I Came to Give Life

“I came to give life – life in all its fullness.” -- John 10:10

“An ordinary night with ordinary sheep and ordinary shepherds. And were it not for a God who loves to hook an ‘extra’ on the front of the ordinary, the night would have gone unnoticed. The sheep would have been forgotten, and the shepherds would have slept the night away.

But God dances amidst the common. And that night he did a waltz … The night was ordinary no more. “ From “Everyday Blessings” by Max Lucado

An ordinary night with ordinary sheep … an ordinary day with ordinary horses. But God dances amidst the common. And, so he does, also, among the horses. All we need to do is but watch and listen closely with pure heart and no intentions. Just watch. Smell. Listen. Feel. I believe that horses are God’s special creatures. He chose them to carry warriors to battle. He chose an ass to carry His son. He’s chosen a white horse upon which His son will return to the world. What wisdom lies beneath the brows of these animals? What can they tell us and teach us? What secrets do they hold directly from the dance with God? I CAN teach you, said Dorian. I CAN share secrets with you if you but take the time to wholly listen to me … to God. God gives many gifts to humans but He also bestows them upon the Horse. The Gift of love; the gift of life .. the JOY in life. The fullness in life and the full knowledge of our Savior’s being. Though we be in mortal bodies just as you our spirits soar high and wide and with love and gentleness. We love much and forgive quickly. How much more than that can we teach? With that comes much wisdom, much knowledge and the capabilities to soar with us. Yes, God dances amidst the common. Listen closely to the music of your heart so you, also, will dance amidst us and with God.

QUESTIONS ON FEEDING THE HORSE

A respone I wrote in response to a question about how to feed the horse. Thought there might be some of my readers who would benefit:

BASIC GUIDELINES for feeding light horses:

Feed 2 - 2 1/2# of TOTAL FEED per every 100# of live weight. This is per day. So, for a 1000# horse he/she would need a minimum of 20# of food a day. The BASE of this, if not ALL of it should be FORAGE ... hay, grass, weeds, brush, bark, herbs etc. Simple. 20# of Timothy Grass hay will give that horse approx. 16,000 calories a day minimum. If Alfalfa hay then it will be closer to 20,000 calories a day. A 1000# horse at maintenance will need at least 15,000 calories just to maintain weight. If more calories are needed then either increase the intake of forage, add some fat (vegetable oil) or start adding a little bit of high fat, low sugar/carb grain. To this diet, in order to make sure adequate vitamins and minerals are taken in, add an organic multivitamin and free choice minerals and salts. That plus fresh water at all times *should* be enough for the horse to maintain - GENERALLY SPEAKING for an adult, healthy light horse. A horse in light work will need upwards of 18,000 - 20,000 calories a day; a horse in medium work will need 20,000 - 25,000 or more calories.

That being said - every horse is individual and every horse will have different needs one from another. This is just a base guideline from which to formulate. The BEST way is to feed as much organic as possible so you know that the horse is getting the nutrients needed. Processed, chemicalized, etc. feeds lose their viability of nutrients the more they are processed (even tho they may be "enhanced" with added vits. and minerals).

DANCES with HORSES with Klaus Hempfling

Phenomenal example of two blended hearts and minds:

What Kind of Leader are YOU?

In her book Naked Liberty Amigo Publications,
Copyright 2005, Carolyn Resnick describes
leadership in horse herds. She observed three
kinds of leadership personalities; Dominant Leader, Submissive
Leader and True Leader. - WHAT KIND OF LEADER ARE YOU?

"Dominant horses
show no interest in leadership issues such as where
the herd should go for food or how to escape from
danger. Rather, they are interested in dominance
issues such as maintaining or raising their position in
the pecking order." Dominant leaders gain
respect but not love.

Submissive horses
appear sweet and gentle, yet
avoid the fight altogether and back up or back off at the
slightest push. Submissive horses are loved but
not respected.

A horse with true
leadership supports "the
needs of the whole community, from the strongest to
the weakest individual". She brings the herd to food
and looks out for safety. The true leader views the
purpose of leadership "to keep the herd together in a
unified manner for the common good" and "to
maintain peace and keep the horses focused." A
true leader is both respected and loved.

What kind of leader are you in your herd?

Is Your Horse Ready To Ride Today?

Received this note from "Andy" today and thought he put down in words something that I also advocate. I always have my students do a "preflight" test before getting on their horses for a ride.

"You ride what you lead."

Figured it would be helpful to many here.
------------------------------------------------------
Dear Gwen,

My friend and horse trainer Jim Rea
is big on making sure your horse says 'Yes'
to letting you ride him for the day.

How do you know your horse is saying
'Yes!'?

Essentially, your horse is saying yes
when he says he trusts you, that he's not feelin' spooky, and that you can stop him if you need to.

Now the next question is this.

How do you know he says he trusts you, he's not feelin' spooky, and that you can stop him?

Ahhh...that's the part we gotta know.

Although I can't explain it in detail in an email (my fingers would lock up from typing so much)...I'll give you a good summary.

First, bond with the horse when you first greet him for the day. Be sure you bond in a way that he knows you're the leader.

