certainly doesn’t make you a horseman. You can pick ‘em can’t
you?
As for Quantum Savvy, well, what can I say? I didn’t know anything
about them but thought I would
go to their session on Friday. We got great seats in the stand with
a fantastic view. They then made
a grand entrance into the arena, talked Swahili for the first 5
minutes, tried to jump the barrels 5 times
between them (both on the ground and mounted). I couldn’t stand it
and my friend and I made a very
obvious departure from their demonstration. There was no way I was
going to stick around and
watch a very amateur exhibition as that was. He didn’t even look as
though he could ride properly –
stirrups way too long, toes pointing down and hanging off his horses
head.
I thought he was like a little bantam rooster, strutting around with
his chest puffed out but not really
knowing what he was doing and trying to look all cool and that
things were under control – they weren’t.
That was confirmed on Saturday when we were absolutely gobsmacked
that he was in the ‘Way of the
Horse’. Does Australia NOT have any other real horsemen to compete
in this competition? I know that
this is a rip off of the USA’s ‘Road to the Horse’ where they have 3
equally competent horsemen
competing and it becomes a real competition and not the 3 ring
circus that we witnessed. I did feel sorry
for Warwick but the other bloke (who reminds me of Steve Carell - 40
Year Old Virgin movie) was just a
joke. Pat Parelli must have been laughing his tits off to see him
selling all the Parelli gear with Quantum
Savvy marketed all over it.
Anyway, orphan foal is now doing well now that she is home with me
(that’s another story and I might
need some advice there also)
Have watched your halter breaking
DVD and have halter broken my 5 wk old QH/ASH X colt with not a
problem in the world. I’ve even had
my non-horsey husband out with me helping me out and he’s taken a
bit of a shine to my colt! Miracles DO
happen!
Cheers
Jacqui
*********
Hi John
I have recently started a young black mare using your mouthing
system for the first time and I am happy to say that it works
tremendously!! It ------with the ----- but i
did get it and it worked. Her first ride went extremely well and i
wasnt at all unsure as to whether i was in control or not. It has
only been two weeks since i have had her and we are already outside
of the round yard learning the basic flat work principles. On our
first walk out of the yard there was only one instance she had a
slight panic attack and leapt forward but in no way did she try to
run through my hands. We barely moved 2m and she was under control.
She took a fright again only yesterday on another walk out but once
again everything was completely controlled. I did note though that
when we were doing a right hand circle outside the round yard that
she tended to lean on the bit a touch rather than respond to it and
looking back on what i have done with her it has turned out it was
my fault that she got that resistance, as when we were in the round
yard doing a left circle i tended to ask her alot to go to the
outside of the round yard as she was cutting the corner a bit. I
have learnt from this that because of my constant contact on her
mouth with the right rein (in attempt to bring her out, make circle
larger) she learnt resistance. I think i have done a much better job
on her using your mouthing system than i have done on previous
horses so at the end of the day i think i have done a good job and
have certainly learnt how easy it is to diminsh a good mouth through
my own mistake.
On the 'Green Horses'
Louise, more inside rein and inside leg.
I wish i could use the mouthing system on my sister in laws TB geld
as he has a terribly tough mouth however i choose not to as she is
an extremely nervous beginner rider and i know my efforts would be
ruined. I do plan however to re-mouth my lil faithful QH mare who
has been passed around children as their teacher for the last few
years. I now have her back home with me for good as i am using her
in harness and i have discovered that occasionally when riding her
and i ask her to go left for example she deliberately turns her nose
right against the pressure of my hand. Cheeky lil so and so. She has
learnt that she is stronger than the children who have been riding
her and she can get away with it so she tries it on me!! NICE TRY
but that wont last for long.
Thanks once again. Very happy with the result and i have a better
understanding of it all now.
Cheers
Louise
I plan to get a photo of this black mare in work just before she is
sent home so i will pass it on to you if you like.
Thanks Louise. You do
sound to be on the right track with your attitude and enquiring
mind. Well done. You strike me as a Calm Performer (pardon the Pub)
as well. That is always good. Thanks and look forward to the photo.
