We are pleased to announce two new opportunities for horse lovers who have limited time and funds, but would love the opportunity to become involved in riding and various equestrian activities.  Baymount Farm has created and is offering a new Intro to Horsemanship class at Mitchell Community College this fall.   This class starts September 9, 2010 on Thursdays from 6:30 – 8:30 pm for six weeks.  The class will cover briefly many aspects of the equestrian industry, including various disciplines; hunt seat, dressage, equitation, western and gaited riding.  Also covered will be the different equestrian businesses, equine contracts and laws, grooming and demonstrations at local barns.  More information can be found at http://www.mitchellcc.edu/cec/forms/MCC_CE_Schedule_Fall10.pdf    on page 14 of the Continuing Education Booklet online. 

Also beginning in September will be special classes just for Mom’s.  These will cover learning to care for, tack and ride horses with trail riding for groups of 4.  Classes will be scheduled Monday, Wednesday and Fridays in the mornings.   This gives Mom’s an opportunity to treat themselves special while their children are in school and take a break from the humdrum of cleaning, shopping, planning and all the daily activities of managing a family.  Visit the LESSON page on www.baymountacres.com for pricing and more information.

All in all, I am expecting this to be an exciting fall for 2010.  Hope to see you soon.

For anyone reading my blog for the first time; Seranade is the thoroughbred I purchased last year to add to our collection of horses.  She was very underweight and a little scared.  She was slightly fearful of trailers and looked around a lot.    But she never bucked, bit or did anything dangerous, she is much too sweet for that.   After a time and with the help of a wonderful trainer here in Stateville, NC, Jennie Dipple  I have been able to work with her gently and regularly to bring out her best.

Seranade, formerly known as Our Sister Gina on the tracks, has gained all her weight back and become quite a robust sort of mare.  She is gentle as a lamb, and a beautiful mover.  I wish you could see her, so I will post soon a video of her.  I am quite impressed with her.  I have been learning dressage on her.  And needless to say, she knows more than I do at this time, but I am learning and having a wonderful ride.  We have taken her out on the trail in the woods around our farm and she loves it.  I think she would make a good hill topper or gallery horse, maybe even a fox hunter as she is quiet and listens.  However, that sport is not for me.  She is wonderful in the ring and loads of fun.  My daughter can jump her, but that isn’t my sport either as I am older and afraid of jumping now.  I don’t bounce back as quickly as I used to, so….

 Here she is grazing peacefully with her friends.  Sad to say, that this fall Sera will be up for sale as a dressage horse.  She will be good for a teenager or adult beginner and will do quite well in the shows.  I would love to keep her, but I have to stick to my plan of conditioning her and finding her a suitable home.  Whoever buys her will fall in love with her immediately.   I have 17 horses, some of which are minis, lesson horses and others for sale, such as TWH horses.  So as much as I love her I will have to let her go.  If I can:(

So, thanks to some clients of mine I have had the opportunity to hold a clinic with just such a thing in mind.  They requested that I come to their farm and teach them specifics in their area of riding for the entire family.  I did and it was great!  My daughter and I both held the two day clinic for my clients who were a family of four.  They provided their own horses and equipment.   I think that is the best way to learn.  I can easily use someone else’s horses and equipment when I am learning, but then I get back to my barn and horses, discover that my equipment is slightly different and my horses aren’t quite trained the same and that adds to the confusion of putting it all together.  With their own equipment, horses and on their trails we were able to progress with comfort and ease.  This added to the quickness in which the children were able to pick up important skills in riding and apply those skills without as much hesitation by being on their own territory. 

The first part of each morning consisted of learning to harness, hitch and drive a carriage horse.   This went very well, was lots of fun and the family members learned the basics of driving down their driveway and out onto the property.  They learned how to fit the harness for comfort and security, how to handle the reins properly and how to drive, turn, back and slow down their driving horse.   Most of this they were already doing properly, but just needed a little brush up on their skills and confirmation that they were doing it correctly. 

