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
Force Will Not Get Rid of Nervousness
Is the use of force really going to get rid of a horse’s nervousness? Are you joking? It’s obviously going to make it worse and worse. It has no place to go but downhill. And that is the secret about using force on a horse, any time, any place, for almost any reason. The more force you use, the more scared he gets. The more scared he gets, the more he resists. The more he resists, the more force you use.
See where this is going? Your only hope is to feel that original nervous tension and to instantly think, “Why? Why is my horse responding this way? Is he hurting in some way? If so, where and why? Or is my riding confusing him? Am I asking something he doesn’t understand? Am I driving him too hard? Is he getting tired, frustrated, anxious?”
Your only hope is to find the real reason and start by trying to fix it. No force. Don’t go there. Don’t start that snowball rolling.
This is a quote from Denny Emerson’s latest book, Begin and Begin Again - The Bright Optimism of Reinventing Life with Horses.
And a link to Shawna Karrasch Equine.
This is a link to Descript, the audio and video editing tool I recommend.
And a link to Second Half Horsemanship.
Is the use of force really going to get rid of a horse's nervousness? Are you joking? It's obviously going to make it worse and worse. It has no place to go but downhill. And that's the secret about using force on a horse anytime, any place, for almost any reason. The more force you use, the more scared he gets. The more scared he gets, the more he resists. The more he resists, the more force you use. See where this is going. Your only hope is to feel that original nervous tension and to instantly think, Why? Why is my horse responding this way? Is he hurting in some way? If so, where and why? Or is my riding confusing him? Am I asking something he doesn't understand? Am I driving him too hard? Is he getting tired, frustrated, anxious? Your only hope is to find the real reason and start by trying to fix it. No force. Don't go there. Don't start that snowball rolling. This is a quote from Denny Emerson's latest book. Begin and Begin Again, the Bright Optimism of Reinventing Life with Horses. 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 boarded in barns where riders used various types of force to fix nervous tension. It didn't work and seemed to be part of a progression to more forceful fixes and a more nervous horse. I attended a Shawna Karrasch Positive Reinforcement Clinic this weekend, and Shawna told a story about a mare that had become dangerously aggressive after increasingly forceful handling. She said the mare was subjected to instant and forceful correction whenever she did something the trainer wasn't happy with. When sold to the trainer as a filly, this horse had been calm and easy to handle. When Shawna and her co-presenter Jessie checked on the mare, they were told not to enter the horse's stall. It was too dangerous. Dressage Naturally clinician Karen Rohlf tells a similar story about her childhood horse being sold to what was expected to be a good home. The horse's new owner subjected the horse to forceful training and forceful equipment, and Karen says she was warned about entering the horse's stall when she went to visit the horse. So what happens to most of these horses that become unmanageable after the use of force as a training tool? They're probably sent to kill auctions. Their lives end early because of the use of force in training. So I hope we all heed Denny's advice and don't use force. Don't get that fear and force snowball rolling with any of your horses. 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.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. One more note, I use Descript for editing the podcast. If you do any video or audio editing, you should check out what Descript offers. It's an incredible tool for creatives. I'll also have a link to Descript in the show notes. 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.
