|
The New Year is full of promises—promises we make to ourselves for better health, greater wealth, and wiser choices. Beyond resolutions, we might go as far as joining a gym or opening a savings account, but often, our motivation falters there. Here’s the key: you have to do. And the secret? To do, you must decide—truly decide—because it’s a mental game. After all, it’s the old you that smokes, drinks, eats unhealthy food, or skips exercise. The truth is, you haven’t changed... yet. You can change—absolutely, this is a fact. But the problem with New Year’s resolutions is that the old you sets them. You convince yourself that the old you will achieve them. It won’t. It’s the new you that will. So, ask yourself: What would the new me do? To become the new you, you must take the actions of the new you. It may sound strange, but it’s true: the actions of the new you transform the old you into the person you want to be. Your new life will cost you your old one. So take action now. Stand up, do some squats, stretch, run in place, cook a healthy meal. This is your sign. 
0 Comments
Saffi gets introduced to the saddle - yep - it starts with it on the fence! Because human beings have brains that allow us to understand and predict an outcome, we live in a world where nearly everything around us is making sense - we see a car, lawnmower, tractor or motorbike and we understand that if can move, and make sound. A horse just sees a silent, stationary object and then finds out it makes noise and moves AFTER it does so. The saddle is the same. We see a saddle and know it goes on the horses back, but they don’t know that until it has happened. My intention when starting horses is to make sure they are not only completely familiar with something, but also confident. My colt starting saddle has been licked, bitten and rubbed on (with safety awareness). This allows the horses to know what it is they are putting on their back. It’s pretty simple, but not common. Think about the last time someone thrust something at you and said “smell this” or “taste this” or “put this on” your first reaction was to pull back and ask what it is and then spend time looking at it It’s a lot easier to get along with horses when we offer them the same courtesy  In our house luck is spelled W.O.R.K As a clinician my horses get seen frequently by a lot of people, in day to day activities, not just in competition. I get told often “You’re so lucky, Boogie is so “Insert positive descriptive word here” It’s not luck. It’s years of investment and work in the horses DAY to DAY activities. Phil and I were chatting this morning about Cowboy Dressage as I have just been judging all weekend. We were talking about the requirements to be a clinician, one of which is riding your score. It takes hard work and consistency to achieve your score across a single test - you basically have to score 7.5 for every manoeuvre on the scoresheet. One or two lesser quality manoeuvres and you are not going to achieve it. This is so important because everyone can ride a 7 or 8 in a single manoeuvre - I was handing them out all weekend. The bit that separates the clinicians from the amateur riders is the ability to produce that consistency over and over - 15 times in a single test. This is how Cowboy Dressage keeps the standards of judges and clinicians so high - you must prove that you are capable of riding at that level not just as a one off, but consistently. As a coach, clinician and judge I was holding myself to these standards long before I joined Cowboy Dressage, but I am glad now I have a tangible measurement of my ongoing self development How do you measure your self development ?  A large part of building confidence and partnership in our horses, is developing their responsibilities. Just like a growing child takes on responsibilities as they grow, to prepare them for adulthood, so to do our horses. This girl holds responsibility by being saddled at liberty, and lining up to the mounting block. Performing these simple tasks at liberty also allow her to show me ‘I’m not ok’ or ‘I’m uncomfortable’ by walking away - this gives me vital information On where she needs support, which helps me not go to fast for the individual horses. My new book available on my website, or train live with me at clinics Australia wide.  Thinking Horse When I’m working with horses I am creating the thinking horse. A problem solver A thinker A conversationalist Interactive horses are confident and willing to think before they react.  Shifting your perspective can help you enjoy your horse time more.