The second half of the day consisted of trail riding, a few lessons on jumping, two-point position, proper leg placement and usage in the saddle, the correct way to balance and the difference in hunt seat, western, and equitation.  Since we were using gaited horses, the hunt seat was a little challenge but the lessons were learned and the students were jumping by the time we left.   

Unfortunately, because of the weather, we were not able to do as much as I had planned.  We were facing wind gusts up to 25mph and temperatures in the low 30’s.  This made it quite cold, our fingers and toes were numb, our faces wind burned but our spirits were up and that hot chocolate sure was good!  Plus the cooks were magnificent, they provided the lunches and we dined like kings.

At any rate, I have a video of our clinic just for fun.   Baymount Farm Natural Horsemanship Clinic.   I hope you enjoy watching as much as we enjoyed filming and working.  I wish I had more to show you, but our battery went dead, must of been the extremely cold weather. 

Future clinics can be held for you, within a reasonable driving distance, no more than 2 hours away please.   Clinics run $110 per person daily, 8 hour days,  for 4 people, plus hotel.   More than 4 people the price can be adjusted.  Just email me for more information.

One: Since you already know your horse knows how to bend when it wants to, what are you, as the rider going to do to teach those ques while enjoying the ride without making it seem like a boring lesson?  (Personally, I like boring lessons, it gives me a chance to let go and think about nothing except what I am doing and not feel pushed to do a million things at once.)  On the trail, ask for your horse to move his nose slightly to the inside of the circle as you are going around a tree.  At the same time, use your outside rein to rate his speed and keep him from bending his nose too far to the inside.  Also, use your inside leg on the girth and your outside leg behind the girth.  Your inside leg gives him a point of reference to bend around and keeps him bent.  Your outside legs keeps him from moving his haunches to far to the outside.  It is that simple. That is all you really have to do.  However, don’t force and if he does not do it the first time, fine.  Keep giving him the same aids and cues every time you go around an obstacle and you will be surprised at how fast he picks this up.  Be aware that most mares will pick this up quicker than geldings.  Especially if the geldings have been cut early in life.  So take your time.

Secondly, set up a line of barrels or posts any obstacle that you can wind your horse in and out of in the ring or pasture.  You can also use a series of trees to wind through.  It is the same as making serpentines in the ring, but it gives your horse a visible obstacle to bend around.  Use the same cues but be sure to switch your leg and body position with each turn.  Take your time and do this at a slow walk so you can be sure to train yourself to pick up the cues also.  We can teach our horse the wrong thing by using the wrong cues, of course.  So be sure you have your aids and body language down pat.  Don’t expect your horse know what you want.  He is totally dependent on you to tell him what, when, how and how fast.

I recently taught a 5 year old green broke mare how to do this just by walking around barrels in the ring every day.  Now, every time I ride her all I have to do is ask and she bends perfectly.  I use these aids on every turn regardless of how short, small, or long is the circle.  Once your horse gets used to this and does it on cue it will be much easier to teach him/her to move off your legs.

Happy Trails

So here goes my way of teaching your horse to bend.  Some of this I learned from John Lyons, some of this from my trainer, and some by just watching my horses and using my head.   Let’s get to the ‘how’ of things first.  In all honesty, this isn’t something we have to ‘teach’ the horse at all.  They already know how to do this.  It is our job as trainers to teach them how to do this on que or when we ask for it.   Notice first that I said ask.  Teaching is all about asking for a specific response from your horse and rewarding it for the correct answer and NOT punishing for the incorrect answer.  (Think of it as trying to communicate with a person from another country and culture that we just met.  They don’t know our language and ways, nor we theirs.)     Stand back a minute and watch horses in a pasture.  They can bend at the poll every time they bite at a fly on their chest.  They can flex their neck each time they scratch their shoulder or back.  They can bend at the girth area each time they move quickly away from a kick, bite or maneuver around an obstacle.  Have you watched your horse raise it’s hind hoof to scratch its ear?  It’s back end (haunches) are stationary, it’s bent at the girth, it’s front legs are stationary, it’s outside shoulder it out, it’s neck is bent, etc., etc., etc.    My point it that they know how to do what we want, we just need to learn how to teach them this on que.  So follow their lead and start putting a word and que to what they do naturally. 