**********
Dear Mr. & Mrs. HP,
First, I want to thank you for offering help to folks with problem
horses by demonstrating your skills on actual problem horses, unlike
every other training dvd I've seen where the trainers invariably
demonstrate with compliant horses. Only helpful if your horse
complies without resistance!
I've had a 5 yr. old
Arabian gelding for about a year and a half now. I bought him via
the internet from out-of-state based on a video of him at liberty
and lungeing w/ tack. I know it was crazy but he was the best horse
for the least money I could find and I have limited financial
resources. He's a lovely horse and scored in the 70's on a
dressage-in-hand test. I had him trained in ground manners (much
needed and much improved) and sent to a reining facility for initial
training under saddle for 2 months. Since then I've been working
with him - ground work in the round pen and on-board in the arena
walk, trot, some canter, figures, leg yields - dressage style. We
started some trail rides - just quietly walking the loop here,
following a calm, experienced horse. Here's the problem: This horse
is high-strung, spooky and nervous with dose of willfulness and, in
spite of my efforts, I haven't been able to neutralize these
behaviors. I haven't been letting him get away with anything. If he
spooks I make him go around in circles past that spot while yielding
to my leg willingly before moving on.
If he tries to bolt I catch
him on the rein and make him continue moving forward. Just so you
know, I'm not a completely inexperienced idiot, but apparently an
idiot nonetheless since I can't seem to figure this out. I had
another horse for 17 yrs. - also an Arabian gelding whom I adored.
Lost to colic 6 mths before buying this horse. Trained to 2nd level
dressage and we did trails every weekend. He was spooky too but not
as stubborn and willful as this horse. Back to my current horse. We
had 3 trail rides at walk. He was quite nervous but behaved,
except
tried to bolt at brief attempt to trot, so I brought it back to
walk. However, our 4th ride out, last weekend, he got very nervous
while standing near gate to the open space. We were standing,
waiting for the riders I went out with to mount back up after
opening the gate. There were alot of bicycles going in and out of
the gate and I felt my horse getting tense. Next moment I was flying
through the air viewing the landscape sideways - reared & bucked
off. I was very lucky and walked away without a serious injury.
Walked him back, took off the tack and then decided to put him in
the round pen and make him work hard so he wouldn't get the idea he
could buck me off and get out of work (might have been too long
after the fact, but did it just in case). Since then I've worked him
in the round pen a few times. Today for an hour - trot, canter,
joining up, yielding - parelli's 7 games. He was following me like a
puppy at the end, so I got on board to have a ride in the arena,
but, as usual, as soon as we started past the weird farm equipment
towards the arena he got into the usual head-up emergency alert
mode, and once inside was wired and spooky. So I just aborted.
Wasn't up for it and I'm not sure how much more of this I am gonna
be up for. I really don't trust him after having been bucked off (it
was a BIG buck), and I take it as a warning that this has to
improve. I'm pretty persevering but I'm starting to lose patience
and confidence. I hope you can offer help. I thought the market
harborough might be helpful to keep that emergency alert head down. Thanks for taking time to read this. I hope you can help.
I just don't think after all this time we should still be having
these spooking problems. I was hoping to develop/learn dressage with
this horse, but I also really want to get him out on the trail,
relaxed, enjoying it, and having 'positive' adventures (not bucking
adventures). But I know I don't wanna end up spending what's left of
my life (I'm 59) with some crazy horse injury.
By the way, I found you guys on youtube and loved your no-nonsense
approach.
Thanking you in advance for your potential help,
Dona Bhavani USA
No good Donna and you
are right in being careful. We don't bounce these days. Some of the
advice I give you may not suit you so you should get a strong Rider
to carry them out. Firstly, this Horse needs to be not walking but
out the gate and get going. 20k and give him a decent ride for once.
