Some Thoughts on Buck

Buck, the documentary premiered at the Las Vegas Film Festival in 2011 before I got sick.
While Story commented she must be the only horse blogger to have seen the film, I had read several posts about it. If I recall correctly I also had information about it showing up on my Facebook page when the buzz about it first hit. Between those sources I was definitely intrigued.

 The movie did not play anywhere near here that I know of so for me to get the opportunity to view it required waiting for it to become available on DVD. As sick as I was, every time Dave would ask me if he could get me anything from the store, Buck  was the only thing that came to me. My normal response is "not that I can think of" but the desire for this flick was ingrained enough that Dave now had it on his radar as well.

I can't really tell you when Dave actually located it. All I recall about that time was being riddled with pain and being so sick I didn't know what day it was and I was still sleeping most of the time. Watching the film was only a temporary diversion. As much as I had impressions swirling in my head, I just was not in a place where I could actually get those thoughts together in any discernible way.

While I am still riddled with pain, I am much stronger than I was then. I am now able to focus and organize my thoughts without feeling like my brain is turning to mush. I think this change affected how I viewed the movie this last weekend as well.

I had not expected the many layers of this work but then I don't know how anyone could without knowing something about the man and his story first. From everything I read, I had expected another piece on horse training and Buck was a whole lot more than that.

There are so many layers to this documentary I wouldn't presume to say I even get them all. It is definitely not a training video but I imagine there are people who don't get there are useful training tips woven between those layers. Gleaning whatever morsels there were was part of my motivation for watching it over and over but I had other motivations too.

Personally I was struck by the similarities in our stories. While timelines vary and experience levels with horses too, the motivation for his receptiveness when confronted with a better way and conclusions drawn along the journey were uncanny to me. I think part of my rewatching was to verify I was not projecting something that was not there.

Let me say I am used to encountering childhood victims of abuse who are horse people too. They tend to talk the talk of compassion for horses but normally their unresolved issues interfere with their ability to walk that walk. Because of that I have begun to realize that horses will mirror the issues of their owners and trainers too.

It has taken me a while to realize that my ability to read people complete with their issues gives me a method to identify trainers, and potential buyers too, who might utilize training methods not in tune with what is truly good for the horse. It is a tool I have yet to test but the movie reinforces maybe I should start.

While I have known for many years blaming horses for training issues and attributing human mechanisms to explain their behaviors is inappropriate, it has taken me much longer to realize that people who do such things are more likely to engage in abusive behaviors.  One more tool I have not used.

Once the dishonest behaviors of Tommy Garland were exposed and the rose colored glasses came off, it was much easier to see the man was more interested in self promotion than he was in what is right for the horse. Then contemplating a comment Buck made in the documentary about parroting Ray Hunt and not having an original idea of his own when he first began giving clinics made me realize that Garland brought nothing new to the table. With all his celebrity the  ideas he renamed as CPR for the horse are nothing more than regurgitated horse whisper 101.

I don't point this out to continue my rant about the man but instead to express I see that recognition as yet another tool. Those "horse whisperer" types I have seen who are genuine in their concern for the horse all have their unique twist to the basic Tom Dorrance, Ray Hunt teachings.

Some of them have built that into big money and others have supported themselves more modestly so money alone isn't a measure of sincerity, nor is it a measure of competence. It seems to me the variations these people have learned along their journey might be a key to the true value of their worth to the horses. The honest man will not willing harm the horse. The dishonest one doesn't really care about the horse in the first place so he has not made the effort to evolve his methods into something genuine.

What do you think?

To be continued......

More on Buck

Baby Boomer Dreams, Submission and Arabian Horses

Since I have been posting a series about submission I thought I'd post some about my early days with the subject and where I've come. Even though it's been a while since I posted on the Baby Boomer Series, I left off with the birth of Scandalous Dare who was really a tough cookie when it came to submission. Despite the fact that she was so crippled up from being windswept, that darn filly thought she was born to rule the world.

Unfortunately for her, I had not met Harvey Jacobs yet. I had, however, had some time with John Lyons. I remember clearly John Lyons telling us that the rule of thumb for acts of aggression was no holds barred for five seconds. Then it was over. It didn't matter how old or how young the horse was. In the horse's mind, it's a horse, not a baby.

It sounded good at the time, but over the years, it just didn't have the effect I wanted in my horses. Granted they learned not to be aggressive but they also learned not to trust me much either. As much as I love my Arabian horses, having them fear me is just not part of the dream.

I can clearly remember that darn Dare teetering precariously on her crooked legs, snaking her neck and diving at me with teeth bared and she was only two hours old. Knocking her *ss over tea kettle did nothing to slow her down. I eventually landed on top of her, holding her down until she gave up fighting. Fortunately for both of us that tactic worked. Not because of what I knew, more it was pure accident. She and I have been fast friends ever since.

But that doesn't mean that she gave up all ideas about being in charge. She just gave them up where I was concerned. When it came to Dave and Lindsay, Dare was still a hellion. She's just been one of those horses, you don't dare give her an inch because if you do, you're going to pay.

So what is an inch to a horse like that? Well, it's just that, an inch. If the horse steps towards you and you back up a single inch to accommodate the movement, you have given up ground to the horse. Horses only move away from a horse who is higher in the pecking order. That is a major signal to the horse.

While we might think it's cute to have a horse come up and nudge us for attention or food, the message to the horse is another matter. Again we have let the horse move into our space. Allowing such behavior encourages the horse to test their position with us. That's not a desirable thing. It's actually contrary to submission.

Some people let horses push into the water buckets when they're being filled. Some people don't "bother" their horses when they are eating because they think the horse might be aggressive. I think if you have a horse that is aggressive when it's eating or drinking, you have a horse that shouldn't be trusted. That, too, would be a clear message about lack of submission in the horse.

I guess that would cover the three major points I've learned from Harvey Jacobs. Control the horse's feet, food and water and you control the horse. If the horse controls those things, you are at the horse's mercy. If you control those things, the horse is your willing servant.

I never back up from a horse. If a horse steps into my space, I make the horse move away from me at least double the amount of space the horse tried to claim from me. If the response is not made softly and willingly, I keep repeating it until it is.

When horses are feed here, they must go to the back of their stall and stand until they are invited to come forward. They can eat in our presence only if they are invited. Lots of times, I groom,pick feet, blanket etc while they are eating, making them accommodate my requests for moving away from their food in the process. If this isn't done willingly, I move them away from their food until their attitude is corrected.

The same is true with water. Even if the horse has been out of water and it's hot outside, it can not drink while we're filling water buckets unless they are invited. Any sign of flattened ears or stern faces and they are pushed to the back of the stall or away in the field. Again until the attitude is corrected. That means ears up, eyes soft, head relaxed and low.

Next I'm going to pick back up on the Baby Boomer series. There are stories of a lot more foals to tell.

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Dealing with Biting or Nipping Horses

Beth from Adventures with Sam asked me if my studs are nippy. Actually, the question makes me just want to laugh. Aren't all stallions nippy? Many people think it's just a fact of life that you have to learn to live with. I just don't happen to be one of those people. So, no my Arabian horses are not nippy, particularly my stallions.