I like to work in a round pen so the horse has freedom to move around without me always pulling on the lead rope or reins to bring him around and I can ask the horse to move away without him getting so far away that I have to chase him down.   The prerequisite to all this is to make sure your horse can stand without moving before you start.   

First  I make sure that my horse does flex certain specific parts of his body on que.  I use treats as a reward.  And I only reward for a correct answer.  To ask him to bend at the poll, put a treat in your hand, let him smell it then put it behind his chin, when he tips his head and bends at the poll, let him have the treat.  Then do this with the bit in his mouth by holding the rein on one side first then the other.  When he bends at the poll, which is also giving to the bit, reward him by  releasing the rein immediately and patting or stroking him.  WHY?  He needs to be able to flex to bend and flex on que without pulling on him.  Nobody wants to ride a horse you have to force to move.

Secondly ask him to flex his nose towards his shoulder by taking a treat, let him smell it, hold it at his shoulder and let him take it from you there.  If at first the horse can’t flex this far then practice with the treat closer until he can reach around to his shoulder.  Some horses are stiffer than others and need practice at this.  Also, it may be harder for older horses.  This is completely different for them than biting at a fly.  It is a different motivation and takes practice to build a response to the correct motivation from us.  Do this with the bit, don’t pull the nose around, but ask by holding the rein and increasing the pressure a little at at time until the horse starts bringing his nose around then quickly release the rein.  Again, practice in little increments until the horse can reach all the way to the shoulder without forcing.  WHY?  Same as before, plus you are building on concepts, just like in a mathematical concept.   It’s the little steps that complete an equation correctly.

Thirdly I ask (whoops, there is that dreaded word again!) the horse to move away from me at the girth.  This isn’t as hard as it sounds.  He has to keep is feet stationary and move his waist.  He can do it, I promise.  Standing at his side, push on the girth area, if he pushes back, moves toward you or just stands there, push harder or start tapping.  When he moves away, even just a little, stop and pat him.  Remember, you don’t want him to move his feet, just his side.  Later you will be teaching him to do this at a walk and can apply the same technique to teaching side passing and half passing, etc.  But right now just work on moving away from pressure at the touch of your hand and small movements are great.  You are getting the response you need. 

Fourth ask your horse to stand still, front feet stationary, and push or tap behind the girth to get him to move his butt over just one step.  This will carry over to getting him to understand that leg at the girth means move away and leg behind the girth (on the opposite side) will be to keep his butt in place.  It may not make sense right now, but once you put it all together under saddle and practice one movement at a time, you can start putting it together two aids at a time until he is bending like you want. 

Fifth saddle up, mount up and put it all together.  Start with bending at the poll, the neck, the girth, then placing your leg behind the girth on the opposite side while you ask for the bend at the girth on the inside.  Take this last part  slowing as it may take your horse a minute to understand what you are actually asking for.  Be sure you understand what you are asking.  This may seem simple, but once you are in the saddle putting it in practice it can get confusing when your horse is starting to dance around trying to figure out how to transfer information you taught on the ground to performing under saddle.  Be patient, take your time and be specific in your ques.  Soon this will be easy and you will be doing this at a walk around a large circle.  Practice a lot.  Don’t forget that small movements at first is all you need.

Happy Riding!

