"Avoidance Patterns" - Rick Lamb
with Karen Scholl
in
Training
When you are uncomfortable in a given situation, do you go into an avoidance pattern? There is a better way to go. I'm Rick Lamb and this is The Horse Show Minute.
Avoidance in itself is not always bad. We try to avoid traffic accidents, late
... [
read more ]
fees, and eating too many sweets. But avoiding challenges, even when they frighten us, can stifle personal growth. Clinician Karen Scholl offers an active way of dealing with fear.
The only way really to address fear issues is to do what you're comfortable with and keep building on it, keep stretching your comfort level. Like right now my comfort level with horses is far beyond what I would have ever dreamed.
The idea is pretty simple, really. After a while, doing something comfortable becomes, well … boring. You start putting a little more spice, a little more challenge into the task and before you know it, you're no longer afraid of what originally frightened you. That's a whole lot better than avoiding it forever.
Here are the keywords for this Radio Show excerpt:
avoidance patterns, Karen Scholl, behavior, learning, teaching, training, fears, comfort levels
"Avoiding Extremes in Training" - Rick Lamb
with Mike Kevil
in
Training
Being too hard on a horse works against you in the long run, and so does being too nice.
The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle believed that moderation in all things is the key to virtue and happiness. That's a pretty good philosophy for life
... [
read more ]
in general, but especially for working with horses. Arizona trainer and author Mike Kevil.
We don't want to be cruel to him. Nor do we want to be so lenient with him that he has no respect for us. We don't want to go to any extreme on the horse. Usually the middle of the road is where we need to go to get the job done.
Good parenting operates on much the same principle. You have to make known your expectations regarding behavior, as well as the consequences for behaving incorrectly. Otherwise, your authority and role as leader in the relationship is undermined. Being too harsh, on the other hand, simply creates resentment.
Here are the keywords for this Radio Show excerpt:
avoiding extremes in training, Mike Kevil, trainers, techniques, balance, relationship, natural horsemanship
"Baby's Feet" - Rick Lamb
with Gene Ovnicek
in
Care
If you overprotect a horse when he's a baby, you could be sentencing him to foot problems for the rest of his life.
Newborn foals have identical hooves all the way around, but as they grow and exercise, the fronts and backs take on their own s
... [
read more ]
ize and shape. If activity is limited, this development can be stunted. Gene Ovnicek is a respected farrier and hoof care specialist who has seen the detrimental effect on the feet of show horses.
"If you look at the very special horses, the ones that are worth the most money, they're the ones with the smaller feet and they're the ones that are probably limited in their exercise because they don't want to get them hurt. The culls, kicked out in the back pasture, basically the same breeding, have better feet."
And the feet are bigger, too, because that's what a horse needs. Time and again, man's interference compromises the development of one of Nature's most splendid creatures, the horse.
Here are the keywords for this Radio Show excerpt:
baby's feet, Gene Ovnicek, show horses, showing, shoeing, foot, hoof care, hoofcare, hooves, farriers,
"Backing Cures Biting" - Rick Lamb
with Clinton Anderson
in
Training
It's been called the single most dangerous thing a horse can do, but there's something you can do to cure biting.
Once a horse decides to bite you, consider it done. Your reflexes are not fast enough to get out of the way or block his movement.
... [
read more ]
So if it happens, you want to be sure it doesn't happen again. Trainer Clinton Anderson recommends aggressively backing the horse up.
When you get a horse to back up a lot, it's a very submissive act. Not only is the horse "oh my goodness, I'm backing up, not only that, but Betty's making me back up, so she must be the leader and have control of me."
So if you back them up very aggressively, they'll be like "oh man, that wasn't worth it. I ran backwards and my feet had to move and it felt uncomfortable"
so it's like a triple one.
For this training technique to work you have to do it instantly or the horse won't associate the backing with his biting behavior. And you have to do it as if someone's life is at stake, because it could be.
Here are the keywords for this Radio Show excerpt:
backing cures biting, Clinton Anderson, dangerous, behavior, injuries, disrespect, fear
"Backing Off Cue" - Rick Lamb
with John Lyons
in
Training
Ever wonder how great riders guide their horses with no apparent effort? You can do it, too. Just follow the steps.
