Trail Buddy | Public figure

Trail Buddy

Phone: +61 427 591 139

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22.01.2022 All I need for this Sunday's event is one more booking. So if you are wondering what the heck I do, with low numbers booked in, I can tell you that at my Social Horsemanship Days, invariably, I get to discuss what I am working on with my own horses. (If no other horses present for me to play with, subject to their owners wishes of course). At this Sunday's event you will meet Oscar. I am working on improving our relationship to change the bad feelings he has inside which hav...e surfaced over the months and years- at times he gives me down-right dangerous signals- that if I persisted in the direction I was going- the outcome would be quite ugly. I have had more that a few lessons over the years with Ross Jacobs, but last year's lessons again worked on my own awareness of what I am asking a horse and how I go about asking it, or sometimes how I should not.. I feel I have progressed in understanding this horse a bit more since that clinic and we are improving. Come along and see what I am dealing with and maybe you could give my your thoughts on what you see? Background for Oscar: I have ridden him out on the roads, walk trot canter. I have taken him on a couple of trail rides with other horses. I have broken him into the sulky and gaited him for harness racing. He has had his share of medical issues since one day of age and periodically through out his 6.999997 years (His birthday is tomorrow!!) So much we thought we had done, but not good enough. I need to peel back the layers and see if I can find the great horse I know he can be. Its all up to me to work it out. Also coming along on Sunday is Maria. She is a rising 8 y.o chestnut mare by Blissful Hall. She is not very blissful to be around but I have made big improvements in some areas. I will take you through her journey so far and talk about the areas I need her to improve on before I put my foot in the stirrup again. I have taken this mare to both Ross and Mark Langley clinics. And lastly, for the fence sitters! Cowboy will be coming along. Maybe he might be able to give you a led pony ride? He is the horse I will use for any Trail riding on upcoming SHD's when I can get those stars aligned and people turn up with their riding horses that are ready to head out on the trail. Lastly: the oval is looking a treat, freshly mowed with a green tinge instead of dry grass. It offers plenty of riding space to get your horse going well before you leave the confines of the reserve. What's stopping you from coming along? Saturday 10am-bookings close. Try booking only. Enquiries very welcome: 0427591139

21.01.2022 As part of my quality control and further education I like to attend select horsemanship clinics, either with my horses or as a fence sitter. Over the years I have been to many and now know which I like to attend or avoid. I also like to check out new horsemen I have not seen before too, if their work interests me. These days you can see so much just in the media before going along to clinic! It was great today attending one such clinic. No deadline, just turn up and leave when I felt like it. I took the ponies for a drive and had a quick little session with them (Cowboy and Oscar) in the surrounding area, away from the clinic.

18.01.2022 Float loading tells you a lot about a horse, if you don't already recognize its issues...

18.01.2022 Thanks to all whom attended the recent SHD. It was pretty darn hot and I commend you all for sticking it out until the end! Cowboy was popular and headed out onto the oval for some light riding with songtress, Drew Walker aboard. There were no fisty cuffs, but Miss Katelyn had her turn with Cowboy also. I love this happy horsey girl picture. So cute!... My social calendar is hotting up (like the weather!) so I won't be announcing another SHD just yet. Not doubt you will hear from me, if I do decide to run another one soon. Don't forget, Trail Buddy has Horsemanship Support gift vouchers available for Christmas or other celebratory events. Prices start from $40.

18.01.2022 Today I squeezed into my harness safety vest, donned the helmet and swung a leg into the sulky. It was great fun doing fast work with my "old" man. This video is of his youngster, Assuming, doing a warm up at the trails last month. Today I drove Fighter in the work out. Made me wish I had a GoPro to show you what fast work is like from the driver's seat. One day Fighter will be a great riding horse when his career is over. Assuming is a little more feisty, but she should make the grade also!

18.01.2022 I love the saddle I had made for Cowboy, made by the Barracks, quite some years ago now! Thankfully I can still ride Cowboy a bit, even if he's not too sound... Many people choose a rough out seat but I love my smooth seat, though riding in lycra would not be much fun!

17.01.2022 This week I am going to assist a beginner barefoot trimmer who is having some concerns on trimming a horse that is new to the trimmer's routine trim list. I have visited this horse before and gave confidence to the trimmer in how to handle a horse that was a little unsettled. I left them both thinking it would be my last visit as they seemed to be working it out quite well. One of the requirements to be an effective trimmer is to have the muscle power/strength to be able to ...shape a horse's hoof using either the rasp or the clippers. This is more difficult in summer due to the hard hooves lacking moisture! As it is a very tiring activity, being able to use the clippers to trim larger chunks of an out of shape hoof makes the whole procedure a lot easier on the operator and lets the horse get back to the paddock a whole lot sooner. So, I am returning to assist with the above-mentioned trim for two reasons. The first is to enable the horse to be trimmed properly in one session and the second is that I can provide auxiliary power when needed, and we can swap roles to get the job done. Why bother with all this, when you can get a regular trimmer to do the job in half the time, I hear you say. 1. I am not aware of any local trimmers providing the style of trim that Trail Buddy provides. 2. The trimmer can improve their technique by participating in the trim and it works out to be about the same price as letting someone else do the job in a way that you don't want it done! 3. There are sure to be more reasons why I have been asked to attend, but I reckon these are the main reasons. If you are not sure if Trail Buddy is worth consulting, why not just come along to one of the Social Horsemanship Days as a fence sitter? My next SHD is coming up on November 22, pre-payment on booking required, through Trybooking. See my events page for details.