But my stallions would like to be. I know they sure start off that way. From the time that they are born, they begin their target practice. By the time they are two they have grown into land sharks despite my best efforts to make them otherwise. They are always looking for an opening. It's an ongoing effort to keep them under control.

But I said that my stallions aren't nippy so how can that be if I'm calling them land sharks and the like? Well, to be honest, they're usually not nippy. But that is dependent on me staying on top of my game. If I slack off, the land sharks might return. Right now I have a five year old stallion in particular who will let me know if I'm letting him down by pulling at my clothes.

I think in order to deal with biting stallions you first need to understand where the behavior is coming from. There are all of those things about dominance and pecking order and they surely come into play. If you watch young colts out in a field together, they pick at each other all day! And I do mean, all day. It is a darn game. They are practicing their combat skills for later down the road when they might get to take over a herd. They aren't playing seriously enough to get hurt because they're saving themselves. They're just picking (unless you put a mare in close proximity and then the stakes have changed)


But for me the most important thing is the fact it is a game for them. They need that game for stimulation. Stallions fiddle around with us whenever we handle them because they are bored. They need something to do to keep them occupied so they won't play with us. So that is my approach to dealing with them.

I start all of my horses off in the round pen with the lessons I learned from Harvey Jacobs. Once I get past the round pen work, I move on to inhand work with a rope halter. I had some special rope halters made with a noseband of cord rolled around the base. This gives me a little extra leverage across this sensitive region.

I work at teach the horse to drop his head. I want him to keep his eye lower than mine when I am handling him (except for halter training and then I stand directly in front of the horse so he can tell the difference). When the horse has accepted dropping his head and staying there, his eye will be soft. Both of these are signs of submission.

I also want the horse to stay in his box. I don't want his head moving into my space at all. If he can't put his head near me, he can't bite me. Controlling every move the horse makes helps establish that I am the leader.

I also work on the horse moving away from me as I move into his space. The horse having to give up ground is another way to achieve submission. I work on backing and moving from side to side, all with the head dropped low and the eye soft. My goal is to get the horse so light I can just begin to move and he will respond appropriately.

I might take two steps forward. Stop. Turn to the right (through the horse's space). Back up three steps. Stop. Walk forward five steps. Mix it up. But I'll work at teaching the horse a different cue for each thing so that he has the opportunity to get very very light and responsive.

Every time I handle my stallions, I put them through this exercise. Before I even walk them out of their stall, I ask them to lower the head. At any time they raise up, I take a hold and bring them back to me. I never lead them anywhere without the head dropped low and the eye soft. They just know that's part of the deal.

The object of all of this, is I'm giving the horse something to do, something to think about when I'm handling him. If the horse is having to think about what I'm asking next, he doesn't have the time to be thinking about biting me. And I'm always mixing it up, so he has to keep thinking.

In addition to this, stallions need to work. They need a job. Not just lunging on a line because that doesn't stimulate their brain. They need some form of stimulation. Even if a horse isn't ready to be ridden, it can be walked over poles, around cones or barrels, backed through chutes, you name it in addition to the in hand work I've already talked about . Stallions thrive on stimulation.

So the horse above and pictured that I said will let me know if I'm letting him down by nipping, that would be Scandalous Storm. If he gets worked every day, he is a doll to be around. If he stands in the stall for a day or two or just gets turned out, you can bet he'll be trying to pull at my clothes or my hair. And he'll be naughty at first when I put him to work. But the only time he's naughty is when I've not worked him.



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Even More on Submission to Leadership in Arabian Horses

With the comments coming in on More on Submission to Leadership in Arabian Horses it is clear that I was on spot about Ruby. The added history by Ro in those comments confirms that the mare had very little training. I would think from her behavior that what training she did have did NOT deal with issues of complete submission.

Well, maybe I should correct that statement to include the word trust as mentioned by Marvel of Simply Marvelous The whole concept of submission with trust is the basis for what most would call natural horsemanship. Many trainers haven't got a clue how it all fits together and do nothing to instill it in the horse. If the horse walks, trots and canters both directions, it is broke to such trainers despite the fact it walks all over it's owners.

I remember my first seminar with John Lyons sitting there enthralled throughout his demonstration of Round Pen Reasoning. At the break I came across several well known principles from our local Arabian horse community who wrote it off as nothing more than a circus act. I remember shaking my head (internally, at the time) at their ignorance.

I went home after that evening session followed by a weekend seminar and a week of observing at his clinic with enough knowledge to fix a major issue on each horse I owned at that time. I also gave round pen reasoning a try of my own. It may have taken me four times as long to get my gelding, Mark, fixed on me than it did John Lyons but I did manage to get it done. I learned some important lessons in the process.

If a horse submits to you during a training session, it is only to you on this given day under this given set of circumstances. IF those circumstances should happen to be meet again and again, you just might get a trained horse out of it. A "trained horse" meaning one who submits to you under these circumstances. If you should manage to get another human involved who can duplicate your cues and timing etc, the horse will easily respond to that second individual as well having learned already that such behavior from a human constitutes leadership for that task.

If you manage to tie enough different sets of circumstances together AND, of course, get them all repeated often enough to convince the horse that it is "trained" on each issue, you might just end up with a totally submissive horse. After all, totally submission only comes if the horse truly believes that you ARE the one and only true leader. The more different issues you prove to your horse you are the one in charge, the more likely your horse is to buy that you really are a leader, even THE leader he listens to when his life is in jeopardy.

So, should some other person happen to come along using the same set of cues for the same set of requests, have the correct timing etc that the horse requires to see leadership, that person too will be above the horse in the pecking order. The horse's life experience with repeated exposure to leadership humans convinces the horse to submit to any and ALL people, or so it seems. I'm sure you've seen horses who are submissive even to small children as a perfect example of a totally submissive horse.

Pecking order comes into play as well in this whole scenario. For the horse it's not just about that top position but all of the positions in the herd. Each horse must hold a slot and that slot must be clear to all members of the herd. A horse who has recently moved up in status in the herd might also decide to try and move up on his human leader as well.

Also those positions in the herd can chance at the drop of a hat by adding or removing an individual from the herd. Sometimes a horse doesn't have to be removed for it's status to change. Health issues and affiliations with other herd members can change status as well.

For an example of changing status in a herd let's look at my mare. Heiress has always been low on the pecking order in my herd (until the addition of a new mare), but when the horse is pregnant or has a foal at her side, her ranking has changed. Because of her instinct to protect her baby at all cost, she stands up to mares she would normally submit to. And those mares also have their instinct telling them that foal is to be protected so they stand down from their usual dominant role. Once her foal is weaned, Heiress returns to her usual role in the herd.

It would also be important to know in this context that the new mare that I added to my herd was in foal at the time she came here. Because she was in foal to a horse outside our system, the mare was perceived as a threat by this herd. Their instincts told them to fight off the new mare.

In the wild a pregnant mare would only join a new herd if she was stolen by the herd sire or if the stallion from her herd was defeated. In that case all of the pregnant mares would be raped by the new stallion so they would abort. The experts believe that is Mother Nature's was of guaranteeing survival of the fittest. If the stallion who sired the foal couldn't hold the mare, he was a lessor horse and his progeny should also be lessor individuals. The sad but brutal truths of equine instincts.




