 I was lucky. When I learned about 'desensitisation' in horses, my mentor used to say, "Lets look at desensitisation. I don't really like to use that word, but I can't think of a better one. I don't like to call it desensitisation as we aren't desensitising them, I guess we are 'sensitising' the horses to realise they don't need to be afraid of things". To me this is the greatest difference in the training ideas -- no matter what you call it -- flagging, bagging, desensitisation, exposure training - none of it matters. What matters is your approach to the training. What really matters is your focus, and your idea of what is 'success'. If your idea of success is that 'the horse stands still and lets you do it' then that is what you will be focussed on, and that is what your training session will centre around -- the horse standing still. IF your focus is the horse understanding and building confidence, then you won't be so focussed on the standing still part. Although this could be used as an indicator that the horse isn't worried, you will be focussed on watching the horses body language -- his eyes, ears, his breathing, the softness or tension in his muscles, the way he carries himself. When you are focussed on the horse being confident and having courage, the rest of the 'stuff' will take care of itself. This applies to all of our work on the ground, and with riding our horses. Our focus will dictate our approach, and our approach will dictate if the horse simply learns to shut down and cope, or if the horse actually develops courage and confidence. You can clearly see in this photo that Boogie is watching, aware and engaged in what I am doing, but she is not frightened nor 'frozen' or just obediently standing because that's what she *has* to do . Instead, she is confident. What are you focussed on? Train with us November 17 & 18 Balance, Self Carriage and Transitions November 19 & 20 Obstacles for partnership and confidence Merton Park Equine Mountain Trail Obstacle Course December Nov 30 - Dec 2 - Cowboy Dressage essentials Clinic 3 & 4 Cowboy Dressage Gathering and Show Glenreagh Recreation Ground Then; Boutique Midweek Clinics Begin Dec 7 & 8 - Bangalow Dec 12 & 13 Coutts Crossing Dec 14 & 15 Gold Coast Dec 21 & 22 Taree Photo Equinox Images Health - CEN Horse Nutrition Vest TukTuk Clothing WildRag Buckaroo Bunkhouse Rope Mountain Horse Trading Saddle Peter Brophy Saddles Cinch Cinches Down Under
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 Wow it seems like a lifetime ago that we were headed up to present and spend 3 fabulous days at the Cowgirls Gathering. It definitely did not disappoint. We had an absolute ball! Firstly huge Kudos and thanks to all of the CG team. The event is truly one of a kind and something you should all be proud of - Amanda, Naomi, Skye, Britt and Gen you did a stellar production this year. We appreciate your invitation to be a part of it. To all the behind the scenes volunteers and peoples - Thankyou! You helped the event run smoothly each day. Bryan and the team at CEN Horse Nutrition - thanks for being our special guests at the booth - it made it all the more enjoyable to have your fun and friendly faces alongside us for 3 days. Beth Yates-Sclater Tkh You know we just couldn’t have done it without you. To list everything you do would take a book - we know it and Thankyou for it Finally, Thanks to everyone who purchased my new book, came and said hello and attended our presentations - both of our arena presentations had standing room only, and Phils class at our booth was interactive and informative - we appreciate your support, we know there were a lot of wonderful presenters to choose from across the weekend. A huge thanks to Katie Equinox Images for capturing some great moments. Looking forward to next year! Tk xo
  I think we all desire to be able to trust our horses. Being able to trust them to be calm and confident when faced with adverse situations, being able to rely upon them to be consistent in their responses, and having that ‘knowing’. It certainly makes life easy. I recently had occasion to load Cooper on a trailer when he hadn’t for a few years, and he easily loaded. Yesterday @philmonaghan loaded George onto a new trailer - it loads to the right instead of the left, and, again he loaded immediately. Trailer loading is just the start, we need to be able to rely on them in all situations like ground, ridden and citizen work. But where is our responsibility in this ? Does the expectation of our trust in them, begin with their expectation of of their trust in us? When my horses look at me, they know a few things; They know how I’m going to communicate with them. They know I’m fair. They know I listen. They know there are boundaries and responsibilities (this goes both ways). They know me. And I’m the same person every day. Our horses struggle because we are inconsistent, some days we are happy, others we are sad, some days we are slow, other days we are busy and fast. This translates into the boundaries - some days they are allowed to eat grass online, others we say no. Some days we allow them to pull on the rein or lead, other days we say no that’s naughty, some days we are a ‘passenger’ others we are calling the shots. These inconsistencies lead to a worried horse that doesn’t know what to expect or when. When we build trust through consistently keeping everything ‘the same’ the horse feels comfortable with us. Train with us September 22 & 23 Cowboy Dressage Masterclass with Phil Monaghan and Ken Faulkner - Esk, Qld. Sept 30 Oct 1 & 2 Cowgirls Gathering October - USA - 8 & 9 Watsonville CA 22 