It is probably what he is lacking, always feeling too good and too
much energy. That should be done by a Cowboy. Be fair and give him a
lead Horse but then get the Cowboy to take him alone and ride
through the inevitable battles that are going to ensue. Meanwhile,
you should go do this:
TESTING THE LATERAL MOUTH OF YOUR HORSE
Then, if not great UNDER PRESSURE, fix it for
your own self preservation. Then go look at the 'Power of the One
Rein Stop' on the youtube and learn it off Pat. Not half learn but
second nature like a Golf swing. Then, on the subject of the
highlighted section of if he goes to bolt you catch him and make him
continue, no way. Instant stop and back up 5 paces then throw the
rein away or "One Rein Stop" and negate it completely. Brainwash
this Horse for your self preservation at your age. With the Good
Rider on, assess the Horse more and see what it is really made of
beneath the surface. I suspect there may be a story or two and you
are just riding on egg shells. Plucking your Rosemary Beads :) If
the Mouth is not good enough, re-mouth him. Regards
*************
Hi John,
Hope Linda is happily back at home by now. Please give her my best
wishes.
I've been following your reports on the colt starting challenge at
Equitana & the last lot of photos you put up made me feel sick for
that poor youngster. I'm glad I wasn't there in person 'cause I
wouldn't have been able to just sit & watch that without speaking
out. I agree with you that the organisers really need to have a good
hard look at what such a competition is achieving. Someone needs to
put the animal's welfare first & be prepared to step in & call a
halt to proceedings if it's all going pear-shaped IMHO.
Now I'll no doubt come across as a complete nuff nuff, but can you
explain to me what chasing a horse around a roundyard with a bag on
the end of a stick is supposed to achieve?? I've seen it done a fair
bit lately & all I see is frightened horses. Am I missing
something??
Thanks for the great reports from Equitana. Keep up the good work
Regards L
The bags are used to
make a Horse that does not know how to lunge, move it's feet and
commence the 'join up' process. In that sized yard, 'join up" or a
Lasso Rope may be the only options. We saw the results where either
were missing. Thanks for the wishes L. Monty Roberts throws ropes.
************
Hi guys
Just have a few qns please. I bought, last week, a welsh 5yo mare
and 3 month old filly from a girl who had neglected the mare for 2
years, and now, the foal. The foal hasnt been handled at all, and
the mare was only lightly handled 2 years ago. I managed to get a
halter on them both. The few days after i bought them home, i could
catch them both with food and pat them over most of their bodies,
but since i have wormed them, they have turned aggresssive, which
they didnt show any signs of before.
I just dont know the best way to deal with them. I can catch the
mare and foal, but they are both very scared. After I managed to
worm them the other day, was disgusted by the amount of worms that
came out of them. The worming was done very quickly with no stress
on either one.
I have found that since the worming, the mare has become a bit
agressive with me. She struck out at me the other day when i got
close to her, and now the foal just lays its ears back the moment i
go near her. If i offer my hand to the filly, or let her get close
enough to smell me etc, she tries to bite me.
I am trying to gain their trust and respect, but how can i do that
when they are a bit on the aggressive side? I dont want to get hurt,
and i certainly dont want them hurt or scared.
The mare is still very thin, but i am feeding her well now, and the
filly is quite fat.
The only thing that i can think of (apart from the obvious major
stress of catching, floating, new home etc..)is that perhaps they
are both feeling alot better now, after proper feed and worming?
Perhaps that was their personalities before, but they didnt show it
because they were both feeling so unwell from years of neglect???
Any help would be greatly appredciated. I obvioulsy dont have the
knowledge to know what to do with them, but couldnt let them be
neglected any longer.
Thanks
Hayley
It also may have been
the pain of the worming that did work and would have given them both
major gut ache. They may be holding it against you, however, you
have to get to properly training the two of them, not just sneaky
catching and sneaking halter on. Go look at the top of this page for
a mirror of your problem.
You need facilities,
you need to halter break that Foal and commence proper, meaningful
ground training on both of them. Look below at the Man on the Ball
:) You need to go learn the 7 Games of Pat Parelli and carry them
out. Your problems will then be over. You may need help from a
Trainer for the Foal though. It may be dangerous to itself. Regards
********
This is at Pat's demo on the third
day....
Camera was at maximum zoom sorry its not so clear
Who is that man in the cowboy hat :)
How many fingers in that gesture :)
-Cath
LOL. With your money
you need a proper camera :)
************
Hi John,
Firstly I would like to thank you for having such a valuable
website!!