For horsemanship clinician John Lyons, horse training is all about teaching horses to respond to cues. But it goes beyond that.
... [
read more ]
John wants communication to become so refined that it's nearly undetectable to the observer.
Whatever cue I'm giving, wherever I'm giving the cue, I want to continually back off of the cue and try to give the cue less and less and less. I don't expect less movement or action from the horse. I expect the same amount of movement, but I shouldn't have to work so hard.
For example, the cue to turn left might start out as a pull on the left rein coupled with a press of the right leg against the barrel. Eventually, John would accomplish the same thing by just shifting his weight slightly in the saddle and thinking about going to the left.
Here are the keywords for this Radio Show excerpt:
backing off cue, John Lyons, training, trainers, cues, behavior, learning, commands, aids, communications
"Backyard Pet" - Rick Lamb
with Kenny Harlow
in
Riding
Which is easier to start under saddle, a wild horse or a backyard pet? You may be surprised at the answer. I'm Rick Lamb and this is The Horse Show Minute.
The scenario is a familiar one. The family acquires a horse, fully intending to ri
... [
read more ]
de him. But everyone gets busy and the horse becomes another family pet. Much of his flightiness disappears as he becomes desensitized to the hubbub of life with humans. Although that might make him a safer horse, it definitely makes more difficult to start under saddle, because he doesn't respond normally to the trainer's techniques. Virginia's Kenny Harlow.
"The hardest horse in the world to break is a backyard pet. You try to break that for the first time. You can throw that rope, do anything you want and they look at you and say, ‘You know, kids have done that for years. It ain't gonna bother me none today.'"
If there is no fear reaction, the trainer must drive the horse to get him going, which is much harder. But you have to do whatever it takes to get the horse's feet moving if you're going to train him.
Here are the keywords for this Radio Show excerpt:
Backyard Pet, Kenny Harlow, training, riding, trainers, riders, owners, disrespect, unrespectful, safety, crowding
"Balance Position" - Rick Lamb
with Julie Goodnight
in
Riding
Riding is made easier by being balanced in the saddle and that comes from keeping your body in alignment.
Ears, shoulders, hips, and heels. When these body parts are aligned, you are sitting in the balanced position in the saddle. Riding instru
... [
read more ]
ctor Julie Goodnight talks about what happens to this alignment at various gaits.
"Walking or standing still, this alignment is vertical or perpendicular to the ground. When you're trotting and cantering, it may also be vertical, but sometimes we ride in a more forward position. For instance, when you're jumping or galloping really fast. But you would still have your shoulder, hip, and heel alignment. It's just that that line, instead of being vertical, would then be canted forward at the top."
A barrel racer is a good example. She may be leaning forward as she races to the next barrel, but her legs are back, maintaining the alignment.
Here are the keywords for this Radio Show excerpt:
balance position, Julie Goodnight, riding, rider, saddle, alignment, posture, leaning, gaits
"Bamboo Pole and Square Pen" - Rick Lamb
with Frank Bell
in
Training
How do you gentle a wild horse? One increasingly popular method uses a square pen and a bamboo pole.
For much of his eighty-six years, Oregon horseman John Sharp has gentled wild horses with his own, somewhat unorthodox methods. So when the fi
... [
read more ]
rst annual Wild Horse Workshop was held in '97, John was invited. Clinician Frank Bell relates what happened.
The first day, everybody kind of went out and demonstrated their particular technique. There were some people doing conventional round pen. Some people were roping. John goes in there with his bamboo pole and makes us all look silly. In an hour, he's got these horses just completely gentled out. Five years later, two thirds of the people are doing the bamboo pole and it is so unbelievably effective.
John used the bamboo pole to caress the horse from a safe, non-threatening distance, until he could replace the pole with his hands. He did it in a square pen, where the horse was likely to seek comfort in a corner, instead of running around and around.