Auditors Masterclass with 8, Deb, Lisa, Phil and Tanja October 27 - 30 inc Valmont Farms Tasmania November - Merton Park Clinics, Victoria  Haste is easily one of the top issues that I see with horses and their humans. If we take the time to watch horses in the paddock, going about their day to day lives, they really don’t do anything quickly, unless there is a perceived threat or they are playing. With the exception of those 2 things, horses pretty much go about their business at a snails pace, and much of the time with no agenda, and no time frame. Humans on the other hand usually do things at a fairly quick pace, with an agenda, and many things to ‘fit’ into their allocated time frame. For example we may arrive at the paddock before or after work, either trying to get stuff done before we have to head off, or before the sun goes down. In that time we may have to unrug, groom, saddle, ride, unsaddle, re rug and feed. So we are trying to get things done efficiently, often rapidly, and we end up never truly being present in our interaction. The horse becomes a tool for our enjoyment, and we become a discomfort for him - something that he must endure or tolerate for an hour or so, until we leave him alone once again. This is because we are operating on two different energy frequencies. Humans exist in a constant state of ‘to do’ and horses live in a constant state of ‘nowhere to be, nothing to do’. When we start to become conscious of our energy, and mindfully add pause to our day, the horses are drawn to us. The simple act of not immediately approaching your horse when you arrive at the paddock will provide pause and space for the horse to connect. Kind of like a knock at the door. I don’t like people ‘dropping in’ to my house unexpectedly, but it would be much worse if they just walked in without knocking. A knock at least provides me some space to gather thoughts, finish what I’m doing and ‘change gears’. It’s the same at the paddock - if you arrive and walk straight out to your horse it’s like not knocking - it doesn’t give him time to mentally shift to your arrival. Adding these pauses into your interactions will get your energies more in sync and your horse will begin enjoying your time together Photo Equinox Images Wildrag Buckaroo Bunkhouse Vest TukTuk Clothing  Sometimes we face challenges when it comes to our horses, and often we over complicate these challenges by getting in our own road, instead of focusing on the simple stuff. Some common ways we complicate things; We think that what we know or what we are doing is 'too simple' and so we start looking for 'the next best thing' or some magic training techniques. The truth is - horses are pretty straightforward, with basic needs, and if we stick to those philosophies, we will be doing right by our horse. Our timing sucks. We know what to do and how to do it, but it doesn't work because our timing in the release, or our body language reading skills aren't that great - if your timing is out, no technique is going to work as well as it could! We fall into the 'my horse is different / special' trap. No, no its not, it has simple basic needs that you haven't been fulfilling - either by not understanding them, or by overwhelming your horse with too much, too early. We don't do it long enough. We do what the coach said, but we do it for 10 repetitions and 2 days. It doesn't work, so we think its not working. Head to the gym and show me your results after 2 days. This stuff takes time! Physical, mental and emotional work takes consistency and time. Horses (nor humans) get 'fixed' overnight, so stop trying to make it happen! The 'quickest' way to help your horse, is to observe his body language, understand what he is trying to tell you, and give him what he needs - not what you want. The greatest example of this is the anxious or nervous horse. Your anxious and nervous horse wants to move his feet, and feel unrestricted, and yet when we see a horse that is nervous or anxious we want to either stop him, or we want to collect the reins to prevent him from bolting. Both stopping and collecting him add to his nervous and anxious state, but make us feel better (like we have 'control'). The best course of action is to walk on a loose rein to allow him relaxation - we must still control the direction and speed, its not a case of letting him go where he likes, but a matter of understanding his mental and physical needs (movement and freedom) and facilitating that to help him relax. Either leading him, or riding him at the walk on a loose rein will fast track relaxation, and yet it sounds just too simple!  Our ‘gut feelings’ are those little ‘niggles’ that we get. A resistance, butterflies, unease. Things that happen on a physical level, which are our intuition telling us that we aren’t in alignment with our true selves. In today's modern society, there are many things that have caused us to be out of touch with our instincts, or cause us to override them even when we have them;- We’re busy - often we may be in a constant state of ‘unease’ and so it has become normal to us to feel that way. It's not ‘in our gut’ and so we don't think it's a ‘gut feeling’. Sometimes our instincts can present as tension or unease in other areas of the body. We underestimate our knowledge, so we ignore what we think, and listen to others. We have people telling us the opposite of how we feel, and sometimes those people are professionals, so we push our feelings aside and listen to them. We are simply ‘out of touch’ with our bodies and how they actually feel. When it comes to our horses our instincts can be there to help us; Stay