Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Featured rider and horse!
Hello friends!
I promised some spotlight time for one of my great lesson riders, Helen, who has been learning (and loving!) Keller, my one-eyed wonder! They are such a great pair.
Hope you enjoy the photos!
Sunday, October 3, 2010
16 ft Gooseneck Stock Trailer!
Please spread the word!
For sale! 16ft gooseneck stock trailer. 1982 Jackson. Sanded and repainted last year. Good floors and all around condition. Does not look its age! Used regularly with no issue. $3500 OBO. Contact Alex for details.
Thanks!
Friday, September 10, 2010
Meet Lady!
Hello friends!
Sorry it's been so long since I've updated this blog. I have a few entries in the works and will do better as the busy summer season comes to a close. Though, I am sad to see the warm weather start to go! It will be a long winter, but we'll make the most of it, as always.
In any case, I'd like to introduce a very special horse that's a part of the Three Rivers family, but is currently looking for her forever home. She is a 4 year old (born 2006) AQHA mare. I call her Lady, though her registered name is "Justins Pickles."
Lady came into my life a little over a year ago. I was looking for some youngsters to start for the summer and heard about some nice colts through another trainer. When I showed up, there was in fact one colt that looked in decent condition (he had apparently only been there a month or so), but then there was Lady. She was WAY to thin, wide eyed and terrified, and was bleeding from her chest because they had "run her into the barbed wire to catch her" for me to look at it. Needless to say, despite her pathetic appearance (or maybe because of it) I HAD to take her. So some money exchanged hands and both colts jumped in my trailer. Don't know if she'd ever seen a trailer before, but both of them couldn't get out of that place fast enough!
Lady came home and I could hardly touch her. She and the other colt lived next to my house in a small pen and I caught her many times a day and loved on her, and she quickly realized that things were okay here. Within a couple weeks I was riding her! Not hard, because she was still too thin (but gaining weight FAST!) but enough to get her used to the idea.
Now it's a year later, and she looks like a different horse. She is a small, stocky mare with a lot of brains and enough heart for five horses. I put her first 30 days on her and since she has been ridden by a few students here and there, but primarily by Marty (my farrier and an excellent horseman in his own right) out in the hills. She has A LOT of miles on her for her young age and is a horse that would jump right off a cliff for you if you asked. But, she's not for just anyone, as she is so smart and she is young, so I'd like her to go to someone with some experience.
Lady is looking for a FOREVER home, and will have one here until the perfect person comes around. She's quite the horse and I love having her around, so I'm going to be very picky. But, she deserves lots of love and attention, and the more she gets ridden the better she gets. She's the sort of horse where if I keep her near my house and turn her loose to graze in the front yard, she comes running when I walk out the door and yell her name. She will be your best friend and a dedicated partner.
Please spread the word, and let me know if you are interested!
Friday, June 11, 2010
Riding the Roads
Hello friends!
As the weather gets warmer (sort of) and more and more of you are coming out for lessons, I’ve noticed that there are a few questions that I seem to answer all the time. So, I thought that I would post some of my most used explanations.
If you have a question that you would like me to address on the blog, please feel free to email me at alex@threerivershorsetraining.com. I would prefer to answer more general questions on the blog than issues specific to your horse, as without seeing you and your horse in person it is hard for me to make accurate evaluations of what is going on and what needs to be done.
Riding the roads: Encountering bikes, ATVs, cars, trucks and the dreaded UPS truck
As spring and summer come around, a lot of you will be riding on county roads, crossing busy streets to get to your favorite trails, or sharing the mountains with bikes and ATVs. I am asked quite often how to properly prepare a horse for these sorts of encounters. There are many ways to do this, but the long and short of it is that you need to have your horse’s confidence and attention to ensure a safe experience, because you can’t possibly expose your horse to every “scary” thing in the world. However, I’ll give you the exercise that I find most helpful when working with scary things on wheels, and it will be a great place for you to start.
