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How to start natural horse manship
I am really into natural horsemanship stuff, but the problem is I just don't know how to start. I can't ride because I just got my plaster off from breaking my wrist from my horse buckin me off. So what is the first thing I should do on the ground. I might have to wait for a while because of my wrist. Could you please give me some idea's ?????????
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Permalink Reply by Shirley on
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This is a video clip from a parelli event in Australia recently
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s40lo_bwz60&feature=digest
This is a link to a rather new annual event in the US. I have seen small segments of the events from previous years and am planning to go in 2011. They bring in 3 natural horsemanship trainers and some young un-trained horses and each trainer picks a horse. They will work with 'their horse' for a few hours over the week-end teaching it to accept human contact and a saddle and a rider and all that goes with those first hands on encounters. At the end they will do a ride before the audience and judges and the judges will determine which trainer did the best job. It's not about which horse can do the most at the end, it's about which trainer does the best with how he handles teaching the horse in a natural horsemanship way. Lotsa fun!
Any I've seen in the past on video are awesome and really very touching with all they can achieve with a horse in such a short time and do it in a GENTLE WAY!
http://www.roadtothehorse.com/
Enjoy, Shirley
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Permalink Reply by Krystal.b on
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I have got a question to ask everyone.
Because we have mums horse now I am just not too sure how to actually feed them the safe way. Because they both love their food and are both bossy at that time I am just not too sure.
Tonight though we didn't have a problem. We gave them some hay as we got their food all ready and then we tied them up and put their rugs on (no problems). Then I put Charm into the stable area and decided that I should put her in the stables (all good again). After we waited till they were both finished and then I opened the gate and let Charm out when my mums horse (Juke) was a bit up the hill and then yer.
Ok well hope you's have a great day or night :)
Bye
p.s If it doesn't make sense just ask LOL :)
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Permalink Reply by Jackie Cochran on
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I always fed grain to the horses seperately, either in their stall or I kept them tied up until everyone finished their grain. DO NOT feed them both grain when they are loose together, otherwise either one horse gets most of the grain or there can be fights.
You did fine, you realized there could be a problem and you came up with a good solution. I especially liked you waiting until the new horse was away from the gate before turning your horse out, you shouldn't have to do this waiting for long, just until they get settled down and decide that they can live together in relative peace. Long ago I learned to turn the DOMINANT HORSE out first, especially if there is hay out (put the hay a good distance from the gate.) If I put the inferior horse out first there was all types of drama.
I always put out one more pile of hay than there were horses if they were outside together. That way if the greedy one chased the other horse off the hay when the greedy one had finished his pile then the other horse had a whole new fresh pile to go to.
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I totally agree with our wise friend Jackie!
And Kristina, "You are showing good horsie instincts to be aware and cautious of what can go bad and how to take sensible precautions".
I'm happy for you that all went well. Barn drama between horses is no fun! Barn drama between women boarders is no fun either! lol
I will probably have to put Cash in a different herd soon and that always makes me uneasy. We have a pretty friendly group but then u hear stories of things going bad.
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Permalink Reply by Jennifer Lamm on
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Hey Krystal... part of my natural horsemanship practice was to insert myself as the herd leader of both of my horses..... my horse Oliver, he is kinda pushy and bratty when there is food around but I saw the first horse I owned (not Toby or Oliver) be food aggressive so I didn't want a horse like that..... over time, Oliver has learned to be patient because I never feed him anything if he starts trying to be all bossy..... I do separate my horses for grain, but I've gotten good at feeding carrots by learning how to push him away from my other horse if he tried to dominate me or Toby for the food..... now he stands back and waits for it because he was never given anything when displaying dominance.... Chris Irwin has a very good video that he put up about aggressive horses and food.... that doesn't mean that it can't work on sweet horses too if yours aren't aggressive..... his whole series is wonderful anyway...... but this one might be interesting for you to watch if you have time today... Statelinetack.com, video library, stall manners.... :) Have a great day...
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Thanx again everyone
You girls help alot :) it was all good today they were both good especially Charm. This morning she was being naughty and trying to hog both of the hays, so I got another pile for Juke and put the other one back in the shed. she left him alone. When I was finished Charm was trying to get his hay but we didn't let her and left him to eat his hay (what a good girl :D) Hope everyone has a good day :) bye thanx again
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I have another question if that is ok :)
We are not too sure what to give Juke. We have been giving him charf, pony pellets, mollasses. Is there anything else I should give him????
bye :)
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I think what you feed your horses is very individual..... the only thing I really make sure my horses get is psyllium because they live on a dirt lot..... in it is good stuff for their hooves and some vitamins and stuff, it's called Omega something or another, helpful huh? ..... other than that I feed Horse chow just for a little bit of grain since the company that was making Platform Pleasure stopped making it now.... ... my horses mostly live on grass hay..... :)
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Jenn, is my memory right that Psyllium is also a fiber type food that helps move the sand they ingest in an effort to help prevent sand colic? I was giving Cash 'Sand Clear' which is a different brand name of Psyllium (I think) but I don't think it had added vitamins and minerals in it. Where we are now, I'm not as concerned about the sand issue so I'm not giving the 'Sand Clear'. Not much sand right now anyway....just the clover and slobbers! Ha...
