I would work on getting the canter on the lead line. The more your horse canters the more balance she will get and the better she will canter when we are on her back. Another thing to add to some of your work is teaching your horse vertical flexion. That is when you pick up on two reins softly and hold pressure until your horse softens and drops his nose vertical to the ground. What you need in order to get a good rocking horse canter is collection. Vertical Flexion is not collection but vertical flexion will produce collection over time and softness. Teach your horse how to drop on the vertical and get soft, this will soften his neck, back, and brain.

Also our horses need to learn how to canter in small and big circles. I know it is very easy for gaited horses to canter on a straight line but they need to canter in small and big circles to learn how to balance themselves properly. That is probably why your horse is cross-firing when in the canter, she is not balanced right. Whenever she starts cross-firing slow her down to a gait and get her in vertical and soft again and then start cantering again. She needs to regain her balance and she needs to come out of that canter to do so.

One thing that is going to really help you is a ground pole. When you are in a circle either on the ground or riding, have a ground pole and come around about two strides before that ground pole and ask your horse for a canter. Your horse will more likely pace as you were saying but a horse can not pace while going over a ground pole. So ask for the canter 2 strides away, your horse will come up to the ground pole and will have to change his gait to something else to get over it and if you have speed, you will most likely get a canter. If you have no speed you will most likely get a gait so make sure you ask for that canter and have your horse thinking canter. Now that does not mean that you need to put the gas on fast, just put a little more gas on so your horse knows what you want.

Truly, try it! It will work if you and your horses timing is right!

Thanks and let me know if you have any more questions on what I have said here.

I recently bought a beautiful black and white paint horse who is about 12 years and is good as gold when ridden in his comfort zone – the outdoor arena where he can see other horses. He walks out fast but I have been riding all my life so I am quite comfortable with a fast mover. However, I am a trail rider through and through and want to take to the trail anytime and any place. He gets very nervous when he is out of sight of the barn and the other horses – yes, he is barn sour to the extreme – and recently got so insane with me on the trail that I had to jump off. He was whirling and backing – nearly into a barbed wire fence – and just was so beside himself with fear that I couldn’t get him to listen to me at all. I have been doing some natural horsemanship training and have learned how to bend him until he relaxes, the problem is that when he gets like that on the trail, no amount of bending or giving me his head works – he is like a little boy throwing a tantrum that won’t listen to anyone at that time.
I have always been a confident rider but this is starting to freak me out because I don’t know when he is going to do it and therefore am reluctantly giving up a large part of my trail riding opportunities to avoid putting him in the situation where he is going to be most frightened.
Will he ever get over this or is it just his nature?
Thanks,

Janie C. from Boulder, Colorado

A.

Hello Janie,

Thank you so much for your question! This is a very common problem with a lot of horses and their owners.

One thing I want you to think about is that you said “he is fine when ridden in his comfort zone”. He is not “barn sour” he is just scared!!!! He feels as though he needs to be safe, that is what all horses want is to be safe! So where does he feel safe? Where he can see other horses.

So here is the other thing to think about. Is he seeing you as another horse, as a partner, a leader that is going to keep him safe? He is obviously not or he would not be doing these types of behaviors. Now I know he is new to you so I am not saying that you are doing anything bad, you just need to build a relationship with your new horse that is built on Trust, Respect and Love, and in that order.

It is great that you are learning more about Natural Horsemanship. And it is great that you are teaching him that when you do Lateral Flexion he should relax! That is really going to help you. And here is how! Thresholds!!!

It is all about Thresholds or their comfort zone. Here is an article about Thresholds that I want you to read.

Thresholds in Horses

So how can you apply Thresholds? Well while you are on the trail, or maybe while you are even walking from the arena to your trail, your horse will be going through a number of his thresholds. So you need to see the little signs that he is getting upset and not wait until he is at that place that you finally have to jump off to stay safe. When you reach a point like that all he can think about is survival, that is why nothing you do can get his attention. Horse don’t think that they are going to get hurt, they think they are going to DIE! When he gets to that point he thinks he is going to die. So you have to see the little points that happen before he gets to the die part. Every time you feel him get tense, or lift his head, or get faster in his walk, DON’T JUST KEEP GOING! Or you will get to the I am going to die part. If you stop him, let him get confident, do your lateral flexion, let him eat some grass, or anything else that he likes, like scratching, get him confident in that area before you keep going then you won’t get to the ‘I am going to die’ part.

