Fun at the Royal

On Friday November 9 a bunch of us from PHH headed into the big city for the tradition of the Royal Winter Fair. There were many changes and a lot to see and do.

There was also a lot of the same... my annual favourites of the Rossti potato food booth, pumpkin pie fudge from the Nutty Chocolatier, leather cleaner from the bees, Bucas blankets from Picovs, belt buckles, and fun horsey jewellery from Wellingtons.

This year I also picked up a reflective quarter sheer from Pleasant Ridge for safer trail riding, new turquoise gear (polos and boots) and a new fully adjustable Genesis saddle from Wellingtons! Among some other cute things like horsey pajamas and socks.

There is always so much shopping but also a lot to watch and learn. We enjoyed the evening horse show which had some demos for trick riding and Guy McLean which was fun and wet our appetite for more. They also had 2 jumper competitions, indoor eventing and Shetland pony steeple chase!

The event was entertaining but also a bit scary....2 kids fell off in the pony steeple chase and one horse flipped over in the indoor eventing.  This begs the question. ...is fun and entertainment worth the risk that speed and jumping can mean?

Although unfortunate for the event rider, it was my first time seeing an inflatable safety vest in action. It was very interesting and looked like a very worthwhile piece of safety equipment since you never know what may happen...her horse willingly jumped the table drop fence but the horse's leg didnt quite clear the top rail so the horse did a somersault. It also is an example that if the jump was made for the top rail to drop, the incident would likely have been averted.

What continues to upset me the most at the Royal is the display of hackney horses/ponies in carts...it in my opinion is so focused on manipulating horses and making them something they aren't rather than a sport like jumping or dressage that emphasizes a skill the horse naturally does... the hackneys are kept with heavy shoes to make them lift their legs high and because of the shoes they cant have turn out so they are mostly stalled and secluded, they crank their heads unnaturally high to the point of straining their backs and they put contraptions on them to lift their tails so they become deformed. I dont understand it and it seems very much like an awful life to live. Can anyone shed something positive on this discipline?  Am I misunderstanding something?

Sorry thats my rant....

We didnt have much time to look at the other displays or the animal theatre. ...it just goes to show you that the Royal is a big place where you need lots of time because there is so mich to see!

At the end of the day all people and horses were okay and it was a good late night!

I hope you have a chance to go check out the fun.
#rawf
#rawf2014

The Spice of Life

I just wanted to give you all an update on Spice. Spice left for retirement to a family home in early fall.

Spice has been a well loved horse by PHH. He has been a favourite of many students and taught many students to canter because of his smooth gaits, willingness to please, and good work ethic.

It was very unfortunate that one winter he slipped in the paddock and fell hard onto his hock causing a bone chip. His one hind leg will forever be weaker. We gave him an entire year to rest and then the following 2 summers he did light riding work for smaller kids. He loved having a job and purpose but he was limited to what he could do.

In 2014 we decided it would be better for Spice if he went to a home where he could be loved and have someone who was 'his', rather than at PHH where although students loved him, they didn't want to stick with Spice because his leg prevented him from being a good horse to progress with since he couldn't do the hilly trails, jump, or do intense riding.

We found him the perfect match - he is the absolute love of a little girl that enjoy going for walks with him. Spice is teaching her to trot and canter and she is loving him every bit. They have their own farm, so if or when she outgrows him, he will continue to be loved at their farm.

They sent me a photo of him doing and I've shared that with you here.

Spice is a fantastic and loving horse and I am so happy that he has found someone that can be 'his'. They are the perfect match for each other :)

An amazing 2014 and it's a big year ahead!

We're wrapping up 2014 and are so thankful for all the support and interest in PHH, it's been just crazy how much we've grown!

We do want to get your feedback on what you want us to do in 2015, so please tell us your thoughts at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FXXKGSK

I wanted to take some time to fill you in with some of the things we've experienced and where we are heading into 2015.