To begin with, think of the environment you are going to be practicing in. If your horse is deathly afraid of bikes, I would recommend getting an old bike and bringing it into an enclosed area, like a round pen or an arena, and making the introduction within the confines of a fence. Likewise, if traffic pushes your horse over the edge, please don’t go out and try these exercises on a busy, paved road. Stay on a driveway in an area you know well, and even consider having a friend drive over on a car or ATV and act as your assistant, so you can properly “control” the traffic while you train.
Once you are confident in your surroundings, think about how the horse has been perceiving these “scary” situations. Horses are prey animals, and the worst feeling in the world for a prey animal must be for something to sneak up behind them, or to be approaching at a speed greater than they are traveling, appearing to “chase” them. Often times, the goofy behavior prompted by a car or bike driving passed us on the road, is really the horse’s anxiety of having something seeming to chase them, and they are simply acting on their instinct to flee. When we block them with our seat and reins, and don’t allow them to move their feet in accordance with this flight instinct, goofiness ensues, because they don’t know what else to do!
So, I would suggest setting the situation up so that you reverse the roles prey/predator roles, and allow the horse to move its feet the way their instincts tell them to. To do this, have the horse chase the bike, car or ATV. In an enclosed arena, have a friend ride a bike away from you, and set it up so your horse feels as though they are chasing the bike away, just as they would a cow, or that pesky dog trying to get into their food. Have the horse trot after the bike with purpose, and when you stop your horse, make sure the bike continues on, to give the horse a feeling of accomplishment. Suddenly, you’ve given your horse the confidence of a predator! (This strategy works for introducing all sorts of “scary” things. For instance, introduce your flag or tarp by dragging it in front of the horse and letting them chase it, just like the bike.)
Now what about traffic? If I’m riding on the road with a horse that I’m not sure will be able to handle a car coming by, and I hear a vehicle approaching behind me, I will ask my horse to turn around and face the vehicle. As the car gets closer and passes me, I tip my horses nose to follow the car as it drives by, and once the car has passed I cue my horse to trot after it. Most likely, the car will be going faster than my trot, and the horse will feel as though they pushed that car right out of your territory! By turning the horse towards the car as it approaches from behind, I avoid letting that vehicle get into my horse’s blind spot and sneaking up on us. By turning with the car as it passes, I allow the horse to feel like they are in control for the entire situation, and never let the car get into a position where it feels as though the horse is being chased.
You will probably only need to trot after the vehicle once or twice. Eventually, just turning the horse to face the traffic and letting them track the vehicle as it passes will be enough. Sooner or later, all you will need to do is tip the horse’s eye so they can see what’s coming up behind them, and they will track the vehicle on their own without having to physically turn and chase the vehicle.
Many of you ask me if there will ever come a day when you don’t have to tip the horse’s eye when you hear a car coming up behind you. Sure. Eventually your horse won’t have any issues with moving vehicles, and will act like they are not even there. However, I never ride my horse assuming that they will not be startled by something coming up behind them. If my dog stays behind a few hundred yards, and then races to catch up when I call her, I tip my horse’s eye to watch her coming. Not because my horse is afraid of dogs, but because I’d like to avoid any unnecessary startling of my horse, or me for that matter!
So, that being said, if I know something is coming up behind me, or into any blind spot (or even just a spot my horse happens to not be looking at at that moment), I try to draw my horse’s attention to that potentially scary thing. Even the brokest of broke horses can be startled, and as the rider and leader of my partnership with the horse, I feel it is my obligation to prepare my horse as best as I can for what’s about to happen, to make our ride as successful and enjoyable as possible. So stay alert, and pay attention to the bigger picture: where your horse’s mind is. If your horse is so focused down the road, because that’s where the barn is, and is paying no attention to you or your surroundings, most likely if a car comes up behind them they are going to spook. Don’t let it go that far. When you notice your horse is not paying attention to their surroundings, get to work asking them to focus on you and what’s happening around you, and save both yourself and your horse a lot of unnecessarily stressful riding.
Good luck, be safe and have fun!
