My Stall Door

On Saturday morning when I went out to the barn to prepare for my 10am lesson, this is what I found.

Stryker's looking down at the door like "Hmm, not sure, but I don't think the door should be like this. Scottie...."

The door was completely off the hinges and hanging by one little latch that I recently put on. Stryker was still in, that was the good news. He could have easily been tempted to hop over the dismantled door and perhaps would have injured himself in the process. So how can this happen you ask?

Ask Scottie. He was apparently trying to chew his way in and discovered that he could lift the door with his mouth. There are NO kick marks. I believe if Scottie kicked the door it would've been shattered. For those of you who have not had the pleasure of meeting him in person, the 17.2h draft cross is LARGE.

What was that I said? Chew his way in? Yep. He is not trying to let Stryker out. Oh, that's a nice thought. But it's not the right one. That was his stall. Every morning and evening like clockwork, at feeding time, he would go right in there. He would politely wait for his food, then stay a while. (If I didn't shut him in he would take the other's food.) So he would use that time alone to rest. To not be the herd leader. To decompress. You get the picture. With Stryker in there he does not get that down time. I know how you feel buddy, I need my alone time too. :)

Loretta

the natural horseman
clear communication/visible results

My Stall Door

On Saturday morning when I went out to the barn to prepare for my 10am lesson, this is what I found.

Stryker's looking down at the door like "Hmm, not sure, but I don't think the door should be like this. Scottie...."

The door was completely off the hinges and hanging by one little latch that I recently put on. Stryker was still in, that was the good news. He could have easily been tempted to hop over the dismantled door and perhaps would have injured himself in the process. So how can this happen you ask?

Ask Scottie. He was apparently trying to chew his way in and discovered that he could lift the door with his mouth. There are NO kick marks. I believe if Scottie kicked the door it would've been shattered. For those of you who have not had the pleasure of meeting him in person, the 17.2h draft cross is LARGE.

What was that I said? Chew his way in? Yep. He is not trying to let Stryker out. Oh, that's a nice thought. But it's not the right one. That was his stall. Every morning and evening like clockwork, at feeding time, he would go right in there. He would politely wait for his food, then stay a while. (If I didn't shut him in he would take the other's food.) So he would use that time alone to rest. To not be the herd leader. To decompress. You get the picture. With Stryker in there he does not get that down time. I know how you feel buddy, I need my alone time too. :)

Loretta

the natural horseman
clear communication/visible results

Being the herd leader

I was talking to a client who owns a dominant mare that she is considering selling, for several reasons. One of which is the fact she is so dominant over her herd of 1 that he is constantly getting bitten. When I visited the farm I watched and waited. Sure enough it was not long before the nipping started. So, I took on the role of the herd leader, ousting the mare. I walked over to her in a very stern way and told her to move with my body. I did not speak a word. Horses are very quiet animals. We need not speak to communicate clearly. She was quite puzzled and it appeared she had never been treated like this by a human. She questioned me, and I reinforced to her, "Yes, I said move NOW." So, with pinned ears, back she went. Since she pinned her ears and that is slightly aggressive on her part, I decided to keep moving her for another few moments. And these really were just moments. For the rest of the time I was visiting she did NOT tell her herd mate to move-at all.

The owner's comment was, "Oh, I just yell at her." We talked about this for a while. If you have not been exposed to this type of training it may not be obvious. Once you understand it though, it will always be the best answer. I 'spoke' to the horse in her language. She was the boss and proved that by moving the other. I was the boss and proved that by moving her. In a herd, the one who controls the movement is the leader. Let's say that again, the one who controls the movement is the leader. You will find many behavior issues can be dealt with once you are aware of how the herd interacts, and how they perceive your actions.

Loretta


clear communication/visible results

Being the herd leader

I was talking to a client who owns a dominant mare that she is considering selling, for several reasons. One of which is the fact she is so dominant over her herd of 1 that he is constantly getting bitten. When I visited the farm I watched and waited. Sure enough it was not long before the nipping started. So, I took on the role of the herd leader, ousting the mare. I walked over to her in a very stern way and told her to move with my body. I did not speak a word. Horses are very quiet animals. We need not speak to communicate clearly. She was quite puzzled and it appeared she had never been treated like this by a human. She questioned me, and I reinforced to her, "Yes, I said move NOW." So, with pinned ears, back she went. Since she pinned her ears and that is slightly aggressive on her part, I decided to keep moving her for another few moments. And these really were just moments. For the rest of the time I was visiting she did NOT tell her herd mate to move-at all.

