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Back in the UK

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MapMarker My U.K. schedule starting off in the north of England at the beginning of July then headed to Scotland. We have also been down south to the New Forrest as well. The first intake of young horses is now almost at a close with the handover course this coming weekend. Many of the horses on this intake have been restarts or have previoulsy been bucking riders off. The image below is of one of the horses that has been here for a couple of weeks. It has been enjoyable riding these horses and seeing how far they can progress in the time available . If we can keep the horse in balance it really helps the horse to not to get worried. This is a life long lesson for all of us.

 

 

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One of the highlights of my U.K. trip this year has been a ride in an Aston Martin DB 9 convertible with the ride living up to expectations.  It has been great catching up with everyone on the courses and the foundation weeks and seeing the progress riders are making. My U.K. schedule is available for viewing on my website. For further enquiries please email or contact Tina at:  [email protected]

An Australian May Autumnal Blog.

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MapMarker It has been a few months since I last updated my website blog. Recent travels have seen me in Perth W.A. and in Hervey Bay Qld, many thanks to Jenny Jackson and family and to Megan Wray and the Qld Pony Club. Without course hosts, courses do not happen.  To the riders and spectators I very much hope that you were able to improve on your horsemanship and enjoyed the class. This week sees me just outside of Sydney for the week and then I have another intake of young horses coming for May and June. There is also another lesson day here at my family’s property in May and in June another 2 day course is scheduled for Victoria at St Andrews.

During recent courses I spoke about riding your horse from leg to hand. Many riders find that when they pick up on a soft feel that their horse starts to slow down or that they lose forwards.  Having your horse in front of your leg but not escaping from your leg was something that seemed to resonate with some riders. Also the use of trotting poles, cavaletties  and small jumps was a means to help some riders and horses regain forwards in their horses.  Equally as the horse’s impulsion began to improve so did the straightness in the horses.  As a result then when they picked up on a soft feel again they had more quality with their horses being more engaged and lighter in the front end.   In regards to straightness I spoke about looking at your horses tracks when you ride away from home and when he is coming home. Most riders will feel their horse rides home a little better than when he is going away from home.

DSC02719The image above is not a trotting pole and the jump the horse took was a little bigger than some riders would like. What was interesting about this horse was that you could tell when he was going to make the jump and when he was thinking of not jumping. When the horse was coming into the jump with ears pricked forward and good impulsion, he would carry you into the jump and over. As a generalisation, a horse with poor impulsion was also expressed in the overall expression of the horse and they would run out or refuse the jump.[ Riders, do not worry if jumping is not your thing, we can just stick to the trotting poles ]

Ray Hunt said more than once,  the horse is the fact and the human has an opinion. Getting our opinion and facts to match up is part of reading the horse and that comes with time and experience.  As I have at times mentioned during courses this will be a long road to ride with more than a few pot holes along the way. At times all I can do is to encourage all to ride forward and straight.

2016, The New Year Starts

By Blog, Food for thought, Uncategorized

MapMarkerJanuary 2016  started with a weeks stay in  Tamworth, Australia for the Legacy of Legends event. It was an exceptional 3 day event and well supported by the southern hemisphere audience with numbers bigger than the first Legacy of Legends event held in Tamworth in 2014.  It was also great to see many friends from the U.S. make it across to Australia for this event.  It may have been just to escape the winter of the Northern Hemisphere. Carolyn Hunt & Buck Brannaman have bought this event across from the U.S. with the enormous help of  Anthony and Deb Desreaux in organizing it.

The schedule consisted of colt starting, horsemanship, cow working  and roping sessions. The image below was from the last morning session of the colt start and was of Buck helping me to get on this filly from the fence. The presentation that Buck gave using this filly and explaining what was taking place was a topic of conversation for many of the audience. A few of the comments Buck made during the presentation were about the importance of changing eyes and not pushing and having good flexion when bringing the forequarters though plus the placement of the feet. While the session did not start here and was a little western at the beginning, to feel the difference in this horse at the end was exceptional. It is difficult to put all the lessons into words and for many the lessons would have been a more visual.

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After Tamworth it was off to Southport on the Gold Coast in Queensland, not for the Magic Millions but for the annual state pony club conference held at the Southport Pony Club grounds.  The Qld State Pony Club have been holding horsemanship courses throughout the state for a number of years now. They are to be commended for seeing the importance of horsemanship in their curriculum.

In  February I have horses coming in for starting,  plus cattle work with a lesson day in early February at my family’s cattle station. I also have a 4 day horsemanship & cow working course at the end of March at home as well. For more information please email me at [email protected]

I wish everyone a happy and healthy new year and look forward to catching up through out my travels during the year.

 

 

Novembers Blog

By Blog, Food for thought, Uncategorized

MapMarkerSince my last website blog I have been in Perth, New Zealand and just recently returned from Melbourne. It is always good to be back in Australia and getting around this big country. I have had the opportunity to travel extensively for over 20 years and while appreciating and enjoying what many other countries have to offer. Australia is a great and lucky country with recent global events.