Here are the keywords for this Radio Show excerpt:
bamboo pole and square pen, Frank Bell, John Sharp, training, trainers, desensitizing, desensitization, wild horses, mustangs, round pens
"Bareback Balance" - Rick Lamb
with Julie Goodnight
in
Riding
Want to improve your balance on a horse? Get your feet out of the stirrups. Better yet, ride bareback!
By the time the stirrup was invented, man had been riding horses for thousands of years balancing on his seat. Modern riders can benefit from
... [
read more ]
emulating these early equestrians. Riding instructor and clinician Julie Goodnight.
"It's a lot easier to stay on a horse with a saddle than it is bareback, so it takes better balance. And balance is the number one skill required of riders. If we all rode around bareback, we'd have maybe an endurance problem, as well, because you have to hold on more with your upper legs. When you have a saddle, you can rest your muscles a little bit more because you have the stirrup there to fall back on if your balance is in question."
Riding bareback isn't easy, but it's worth the extra effort, and you'll like the added confidence you feel when you're back in the saddle again.
Here are the keywords for this Radio Show excerpt:
bareback balance, Julie Goodnight, riding, posture, gaits, saddles, stirrups
"Barefoot on Gravel" - Rick Lamb
with Sabine Kells
in
Care
Shoeing a horse can eliminate the sensation of pain in his feet, which is a good thing. Or is it?
One of the arguments against shoeing centers on the way it reduces what a horse can feel with his feet. Sabine Kells explains.
... [
read more ]
"Let's say you've got a barefoot horse and he can't run over the gravel road you go riding on. So you call your farrier and he puts a shoe on and now the horse can run over that gravel road without flinching. Why? The shoe is only, what, a quarter of an inch? And if the gravel is two-inch crush how come the horse is no longer sensitive to that gravel just because of this little thin metal rim that has been applied to the hoof?"
Sabine says that by preventing expansion and contraction of the hoof, the shoe reduces circulation and therefore nerve function in the area. If something is wrong, if there is pain, the horse can't feel it until it reaches an area with adequate circulation, and by then there could be internal damage to the hoof.
Could not load the Audio Player
Here are the keywords for this Radio Show excerpt:
barefoot on gravel, sabine kells, hoof, hooves, barefooting, shoes, shoeing, soreness, injury
"Barn Aisle Width" - Rick Lamb
in
Equipment
A very popular and practical barn design calls for a center aisle with stalls on both sides.
For efficiency, nothing beats a barn with stalls and storage on either side of an aisle or breezeway. In most barns, this aisle is at least twelve feet
... [
read more ]
wide. But not in the new barn of Cherry Hill, a noted expert on horsekeeping.
"Mine is eleven feet and I like that because it is wide enough for me to drive my sixty-five horsepower tractor down and my pickup truck, but it's the optimum width for cross ties. I think a little wider, you tend to get into a little bit more trouble and of course, too narrow you're crowded. So I just like eleven feet myself, so I built my barn with that aisle width."
Cross ties are sturdy rings mounted on either side of the aisle such that a horse can be tied between them. This allows him to be groomed or treated with maximum safety to the handler.
Could not load the Audio Player
Here are the keywords for this Radio Show excerpt:
barn aisle width, horsekeeping, barns, ranch, farm, crossties, cross-ties, crosstying, cross-tying
"Barrel Racer Qualifications" - Rick Lamb
with Martha Josey
in
Competing
To win at the western sport of barrel racing, you need a fast horse, good riding skills, and razor-sharp timing.
Having qualified for the National Finals Rodeo in four different decades, world champion Martha Josey is the undisputed queen of b
... [
read more ]
arrel racing. She also teaches it, and finds that her young students do better if they've already been involved in sports.
"Timing is probably the most important thing in running barrels. You've got to have perfect timing. And you've got to be a thinker. I've always said a good quarterback for a football team could probably be a good barrel racer, too, because they have to think and they've got to outplay their competitor, and you've got solve problems before they come up. So all of that's real important."
Martha and her husband, world champion calf roper R.E. Josey operate the Josey Ranch in Texas. Incidentally, Martha first excelled at basketball!