We we’re doing a round table bump in at a recent clinic, and one of the students was talking about a shift in perspective which allowed her to be not only ‘ok’ with a unexpected moment, but to actually consider it beneficial. She was preparing to head to the clinic, and her horse was being a little difficult catch. She said “I walked out and he kind of ran off, but we have been working on him cantering circles around me, with me doing as little as possible, so I just owned him running off and turned it into a canter circle’. This meant they got to work on canter circles, the shift allowed the horse to switch into training mode on his own, and, when she called him off the circle, he came right in, meaning he didn’t get to practice “running away”. It’s a win for everyone. When a horse doesn’t want to be caught, it often leads to two outcomes; We may have chased the horse (oh, you want to run, then run) which uses punishment as a training method. This of course works, but punishment doesn’t really make anyone feel good. Or We get annoyed, a start trying to trap or catch the horse, which can make a game out of it - fun for the horse, but not for the owner. The shift in perspective makes it beneficial for everyone Tk We often associate negativity with obligation. When we feel like we are ‘obligated’ to do things it feels like pressure, and that can cause us to want to push back on it. Kind of like “No one is going to tell me what to do” style. I’m participating in my TKH100 challenge - a 100 day challenge where you commit to doing something with your horse every day, other than just feeding. You can do as little as picking out their feet, a full training session, but you must do more than just feed them. The point being that all the small things make a huge difference. I am only home for a month, so I elected to do 30 days. Im halfway through, and being home there is lots of work to be done, but it is unstructured, as opposed to when I am away teaching clinics each week. A few things that have happened over the past 2 weeks - dogs had an altercation with a deadly brown snake (both are fine), Gallie hurt her eye (she is fine) both of which required vet visits and, in Gallie’s case, treatment multiple times per day. In any case, there have been multiple days that I haven’t wanted to do the challenge. The only thing that got me through was obligation. Knowing that I had committed to myself, my horses and the public that I was going to do it. And you know what ? That’s OK! Sometimes Obligation is the only motivation that you have, so use it! Its not negative, unless we want it to be - I consider it a safety net. My brain can justify anything when it wants to, but when I have the safety net of obligation, It is simple for me. If you are doing something out of obligation every day for weeks, months or years, then yes you may consider if you even want to be doing it at all. For me obligation will get me through those days when I'm too tired or too wired until I get back to doing it because I want to. Look at it this way - many of us have heard of an ‘accountability buddy’ - someone to book in with to go exercise for example. We see this as a positive thing - its just about our attachment or feeling that is generated with the word. Flip the switch on our feelings on obligation, and think of it as the right thing to do.  For years our intuition has been suppressed and ignored, leading to not only a reduced sensitivity to our intuition, but a lack of ability in interpretation. Intuition keeps us safe, helps us to move through our day with a little more ease, and, when it comes to our horses, provides us with a deeper level of communication. Intuition doesn’t need to be a mystical experience left for witches and warlocks, though it can be deep and unexplainable. Often it’s simply pause and reflect long enough to figure out what feels right. I heard a story recently about a fellow who was out in the paddock, and his best horse walked up and touched / bumped him with this nose. It was uncharacteristic behaviour. But, as our modern training is apt to do, he disciplined the horse, and went in for the night. The next day they found the horse with colic, and despite significant efforts to save him, the horse died. Intuition would cause a pause and reflect “this is my best horse, he doesn’t do this, something must be wrong” instead of a “get out of that you bugger”. Intuition is a muscle. Intuition is about feel. You can strengthen your intuition muscle by slowing down, paying attention, and allowing your body to tell you what your next move should be. You can try it next time you are brushing your horse. Observe him, and feel your body to be guided on where to brush, how hard, and for how long. Trust yourself. My new book - Lessons from Horses, Enlightenment is available to purchase and gives insight into how our horses think, learn and process information. Head to our website horsemanshipforperformance to purchase.  Both will get you hurt. Doing our utmost to prevent horse and rider incidents and accidents is the foundation of our foundation training. There are several elements that factor in when it comes to being safe with your horse. 1. Observation of body language, so we can see when our horse begins to get worried. Often it takes the ‘spook’ for us to feel like something is ‘off’. 