So for the first trail ride you may only go 10 feet down the trail with 20 thresholds. But if you get him truly confident at each threshold then the next day you will go 40 feet with only 15 thresholds and so on and so on. Once your horse understands that you are not going to push him and you will let him set his pace and be confident he will start getting better and better and then eventually he will never have any more Thresholds because he knows that you will take care of him and keep him safe.

Consistency is key, never miss a threshold!

Also the more ground work you do the better. Ground work, if done correctly, will teach the horse that they can trust us and that we are their leader and partner that will keep them safe. Also a good thing to do is take him for walks on a trail where he is following you, as his partner and leader, and also thinking about his thresholds on the walk too.

YES he will get over this! I had a Arab that was a run away freak out horse. He hated trail rides! But over time and with a good understanding and relationship I could trail ride him anywhere I wanted bareback and bridleless! So yes he will get over this with a good relationship with you!

Thanks for the question and I hope this helps,

Chelsie Kallestad

www.chelsienaturalhorsemanship.com

Hello Chelsie,

first of all thank you so much for the help with my pushy filly. i will do these things you mentioned. my question now is about my choosing between two local trainers . i would love to come down south for your help in person for my filly, but stuck up north. anyhow, my trimmer sometimes has to spend a few minutes with her. he is firm, and very quiet, and she has never kicked. now, a trainer spent some time with her and it was a whole different scenario- swatting with the lead, swatting with the crop, her getting mad and kicking, rearing, biting, doing a lippiznner move wow! which person do you think is the better choice to work with my filly ? this question may be too vague. my gut says stick with my trimmer. he says he will train her to go with the rope halter and no bit if that’s what i want. he’s very nice. now the trainer suggests i teach her to go with a bit in case i ever change my mind and want to use it. well, i am not interested in bits-period. it seems like he’s trying to push it on me. he’s nice too, just wondering what you think?

Christine P from Red Bluff, California

A.

Well that is a hard question without knowing more about the trainers. But I will answer as to the info that you gave me on them. I would go with the Trimmer. He sounds as though he is firm but friendly. The trainer sounds as though he is pushing the horse into a fight, we want to work with the horse not against the horse. Also it sounds as though the trimmer is more willing to work with what you want then the trainer is trying to push you into a mold. A lot of good horsemanship is going with your commonsense and gut feeling. If you feel as though the trimmer is better for you and your horse then go with that.

Hope this helps.

Thanks,

Chelsie Kallestad

www.chelsienaturalhorsemanship.com

I am doing really well with Sadie’s circling since you sent me the great free DVD explaining and showing with your own mini what I needed to do with her, but I do have some questions.

1. I have her going in a circle very comfortably, but it’s almost like SHE decides when it is enough, and all of a sudden, she will do a quick pivot and then will be standing facing me stopped, as if to say, isn’t this okay and enough? I have tried to see what I am doing wrong. I check my position, etc. and am kind of clueless. She is not pulling on the line or anything prior to doing this and I can’t see that she is slowing down either. I try and be as aware as possible and be proactive but sometimes if I do an extra click and raise my whip to be proactive, it seems to kind of make her lunge forward more and then she starts that sideswiping thing again where she ends up facing me again as well.

2. Okay, so now she is standing out there facing me, and I call to her to come to me so we can start over. But it seems like she knows she was not supposed to stop, because she won’t come to me, so I have to go up to her and bring her back to where I want to start again. Other times, like when she has done well trotting and I say okay, good girl, and she stops, and then I call to her, she comes trotting.

3. When I call to her to come to me after a good round and she comes trotting over, I pet her and give her a cookie. At this point, she is in front of me facing me. But then for whatever reason, she always then again pivots herself so the she is right next to me facing the same direction as me and glued right next to me. It is just a curious thing and I am wondering why she is doing that.

4. When I try the disengagement, sometimes we are successful, but other times instead of crossing her hind legs over, she ends up just backing up. How do I keep her in a circle to cross her legs over instead of just backing up?

I practice with her each day, and I know that patience pays off. I love spending this time with her and trying to do better each day. If you have any ideas to help me in furthering her progress, I would appreciate any ideas.

Thanks so much!

June

A:

Hello June,

I am so glad you enjoyed my DVD and that it is helping you and your Miniature horse.

