My first experience with facilitated equine learning aka FEEL, I wasn't sure what to expect.
My instructor, Pat, took me through a lot of the basics and understanding the science behind the energy and different meanings behind emotions.
She also reviewed some horse signals which I found very interesting because I kept an open mind.
We decided to use Allure because he seems to have a knack for wanting to connect with people.
We started with some reflection and heart to heart connection. This is difficult for me because I wanted to do horse training and interact physically with the horse, but this is a process where your interactions are from emotion and energy.
It was hard to let myself be vulnerable and learn something completely new. The most interesting part for me was when we were doing the heart to heart connection and I was simply asking and trying to push my energy from my heart to his heart and boom just like that he bent his neck and turned. He looked right at my heart with his nose. The connection was there and then is if to say "okay now I'm done" Allure then walked away.
We also did an exercise where I was asking a question or I was supposed to get one question but my mind was racing and I was thinking things like "am I asking the right question or what question should I ask?" So I would try asking a question and think maybe that's too difficult and I would switch around and it was interesting to watch Allure because he he would walk away as my mind would start to flurry and when my mind settles that's when he came back me.
It was a really interesting experience and I'm continuing to take an open mind into my next session. I'm doing weekly sessions for 4 weeks, so this is going to be pretty exciting :)
Late last night Molly gave birth to 6 beautiful puppies.
She started into labour in the evening and had her first puppy around 11:30pm. She continued having pups all through the night with the last one being born early this morning around 5am. It was certainly a long night!
At first the puppies were all boys. It wasn't until the last one that she revealed she also was having a little girl.
Molly was so calm for the entire night. She slept in her bed right beside James & I in our bedroom. Quigley was sleeping nearby in his bed and she didn't mind at all. She just stayed nestled closely with her pups.
Molly's pups are significantly bigger than Lona's pups. She definitely was carrying a heavier load of pups, but not as many. Molly is slightly bigger than Lona by about 2 pounds. It's interesting to see how much bigger her pups are than Lona's.... but everyone should grow up to be roughly the same.
She ended up having a very similar litter to her first one. She had one tri coloured male, the rest are all red/white, and there is only one girl.
We are excited to have so many puppies. Emails have been sent to the 12 people on our deposit list, which means there will be 2 more pups available after everyone on the list has chosen.
If you are interested in a pup please let us know.
Now the moms and their pups are having a well deserved rest.
It's going to be so cute in the next few weeks when they can all play together!
Today Lona had her 2nd litter of puppies! She spent the day with James curled up in her bed and surprisingly managed to have 8 puppies.
Lona doesn't really get too big and still manages to look fairly slim when she is pregnant, so it was quite the shocker that she had 8 puppies hidden in her belly.
We knew that Lona was ready to have her puppies so James stayed with her for the day to make sure everything went well. James helped to make sure everything went well, but he also gave Lona comfort and cuddled her.
Lona definitely will be busy over the next 8 weeks - she had 5 boys and 3 girls to care for. All of them are red/white colouring... some are darker like Quigley and some are lighter like Lona. Some of them have black/darker tips on their ears and face but these will fade out over the next couple months and will become red/white like their parents.
When Quigley was a pup he had black tipped ears and some black on his neck and back, but by the time he was a few months old it had all grown out.... the same will happen for these pups.
Everyone seems to be healthy, happy, and doing well. Lona is having a much needed snooze. She is on high alert when the other dogs are in the house - she is very protective right now. She has her own room with her puppies in a kiddie pool with some shavings and towels. They are adorable and all snuggled up.
We do have 12 people on our deposit/wait list so it is likely all of these puppies are sold unless some people choose to wait for Molly or next year.
Molly is expecting puppies anytime now - she is actually beginning labour signs right now!
If you've been up to the farm recently you may have noticed
that almost every day something looks different. That's because we have now started with
our spring/summer construction projects.
This year promises to be the biggest and best improvements to the farm since we moved in 3 years ago.... and that's saying a lot since every year we do massive upgrades including outdoor lighting, new sand ring footing, run in shelters, fencing, etc.