This year we had our foals Sola & Symba who share the excellent bloodlines of Balius, as well we are delighted that Jesse is the owner or the other foal, Gaia. We look forward to seeing great things from these foals in the future. We don't foresee anymore horse breeding for us in the near future (or maybe ever), that was enough stress for me!

Molly also had her first litter of pups, a litter of 5. Everything went well and we love playing with the little balls of fluff. Lona is currently pregnant and expecting her first litter of pups. We plan to continue breeding Corgis, and will alternate our girls so they only have 1 litter per year. Stay tuned for when the next litter of cuteness arrives!

Our flock of chickens seems to have grown out of control.... we went from about 5 chickens to now about 50 - and they hatched themselves with no help from us. We enjoy letting our chickens live a very natural life and we plan to continue letting them hatch some chicks, but now we are limiting them so they don't hatch quite so many. We'll likely be selling eggs next year. Currently we use the eggs and chickens for ourselves.

We now have ducks on the farm - Lady and Elvis have graced us with their presence... we don't really know what their purpose is, but they sure are cute to look at and they mingle with the chickens nicely.

This year I've spent a lot of investment in my own learning and development - there is always so much to learn! I participated in clinics with Don Halladay, a jumping workshop with Kathy Baar, a ground workshop with Maureen Owens, Centred Riding Workshop with Peggy, and Centred Riding lessons with Esther Johnson.

I plan to continue with centered riding and may even pursue my instructors license n this field. I am also continuing with Parelli Natural Horsemanship and still have my eye on doing my official levels assessment.

It was another great year of both summer camp for kids, and summer weekend camp for adults! There is always such a variety of learning, and we were thankful to this year's coaches Alexandra, Anastasia, Danica, Marcie, Caileigh Anne, and Paige at camp!

We were back in the show ring this year in the bronze series at Blue Star Farm - boy did that feel good! Thetis and I were reserve champion at the last show and year end champion, along with student Alexandra who were year end champion in their division. Maya, Morgan, Christina, Paige, Alexandra, Cailey, and myself all competed and brought back many smiles and ribbons - we'll plan to do it again next year.

We also hosted our own show series which went very well and we will try this again, along with our first extreme cowboy competition - super fun!! So we will definitely be doing that again.

If you look around the farm from beginning to end of the year you see many changes - new fencing, shelters, new arrangements in the tack room, new obstacles, etc.

Next year is going to be massive changes - you won't even recognize our place by the end of 2015.... among the biggest changes is a massive 270ft x 80ft indoor arena... which means a lot of renovations of fencing, shelters, paddocks and rings.... and yes thats bigger than the Ricoh where they host the Royal Winter Fair :)

We're also partnering with other equestrian centres in the Natural Horsemanship Association to host a new series of shows and horse agility which will be brand new for 2015! We hope you can take part in these exciting new events.

As I sit here and write all this, I am in the waiting room just about to get lasik eye surgery done, so I think it's safe to say everything is going to look a whole lot different!

Going Bitless?

Going Bitless?

By Lindsey Partridge, President of the Natural Horsemanship Association and owner of Partridge Horse Hill, www.PartridgeHorseHill.com

I was asked recently about my opinion on using bits versus going bitless – the person was wondering if I thought using a bit was cruel and if I thought everyone should be working towards going bitless. I imagine a lot of other people are wondering the same thing – there seems to be an uprising in the number of people that are choosing to go bitless, as well as a larger number of people going bridleless – do some searches on youtube and you can find some spectacular displays of bridleless jumping, reining, mountain trail, cow cutting, dressage, and more!

At our farm, Partridge Horse Hill, you might think I was against the use of bits because if you come watch some of our lessons you would quickly notice that most of our horses are riding bitless – even a quick browse in our tack room and you’ll see that none of our school horses have a bridle with a bit on their hook.

The reason for this is not at all that I think bits are cruel. To me, any tool can be cruel or soft depending on the hands that are using it. 

There are two main reasons why we rarely use bits at Partridge Horse Hill:

1)      Rider’s need to prove they are ready for finesse: A tool is only as soft as the hands that use it. Even a bit with a chain can be super soft and subtle if the hands using it are very soft and subtle. Even a plain snaffle bit can be wickedly painful if the hands using it are harsh and out of balance.