Was I in for a huge lesson.  I was so green and so dumb that I told the farmer who owned the land that his mare pony had an infection and needed to call a vet because she had all this discharge under her tail!!  Imagine the laugh he had after I left!  Well I kept my horse for a few years, but sold him after I had my daughter.  I had owned him a few months when I found out I was pregnant for the third time and decided he was too much to care for with an infant and two  boys that needed me more.   I wish I had someone who took the time to tell me how much there was to caring for a horse when I bought him and had outlined it for me.  I wouldn’t have changed my mind, but I would have had something in which to refer.  And I probably would have picked out a better horse.  There were so many books out there I could have thumbed through hundreds before I found the right one to go by. 

Here’s what I wish I had known.

1.  How to judge the temperament of a horse.  I loved all horses and if I could catch them I thought they would be fine. I didn’t know to look for signs of sourness, distress, submissiveness or what-have-you.  I didn’t know that ears flat back meant, beware, or that flared nostrils could mean the horse is ready to bolt, a swishing tail could mean, anger, not just swatting flys.  There is a lot of body language I know now, that I had no idea even existed then. 

2.  I would have given anything to have known a horse has a one track mind and if you keep it busy doing something it knows well your chances are greater at having a safe ride.  Especially if you horse hates to leave its buddy or the barn. 

3.  Knowing what type of grain, hay and wormer to give and when would have helped.  My poor horse had to survive on what grass he could find.  There was plenty of it, but he would probably have been healthier if he had been limited to his intake of rich pasture grass and wormed more often. 

4.  Realizing (not just knowing) horses are herd animals and feel safer in groups would have helped me understand my horses reluctance to be separated from his pasture buddy.  Looking back I am thankful he had a pasture buddy.

5.  Knowing the signs of colic and how to take a pulse, respiration and what is a normal temp would have been helpful.  All these things should be kept on record for future reference.

6.  Signs of lameness and what the common causes are, like laminitis and abscesses. 

7.  My most recent challenge was to have a horse choke.  Never had that happen before and didn’t know what had happened at first.  It’s nice to know that they can choke and still breath, but do need to see a vet immediately when this happens. 

I could go on and on, but I would end up writing a book and there are already enough books on the market about horses.  My best advice is, that if you love horses, but aren’t that familiar with them, then don’t be afraid to ask for help.  There is no need to go out and hire a trainer, but you can learn a lot through riding lessons, videos and there is always RFD TV.  There is lots and lots of practical advice on that program. 

But if you have a question and need a fairly quick answer just email me.  I’ll do what Ican to answer your questions and give my best advice.  You can find me on Facebook under Baymount Farm or Twitter.

I have several trail horses of my own.  Some of them are field trial horses, some are pleasure horses.  Most of them are familiar with the gates being opened while I am on their backs, but a few aren’t familiar with side passing over logs, turning on the forehand with their feet in a square, etc.  So, I set up a trail course in my ring.  It has most of the obstacles they need to practice on.  It always amazes me how quickly the horses pick up these new “tricks”.  Horses are so smart and willing, especially if you are having fun and letting them adjust at their pace to anything new you want them to learn.

Here is a tip:  when introducing a new obstacle, calmly walk your horse up to it first, if they seem apprehensive about it, let them stand and face it, smell it, paw at it (as long as they don’t tear it up – pawing allows them to see that it isn’t something that will jump up and attack them), then walk them around it until they are comfortable with it.  Look for signs of submission like, sighing, licking and chewing, dropping their head, looks of boredom and just standing there.  Once they are comfortable ask them to perform the task at hand, one step at a time.  Please don’t force your horse or you will find that training will quickly become frustrating for YOU and the horse will likely balk and become defensive every time you ask it to do something.  Remember your goal is to get your horse relaxed and willing.  You are the leader and must set the attitude from the beginning.   If you are relaxed they are likely to relax much more quickly.  Take your time, there is no rule that says your horse has to learn a new trick in one minute, one hour, one day or even one week.  If you feel you are going backwards or not making any progress, then stop, re-evaluate what you are asking and break it up into little steps.