My problem:
I recently (about 2 months ago) bought a 16.2hh chestnut
thoroughbred mare from the pakenham sales. I only went to have a
look and I ended up buying her. It said in her description that she
had done showjumping and adult riding club etc, genuine sale due to
too many horses. I know you can never be sure that what has been
said is the truth, but a young girl (under 10) rode her when she was
presented and she behaved very well. So I got her for $375.
Anyway, I got her home, and I rode her the very next day. She was a
dream!!
I then rode her a couple of days later (this is just out in a 12
acre paddock) and I let my appy pony run stay out while I rode. When
I was riding, all she wanted to do was stay with the appy. She kept
resisting my requested to head away from the appy, so I gave up and
got off.
I then tried leaving the appy in the small yard while I tried to
ride in the paddock, but as soon as she couldn’t see the appy, she
started to stress out and they were call out to each other. So, the
way I overcame the problem we by going from the appy to the
neighbours horses 300m away and then back to the appy, and this is
how I rode up until 2 weeks ago when I moved (just bought my first
house) onto 5 acres.
I took her to riding club 3 weeks ago and again she was a dream. She
didn’t have the distraction of my appy, and I found out she is quite
educated and very responsive.
Last night was my first ride since riding club (I have been moving
house!!) and I saddled her up and mounted. I had put my appy in the
smaller paddock, and everything was fine until she decided she
wanted to hang around the appy. She stopped listening to my commands
and when I asked her to move on she picked her front two feet off
the ground only an inch or two, and then turned back to the appy. So
of course, I was tired and gave up, unsaddled, had to fight with her
to make her back off when it came to feed time and then felt down in
the dumps about it all.
I have friends that live about 1km away that we want to go riding on
the quiet back roads, but I don’t know how I can take her out when
she wont even let me ride her in the paddock. I also want to go
trial riding and do Navagation Rides with her, but again, I don’t
know how to get her out of the paddock unless she is in a float!!
She is good to put in the float and take to riding club, but when
she knows the appy is there she just is sooo stubborn!!
She is also like this when I am at home and leading her some where
she cannot see the appy. She tries to cut in front etc.
She also nods her head when she sees the horse float. At first it
scared me, as I thought she was scared, but someone told me she was
just excited?!?! She seems to have calmed down when it comes to
nodding her head and the float.
I am going to get my lunge whip tonight when I go out to feed to try
to gain some respect.
She is a sweet horse, and I want to be able to improve both my
riding and her fitness, but its hard to achieve anything at home
when she misbehaves.
Ohh, and she is 12yo and was raced up until 2004, too slow and
basically came last in all 7 starts.
Any points or tips would be great, I really love this horse as she
is sooo sweet, but I just need to gain some respect whilst being
ridden and lead.
I know you probably get heaps of emails every day about ‘problem’
horses, and I understand that you are busy as you have lots of
horses in your care etc, but if you had the time to read my email,
anything would be of value.
Thanks in advance!!
Katie.
Yes Katie, either get rid of the Appy or the
Chestnut or go riding out with Others but not on your own paddocks
which is a downer anyway. Either that or you immediately develop the
skills to be able to ride that Horse in an arena doing official work
on your property and ride through the separation anxiety that is so
typical of those Horses and is why she was most likely sent to the
sales. They drive one nuts. Your job is not going to be easy as she
has a psychological problem which will remain with her. Management
or get rid of one or the other. Regards
***************
26th November, 2008
My poor darling comes
out of Hospital on Friday Morning. She is climbing the walls.
********
I showed my Daughter some pics of 'young Dan'
and Guy and she rushed outside to train her Mare :)
THE WAY OF THE HORSE
They criticize Australian Horsemen for not
doing certain key 'buzz words" "RELEASE, Give a horse OPTIONS and
such like.
I have to say that one of the things that
Australian Horsemen are good at is "Release" and it is the thing
they learn at a very young age. Especially when a Horse may be not
understanding, tense, confused and the like and comes off the
ground. Release is everything and saves thousands of Horses from
Death as a frightening percentage of them die by hitting their head.