At our farm we teach having solid basics comes before riding with finesse or collection. Before we give anyone a bit to ride with, they must first show they can ride with a soft and consistent contact through all of the skills that they would be doing with a bit. This is because to have true collection the horse needs to be willing to take hold of the bit – being accidentally bumped with the reins can cause the horse to be fearful of taking contact. Many riders today force a horse into a frame, without having true collection of the horse stretching over their topline and taking on more weight from the hind end. They do this by riding too much from their hand. It can take a very long time to gain a horse’s trust to accept collection and contact if they’ve had someone be harsh on their mouth. 

  This is one reason we keep our horses bitless – so that if student’s accidently bounce their hands, or take too much contact it won’t matter as much and won’t damage the ability to ride with a bit later when they are ready. If both the student and horse are ready for a bit and wanting to learn with one, then we do have bridles with bits that we can use for those lessons.

Having students begin bitless also means that they learn proper technique and balance and don't rely on making pain in the horse's mouth to cause the horse to stop. 

2)      Some horses just don’t like bits: not all horses are the same. Some horses have really sensitive mouths or have had such harsh riders that they don’t like bits – you can spot these horses as the ones that stick their tongue out the side of their mouth, they run through the bit, or people feel the need to put flash nosebands or other contraptions to tie their mouth shut. 

Some horses get more anxious and flighty with bits because their mouth is a sensitive place, and if they aren’t ready for a bit it will get them feeling nervous and more in the ‘fight or flight’ frame of mind. A lot of horses that tend to be flighty and too quick tend to ride better when they go bitless because being bitless can help horses feel less anxious. At our farm we have a couple horses that I just don’t feel the need to ever introduce them to a bit – one is an off the track Thoroughbred that gets really stressed when she has a bit and even with light contact she will sometimes take her tongue out to the side of her mouth, and another is an older mustang that only got started under saddle as a 16 year old – they both ride beautifully bitless and I just don’t feel the need try and make them ride with a bit. It’s not to say it can’t be done – but why fix it if it works?

There are other reasons someone might not want to use a bit – injury in a horse’s mouth, an older horse with bad teeth (might hurt to put the bit in and take the bit out), if you like to graze your horse during the ride or use treats during training (easier to eat without a bit), or even just that you may like the idea of staying out of your horse’s mouth.  

I do have some students who choose to ride with bits because they and their horse are ready for learning collection with a bit – but if they aren’t learning that, then we typically stay bitless. I find learning collection is easier with a bit – a bit in the right hands can be the ideal tool to help master collection and skills of finesse, however, it’s not needed and most of our students ride with no bit, even the ones competing in jumpers or practising upper level movements like canter half pass. 

It is important to remember not all bitless bridles are created equal. I actually had an article that came out in Horse Power magazine that talks more about that (the spring issue) – but it’s important to know that there are many types and just because one type doesn’t work for you doesn’t mean another wouldn’t (the same goes for bits).

I have come across some bitless bridles that really don’t work well for me or the horses I train (the ones that cross under the chin). I prefer a basic side pull design for a bitless bridle. Some people might think bitless bridles give you less control – this isn’t true providing you’re using the right kind of bitless bridle. I actually start all of my horses bitless, and only introduce a bit once I’m working on collection. Even horses previously trained with a bit I find can transition to a bitless bridle in one session very easily.

All in all, I think what matters more than the bit or bitless bridle someone chooses are the techniques they use. I would encourage all horse sport associations to allow bitless bridles and for all coaches to be open to using them – as it’s probably the best choice for many horse and rider combinations, especially at the schooling levels where there are green horses and riders that could really benefit from staying out of the horse’s mouth until solid skills are developed.

Being the odd man out.

Yesterday I competed at Blue Star Farm in the 0.9m jumpers for the first time in a long while.  I've been going to shows as a coach and spending most of my riding time at home developing new horses that it'd been way too long since I've zipped around a jumper course.

