Horses

Posted by Duane Isaacson

I was thorougly stunned and inspired by what I have recently discovered on the web. A Russian horse teacher is creating a furor in the horse world by showing what it is possible to achieve with horses without a bit or bridle of any kind. His horse achieve perfect collection and willingly offer the most difficult Haute Ecole (High School) Dressage maneuvers. And all of this is done without spurs or bit.

Because of what I have witnessed on his website I am making a change in the way I work with my horses and that will be reflected on this site.

To see for yourself go to the Alexander Nevzorov website.

Posted by Duane Isaacson

Heart of the Redwoods Horse Rescue acquired some mustangs recently that you may already be familiar with if you have been following my blogs on wild horses. Both horses had learned a particularly frustrating response on the end of a rope from the way they had been previously handled. Whenever they became afraid they would brace their neck against me, facing their nose in the opposite direction and run off, dragging the rope through my hands. Actually, this is a pretty common problem among horses that are poorly halter trained.

The bad advice I got? Put a chain over his nose and jerk it when he pulls back. NEVER! Not only is that entirely disrespectful of the horse but it's like throwing gasoline on a fire - eventually it will blow up in your face.

The proper way? There are many, but here is what I did:

I started by working where the horse was comfortable and unlikely to be too frightened. I stood near the horses shoulder and asked repeatedly with a light feel on the rope for him to bend his neck towards me without moving his feet. I kept doing this until he could respond softly and without fear.

When he was good with that I asked him to bend and move his hindquarters away, very carefully avoiding frightening him. When he was good with that I got a little more careless with the rope and when it bothered him I asked him, softly, lightly, and with "feel" to bend towards me and move his hindquarters away. Eventually I used a lasso in one hand to move his hindquarters while asking him to bend his neck towards me, and here is the kicker, RESPOND IN THE WAY I ASKED WHEN HE BECAME FRIGHTENED.

What I did was to show the horse a different way to respond when he became frightened. Now when he becomes frightened he can choose to bend and come towards me and relax instead of running off.

No chains, no gimmicks, no fight - The only reason a horse pulls back is because he does not know what else to do!

Posted by Duane Isaacson

It' s mighty gray and blustery out today. I took the afternoon off from my day job (fixing medical equipment) and spent the hours scooping horse poop from seven stalls into the scoop of a Kubota tractor. I am eternally grateful to Evergreen Pulp Company who donated the tractor to the horse rescue. At least now I don't have to drag wheelbarrow loads out to the pasture to dump. Even so, with the storms battering us, and the mud getting boot-sucking deep, and the wet poop and urine saturated hay heavier by the shovelful, I need only to touch one of the horses or stand nose to nose and breathe with them and all the burdens are forgotten.

I am reminded once again of the beauty of life, awed by the spirit of the horse, and grateful for all I have had the pleasure to experience,

Posted by Duane Isaacson

Heart of the Redwoods Horse Rescue began working with two mustangs this past week. The first task in working with horses born in the wild is to get them comfortable and feeling safe around humans. It can be quite a challenge just to put a halter on them without causing them to fly into a panic! But, wild horses are essentially a "clean slate". They don't have a history of bad handling, so they learn and adapt quickly. It's pure joy to watch them relax and turn loose and allow themselves to be handled, haltered and walked. No "training" is involved in this. That nonsense is shunned entirely. All the work, especially now, is about giving these horses a safe place to be. Stay tuned - there will be more to come.

Posted by Duane Isaacson

Currently the Bureau of Land Management allows persons to adopt wild horses and burros for a nominal adoption fee of $125.00. Some say this encourages people with no knowledge of horses to buy a horse "cheap" and keep it in their backyard. Others say that if the price were increased no horses would be adopted and the BLM would be forced to keep hundreds of un-adoptable animals.

Voice your opinion on this subject in the latest poll on All Info About Horses.....

Posted by Duane Isaacson

For an hour of every afternoon of the past week I've worked with a skittish Mustang at feeding time in his home pasture. The owners signed him over to the horse rescue, since they were finally convinced that they'd not be able to do anything with him.

It's often the case with BLM Mustangs, that folks who adopt don't really know what they are getting themselves into. Horses, at heart, are wild creatures. Mustangs even more so. They require an even gentler touch than mere flighty, backyard horses. But the mustangs come cheap, so it seems like a good deal at the time, but few owners have the time, patience, and skills it takes to partner with a wild Mustang.

It's not possible to halter him yet. He's too wary and suspicious. So, rather than force myself upon him, I've spent feeding time hanging out with him. At first I could not even get close, but after a while he'd sniff my hand and finally would let me touch his nose and later his forehead. At each successive feeding I worked on petting him just a little further back, starting at his nose, then his forehead, back to his neck and shoulder, his back, and finally his hindquarters. Today he was able to stand and let me pet him from nose to tail on both sides with nary a flinch.

Tomorrow we start the same routine with a halter and lead rope. Maybe in a few days I'll acutally be able to get him haltered....we shall see. There is no rush. Time means nothing to the horse. Everything will be done on his schedule....

Posted by Duane Isaacson

Two BLM (Bureau of Land Management) mustangs were turned over to Heart of the Redwoods Horse Rescue this past week. The horses were neither neglected, nor abused, but the owners were simply unable to deal with them. Quite often, people who purchase the inexpensive horses from the BLM do not realize exactly what they are getting into. Horses born in the wild and then captured require a high degree of finesse to tame and gentle. It is to these owners credit that they realized their situation and chose to give up the animals. To follow the progress of the two mustangs, visit the Heart of the Redwoods Horse Rescue Website at www.redwoodrescue.org.

Posted by Duane Isaacson

As autumn approaches and the inevitable chills of winter get closer it’s a good time to make sure that your horses are maintaining a good weight. A good rule of thumb is to check their ribs. They should be easily felt, but not easily seen. If your horse’s ribs are easily visible now, they will be painfully visible when winter hits. Keep the weight on them now and they’ll be warm and comfortable through the winter with a nice layer of fat!

Posted by Duane Isaacson

A call came in to the horse rescue last week and was relayed to me by my wife. Oh, the synchronicity of events. I had just finished the article on gentling horses and then this call came in about these problem mules who were dangerous to handle - trimming their feet was nearly impossible. The woman described her method of training her mules to stand still - she used a longe whip to touch them on their hind feet and if they kicked at it she would yell "NO!" and smack them over the rump with the whip. Apparently, her sister had given her this useless advice. Then she proceeded to anger my wife over the phone by insisting that what she was doing would work, in spite of the fact she called the horse rescue for advice. I'll be writing an article on precisely this type of faulty "training" based on incorrect perceptions of animals in the near future. Please watch for it!

Posted by Duane Isaacson

I am happy to announce that I've finally become a published author - in print! I wrote a story about an experience with my four-legged best friend and sent it to Allen and Linda Anderson to be considered for their book, "Angel Horses". My story, Embarrassed Horse, made it over all the hurdles and has been included in the book. "Angel Horses" is slated to be released very soon!