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More on Submission to Leadership in Arabian Horses

I started this series off writing What's Up with Licking and Chewing in Arabian Horses and from there have led into the discussions on Submission to Leadership in Arabian Horses Even as I was writing my wheels were turning down the road that the subject of submission takes me. Submission in the horse is really very complicated.

Ro from Tiggerish Tails provides a great example of this complexity. She doesn't understand why her mare, Zoyra, submits to the humans in her life but totally dominates the other mare, Ruby. While Ruby doesn't respect the humans at all. I think this is a great example of the twist and turns of a horse's views of submission.

It's good to remember that submission is not a "blanket" gift once given forever and for everyone. It is given by the horse with all kinds of "catches." If the horse sees any reason that require it to move into the leadership role, it will step right up to the plate. Instinct tells it to do so.

Obviously Zoyra sees that Ruby needs a leader and has been able to impress Ruby that she is that leader. And why not, they are both horses. They totally understand the language and what it means. With every fiber in their being they are watching and looking for the signs that tell them who is in charge. It is a matter of survival.

The humans throughout Ruby's life have not been as effective at establishing dominance as Zoyra has or Ruby would not be pushy. We, humans, are relatively new at even beginning to understand this unspoken language between the horse. Some of us have only bits and pieces of the vocabulary and others haven't a clue at all. Since only the most proficient are able to get total complete submission from the horse, it only makes sense that many horses have no experience with trusting humans to be their leader. Ruby is one of those.

The end result is Ruby respects Zoyra because Zoyra has earned it. She doesn't respect humans because they have never sufficiently impressed upon her their leadership. However, Zoyra who rules Ruby because she saw the need for a leader is totally lead by humans because her entire life history with humans tells her that they are her leader. She was one of those fortunate horses whose owners could convince her they were in charge.

The true test of that gift of submission by Zoyra would be a situation the horse perceives as life threatening. If a horse submits to a human in that type of scenario, you know that horse truly believes that human is the leader.

When I first bought Scandalous, she had great manners on the ground. She was the sweetest horse to be around. But as I posted in A Baby Boomer Dreams of Arabian Horses Part 3 if Scandalous was startled when we were loping, she would run off with me. It took me years to figure out how to overcome this one thing in her behavior. For all intents and purposes anyone would think that she was a totally submissive horse but it took years before Scandalous was convinced.

The Arabian horse in this picture is Scandalous, my foundation mare.

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Submission to Leadership in Arabian Horses

I can't believe I'm still doing this, but What's Up with Licking and Chewing and Arabian Horses has quite a discussion going. I personally don't think that anyone is really off the mark, even the "stupid comment" fits into the parameters of the responses coming in here.

photogchic stated "I still have to agree with Robert Miller and Rick Lamb that licking and chewing comes from simulated eating or drinking which signals submission to leadership." While I haven't read the work she speaks of, I think that it is all related.

Trying to explain what I see I need to go back to a basic of equine behavior. A horse is either going to lead or be led. Most horses would gladly be led by another but if there is not a horse (or person) in that leadership role, the horse will move in to fill that void. Even the most submissive horse in the field will become dominate over a new owner who is not the established leader.

With leadership comes stress. In the wild the leader makes all of the decisions for the herd. Where they go? How long they stay? What they eat? The list goes on. So it would seem to me that if a horse submits, it must be a relief for the horse because the horse can be be led instead of worrying about being the leader. So with submission would come a release from stress, a softening eye, a dropping head and probably licking and chewing.

I think it's safe to say that most of us have relationships with our horses where we are trying to establish that we are the leader on a daily basis. If as a handler we allow anything at all that leads the horse to believe we aren't in control, the horse perceives that as an invitation to move up the pecking order.

Since most of us haven't achieved the kind of prowess at handling horses as the John Lyons, Clinton Andersons etc of the world, we are continually working towards achieving that kind of relationship with our horses. Those men can get complete submission in minutes or a couple of hours, for me, I'm happy if I get it at all and even happier when I can keep it.

Watching the various clinicians work horses, I've seen some pretty nervous horses in those exhibitions. But the closer the horse gets to submitting to the cowboy, the more calm the horse becomes.

Take a horse that's frantically running around the round pen and control the movements of its feet. Next thing you know the horse is getting quiet and attentive. The eye gets softer. The head gets lower. And the horse goes to licking and chewing.

Harvey Jacobs says the very action of controlling the horse's feet, usually can convince the horse you are in charge. The amount of control is the illusive part if you ask me. It's easier to sit and watch than to achieve the same results.

I know the reason for that lies in reading the horse's body language and timing. I swear Harvey Jacobs can hear what a horse is thinking. Because of that his timing is flawless. I have seen the man counter a move and release the horse before I've even figured out what the horse was thinking about doing in the first place. The result is that the horse quickly learns that Harvey is the boss. I guess that total submission can be detected when the horse decides it want to follow Harvey around the ring.

More on Submission


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More on Licking and Chewing and Arabian Horses

Yesterday's post, What's Up with Licking and Chewing and Arabian Horses
has generated quite a response. When I began thinking about responses to the comments I realized another post was probably in order. So here goes.

The overwhelming consensus is using licking and chewing as a training tool or guide works. Although it still sounds like there are an assortment of ideas about what it means as far as the horse is concerned. Is the horse relaxing because he finally got it? Is the horse relaxing because he tried really hard? Is it because the horse needs to relax after trying so hard?

Probably the horse is the only one that's ever really going to know the answer to most of those questions. But here are a few more things to throw into the mix.

Remember the trainer that I said would stick his fingers into the horse's mouth to cause it to lick and chew at the end of a try? He contended that even if the horse was not willing to give it up on its own volition, causing it to happen enhanced the training process. Since the time I worked with this trainer I have meet a couple of others who believe and practice the same thing.

That would suggest that the very action of licking and chewing plays a role in the learning. That it's not just an indication of learning but somehow a catalyst in the learning. Having tried his method on horses who are reluctant to lick and chew on their own, I can tell you it undoubtedly has helped me in their progress.

If I am working with a horse and think a lick or chew should have been a reasonable response by now, but none has come, I will induce it. The result is usually an "immediate" breakthrough with the horse.

The horse might not "learn" the response on that lick and chew but within another request or two the response from the horse has increased dramatically. The horse appears somehow to be more receptive to learning. Also, I find that when I encourage a horse to lick and chew this way, over time I have a horse who is beginning to do it on his own. It's almost like the horse had to be taught it was part of the process.

Notablogger mentions in her comment about horses she has had who never lick and chew. I would suggest those horses would be great candidates to have licking and chewing induced during their training sessions.

No matter how licking and chewing works for the horse, relaxation must be a part of the key. Since the chiropractor does achieve it with a successful adjustment, it only makes sense. I know from my own experience that pushing the offending part back into place is definitely stressful and once it is where it belongs there is a sense of relief followed by an involuntary relaxation.

Equine chiropractors use the amount of the lick and chew as a gauge for whether they have gotten a complete or a partial correction. On a difficult adjustment, if the appropriate lick and chew isn't attained, the chiropractor will repeat the adjustment until he gets the measure he believes is appropriate. I never seen a chiropractor that thought he needed more who ended up being wrong. And usually the overall response for the horse support this.