Some exciting new changes that have already happened so far this
spring are:
Individualized tack boxes for our school horses
A new number/names system for keeping our school
tack organized. This includes new tags on the stick & strings for each
horse and numbers on the tack box shelves
A new custom door for the barn entrance – we now
have a window! Thank you Epic Equestrian
A new Kubota tractor with a loader
A new round pen
All of the obstacles from the former grass ring
have been relocated to the new obstacles location
The hay shed moved
A lot of fence deconstruction has taken place in
preparation for the new arena
The former grass ring was fenced with beautiful
flex rail and is now a paddock
We had a nutritionist come up and review our hay
analysis, look at our horses, and recommend a new feeding program for our
horses that will be starting soon
It is pretty incredible all of the construction that is
taking place this year, and we are excited to break ground for our new 250ft x 80ft
indoor arena tomorrow! We are starting with the excavation of the base of
the arena. It will definitely be our biggest project so far.
We have a lot of projects and things on our to do list. We are currently looking for quotes to do our south property line of fence (approx 1230ft), as well looking for a quote to build an upstairs room of 20x40ft in the new arena - if you know anyone that would like to give a quote on either of these projects please have them email partridgehorsehill@gmail.com
We will continue to update you on all the changes and are
excited to be sharing such amazing progress from around the farm!
Pictures:
new front paddock with flex rail (top photo)
new custom barn door (2nd photo)
new tractor (3rd photo)
Lady, our duck, strolling the new front paddock (bottom photo)
I was lucky to have Tom Shields work with my newly purchased off the track Thoroughbred mare, Kahleesi at the 2015 Natural Horsemanship Trade show. Tom shared a lot of knowledge and expertise during his hour demo with Kahleesi.
Little did I know he would provide me more insight and knowledge in a follow up email - I want to share it with you because I think he shares some great information.
We are currently planning a clinic with Tom for a weekend in November later this year - stay tuned for details later this spring.
"You asked me a question on Saturday about "matching the energy of your horse". I gave you a short answer about bringing the horse my peace ... but upon more pondering I believe the question (a very good one) requires a more detailed answer. I will attempt that with as few bunny trails as possible. I will speak from the rehab perspective or dealing with mentally damaged horses.
When first working with a damaged horse the energy we usually encounter is a combination of fear, flight and mistrust. This energy is toxic and does physiological damage to all systems in the horse. This energy should be met with a calm, confident push balanced with enough passive draw to assure the horse that they are in "good hands". "Good hands" needs a clear definition in our industry. In my world, good hands never pull ... they only block.
Once the initial push and draw has been established most horses with initiate multiple challenges to your abilities as the new leader. As I said on Saturday ... it is the obligation of your horse to test and challenge your ability as a leader. Since leadership is established through competition and ability ... this is very much like sparing in martial arts. There are a set of rules that must be adhered to so you can't be accused (by the horse) of cheating. If you are correct consistent and fair in all your actions ... if your response to the behavior of the horse is appropriate (from the perspective of the horse) and predictable your behavior will bring a calm to the horse.
If the horse's energy comes up and becomes toxic again our job is to de-escalate that energy and turn it into a calm and focused energy. If the horse's energy drops away to pouting or just being overwhelmed ... our job is to reassure and strengthen.
(Kahleesi) is a very smart mare. As I worked with her on Saturday she started inverted (hollow) and stressed. As I worked with her she tried a bunch of things ... some overt and some subtle ... to suck me into making a mistake so she would have an excuse to be mad and stressed. Because I met her energy with a calm, assertive push and balanced that push with a passive draw ... and because my body language never gave her an excuse to be mad at me ... she began to pout. If you remember, she made wiggle marks in the sand with her nose as we were working. That's the body language of a pouting mare who was being told she simply was not top horse in my presence. I didn't make mention of that during the demo because I don't want people focusing on that and missing the entire issue of relaxation in general. Once (Kahleesi) feels the physiological and bio-mechanical benefits of being with me (or you) ... the "work" becomes easy and fun.