For instance,  if you are asking your horse to turn on the forehand and he has no idea what you want, try these steps.

1.  Teach him to stand still first.

2.  Teach him to move one foot over at a time by tapping him on the side just behind the girth.  Ask for one movement, let him rest, ask for another movement, let him rest, repeat, repeat, repeat and soon he will be moving over until you ask him to stop.

3.  Next apply this to the bit.  I use a full check snaffle bit with a bit keeper to keep the bit from moving around so much in his mouth.  Pick up the rein and just take the slack out, when he moves over, let the rein pressure off immediately and pet him for being right.  Do this until he is moving over everytime you ask.

4.  Apply the two aids together.  Stand at his side, pick up the rein and tap him behind the girth as he moves his hindquarters over.  If he moves forward, stop, ask him to stand still, then apply the aids again.  Soon he will be moving his hindquarters over and then;

5.  Mount up, pick up your reins and ask him to stand, apply the reins by picking up one rein and taking the slack out, apply the leg aid behind the girth (you may have to use an active leg at first) and he should move his haunches over.  The idea is for him not to move forward.  He may get slightly confused at first and this is ok.  He will be thinking he is supposed to move forward since that is what he is usually asked to do.  Just gently stop him and apply the aids again.  Soon enough he will pick it up.

I have never come upon a horse that did not pick this up quickly and sufficiently when I took my time and made sure the horse understood what I was asking.  Rewarding for getting the right answer and practicing until he is 100% always works.

You can apply the same theory to whatever you are teaching and have fun doing it.  Make learning simple, rewarding and relaxing for you an your horse.  You will be amazed at how quickly you will be teaching new things and enjoying your ride much more.

Riding lessons are a wonderful way to shed a few extra pounds.  You will have fun, learn better balance, feel great, build muscle all while you are loosing weight and you won’t even realize it.  I lost 15 pounds this summer riding horses.  I sat for years on my, well you know, and gained more pounds than I cared to.  I picked up running and ran a few half-marathons for a few years and lost weight just to have it come right back.  I bought an elliptical machine and still have yet to use it religiously in order to keep my weight down.  Then I picked up riding.  I loved it, loved the horses, loved being outside, loved the activity and lost pounds….and I am talking serious pounds.  Pounds off my stomach, thighs, hips, back.  All where it counts for a female!  Guys, you will lose weight too.  Feel better and treat yourself right.  There is nothing like learning a new skill to make you feel exhilarated and confident.

What style of riding do you pick up?  Depends on what your interests are.  Trail riding is relaxing and fun and can be ridden in any discipline; western or english.   The basic skills are the same.   Most people just starting out are more comfortable in a western saddle or endurance saddle.  But don’t stop there, learn hunt seat and increase your skills.  Equitation is another step up, as in dressage, saddle seat.  You decide what makes you the most comfortable and where you are having the most fun.  Exercise should be fun, otherwise, we just won’t keep up with it.

Need a lesson barn?  A great place to look is NewHorse.com where you can search by state and zip code to find your nearest stables.    Have fun, go out and shed those holiday pounds!

Recently I purchased a Haggis Saddle made in Canada by Jack Haggis.  Awesome saddles, but I wasn’t sure how it was supposed to fit my horses.  Each horse should have it’s own custom fitted saddle, but like me most of us have more than one horse and less than a few dollars,  so several horses have to share a saddle.  That’s one of the things I like about the Haggis Saddle.  With a little padding it can fit more than one horse comfortably.

Notice that the saddle is sitting  just behind the large muscle over the scapula.  This saddle could be moved back slightly to give a more comfortable and secure fit.  The bars at the withers are tapered out upwards to the withers to allow more freedom of movement of this large muscle.  Gaited horses have a longer stride and therefore, that particular muscle has a longer length of movement and needs more room to avoid pinching.  That is why the bars are tapered on gaited saddles, unlike english or western saddles.  The withers on gaited horses, particularly TWH are usually higher and narrower.   Some gaited horses like Kentucky Mountain horses have withers more like the quarter horse, but still need a gaited saddle.    The gullet at the withers is higher allowing for the height of the withers.