Release is part of giving a Horse "Options". For instance, a Horse
lifts off the ground a little, we release and go about the request
in a different way, eliminating the confusion or the fear. The often
forgotten part of events such as "the way of the Horse" is the
educational factor for they provide a great opportunity to assist
the masses to understand how the mind of a Horseman works. Never to
miss such an opportunity with real life incidents, I will continue
on this Event yet for a few more days yet as it and other things at
Equitana were great learning opportunities. Even for the
Professionals. I went there to learn and I did. I therefore got my
monies worth. A failure to release almost always causes a Horse to
go completely over.
The following groups
of photographs are second by second of separate incidents regarding
release. I hope all that read this, learn from it.
The last pic is poignant. The Handler, still with the contact, gets
reefed forward and over the back legs of the Horse.
As time went on, this
behaviour became a "learned thing" and as always, the Horse built
upon the evasion whereby it could then spin in mid air and leave the
handler at the rear, ready to be kicked and killed if not a quiet
Stock Horse.
BAGGING DOWN OR DESENSITIZING
Now we come to this
subject. Remember the key words. The handler first attempted to bag
the Horse down with the Lead Rope. Pat says, "Flog your Horse with
kindness" Here is the problem. Few know that such an NH move cannot
be achieved on a genuine 'Breaker' for it you do, you will get this:
Then Plan B, being the
use of the "Carrot Stick with whip on the end, to "bad the Horse
down and to 'desensitize' it Few know that you cannot use this NH
move on genuine unbroken Horses, otherwise you will get this:
and the third thing
that people need to learn and most do not know, is that proper
unbroken Horses are not equipped to understand what in Hells name
focus and moving zone 2 by swinging the rope at it, means and the
result is this:
In other words, NH and
the various Games are not for use on such Horses and such exponents
are not qualified to achieve the aims. They are therefore dangerous
to the Horses and dangerous to themselves. Shane could well have
lost his life. If it had have been a Percheron Cross or something,
he could well be dead now. I would therefore submit to Equitana,
especially after the Last one with the NH Lady who nearly got killed
as she also found NH does not work, that NH practicing people should
not be appearing at such an event and only true Horsemen do. It is
grossly unfair on the Horses and they cannot break Horses in anyway.
That has been proven now two Equitanas straight and in every
experience that I have had with such Horses. They now need to get
the message, shut up and go do what they do well. Savvy tricks.
NH, as valuable and as
fantastic it is, where I promote the Hell out of it and use it
extensively, for ground training of already halter broken Horses.
City Horses. Not 'Breakers"
**********
EQUITANA
Thank you for posting the Dan James video on your site - he is
truely lovely (with horses and people alike) and is not bad to look
at either! Here in WA we think hes pretty special x
I met him at the Royal show last year and he has since come to
Geraldton to do some clinics - he was amazing to watch as he worked
with the horses. Im very glad to hear that he is doing well over
there too : )
Please keep us all posted on the progress !
In the pursuit of even
handedness, tomorrow night I will examine the young blokes job and
attempt to improve him for he is only young and he can be improved
markedly.
TRICK TRAINERS
Equitana had many a
Clinicians who were performing wonderful things with "their own
Horses" That makes them 'TRICK TRAINERS" which is a World apart from
a "Horseman" or "Woman"
We can all look
absolutely fabulous and wow the pant's off the audience but it is in
the Round Pen with Horses with either real Problems or real unbroken
Horses where the true experience can be seen. It is high time that
some real Horses are included in the programme of this great event,
so that people can actually get real learning.....and on that
subject.....
THE GERMAN DRESSAGE JUDGE
I watched that clinic
and filmed it for my wife. It was abut 'flying changes" Problem is
that he was using a hand picked Horse that did perfect flying
changes and did them all clinic long. Why not a Horse with 'late
changes" or some other problem????? Too easy for mine and not good
value.
**********
LETTERS OF THE DAY
Hi there John, Well I volunteered at Equitana all 4 days and I
thought I had looked at every 6ft cowboy that had passed through
those gates but you obviously were well hidden! Judging by some of
the angles you photos were taken I must have been nearly standing on
you! Anyway though I would give you some of the feed back that I
heard during my time.
Lots of people were disappointed with Parelli's clinic, they agreed
the end result was what was desired but they felt a sense of being
left hanging at the end. I didn't go so can't comment.