So the long answer to your question is ... I match the horse's energy with the appropriate energy to bring a calm, focused work ethic. That looks different for every horse in every circumstance. The principal, however, works for every breed and every temperament. Application of the principal requires a base of knowledge and attention to detail ... and a keen willingness to listen to the horse and modify our behavior to benefit them.
So I apologize for the short, trite answer. Hopefully this fills in the gaps I left.
The Natural Horsemanship Trade Show 2015 was a fun success hosted at Natures Run Equestrian in Port Perry this year. It is a time when we come together to celebrate and share natural horsemanship.
What I love about the trade show and the Natural Horsemanship Association (NHA) is that it's about promoting natural horsemanship - not a specific method, approach, or person. Everyone involved truly wants to understand horses better and get the horse to understand us better. It's about communication and leadership not intimidation and fear.
Watching the demonstrations throughout the day it was great to see that even though there were many different instructors and clinicians, there were still many common themes and similarities for each approach to natural horsemanship.
Jesse Cassidy Skof started the morning with demo on getting emotionally connected with your horse and coached a student with her off the track Thoroughbred through some exercises to show what they have been doing to help build this connection.
Laura Boyle spoke to us about being light and soft with our horses and touched on some different leadership styles we may have tried with our horses in a humorous way. Are you a nagger? Dictator? or Wishy Washy? She encouraged us to be clear in our intent and to let our horse do it's job.
I did a demo with my recently purchased, straight from the track, TB gelding - Cupid - who I'm training for the Kentucky Racehorse Project TB Makeover Contest that will be in Kentucky Horse Park later this year. He was extremely upset and nervous when he entered the ring and I showed how by moving his feet forwards, left, right, back, sideways that I could help get him to emotionally connect to me without running him in circles and causing a sweat. This also complimented Laura's talk showing what it looks like to be as soft as possible but as firm as necessary.
Kaileen did a demonstration for us on FEEL - which is allowing the horse to teach us. It's about having these beautiful, emotional, and perceptive animals reveal things about ourselves by how they react to us.
Laura, Amanada, Jesse, and myself did a demo on horse agility and what to expect from the new show series - what will obstacles look like, and how will you be judged.
Tom Shields did an enlightening demo with Kahleesi, another off the track TB mare. He talked about leadership, being consistent, using body language, and keeping the horse's attention. He also promoted moving the horse's feet and driving the horse's body to cause focus, bend, and attention - NOT pulling on the lead line or going after the horse's head. He was able to get Kahleesi to start relaxing her posture and stretching down instead of being 'uptight'.
Jesse, Laura, and myself did a demo for the upcoming NHA show series for our 'Mounted Obstacle Challenge' - this time us riding through obstacles and demonstrating some different levels to the courses and obstacles.
DJ Murtagh did a demonstration with his horse - Clyde - and talked about being a good leader for the horse, moving his horse's body around to cause the shape and focus he wanted, and then spent some time answering questions from the audience.
Shelley from the Contented Equine gave us a presentation on horse health, taking an accurate horse weight, and body scoring.
The day wrapped up with a demo from myself on working with your horse offline (no ropes or halter) and riding with no bridle explaining one of the approaches you can use to work towards that goal.
All in all it was a great educational day with so much information, as well as great food, and excellent vendor displays and products.... and great door prizes included lesson packages, clinic spots, horse imaging, auditor passes to clinics, and more.
What an amazing 3 days riding at the Can Am Equine Expo with my childhood hero, Olympian Show Jumper Beth Underhill. I was so incredibly nervous to have a coach of Beth's calibre and expertise critiquing my riding, but what a valuable opportunity!
We arrived on Good Friday and Sabio was an absolute dream - he settled into his stall nicely and we got ready to ride on day 1. Sabio is my off the track Thoroughbred gelding I purchased in the fall, and have only shown twice (January and March) before riding at Can Am.