As the weather gets warmer (sort of) and more and more of you are coming out for lessons, I’ve noticed that there are a few questions that I seem to answer all the time. So, I thought that I would post some of my most used explanations.
If you have a question that you would like me to address on the blog, please feel free to email me at alex@threerivershorsetraining.com. I would prefer to answer more general questions on the blog than issues specific to your horse, as without seeing you and your horse in person it is hard for me to make accurate evaluations of what is going on and what needs to be done.
Riding the roads: Encountering bikes, ATVs, cars, trucks and the dreaded UPS truck
As spring and summer come around, a lot of you will be riding on county roads, crossing busy streets to get to your favorite trails, or sharing the mountains with bikes and ATVs. I am asked quite often how to properly prepare a horse for these sorts of encounters. There are many ways to do this, but the long and short of it is that you need to have your horse’s confidence and attention to ensure a safe experience, because you can’t possibly expose your horse to every “scary” thing in the world. However, I’ll give you the exercise that I find most helpful when working with scary things on wheels, and it will be a great place for you to start.
To begin with, think of the environment you are going to be practicing in. If your horse is deathly afraid of bikes, I would recommend getting an old bike and bringing it into an enclosed area, like a round pen or an arena, and making the introduction within the confines of a fence. Likewise, if traffic pushes your horse over the edge, please don’t go out and try these exercises on a busy, paved road. Stay on a driveway in an area you know well, and even consider having a friend drive over on a car or ATV and act as your assistant, so you can properly “control” the traffic while you train.
Once you are confident in your surroundings, think about how the horse has been perceiving these “scary” situations. Horses are prey animals, and the worst feeling in the world for a prey animal must be for something to sneak up behind them, or to be approaching at a speed greater than they are traveling, appearing to “chase” them. Often times, the goofy behavior prompted by a car or bike driving passed us on the road, is really the horse’s anxiety of having something seeming to chase them, and they are simply acting on their instinct to flee. When we block them with our seat and reins, and don’t allow them to move their feet in accordance with this flight instinct, goofiness ensues, because they don’t know what else to do!
So, I would suggest setting the situation up so that you reverse the roles prey/predator roles, and allow the horse to move its feet the way their instincts tell them to. To do this, have the horse chase the bike, car or ATV. In an enclosed arena, have a friend ride a bike away from you, and set it up so your horse feels as though they are chasing the bike away, just as they would a cow, or that pesky dog trying to get into their food. Have the horse trot after the bike with purpose, and when you stop your horse, make sure the bike continues on, to give the horse a feeling of accomplishment. Suddenly, you’ve given your horse the confidence of a predator! (This strategy works for introducing all sorts of “scary” things. For instance, introduce your flag or tarp by dragging it in front of the horse and letting them chase it, just like the bike.)
Now what about traffic? If I’m riding on the road with a horse that I’m not sure will be able to handle a car coming by, and I hear a vehicle approaching behind me, I will ask my horse to turn around and face the vehicle. As the car gets closer and passes me, I tip my horses nose to follow the car as it drives by, and once the car has passed I cue my horse to trot after it. Most likely, the car will be going faster than my trot, and the horse will feel as though they pushed that car right out of your territory! By turning the horse towards the car as it approaches from behind, I avoid letting that vehicle get into my horse’s blind spot and sneaking up on us. By turning with the car as it passes, I allow the horse to feel like they are in control for the entire situation, and never let the car get into a position where it feels as though the horse is being chased.
You will probably only need to trot after the vehicle once or twice. Eventually, just turning the horse to face the traffic and letting them track the vehicle as it passes will be enough. Sooner or later, all you will need to do is tip the horse’s eye so they can see what’s coming up behind them, and they will track the vehicle on their own without having to physically turn and chase the vehicle.
Many of you ask me if there will ever come a day when you don’t have to tip the horse’s eye when you hear a car coming up behind you. Sure. Eventually your horse won’t have any issues with moving vehicles, and will act like they are not even there. However, I never ride my horse assuming that they will not be startled by something coming up behind them. If my dog stays behind a few hundred yards, and then races to catch up when I call her, I tip my horse’s eye to watch her coming. Not because my horse is afraid of dogs, but because I’d like to avoid any unnecessary startling of my horse, or me for that matter!