15.01.2022 Many years ago I was lecturing medical students in reproductive physiology at the University of Western Ontario in Canada. One of the students was a friend who ...was studying for his PhD with a colleague of mine. I had just finished my first lecture when my friend came up to my desk as I gathered my notes and slides and the students began to pile out of the hall. He said, Did you notice the 2 girls sitting behind me? Vaguely, I replied. Well, I overheard one of them say to the other that she loved your accent and she’d do you anywhere, anytime." I laughed. It’s strange what attracts us to other people. There doesn’t seem to be any one thing. Sometimes we are attracted to people we don’t even know or don’t even like. And sometimes good people, attractive people, and people with many attributes we admire only evoke scant interest from us. It’s a mystery. So it is with horses. We don’t know how horses go about picking their friends or their foes. Sometimes the meanest horses form the strongest bonds in a herd. Sometimes horses that make the most unlikely bedfellows become inseparable. It too is a mystery. Yet, those of us that study and teach how to better get along with horses think we know how to have a horse like us. I talk a lot about the importance of focus, clarity, and soft thoughts in creating a strong bond with a horse during training. But I don’t know this is true. I see the results and the benefits of that type of work, but essentially I am making educated guesses. Likewise, the positive reinforcement advocates believe they have the secret to creating friendship and a willingness in their relationship with horses. But again, it is an educated guess. How is it that with some horses the kindest and gentlest approach to training causes ill feelings in a horse towards people? Yet, with some other horses, it works well in creating a very strong bond? Horses are capable of making their minds up within seconds of meeting a person. How many horses react negatively the instant they see the vet or farrier, before even being touched? I wish I could count how many people have told me that their horse hates men. Not men who are poor horse people or men who have beards or men who wear cologne. No. Men. All men. How do they know men from women? We think we know how to make friends with horses. But do we? That’s what I try to teach. That’s what all professionals try to teach. Do we know what horses really need in a friendship? Do we know what it would take for a horse to choose to save us in a house fire and not the other person? Do we know why horses that are very difficult for us to handle can be so gentle with children? Can we do any more than make an educated guess? Can we be right about some horses, but wrong about other horses?

14.01.2022 In horsemanship, we think of the importance of timing in regards to when to apply a feel or remove a feel. But there is another very important type of timing. W...hen I was a young, cocky horse guy I was pretty handy with horses. People paid me to compete on their horses. I could sit any bucking storm longer than most horses could buck. I hadn’t met too many horses that could humble me. And then I met an old bloke from Finland who showed me there was more to being handy with horses than outlasting their meltdowns. That fellow piqued my interest in how horses operated. I wanted to know more about getting along with them and less about how to teach them I was in charge. Years later, when I became a full-time horse trainer, I played with lots of ideas. Having so many different horses at my disposal made it possible to experiment with new ideas. But I felt alone. No other trainers I knew were interested. There was nobody to talk over ideas and give me input. I sometimes felt I was crazy. Then I met an American, Harry Whitney. I met my horse brother. He was much further along in his thinking because he had the luck of being exposed to a lot more horses and a lot more ideas that were all new to me. We became good friends and spent many weeks together every year. Whenever I returned to Australia, my friendship with Harry kept me on the straight and narrow until our next get together. He stopped me from thinking I was the crazy trainer that so many in my corner of the country considered me to be. A few years ago, I met a trainer at an event. We chatted a bit. Later we exchanged ideas from time to time. He sent me a video of a horse he was starting and wanted some input. I watched a couple of his clinics and he came to one of mine. But in the end, he rejected my ideas and approach. He felt he gave it a try, but it didn’t work for him. We dropped our friendship with a feeling of friction between us. Then about 3 years ago I got an email from my friend. He apologized for being too quick to dismiss what I was trying to explain to him. He said he met a horse that humbled him and he realized he needed to think and experiment with the sort of ideas I had talked about. He started on a new journey of exploration. I have mentioned before in posts about my friend, Ellen Kealey. When I met Ellen she had been studying horsemanship with a highly regarded clinician. It had been going well until she realized the amount of worry her horse seemed to carry. She could get him to do some cool stuff, but she couldn’t get him to feel okay about it. Ellen came to watch one of my clinics at the exact time she was re-thinking some of the things she had learned. We have been good friends ever since and I’m proud to see how far she has come in such a short time. I guess the point of this essay is to highlight that the rate at which our horsemanship evolves is often dependent on the timing of being ready for the next lesson. Some people come to my clinics and find it is not for them. They have a different perspective and agenda. But then there is a large percentage of those same people who come back 2 or 5 or 10 years later. They weren’t ready the first time they saw me, but they were ready the second time, even if years passed in between. The easy part of being a horse person is learning how to make a horse do something. The hard part is learning how to help them feel something. Virtually nobody starts with the hard part. We nearly all begin by learning the easy part. As we evolve and master the easy part, many of us become interested in learning about working with the thoughts and emotions of horses. But for each person that happens at different stages. For some, it never happens because they see their worth as a horse person tied into what they can make a horse do. And for many, an interest in the hard part begins after several experiences of failure or a feeling that something is missing. If we are lucky we meet somebody or some horse at exactly the right time to guide us with learning the hard part of being a good horse person - the relationship part - the working with a horse part - the partnership part. If we are unlucky, we meet the right person or horse at the wrong time and unknowingly suffer a missed opportunity. When we talk about the importance of timing in horsemanship, we don’t often think of the timing of meeting the right help we need most, at the time we need it most. Photo: Harry and I from 2013.