My key takeaways from Day 1 included:
Take a deep breathe and try to relax and focus... remembering courses is key
Collection is important - be able to adjust strides easily from shorter to longer
Precision is important - riding every jump with a plan, riding every transition with timing
Use poles at the top end of the ring to encourage riding the whole ring
From Day 2:
Ask, Tell, Demand - this is similar to the Parelli phases
Transitions need to be snappy - the horse needs to respond right away
Practice lengthening and shortening strides in the same line (although Sabio really just needs practice with shortening)
Practice transitions within a line of jumps
Have a mix of trot and canter approaches to jumps
Gymnastics are key to teaching form and patience to horses while jumping
From Day 3:
Outside aids hold a turn together
Plan turns a jump ahead - e.g. taking a jump on an angle to set up better for the next jump
Practice Figure 8's with jumps along the outside wall.
Practice roll backs for smooth turns and centred to each jump
Count strides and know your plan of strides for every line and turn
All in all it was fantastic but I did have my fair share of blunders with successes - watch the footage and get my take on things... with both the good and embarrassing moments... http://youtu.be/1xpE6OMMpYc
Luckily the footing in the sand ring is starting to dry up so we're riding and trying to stay fit before going to Can Am this weekend to ride with Beth Underhill!
Sabio is sporting his new clip and we're making the most of flat work with transitions and patterns because the footing still isn't great to jump on.
The farm is a bit of a muddy mess right now but we're excited to make some changes this year after the arena goes up.
Let us know if you have any success or failure stories on dealing with mud. From Facebook comments it looks like recycled asphalt could meet our needs in the high traffic areas.
Today we went to Trillium. ...hunters.... and discovered Sabio needed a clipping because of how sweaty he got. The clinic with Beth Underhill coming up I thought he would appreciate being cooler for exercise.
James decided to help out - take a look.
Sabio did well at the show. 4, 5, & 5 in the hacks...and we only went so we could ride in an indoor ring (because really we're jumpers) with good footing ....we cant wait for our indoor ring!
There is so much starting to happen at PHH now that the
weather is warming up. If everything goes according to plan, this will be the
last winter we need to survive without an indoor ring J
We are still awaiting final timelines, but it looks like we
will have a 250x80ft indoor arena going up and we will give you details as they
become available. It’s been a goal and dream of mine to have my own indoor
arena, and I am super excited for the building to start.
Easter Weekend is coming up soon – and we’ll be at the Can
Am Equine Show at the Markham Fairgrounds (http://canamequine.com/).
I’ve been selected to ride in a demonstration lesson with Olympic Show Jumper
Beth Underhill April 3-5 at the show. This is so exciting for me because I’ve
been a fan of Beth’s since I was a little girl watching her win the Shell Cup Derby
at Spruce Meadows many years ago aboard her 22 yr old gelding named Monopoly.
I was so inspired I even painted my Barbie horse like
Monopoly – it is so exciting to be riding with Beth many years later. If you
want to come watch you can expect to see me riding Sabio around lunchtime in
the main ring all 3 days of the show.
For an exciting seasonal goal, I’ve purchased two off the
track Thoroughbreds for the Retired Race Horse Project’s Throughbred Makeover
Contest (http://www.retiredracehorseproject.org/2015-thoroughbred-makeover).
This is a show that is hosted at the Kentucky Horse Park in Kentucky, US. This
is also a dream of mine to ride at Kentucky Horse Park – I visited there on a
family trip when I was younger. I found it an amazing place and can’t believe I’ll
be showing there later this year! The show has over 330 horses entered already
and is only accepting a few more – it is going to be a busy event!
The horses I will be bringing – Kahleesi and Cupid – have begun
some natural horsemanship foundation training and are making great progress
despite the challenges from weather. Kaheelsi is a super smart 8 yr old grey
mare that I think is going to excel in jumping, and barrel racing. Cupid is a 7
yr old chestnut gelding that is super laid back and pokey… despite being
purchased fresh off the track from Ohio in February. I think he is going to do
well in hunters and trail class. Either way I am excited to take them to
Kentucky and am so thrilled that several students have already booked their
hotel rooms to come down and cheer us on for the events.
My first experience with facilitated equine learning aka FEEL, I wasn't sure what to expect.
