Balanced Rider Free Workshop - Video 2
Step by Step Training for
Friendship and Trust
Watch the workshop
VIDEO 1
Your Best Riding Position
VIDEO 2
Step by Step Training for Friendship and Trust
VIDEO 3
Build Riding Confidence at Any Level
Watch the workshop
VIDEO 1
Your Best Riding Position
Video 2
Step by Step Training for Friendship and Trust
COMING
APRIL 28
Build Riding Confidence
at Any Level
COMING
May 2
Spring
Enrollment
Opens May 2
Watch the workshop
VIDEO 1
Your Best Riding Position
Video 2
Step by Step Training for Friendship and Trust
Video 3
Build Riding Confidence at Any Level
COMING
May 2
Spring Enrollment Opens May 2
Watch the workshop
VIDEO 1
Your Best Riding Position
Video 2
Step by Step Training for Friendship and Trust
Video 3
Build Riding Confidence at Any Level
211 Responses
Haha, I would ask him if he needs his rug today. I'm always concerned about whether to rug or not. Secondly, I would ask him if I am hurting or annoying his mouth.
I love the first question! There was actually a study done where they taught the horses to push a button indicating if they wanted to be rugged or unrugged! Here's a link to read about it: https://equitationscience.com/media/to-rug-or-not-to-rug
Hello Callie. Thanks for providing the link about rugging (blanketing) your horse. I found this very interesting.
I would ask him how I can help him enjoy being ridden, especially by me. I believe we have a good relationship on the ground, but he seems fairly miserable when I’m mounted.
It may be my seat (I really enjoyed Myth 1) or my reticence to be brave and trusting in the saddle, due to a bad experience with another horse (I’m looking forward to Myth 3).
He’s such a willing partner on the ground I want it to be the same for both of us when I’m mounted.
This is a wonderful question Terri!
I only ride a lesson horse, but still would like to know if her recognizes me and if he enjoys our time together,
From running a lesson program with up to 15 school horses, I absolutely believe the lesson horses recognize different students that they connect with!
What are your tips about connecting with a lesson horse? (My related question is posted separately below)
I actually have a whole video on this! You can watch it here: https://www.horseclass.com/blog/how-to-connect-with-a-lesson-horse/
I would ask her how can I get you to not be afraid of cars and strange things she see in the fields and to go back on the road rides after begin put in a ditch?
Hi Valerie, I have helped several horses with a fear of traffic by slowly introducing the traffic closer and closer while also using positive reinforcement. There is definitely hope for you two to work through these fears of hers!
I would ask, “what are you trying to tell me when I ride?”
Great question!
I will ask him if he is happy with me.
What a simple and powerful question Maura!
hi
i really like the bridle she is wearing. what is the brand please?
Hi Willow, I honestly don't know the brand! We have so much different tack at the farm, there is no one brand I use!
and if i coudl ask her a Q it would be ‘do you prefer it when i ride you in the bareback saddle pad or in the regular saddle'?
Interesting question! I would love to be able to ask my horse which saddle they prefer when trying different ones – would make saddle fitting a lot easier!
I would ask my lesson horse what he likes as a non-food reward. I would like to be able to connect with him the way I can connect with most dogs. I’m new to horses while I have worked with rescued dogs for years.
Great question! Perhaps he has a favorite spot to be scratched?
I would ask my mare if she’s ever going to let me ride her again! We had an accident a little over a year ago.
what a big question! Sounds like you have quite a journey with your mare!
What a great question?
Overall, I feel my horse and I communicate well with each other.
I guess one question would be, “When you don't understand what I'm asking, or when you lack the confidence to do what I'm asking, how can I better break it down for you?”
Overall, I would say we have come a long ways on this and generally do pretty good. But… sometimes it can be a struggle.
Another question would be, “In what ways can I better include you in decision making without causing relational issues?”
I do feel we have come a long ways on this as well. Just simple things, really. While tacking up, we ground-tie with me trusting him to stand without wandering off. When we come thru a pasture gap-gate and he knows to turn and stand while I dismount to close the gate, I let him know he made the right choice without waiting on my cue. Riding home, I often just let him choose the path home with zero direction from me… he knows the way home so why not let him choose the route?
But I would love to find more ways to help him feel included and appreciated.