Thank you for the question and I hope these answers help you out more.

One thing I would like you to do is watch the DVD over and over again. When we watch things the first time we only pick up about 30% of what we see and hear, then when we watch it over and over again we can pick up on a lot more things that we did not see and hear or think about at the time. So I think this will help with some of your questions. But I will go through them and answer them also.

1. You might be getting ahead of her drive line a little bit and that might be stopping her. You might also be lifting your stick a little and that might be making her bottom swing away from you. Think about those things and try to stay back with your stick down. If she still does this, then immediately send her right back out on the circle as shown in the DVD. If she turns and faces you when you lift your stick and ask for a trot just keep it up and send her out and get your trot and then put your stick down.
2. As said above and shown in the DVD, you do not need to bring her back in toward you to send her out when she is looking at you. Send her from where she is immediately. The longer she stands there the more she will think that turning and facing you was the right answer and then you will be training her to do the wrong thing. But if at any point when you are asking her to come in toward you and she just stands there, do not go and get her, make her come to you. Just start a slow and steady pull on the lead line, keep the same tension on it, do not pull and give pull and give, steady pull! If she does not come forward then, just keep pulling and pull a little harder and hold it, if still nothing, then pull harder and hold. Do this until she takes a step and comes in, then release the pressure and rub her.
3. She is crowding you for protection. She is not asking for protection from you. She is guarding you from getting onto her other side where she does not want you to be. Just spend more time over on the side she does not bring over to you. And when she does come up to you side ways make her get straight and face you and then go over to the side that she did not bring you and love on that side. After time this will go away.
4. This again is a protective thing, because she does not fully trust you yet. If she starts backing up just tap her hindquarters softly and pull a little on the lead line forward and she will stop backing up and start crossing. Don’t let her change what you are trying to do, keep doing what you are asking until she does it right. Then reward her for it. Then she will start understanding and trying harder to please.

I Hope this will help you June, and let me know if you have any more questions.

You can also call me if you need something.

Thanks,

Chelsie Kallestad

www.chelsienaturalhorsemanship.com

928-713-3468

Chelsie proudly uses and recommends “ActiVex” and “ActiSYN” products by “Brock Animal Health” as well as “E-Z Fit Saddles.” More info about these fine products is available on Chelsie’s website. Please visit Chelsie’s website at www.ChelsieNaturalHorsemanship.com to submit your own horsemanship question to “Ask Chelsie Natural Horsemanship”, to request your FREE DVD, or to subscribe to our newsletter. You can also reach Chelsie at 928-713-3468 or email her at Chelsie@ChelsieNaturalHorsemanship.com. Also please see our ad in this issue of Bridle and Bit.

I would like advice on canter exercises to improve the collection and get that rocking horse canter. also what to do when they get strung out at the canter or swap hind lead

My five year old mare is well set in her flat walk and running walk. I started working her on cantering and need some tips. She will often just gait faster and even hit a pace instead of coming up into a canter. I try and cue her from a walk into the canter because I’ve been told that running them up into the canter won’t work. If she starts pacing, I bring her back down and ask again. I’ve had more luck using the length of the arena and having her actually gallop and then slowing her to a canter. Trying it at a circle doesn’t seem to work that well as she tends to just go into a pace when asked to move out faster than her gait. I have tried a weighted bell boot on the off foot when lunging her. I’ve seen a bit more canter while doing this. I know inclines help but it is pretty flat where I ride. Any other training ideas to help her figure out her foot falls?

A:

Hello and thanks for the question,

Canter work is something that I feel that some gaited trainers don’t do enough of. It used to be that they said that you should never canter a gaited horse. That has since been coming around which is good. Cantering is something that all horses should and can do and it only improves their balance and gaiting.

I would work on getting the canter on the lead line. The more your horse canters the more balance she will get and the better she will canter when we are on her back. Another thing to add to some of your work is teaching your horse vertical flexion. That is when you pick up on two reins softly and hold pressure until your horse softens and drops his nose vertical to the ground. What you need in order to get a good rocking horse canter is collection. Vertical Flexion is not collection but vertical flexion will produce collection over time and softness. Teach your horse how to drop on the vertical and get soft, this will soften his neck, back, and brain.