And then for Ro's horse in the trailer incident This horse went through a very stressful incident and afterwards was licking her hand.

I have had experience with this as well. Over the years I've experienced a number of horses after stressful or even during stressful situations that will lick an attendant's hand. I've always thought that this was a soothing thing for the horse. But it is only licking. I have never seen chewing involved in these types of situations. To me that would suggest it has it's very own role.

As surprised as I was by the amount of response to this subject, what surprised me the most was not one person asked what explanation I heard that I thought was stupid. I guess it surprised me because I had mentioned "good" trainers being my sources of information. But then maybe I wasn't clear that it was one of the "good" ones that said something I thought was so stupid. Maybe I should just sneak by and forget I said it at all.

In this picture, Reflection is just getting ready to lick and chew.

Part 3 Submission


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What's Up with Licking and Chewing and Arabian Horses

In the post, Trying to Get my Breeding Business Back on Track - Training Young Horses - After the Fall Beth asked in the comments about the significance of licking and chewing for me. She has read a study that says the "reflex is a release after being forced into stressful situations" so she was curious about my take.

The best way I can think to answer this question is to go back over how I learned about the importance of this reflex in the first place. Over the years I have gone to many clinics with some well known and not so well known horsemen. (Monty Roberts, John Lyons, Richard Shrake, Clinton Anderson, Brad Gallun, Tommy Garland, Harvey Jacobs and Cody Herford to name a few) All have referenced licking and chewing as an important part of teaching a horse something new.

While there's no way I can remember who said exactly what, I can tell you that I have heard several different explanations for what this represents. Some of it made no sense to me, some I thought was downright stupid (something you don't hear me say often) and some I thought was reasonable. But the one commonality in all of these explanations was that it was a sign that the horse had learned something.

I may not have been getting explanations of the response that always made sense to me, but it was clear to me by observing the horse that the horse was indeed at a point that it had accomplished something. Whether or not the horse had learned exactly what that cowboy wanted wasn't clear but the horse had figured something out that was important to the horse. About that, I have no doubt.

I have heard it explained that the licking and chewing releases endorphins that reward the horse. I've heard that those endorphins allow the horse to digest a thought. I've heard that the endorphins cause the horse to relax and all kinds of stuff in between. I even worked with a clinician who put his finger in the horse's mouth to cause it to lick and chew to help it with learning.

The one thing I can say about all of these men, they were good horsemen. Even if they had different explanations, and maybe none of them is right, they were all correct in the fact that a lick and a chew is a reliable indicator that the horse has learned something.

I have found by looking for licks and chews as a place in the training to give an even bigger release, or using it as a place to take a break or cease for the day, that I have a horse that learns faster and retains better. I'm not going to even try to explain why it works, because I haven't a clue. I just know that it does.

In regards to the study saying that it is a release after being forced to do something stressful, that would make sense to me. Actually it goes right along with all of the different things those cowboys said (except the stupid one). Because the lick and chew will come after a release from pressure. However, it doesn't come after ALL releases of pressure. It only comes after some.

Certainly what I have learned from these cowboys (or horse whisperers, if you prefer) along the way is that to teach the horse, you must apply pressure. You release the pressure when the horse does or thinks about doing what you want. The horse learns from the release of pressure.

For a horse, pressure is stress. It's plain and simple. Any form of pressure to a horse is stressful. The more intense the pressure, the bigger the stress. So applying pressure to the horse to train it, is applying stress. Giving the horse a release removes the stress and teaches the horse that it has done what you asked. But remember not all releases get licks and chews. And bigger licks and chews seem to indicate a greater understanding by the horse.

I haven't seen this study, but sure would like to, but from the statement above, if it was an automatic reflex by the horse from being forced into something, the horse should lick and chew after each release. And the other question for me would be what about the trainer that put his finger in the horse's mouth and caused it to lick and chew. I can tell you that worked for him and all of the horses he worked that day.

So for me, I watch for it. I utilize it and my success has improved tremendously because I employ it. I doubt that I will ever know exactly what is going on inside the horse's head, but I do know for sure that working with the licking and chewing as a gauge to how the horse is learning has been a huge help.

Also here I should probably mention that chiropractors look for licking and chewing too. They see it as a measure of the correction they are seeking. The bigger the licks and chews the more successful the adjustment. I have learned that this is a reliable gauge as well.

The horse in this picture is Scandalous Reflection. He is licking after a release of pressure.

Part 2


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Rachel and Grandma and Arabian Horses - Jesse Saldana Clinic Part 5

Clinic Part 1

The schedule the second day of the clinic wasn't nearly as nerve racking for me. Not only did I not have to do any horses personally but our first scheduled horse was the last horse of the morning. Where as the day before I had the first horse of the day and had done two before the lunch break.

Daylight Savings Time had ended during the night, so we actually got an extra hour of sleep as well. However, in resetting the clocks, Dave had neglected to reset my alarm. The result was me springing out of bed fifteen minutes later than I had planned.

Since it was Sunday Colleen was off too, so I had Rachel call her as we were heading towards the barn to pick up the horses. Colleen made a run to McDonald's and brought us all breakfast instead of us taking the extra time to stop. There was no way we could do the drive through with the trailer and going inside would just add that much more to our lateness.

We managed to arrive at Creekwood Farms at quarter to 8. That gave us enough time to get the horses moved in, fed and settled before the clinic actually started. This was definitely a much less stressful day than Saturday had been for Grandma anyway.

It was nice to be able to sit and watch the other horses work with their riders, instead of running around behind the scenes getting my horses ready. There were several green young horses before Rachel's turn would come. Each horse was doing something different and it was interesting to watch Jesse Saldana's steady even instruction. Pretty much everything was fixed with driving the horse from behind, lifting up the ribcage and flexing.

Sunday's sessions were supposed to be fifty minutes long but most of the horse and rider combinations were tired out before that much time had elapsed. Still Rachel did a good job of keeping track. She managed to get her horse ready in enough time for me to warm him up for her.



As they called us into the arena, Jesse was already finished with the horse before us. So I just let him know that I needed a few minutes to warm the horse up. Sometimes Rachel's cues are a bit fuzzy with something new and the horse gets confused. I wanted the opportunity to show the horse what Jesse was going to ask Rachel to do. That way Dandy would be clear and respond appropriately.

I only took a few minutes to warm the Arabian horse up, then I put Rachel up on him and went to get Jesse. Before he entered the arena I let him know that Rachel is extremely dyslexic. She is confused by instructions using right and left. He asked about inside and outside as substitutions and I agreed that those would work.

I also let him know if she gets frustrated, she locks up and begins to do things opposite of the instructions. If he saw that, the best course of action is to stop her and manually show her what she's doing so she can correct it. Given a minute that way and some deep breathing, she usually can then pick up ok again.



It was really interesting watching Jesse dealing with Rachel. While he still was professional, he seemed to take on a fatherly manner. We could tell that he was being careful to give Rachel instructions she could follow and to keep her confidence up.

Of course, Dandy was Dandy. The Arabian horse loves that kid. He does his best to give her what she asks. People sitting on the rail watching the pair remarked about what a perfect horse he is for her. It was clear to everyone that Dandy takes care of Rachel. Even if he tests her now and then he never gives her anymore than she can handle.

