Be Consistent

Whether you want a champion level horse or simply a horse that small kids can feel safe riding, you have to work on training with consistency.

When you look at someone else riding a horse, you might at first see that horse following all the riders' cues, or better yet, thinking ahead of the rider to what they will ask next. This kind of connection only comes from hours of working together as a team. Once you are more advanced in years of experience with horses, you will be able to develop the connection much quicker with each horse, but you still must be consistent.

When you ask the horse to stop, get a complete stop, or you might find that your horse is really only slowing down and not stopping at all.

Recently, with Shine, I have been asking him to keep his head slightly inward. Really it's not about his exact head position, but his whole body shape. He'll be faster at turning around those barrels, turning tight around the last pole bending pole, or even just quicker at picking up his feet and turning to keep the cow away from the gate. If his body is already in the correct position, he will just move easier and quicker.

These might sound like western disciplines, but the same goes for dressage, jumping, etc. Be consistent with the basics and you'll see improvements in the more advanced moves and disciplines as well.

Now, think back to that rider and the horse who seemed to read their mind. That connection probably seems a little more attainable now. You also might start to notice that the rider and horse duo do have a few inconsistencies in their own training. If I see this in others, I make a mental note to help it make me that much better in my own training and riding.

How does being consistent work for you? Have you noticed anything?

Golden Charmer

Golden Charmer was another racehorse who lived with us for several years. He was a Thoroughbred of 5 years old when we first met him on an October 1st evening. 

First Day we met Golden Charmer

 

We enjoyed having a second horse to train and ride, but he was quite a bit different to train then others we have had over the years. Being a Thoroughbred, he had long legs and a narrow body, which felt much different, especially at the center, than our other horses.

Since he came off the racetrack later in life, he was more "set in his ways" making it harder to work on his conditioned response. 

A conditional response is an interesting concept. You can't tell a horse to not get scared, but you can condition his or her response, so they will do what you want even when they are scared.

One of the last days we owned "Charmer"

 

After training and riding Charmer for over 6 years, we sold him. Last we knew, he was enjoying his life as an easygoing trail horse.

SEYVILLADAWNPROOF

SeyvillaDawnProof was the first ranch horse we started and she became the first equine for SS Ranch 77.

Seyvilla came to use from the racetrack where he sweet personality caught the attention of our uncle who happened to be a farrier at the same track where she was racing. He had shod her a few times and when the owner decided to sell, our uncle gave us a call.

What followed would be 16 years of training, riding, and enjoyment as well as challenges. Being an Arabian she was definitely a handful. Over the years we developed a bond with her that increased our love for horses and our desire to train other young equines. Other horses he had for a few months at a time, during those years, helped us continue training her while bettering us as trainers and riders.

Seyvilla taught us so much and we are grateful for the time we had her. Thank you for the opportunity!

Be looking for our book "Our Arabian Cow Horse" coming soon!

September 13, 2020

Now with the newest addition to the barn, we have three horses at very different training levels. This works great for us because it helps us have more variety of training each day. We can go from beginning training on the "go forward" cue with Serita, to the flying lead changes with Shine. Then jump over and work with Soot on pulling the tire.

Each horse has a different learning style too, much like people do. Having these horses at the same time also helps us keep our minds open to different ways of training that might work better for different tasks we want them to learn.

Here is a recent update on each horse:

Shine: He is enjoying our time together, usually meeting me at the gate when I enter. He has good energy. Working on having him bend in the correct direction when I am mounted. Have worked on the barrel pattern and he is getting better. Have also done some pole bending practice.

Shine and Soot: (8/3) We did Soot and Shine together. I rode Shine bareback and Sheena led Soot. We walked all over the SPVR property then to the round pen in the corner. We did some with working them together in there, but then one of us waited in the middle while the other one worked. Shine did a good job and listened quite well, both when Soot was being worked and when he was just standing there. Soot was a little distracted when Shine was being worked, but then listened better when Shine was just standing in the center of the round pen.

Soot: Soot is getting more confident in pulling the tire. He pulls it with almost no effort now and seems to love it! Getting better control of turns and practically drags the whole round pen until it's flat!

Serita: She loves to be petted and loves attention, though she has learned to calmly wait her turn while we work Shine and Soot. She is learning to more consistently "go forward" and to hold her feet up in preparation for hoof trimming.

June 13, 2020

Shine

Shine is visually more balanced after doing some bending practice for a few days (see * below for details on the bending). It’s a good way to wake up the muscles, get the blood flowing, and the brain engaged. Shine has always liked groundwork, so I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised. I think, especially with Shine, that having a groundwork day once or twice per month is really going to help him stay nimble.

 * We do the bending in their stalls, so they don’t get going too fast. We use the western split reins looped through the cinch to remind the horse to keep his head toward the center. The inside rein is much shorter than the outside rein, causing the horse to get a pull on the inside if they don’t keep the bend in their body. We suggest starting out with only a slight pull and working up to him keeping his head more toward the center.

Soot

Soot is getting much better at leading. We usually don’t go too far before we work him, but from his stall to the close round pen has been working well. Been working on walk/trot transitions and trot/canter transitions. The trot/canter transitions still need more work. We have been using the nylon halter for Soot, but we recently switched back to the original rope halter. We do have more control with the rope halter, and we get a better response rate from him too. We have also figured out how to allow him to pull the tire evenly by using 2 calf ropes (one of each side). That way the tire follows along behind him rather than to the inside.

April 17, 2020

It is always good to switch up your horse’s training schedule throughout the year. If you do the same thing all the time, the horse and human will get bored and the results won’t come as quickly.

In the rainy season, we need to change our training schedule a little so can still enjoy the horses while keeping everyone safe. Our horses live outside, so they are more used to all the elements than we are. We don’t get snow here in Southern California, but we do get some rain and lots of sun! When it’s raining a lot like it has the last few weeks, we still check on our horses every day, but rather than riding or working them hard when it’s muddy, we shift to doing more groundwork and even give them a day or two off. These animals are much bigger and stronger than we are, so it is always better to take a day or two off rather than do something you’re not sure about and then to later wish you hadn’t.  

Sometimes it is also a great de-stresser to just go and brush or pet your equine friend. Worries from the rest of the day, just float away.

March 28, 2020

Back in July 2019, we purchased our first draft horse. He hadn’t been looking for another training project, wanting to focus on getting a “finished” horse for our lesson program. However, when we saw Soot he reminded us of another passion we have. Most lesson programs have a weight limit of about 200lbs for lessons students. We would love to extend that weight limit for our lesson program. With a draft horse or in our case, a draft x (cross) we have that possibility. Meet Soot, our draft x who at almost 3 years old is already 16.2 hands high and from our weight estimation, already weighs in at 1318lbs. With our lightweight saddle Soot will be able to easily carry a rider well over the 200lbs.