One more time, I have to say how much this clarification about 'space horse' has helped me! Part of the project to get my horse alright with trailering alone is him accepting being turned out alone. Or at least, I think they are related. The other day, I could create a situation to do this... the first few minutes he did not protest, but you can feel him winding up,, and when he laid down to take a roll, I knew what would happen right after... he took off running the perimeter of a modest turn out area, when he was galloping back with some impressive steam to the near end and straight towards me, the width of the turn out was narrow enough that I could use my flag and hold 'my space' to be the near quarter end of the paddock to the barn. When he saw this, he put the brakes on hard... nice stop by the way. I maintained that the near end to the barn where he would have preferred to be (and probably would have carried on by trotting back and forth) was mine. He lowered his head and began to graze. When he had been grazing calmly there for a few minutes, I 'opened up' the end of the paddock to him, and he continued to graze peacefully. Wow! What a nice change to see from him! This combined with what I am seeing from Mark Langley, about distracting the anxious herd bound horse with a noise and not pressure to their feet has been a real game changer to help me to help my horse to let go of his thought about not being able to see his barn mates....and most importantly for him to have the head space to begin to consider that he is alright alone.
What I think may be challenging for people who don't have a lot of experience with such things is to see the difference between what you are doing -- owning the space -- and simply turning the horse back. What I see as the difference is that you are not actually telling the horse what to do or not do, and you are not directing a lot of pressure AT the horse at all nor "sending" him or pushing him. You are not actually "making" him do anything. You are simply putting yourself in his line of movement and occupying that space with clear energy (or you could say "energetic clarity"). This allows the horse to understand that you are present, that you are someone that can be relied upon, and that you are someone who is not a threat or a liability. That, in turn, starts to put the horse at ease.
Wish I had been exposed to your wisdom sooner... my guy has a hard time letting go of a thought, and trying to interfere with his thought really lights things up, especially since my perspective in the past had been to get him moving his feet to gain control.... instead of this where I am saying do whatever just not in the area that I say I need to feel safe around me... total game changer.... that said, my horse is super herd bound , not a problem at home or even when I take him to somewhere off the ranch... the problem for him is to trailer alone... trailer with another horse ...no problem ... He is obedient to load in the trailer alone, but his whole body quivers and of course once I get to where we are going he is dripping with sweat. Any advice to help him overcome this?
I am so glad to hear that you are enjoying my work and finding value in it! Thank you so much for that feedback! For situations like this one there are a few ways you can help your horse. The first way is to work towards having him load himself but don't make him stay in. When he decides to stay in you can reward him with a treat. He needs to start understand that no one is forcing him to stay and that its worth it for him to make that decision himself! The second approach I like to use is to back the trailer up to the round pen and allow the trailer to be a place of release. This does not mean chase him around but work with him in the round pen and any time he looks to the trailer, goes in it let him be. What happens is most horses have been made to go in and do not see the trailer as a place of release, even if they seem to load willingly. Once they have chosen to pick the trailer and see it as a release things get better. Hope that helps!
Such a big deal. And while some horsepeople may have an innate understanding of these concepts there is no one else out there teaching or representing these concepts with such clarity … and it’s an understanding that would literally save people and horses (save your relationship if not your life).
Well I sure appreciate that, thank you. I feel as a teacher it is my job to find ways to clarify the work in a clear and understandable way! For some funny reason most students believe the pressure is on them in a lesson to understand right away. I believe the pressure should be on the teachers to find ways to explain the work in many different ways.
One more time, I have to say how much this clarification about 'space horse' has helped me! Part of the project to get my horse alright with trailering alone is him accepting being turned out alone. Or at least, I think they are related. The other day, I could create a situation to do this... the first few minutes he did not protest, but you can feel him winding up,, and when he laid down to take a roll, I knew what would happen right after... he took off running the perimeter of a modest turn out area, when he was galloping back with some impressive steam to the near end and straight towards me, the width of the turn out was narrow enough that I could use my flag and hold 'my space' to be the near quarter end of the paddock to the barn. When he saw this, he put the brakes on hard... nice stop by the way. I maintained that the near end to the barn where he would have preferred to be (and probably would have carried on by trotting back and forth) was mine. He lowered his head and began to graze. When he had been grazing calmly there for a few minutes, I 'opened up' the end of the paddock to him, and he continued to graze peacefully. Wow! What a nice change to see from him! This combined with what I am seeing from Mark Langley, about distracting the anxious herd bound horse with a noise and not pressure to their feet has been a real game changer to help me to help my horse to let go of his thought about not being able to see his barn mates....and most importantly for him to have the head space to begin to consider that he is alright alone.
That's amazing! I am so pleased you were able to take the information and find a result so quickly. Great job and thanks for the feedback!
Great explained🤩admire the way you teach. Thanks for sharing, J😊
Glad it was helpful!
You make it sound so easy, Josh. ♥️
These situations can be difficult but I hope to clear up the steps to in getting a change!
What I think may be challenging for people who don't have a lot of experience with such things is to see the difference between what you are doing -- owning the space -- and simply turning the horse back. What I see as the difference is that you are not actually telling the horse what to do or not do, and you are not directing a lot of pressure AT the horse at all nor "sending" him or pushing him. You are not actually "making" him do anything. You are simply putting yourself in his line of movement and occupying that space with clear energy (or you could say "energetic clarity"). This allows the horse to understand that you are present, that you are someone that can be relied upon, and that you are someone who is not a threat or a liability. That, in turn, starts to put the horse at ease.
A very important distinction, thank you for that!
Nice job, as usual Josh!
Always a treat to get a new upload from you😁🙏
Thank you, more to come!
Wow! Excellent explaination of energy! & importance of activating ones space... Thank you, this helps me so much with all the horses i work with ❤️
Glad it was helpful!
I like your video that's you doing on horse and I'm doing real good with my horse Nannette
Great!
@@JoshNicholAHorsemansPursuit you are welcome Nannette
Wish I had been exposed to your wisdom sooner... my guy has a hard time letting go of a thought,
and trying to interfere with his thought really lights things up, especially since my perspective in the past had been to get him moving his feet to gain control.... instead of this where I am saying do whatever just not in the area that I say I need to feel safe around me... total game changer.... that said, my horse is super herd bound , not a problem at home or even when I take him to somewhere off the ranch... the problem for him is to trailer alone... trailer with another horse ...no problem ...
He is obedient to load in the trailer alone, but his whole body quivers and of course once I get to where we are going he is dripping with sweat. Any advice to help him overcome this?
I am so glad to hear that you are enjoying my work and finding value in it! Thank you so much for that feedback! For situations like this one there are a few ways you can help your horse. The first way is to work towards having him load himself but don't make him stay in. When he decides to stay in you can reward him with a treat. He needs to start understand that no one is forcing him to stay and that its worth it for him to make that decision himself! The second approach I like to use is to back the trailer up to the round pen and allow the trailer to be a place of release. This does not mean chase him around but work with him in the round pen and any time he looks to the trailer, goes in it let him be. What happens is most horses have been made to go in and do not see the trailer as a place of release, even if they seem to load willingly. Once they have chosen to pick the trailer and see it as a release things get better. Hope that helps!
Such a big deal. And while some horsepeople may have an innate understanding of these concepts there is no one else out there teaching or representing these concepts with such clarity … and it’s an understanding that would literally save people and horses (save your relationship if not your life).
Well I sure appreciate that, thank you. I feel as a teacher it is my job to find ways to clarify the work in a clear and understandable way! For some funny reason most students believe the pressure is on them in a lesson to understand right away. I believe the pressure should be on the teachers to find ways to explain the work in many different ways.