I thought he was
brilliant and vastly improved in experience and touch on when I saw
him last. He is older now and wanting to yarn to the crowd :) He
made all of the others who were copying him but not admitting it,
look second rate.
Andreas was amazing, I worked closely with him behind the seems and
he the most generous and kind person I have met in a long time. He
had time for everyone and seemed genuinely interested in what they
had to say.
Yes, he did come
across well.
Dan James, uniquely Australian, no B.S just does what he has to do
to get the job done, he got rave reviews on his colt starting
performance and his mate actually bought the colt he was so
impressed it. I had a beer with Dan Sunday evening another genuinely
down to earth bloke.
You did have a good
time then :)
Guy McLean, always amazing, a great showman/horseman, Warrick
however did put up the offer to take his colt home for 6 weeks to
try and get it going. no comment.
That doesn't interest
me at all and nor does Youtube. I'll dissect that later.
Clayton Fredricks is amazing, explains things in terms that novices
can understand, very funny man, gifted rider.
Not a bad looking Dude
either :)
The western rider/reiner wayne something, I watched his clinic, he
is a very serious man, not much mucking about with him,(He did spend
12 years in USA!) although he did help me to understand the world of
western pleasure, still think the lope makes the horse look lame
though!h aha.And credit where it's due he did do a good job on Brett
Parberys Dressage horse!
Over all I worked hard, met a heap of great people and thoroughly
enjoyed myself. Back home to reality now, have 2 years to save up
for the next
one!!! Hi to Linda, look after your selves. Jo
Thanks JO.
++++++++++
Hi there John
I just had to comment about your little piece on Quantum Savvy.
The poor horse that he was riding in the demo I believe is Spider –
a lady from up here sold him to Shane. Spider is a lovely horse very
sweet tempered and would try so hard for you and to see him there
with such a terrorised look on his face is really sad and goes to
show maybe Shane really should have stuck to motorbikes!!!!
Through my dealings with QS, safe to say I have felt as
uncomfortable in their presence as the horses looked in those
photos.
Thank goodness is all I can say that I found you, in the short time
that I have been following your methods my riding and training has
come along in leaps and bounds and my horses are happier. I also
have a new found confidence that has allowed me to take on the
rearing of a young one – which I might add is going along so well I
can’t believe it. Your hobbling methods were proved yesterday too
when my young fella decided to walk through the electric fence
(which was on at the time) got a tad stuck around his hocks then
quite calmly stepped out of it and proceeded to the water trough for
a drink. Wouldn’t have seen that in NH LOL
Anyway enough of my ramblings you’re the bomb John don’t let anyone
tell you otherwise there is a whole lot of people that would stand
up and fight for you in this country and overseas.
Cheers
Nicky J
Cheers NIck. You have
to get back to me for that Collar!!
************
Hi John
I see the majority of your letters from readers are long, so I'll
make it short for you :)
One question - what does it mean when I am lunging my horses (no
lunge line or any gear on etc.) and they all seem to after a little
while go about with their heads stretched all the way down to say
fetlock level. They may do this briefly or for the majority of the
work out - why? None exhibit nasty disrespectful behaviour and are a
pleasure to have around and do anything with.
Thanks,
N
By the way, I can't believe the person at Equitana would say NOT to
desensitize any horses! How absolutely dangerous to preach this to
the beginners in the crowd; as not all horses are cookie - cutter
quiet bombproof drones that you could throw a tarp over on a windy
day. unbelievable.
That is a sign of
relaxation N and it comes more so at liberty in the round pen than
with a rope or lunge line on them, which only interferes with the
messages. The lunging cavesson being the most detrimental in my
observation.
Horses will then enjoy stretching their longitudinal muscles and you
are really witnessing the "German Training Scale" in it's purist
form :) Regards
*************
Dear John
I just thought I would put my two cents worth in here.. I read your
run down on the Smiling asassin and totally agree with you. I am
still confused as to how he achieves what he thinks he achieves.. He
wasnt promoting himself very well.. As for his wife..HUH??? what was
she blabbering on about?? I think I was being distracted to much by
the fan club.. I felt they made fools of them selves.. I thought I
saw the smiling asassin actually signal to them during the way of
the horse to quieten down.. I was the lady on the second day sitting
up the top with you and I spoke breifly to you .. I felt that
Warwick was a little out of his league with that horse and his
method seemed to freak the horse out a little.. He gave it no where
to go but up.. I wonder if he did take it home to finish the job..