Here are the keywords for this Radio Show excerpt:
barrel racer qualifications, Martha Josey, R.E. Josey, barrel racing, athletes, National Finals Rodea, timing, Josey Ranch, Texas
"Barrels for Beginners" - Rick Lamb
with Martha Josey
in
Competing
One of the most exciting western riding sports is barrel racing, and you need the right horse to get started.
Veteran barrel racer Martha Josey has qualified for the National Finals Rodeo in four different decades and is still winning major com
... [
read more ]
petitions. Her advice for anyone starting barrel racing is to get an experienced, older horse.
"The best barrel racing horse for a beginner has to be a teen-aged horse, something that's already been there, done that. He's got some age, he's very well-patterned. He doesn't have to have the most speed in the world, but he's got to be consistent, and he's got to be safe."
Martha and her husband, world champion calf roper R.E. Josey, operate the Josey Ranch in Karnack, Texas and focus on teaching riding and roping to young riders of all ages.
Here are the keywords for this Radio Show excerpt:
barrels for beginners, Martha Josey, barrel racing, riding, training, horse, age, temperament, R.E Josey, RE Josey, Josey Ranch
"Before Horse Blows Up" - Rick Lamb
with Kenny Harlow
in
Training
Horses do some unpredictable things at times. But with experience, you'll feel it coming and know what to do.
It's important to understand the nature of the horse. He is programmed to take flight any time he becomes worried about his safety. A
... [
read more ]
good rider reads the signs that trouble is brewing and takes preemptive action, as Virginia clinician Kenny Harlow explains.
If I'm on a horse and I know he's about to blow, right away I'm going to get him thinking of me without the horse getting more upset and get him relaxed. As quick as I can, I'm going to start changing directions. I'm going to turn to the right, turn to the left. I'm going to get him so busy thinking about what my next request is, he forgot about what he was thinking.
Why does this work? Because horses can't process two thoughts at the same time. In other words, they can't multitask, at least not the way we can. It's important that you practice these maneuvers with your horse ahead of time so that your requests are familiar and clear to him when he's upset.
Here are the keywords for this Radio Show excerpt:
before horse blows up, kenny harlow, training, behavior, spooking, blowing up, trainers, distractions, distracting
"Being at the Front" - Rick Lamb
with Clinton Anderson
in
Training
One of the most common problems reported by trail riders is the horse that always wants to be at the front of the group.
Many of the irritating habits our domestic horses have are rooted in natural herd behavior. If something scares a herd of w
... [
read more ]
ild horses, they'll take off en masse to escape the perceived danger. As trainer Clinton Anderson explains, no horse wants to be at the back of the herd at times like that.
They're all trying to get to the middle or the front of the pack. Whoever's at the back and whoever's at the sides has got the biggest chance of getting what? Eaten. So, you know everybody's pushing their cousins and uncles and brothers to the outside, because they want them to get eaten before them.
If your horse wants to go to the front during a trail ride, let him, but then pull off to the side and make him work, circling or doing serpentines, preferably at a trot. When the group has passed you, let him relax and rejoin the group. Soon he'll realize the back's not such bad place to be.
Here are the keywords for this Radio Show excerpt:
being at the front, Clinton Anderson, trail rides, trail riding, problems, herd behavior, fear, predators, prey animal, exercises
"Best Condition Award" - Rick Lamb
with Julie Suhr
in
Competing
In most races, he who finishes first wins, but there's one sport where number ten may take home the greatest glory.
The lay press has called it an extreme sport, and has suggested that it's abusive to horses. But endurance racing could be the m
... [
read more ]
ost humane of all riding disciplines. There are vet checks at regular intervals during each race, and the horse's condition at the end of the race is of supreme importance. Endurance champ Julie Suhr.
"They take the first ten horses to cross the finish line. They then have the veterinarians go over those ten horses carefully and decide which one is in the best condition and they get a Best Condition award, and that's a very desirable award and sometimes held in higher esteem than the first place award. And what it proves is that you've ridden that horse and he's finished the ride in better shape than the others."
Races range up to one hundred miles and riders are often competitive into their seventies. Now that's good condition!