Also our horses need to learn how to canter in small and big circles. I know it is very easy for gaited horses to canter on a straight line but they need to canter in small and big circles to learn how to balance themselves properly. That is probably why your horse is cross-firing when in the canter, she is not balanced right. Whenever she starts cross-firing slow her down to a gait and get her in vertical and soft again and then start cantering again. She needs to regain her balance and she needs to come out of that canter to do so.

One thing that is going to really help you is a ground pole. When you are in a circle either on the ground or riding, have a ground pole and come around about two strides before that ground pole and ask your horse for a canter. Your horse will more likely pace as you were saying but a horse can not pace while going over a ground pole. So ask for the canter 2 strides away, your horse will come up to the ground pole and will have to change his gait to something else to get over it and if you have speed, you will most likely get a canter. If you have no speed you will most likely get a gait so make sure you ask for that canter and have your horse thinking canter. Now that does not mean that you need to put the gas on fast, just put a little more gas on so your horse knows what you want.

Truly, try it! It will work if you and your horses timing is right!

Thanks and let me know if you have any more questions on what I have said here.

Chelsie

www.chelsienaturalhorsemanship.com

928-713-3468

Chelsie proudly uses and recommends “ActiVex” and “ActiSYN” products by “Brock Animal Health” as well as “E-Z Fit Saddles.” More info about these fine products is available on Chelsie’s website.

Howdy,
I had a few horse training questions. I recently adopted a four/five year old walker mare. She is a real beauty and knows all her gaits, however she has a very short attention span. I have been doing a lot of round pen work with her. She keeps her focus on you for a few seconds and then looks over the rail when going around the pen. She will ‘join up’ decently but as soon as you pat her she’ll turn her head away from you. She also thinks she’s an arabian. Her name is Lark, and shes a good horse but she does brace her legs whenever she hears a loud noise or something ‘scary’. I have been doing many trust games with her but she still seems to have horse ADD. Can you suggest anything for me to try with her?

thanks
Rach Y from Wilmore, Kentucky

A.

Hello Rachael,

Thanks for the question. Sorry for the slow reply, been really busy and have not had a chance to get to many questions.

I would put her on a long line in the round pen. Just round pen her like normal but every time she looks to the out side give a soft tug on the lead line to get her head back straight, then let the lead go soft again, if you do this with consistence and repetition she will stop putting her head to the out side. Also make sure that you are not to close to her or to far in front of her shoulder. This can make a horse turn their head out. You want to be walking a small circle in the center of the pen with your hip in line with her hip and your toes going the same way her toes are going. When she does come to you pet her, then if she leaves hold her there with the lead line and give her more long soft rubs or itch her favorite spot, she will learn fast to stay with you doing it this way. Some people say that when they leave you send them off and make them work. And this does work with some horses. But not usually with a more hot horse. If you try to do that with a hot horse they just get more and more wound up. Help them a little with a lead line and they will end up being calmer and more willing.

It sounds as though she needs lots of desensitizing also. Remember to have them follow the thing first and then let them smell it do not force it on them, make it their idea to come up to it by taking it away from them.

Hope this helps,

Chelsie Kallestad

www.chelsienaturalhorsemanship.com

928-713-3468

Hi there. I gave away a 5 yr old gelding to a friend who brought him to a trainer for his initial training. the horse trainer was riding within a few days?? but has created problems in my opinion. the horse has threatened to kick when approached and pins his ears. he is fine to handle otherwise as far as haltering leading saddling bridling and even mounting but he hates the bit.They have tried 5 or 6 different ones. The new trainer says he gets pinny eared just seeing the bridle.

Yesterday he was checked thoroughly by a chiropractor/vet and also had his mouth examined because we were concerned he was acting out in pain because his neck was swollen on the underside on both sides ( but the right side more prominent) and he seemed tender at about1-1/2 inches right above the corners of his lip on the right side. his hair is completely rubbed away under his forelegs (armpit area) and we were told a tie down was used but for only 15 minutes… he carries his head high at a trot or canter even when in halter or in pasture. he has bit wear in the corners of his mouth and the vet did find a wolf tooth that has not popped through yet but only on the right side. HE WAS FOUND TO BE SOUND although he suggested surgectly removing the tooth and having the vet check for a broken tooth that he might not have been able to see…he did use a speculum.

