ButeHead

So there are a couple people at the barn that I'm at that are into gaming and go every weekend. They're good too, no doubt about it, but last week one of the girls' horse went lame due to an abscess that had popped. She was super bummed about it and had been jamming bute down it's throat to get it sound for the show. Well they took the horse and ran it anyway on it's bum ouchie feet. *HEADDESK* You see one of the "Adult" gamers at the barn pounded it into the girl and her mom's head that if a horse is sound on bute, then they were never really lame in the first place so her horse is fine to run.

WTF?!?!?!?! Are you kidding me! I'm no vet, but that is one of the dumbest things I'd heard. So sure enough they had to bring the horse back on Sunday from the show because the horse was beyond lame.

HELLO!!! If you have a migraine and you take some aspirin does that mean you never actually had one??? Why are people so hell bent on showing and getting points and making it to the top by hook or crook at the expense of a living, breathing, PAIN feeling animal!?!?!?!?!?!

Let the horses heal people! A week or two out because of an abscess is better than months or a year out because you got impatient and made the problem worse. Try running your own feet when you have blister, or a painful callous. Yeah, not so fun is it???

A Lot of people look at me as a very unconventional trainer. I'm young, have tattoos and body piercings, but now I'm starting to think I may be one of the only normal, straight thinking, not going to dope my horses up to win a damn buckle, ribbon, medal etc. horse trainers out there! Hey, if that's weird, I'm down with that!!!

Pissed List...

Ahhh the horse world is such a crazy place. And an annoying one at times. Here is a small list of things that irritate the ever-loving crap out of me. And I want to hear yours TOO!!!

• Craigslist trainers. Just because you can ride a horse AND post an ad, does not mean you're a trainer. Especially at 15.
• Selling your horse for $10,000 and the picture you use is the horse with it's back turned, eating, with a winter coat and muddy hair, and you took the picture lopsided.
• Snobs. I really could care less how much you paid for your horse, saddle, trainer, clothes, truck, trailer. Go 'F' yourself. And YES, that includes Snobby trainers!
• "Rescues" who are actually just animal hoarders.
• Always having an entourage of equally obnoxious, loud, spoiled and snobby as yourself people surrounding the rest of us who want to have fun.
• Prejudice judges. If you LOVE only Arabs, then you shouldn't be judging a damn OPEN breed show.
• Beating up your horse in public of all things! I hate that! I have confronted more people about that crap. OOOOH especially when it's one of those younger riders whose 20K horse in responding perfectly. Spur, jab, rip, yank. UGH!
• Kids running around a barn, horse show, anywhere where a horse could kick it's little brains out and the parent is NOT even paying attention.
• Having so much bling on you and your horse I need to keep my sunglasses on at all times!

Oh and the list goes on LOL! Let me know what I may have forgotten. This is like super fun therapy :)

Memory

So, sometimes if I'm not that busy I work part time at a Cemetery/Funeral Home combo... Yeah I've been doing it for YEARS, it's a family thing... Anyway Monday, Memorial Day, is one of the most touching and cared about holidays in my (other) profession. I love seeing the families come by and visit their loved ones, the proud grandparents, inquiring children, flags on all veteran graves waving in the breeze...

Let us ALWAYS honor our Soldiers in every part of the service. Both living and deceased, but tomorrow, let's remember WHY we are so lucky to have had, or still have them in our lives.

UFC Style...

So I rode my new clients horse today and he did a pretty fair job for how green he is. I got him collected and bending and flexing very nicely, jogging slowly and acting very much like a nice young gelding. All I used on him was a copper D ring and my favorite tool, the running martingale :)

Once I was done riding him the owner was beyond impressed and asked me, "So what should I work on." To which I replied, "Keep your hands LOW." To which SHE replied, "Well the other trainer I take lessons from tells me raise my hands up to get him to lower his head." Sigh, to which I replied, "You're going to have a hell of a hard time with this. You can NOT have 2 trainers telling you what to do. Especially if I'm riding and teaching your horse how to go on MY cues and someone else is just giving you lessons. So you MUST decide what you feel is going to work out for you and your horse."

Ugh... I have no desire to fight it out with another trainer, everyone has their own way of doing things, but when a client is paying me good and in fact BETTER money than she is paying the other trainer, than she deserves to get what she pays for and that is good,sound quality training.

I'll keep you updated... This could get really interesting... OH By the Way... I'm in the blue trunks! LMFAO!!!! ;)

Too High...

So I have somehow managed to attract another student, not that mind at all, but it always happens when I'm so busy and I'm no good at saying no... This lady has an a Reg. 4 yr old Appy and she is currently taking lessons with someone else and now wants ME to train her horse. So I tell her I want to see her ride so I can see what I'm up against. Um.... If I were her I would ask for money back... it was spooky... Her other "trainer" told her to do lots of circling with her horse to get him soft, OK, makes sense, she ALSO said to bring her inside hand up. UH NO!!!!!!!! The poor woman can't figure why her horse won't drop it's head. Well.... PUT your damn hands down!!! Her other trainer also recommended she ride in twisted wire snaffle. The horse has only been broke for 3 months, come on now! I think she will get lucky with this, as I'll be able to correct everything while the damage is still minimal. HEE HEE

I see a lot of riders, western pleasure being the worst offenders, who think that bringing your hands up is a good way to get your horse to drop it's head. *HEADDESK* Your hands as high as the heavens is not only a very confusing cue, but it looks really rank. Pulling up on the head to get it lowered? If I were a horse I would be VERY puzzled.