Second, do some take and give. Get your horse to yield in a couple quick exercises to make sure he willingly yields.

Third, use the intimacy technique. Basically, you will touch the horse in places that would normally be hard to do because being a prey animal makes him nervous.

But taught and done correctly, this is good test to see if you're in safe mode for riding. In other words, if your horse lets you handle him in this manner, he's saying he trusts you.

Fourth, you'll have him do a little dance. It's not 'really' a dance. But it kinda looks like it when you have him do this simple lunge.

After a couple easy circles, pull the lead rope to create a One-Rein Stop.

When doing it, you disengage his hindquarters and look for him to cross the inside rear leg in front of the outside leg as he disengages.

Once disengaged, ask for another bend of his neck in the One-Rein Stop fashion. When he gives, loop the rope around his butt. Gently pull and the pressure on his rear end creates a little discomfort. He'll move out and away from that.

Disengage hindquarters again. Ask for another neck bend.

Done.

Fifth, try a few things to check his sensitivity meter such as slapping a rope on the side of a metal wall while you and the horse are by it. (If you don't have a metal wall, do something that would pique his fear level and check his reaction - don't over do this)

See if he's extra skittish, fairly calm,...?

If he's pretty calm, you're doin' good. If not, it's a sign to you to be on your guard but not so much that your horse can read your body language as fear. That'll make him fearful.

Lastly, get in the saddle. Flex his neck to both sides. If does it well, you're in pretty good shape. If he doesn't, keep workin' at it some.

If he's never done it well, you need to work with him and get him doing it with very little pressure. ( four to six ounces tops)

After flexing the neck, have him step out and turn him to a direction you want to go. Check his turning and stopping.

Do it in a walk.

If he doesn't do it well in the walk he'll have even more trouble when moving faster - thus, beware.

Why do all this?

It tells you what you can more or less expect when you go for a ride.

It sounds like a lot to do, but it really doesn't take all that long and it's well worth the effort.

Besides, it'll show you where you need to work on your horse...if you need to, that is.

Jim Rea who showed me this is one of our pro trainers from Super Stars of Horse Training.

In his DVD, you'll see a very detailed instruction on how to do this. Click the following to know more:

http://www.SuperStarsOfHorseTraining.com/Rea


Adios until manana.


Sincerely,

Andy Curry
www.horsetrainingandtips.com
www.SuperStarsOfHorseTraining.com

Building a Healthy Trust Relationship

QUESTION: What are the most important aspects of building an initial healthy trust relationship?

ANSWER: Consistency/congruency in attitude and consideration of the horse. Consistency of your attitude in such that the pony will know that you will NEVER cause it to fear you or feel threatened by you or when with you - that you will always be there for him. Congruency in not trying to "hide" your inner self from the horse. The pony KNOWS what's in your heart; pay attention to how you USE whats' really in your heart. You just can't fool 'em! *grin* Be HONEST with the horse. NO LIES! Not in your heart - not in your actions. Say/ask what you mean and mean what you say/ask.
Consideration ... Always, always remember that ponies and horses have good and bad days just as we do. They don't, as a species, change their "moods" or "behaviors" without GOOD reasons. In other words, they don't go along fine for months and months and then decide one day NOT to go along with you. If so, then that pony/horse has an immediate issue that needs attention from you. Pay attention to what they try to "say" to you ... And they DO try to tell us things. They can't change the way they communicate so its up to the US to change the way WE communicate to the pony/horse. That's just simple consideration. THINK of the animal's comfort level ... Mentally and physically. Don't ask them to do things that are beyond their capabilities thereby frustrating them. Always keep things on the side of pleasant and safe -- don't cause them to "shout" at you (buck, rear, bite, bolt or other aversive behaviors) ... Try to listen carefully to what they are saying and in doing so you may well be able to avoid a very unpleasant situation for both of you.

Horses and ponies have social laws that state they HAVE to have a leader ... One who is safe, encouraging, thoughtful, considerate yet assertively strong and calm. CALM. :) Even in the face of the most dire circumstances one needs to assure the horse/pony with calmness. Those are some attributes of a good leader. Be good leaders. If the human does not step up to the plate for leadership, the equine MUST ... By design ... Step up and take over the position of leader. Good leaders determine that which is beneficial for the TEAM ... The HERD; not just for him/herself individually (as a "boss" or "alpha" would do). Think in terms like these and your ponies will look to you for guidance and safety in almost every situation.

Difference Between Fear and Wariness

QUESTION: How do you determine the difference between a fear reaction and a wary display?