The back of the saddle should still fit at the 18th rib and not past it.  The bars  angles upward on these saddle to take pressure off the kidneys.  The bars do not sit on the horses back at this point.

The saddles come in standard tree with pretty much fits the TWH or mountain horse tree for the wider or flatter withers like quarter horses.

At any rate, the fitting is the same as for other saddles, you just need to understand that the bars on the Haggis Saddles will not make contact at the 18th rib.   The rigging come in english or western and is adjustable.  Wonderful!  This allows a proper fit and less chance for rub behind the elbow.  On these saddles you don’t have to worry about the width of the gullet on the spine or if it is sitting to close to the spine.   Gaited horse saddles come in the western style or endurance style also.   But that doesn’t mean that any english, endurance or western saddle will fit the gaited horse.  You must remember that the gaited horse needs a saddle with a gaited tree or flex tree.  Also, there are Tarpin Hill Saddles which are field trial saddles that are made similar to these.   Other than that, Tucker makes a good gaited horse saddle.   Hope this helps clear up any questions you have about fitting the gaited horse.  Happy riding!

Why use the round pen to teach these things?  Have you ever watched a herd of horses communicate with each other?  They use their ears, eyes, nostrils, facial expressions, tail switching, legs for kicking or threatening a kick, nose out for pushing, etc.  Obviously, we as humans can’t mimic some of these things, so what does this tell us?   Horses use lots and lots of body language to communicate and are very specific with some of their commands towards each other.  The ones we can mimic are our legs (arms for pointing), eyes ( for pushing), chest (moving towards a specific body part for pushing), voice and of course, the dreaded crop (as an extension of our arm only).  A word here about the crop.  Please, please don’t use it for punishment or in anger towards your horse.  Use it as an extension of your arm to reach specific body parts of your horse while your body is out of the way, or to tap specific body parts to teach a cue.  The only time I would ever crop a horse to hurt it is if I were being attacked and needed to protect myself.  Horses in a herd have the freedom to move away from each other to show submission and acceptance.  However, since we want our horses to stay with the lesson and not have to chase them around, the round pen allows your horse that freedom of movement to move away from us without going too far.   When they submit and accept, they will lick, chew, drop their head, move their ears forward to listen to us, start to look at us with both eyes and want to come into us and follow us around.  Some call this joining up.   That is what we are after when I talk about getting our horses to look at us for direction.    And we don’t have to kick them, bite them, beat them or chase them around until they are about to drop to get this attention.

The first thing I want to do to establish myself as the lead mare in my two “horse” herd in the round pen is to push the horse away.  Watch how horses push a new horse away from the herd when first introduced for days until they gradually let that horse into the herd.  I am doing a shortened version of that.  I push the horse away asking it to move whatever direction it wants to say, I am in control here.  Then I start telling the horse to change directions, inside turn or outside turn, it doesn’t matter, just as long as it turns when I say.  They choose the speed in which they go around the pen.  That is their freedom.  After telling the horse to turn then I get more specific about which way to turn.  Again, just stand in the middle of the ring quietly to let the horse know that it is doing it’s job and you are in control.  When asking it to move or turn, walk towards it’s rear or shoulder pointing the direction you want it to turn.  It will quickly pick up on your hand signals, because you are also pushing with your chest to move it away from you in a certain direction.  Horses don’t like to be pushed and are more than willing to do what you ask rather than be forced to perform.  Play with this, take your time and practice, practice, practice.  The more you repeat the lesson, the more firm it becomes in the horses mind and the better you get at training.

Watch for more on round penning in the future when I will go into more detail about specific requests such as; standing still (round tieing), walk, trot, canter on voice command, going over poles, etc.