It was great fun to be back in the show ring and also a wake up call that both me and my jumper, Thetis, are a bit out of shape! We had 2 rails down from being a bit tired and off our take off spot.

The big thing that struck me was what an odd man out I felt like. I felt seriously under tacked as I rode with no bit, crop, spur, martingale or tight nose band. I was a partner with my horse and we moved swift and quick without head tossing or pulling on the reins.

My favourite moment happened right before we entered the ring for the speed class and someone said to another competitor "no one can make that turn its too tight from the jump" and moments later Thetis and I easily made the turn and rode to a 1st place finish.

Several people commented their amazement how effortlessly I could steer my horse and make turns no one else could.....and I had way less equipment. 

Another great moment was in the 0.6m jumpers when student Alexandra and I rode the stake class and smoked everyone else....both of us bit less without the crop and spurs. (I rode one class in the baby jumpers unjudged)

It's a fantastic feeling to show everyone that bit less can be as effective or better and that focusing on building an understanding and partnership with horses works.

Alexandra was 1st in all her classes and champion. I was 1st, 3rd and 7th and I couldn't be happier :-)  I expect that if I practice more regularly before next show that with better fitness we can get even better results.....or at least I'm looking forward to try!

I hope as more time goes by we see more people losing the extra equipment....so the horse can spend less time fighting the rider and more time focusing on the rider which we saw some of today.

I dont hate bits etc but I do think many people use them incorrectly and would benefit from getting out of their horse's mouth.

Wish us well next time!

Fun at the Don Halladay Parelli Clinic

This past long weekend I attended the Don Halladay clinics on freestyle and finesse riding. I had a blast and learned a lot.

On Saturday I took Balius out for the morning session and he was full of beans. Leaping in the air and very nervous, Balius was quite the entertainment and I got some new techniques for focusing upset horses - the backwards circle is a nice new tactic to my bag of tricks.

After lunch was more relaxing. I took out Rose, my young QH mare and she surprised me with how well we could ride with no reins. We worked on our foundation and made great progress.

Sunday Rose was sore so I took her home and picked up Lumen - I was reminded how unexpected things can happen but we can make choices to make the best of it.

It worked amazing because Lumen got to come to his first off property experience and was amazing. He wore a bit for the first time and by the end of the lesson was accepting contact very softly and willingly. 

It was a nice feeling to discover how well the game of contact can work and how all of the ground preparation set up our finesse riding for a very easy transition.

Afterwards I had a one on one lesson with Don and Balius in the round pen....I was a passenger rider and Don sent me through all the gaits. We focused on the importance of teaching the horse they can go with the rider.  It was a massive improvement from Saturday's nervous breakdown :-)

Monday was an amazing day. Lumen and I did 2 line driving for the first time which he learnt so quickly...the Parelli games just make sense to horses. We also did some fun team friendly game and a bunch of finesse riding. Lumen was so light and lovely.

I was reminded of the importance of foundation skills and hind quarter control as some of the higher level movements were challenging and Lumen and I had to go back to the basics to remember leg position cues for moving the hips versus shoulders.

The highlight was finishing with another lesson with Don and Balius where we rode in the big sand ring. Balius was amazing and we finished with a few nice canters and he was lovely. 

Don helped me bring Balius' focus inside the ring with the help of Casino who he was riding.

I was reminded the importance of starting horses with it being their idea to go forward and being allowed to move rather than pushing and manipulating them to the point they get mad, frustrated or dont want to try. Its an art to know how much to suggest, allow or correct in the right moment.

Balius had easy fluid transitions to canter and I am so happy he is coming along so well!

Maureen and Todd Owens come to PHH for a Parelli clinic July 5-6 and I highly suggest you come!

Mention promo code : 'May Blog' and attend the July clinic with Maureen and Todd to reveive either free use of a PHH horse or free stabling/overnight if bringing your own horse.

Contact Partridgehorsehill@gmail.com

Our first foal was born today!