safe - sometimes that uneasy feeling that says ‘ I don't think I should ride today’ is your intuition telling you that ‘somethings up’ Slow down - we may be following a method or training program, and our intuition may tell us ‘hey my horse just needs me to go a little slower on this one’ Find a ‘bigger issue’ - our instincts may be telling us ‘there is something not right here, maybe I should call a vet / body worker / hoof care professional’. Protect our horse - I see this a lot with training, clinicians or coaches. A student may be uncomfortable with what they are being told to do to their horse, and yet they will continue to do so because ‘the coach must know what they are doing’. Often this is true - the coach does know what they are doing and what they are looking for, but, this doesn’t always align with how we are wanting to relate to our horses. Particular red flags in this situation is when you are being told your horse is; Deliberately annoying you Ignoring you Being a jerk In certain circumstances it may feel that these are true, but we must remember our horse is simply doing what he believes he needs to do at the time, to remain safe. As soon as we start taking things personally, it brings us to a point of conflict, when, it is our job as the human to be constantly seeking resolutions. If something you are being told to ‘do’ to your horse doesn’t feel right, don’t be afraid to speak up, at the very least it should be ok to take a pause and talk more about the circumstances. Practice tapping into your intuition by having more awareness on how you feel in your body - not just on an emotional level which can be reactive, but on a deep level. Meditation can help with our consciousness surrounding this.   Green, young or uneducated horses need a certain approach if you are to be successful in their ongoing training. A green horse is one that has a limited amount of training, riding or exposure to things. So you can have an older horse, that hasn’t had many rides, or hasn’t been out and about much, and they are still considered to be ‘green’. As a general rule I would consider a horse that has spent more time ‘not ridden’ than ridden, to be green. For example if you have a 5 year old horse that was started as a 3 year old, he has been ridden for 2 years, and unridden for 3, so he could still be considered green or young in his education. Obviously there are exceptions to this rule, being a horse that may have gone straight into a training program and has been ridden every week for 2 years, he could be considered pretty broke. The other exception to this rule is how much education is actually being put in. The horse may have been under saddle for 2 years, but if the rider is just ‘riding’ and not actually taking the time and making the effort to educate, then basically you have a horse that is used to having a rider on, but may remain very limited in their education. I see a lot of horses that still need to be taught their basics, even though they have been ridden for years. In either case, it is important that we are sensitive to the green horses needs, and we set them (and us) up for success in riding. This may mean going through our checklist every time before we ride, to ensure our, and our horses safety. The purpose of going through our checklist is to look for and identify any ‘red flags’ and address them before hopping on. Different trainers are going to have different checklists, mine includes the following as a priority, and I will add other things in as appropriate to the horse or the situation. * Bend. The horse must be willing and soft in a bend, in both directions, by following a feel, not by me pulling their head around in the halter * Hindquarter yield. The horse must be able to shift his hindquarter smoothly, willingly without brace or tension * Forward. The horse must be able to walk, trot and canter with the saddle on without rushing, humping, bucking, and change directions These are my 3 main checks. On a very green horse I would go through my entire checklist which would include turns on the haunches, sideways, unravel, watch my energy. The investment you make to ensure that your green horse is ready is vital for your safety, and his confidence. Here you see Leah and Ranger at a recent clinic - Ranger is a green horse just coming back into work after being started under saddle in July. In the photos you see Leah completed ground work, and tested the water with her weight in the stirrup, and her body above him, before just jumping on his back. Leah had also completed all her other checks, and once she had all ‘green lights’ her and Ranger enjoyed a great ride together. Take the time, tk xo Train with us; September 3 & 4 Cowboy Dressage Clinic Wauchope September 3 & 4 Self Carriage Clinic Gold Coast Hinterland September 10 & 11 Advancing Clinic Invitation Only September 17 & 18 - AVAILABLE TO BOOK - HOST US Back to Square One We hear this term often, and for various reasons. People often feel that they are “back to square one” with their horses, either relationship or training wise, after they have had time off, after they have had an accident or fall, or after something negative has happened - maybe a pull back, a poor transport experience. Whilst any of these things could be considered a ‘set back’ that may need work around it, they aren’t necessarily (and more often than not aren’t even close) to “back to square one”. Our horses are intelligent, curious and social beings, who don’t ‘forget’ their training, simply because they have had a break or some time off. Absolutely their training is shaped by experiences, but one