Krystal, I agree with Jen that diet is a very individual thing with each horse. One horse with a high metabolism can easily eat two or three times as much food as an easy keeper. Depends on what physical issues (if any) that the horse is experiencing. Hoof problems, too little or too much weight, ligaments, etc. My basic diet with Cash is hay and a pelleted food that provides extra vitamins and minerals. My board includes 'sweet feed' which is another basic widely used addition to hay. Cash was healthy on just hay and 'sweet feed'. I wasn't crazy about adding sugar to his diet with the molasses that is in the sweet feed. I use a pelleted feed called "Triple Crown" now and I use a low starch formula to help keep him lean. He gains weight a little too easily. What I noticed as an improvement when I went to Triple Crown is that his hair got a little thicker and the color got more intense/richer looking... But I figure if it made that much difference in his coat, something I could see, then it is hopefully helping with other parts of his body that I can't directly see. He has good hoofs so far so I haven't had to add any specific suppliment for his feet which it seems like many people do have to use.
You'll probably get many answers to this question cause everyone has their own ideas about what is best. I don't think my idea is best, I just know it has worked well for Cash. With the 15 horses at our barn, about 1/2 just eat the hay and barn supplied 'sweet feed' and the rest use various things.....none the same. Cash is only getting a handful of pelleted food now cause he's gaining weight with all the hay and grass he's getting. In the winter when he needs more, He gets 2 cups a day of the sweet feed and Triple Crown mixed about 1/2 & 1/2.
I seem to have a hard time answeting things in a few words.
Now a question for you, what is charf? New word for me.
I kept Cash off the clover pasture for about 14 hours last night and this morning there was no effidence of the slobbers so I let him in the pasture with his herd. I hope he's not drooling too bad again tonight.
Hot & humid at 85 today. Glad I got my lesson in this morning when it was cooler.
Have fun Horsen Around!
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Make sure he has salt. Check with local horsemen to see if you need to feed the trace mineral salt, or if just plain salt is fine.
I am REALLY old-fashioned. I feed plain oats, in the winter I added plain maize (corn in the USA), and I used alfalfa pellets to make up for deficiencies in the local fescue hay. I DO NOT recommend alfalfa cubes, horses like them but I lost a mare to chocking on an alfalfa cube. In the morning she was fine, by lunchtime the vet had put her down (and yes, I soaked the cubes some and she had plenty of water.) When my horses got old I fed rolled oats, cracked corn and alfalfa pellets. When their teeth went I fed Senior Feed.
Now, seven years later, if I owned a horse again and had the money I would feed good oats, timothy hay and add maize in the winter (no alfalfa).
You should be able to at least feel the horse's ribs. If they are so covered with fat that you cannot feel them your horse is TOO FAT and is in great danger of foundering if anything goes wrong (like they get into the feed room, or have to do sudden hard work.) If you can see every rib your horse is way too thin. I like just seeing the first three or four ribs right after the shoulder (just part of the rib, not the whole rib). EVERYDAY I checked their ribs AND their crest (right under the mane, half way down the neck from the head,) if their crests started feeling harder I cut their food UNLESS there was unusually bitter, wet and windy cold weather coming the next few nights (many degrees below freezing) but on the other hand I would not increase their feed like I did the horses with normal weights, and as soon as the really cold weather passed I started cutting their feed, feeding around a 1/4 to 1/2 Kilo less of the maize or oats until their crests felt softer. A horse with a rock hard crest is in great danger of foundering. Your fingertips should be able to go into the crest about 1/4 to 1/2 centimeter when you squeeze it between your fingers.
Chaff I have never used, but have heard that it can do good to help prevent colic. I have never used molasses and stopped feeding sweet feed around 25 years ago--I decided I really did not trust the local millers when bad maize (fungus problems) came around my area. Pony pellets, if they are a complete ration (with vitamins and minerals), should not need much supplementation if the horse looks healthy. If they have hay in them you may have some trouble with too much nutrition in the summer when they get grass, but in a cold winter I do not see much harm IF the horse has plenty of CLEAN and not too cold water to drink.
Water, clean water, is the most important "feed". Hay is next most necessary thing (or good haylage if you can't get hay--watch for mold in both). Grain is mostly necessary for hard work, really cold weather (or funny enough REALLY hot weather,) or if a horse needs to gain some weight. Some horses and ponies never need grain, others (often Thoroughbreds) need grain to keep their weight up.
I hope this gives you some ideas and does not confuse you too much. Every horseman feeds differently, and different horses, even of the same breed, heighth and weight, all tend to need different amounts of food. Check those ribs and neck crests and you should be fine.
When it got down to around negative 12 degrees C, I would add around a pound of oats or half a pound of maize for the horses, around half that for the medium-large ponies, plus giving an extra flat or two of hay each day. I do not know if it gets that cold in your area.
GOOD sweet feed can be fine. Just keep checking your horse's ribs and crest of the neck so you can feed less if they get too fat or increase it a little (no more that 1/2 kilo at first) until you get their weight back where it should be.
May your horses be healthy, with shiny coats, clear eyed and willing to move.
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Oh, I forgot to add, if your horse's crest is rock hard take the horse off all pasture, grain, clover and alfalfa hay IMMEDIATELY to prevent founder and other problems. You can feed grass hay, preferably small amounts several times a day but real life can really interfere with frequent feedings! When the horse's crest feels looser you can re-introduce pasture GRADUALLY, and if you feel that you need to you can re-introduce grain GRADUALLY.
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