Many horse owners don’t understand the importance and usefulness of the horse’s eyes while training. That being so, let me share with you some things you may find useful - some you may know…some you may not.

First, there’s the eye which reveals a little about the character of the horse you’re working with. It may have a kind eye. A kind eye indicates the horse will be agreeable to train and will readily respond to your aids while training.

One way to tell if the horse is nervous is by noting his eyes. Horses can be very expressive in their looks. And you can tell if a horse is a nervous horse by the eyes appearing sort of “worried like.”

Obviously, this nervous horse would require more thoughtful handling than would a non-nervous horse.

I have a horse that would get mad after a while of riding. She used to get what I call mad eyes. Her expression was actually a sort of angry expression. Mostly, the expression came from her eyes. Here eyes would get red after a while.

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History of the Thoroughbred:

This breed of horse was originally bred in England due to the English horsemen’s desire to have a fast race horse. There are three that founded this bloodline which are: Byerley Turk, Darley Arabian and Godolphin Arabian, named after their respective owners, Thomas Darley, Lord Godolphin and Captain Robert Byerley. All of these stallions were imported to England from the Mediterranean Middle East between 1670 and 1710. The result was an animal that could carry weight with sustained speeds over extended distances. Approximately ninety percent of modern thoroughbreds have descended from Eclipse whose grandsire was Darley Arabian, who was never beaten in eighteen races.

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We’ve all met those couples. The wife is horse crazy and the husband thinks the whole sport is nutty or it is the husband who spends all his free time in the barn and the wife doesn’t understand the attraction to smelly animals that slobber on you every chance they get!

When I first met my husband, I knew that he had no experience around horses and didn’t have any particular feelings about them, one way or the other. I saw that as an advantage because he didn’t hate them yet. In order to encourage his interest, I invested in a secret weapon (mint flavored Tic Tacs). I had little boxes of those things all over my house so that when he came for a visit, I was ready. I would invite him down to the fence line and ask him to shake the plastic box that the tic tacs come in. Since all the horses knew what that was, he could stand safely outside the field fence, shake the little plastic container and a whole herd of horses would come charging to see him and they would happily stay at that fence line as long as he was willing to provide the little mint treats. Of course, I taught him first how to feed with a flat hand (last thing you want to do is have him lose some fingers!)

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Riding a horse is freedom, power, and speed. It’s sitting high above the world, looking down. And when a girl has a special horse who thinks she’s special too, it’s a friendship and a bond that no human relationship can match.

Some people feel power and freedom by driving a fast car - or a huge truck. But to control a powerful animal who has a mind of its own and can choose to obey or not obey, is a feeling beyond description. You know that the key to success is your trust in the horse, and his trust in you.

When you learn to communicate with a horse and gain his willing cooperating, you’ve accomplished something not everyone can do.

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Horseback Riding Etiquette:

• Horseback riders should always ride in the same direction; however, if this is not possible then they should ride left shoulder to left shoulder

• Slower riders should ride on the inside closer to the arena walls while the faster riders working on the outside (closer to the center of the arena)

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This was one of my first riding instructors and I was so excited to see a few clips of Karen Cudmore on YouTube!

Pigeon toed horses are the most common. In this condition the horse is not “breaking over” directly dead center of his foot. In fact examination of the horses shoe will reveal an uneven wear pattern that will not be directly center of the shoe. Very similar to the way the heels of your shoe show wear either off to one side or the other or dead center. A closer examination of the dynamic loads happening to a pigeon toed horse reveals the foot to be out of balance and having very poor support to the outside of the foot resulting in twist within the joints. (more…)

If You Can’t Beat ‘Em, Join ‘Em

There is never going to be a single best way to train a horse. Why? Because each trainer and each horse has its own unique personality and its own unique life experiences. To put horse training into a black and white book of exact instructions will never work. Ask any training question, from how to pick up a hoof to how to perform a complicated dressage maneuver the answer will be the same: it depends. Since the logic behind natural horsemanship is using the horse’s natural instincts and tendencies to train them to do what you ask, the answer will change for each different horse. So, let’s give natural horsemanship a chance and see if even the biggest critics can find some good in it. No hype, no hoopla, no cheesy lingo; just a broad discussion on the premise behind this ‘new’ phenomenon.

Learn to “Speak” Horse

As humans, we have the distinct advantage over horses in that we have the ability to learn different languages. And it isn’t all verbal – think of sign language for the hearing impaired and Braille for the sight impaired. If we think about our ability to communicate beyond the spoken word we can begin to imagine the possibilities of learning to communicate with another species in their language. Since horses don’t have the ability to learn to speak our language, our only choice is to learn theirs in order to achieve the highest level of communication possible.

While you’ll often hear them whinny or nicker to each other, horses generally use non-verbal methods of communicating with each other. In other words, they use body language. Being prey animals, horses are ultra-sensitive to the world around them. They have to be or they would be extinct by now. They feel things as small as a fly landing on their hip; they see the slightest flicker of movement in the distance; they sense pressure coming from a change in body language by another horse or human around them. The good news is horses are very sensitive and we can use this in natural horse training. The bad new is also that horses are that sensitive and the inexperienced trainer can get in trouble in a hurry without having any idea what went wrong.

