“Bugsy”, APHA Chestnut Overo Mare, 14.3hh, 4 yrs

Congratulations to her new owner and training family! This girl is going to be able to expand her potential. Dressage and Jumping in her future!!! So excited to get some updates!

Obstacle Video Clip 

Please click on the link below for full details on the Dragonwood site

“Flicka”, 13yr Quarter Pony Mare, 14.2hh

“Black”, 15yr Black Tennessee Walker Gelding, 15.1hh

All volunteers begin with barn management and care to get a feel for the horses and the routine of the barn and its current events/activities. All advancement and added skill will be overseen and approved by Shannon, and guided by H2H assistant trainers.
The best way to become a skilled horse person, is to experience as many horses as possible! Come meet the many horses that we have at the facility and enjoy some hands on time with a variety of personalities!

Volunteer Duties will shift between the following, and advancement(additional training) will be dependent on skill level and how many volunteers are available:
*Barn and paddock management
*General grooming, care and feed of the horses
*Various exercises from the ground, H2H Level 1 will have to be memorized before moving onto Level 2 (Riding)
*H2H Level 2, A memorization and understanding of how to train(the horse) at this basic level, and a basic understanding of how to teach(the human) this level of the program

SCHEDULE: (Please call for availability)

Monday – Saturday
10am – 1pm & 2pm -5pm

FOCUSED WORK WITH THE COME-TO CUE HELPS TO RECREATE YOUR BOND AS WELL AS YOUR HORSE’S ATTENTION TO YOU

Now that you have spent a reasonable amount of time, giving your horse a chance to get his stamina in gear.  Using simple round penning or lunging exercises…lengthening out the amount of time you spend at the trot or canter.  This time that you have given him has helped him to build strength in his lungs, muscles and overall body.  It has also given him time to reacquaint himself with you and your expectations.  Giving him ample time to think about the expectations and not be overwhelmed with too much at once which can bring out unwanted behaviors in our horses.

For some horses, it may not be time yet to present the saddle and equipment.  He may still need time to build up his physique.  The more your horse’s body is prepared for carrying the saddle and rider, the better he will work into the new season.  If he is out of shape in any area when you begin to ride him, he may begin to compensate for those areas, resulting in possible injury or unwanted behaviors later.

The next few Spring Cleaning blogs will present areas focused on opening up your horse’s body and mind.  Resistance is a key factor in finding out where your horse needs work.  When you can pinpoint those areas in the body, or even areas in the horse’s mind that is lacking engagement, focus or attention, you can then let the horse be your guide regarding which direction the review sessions should go.  For now, I can offer you some suggested areas to work with, that will not only refine your skills as well as the horse’s, but will also help you to dissect certain areas of your relationship.  Remembering that any exercise that you can not CURRENTLY achieve with your horse, is actually a good thing!  –These so-called “holes in training”, can be your answer to getting a closer connection and better communication with your horse.

Round Pen, The Come-To Cue

This is an excellent focus as part of your round penning refinement.  Especially if you are having trouble with achieving inside turns with your horse, or even more so, can not achieve the specified turns (inside and outside) on your command.  However, even if you horse is doing inside and outside turns well, this is a great way to establish eye contact, focused attention, confidence, and speed control when approaching your boundaries.  If you are wanting to give your horse a chance to carry the saddle alone for a few sessions, this is a great exercise to combine sacking him out and developing refined body language cues between you and your horse. (See below regarding the combination of TNT and Round Penning)

As most of you know, when I teach (horse or human), it is important to me that we use a set pattern of steps in order to refine our body language and cues, but also to give the horse ample time to study and memorize the body language signals for each step.  Starting with a simple pattern, we can build onto it with more specifics as the horse gets more in tune with our requests.

After a warm up in Forward motion, allowing your horse’s joints and muscles to lubricate and ready itself for a more in depth process.  You can use this warm up time checking your energy connection between you and your horse, adding energy for speed and releasing for slow.  You can then begin the following steps to create or review the Come To cue:

As the horse moves forward in your chosen direction, ask for an added speed change(you can be specific and ask for a trot or a canter, but there has to be an obvious reaction to the request).

The moment you recognize that the horse has responded to the speed request, you will release this by moving into your inviting gesture (opening your shoulder and stepping into the opposite rail).

The moment the horse looks in at you, you stop all action…freezing in the position you landed.  Thus releasing the horse’s try or attention to coming towards you.

If your horse is not already coming to you, don’t worry.  He will with added repetitions.  He must get the idea that you are allowing him to come in to you.  The goal of the round pen work is to establish an understanding of what intention our body language presents. So he must see the difference in what our body language looks like when we want him to go away versus when we want him to stay.  Additionally, when we aren’t asking anything of him, which results in a horse that stands still without misunderstanding.

INTENTIONS are only understood by seeing the same action result in the same release or reward.  This is why repetition is so important.

You will notice above that I made bold the words, The moment.  This is part of the H2H foundation training, understanding the 3 R’s.  REQUEST, RESPONSE, REWARD.  The moment indicates the precise timing in which you are presenting a form of release.  Releasing the horse as soon as he makes a change in speed comes in the form of moving on to your next request.  While the horse doesn’t immediately recognize that you are actually asking for another step in the equation, what he feels is the release of pressure to move…and once that is released, it is natural for him to look in at you to find out if he is being expected to do anything further.  Keep in mind that the horse is being released for adding speed, or FORWARD motion.  The release then guides that FORWARD motion towards you. So in other words, your body language is trying to tell the horse that you want him to bring that forward motion TO YOU.

