ASL Horse Training | Horse trainer
ASL Horse Training
Phone: +61 490 127 380
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24.01.2022 Don't mind me, just doing my best impersonation of the man from snowy river . She knows how to scare the sh*t out of me with a lead change, I'll give her that.
23.01.2022 Whoever ends up buying this beautiful boy will be very lucky (that's if I don't keep him for myself). He's been learning to give to pressure and we've had a play around with the snaffle, but my favorite moment was this. He was laying down in the paddock and I thought I'd try to go sit next to him, he hasn't been here very long so I wasn't expecting him to trust me enough yet, but he wasn't bothered by it at all. I gave him some scratches and he laid down in the grass and fell asleep. When he woke back up, he then turned around, put his head in my lap, and fell asleep again. This is a privilege with horses, another moment of vulnerability where they can always say no, and it's just beautiful when they say yes.
20.01.2022 This video was taken about a week after Jet arrived. While this doesn't seem like much, it's an incredible improvement. I'm assuming that in their last family, both Jet and Jaz were never hoof picked in their back two feet. They are excellent with their front feet but Jet has a pretty severe mental block with his back feet and Jaz tries to kick harder than any horse I've worked with. Both have had some major improvements and are starting to become more comfortable. I'll get a progress video soon to compare.
18.01.2022 Jag didn't need much prep for saddling which is fantastic. I had to thank his old owner for taking such good care of him because he's turned into a wonderful horse. I was going to ride him today but got caught up with work so that'll probably happen tomorrow. We'll just do some more halter work to make sure he steers then I'll most likely go bareback because he's so fat that none of my saddles fit him yet. Wish me luck with that .
16.01.2022 Jag has enjoyed some time off to rest since our first few rides. Since being back, he's been learning to open his mouth for the bit, obstacles on the ground, bettering his trot to canter to trot transitions on the lunge for muscle development, and he's also had someone else ride him which went very well. His feeding and tying manners have improved a lot. Jag craves forward movement and does very well once you get him going, but he can get quite sticky so we've been including some clicker and regulation training to keep his mind working during those difficult learning sessions. All in all, everyone who meets him holds the same opinion "He is going to be such an awesome horse" and I have to agree.
14.01.2022 The brumbies, Zeus and Danny, enjoying their afternoon rolls. I love seeing their tails swishing happily. Two horses, so close to slaughter who will never know neglect or suffering again.
13.01.2022 **NEW RESEARCH - BEVA 2021 (6/6)** Last but not least, in our 2021 BEVA published research posts. **Could saddle knee-block design influence the kinematics of... the equine thoracolumbar spine in elite sports horses?** In this research we quantified the effect that knee block design had on rider biomechanics and horse Kinematics in elite horse/rider pairs. In summary, changing knee-block design was associated with altered rider/saddle interaction and equine thoracolumbar kinematics. Riders had more consistent seat contact and experienced higher pressures in a less restrictive knee-block, which was associated with increased horse thoracic stability and greater lumbar lateral bend, suggesting improved synchronisation between horse and rider might potentially be beneficial for equine thoracolumbar health. R. Murray*; V. Fairfax; M. Fisher and R. MacKechnie-Guire. * lead author Abstract and paper out early 2022 https://beva.onlinelibrary.wiley.com//10.1111/evj.15_13492
07.01.2022 Well aren't you a special one? Backed Jag bareback today and he took it like a champ. Had 3 rides working on flexion and bending, hopping off when he relaxed then lots of scratches at the mounting block to get on again. Did some work on shoulder and hind control too. Fantastic start to his new life under saddle!
06.01.2022 The Difference Between "Being the Boss" and Having Boundaries The hardest transition for horse owners can be the one going from following dominance theory and being the "boss" or the "alpha" to being compassionate and fair. Something that a lot of us forget is that horses are intelligent creatures and though they don't have the capability to communicate with us with words, they have many other ways of getting through to us. When I began studying the psychology of humans, I no...ticed that there are many similarities with horses which led me to make some big changes in the way I work with them. A common misconception about my training technique is that I am allowing my horse to walk all over me. That is far from the truth. I follow a very simple principle with my horses - respect my boundaries and I will respect yours. Horses are essentially children/teenagers in terms of human psychology. If you ignore everything your teenager has to say and do whatever you feel like (which happens a lot), you're going to see some adverse behaviour from them. If they cry and you send them to their room, they will most likely find comfort in that space and want nothing to do with you. You end up being the pressure and their room is the release. Essentially, the parents who wish that their children came out of their room more are the parents who trained their children to go to their room more. Ironic, right? It is great to have boundaries and "discipline". It becomes a problem when you invalidate their feelings, push them away, ignore their efforts to communicate, and focus more on what you want rather than what they want. Think of it from a horse's perspective. We don't ask to do anything. It's a "You will put this halter on", "You will take this saddle", "You will listen to my aids", and there's always an "Or else" involved. How do humans react when someone uses an ultimatim to manipulate them? "You will do the dishes or else..". Well, with horses it's "You will come off my leg or else..". This is why we have shut down, aggressive horses who want nothing to do with people. When working with compassionate training, you are allowed to say "Please don't come into my space unless I offer" but your horse must have the ability to do the same. In our communication, we may not use words but I have my way of saying "No." and so do they. Respect isn't a word I use often with horses as it's not really a concept they understand, but, there is a level of respect that comes naturally when all parties involved feel heard and appreciated.
05.01.2022 Zena finally had her 3rd ride today. I haven't really had the time to do anything but groundwork lately so I've got two riders helping out from now on to get things going more smoothly. We had a couple of canters and worked even more on her relaxation but mainly just had a nice long trail ride and then a lay down in the paddock with her and Zeus again.
02.01.2022 Why Should We Stop Using Draw Reins? The contact is pretty high up on the training scale for something that nearly everyone tries to use daily, here's why. When we think of the contact, we think it's all about us getting our horse onto the bit with our hands, so we shorten our reins and take up the contact ourselves. In actual fact, that closes off their tmj, throatlach and poll, stiffens their backs, and takes them further away from the contact that you actually want. We ne...ed to get rhythm and suppleness before we can get the contact (or connection). Why is that? Horses are trained back to front. We need to take weight off their shoulders (where the weight naturally lands) and move it to the hindquarters. This is why I use leg yields, even for the young horses. Once they have good rhythm, are pushing upwards with their hindquarters, and they are soft and "moveable" (suppleness), they will naturally take up the contact themselves. This isn't to say you can't take up the contact in the beginning but draw reins hold them in a place that is difficult to understand when they aren't already trained with contact. The proper position for teaching any kind of contact to a baby is low and wide. This means, use the lunge to get them building muscle and listening to your cues and energy, and then teach them the contact when you ride. Otherwise you are only confusing them. They will go behind or above the bit but it will no longer be just because they don't know what they're doing and actually because you've trained them that the pressure is released there. Training aids aren't very successful in helping in the way that we dream they will unfortunately (martingales, pessoa systems, and the like all do the same thing).