So, that being said, if I know something is coming up behind me, or into any blind spot (or even just a spot my horse happens to not be looking at at that moment), I try to draw my horse’s attention to that potentially scary thing. Even the brokest of broke horses can be startled, and as the rider and leader of my partnership with the horse, I feel it is my obligation to prepare my horse as best as I can for what’s about to happen, to make our ride as successful and enjoyable as possible. So stay alert, and pay attention to the bigger picture: where your horse’s mind is. If your horse is so focused down the road, because that’s where the barn is, and is paying no attention to you or your surroundings, most likely if a car comes up behind them they are going to spook. Don’t let it go that far. When you notice your horse is not paying attention to their surroundings, get to work asking them to focus on you and what’s happening around you, and save both yourself and your horse a lot of unnecessarily stressful riding.
Good luck, be safe and have fun!
Monday, June 7, 2010
Meet Zane: Beautiful Palomino Missouri Fox Trotter
Hi everyone! Great news, the featured horse below, Doc, has been spoken for! He is going home with a GREAT family, and I'm thrilled for how bright his future looks!
But, there is another special horse in my life that is now on the market! Meet Zane. Zane is a 6 year old palomino gelding that I had in full training all winter and spring. I've ridden him all over the hills, in the arena, and even worked colts off of him. He gaits beautifully and is a blast to ride. He's not for a novice rider, because he has lots of energy, personality and enthusiasm. But he will put out a lot of effort and would make a great horse for trails, ranch work, or even to finish for the show ring. He has a ton of potential. He is only being sold because his owners are just beginning to ride and need a quieter horse without quite as much "go."
Contact me for more information!
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Open House 2010 was a success!
Thanks to everyone who came to the Open House yesterday! I had a blast, and I hope everyone else did as well.
Early in the day we conquered the obstacle course of games meant to challenge and teach partnership between horse and rider. All of the obstacles could be completed from the ground or under saddle, and many of the participants did both! The horses were so impressive handling all of the games we threw at them. I hardly saw a skitter or a jump all day! I took some pictures and will post a couple here, but search us out on facebook (Three Rivers Horse Training) to see the complete album!
The afternoon was full of lessons and thought provoking questions. We had a variety of breeds, experience level (both horse and rider) and issues to discuss. Kayla and her foxtrotter worked hard on building her confidence, and by the end of the lesson they were taking barrels at a gait like they weren't even there! We worked hard on giving Kayla some ideas of how she could bring her horse's mind back to her when he got distracted...even though he is such a big horse and she is such a small girl! She figured out it was all about keeping him busy and giving him a job. And she did it all with a smile. I think they both felt better by the end of the hour.
Julianna and her older Arabian, Buck, were definitely a hit and inspired a lot of great questions. Buck was a little nervous when he came in because of the audience, and it was a great opportunity to discuss how to be a leader without being a bully, and to let him find the confidence to pay attention to Julianna, and not be so preoccupied with everything else going on. Then they worked both from the ground and from the saddle on their walk-trot transition, because Buck is known for his uncomfortable trot, and we knew there was a nice, happy trot in their somewhere! I think the thought that was left at the forefront of everyone's mind after this lesson was how to keep things about the horse's mind, and keeping things soft and focused, and not get preoccupied by a "goal." In this case, that goal might have been "get Buck to TROT," since we were working on transitions, but as Julianna demonstrated it was more about getting Buck to be soft, focused and attentive to her energy, since we were looking for a specific sort of trot, not just any old two-beat gait. So she had to do some stuff that might not even seem like it had anything to do with the trot! But it definitely did! On the flip side, Julianna had to present that trot, and everything else for that matter, in a way that was clear and consistent, so Buck didn't get locked up and feel like he was being forced into that trot.
