EquineTeleseminar

Training at Liberty

Wendy Murdock

Cabin Fever Busters for Equestrians

Three Great things We Can Do To Improve Our Riding Even When We Can't Ride

We can watch a video to exercise our mind. We do learn by example. In my childhood, before I got horses, my sister had a subscription to HorsePlay™ magazine. Guess what kind of contact I tried to have with my horse’s mouth when I started riding? That’s right - I tried to ride just like  all those show jumpers. Watching people ride the way we want to ride is good education and starts moving us into riding that way as well.

We can use our exercise balls as an office chair, as well as a workout accessory. I have a picture of me on my “office chair” on here for you to point and laugh at. My boys love it when I use “Mommy’s Ball” as a chair, as they like to sneak bounces on it, even while I’m on it. Yes, that makes work interesting! I got mine here, and it’s a great value.

 

 We can do selfwork. Mental and emotional issues interfere with our everyday functioning, and if you’ve been around horses at all – of course you have – you know they are mirrors of our mental frame. I use EFT, along with coaching to harness my mental monsters. I’m currently in a coaching program with C.J. Gilbert, and it’s worth every penny (http://CatchTheMagicCoaching.com). I put it off for a while because “I’m not riding right now, and I don’t want to waste it”. I eventually decided it was silly, as there are tons of things to work on even if I’m not in the saddle.

Another Dressage video

And then I watched this dressage video, and just sat there crying, tears running down my face, it was so moving.  I think you'll agree.

My Burning Question

Margie says, “My horse flattens his ears at feeding time.”

My sister and I have three horses between us, and this seems to be typical behaviour.  Shadow glares at Friday, and grabs at the electric fence with his mouth (the fence is not on).  Sparky glares at Friday.  Friday does the funky thing with his head where he tips it away and sideways.  I ask Shadow, who gets his grain first, to walk away from his dish in a circle, so that I can shake his three shakes of grain in, “unassisted”.  Friday gets his cursory handful, and Sparky gets the balance of the two scoops.

Then somebody stands guard, so Sparky actually gets his most-of-two scoops grain.

My Burning Question:

Dorothy says, “I am at a stand still in riding because my mare is bred, but we still work on Ground training.  How does one send a horse away in a straight line to send over an obstacle, like a telephone pole without me walking by her side?

My Burning Question

Chris from Down Under asks, “What is a good training regime for a young horse, i.e. how many days in a row to work them, how many days to then rest them?”

Well, Chris, that depends on who you talk to.  There are many people who work their young horses very hard.  They train their 2-year olds, and even campaign them under saddle.

Pulling Mare

Dawn asked, "We have a mare that is a puller--she breaks bungee ties and breaks snaps on nylon ties and cotton leads. Any suggestions on breaking her of this habit?"

I asked C.J. Gilbert to address this question, and here is her answer:

"I will address this question using law of attraction. As a reminder, whatever we send out vibrationally we get back in our reality. So to change the behavior we need to make a 180 degree turn in our vibration or focus. Words + thoughts + emotions = results.

Why don't riders and owners take the time to understand saddle fit?

Galadriel asked, “Why don't riders and owners take the time to understand saddle fit?”

A number of years ago, I was privileged to attend a saddle fit clinic with Sharon Saare and Ray Miller.  Mr. Miller had a computerized pad which went between the saddle and horse, then the rider mounted, and then one could see where there were pressure points and so forth.  They showed slides, and had a very informative talk.

What advice can you give for a 50-year-old woman who is just learning to ride?

Debbie asked, “What advice can you give for a 50-year-old woman who is just learning to ride? I already have the older QH gelding who can/will take care of me and we have a good bond.”