Thank you Katja this has helped me soo much with a very difficult and opinionated gelding who often just plants himself and ignores all aids and goes straight into fight mode. I tried this method today in very windy conditions and he was still calm, relaxed and FORWARD!!! He was a completely different and willing horse. ❤️❤️❤️
Thank you so much for your kind comment and for sharing your positive experience with this method of riding. I'm so happy it worked for you and your gelding. He is fortunate to have you as his rider/steward. In the end, we all just want to have peaceful two-way talks with one another. :)
I’m so glad! Thank you for your kind words and for letting me know that this is helpful for you and your mare. There will be more videos about this subject matter in the next few weeks as I’ll be posting exercises for ‘hot, run-away’ and ‘not-so-forward’ horses. Stay tuned! 😊
I am subscribed! I have had my 14 yr old mare for three years, working with a great teacher. In year two and three, she has taken to resisting, kicking out, putting head down and stopping. Checked for ulcers and ovary function, all is well. The stopping is very donkey like! I have not been able to pick up a canter in the arena since I got her, only on trail. ((My teacher has done so.) Now she has refused to pick up a trot on our arena unless pressed. So I have gone to a reset mode, quiet legs, walking only, no whip in hand. Just kindly forward. I blame myself for unknowingly pressuring her. She had been so willing. I am tempering my agenda now and giving us time to find the inner relaxation. I so appreciate that you are exploring this topic. Thank you!
@@julieinak I'm so happy to hear about your and your mare's journey and how you are taking it slow with her. I believe that our horses tell us everything they can to make us understand when something doesn't feel right. I just had another aha-moment today when a new client/owner of a 'not-so-forward' mare told me that her horse had been ridden by the previous trainer while she had severe eczema around her saddle girth area. Although the area is healed now, the pain this poor mare had to experience for a prolonged period of time must have caused her to associate riding with a great deal of discomfort which she showed us in no uncertain terms. Just like you did with your mare, we had her checked for ulcers and ovarian cysts (nothing), so I've started over with her on the ground with no tack, then light lunging, and today with a sheepskin girth cover over the surcingle which made a hugely positive difference. We could literally see in her face and body how relieved she was when she was moving without pain/discomfort with the surcingle. I'll do the same when I start riding her again, and perhaps this might be something that could help your mare as well? There are so many nerve endings in that area, and maybe she is more comfortable with some extra cushioning as well. :)
Thank you for your comment! I agree, it's definitely harder to apply this concept of riding to horses that are being ridden in a school by multiple riders. But I would also say that this video may be a great opportunity to start a conversation with those who are riding/stewarding/training the school horses. Sadly, numb or shut-down school horses are common in many public riding facilities. The horses went 'inward' and started to tune out the riders' aids in order to cope with the stress of multiple, constantly varying riding cues. Once they enter this state of dullness/learned helplessness they are often labeled as lazy, bomb-proof and beginner-safe. Unfortunately, horses that have been conditioned to be dull or to tune out their riders then inadvertently teach the riders to be rougher and less refined in their riding aids, and so the cycle gets perpetuated. The only way to help the horses and the riders to change is to start talking about it. And maybe, hopefully, videos like this one can start a discussion and show some possible avenues for improvement.
Thank you Katja this has helped me soo much with a very difficult and opinionated gelding who often just plants himself and ignores all aids and goes straight into fight mode. I tried this method today in very windy conditions and he was still calm, relaxed and FORWARD!!! He was a completely different and willing horse. ❤️❤️❤️
Thank you so much for your kind comment and for sharing your positive experience with this method of riding. I'm so happy it worked for you and your gelding. He is fortunate to have you as his rider/steward. In the end, we all just want to have peaceful two-way talks with one another. :)
This is so helpful and at last I have some better direction on working with my mare.
I’m so glad! Thank you for your kind words and for letting me know that this is helpful for you and your mare. There will be more videos about this subject matter in the next few weeks as I’ll be posting exercises for ‘hot, run-away’ and ‘not-so-forward’ horses. Stay tuned! 😊
I am subscribed! I have had my 14 yr old mare for three years, working with a great teacher. In year two and three, she has taken to resisting, kicking out, putting head down and stopping. Checked for ulcers and ovary function, all is well. The stopping is very donkey like! I have not been able to pick up a canter in the arena since I got her, only on trail. ((My teacher has done so.) Now she has refused to pick up a trot on our arena unless pressed. So I have gone to a reset mode, quiet legs, walking only, no whip in hand. Just kindly forward. I blame myself for unknowingly pressuring her. She had been so willing. I am tempering my agenda now and giving us time to find the inner relaxation. I so appreciate that you are exploring this topic. Thank you!
@@julieinak I'm so happy to hear about your and your mare's journey and how you are taking it slow with her. I believe that our horses tell us everything they can to make us understand when something doesn't feel right. I just had another aha-moment today when a new client/owner of a 'not-so-forward' mare told me that her horse had been ridden by the previous trainer while she had severe eczema around her saddle girth area. Although the area is healed now, the pain this poor mare had to experience for a prolonged period of time must have caused her to associate riding with a great deal of discomfort which she showed us in no uncertain terms. Just like you did with your mare, we had her checked for ulcers and ovarian cysts (nothing), so I've started over with her on the ground with no tack, then light lunging, and today with a sheepskin girth cover over the surcingle which made a hugely positive difference. We could literally see in her face and body how relieved she was when she was moving without pain/discomfort with the surcingle. I'll do the same when I start riding her again, and perhaps this might be something that could help your mare as well? There are so many nerve endings in that area, and maybe she is more comfortable with some extra cushioning as well. :)
Inspiring. I’m in the exact same boat with my mare. Thank you.
Love it!
Thank you so much! 😊🐴✨
Very hard riding school horses
Thank you for your comment! I agree, it's definitely harder to apply this concept of riding to horses that are being ridden in a school by multiple riders. But I would also say that this video may be a great opportunity to start a conversation with those who are riding/stewarding/training the school horses. Sadly, numb or shut-down school horses are common in many public riding facilities. The horses went 'inward' and started to tune out the riders' aids in order to cope with the stress of multiple, constantly varying riding cues. Once they enter this state of dullness/learned helplessness they are often labeled as lazy, bomb-proof and beginner-safe. Unfortunately, horses that have been conditioned to be dull or to tune out their riders then inadvertently teach the riders to be rougher and less refined in their riding aids, and so the cycle gets perpetuated. The only way to help the horses and the riders to change is to start talking about it. And maybe, hopefully, videos like this one can start a discussion and show some possible avenues for improvement.
❤🐴