He is at a different farm now after 3 wks with the other trainer. also to note: the swelling in his neck had gone down the next day when the chiropractor came, but on march 18th when my friend and the trainer came to pick him up, the trainer insisted on tying him short in the trailer and he did pull back hard and had a few second struggle. He does have a thicker neck anyway and you should know he was gelded at age 4.

I never did much groundwork with him other than desesitizing, leading, tying, farrirer, trailering, grooming, but he always seemed a willing partner with a good mind.

I am wondering if he could have developed a fear of being asked to much too soon and is carrying his head high because he is nervous??

The head and bit issue are causing my friend great concern as she thinks he is just a really pissed off sort, and will come unglued down the road as well if he doesn’t feel like doing something. My friend is adamant that the trrainer took no unjust measures with this horse, but that he just isn’t a normal horse. she agrees that he may have been pushed too hard, and also that the trainer was leaving town and started to work him twice a day. My understanding is that he didn’t work him everday either…but when he did it usually consisted of “working through” his “issues”, instead of stopping on a good note. my understanding is that my friend was usually present for the training sessions so she would be able to learn how to correct him in the same manner as the trainer, so down the road on the trail she would know what to do.

I am trying to be as openminded as possible, but he was one of my foals, and he was even fearful of my husband and I when we went to his rescue so to speak. he just didn’t want to come up right away to us. we spent quite awhile with the new trainer lady in the pasture with him just hanging out petting and discussing his behavior. We are baffled if it is a fear or a disrespect issue, but following our visit, the next day she said he was way different towards her..and he has been there a week today.

The new trainer thinks the last trainer had no business getting on his back if he didn’t have control of the head on the ground?? my husband and I feel the groundwork was never accomplished, and another party that knows the trainer guy, says he’s all about the end result but doesn’t take the time in the beginning and knew she’d be having problems. I think the end result isn’t going to be a willing horse if he doesn’t have a good beginning foundation…but Irregardless, my friend thinks the horse should have dealt with it better anyway. probably…

Please give me your thoughts on this very concerning problem. I certainly want my friend to be happy… and if I get the horse back I want to do the right thing by him. Thanks so much. We sure are hoping for a quick reply as my friend doesn’t know what to do..any it’s not getting any cheaper for her and her FREE HORSE.

Renata C., Moose Lake, MN

A.

Hello Renata,

Thanks for the email and I hope you enjoyed the website. I will try to help you out the best that I can.

It sounds as though he was pushed WAY beyond what he could handle WAY to fast. Horses that have never been ridden need lots of ground training not only to learn how to trust people and understand what we want from them and there mental health, but also for their short and long term physical health. Horses that have never been worked much do not have the back muscles to hold a rider. So if a rider gets on there back before there is muscling there they are only asking to injury the horse. What will happen is the horse will hollow out their backs, put their head up high and pull themselves forward with their front feet. That is not how a horse is supposed to move. That is why he had swollen muscles in his neck. From over use because he was rush to fast to hold a riders weight. Then the trainer resorted to mechanical means to try to get his head down which only forces the horse to do something that he is physically not ready to do.

This trainer never gave the horse time to understand what he wanted and only forced him into everything. The corners of the mouth being rubbed, the rubbed cinch area and the swollen neck muscles is in my opinion TOTALLY UNFORGIVABLE!!! This horse did not have to go through all of this mental and physical problems if it would have been done right the first time.

This is the problem in the horse world! Anybody that wants to can call themselves a trainer can and can really mess up horses. There is no licence that you have to have to be a trainer and there should be something out there that keeps horses out of the hands of people that have no right to train.

As for the bit, you were right in getting him checked out and I am glad that the vet could not see anything in the mouth. But again the reason that he has this bit problem is because he was never offered the bit to accept it. It was just forced on him with out him accepting it. I would hate it too if I was forced to have it and was never given the chance to learn that it was not going to hurt me. Not only was he never asked if it was ok but he probably was hurt by it and I say that because of the rub makes in the corners. That means that the trainer did lots of pulling on the bit and also probable the bit did not fit correctly.

As for your friends concern for the horse being a “pissed off sort”. I WOULD BE TOO IF I WAS TREATED LIKE THIS! Ask your friend to look at it from the horses point of view. You know we ask horses to do so much for us and then we tell them they have to respect us BUT WE NEVER RESPECT THEM BACK!! It is not a one way street. I am not trying to be hard on your friend. I am just saying that your friend needs to not listen to the opinion of someone that sores her horse and uses force rather then understanding.