12.01.2022 My Dad has been training and driving horses before I was born!

10.01.2022 Please share these OCTOBER events. Covid rules will be in place.

10.01.2022 I cannot fathom how people will jump on their horses and "ride" when they have not yet even got the basics of "leading" and float loading to acceptable levels. And, for that matter, preparing for the farrier. Maybe it's just experience and my "old age" that seem to make it all the more unfathomable... Why would you bother riding a horse that your farrier hates and you cannot take anywhere or cannot control when things go a little wry...? And so, I will mention my work with Gi...nger. I have worked out that she has worked out -that pushing into a person's space with her shoulder works or her whole body and that she must always move her feet because her mind is all over the place when you interrupt her thoughts... She is happy for you to touch her face, because she thinks she will end up getting some carrots (from previous owners) but she does not think you should touch her off side ear and tries to jam her head into you, if you try.... She is a very fast walker and struggles to back up. Today we spent a long time discussing where she needs to be in relation to me, when we are walking...ultimately, together..... I walked her in places she has never been before and she is not spooky but she is definitely "out there" and not engaged with the person that happens to be holding the lead rope... (or reins I imagine).... Eventually, I got her to walk slow, then pick up speed then slow.... its a long process but at times she worked out the best spot-or the sweet spot- for her, was her nostril at my shoulder. She is a slow learner in this concept! I worked on getting her to lead from both sides and not to drift in towards me.... She likes to creep in. So, I cleared it up using my flag and leading her with a long rope... I got her to wait while I opened gates then asked her to come through. This took some time...and I hope will get better over time. We walked over a bridge, through sticky mud checking a drinker on the farm. We walked past the scarey dairy and "messy" areas... WE walked away from the other horses. She called out a bit but her main game is being "all over the place".... Tomorrow is another day. I wonder if she is just this bad because she is in season???? Possibly not... Gunner loved coming out for the 80 minute walk!

09.01.2022 Sadly the visits coincide with calving season... sigh.... Highly recommend to anyone not calving cows in March and April!!

09.01.2022 The best thing about Trail Buddy's SHD's is they can be tailored to who needs to work on what. If you don't have a horse, we still have plenty to talk about and maybe even some hands on stuff. We can talk about subjects that matter to you and we can see what your horse needs help with and if you don't need help then we can get to work on other stuff, like going for a short trail ride or loading up into a strangers float (no kids, we don't take rides from strangers, but as a horse, its good to be confident loading into any float!). Only 6 days to take the plunge and secure your ticket thru trybooking: https://www.trybooking.com/BMIOY

07.01.2022 WORRIED HORSE STUCK ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE CHANNEL

06.01.2022 Trail Buddy events at Koyuga Hall will now be very "up market" with a QR CovidTracer as part of the CovidSafe Plan. Pen and paper are still ok if you don't want to use the QR Code thingy.....

02.01.2022 For a small $15 investment, come along to Trail Buddy's Social Horsemanship Day tomorrow. (Fence sitter price) The only catch is: Bookings need to be paid by 10am this morning. Link: https://www.trybooking.com/BMIOY This event would be ideal for those wanting to build their float loading skills as there will be plenty of time for demos. Also, don;t be scared of the heat, an AIR CONDITIONED HALL is right beside the demo area.... A hose is also available to cool your ponies down and give them a drink, with plenty of shady areas to "park" them in your own portable yard set up. See more