Jesse's technique really isn't any different than what I do. I have been working for a while now trying to get Rachel to understand using her inside leg to wrap the horse around her leg and lift his ribcage. Having Jesse reinforce those directions makes Grandma's job easier down the road.

It was easy to see Rachel's brain was working overtime trying to process the instructions. Even though they are pretty much the same as mine Rachel was reacting like it was all new to her. Just getting them in different terminology was difficult for her to deal with and ride too. Through all of this Dandy stayed nice and even making it easier for her to get things figured out.

By the time they were ready to lope, Rachel was beginning to show some signs of confidence. Since the lope has been what scares her, I was anxious to see how she did with Jesse.

She's always afraid the horse is too fast when he's really not fast at all. Don't ask me why, but for some reason with Jesse helping her she finally figured that out. Not one time did she make that quick telltale grab at the reins that shows shes worried. They loped and loped and loped some more and not one grab at those reins.

The horse did get a bit longer than I would like to see him so I knew that Rachel had forgotten that she's not supposed to see his pole. The horse has such a long neck it's deceptive where the correct frame for him is. Had she remembered that, her ride would have been absolutely gorgeous. As it was it was slow, even and relaxed. It was clear that Rachel had finally figured out what speed the horse's lope really is.



Jesse worked with them until it was clear that Rachel was tiring. That's pretty much where he started to get a bit long. He stopped her and showed her to flex and bend the horse getting him moving off her leg. That was where the lesson ended.

I passed Jesse as he walked out of the arena and I walked in. He turned to me and said "I get over that horse, I just can't believe how responsive that horse is for her."

Next up, the afternoon session with Rachel and Scandalous Hope.

To be continued..............

Part 6

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Rachel and Grandma and Arabian Horses - Jesse Saldana Clinic Part 4

Clinic Part 1

We left the clinic early on Saturday because of the Daffodil Arabian Horse Assc's annual dinner meeting that evening. Jesse Saldana was the speaker and I was looking forward to hearing what he had to say. In addition to that I had promised that I would help set up the silent auction that was part of the evening's activities.

Because the social hour was to start at 6, we needed to be setting up the silent auction at 5. There was no way we could stay and watch the last horse be worked, return my three horses to the boarding barn, get home, shower etc and be at the Muckleshoot Casino by 5 without cutting the clinic short. Given a choice I'd have skipped the social hour and watched all the clinic but I had promised. Me and my big mouth.........

After all of that, the woman with the auction paperwork didn't show up until almost 6, so we did all that crazy running around trying to me timely for nothing. I spent the whole social hour working on silent auction set up and got done just in time to eat.

Normally, I'm not crazy about buffets but the buffet at the Muckleshoot Casino is amazing. Unlike other banquets they just keep bringing more and more food until you'd had enough. The food is excellent and the desserts are downright amazing. Needless to say I made up for the fact I hadn't eaten much during the day.

The rest of the evenings activities were pretty boring except for Jesse's speech. It was short and too the point but not what I had been told he was going to talk about. He started off saying he was raised with horses, quarter horses. Then he came to California and meet the Arabian horse. I think his exact quote or close to it was "How could you look into the eyes of an Arabian horse and not fall in love."

Evidently that is just what he's done. The man has been training Arabian horses ever since. He said he has been lucky. His clients are beginning to breed better quality horses and he's able to be competitive at the national level and everyday he gets to work with the most beautiful Arabian horse.

It was clear by his voice that he was nervous. But it was equally clear how much he loves the Arabian horse. Of course, you know that sits well with me. His speech was short and sweet.

I had been told that he was going to talk about politics in the Arabian industry. I was disappointed when he didn't but it was clear that he wasn't really comfortable with speaking in front of a large group. However, I had hoped that he would tell us about the prejudice that he has had to deal with in our industry because I know that he has.

That is one of the reason's that I remember Jesse Saldana as well as I do. I saw him many times in the ring showing nice horses that were doing their jobs very well. Yet time after time he was still getting the gate. It was clear to me that prejudice was a part of what was happening to him. At times I could almost feel the attitude in the air. It may be that people even uttered it out loud. "Who does that Mexican think he is?"

At that time, it wasn't just Mexicans that were discriminated against, it was women as well. That is one of the reasons that my good friend, Jean Frieday, quit showing horses. She could train a horse to perfection, take it in the ring and get the gate, but if a man handled the horse she trained, it would win and lots of times unanimously.

We have come a long way since then. Jesse Saldana is now a respected trainer in the industry. There are several women at the top of the heap as well. Even in halter, the most political of all Jesse has been successful and a couple of women as well. And something that really jumped out at me, in my age division, 55 and over, purebred western pleasure in the Top Ten were seven men (I've never even seen seven men show in my division in all the years I've shown) BUT a woman was champion and a woman was reserve champion.

To be continued............

Part 5

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Rachel and Grandma and Arabian Horses - Jesse Saldana Clinic Part 3

Part 1

The next Arabian horse I brought for the clinic was Scandalous Reflection. He's a five year old stallion with loads of talent. I haven't ridden him since Oct of last year. There were only four rides total and we hadn't loped yet so doing anything under saddle was out of the question. So the long lines were my "weapon" of choice.

I was looking forward to this session with the long lines because I've never been to a clinic or had any type of lesson in how to use this training equipment. I've just kind of picked it up on my own playing around with them and figuring out what works for me. I was interested in seeing how a "real" trainer would use them on a young horse.

When I brought Reflection into the arena, Jesse Saldana asked me if I wanted to show him how I worked the horse in the long lines or if I wanted him to work the horse. I was most interested in seeing how he would work a young horse in the lines. I wanted to see if what I was doing was correct as well as how much he asks from the horse in the beginning.

I had been working the horse for a couple of weeks in the long lines, so he was comfortable with the equipment including the crupper. He also knows the cues for walk, trot, canter and whoa.
Jesse started off with the horse using a draw line where I had been using a direct rein. He ran the line from the bottom ring of the surcingle through the outside of the ring of the snaffle and up to the top ring on the surcingle.

Then he pretty much worked the horse like he had the riding horses. He used the inside rein to cue the horse to bend to the inside and worked him at the walk first. Flexing the horse to the inside, he pushed him forward with a cluck and the whip. If the horse tried to push through the bit instead of onto it, he gave him a light "bump" with the inside rein. (Jesse used the term "bump" a lot but his "bump" was more like a squeeze of the rein.)

Once he had the horse going nice and round at the walk, he asked him to trot. Then he repeated the exercise flexing the horse slightly to the inside to encourage him to round up and get soft again using a clucking sound and the whip to push the horse. To help with the softness, he worked transitions from the trot back to the walk and back to the trot over and over. Then he reversed the horse and did the whole thing all over again.

When he had the horse going soft and round both directions, he proceeded to the canter. Well, he tried to proceed to the canter.

Reflection is kind of a fraidy cat. If he's someplace new or strange, he doesn't want to canter. (Storm on the other hand is the opposite, he wants to run like a fool when he's scared!) Being in different surroundings, Reflection was cautioius and didn't want to stay in the canter.

To complicate matters, he slipped at one point when he did try to canter. I knew that Jesse had his work cut out for him. There is no way this horse was going to feel comfortable and stay in the canter. It got to the point that Jesse was happy just to get one circle in at the gait.