Today Nillina delighted us with the birth of her adorable filly. This is our first foal at Partridge Horse Hill.

We were very excited to see her. It wasn't without some commotion at the farm though - Nillina needed the vet to help her with the placenta and is now on antibiotics. We also had to do some fencing reinforcement because some of the geldings got pretty rowdy with the arrival of the foal.

We are very happy to welcome this new little addition to the farm. She'll be taking it easy over the next few days coming into a stall at night with mom until the weather is better for them to stay out.
She doesn't have a name yet, so we'll keep you posted!

New Fellow

This week we got a new fellow, Rolo, he's an 11 year old Kentucky Mountain horse. I saw his ad and was instantly excited about him. I just love our gaited horses - Riddler & Spice have been our best lesson horses, and Shawna is half mountain horse and is amazing too. I always keep my eye out for this lovely breed.

I went to see him on the weekend, we went for a trail ride down the road and onto some snowmobile trails. He was a real trooper, very calm and very easy. There were even some snowmobiles that weren't very considerate so they went zooming past faster than they should have and he was still a calm and easy guy - I think I jumped more than him!

He's a bit smaller than I wanted, only about 14.2H but with such a fantastic temperament I know he'll be a great addition to PHH and will work well in our summer camp. I brought him home and this weekend we took him out for a trail.

What's interesting is he was hard to catch, it took me about 5-10min to catch him. It's something I always take for granted that our horses literally all walk over to you in the paddock and some will actually try to take the halter from you! Our horses love to come play and love to be 'caught'. When we get a new horse and they are hard to catch, it makes me remember that this isn't the case for everyone.

The first thing I did when I finally did catch him and bring him out was give him some dinner - we always have to remember that something has to be in it for the horse, or why would they want to be caught? The answer is usually food.... it takes a while to develop a partnership where the horse wants to come see you because they find you interesting and enjoy playing - until you have that it's easiest to include some food, rest breaks, and/or good scratches to help give your horse something they enjoy.

He was fantastic on the trail, just easy on a loose rein. We did some nice canters and he was so great. He did a mix of trotting and gaiting depending on what I was asking for. He's a pretty easy ride. Allure was acting a bit frisky so I swapped horses part way through with Danica and she got to enjoy him and found him wonderful.... despite riding in my long stirrups.

I'm sure once he realizes that we're committed to trying to be fair, kind, and giving him some rewards that he'll become easy to catch too. It will be fun to see the transition over the next couple weeks.

Balius Gets Going

Now that Balius is going to be 4 in May, I've felt the urge to actually devote some time to this gorgeous boy and give him a purpose. He's been idle in the pasture for the most part over the last couple years doing the odd play day or clinic for ground games. Before this year I'd only been on him a couple times.

So far this year things have been going well. In the last couple weeks I've really decided to give him some TLC and much needed training. Because the footing is so awful outdoors right now, we've been trailering offsite to an indoor arena.

The first trip was great. We went to SweetWater Stables with a couple other people from our barn. He was really really good. We did walk, trot, forehand & haunch turns, and back up. We attempted canter but that got a bit too playful and excited and ended up with my boot flying across the arena (don't ask me how), so I had Marcie put me on the line and she sent me in the circle for canter and we got a few strides. I was pretty impressed!

The 2nd time I took him to a clients near Peterborough, with just one other horse. It was a different arena, a coverall all with different lighting. It had a trailer set up in the middle of the ring and some tires which he found spooky. He wasn't quite as relaxed as at Sweet Water so I didn't push my luck, so I just did some riding exercises at the walk and mostly ground work.

I discovered I created a bit of a cookie monster.... I'd been giving him a cookie for doing Spanish walk and spins because I wanted to help motivate him, but it got to the point where it was hard for him to stand still because he'd keep trying to spin or do Spanish walk... needless to say we had to go back to some basics and keep the cookies in the bag!

Today was a good test for him, I took him on his first trail ride! I hand walked him most of the time because he's barely started under saddle. Then we practiced some confidence building as we practiced riders from the trail riding away from each other and then they'd come back (to help prevent herd bound issues).