How to Learn the Language

There are countless books, DVD’s, videos, clinics, expos and demonstrations that can tell you the presenter’s method of learning how to communicate with horses naturally. As with learning any new skill, you’ll serve yourself best to get your information from multiple sources, sort out what to take with you and what to leave behind, and then put it all together in a manner that makes sense for you. But, one of the best ways to learn the horse language, which also happens to be the most economical and convenient, is to watch them in a herd environment. Grab a bucket or your favorite lawn chair; take it out to the pasture and just watch. Here are some things to look for:

• Tail Swishing: When is it to shoo off a fly and when does it mean something to another horse?
• Ears: Are they back, alert or floppy? When they change position what happens in the herd?
• Moving Among the Herd: Which horse moves and which horse moves out of the way? How little does it take for one horse to move another horse out its space?
• Nipping & Biting: Is it play or fighting?
• Individual Horses: Which horse is lying down? Which horse leads the herd to the next grazing spot? Which horse brings up the rear?

All these seemingly insignificant movements and gestures make up the language of the horse and allow them to live and play and communicate with one another. Discover and learn the movements and signals horses use and you can start “moving” in a language they will understand.

Natural Horsemanship Makes Sense

If we can agree that the premise behind natural horsemanship is to enhance our ability to communicate more effectively with the horse, in the horse’s language, then doesn’t it make sense that natural horsemanship is the correct approach to use? That depends. I’ve already discussed the sensitive nature of horses. That sensitivity means they can be easily intimidated and threatened into doing what you ask. There are also countless devices and gadgets that can force a horse into a position you want without having to spend the time to learn to ask for what you want in horse language. And there’s a learning curve involved. If what you are doing right now is working for you, why spend the time learning another way? Three reasons:

1. Humans have the ability to feel empathy. Put yourself in your horse’s shoes. Or better yet, get a job in a country where you don’t speak the language and see how it feels to be asked to perform when you don’t understand the question. How does it feel to be shoved around, yelled at from a frustrated boss, and unable to do what is being asked of you? This could be how your horse is feeling every time you take him out of the pasture.

2. In the long term, it’s easier and faster to accomplish your goals. Think of when you first learned to ride a bicycle. For a while, I’m sure it would have been a lot faster and easier to get from point A to point B by just walking. But, you kept at it and pretty soon you were flying where ever you wanted to go in quick time. The same thing is true with natural horse training. The first horse you attempt this new methodology with will probably be pretty slow going. But, once you develop the skills to communicate with the horse in a language he understands, what once took you weeks to accomplish will soon be achieved in days.

3. Lastly, and most importantly, is safety. If you learn to communicate on your horse’s level, if you truly become a partner with him, you will learn to anticipate his reactions and you will know when, and what to do, if things go wrong. Horses are living, breathing creatures with minds and ideas all of their own. There is no ‘broke’ horse. At any time, your faithful trail partner could decide to react in a completely unexpected manner. Gaining just the smallest insight into your horses psyche can only improve your chances of surviving the incident, keeping you – and your horse – safer.

It’s Your Call

I admit it – I’m a natural horsemanship student and I’m proud of it. I’m even more proud of what I’ve been able to accomplish with my horses because of it. Yes, I do get weary of the ‘hype’ surrounding natural horsemanship, but never the premise behind it, or the results from it. So, if you can’t see yourself ‘jumping on the bandwagon’ that’s ok. You can learn and live natural horsemanship just sitting in your lawn chair in the pasture. I only hope you’ll take the time to give it some thought before you discount the principles as merely marketing ploys to sell products. And no, you don’t have to tell anyone you ‘converted’.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Stacey Christiansen runs a natural horse boarding and learning center in Delhi, Iowa. Her web site provides articles and resources from training tips to technical help about setting up your own horse website. Sign up for her newsletter at http://www.DelhiHorse.com and get a FREE horse care guide.

Here are a few oldies but goodies:

1. Around the world - you probably remember doing this one as a child. Around the world consists of having the rider drop their stirrups, keep their balance and complete a 360 degree turn in the saddle. In other words, the child will begin sitting normally in the saddle. Then, they drop their stirrups and maneuver themselves 90 degrees to the right. At this point, they are facing the inside with both legs on the right side of the horse. To complete this exercise, the rider continues to sit facing backwards, to the left and then back to the front. This exercise can be done at the halt and at the walk but should always be done on the longe line or with someone else holding the horse.
2. Touching the ears and the tail - again, this exercise is focusing mainly on balance and building the rider’s confidence in the saddle. The child simply reaches forward to touch their horse’s ears and then leans back to touch the top of their mount’s tail. Again, this is an exercise that must be done while someone else has control of the reins, but this can be done at any gait if on the longe.
3. Airplane - there are many different variations of airplane type exercises. Basically, the rider must maintain correct body position while keeping their arms straight out to the side. You may then modify to holding the arms over the head, behind the back, etc. The focus of this exercise is balance. The airplane can be made more challenging by performing it at the walk, trot and canter. For an added challenge, the rider may be asked to maintain their position in transitions. This exercise is also good for teaching riders to ask for transitions and control their mount without the aid of reins focusing on the leg and seat aids. All forms of the airplane exercise should always be performed while longing.

There are countless exercises that riding instructors employ to teach children in ways that are effective and fun. These three examples are tried and true, but you must always teach with safety in mind.

Dana Wallert is the owner of an online virtual assistance company. She has many years experience in sales and marketing, as well as office management. Find more about virtual assistance at DW Office Solutions - Virtual Assistant Services   Dana has also ridden horses her entire life. She currently provides several barns with virtual assistance services. She is also the owner of a website design company specializing in small business web design.