Next up came Nicki and her Rocky Mountain Gaited Horse colt, Chessie. Nicki is a very experienced rider trying to "reinvent" herself with this colt, and she has only ridden him about 3 times since I started him last fall, so they are in the process of getting to know each other. But, you wouldn't have known it by watching them together! We worked on some exercises she can work on to build her timing and Chessie's softness, like stepping his hindquarters over and nice soft bends through the round pen. We also worked on how to find that gait that the Rockies are known for, and took a lot from Julianna's lesson as we worked on getting Chessie to a big walk and back to a small walk using just Nicki's body, and then eventually getting that walk big enough that he "found" his gait. Once again, we found it wasn't about forcing that gait, but letting him happen upon it, and then being happy even if we just got a couple steps of it. Nicki and Chessie are heading out to the hills to ride, and so I have a feeling that by the time they get back, Chessie will be gaiting up a storm without either of them even thinking about it!
Last was Joe and his Arabian cross horse, Tuffy. They have worked together a lot in all sorts of "real-life" settings, from moving horses to feed lot work. Joe and Tuffy just went to work one day, and four years later Joe felt like there was something missing in their partnership. We worked on breaking down what looked like "pushiness" on Tuffy's part, and found that a lot of it was anxiety and insecurity, since Tuffy didn't really have any clear boundaries from Joe. So, we started breaking things down even further, so that Joe could work on being able to change and direct Tuffy's mind, even if it was just a little look from one direction to another, or a few steps back without pulling on the halter. Within 15 minutes that horse looked happier, and Joe was no longer fighting off Tuffy pushing and rubbing all over him. Joe then got in the saddle and we worked on getting Tuffy to break at the pole, raise his back and soften to a feel on the reins, instead of bracing against it. Tuffy got pretty worried there for a minute, because he thought in the last 4 years he had trained Joe pretty well, and all of a sudden the game changed! But they came through it, and the lesson I think we all walked away with was that things have to be consistent to be important, and even when Joe wasn't thinking about "practicing" these things, he had to still embody them, or Tuffy wouldn't get the message.
Well, thanks again for stopping by, and if you missed it I hope you will stop by and say hello sometime soon!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Meet Doc: Awesome AQHA gelding for sale
Meet Doc!
Registered name Tiny Dollar Bar.
Doc is a 2006 AQHA gelding by JD Clarks Poco Bar and out of Rythm Tiny. He has Clarks Doc Bar, Poco Bueno, and other champions on his papers! Foundation breeding galore!
Doc is well started and has an excellent foundation. He has been ridden primarily out in the hills and is not spooky. He is ridden around gunshots, crazy cow dogs and birds being flushed under his feet and he handles it all in stride! Doc has very comfortable gaits and will go all day. He's easy going and mellow with an awesome disposition, but will get up and GO when asked. But, he can race all out next to another horse and then come down to a calm walk like nothing happened. Awesome prospect for roping or ranch work.
He has beautiful conformation, a big hip and a nice foot. He's easy to trim and pleasent to be around in general.
Call or email for more information! This guy needs a great home that will appreciate him. He really is a keeper!
Welcome!
Hello friends!
We are a little over a week away from the spring Open House, and I hope you will all be able to stop by and say hello!
10am Welcome Hour
11am Play Hour: Obstacles and challenges in the indoor arena. $10 per horse
Noon Lunch: Bring a sack lunch a your questions!
1-6pm Afternoon Lessons $30 per hour
Auditors Free
Also, 10% off all horses for sale!
Call or email for directions.
Please make sure to call or email if you are planning on bringing a horse for a lesson, the play hour, or to be trimmed, shod or for a barefoot consultation. Remember, discounted barefoot trims at $25 per horse. Email Marty at martymaddalena@gmail.com for more information.
Also, remember that this will be a public event, so make sure your horses have been vaccinated, and please leave them at home if you have noticed a runny nose, cough or other signs of illness in the last few weeks. We all appreciate it!
Don't forget to bring a sack lunch and a chair if you plan on spending the day.
I hope you are all enjoying our snow and wind-filled beginning to May! Please forward widely. I appreciate your support and am looking forward to seeing you all!
--Alex
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