ANSWER: This is fairly easy to tell. The overall body language and the mental/emotional state will reveal a lot. A fear reaction is going to elicit a white-eyed panic response to instant, getting-out-of-town response without regard for surrounding environment. A horse that is in a panicked state will be thinking of just ONE thing and that's SURVIVAL .. To stay alive. That horse/pony is going to back up and try to RUN and run FAST! A wary response may bring on a white eyed response but less panicky movements and response. Both instances will present with a "head up" response as horses react physiologically from that position. In other words, head up equals alert/flight/survival and instantly sets off the adrenalin needed to run. Head down equals relaxation and content/comfort/calm and stops the adrenalin flow. Take, for instance, the horse that has been "punished" with extreme pressure to the front end (for example, in response to a bite many people will punch the horse with a very angry, forward reaction to the bite or nip. NOT the response that is going to teach the pony that biting is not acceptable. A more appropriate response would be to make yourself as big as possible in body and mind and strongly "banish" or chase the pony/horse off or quickly and firmly cause him to move his feet ... Fast and furiously!) ... A human who aggressively goes after the pony will scare the pants off the critter! If repeated many times, the pony is going to begin to present with the extreme flight/fear response of white-eyed panic all the time and it will take awhile for that pony to trust humans again. Any pony or horse that has met with extreme aggression from humans is going to respond with a fear response.

A "wary" response is a horse/pony that is going to respond to the human with an alert, Yes, Ma'am! Or Yes, Sir! Attitude. There may be a little bit of white showing in the eye but the body language is not going to be as dramatic as a fear-based response. The horse/pony may turn head away from the handler or move body away but its just not going to be an extreme movement. The behavior is offered with an attitude of caution from the horse or pony but not down and out fright.

Sometimes we WANT an instant, extreme movement from the horse and its OK to be a bit more ASSERTIVE than usual but unless one feels he/she is in imminent danger of losing one's life then the aggressiveness should be packed away in the netherlands somewhere when working with horses and ponies. Notice, please, I used the word "assertive" and not "aggressive". Both words are expressions of the state of mind of the presenter/handler ... Aggression is always born of fear and anger/frustration whereas assertiveness is a state of leadership, confidence, comfort, strength and nuturing all at the same time. ASSERTIVE is the attitude we, as human leaders for our horses and ponies, should always exude when teaching or correcting.

Equine sense our ATTITUDES more than our voices or even our body language. Our attittudes exude energy as our cells change in our thinking, feeling, etc. The horse/pony is designed to FEEL and respond to those attitudes with exactness. They "read" or discern their environment as part of their innate survival system.

Something else to remember, too, is that horses and ponies will reprimand/correct each other within an instant of the offending behavior and the correction lasts for just a few seconds then all return to their normal routine of grazing or whatever. They do not REPEATEDLY go after one another for extended periods of time and certainly not 5 or 10 mins. or even a minute after the offensive behavior. They correct INSTANTLY.

With this knowledge in hand, now, it would be recommended that we all check our attitudes when around our horses and ponies. A confident, strong, compassionate LEADER is going to help the horse become a brave, confident, willing partner or companion. A mean-spirited, angry, frustrated, fearful handler attitude is going to create a nervous, fearful equine; one that wants nothing to do with humans.


QUESTION: What are the obvious differences to observe between a healthy trusting relationship and a relationship based from fear?

ANSWER: A healthy, trusting relationship between horse and human is one where it is obvious that the horse/pony WANTS to be with his human! A horse that willingly comes when called with excitement and eagerness tells me that the horse is excited that his human is nearby and wants to be with him. The horse will choose to stay with the human when not restrained and will stick by the human, even when grazing in the paddocks with other horses. The horse responds favorably to requests from the human without any signs of fear or intrepidation (tense body, ears back, tail stiff or switching, whites of eyes displayed, nostrils flared, mouth tense ... Horse ready for flight at any moment). A trusting horse may nicker or whinney at the sound of his human's voice or presence in familiar "greetings". A general air/attitude of excitement, contentment and peace will pervade the horse's being.

A relationship based on fear will be exhibited with the horse/pony's obvious stiffness in body and displeasure at being haltered, groomed, handled or even ... "caught". Obvious mistrust is evident in the horse's or pony's attitude. The horse will constantly turn its head away from the human or lean away; even try to "get away".

It is important, also, to be able to distinguish a horse or pony that has "checked out" mentally from a horse that is alert and right there at the "scene" mentally. A horse that has had repeated unfavorable situations with humans or one that has been forced to "submit" to humans will check out mentally just as a survival mechanism. When "flooding", a method of training horses and ponies to accept foreign objects or situations (ie. Bathing with water) is utilized the horse or pony may initially run away from the offending object but then all of a sudden stop running and stand frozen in its place. Eyes frozen wide open, nostrils flaring and respirations highly increased, whole body is tense - This is a blatant example of a horse checking out. Giving up its flight instinct to survive. The horse may then become "obedient" to the handler but the mind of the horse is not all there. It is like he's operating on remote. This is a dangerous place to be ... For both the horse and the handler. The trusting horse is going to be able to be encouraged to explore a foreign object or situation in its own time, being allowed to move its feet away if needed and when needed, but will exhibit curiosity and increasing relaxation with the final outcome being that the horse becomes 100% OK with whatever the situation is and is relaxed and "thinking" about it. A blinking horse is a thinking horse. Or, a thinking horse is a blinking horse.

Horses and ponies are naturally curious and the more time we spend in encouraging them to explore their environments and to be able to feel safe with us, their human partners, the stronger and more pleasureable the relationship between the horse and human will be. When we think and act in terms of TEACHING our ponies rather than training them then we will begin to set down a relationship that is based on TRUST and mutual RESPECT. This type of relationship can only flourish with time.