It will now take the horse longer to trust people again WITH PROPER TRAINING but he will get there and I am sure he will turn out to be a wonderful horse. Any horse given the proper training, care, love and mutual respect will turn out to be a loving and willing partner. It sounds as though he was at one time you just had a set back with someone who should not be allowed to train horses.

I hope your friend and new trainer will think about what I have said and understand where I am coming from. Also from not being able to see the horse.

Let me know if you, your friend or the new trainer have any questions for me and I would be MORE then willing to help out over email or phone for free. I am in this business to try to make the world a better place for the horses!

Thanks,

Chelsie Kallestad

www.chelsienaturalhorsemanship.com

928-713-3468

Response from Renata:

Oh chelsie, thanks so much! that makes total sense about the back and neck!! I had a very difficult conversation with my friend today but she still wants to keep moving forward..(I would take him back in a heartbeat)…here’s the new developement…the new trainer ran into the old trainer and they were discussing the horse, she told him she would never have believed anyone was ever on his back and about him being on his back with the bit when he never got to understand it on the ground.. and stuff (he’s young)..and he said well he likes to get on in the first couple days, but no, everything was coming along sooo nicely, going along great and when he came home from the weekend the horse wouldn’t let him touch him and tried kicking out at him and was pinning his ears and he couldn’t believe it. he said I don’t know what she(my friend) did to him when she came to work with him over the weekend but he couldn’t believe it..so we will probably never know… both their fault but I’m more concerned with the friend. she’s always trying to get this new trainer to test him and push him…it’s pissing off the trainer and I can’t think about anything else! I try and try to get her to understand that initial training is not the same as a fixing a problem with a seasoned horse. I think sthat’s the only thing she got from clinton… find his oh no areas and go to town! I thought she understood “THE METHOD” I tried to explain that if you push him until he can’t take it that’s like bullying! and all that accomplishes is CREATING problems and you’ll never build on anything except distrust and resentment… she agrees a little, but just thinks he’s not sensitive and that he’s testing and who knows??? I worry that she’ll never love him. she says she doesn’t feel that way about any of her animaLs I told her she’s weird! lol I’ve only known her since november.  hopefully she’ll come down off her high horse so to speak…and not by flying over the top! he seems fine now… like the horse I knew, but God I would like to know what caused his meltdown…poor guy. I know what he is like to work from all the desensitizing I did. I did some foward motion but I’d get sooo dizzy…he was scared of everything at first. my coat, the brush, the rope, the stick, but he has a great mind and settles very quickly he catches on really fast (which could be why they pushed him too) but you’ve got to let it soak in.. he would get a little frustrated when I got forgot how to ask something or skipped a step.. but it was just like we’d  both take a breath… I’d laugh and apologize and he never got bent out of shape. so far from it. it was actually fun I was nervous at first, but his good grace put me at ease and we built each other’s confidence! he was sooo willing. he looked forward to our sessions and would feel neglected if I didn’t work him. That’s the only time he seemed crabby was when I got sick! my dad would stop what he was doing and watch too…new methods to him but it’s exciting to see! he’s 83 and he grew up with work horses on the farm. ANYHOO I’ll stop bending your ear and let you get back to doing what you do best! I’m going to relax and have faith that everything will all work out and that this wonderful email from you helps the right idea hit home. I am sooo grateful for you out there doing what you do, and RESPONDING so quickly and with so much concern about everything thank you thank you thank you   big sigh… so on behalf of horses everywhere and those of us that love them so much our hearts ache, Thank you and we love you, and your gift. your friend, Renata  GOD BLESS YOU ALWAYS. He will NO DOUBT!!

Answer from Chelsie:

Thank you for your reply. I hope all is going well now. Please keep me in the loop as to how this all turns out.

It sounds as though your friend has some secret fear of the horse and does not want to admit it. That might be why she wants the trainer to push the horse. I bet that this all comes from a fear place because she is afraid of getting bucked off if the trainer does not push him. Some clinicians talk about “getting the buck out”, Anderson included. And I think she is just taking it to far and not really understanding what is meant by that.