One I am working on is cow work. In general, we work well together and he has a really good handle for fast moves to turn a cow. However, I know he could do a lot more if I was better at getting out of his way and trusting him to read the cow and move himself. But my fear of losing control tends to kick in…
These are wonderful questions Joe! It sounds like you really care about the relationship with your horses and how they feel as you are working together.
What can I do for you to help you when you are so intent on focusing in the distance with fright at a moving object?
Good question! I often just wait in these moments, allow them to focus and study it, even when my impatience wants to say “let's go already!”
I would ask him if he’s happy being with us💓
Probably just that you think to ask this goes a long way to what the answer may be 🙂
I would ask her if anything I do (aids), or any of her tack(bit, saddle), ever hurts her, scares her or makes her movements difficult for her.
Yes! It would be so much easier if we could just ask this!
Oh how I wish I could ask my mare what I can do to make her enjoy more being, and working with me!
What a wonderful question!
Sometimes she seems so bored! That Makes me sad…
One question I would ask him Is how can I help him overcome his fear of the farrier without sedation. Yet lets me care for his hooves no problem.
Or why he panics if put in a stall or cross ties or confined spaces but is fine in a trailer. Yet he ground ties to tack up.
Great questions Diane! I may have some resources to help with the fear of farrier and hoof care – what are the problems your horse has there? Have you tried a slow step ty step approach with positive reinforcement?
I purchased him back in June this year. It was my first experience with a Farrier for him. I was not there at the beginning. They had put him in cross-ties which he is all over the place and panics. So then they had someone hold him to remove the shoes and trim. The right toe was excessively long and he cut it way back. After that he had a hard time putting pressure on that hoof. And from there it all escalated. He reared to the point of needing to be sedated just to get a shoe on the sore hoof. Needless to say he now has only one shoe on as the sedation was short lasting.
I had a different farrier come out and we tried the slow approach but it didn't take long for him to panic head high when farrier tried to look at hoofs. I tried keeping him busy and mind off with treats if he lifted his foot for him etc. But that didn't last once he grabbed the trimmer.
Thank you for more details on this! The good news is that you can work through this bad experience, the not so good news is it is going to be a process that cannot just be done when the farrier is there to put the shoes on.
I would use a positive reinforcement approach and go back to reinforcing for him just picking up his hoof, then picking it up and holding it for a few seconds, then picking it up and moving around, then putting it between your legs like the farrier, then using the farrier tools (you can even use a wrench or something that looks like a farrier tool to pry around on the foot for the experience). The key is to positively reinforce each step, creating a lot of great experiences, and only moving to the next step when your horse is comfortable with the prior one.
Trust me, there is definitely hope! These kind of cases with farrier and vet trouble are one of my specialties 🙂 When I lived in Pa, I was connected to several vets there who would call me out for help when horses need regular treatments or when they couldn't do a certain procedure and did not want to sedate. I actually love working on these kinds of behaviors!
Wonderful. Thank you! I will definitely try that.
I would ask her what can I do to better communicate with her.
She is an experienced gated horse 10yr and I am a beginning rider. Also does she prefer western style neck reining or 2 hand English reining.
That second question is super interesting! I would love to know a horse's response to this as well!
I would like to here from Peter Pan, why are you challenge me, what happend to you before i bought you?
I would ask … What hurts?
Yes! There are so many times I would have loved an answer to this question!
I would also like to ask my mare what scares her in the process of hot showing the most and what I can do to help. The noise of the furnace? The heat? The smoke and heat of the new iron? I broke it down, recorded the furnace and play it to her, first in a place where she is most comfortable and then in the location where the farrier works with her. The pure noise used to scare her a lot and she started snorting and got all tense, now she starts to get used to that. Now I am imitating the smoke around the feet which she tolerates in isolation of the other factors 😉
This is a brilliant process of breaking down the experiences of the farrier furnace, thank you for sharing!
I would like to ask my mare, Pistache, where her fav spot to be scratched is. I have tried loads and haven't found any signs of ecstasy for scratching yet! She seems to love me stroking her gently just behind her eye and goes all dozy. Another more important question would be to ask her why she doesn't stop and STAND STILL and STAY stopped when I ask her. All the other horses remain still, but Pistache has ‘ants in her pants' and is always eager to move on and get going.