Interesting book on body language

I just finished reading "Empowered Horses" by Imke Spilker, and I found it to be very inspirational. The book is kind of written by her horses, from their point of view. It is easy to read and stirred up feelings I had as a small child, when I'd daydream about the type of relationship I'd like to have with a horse. That dream is still alive, because I know that that kind of relationship does exist.

Imke tells a number of stories about the horses in her book, and how some of them were completely volatile and unmanageable, and yet here they are, playing with their owners and proudly collecting naturally. Some of those horses have been worked with for years before they came to this point.

The only question I had was how did they handle basic things like hoof trims when the horses were so mean that you couldn't restrain them in any way for years?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Marlene Thoms on April 23, 2011 at 9:00pm

Gee, your experience sounds a lot like mine with Sharif. He was doing just that a couple of weeks ago for my first first rides. I think in the field, I feel more secure because it's home, but he feels sassier because it's his "turf" and he wants to eat grass. Maybe it was the wind, or cosmis rays, or he just thought he should still be on vacation. Now I do small circles with him when he's thinking too much, but I keep a very light hand when he's behaving. He's pretty smart enough to realize how that works.And he was pretty non spooky today. Just a couple of times on the trail he stopped. That usually means he senses something,and I don't mind him doing it. I give him a few seconds to scope the place, then I ask him to move on, and generally that works.

Stay safe.

Permalink Reply by Cyndi on April 23, 2011 at 9:25pm

I haven't worked my way up to the field yet, but the front paddock is quite big. Fanny grazed for most of the time that I was on her. I wanted her to be as at ease as possible, which worked out okay. I have plans to stake out a smaller area for us to work in, to continue working on both of our confidence - sort of a playground that allows her to come and go as she pleases. Thankfully, I have a wonderful barn owner who is okay with me doing almost anything. His only "rule" for me was to never burn down the barn! :o)

Happy Easter!