Senior Horsemanship - Tips to Help Us Enjoy Better Years with Horses and More of Them
The podcast name is changed to Senior Horsemanship and I’ll be building the senior horsemanship website over the next few weeks.So why the change? Probably the most important reason is that I’m certainly a senior horseman at age 71 with three horses. I’m very interested in riding, caring for, and training my horses as long as I can. I’m also very interested in making as long as I can to be as long as possible.That’s my goal in horsemanship. I don’t have any goals in the competitive arena, Not that competition is bad, but I just want to enjoy my horses. If you compete, then I hope you do it for the joy of working with your horse.So what will we talk about? How about the following.I’d like to talk about horse training, first because a well trained horse makes life safer and makes our time with our horse more enjoyable. A well trained horse also has better prospects for a good home if for some reason, we can’t continue to keep our horse. So for the good of ourselves and our horses, horse training for seniors is a great topic.I’d like to talk about horse care. I care for my horses myself and I’ve learned some things in the process that I’d like to share. I also hope to learn from others about ways to make horse care better and easier as we grow older.I’d like to talk about riding fitness and safety around horses. I’ve lost about 40 pounds over the last year and a half and it’s made riding easier for me and my horses. But with the weight loss has come a loss of some strength. I’ve also suffered from my share of horse-related injuries over the years including a broken arm, broken ribs, several concussions and most recently broken toes. What can we do to be safer with our horses. I’m not as nimble as I once was.I’d like to talk about the mental aspects of horsemanship because we need to rely on the mental more than the physical as we get older. When I was younger, there were ways of handling horses that could be characterized by “make them do it” and “don’t let them get away with it”. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that there are better ways and I’ll talk about them.Finally, I’ll talk about how horsemanship can be much more than riding a horse. I’ve been a volunteer with Bluebonnet Equine Humane Society here in Texas for a number of years and there are some volunteers who could be examples for all of us. Several volunteers can’t ride anymore, but they foster horses and give them a great start on a new path in life. Other volunteers work on the admin side to give the organization the ability to help as many horses as possible. All of those activities count as horsemanship. We’ll talk about those and more.Again, I appreciate all of the topic ideas I’ve received from members of the Equestrian Seniors Facebook group. I appreciate your interest in the podcast. And I hope to continue to provide information that interests you in the days ahead.Thanks for listening.
Senior Horsemanship - Tips to Help Us Enjoy Better Years with Horses and More of Them
Helping Your Horse Can Strengthen a Connection
Snowman would do anything my dad asked of him, and I believe that is because Snowman understood that my dad saved him and that down deep, the two of them were connected and somehow both of their lives were gonna be affected forever because they met.
This is a quote from Harriet deLeyer from the movie, Harry and Snowman. Harriet is talking about the relationship between her father, Harry deLeyer, and Snowman, the $80 former plow horse rescued from a truck bound for a slaughter house. Snowman later was named Horse of the Year and the pair won the jumper championship several times at the National Horse Show in New York City.
I also recommend the book, The Eighty-Dollar Champion: Snowman, The Horse That Inspired a Nation, by Elizabeth Letts.
There are many ways to build a connection with your horse. Based on my experiences, I think that helping your horse is one of them.
Here's a link to the Bluebonnet Equine Humane Society.
And a link to the Second Half Horsemanship website.
Snowman would do anything my dad asked of him, and I believe that is because Snowman understood that my dad saved him and that down deep, the two of them were connected and somehow both of their lives were gonna be affected forever because they met.
Paul Sherland:This is a quote from Harriet deLeyer from the movie Harry and Snowman. Harriet is talking about the relationship between her father, Harry deLeyer and Snowman, the$80 former plow horse rescued from a truck bound for a slaughter house. Snowman later was named Horse of the Year, and the pair won the Jumper Championship several times at the National Horse Show in New York City. Welcome to the Almost Daily Second Half Horsemanship Podcast, where we talk about using your mind more than your muscles on the path to better horsemanship in the second half of life. The podcast features a thought for the day, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and a more in depth discussion or interview on the weekend. I'm your host, Paul Sherland. I love the story of Harry deLeyer and Snowman because it illustrates how you can create a bond with a horse by helping that horse. Snowman knew that he'd been rescued by Harry and he became a family horse as well as a champion jumper. You can learn more about Harry deLeyer and Snowman by reading the book, The$80 Champion: Snowman, the Horse That Inspired A Nation by Elizabeth Letts. I also recommend watching the movie Harry and Snowman. It's available on Amazon Prime and features video footage of Snowman as the champion jumper and the family horse, along with interviews with Harry, some of his children, and George Morris, Rodney Jenkins. It seemed to me that my connection with my first horse grew much stronger after I nursed her back to health after tying up at our boarding barn. Other horses have also appreciated the care they've received after being injured. So there are many ways to build a connection with your horse. Based on my experiences, I think that helping a horse is one of them. Speaking of helping a horse, the Bluebonnet Equine Humane Society Training Challenge is coming up this weekend here in Texas. This is an event where professional and amateur trainers spend three to four months training rescued horses to give them a new start in life. If you'd like to donate, I'll have a link to the Bluebonnet Equine Humane Society website in the show notes. Thanks for listening to the Second Half Horsemanship Podcast. If you're also on the second half horsemanship journey, please leave a comment on our website, second half horsemanship.com. We're always looking for topic and interview ideas. When I use links to books, products, and services in the podcast, some of those links might be referral links. As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I earn a small commission when you purchase something through those links, but you will not be charged more by using the links. If you enjoyed the podcast, please leave a review wherever you listen to podcasts. Your reviews help the podcast reach a larger audience. Thank you very much.