Low, soft hands. Nice balanced circles, then while keeping your hands low you can always open your inside rein up a bit while holding the horse in it's bend with you inside leg holding the bend and your outside leg holding the circle. The horse should then relax and drop his head... Voila'! No magic, no harsh bits and HANDS DOWN logical training!!! LMFAO!!!!!!

Hmmm People Magazine???

So I just got the new People magazine and I'm shocked in a good way... There is an article in there about a boy with autism who is being rehabilitated by horseback (and Shamans apparently), but seriously, HORSES!!! Kudos to you People MAG!!!!! It was a great article. Very impressive. It starts on page 87, of you don't have the magazine the next time your at the store read the article it's a nice story.


Recently as in a week ago I sold one of my paint mares to a family who has a daughter that has cerebral palsy and that was who my mare was for. The girl is 25 and the doctors told her family that riding is the number 1 BEST way for her to build strength in her body!! My mare was so dang mellow, she stopped on a dime was light to aids and was about as bombproof as they come! Some of that was training, most of it was her killer personality! I have a really hard time selling horses as I get super attached to them. I worry about them and that they'll have a great home. In this case I KNOW my mare will be loved and what a great family!!!! They were a match made in heaven! I get updates and the 2 are doing AMAZING!! I guess I sometimes take for granted how well the horses respond to our vibes. Whether we are handicapped or not, they know... And I've never seen anything more beautiful than when the girl wrapped her arms around the neck of my mare and my mare wrapped her head around her...

Sooper Seekretive!!!

So I went to a clinic this weekend with S&D and it was all about starting and restarting problem horses or young horses SAFELY! The guy giving the clinic had been training horses for well over 35 years, he was AMAZING!!! Now, while we didn't learn a whole lot of new things, it sure did help confirm that what I was doing was pretty damn right on! And I like it! He was firm yet kind at the same time, he was like a male more experienced version of me :) There were a few things that he said that totally made sense too! For example he said he was friends with someone who was an assistant of a famous clinician and they were all at the clinic and he was back "stage" so to speak, and his friend said he had to go prep the clinicians horse. He asked what that meant and the answer he got was "I have a couple hours before he (clinician) needs this horse so I need to spend that time round penning the horse, I need that horse dog tired before the clinician works with him." Hmmmmmmmmmm Funny how that works isn't it??? The guy we saw hit the nail on the head when he said " TIRED is your friend! Get rid of the nervous energy so the horse focuses on you! SOME Clinicians like to make people think that they are MAGIC so you'll buy their tapes and gimmicks." I found that to make way too much sense!

Here are some TOP SECRET Tips I think people should know from me (a Trainer) personally.

• We (trainers) are not magic. We DO like tired horses, they are our friend!


• We HATE getting bucked off, reared off, bit and kicked. We are not made of stone. We bleed and bruise and break just like everyone else. We WILL do whatever it takes to keep ourselves safe.


• We decent trainers are constantly fixing the mistakes of "wanna be" trainers. For every 1 good trainer there are 100 other "trainers" clogging up craigslist, saying that they can fix your horse in 10 minutes for $15. You get what you pay for folks!


• TIME makes good horses! We do NOT rush our green horses. If they are not ready for the next step, then we wait and fully prepare them for it.


• Our training process consists of an infinite amount of training steps to get our horses to our goal properly. Not just 5 steps and your horse is broke.


• EVERY horse is different what we do with horse A may not work for horse B.


• There are 4 acts of war that warrant severe discipline: Bucking, rearing, kicking and biting will get your horse in BIG trouble with us! Aside from any medical, tack fitting, etc. issues it is NEVER OK for your horse to do these things.


• WE still take lessons from people who are better than us, so that we can keep learning.


• If you pay a trainer to train your horse, you are also paying for their opinion, for you to ask questions and more!


• Our mantra, from John Lyons, to me, to the clinician I saw this weekend believe firmly that Your horse should be RELAXED! That is the key word, RELAXED. Relaxed before you move on to a new step in training, relaxed while working, riding, doing ground work. A relaxed horse is a responsive horse. A horse that will be happy to learn and accept new things.


• We LOVE round pens! There small, safe and great for communicated with your horse.

Don't be fooled by gimmicks and fancy products that claim they will fix your horse. TRUST your gut, heart and head. Find a trainer you trust and trust your horse! If you send your horse to a trainer make sure you check up on them and they are healthy, don't look distressed and being trained properly.

We work very hard for our clients and their horses to keep everyone safe, happy and satisfied. When you have a good trainer for you and your horse they are worth their weight in GOLD! :)