The most important moment for the come to cue:  The moment he looks in at you, or even better, he turns his body in towards you (specifically front feet).  This is where you present a clear signal that you are completely releasing him.  Then following this release, you need to practice the approach for petting and rewarding with contact.

THE APPROACH

This in itself is a practiced exercise.  A horse must learn to recognize the body language in your approach when you wish to give him a pet, or a treat, or put a halter on.  Versus when you are approaching and asking for him to move out.  In the beginning stages, this can take a few repetitions or even sessions (dependent on the horse’s experience), to realize the difference in your intentions.

TOUCH and TURN(TNT)

Don’t forget to use this practice often.  During this session, it can be used as a reward, or to give the horse a break either physically (if he’s out of breath) or emotionally(if he’s feeling sensitive or disconnected)

If you are mixing the focus of sacking out with or without the saddle, be sure to repeat until you feel the horse’s tension release.  Areas of tension or reaction are typically the flank, belly, tail(tucked and tight), and back legs(practice lots of picking up to help release tension).  The more the horse receives touch or guided actions to release areas like the tail or the hind legs, the more he will relax and not react.

We spend a lot of time up front with our horse, and if we only spend time getting him saddled and bridled and then ride, we forget to spend time with an entire HALF of the horse.  This is why so many horses hold tension in their hind end.  Pay attention to the whole horse….hug your horse everywhere!

Congratulations to “Sage’s” new family!! So excited to get updates on her new life!

Please click on the following link to Sage’s page on the Dragonwood website, providing more detail about her!

“Sage”, 8-9yr Bay Mare, approx 14.3hh

Please click on this link below to see his page on the Dragonwood website.

“Rashad”, 16yr Grey Arabian Gelding, Beginners’ Horse!

-How much experience, or what type of activity did they experience in the prior season? I want to be sure that I start with something that is simple, and easy for the horse to process mentally so that they can allow their body to do most of the work without feeling stressed about the expectations.

-What is their current state – physically, emotionally? Are they up to date with the farrier, the dentist, do they have worms or any sort of physical ailment? Have they been accustomed to staying in a herd over the winter season? I want to be sure the horse is as comfortable as possible when I start him in these new sessions. I need to be aware of where his mental state is, and give him time to mentally and emotionally adjust into a new routine – even if he has accomplished the exercises easily in previous seasons, I can’t expect him to be ready all at once!

With horses that have been through the H2H Level 1 program, I can use that set of exercises to determine the routine that I am building from. The determining results are mostly dependent on the horse’s response time to cues as well as monitoring his breathing and point of sweat.
Using the first session, I evaluate the horse beginning with a simple Round Pen review; checking for length of attention span with the basics of the exercise: Inside turns(come to), Outside turns(go away), and Forward motion. In addition, I can use these cues to evaluate the horse’s movement and ability to engage into each.
Then I use the TNT(Touch and Turn) to palpate the horses body, check for imbalances with regard to weight shifting, attention to boundaries and placement, as well as using this exercise for rest/reward and an emotional re-connection. Don’t forget to explore those stretches!
Once I have found that the horse has begun to stay attentive and is willing to follow me along…if he is not too out of shape (out of breath or wet with sweat), then I will begin the steps of saddling in free space. Remember that this is a great way to check/test to see just how strong your horse’s connection is to you. His attention and willingness will define the status of your relationship with him during this first session. If he is willing to stand still to be saddled, then he is ready. But if he walks away, or gets distracted easily, he may be too tired, or just need more enforcement in the basic areas of body language.
From here, depending on what your horse is physically, mentally, and emotionally ready for, you can continue with the rest of the Level 1 exercises to refine and prime him for the upcoming season. The more the horse practices these simple, yet intricate, exercises…the more you will add to his confidence, his ability to engage and coordinate physically, and the more refined and practiced he is when you return to the saddle.
H2H LEVEL 1 Basics
Round Pen
Touch and Turn(TNT)
Bridlework
Footwork
Language Lesson
Flagwork
Ropework

The more your horse’s body is primed for contact work, the better he will respond as you add your equipment or body for riding again.

If your horse has literally been sitting in a pasture or barn for the season, you will want to do some simple work to exercise the lungs, muscles, joints, heart and brain!
Round Pen or Lunge (Language Lesson) : 5-10 minutes at a trot each side. Then lengthen a few minutes each day, for the first week.
Some horses only need 5 minutes per side to get their lungs and pores opened up. I like to watch/feel for the beginning signs of sweat…visible blood vessels, heightened breathing. I DO NOT want for my horse to sweat drastically. This would mean that I have pushed the horse too far for the first few sessions, both physically and emotionally. Use the first two sessions to find a starting point with your horse. The first session can just be simple review to reconnect emotionally with your horse, and give him the idea. The second session, you can begin to be much more precise with your requests or goals.
Watch your horse move, study his strides – length and direction, his attention with his eyes vs. his nose. And most importantly, give him a chance to connect with you on some level! This is the foundation of your new season! <3

Jumping into 2013!

Check back soon for details about the 2013 Schedule!

Looking forward to helping you and your horse find new ways to enjoy your time together…