Would be interesting to see that result.. My friend and I had a
gigle on the first day when the smiling assain went sand skiing..
looked funny.. poor pony even on the second day he was trying to
jump out of the round yard.. Dans horse was a good choice for him as
it was very responsive to his methods and promoted himself well.. I
thought Guy was a great showman and had trianed his horses to do
some great tricks.. I did buy his DVD just to see if his methods for
general horsemanship were worth their salt.. As an overall event I
was so happy.. So much to see and do.. My friend and I were their
from opening to closing and only really got a little bored on the
last day .. It was a pitty about the lack of toilet and food
facilities but I am sure that will improve next time.. The weather
could have been just a little warmer too...LOL typical Melbourne
with their up side down seasons.. I still love Melbourne though.. I
took my jumpers off the washing line yesterday (the ones I bought at
equitana due to the cold) and thought mmm I will never wear this
again.. It was almost 40 degrees here yesterday... hahah Love it..
Well here is hoping to see yourself and Linda at the next one..
Helen R
Nice to have met you
Helen. I am not remotely interested in Horses being taken home. I
think that is a cop out, bordering on a con and nothing to do with
the competition of the judging of it. Regards
***************
Dear John,
Best wishes again for Linda... you must be counting the sleeps to
Friday :P
I too was at Equitana for most of the 4 days, and one thing I
consistently noticed that I wanted to ask your opinion on, was the
difference between the Western/Stock horses compared to the
English/dressage horses. I know some of it will come down to age,
but I noticed that in general, the Western/Stock horses coped really
well with the crowds, noise, atmosphere etc, while the Dressage
horses were often jumping out of their skins! Do you think it comes
down to foundation training, or are the English horses just wrapped
up in cotton wool on a day to day basis? I’m interested to hear your
observations and thoughts on this...
Regards, Sarah
Hi Sarah,
Horsemanship and
ground work are not something that interest the English set like it
does the Western. The Western and Stock Horse people have an inbred
attention to such things, born into the Sport. Due to the EFA with
the lack of any attention to such things, the English people don't
even think about it. Regards
**************
Hi HP,
First up thanks for the DVDs, they’ve been a huge help J And
secondly I want to send my regards to Mrs HP, I can’t believe what a
nightmare her leg accident turned out to be.
I have a 10 month old filly. I’ve been trying to do as much as
possible with her and for the most part things are going well. She
ties up, floats and has been to a couple of shows which required
washing and plaiting, she has her feet done, gets wormed,
vaccinated, rugged, even had a little practice with the dentist and
been clipped. But I’d like to get some professional help with a few
things and mainly just make sure I am on the right track because
this is my first foal and she does have a rather bold personality. I
bought her as a weanling at 5 months old. Which brings me to my
question, I noticed from your website that you went to Equitana. I
was wondering if you saw Mark Rodney there or if you know him and
what your opinion was of him. He is in Sydney and quite close to me
so I was thinking of asking him for help. Or do you have anyone else
in Sydney that you could recommend?
I did see him Kath and
he seemed a pretty good hand. I saw him actually working with a
Foal.
One thing I’m starting to realise is that I need to be careful about
giving too many specific commands. As an example from day dot I’ve
been pretty adamant about my space and particularly around dinner
time. We have a little routine where she stays right away while I’m
carrying feed through the paddock and then once I tip it in she has
to come over calmly and have a pat on the face and then I leave her
to it. If she gets herself cornered by the big horses she knows not
to run me down to escape. I was feeling quite confident that she was
turning into a well mannered little girl but whilst I was away at
Equitana my husband fed her. Imagine my horror when he described her
as being pushy and bossy around the food, even trying to poke him
and shove her head into the feed while he was walking through the
paddock!! He said he gave her a little smack on the neck and she
stopped so I guess it’s not all bad, she was obviously testing the
boundaries with the newbie!