I have to say he was way more patient with Reflection than I would have been. But then I know the horse better than Jesse does. I would have moved him away from the spot that was scaring him and popped him on the butt. But Jesse just kept hung in there kissing to the horse. There was a lot more kissing than loping, I can tell you. But still enough that he was able to get the horse responding softly when he did lope.

Jesse worked the horse until he felt he wasn't getting any more improvement. That makes sense to me as a good place to stop. I know many trainers work until they reach the point the horse is "good." I've learned with my horses having the kind of talent that they do, that doesn't take much time to achieve. If I only worked them that long, they would never achieve any kind of fitness. So Jesse's plan of working them until they are beginning to tire and no longer being able to maintain "good" makes much more sense to me.

As I went to claim my horse, Jesse mentioned that he thought this one would be an even better western horse than the other one. At the time, I was thinking he was referring to Storm. I responded that both of them were five and so I planned to ride them in hunter pleasure for a year first, since they would need to be in the bridle to be shown in western. He agreed that was the best plan for a western horse who hadn't been shown as a junior horse first.

I was pretty pleased with the sessions with all three horses. It was clear that Jesse had liked them and that I was on the right track with each of them. For an amateur that does all of my own training, getting a thumbs up from a trainer such as Jesse Saldana is defintely good for the confidence. I couldnt' wait to see how things went with Rachel and the other two Arabian horses. And for Rachel's sessions, I was going to remember my camera.

to be continued..........

Part 4

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Rachel and Grandma and Arabian Horses - Jesse Saldana Clinic Part 2

Part 1


As I left the arena with Scandalous Storm, I asked Jesse Saldana if he thought this Arabian horse would be competitive in amateur halter. Since I'm not really that big on halter, I can't really see the point in messing with it if the horse isn't going to cut it. Jesse's response was that he thought I should do well with this horse. So maybe I will give it another try once I get him trained with Jesse's method.

Before I got my next horse ready to show, I checked to see that the Rachel and Mariah had gotten the horses settled. While I had given them both instructions, the most important part hadn't been done. The horses hadn't been feed. I think training Rachel to think for herself about what to do, is going to much harder than teaching her how to ride.

Once feeding the horses was done, I proceeded to get Legs saddled up and his legs wrapped. I still felt bad that I was dragging him out to do this when the horse was in no kind of shape. I was pretty sure there was no way we were going to make it through a forty minute lesson.

I only allowed enough warm up time to do a very basic warm-up. Anything more than that and I'd have no horse for the lesson. But Legs is always a sport no matter what I do, he just gives it his best every time. This time was no exception.

Jesse's training style is very much like my own. It didn't take but a few minutes watching him with the first rider to know that. So my ride with Legs was going to be more about confirming that what I thought was the right frame for this horse from up top, was the same on the ground.

I know from years of riding Dandy that's not always the case. So that makes it important to get video done or someone you trust to tell you what does or doesn't look good. Since I don't have much luck getting anyone to take video and my family all think whatever I do is great, clinicians are a big help to me for this purpose.

It was reaffirming to hear Jesse's voice telling me "good" when I would release the horse. I think most of the time he would give me instructions I was already in the midst of implementing them before the words crossed his lips. Listening to that timing also helped with my confidence.

Legs is really an easy horse to ride when he's fit. But when he's not, he takes a lot of pushing, lots and lots of leg. And a hold with the legs won't do it, it has to be a constant tap, tap, tap. Once the darn horse is fit, I can ride him solely off of my seat and thighs but out of shape takes the whole darn leg.

Jesse started us off walking in a circle and flexing to the inside. I'd say that Legs did the walk about normal for him. By the time we hit the jog, it was leg, leg and more leg. Even getting the horse into the lope the first time took a pop with the bat and keeping him going took even more leg.

At that rate it didn't take long and my legs felt like mush. I'm not so sure that Legs wasn't feeling the same. But Jesse was good at seeing when I was too pooped to push anymore. At that point he had me bring the horse back down to a walk so we could work on flexing and bending for a bit of a breather. Then it was back to more transitions.

I think that Legs and I lasted about thirty minutes of our forty minute lesson. My poor horse was a sweaty mess and needed some cool down time. He was not the only one. While my sweat didn't show because of the layers of clothing I was wearing, I'm pretty sure that I could have matched him drop for drop. I was exhausted and I still had one more horse to work.

I was pretty happy with the way it had gone. It was clear that I was riding the horse in the correct frame. It would just take some time to get him fit before I began work in the full bridle.

To be continued..............

Part 3

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Rachel and Grandma and Arabian Horses - Jesse Saldana Clinic

I paid for this clinic in July and I had big plans. I was going to get three young horses started and take them to the clinic. Rachel was going to take Dandy and Hope. But, as usual, life interfered along the way. My truck broke, there was a problem with the trailer wiring, and the horses got sick. The end result is, that I still haven't gotten onto the back of one young horse, let alone three of them.

Not only that, but as the clinic got closer, I still had sick horses. I was beginning to wonder if I was even going to have healthy horses to take. The horses at home were finally well, but the two stallions at the barn near Rachel were still coughing. They were the only ones trained enough to go.

Because Jesse Saldana does halter as well as western and hunter, I knew I could take a horse for halter but only if the horse was no longer sick. While I hadn't been riding Legs because he was home with sick horses, he's broke enough I could always take him. But it seems like I'm always hauling him out and taking him somewhere without any preparation. It's not the best way to show off your herd sire.

Even at that, it still left me needing one more horse. So last week I called the clinic coordinator to find out if Jesse Saldana did work with horses in long lines. I hadn't gotten on the two young stallions yet, but both had been worked in long lines. Since I've never had any help with my long lining, getting the opportunity to find out how the trainers start off with them would be helpful.

Even just a few days before the clinic there was a time that I really considered cancelling. The last horse had just barely stopped coughing. But I had been the one asking for this clinician and there were still open slots for horses. I didn't want to leave them hanging, so I just hung in there with the plan.

Trying to get five Arabian horses show clipped and bathed in 40° weather was really a bummer especially when a couple of them hadn't been well all that long. Not to mention how much time it all took. I don't know what I was thinking when I decided to do this with that many horses, but it sure didn't go as planned.

Well, as I posted in My Take on the Jesse Saldana Clinic for Arabian Horses , Rachel and I took five horses and went to Creekwood Farms for the weekend. I had three horses on the Saturday schedule and Rachel had Dandy and Hope on the Sunday schedule.

The clinic started at 8:00 am and I had the very first horse. It was a good thing I was planning on doing halter because we arrived at the facility a bit late. By the time we got the horses moved into the barn, it was past 8. I threw on the schooling halter and headed into the arena with a five year old stallion in tow.

I have shown Storm one time in halter at the Daffodil Spring Show. While I have gotten more comfortable with halter, I still don't feel like I know all I need to know. On top of that the horse is only about half trained.

Jesse Saldana was great. He asked a couple of questions about the horse and then had me show him what we knew. I'm really good with teaching a horse how to set his feet and Jesse quickly confirmed his agreement.