I did some ground work, and decided he was ready to ride so I rode him at the walk through Pontypool for a bit. Before heading home I hopped off again to hand walk him - I wasn't sure how excited he'd get. He had one excited playful burst on the way home so I was happy with my decision to dismount prior to that.

Then he finished by calmly walking the rest of the way home. I think he really enjoyed looking around at everything. It was great exposure as we passed a few cars, and snowmobiles!

It was a good example of that there are no rules of 'once you get on you have to stay on' - instead it was about setting it up for success. I was prepared to hand walk the entire ride if I didn't think he was relaxed enough - and I know it's better to get off and stay in control, so I kept the riding short and successful (I rode about 10 min and walked about 50min). Now he's had a good experience I'm sure he'll be even better the next time.

Sightings of Natural Horsemanship at the Royal Winter Fair, by Marcie Isherwood for the NHA

What an amazing year for the Natural Horsemanship Associations first visit to the Royal Winter Fair.  There were many exciting events and vendors to visit, as well as lots to learn, see and do.  

Every year the Royal Winter Fair seems to grow more and more towards Natural Horsemanship.  This year the Fair set up the Animal Theatre where visitors could witness the amazing talents of the Super Dogs or learn from Victoria Stilwell about training dogs by understanding their behaviors.  The Spirit of the Horse also made its appearance in the Animal Theater this year so that visitors could learn about different horse breeds, witness live riding demonstrations and learn about horse health and upkeep.

This year the major highlights that the Natural horsemanship Association was excited for were the demonstrations by Guy McLean and Sylvia Zerbini.  The performance by Guy McLean and his four horses was exhilarating.   Through his easy going humor and amazing liberty demonstration, during which he was also riding one of his horses, Guy showed just how much you can accomplish when you develop a trusting relationship with your horse(s).  Of course anyone who has ever played with a horse a liberty using Natural Horsemanship knows that it takes hours of training and dedication to build that relationship with your horse.    As he sat on his horse which stood next to two others who were all standing over another that was lying on the ground, Guy told his audience that “you need your horse to be physically, emotionally and mentally connected to you.”  Hearing Guy, who travelled to Toronto all the way from Australia reiterate the words of Pat Parelli, demonstrates what a large following Natural Horsemanship has and that several natural horsemen are saying the same thing all around the world.  Through these amazing and awe inspiring demonstrations, like the one Guy McLean put on at this year’s Royal Winter fair, more and more riders are beginning to build trusting and meaningful relationships with their horses.

After watching Guy McLean opening weekend, it was easier to understand just how much training and dedication Sylvia Zerbini has put into her work with horses.  Sylvia’s production of ‘Liberte’ was mesmerizing as she danced with about ten white Andalusian and Arabian geldings and stallions.  Using only her body movements to interact with the horses she guided them gracefully across the arena at the walk, trot and canter.  Her performance was just another amazing demonstration of how building those physical, emotional and metal connections with your horse can allow you to accomplish feats you never though were possible.

Following these two amazing performances, and adding to the Royals lineup of Natural Horsemanship events, was the performance of Connor Swail during the International Power and Speed Show Jumping Competition on November 6th.  Connor placed 3^rd in this competition with a time of 32.57 after a stunning performance in which he road with a bitless bridle!  It was very refreshing to see a rider of this level breaking from tradition and recognizing that his horse may be better off without a bit.  Riding bitless demonstrated that Connor took the time to try and understand his horse’s needs and look into what was best for his horse, instead of just conforming to what is normal.   As an association we are hopeful that we will see more demonstrations like this from riders of this level in the future.

Every year the Royal Winter Fair brings a little bit of country into the city and allows the men and women who work with the animals, the agriculture and the technology behind it all to share their knowledge and skills with each other and their audiences.  It is always a pleasure to be able to visit the fair and see all that it has to offer.

By Marcie Isherwood on behalf of the Natural Horsemanship Association