2. Part 2 is interpretation of our horses body language. Is he elevated in general. Or is there a specific thing that is bothering him. 3. Often the most overlooked - action. It is our job to take action before our horse escalates further. I see a lot of incidents where the person can clearly see that the horse is bothered, but then they don’t do anything about it. This could be because they have become complacent — “this is my old horse, he never spooks” or because they are simply ignorant / uneducated “he’s worried but he will come down”. Intervention is us taking responsibility for our, and our horses safety. Horses don’t apply a logical thought pattern to ‘coming down’ from being elevated. Horses naturally have a process to ‘come down’ which is “run first, think later”. Newsflash — you probably don’t want them to run! So intervening is what helps keep everyone safe. Create distance. Move their feet. Humans get hurt because they apply human logic to situations. A horse will spook at something and the human will say “but he’s seen it before” or “but he wanted to go up to it” — this is one of the biggest issues I see. The horse is curious and wants to approach something, and the rider lets them. Then the horse spooks and bolts, and the rider says “but he wanted to go up to it”. Horses don’t think “oh I’ll go up and if I’m worried I’ll casually walk away” horses think “what’s that ?” Followed by “I’m out of here!” When you see your horse is worried about something, work at a safe distance to create confidence and a calm approach. If you can’t tell when he’s worried, spend time observing him so you can better understand him.  Colt Starting Starting a horse under saddle is a fine art. It’s one of the key moments in a horses life and when done well it sets them up for life, providing them a solid foundation to come back to, even if subsequent training is a little tough. I learned the lesson the hard way. I attempted to start my own horse 16 years ago when I thought I knew how, and learned the hard way that I knew nothing about starting a horse under saddle despite my decades of experience riding horses. Not only did I get injured but I created issues in that horse that lasted his lifetime. Issues that needed management and sensitivity. That wasn’t the worst part. The worst part was knowing I had taken such an important part of that horses education and created a trauma around it. I had to send him away to a professional then to be started (fixed). This was a pivotal moment in my career which caused me to then pursue an education and dedication to the craft of starting young horses. I realised that it truly is a discipline to be studied all on its own. Anyone with a bit of sticking power can get on a horse for its first few rides and get it tolerating a rider, but a true horseman understands the nuances in creating not only a horse that is accepting of a rider, but then how to build the education of the horse in all of those ‘firsts’. The first ride, the first walk, the first trot, the first canter, the first stop, the first back. And that’s all just in the left eye––you then have to do it all on the other side. What many don’t understand is that you are teaching the horse how to do all of these things not only to a cue, but with a saddle and a rider, which causes sensations that the horse has never felt before. The cinch tightening around the ribs, the riders balance and weight.. The intricacies of predicting a step, the timing of the release, the ability to recognise when the horse needs supporting, and when they need to be left alone. The colt starter has a not only a deep awareness of their body and where it needs to be at any given moment, but a control that overrides a protective instinct to grip and pull. A colt starter puts the needs of his horse above his own, knowing that this is the way to keep both parties safe and successful. Selecting the person to start your horse under saddle is one of the most important decisions you will make for your horse, and many people I meet have a ‘horror story’ about a poor trainer. The interesting thing is every colt starter also has a horror story about an owner who tried to do it themselves. This article is not about me trying to get new business, I am not taking in horses for the public, but the topic is one that I am incredibly passionate about. The start of your horses ridden career sets him up for life and gives him a foundation to fall back on. If that foundation is set in a poor experience, then it will always be in there. At our colt starting courses (which are no longer open to the public) my statement on day one is “whenever you mark something off in your book as being solid, I want you to think you are betting your life on it”. That may sound a little dramatic, but at the end of the day a horse that has never been ridden before could react in countless ways to stimulus, and we must remember that during that reaction we are applying a cue that is not yet tried and tested to have a 100 percent success rate. Basically if your horse spooks at something and then you apply a cue to stop that spook, then your cue could also spook them. Knowing this, and being able to build a cue, and have a back up plan, along with the ability to read the most subtle of body language, and keep yourself calm and non reactive, in essence, is the art of colt starting. My new book - Lessons from Horses, Enlightenment is available to purchase and gives insight into how our horses think, learn and process information. Link below for purchase. @cen_horse tkh5 at checkout TK  |
RSS Feed
copyright 2024 Tanja Kraus Horsemanship
|
|