The owner's comment was, "Oh, I just yell at her." We talked about this for a while. If you have not been exposed to this type of training it may not be obvious. Once you understand it though, it will always be the best answer. I 'spoke' to the horse in her language. She was the boss and proved that by moving the other. I was the boss and proved that by moving her. In a herd, the one who controls the movement is the leader. Let's say that again, the one who controls the movement is the leader. You will find many behavior issues can be dealt with once you are aware of how the herd interacts, and how they perceive your actions.

Loretta


clear communication/visible results

Pondering resolutions

"Stop performing the actions that do not bring about desired results & start performing the actions that do." Mark Joyner, founder of www.simpleology.com

Let's ponder that statement. Read it several times. Things are much easier to do than we let on. We make them harder than they need to be. Like nike says, just do it. But sometimes it is EASIER to not do. Or maybe it's more pleasant at that moment to not do it. We are always making choices. Even when we do nothing. We have made a choice to not act. The thing is, most of us are so programed that when this occurs we don't even realize it. We're on autopilot.

When we choose to not perform an action that we think we should be performing it is usually because we do not clearly see what the end result will bring us. For example: My goal is to have a neat and tidy home so I will feel less clutter physically and mentally. Today I chose to not put away the laundry and downloaded pictures instead. Which task was more pleasant? The pics of course! Which task gets me to my goal? Putting the laundry away. So, in order to have the end result the way we want it to be, we may need to endure some things along the way.

All actions have reactions. Even the act of not acting!

So what is one to do? Remind ourselves daily of our goals, no matter how big or small. We could put post it notes around, or make a vision board. Whatever we do we must keep the goal in sight and keep reaching and completing the steps in order to attain it. I think the reason people give up on their resolutions is because they do not see results and are in the doing unpleasant tasks phase. If your goal is weight loss and Jan 31 rolls around and you've worked out 4 days every week and not lost any weight yet, you may feel frustrated for putting out all that hard work and not getting anything in return. Then poof, resolution forgotten and goal not attained. But if you can realize that it takes time, and each day you do get closer and closer, then maybe you can hang on to that goal.

It is always easier to not XXXXX. Think about it. There would be no couch potatoes if everyone just simply did XXXXX.









Loretta

the natural horseman
clear communication/visible results

Pondering resolutions

"Stop performing the actions that do not bring about desired results & start performing the actions that do." Mark Joyner, founder of www.simpleology.com

Let's ponder that statement. Read it several times. Things are much easier to do than we let on. We make them harder than they need to be. Like nike says, just do it. But sometimes it is EASIER to not do. Or maybe it's more pleasant at that moment to not do it. We are always making choices. Even when we do nothing. We have made a choice to not act. The thing is, most of us are so programed that when this occurs we don't even realize it. We're on autopilot.

When we choose to not perform an action that we think we should be performing it is usually because we do not clearly see what the end result will bring us. For example: My goal is to have a neat and tidy home so I will feel less clutter physically and mentally. Today I chose to not put away the laundry and downloaded pictures instead. Which task was more pleasant? The pics of course! Which task gets me to my goal? Putting the laundry away. So, in order to have the end result the way we want it to be, we may need to endure some things along the way.

All actions have reactions. Even the act of not acting!

So what is one to do? Remind ourselves daily of our goals, no matter how big or small. We could put post it notes around, or make a vision board. Whatever we do we must keep the goal in sight and keep reaching and completing the steps in order to attain it. I think the reason people give up on their resolutions is because they do not see results and are in the doing unpleasant tasks phase. If your goal is weight loss and Jan 31 rolls around and you've worked out 4 days every week and not lost any weight yet, you may feel frustrated for putting out all that hard work and not getting anything in return. Then poof, resolution forgotten and goal not attained. But if you can realize that it takes time, and each day you do get closer and closer, then maybe you can hang on to that goal.

It is always easier to not XXXXX. Think about it. There would be no couch potatoes if everyone just simply did XXXXX.









Loretta

the natural horseman
clear communication/visible results