I had a lot of trouble in the past with another girls horse being
pushy around feed. No matter how much I waved my arms or yelled etc
he would just completely ignore me. The only way to protect myself
was to have my gelding chase him away. Then one day the other girl
taught me his commands….to stop was a simple hand stop signal like a
traffic cop would use. He was like a different horse once I learnt
his “language”. Anyway the moral of the story is I don’t want my
baby to end up only responding to me and my body language. I don’t
set out to do anything specific but I will pay attention from now on
and start changing the routine a bit. I’m not sure how else to
ensure that my rules transfer to other people too. I will try to get
some other guinea pig feeders and observe! Because she is a pony
breed I do worry that down the track she could end up being a kids
pony. I don’t have any intentions of selling her, but who knows what
the future holds, I could get hit by a bus tomorrow.
Also just out of curiosity did you see Ian Bidstrup’s presentation
on foals and birth trauma?
Thanks,
Kath
I see it here
Kath, that if we go away or different people feed, Horses can change
in two days and need a tune up when I return. They are eternal
tryers'. They are so smart, aren't they? You will need to give your
Husband a lesson, not the Horse :) No I didn't see any of the
lectures. Not enough time. cheers
*************
I just don’t understand how ppl who watched this really believe
Warwick or Mr Advertising did a good job. And I didn’t think young
Dan was harsh or cruel. It is a compact time to show what you can
do, sure, but also sorts out the wheat from the chaff. Best thing
young Warwick could take away is no one has all the answers, and
perhaps he should ask to spend some time with Dan & vice versa. Both
seem genuinely committed.
BTW did you see any Guy marketing stuff eg shirts videos etc? I
didn’t J Although I’m not sure I’m comfortable with the cantering
backwards thing – only cos the horse didn’t look like he was
enjoying it.
Congrats to Heath, he really did well.
I did see Guy
cantering backwards. Quite a feat ey? It will be an eternal mystery
to me just how many people can see entirely different things but I
guess that is Humans. The Judges gave it to Dan I hear and that was
deserved. Had there been a second and third ribbon, I would not have
presented them. I remember last time. The rave reviews, screaming
and clapping as one contestant spent 10 minutes using 200kg on the
Mouth of a Horse to get a backwards step. What is that?
*************
STIFF ARMS
HI John,
Yeah, I know, I'm still on the topic, but, you know, you've got me
thinking here, it seems then that there are probably 3 category's of
riders with stiff arms, maybe 4,
1. Unbalanced so bracing and unsteady.
2. Pointing hands to the ground in an 'effort' to 'round horse' off.
3. Combination of 1 & 2
4. Those that should back off on the coffee and learn to relax.
I guess it's simple really in theory, learn to relax and switch
'core' muscles 'on' enough to sit still relative to the movement of
the horse without 'blocking' the horse up by being stiff and moving
against the horse.
From a mechanical/physical point of view I'd think that in general
the riders pointing there hands to the ground/down and those that
rider stiff/straight armed would be in effect tipping themselves
forward out of the saddle and therefore unbalancing themselves...
where as a rider with elbow bent will tend to sit up right /
shoulders back and therefore be able to relax the lower back and
move with the horse? Where as those all tensed up/braced etc would
find it difficult to relax their lower back/hip/pelvis enough to
move with rather than against the horse.... then offcourse their is
the ability to 'feel' the rein on top of the balance stuff.
Your thoughts?
Then and a again maybe 'I've go the wrong end of the stick' ?
Cheers,
Sarah.
Sarah, that's fine. Even though people
sometimes get the irrates with me, I do have their best interests at
heart and thinking of the young Lass, whilst at Equitana, I took
these photos for her.
Then, if anyone wants the greatest example of
someone who looked to be better and looked to improve and admitted
it would you believe, here is Heath. (Australians current No,. 1
Dressage Rider) He went to Europe, listened, didn't get the
irrates on, came back and was a changed man. At his age would you
believe. Here he is 3 years ago.
Not a pretty sight. He deserves a Medal. A Gold one. He wowed them at Equitana
apparently and I even had Horseman telling me about him.
Congratulations Heath. Left the ego at the gate and reaped the
awards.