Here are the keywords for this Radio Show excerpt:
best condition award, Julie Suhr, endurance riding, endurance racing, vet checks, veterinary checks, abuse, extreme sports
"Best of Old and New" - Rick Lamb
with Curt Pate
in
Training
Do you prefer new furniture or antiques? Sometimes a combination of new and old is the best.
Whether it's furniture or horse training techniques, there are some real gems to be found when you rummage around the old stuff. Working cowboy and ra
... [
read more ]
nch horse clinician Curt Pate works side by side with purveyors of modern training techniques, but he holds tight to some of the traditional methods.
I'm an advocate of using both worlds together. I'm trying to take all the great things that people had going – the old-timers – and then, all these new-fangled ideas that I see, I'm trying to focus through the BS, shall we say. We got to try new things and we got to learn how to blend the old-time traditions with the new technology, and then we can get the best of both worlds.
Sometimes the differences are more style than substance, anyway. Bottom line, different methods suit different people and the always-adaptable horse generally figures out what we want.
Here are the keywords for this Radio Show excerpt:
best of old and new, Curt Pate, training, horsemanship, cowboys, working cowboys, ranch horsemanship, traditional
"Big Dressage Horses" - Rick Lamb
with Mari Monda Zdunic
in
Breeds
Ever wonder why the dainty and precise moves of dressage are generally done on very big horses?
The horse world has many traditions and one of them is that high-level dressage horses are tall and heavy, with European draft horse blood, and wou
... [
read more ]
ld be as comfortable carrying a beefy knight in full armor as a slender dressage rider. Dressage clinician Mari Monda Zdunic explains why.
"In Europe – specifically Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland – they had more dressage trainers there. So they took their own horse and bred in that country. But they also had trainers. They started beating everyone in the world. That's how the theme started."
These horses are considered warmbloods or sport horses, the result of crossing a cold-blooded draft horse with a hot-blooded Thoroughbred. Mari, however, performs American dressage and does it on Thoroughbreds.
Here are the keywords for this Radio Show excerpt:
big dressage horses, Mari Monda Zdunic, American dressage, thoroughbreds, warmbloods, Europe, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, breeding, pedigrees, draft horses
"Bill Dorrance, the Teacher" - Rick Lamb
in
Anecdotes
His insights redefined modern horsemanship, but Bill Dorrance also had a unique ability to teach people.
He was always eager to talk horses with anyone experiencing a problem, and buried within Bill Dorrance's simple, sometimes cryptic comment
... [
read more ]
s were truths that enriched those who dug them out. He was a rancher and horseman by vocation, but he had the soul of a teacher, as clinician and Dorrance friend Mike Beck explains.
"He was available to help. He loved to help people. In fact, he told me one time, 'You know, if I'd never had a ranch and a family, I would have really enjoyed having a school … to help people."
Even without a school, the Dorrance style of gentle horsemanship caught on and is now taught around the world. Known as natural horsemanship, its central goal is to make your idea the horse's idea so that he willingly and eagerly does your bidding. And yes, much of this works with kids, too.
Could not load the Audio Player
Here are the keywords for this Radio Show excerpt:
bill dorrance, the teacher, mike beck, natural horsemanship, training, Tom Dorrance, teaching
"Bit Seat" - Rick Lamb
with Todd Williams
in
Care
Like a human star, a top equine athlete often gets special dental care, but it's not to improve his smile.
The diet and lifestyle of the domestic horse cause his teeth to wear differently than what nature intended, thus the need for the filing
... [
read more ]
procedure known as floating. The teeth of performance horses often get extra attention to make the bit more comfortable to carry. This is called creating a bit seat. Equine dentist Todd Williams.
"The idea is to actually shape and design the very front of the big grinding cheek teeth, right behind where the bit's going to sit, in a manner that radiuses them and has them come more out like your thumb, so to speak, rounded and radiused and smooth, so that the interaction of the bit and the soft tissue is relatively benign in relation to the teeth."
This reduces the likelihood that the horse will feel any pinching, poking or pain in his mouth.
Here are the keywords for this Radio Show excerpt:
bit seat, Todd Williams, teeth, tooth, dentistry, dental care, equine dentists, bits, bridles, mouthpieces, riding, mouths
