Is your horse a solid dependable character or does he transform from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde depending on the circumstances? Is your horse an angel when he gets to do what he wants but a devil if you make a request he does not agree with? Do you get along fine with your horse … Continue Reading »
My wonderful Fire horse temperament mare, Cerise, loves to be praised but she prefers charitable giving to being forced to comply. When I ask her nicely to do something and she is in the mood she will give it her all. On the other hand, if she is not feeling good or is having a … Continue Reading »
My Yang Ming(Metal/Earth) horse temperament has lots of skeletons in his closet. He has been doing so well recovering from his traumas as an x roping and barrel horse. He has gotten very comfortable here at the farm and can handle trail rides well. The challenge is taking him to arenas. In his roping and … Continue Reading »
Remi, my Yang Ming horse temperament gelding, has finally decided his life here with me is OK. I have had Remi three and a half years and it has taken him this long to trust I am not going to mistreat him. Remi has a checkered past as a roping and barrel racing horse. Although, … Continue Reading »
I was having a nice ride on Cerise this morning until I asked her to bend and move forward at the same time. As a Fire horse personality, Cerise has her own ideas about how to do things and bending and moving off my leg is something she does not agree with. It is not … Continue Reading »
Are you able to stay focused when you are around your horse? I have a terrible time with this. I have learned to remain present when I am around people but when I go to the pasture my mind chatter takes over. God has been pointing out to me lately the need to quite my … Continue Reading »
When I say a job I don’t mean go around a course of jumps or do a reining pattern, I mean if you get in a bind can your horse step up and help you. For example, I was riding with a friend that was taking a young Wood horse temperament colt out on the … Continue Reading »
Some horses are just way more affectionate, kind, and gentle than others. Their love overflows and they tend to act more like dogs than horses. What kind of horses are these? They aren’t a specific breed but they are a specific horse personality type. The horse in a dog suit is an Earth horse personality … Continue Reading »
I had a fantastic horsemanship lesson with my Fire horse temperament mare, Cerise, yesterday. My trainer, Linda Hoover, was in town and even though the weather was freezing I wanted to ride. I have been stuck for a while with helping Cerise carry herself in good posture through all gaits and up and down transitions. … Continue Reading »
I was having a discussion with my natural horsemanship mentor, Linda Hoover, and she made a comment that really caught my attention. She said that in order to get a horse to think the thought you want them to you have to get them to let go of the thought he has. Very interesting. How … Continue Reading »
I had an interesting experience last week. I have been working hard with counting cadence and getting in timing with my horse’s feet. I have been doing pretty well with the trot and lope but the walk was giving the trouble. I could get the rhythm but I kept getting out of timing with the … Continue Reading »
I took Remi to a horsemanship clinic with Tom Curtain this weekend. I have not ridden Remi in over a month because of weather, travel and my health so I was really asking a lot of him. I have been letting him and Tess come along on the few rides I have made on Cerise … Continue Reading »
I have not been riding much lately which always makes me grouchy but the bit I have been able to do has been a blast. My cousin leases my pastures for his goats and cows so the gat has been open to his 30 acres. I have been riding on this land on Cerise and … Continue Reading »
I was watching one of my hens last night right before bedtime. I heard her making that sound they make when they are annoyed but I could not see any cats or lurking fox around bothering her. As a matter of fact she was all by herself stomping around outside the pen. This is the … Continue Reading »
The Yang Ming(Metal/Earth) horse temperament is prone to getting into trouble and getting hurt in the process. Whether it is a foot hung in the fence or puncture wounds from sharp objects these horses are accident prone. The Wood horse temperament will tear things up but it is done on purpose and they rarely get … Continue Reading »
I love living on the same property as my horses. It allows me to be much more spontaneous in my interaction with them. Before if I went over to the clinic to ride that was what I did and I rarely went over just to pet or hang out with the horses. This morning it … Continue Reading »
I took Remi to the lake today but we did not have time to swim. I was looking to test my new approach to his spookiness. I had been coddling him when he got tense and trying to show him he could trust me to take care of him. That approach would have been perfect … Continue Reading »
In the Five Element horse temperament typing I focus a lot on picking the right match for a particular person or event. The horse typing test is designed to help people know what horse will be best for them or what kind of horse they already have. What I have not done so much is … Continue Reading »
One on the advantages of having Remi a barefoot horse again is that I can take him swimming in the lake without having to worry about him pulling shoes off in the mud. The temp has been over 100 for the past week so this morning my friend, Sharon, and I went to the lake … Continue Reading »
I took Remi to a ranch horse versatility training last Friday. He is still acting real spooky so I wanted to see how he would do away from home. He was relaxed when I loaded him but when we got to the new place and he saw lots of riders with ropes he got very … Continue Reading »