Let me know how you are doing,

Thanks,

Chelsie Kallestad

www.chelsienaturalhorsemanship.com
 

Dear Chelsie,

To stop my filly from crowding while I feed an elderly horse from a bucket is it proper to wave my arm at her or tap lightly on her chest with a crop? She’s a hot-head and don’t want to over -do it, but I’m worried about her crowding since she’s getting big fast-23mo. old. I’m a greenhorn too. we’re both learning as she grows. i can’t afford a trainer. so far no injuries!yaaay! thank you so much. love your work. also is it o.k. to free lunge the horses with a yellow plastic sack on the end of the trainer’s whip? a trainer told me to use it.

Christine P., Red Bluff, CA

A.

Hello Christine,

Thank you for the email and I hope you enjoyed the website. I will try to help you all I can.

First off it really would be better if you could separate the filly from the older horse when you are feeding him his grain. That way you do not have to worry about affecting your horse in a poor way.

But if this is not an option I will try to tell you the best thing to do.

One thing you can do is put a halter on your filly, then teach her how to back away from you when you wiggle the lead line. Here is how you teach this: Start with out the other horse and as few a distractions around you. Stand in front of your horse and start wiggling your wrist side to side which will wiggle the rope side to side. What we eventually want is for us to be able to just wiggle our wrist and the horse to back up to the end of the lead line and then stand there until asked to come forward. So start wiggling your wrist side to side, if your horse does not move back then start wiggling your elbow side to side which will wiggle the lead line even more. If the horse still does not more wiggle harder and harder until she moves her feet. If she comes forward or goes to the side just keep wiggling until she moves her feet in the correct direction. Horses learn off the release of pressure. That means that when you put pressure on them they will try to find the answer to make the pressure go away. So if the pressure goes away when she comes forward or just stands still you are teaching her to come forward or just stand still which is not the correct answer to the wiggling. So once she moves even just one step back stop wiggling to let her know that she did the right thing. Then start again. Do this over and over again until she can back all the way out to the end of the lead line and stand there calmly.

Now you can back her out to the end of the lead line and give your other horse grain. Then after he is done or you are done giving him his bucket I would go to her and give her a treat or cookie for being good.

The other way you could handle it is by doing what you said with a stick tapping her and keeping her out of your space. But by doing this if she is very sensitive you could upset her and really are not teaching her very much. Also there is the potential that she could turn and kick or run away and kick. Now lots of people say that there horse would never kick them. And that may be true! But sometimes horses do things even out of fun and do not really mean to hurt us or even get us but things like this can happen. So just be careful with this.

As for the circling with the plastic bag. I use bags to desensitize horse to so that they are not fearful of the bag. If you use the bag to get them to move you are creating the wrong responds to flee from the bag. This is just my opinion. So I never use bags to get horses to move their feet. If your horses are moving at a fast pace with their tails high then they are not moving out of respect and willingness but rather out of fear and excitement. This is also not the correct desire that we want our horses to learn. Horses need to be taught how to walk trot and canter with out getting on adrenaline. If we use things like the bag we most always create adrenaline in our horses. Also I do not know if you are doing this or not but just as a word of caution, do not free lunge your horses together. Do one at a time. This will also help create a more relaxed environment and get your horses softer mentally in the end.

So if you want to free circle your horse use a stick and string. Ask your horse to move forward with your energy and word cue and point in the direction that you want your horse to go. If they do not go lift your stick and push your horses shoulder away. If you want to bring them up into a trot or canter. Use these phases consistently to get your horse to move: Voice (one click for trot, two for canter. Or say walk trot and canter) Lift stick, slap ground with string behind horse, then if horse still does not listen tap horse on hind quarters with string until horse goes forward in the gait you want. Remember to stay out of the kick zone when doing this. Also if your horse moves forward at any point in your phases do not go to the next phase because the horse did what you asked for. Then let horse just cruise in the gait. Do not force horse to stay in the gait. If they break gait, let them go a few strides and then just ask again. By doing this you will get a soft, relaxed horse and eventually you will only need your voice and no stick to get your horse to do what you want.

Let me know if you have any other question, and I hope this helps you out.

Thanks,

Chelsie Kallestad

www.chelsienaturalhorsemanship.com

Folow up from Chrisie:

i hun their buckets on wood posts around 15′ apart and it seems to be working out. thank you! as soon as her cut cannon heals i will begin the backup training you explained to me. oh i wish i could bring her all the way to arizona to work with you there. i will be getting one of your lovely halters for my best friend laurie down there in pheonix for her birthday.