From there his technique differed from the last halter trainer's that I had worked with. Eric Krichten's training was all built on backing while Jesse thought the backing caused problems later. So that immediately took care of one of my big questions. How do you go from backing the horse every time you raise your hand to getting them to just rock back and keep their feet in place?

With Jesse's system, the rock back comes with the expression. If you get enough expression, it is built in. You start off gradually raising your hands, as the hands raise, the horse's head should raise. If it doesn't, you correct with a pull down or a shank back, but only for a step or two. Jesse believes that anymore backing than that causes the horse to learn to use that for an exit.

It was amazing to me how simple it was. While Jesse did take my horse a couple of times, it was to show me how he wanted the correction done, not to teach the horse. By the end of my thirty minute lesson, my horse was standing up and showing like a million bucks. It was pretty darn cool.


To be continued...........

Part 2

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My Take on the Jesse Saldana Clinic for Arabian Horses

As I posted yesterday Rachel and Grandma and my Arabian horses went off to a clinic this weekend. The clinic was sponsored by the Daffodil Arabian Horse Assc at Creekwood Farms in Puyallup, WA. The featured clinician was Jesse Saldana of Santa Rosa, CA

Those of you who read my blog on a regular basis know that I'm not just passionate about the Arabian horse, I am passionate about the way that horses, all horses, are treated. I have expressed in such posts as Are You a Good Advocate for Your Horse and Speaking Out Against Horse Abuse my strong opinions about how I think horses should be treated and trained.

As a breeder the last thing that I want is one of my horse children to go off to a trainer or owner who uses force and intimidation to cram a horse into a frame. That's one of the reasons that I do most of my own training. I don't have to worry about how my horse is being treated or trained.

For me to be able to accomplish this, I have relied on clinics with big name trainers to help keep me on track in developing my training abilities. Over the years, I have participated in clinics sponsored by the Daffodil Arabian Horse Assc with such clinicians as Bobby Hart Jr, Bill Porcher, Tommy Garland and Brett Becker. This year's clinician, Jesse Saldana, was actually at my suggestion to the Daffodil board.

In past clinics, I have learned many things. Some that I was willing to take home and try with my horses and others that I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole. Not to mention the fact that I would probably assualt (figuratively) anyone who tried to perpetuate those later things on my horses.

Over the years, I have seen Jesse Saldana show Arabian horses from time to time in halter and western pleasure at the Region 4 Arabian shows. During those times it always appeared to me that the horses seemed to be happy and doing their job well. However, I had never met the trainer before the clinic this weekend, my recommendation had been based on my few observations and a request by a friend.

Trusting that friend, I actually took five horses and my granddaughter to participate in this clinic. I hoped to find a clinician who's techniques would fall within my parameters of fairness to the horse. I don't care whether it's labelled natural horsemanship, horse whispering or vodoo as long as it's reasonable and fair for the horse.

I have to say that Jesse Saldana fit all of my criteria and more. Not only was he good with my horses and my dyslexic granddaughter, he was good with each and every horse and rider/handler thatparticipated. It didn't matter what the horse's or rider's problems might be, he dealt with them all the same. He dealt with any and all questions with the same consideration.

Jesse's demeanor was always thoughtful and calm. His instructions were informative and clear. His methodology was quiet and easy for both the horses and riders to understand. And the most impressive part of all, they were effective.

I witnessed an entire weekend with twenty Arabian or half-Arabian horses at various levels, some with an assortment of problems, where not a single horse was met with any form of harsh treatment. The horses were ridden western or hunter, one was ground driven and a handful done halter. There were no magic tricks, special training methods known only to blah-blah-blah, or pieces of tack designed exclusively for. It was nothing but good honest horsemanship.

Each riding horse was ridden soley by the owner with Jesse on the ground methodically guiding the rider to a softer, more supple horse. From a horse that had only seen the trails, a barely broke 3 year old stallion, to a couple of fried show horses and every thing inbetween, each and every pair was able to attain an impressive improvement within a remarkably short amount of time.

The same was true of the halter horses. Good ole' Arabian halter with its reputation for harsh treatment of the horses to get "expression," was quiet and methodical. All corrections were subtle . Whips, if used at all, were nothing more than an mere extension of an arm for a tap. Not a single halter horse showed even a drop of sweat from stress, nary a possibility of a welt or a wild, scared eye.

They tell me that Jesse Saldana is loved by his amateur riders/handlers and I'm pretty sure I can tell you why. He not only did a wonderful, clear, quiet job of guiding each to her goal but he treated each, even before and after their rides and throughout the weekend, like they were important people that mattered to him.

In my fifteen years of going to clinics only twice have I been treated as anything more than a paying customer before the ride and "now get out of my hair " after the ride. While the treatment was always subtle, it was always clear. The clinicians were there to promote themselves.

That was not the case with Jesse Saldana. Jesse and his wife, Juana, were kind and gracious the entire weekend. They socialized with every person who was there whether the one who hired them or someone who just came to watch and maybe bored them with incessant chatter (like wind bag me). I found them both to be very real people. The kind of people I would be proud to call my friends.

Should Daffodil decide to bring Jesse Saldana back for another clinic would I be there? You're darn right I would. For those members of Region 5 who didn't attend this clinic, you really missed out on a great clinician and a really fun time.

While there are a number of trainers in the country who are considered to be "the experts" in Arabain western, there are a handful who rise like cream to the top. They train the horse to go into the extreme frame required for today's western Arabian show horse without the use of intimidation.

In my opinion, Jesse Saldana is definitely one of that select few. But to find a trainer with that kind of talent with the horses, passion for the Arabian horse AND who really cares about his clients as people makes him indeed a rare bird! So for anyone who loves their horse and wants to be sure it is trained kindly and humanely, I would easily recommend Jesse Saldana.

Tomorrow's post I'll tell Rachel and Grandma and the Arabian Horses story at the Jesse Saldana clinic.

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A Baby Boomer Dreams of Arabian Horses - The Maiden Season Part 10

Part 1 of the Baby Boomer Series

Part 1 of the Maiden Season

I raised my hands up into the air to protect my newly repaired nose and screamed, "OH, S _ _ _!"" just as the young Arabian horse plowed right into me. I went flying through the air, sailing backwards for forty or fifty feet before I hit the ground smack dab on the back of my head. Then I skidded for another forty feet, or so they tell me.

I struggled to get up as Dave came ripping across the field. He tried to get me to stay down but I insisted on getting up. But about that time I was overruled by the Fire Marshal who just happened to be driving by when the whole accident happened. He'd seen the horse hit me and immediately turned into our farm dialing 911 for further backup.

The next thing I know there are fire engines, aid cars and what seemed like a zillion people in my pasture. I had no idea where the horses were with all this commotion in their field.

The people were all huddled around me as I lay on the cold damp ground. It seemed like everyone was asking me the same questions over and over. It was making me crazy that they kept repeating those questions like I hadn't already answered them already a dozen times!

One of the questions they asked me is what happened. I kept answering I didn't know. It wasn't that I didn't know I'd been knocked down by a galloping horse, what I didn't know was how it happened, knowing what I know, that I got knocked down by a horse. They didn't understand the nuances of my normal every day thinking.

