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
You Need to Be Willing to Experiment
I’ve found that no matter what experience you have, you really need to experiment. I think that is what good trainers actually do. They ride and they have their antennas out, and they’re always feeling for things.
So I want you to use your feel more than your logic. Don’t just repeat aids that you see in a book. After you’ve experimented, and you’ve found what your horse tells you he needs, then you can go home and try to figure out the logic of what just worked and why. The bottom line is, the more you experiment, the more successful you’re going to be.
This is a quote from Karen Rohlf from her book, Improve Everything You Do With Your Horse.
Karen also says the following.
Remember, the most important relationship is between you and your horse. not between you and an instructor that says, “That looks good.” … You and your horse’s understanding of one another has to come first, before what looks good. That’s always my first priority.
So remember, you are the expert on your horse. You should know your horse better than anyone else. Learn from the experts and their books, videos and clinics and then experiment with your horse to find out what works and what doesn’t work. You and your horse will be better for it.
Here's link to Karen's website.
And a link to the Bluebonnet Equine Humane Society.
And also a link to the Second Half Horsemanship website.
I've found that no matter what experience you have, you really need to experiment. I think that is what good trainers actually do. They ride and they have their antennas out, and they're always feeling for things. So I want you to use your feel more than your logic. Don't just repeat aids that you see in a book.After you've experimented and you've found what your horse tells you he needs, then you can go home and try to figure out the logic of what just worked and why. The bottom line is the more you experiment, the more successful you're going to be. This is a quote from Karen Rohlf from her book, Improve Everything You Do with Your Horse. 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 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and a more in depth discussion or interview on weekends. I'm your host, Paul Sherland. I've been following Karen Rohlf for several years, and I'm a big fan of her Dressage Naturally website, Facebook page, and podcast. She recognizes that horses are individuals with individual personalities. One aid or technique is not going to work with all horses. Part of building a conversation with your horse is your willingness to experiment with variations of aids or the absence of some aids to find out what works for you and your horse. Karen also says the following. Remember, the most important relationship is between you and your horse, not between you and an instructor that says,"that looks good". You and your horse's understanding of one another has to come first before what looks good. That's always my first priority. So remember, you are the expert on your horse. You should know your horse better than anyone else. Learn from the experts and their books, videos, and clinics, and then experiment with your horse to find out what works and what doesn't work. You and your horse will be better for it. Of all sources of training information for your horse, Karen's website and podcast are some of the best. She focuses on training with relaxation. If your horse is responding to your aids without relaxation, you have a problem. I'll have a link to Karen's website in the show notes. The Bluebonnet Equine Humane Society Training Challenge was held yesterday here in Texas. This is an event where professional and amateur trainers spent 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 Almost Daily Second Half Horsemanship Podcast. If you're also on the second half horsemanship journey, please leave a comment on our website, second half horsemanship dot 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.