Response from Chelsie:

Hello,

I am glad things are going well for you.

If you are interested in a clinic with me you can always host a clinic. The clinic host gets to ride for free. The host has to get the facility, put out fliers in the local area to help advertise the clinic and organize the clinic. Let me know if this might be something you would be interested in and I will get you more info.

Thanks,

Chelsie Kallestad

www.chelsienaturalhorsemanship.com

Howdy,
I had a few horse training questions. I recently adopted a four/five year old walker mare. She is a real beauty and knows all her gaits, however she has a very short attention span. I have been doing a lot of round pen work with her. She keeps her focus on you for a few seconds and then looks over the rail when going around the pen. She will ‘join up’ decently but as soon as you pat her she’ll turn her head away from you. She also thinks she’s an arabian. Her name is Lark, and shes a good horse but she does brace her legs whenever she hears a loud noise or something ‘scary’. I have been doing many trust games with her but she still seems to have horse ADD. Can you suggest anything for me to try with her?

thanks
Rach Y. , Wilmore, Kentucky

A.

Hello Rachael,

Thanks for the question. Sorry for the slow reply, been really busy and have not had a chance to get to many questions.

I would put her on a long line in the round pen. Just round pen her like normal but every time she looks to the out side give a soft tug on the lead line to get her head back straight, then let the lead go soft again, if you do this with consistence and repetition she will stop putting her head to the out side. Also make sure that you are not to close to her or to far in front of her shoulder. This can make a horse turn their head out. You want to be walking a small circle in the center of the pen with your hip in line with her hip and your toes going the same way her toes are going. When she does come to you pet her, then if she leaves hold her there with the lead line and give her more long soft rubs or itch her favorite spot, she will learn fast to stay with you doing it this way. Some people say that when they leave you send them off and make them work. And this does work with some horses. But not usually with a more hot horse. If you try to do that with a hot horse they just get more and more wound up. Help them a little with a lead line and they will end up being calmer and more willing.

It sounds as though she needs lots of desensitizing also. Remember to have them follow the thing first and then let them smell it do not force it on them, make it their idea to come up to it by taking it away from them.

Hope this helps,

Chelsie Kallestad

www.chelsienaturalhorsemanship.com

928-713-3468

“I remember the first time that I saw him, he was pacing back & forth in his stall, pinning his ears, bareing his teeth & lunging at anyone who came too close. He was going to be scheduled for euthanization because no one wanted to take the time to try to help him. For you see, he had been severely beaten by his previous owner just because he wouldn’t let her ride him & now he was mad at the world & didn’t trust ANYONE. I felt so bad for him I cried when I heard what she had done to him. I immediately arranged for him to be brought to my house. For the first 2 weeks, I did very little with him & just let him settle in & get used to us & the way we did things. After working with him VERY slowly for the first 6 months, he was more relaxed & actually came to meet us at the fence looking for treats or wanting to be groomed. But after all that time he wouldn’t let me anywhere near him if I had a halter or lead rope with me. I had tried everything I could think of & nothing worked. I tried to get in touch with several trainers….Clinton Anderson, the Parelli’s, John Lyons, & Craig Cameron but no one would return the calls or try to help me! Basically the replies were all the same “Buy the DVD.” Well, then I saw a Dennis Reis show on the RFDTV channel & I went to my computer & looked up his website. I signed up for his No Dust Club & here I met Chelsie. We got to talking on the phone & realized that while she lives in Arizona, I live in Florida! But that didn’t matter. This woman was my rock! I don’t know the number of times that I have called her….frustrated, disapointed, crying or just to share one of the few good moments. She has always been there for me & even started mailing me

DVDs to try to help me! She even took the time to make me my on special DVD on how to work with abused horses to try to get the halter on! To me that is going above & beyond for someone that you have never even met except for the phone & by Internet! Well now it is 14 very long months later & just in the last 2 months have finally had some break through’s with LeDoux! We now have a halter on him, he will calmly let me lead & tie him with a lead rope, we have finally felt it was safe enough to work with the farrier & get his hooves done ( he did beautifully!!!!) & his ground schooling is slowly starting to come along. Some days I don’t make any headway at all with him but I don’t get discouraged. If it hadn’t been for Chelsie & her constant support for me & what I was trying to do, I would have given up a long long time ago!  Chelsie, I can’t thank you enough for being there for me!!!

- Ashlee “