They also asked me who I was, what day it was, if I was OK, that kind of stuff. The bad thing about the last question about being OK is this. With a history like mine, OK is anything that means I'm not dead or dying any minute. It's just automatic, I'm always OK no matter what kind of condition I'm in. It's a defense mechanism, don't let anyone know that you are vulnerable. They just didn't ask me the "right" questions.

They did however, put me on one of those boards and put a thing around my head and neck. It was awkward and confining and I wasn't very happy about the whole thing. After all, I was OK and these were strangers tying me down.

The next indignity was they put me in that darn aid car and transported me to the hospital with the sirens blaring. I was really mortified but no one seemed to care. Not even Dave. He followed behind in the truck to meet me at the hospital. I was alone and vulnerable with people I didn't know. My internal children were frightened about what was happening to us.

It was on the way to the hospital, that I realized I was in a cloud. Unless a person was right near my face, their voice seemed far away. I could barely hear the attendants as they called in my status to the hospital. I tried to listen to what they reported but had trouble hearing between the noise of the vehicle and the far off sound of their voices.

My sight was affected too. All around the edges of my vision was white and almost fluffy looking almost like a fog, with only the part right in front of me being like my normal sight. That worried me a little but was forgotten by the time I got to the confusion of the hospital.

Once at the emergency room, I was rushed into a cubicle, no waiting for me, I was given priority treatment. I've never had, nor want to again, that kind of treatment before.

Once in the examining area, the nurses asked me all the same questions that the guys in the field had done. Then they asked about my medical history including previous injuries.So I told them about a car accident I had recently been in and the "lateral" whiplash I was dealing with.

Somehow by the time the doctor came in to see me, he thought I was restrained because of the former whiplash and he set me free. Literally, he sent me home with a serious concussion. There was no further examination and no instructions for a person with head trauma. He just sent me on my way.

I didn't realize until my thinking cleared up several days later how seriously I had been injured and that this is NOT how my treatment at the hospital should have gone.

I decided I better check in with my regular doctor. He about had a stroke over the events in the ER. I was past the time frame when I should have been hospitalized so he sent me home. But I was ordered to bed for over a week with a huge list of symptoms to watch for. At the first sign of any one of them, I was to get to the nearest Class One Trauma Center ASAP.

I must have had an angel on my shoulder. This had been a serious accident which had been incorrectly treated. I was lucky I didn't develop a bleed and die. Despite that bit of luck I was really beginning to wonder about this new life of mine with a breeding stallion.

To be continued.........

Part 11

baby boomer Arabian horse Arabian horses horses horse dream horse maiden stallion horse breeding abused mare An Malik

Lesson 7 Harvey Jacobs and Arabian Horses

Introduction to Harvey Jacobs
Lesson One
Lesson Two
Lesson Three
Lesson Four
Lesson Five
Lesson Six

In yesterday’s post we covered the steps Harvey took to finally get Rhythm’s attention away for the mares and on to Harvey. Rhythm was desensitized to being touched all over his body on both sides with both Harvey’s hand and his rope.

Harvey sent the horse off again around the rail asking him to stop. The horse responded easily to the cues. With the stop he turned to look at Harvey and was encouraged with praise. If he took a step towards Harvey, he got more praise and Harvey takes a step back. By repeating this over and over, the horse got to the point that he walked right up to Harvey. After as short time the horse was so hooked onto Harvey he followed him around the round pen. If Harvey stopped to explain something, the horse stood quietly with his head dropped waiting for him.

Next Harvey put the loop of rope around Rhythm’s front foot and backed up a little. He applied light pressure to the rope and held it waiting for the horse to think about lifting the foot. When he saw the thought, he released the pressure and walked over to praise the horse. The he backed up again and repeated the exercise. One of the things Harvey watched for in the horse was a shift in his weight. That told him the horse was getting ready to pick up the foot. With this insight, Harvey rewarded the horse with a release of the pressure and praise. By repeating this over and over, Harvey got Rhythm to the point he was leading him around with the rope around his front fetlock joint.

The young Arabian stallion reached the point he was responding to Harvey just lifting the rope but no longer applying any direct pressure. Harvey began taking a step backwards and then lifting the rope. The horse was paying such close attention to Harvey that from that he soon learned to move when Harvey moved his foot back. Harvey didn’t have to lift on the rope at all.

By changing the angle at which he was applying the pressure, Harvey could change the direction the horse would move the foot. He continued with the exercise working with all four feet. Eventually he had led Rhythm forward, backwards and sideways from all four legs. The horse would follow Harvey any direction by watching Harvey’s body language and no longer required any direct pressure. It’s important to remember all the way through these steps, when the horse does what you ask or even tries what you ask, it gets praised. There cannot be too much but there can definitely be too little praise.

Leading the horse around by a foot may sound like a funny thing to do but what it accomplished was important. He had the horse totally desensitized to having any of his feet touched or lifted off the ground. Harvey was able to go up to him and lift each foot off the ground with no resistance. Also, the horse kept his head down indicating he was comfortable with Harvey picking up his feet. Before this Rhythm had been pretty good about his front feet but not so great with the back ones. While I had been able to lift them it was not without a little discussion. I would not have been able to lift them up without having a halter on the horse. Now he was standing in the round pen without a halter letting Harvey handle all of his feet.

At this point Harvey put a rope halter with a long lead around Rhythm’s neck. Then he threaded the long end between his front legs and out the left side. Then Harvey faced the horse, took the piece of rope going between Rhythm’s legs in his left hand and the long end in his right. He allowed the loop that was formed to drop to about the mid point on the upper leg and pulled up with equal pressure. Then he waited for the horse to respond to the pressure by thinking about moving. When the horse began to shift his weight, Harvey gave him the release and praised him. Harvey repeated this over and over until the horse’s response got to be very light.

Next Harvey proceeded to step two in this exercise. He let go of the lead from his left hand and applied the pressure by pulling on the rope in his right hand. Again, he watched the horse for signs he was thinking about moving that leg. When he saw beginning of the shift in weight, he released to the horse. He repeated this over and over until the horse got very light. Then Harvey repeated the entire exercise on the other side.

The purpose of this exercise was to teach the horse to lift its shoulder when it walks off. In the first step he is encouraging the horse to take a step from pressure on the back of his leg. When Harvey dropped the rope between the horse’s legs, the pressure changed from just behind the leg to pressure on the nose and poll from the rope halter and the original pressure behind the leg. With the combination the horse learned to flex and bend as he gave to the pressure and to lift his shoulder as he was giving to the pressure and stepping forward.

In this two hour session with Harvey, this 2 year old Arabian stallion learned to pay total attention to his handler even in the presence of mares in heat. He learned to stand quietly while being touched all over his body with foreign objects. He learned to stand unhaltered and give all four of his feet even to strangers. And he learned how to give to pressure on his poll and flex and bend while lifting his shoulder. Not bad for two hours work.

This is the end of this series of lessons with Harvey Jacobs and Scandalous Rhythm . I hope you have enjoyed it. I will write more on natural horsemanship methods I have learned from Joyn Lyons , Clinton Anderson , Harvey Jacobs, Cody Hurford and Tommy Garland as it applies to training, riding, showing, and breeding later. Remember you can find Tommy and Clinton on RFD-TV and Harvey would say "The horse learns from the release!"

Next I’m going to start a series of blogs about last year’s foaling season and the miracle babies born on my farm.