poor experience, won’t necessarily override 100 good ones. More often than not it is the human that is remembering the ‘bad thing’ and is focused on that, rather than the 100 ‘good things’ that happened before it. Let’s use a fall as an example - you’ve probably ridden your horse multiple times without incident, and yet after a fall we can feel like we are beginner riders again, and yet our horse probably doesn’t even remember that we fell off, and he certainly doesn’t put the significance on it that we do. Riding is as much a mental game as it is a physical one, and it is important we control our focus to the reality and not the stories our mind plays out. If you can relate to this, take a minute to write out all the great experiences you have had with your horse, and on another page write the ‘bad’ stuff - you will likely find that the good will far outweigh the negative. Happy trails Tk Train with us August 7 - One Day. Laterals to connection and collection. Maclean Nsw August 13 Cowboy Dressage Gathering Glenreagh NSW August 18 - 27 Cadillac horse course 10 days, Glenreagh NSW September 3 & 4 - Connection & Self Carriage - Gold Coast hinterland QLD September 3 & 4 - Cowboy Dressage clinic Wauchope NSW   Way back in early 2006 I was at a clinic with Ken Faulkner. Ken Faulkner - Australian Horsemanship It was the first session of the day and a student walked in (or at least tried to) leading a stunning black mare, she was about 4 or 5, and she strutted into that arena with almost flames coming out of her nostrils! The owner was struggling to keep her in control, and so the Ken asked if she would like him to work with her. He proceeded to work with the mare to help her become more focused on him, instead of everything else around, and she began to settle and calm down. When he returned to the group the owner said to him “she can be really naughty” and he said “no, she just has her party clothes on, and she’s not ready to go to a party”. He went on to explain that the mare was in peak physical condition, shiny, well muscled - ready to enter a royal show, but she had not yet received the education she needed to be able to ‘handle’ her party clothes. Over the years I must have heard Ken use the term “party clothes” a thousand times. And it’s true - there are many ways to say it; Too much feed, not enough work. Over fed and underworked, Etc. I get it, we all love a good looking horse, myself included, but if we are going to feed them, rug them, stable them, or any combination of the 3, we must understand that this is fuel - fuel for a body and a mind that might not yet be ready for it. And fuel that the rider may not have the skills to ride. Horses are made to eat grass, walk long distances to find it, and that’s about it. Through domestication our horses travel less distance, have high nutritional food available year round, have it delivered to them. This lack of stimulus surrounding forage, coupled with energy that has no way of being burned off, can often lead to; Stereotypical behaviors such as; Weaving Fence walking Wind Sucking ‘Bad’ paddock behaviors such as; Chasing Destroying rugs Chewing Fence walking Poor behavior in handling and riding such as; Mouthiness Jig Jogging Short attention span Not wanting to walk Reactive A few ways we can avoid this issue: Have a diet custom made for your horse - his workload, his access to forage etc. we use and recommended CEN Horse Nutrition - use tkh5 at the checkout for discount Adjust feed to workload (for a lot of people this means to reduce feed during the week when feed is minimal Put the work into your horse before you put his party clothes on! Understand it is ok (and actually normal) for your horse to drop condition in winter. Remember we aren’t suggesting you have horses in poor condition, we are suggesting that you have your horse in a condition that is relative to his workload. Enjoy the ride! Xo Train with July 30 & 31 - Liberty clinic, Port Macquarie NSW August 7 - One Day. Laterals to connection and collection. Maclean Nsw August 13 Cowboy Dressage Gathering Glenreagh NSW August 18 - 27 Cadillac horse course 10 days, Glenreagh NSW September 3 & 4 - Connection & Self Carriage - Gold Coast hinterland QLD September 3 & 4 - Cowboy Dressage clinic Wauchope NSW   I recently saw a video of an (imo) unskilled colt starter, using archaic and frankly cruel methods to start some horses under saddle. The claim was that all horses buck, and the correct way to teach them not to was strap a saddle on, leave them in the arena to ‘figure it out’ and to come in and chase them either on horseback, with a quad, or with a car, every couple of hours, until they just didn’t react anymore. Those of you who follow my page have seen my many articles on learned helplessness, and can probably come to your own conclusions about what is happening to these horses mentally. Those of you who are reading and think those methods are needed, should probably step aside and let those of us with the skills to do it without, do it. I’ve started plenty of colts and none found the need to buck with the saddle. The point to this post is the other part of his video - where he says “this will upset the snowflakes”. “Snowflakes” being used as a derogatory term to somehow undermine anyone who disagreed with his method and stuck up for the horses. I just wanted to let you all know, When enough “snowflakes” come together it becomes an avalanche. Avalanches destroy anything or anyone stupid enough to think they can stop them. My friends, continue being part of the avalanche for the horse |
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