I have now completed my course schedule for this year and start again in the new year with the Australian Legacy of Legends event in Tamworth and then a 2 day course at the annual Southport Queensland Pony Club conference. I also have another intake of young horses in February for those interested, please email me, places are limited. At the end of March I also have a course here at my place in Central Queensland, this is a 4 day course and will be a horsemanship and cow working course. Again please email if you are interested as places will be limited. There  are also a few more courses for the Australian schedule next year that are in the pipe line so please look at the course schedule webpage for updates.

12189382_1513740505616647_751071905197855176_oThe image above and below is from the week long course in Perth. The horse I am riding is one of Jenny Jackson’s horses,  Jenny and her family educated us all on Alpacas and made all welcomed. The New Zealand course went very well with a very good standard and all making good progress over the course, thank you to Scott O’Malley & Michaela Coombe. The St Andrews course in Victoria was also progressive and a big thank you to Tiana and her husband Stu for their hospitality and in making everyone feel welcomed. The smaller image was of a friends horse that I rode for a couple of the afternoon sessions at the St Andrews course.

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IMG_2504At recent courses, while helping riders on many topics of horsemanship. a couple of those topics have been transitions and the other equitation. For those that are able to take on board the information you see their horsemanship make progress. While all are trying to improve as riders we still have to make sure that we are not riding with a kick to go and pull to stop approach. There is more to being a good rider than not falling off and we all do. Being able to know what your legs and hands and body are doing is very important. Some riders really struggle to isolate their legs and so while trying to use only one leg the other is active as well.  Riding transitions smoothly and keeping the weight correct for the horse is another chapter and verse as well.

To all that have attended courses this year and organised courses or sent horses for starting I wish you all well with your horsemanship. Have a very Merry Christmas and New Year. I look forward to seeing you again next year.

 

A Late October Blog

By Blog, Food for thought, Uncategorized

MapMarkerI have now made it back into the office at home in Australia. All horses from the recent young horse intake have now gone home. There are still a couple of places available on the February and May intakes. Please let me know if you are wanting to reserve a place as the intakes can fill up quickly.

Tomorrow I start travelling to Perth, not in Scotland, but Western Australia.  This will be a 5 day horsemanship course, more details are available on the website course listing page. Next week, it is back to the South Island of New Zealand for a horsemanship and  cow working course.  The middle of November is a 3 day horsemanship course in St Andrews Victoria. In December a 2 day course is scheduled for Armidale in N.S.W.

The UK course listings for 2016 is now available for viewing on the website. Please let me know if any changes need to be made with contact details etc.

Below the image I have written a horsemanship article that I trust that will be helpful.

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Horsemanship is non denominational and is applicable to all disciplines and equestrian sports. It takes time for both the horse and human to learn and be solid. With the horse it is easy for us to get frustrated when we don’t pick up straight away, where we left off yesterday or last week. Most times this is just a case of things not being solid and dependable. A recent example of this was a case where I rode a couple of horses that I started last year.  They were well bred and nice horses, but their self-preservation was pretty close to the surface and a lot of time was spent on getting things solid and dependable with the time that I had them for. This year I rode the same horses for a small amount of time and to my knowledge they had not been ridden or had much handling during the 12 months. It was like picking up where I left off 12 months ago,  saddling and riding was a non event.

Spending time on getting the foundation solid with your horses is really an investment that pays regular dividends in many forms. To understand the horsemanship takes time on the human side as well. When riders come along to courses I really try to emphasis the importance of doing your homework in between the courses and overtime you will progress.

Summertime in the U.K.

By Blog, Food for thought, Uncategorized

MapMarkerThis afternoon the U.K. weather has given me an afternoon off of riding horses in order to put words to this months blog. Since my last blog I have been in the U.K. busy with courses and young horses. I am now in the final couple of weeks before leaving to start travel back to Australia via Europe and Dubai. There are still a couple of  more courses here in England and then it is across to the Isle of Man and Ireland for courses over there as well.

My Australian course schedule starts in October with a course at home and then Perth, New Zealand and Victoria. More details are on the course schedule of the website.

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In a previous blog, the Q & A format drew positive feedback and have continued with that below.

Q: How do I get my horse to walk out?

A: An old saying is that the walk is the mother of all gaits. In a previous lifetime the paddocks / pastures that we gathered or mustered cattle from where significantly larger than they are now. So we always appreciated a horse that could walk. I was not always successful at getting my horses to walk out in those days, these days my young horses/ colts can out walk most older saddle horses after a few rides. While on the ground I am looking at how my horses walk out and how they track up and are balanced. Many horses that riders can not get to walk out are on the forehand and not tracking up from the ground. I find if I drive my horses forward from behind the wither then this helps to encourage the horse to track up more. When the horse is ridden and on the forehand and is asked to move out more in the walk often the horse breaks into a jog or a trot.  I liken this to having someone give you a slight push when you are walking down hill. If your weight is not back then you will have to break into a jog or a trot to regain your balance.  When riding I also try and get my legs and body in time with the rhythm of the walk. My legs follow the swing of the barrel of the horse and try to get the walk to where it will start to swing my reins. At times I will slightly increase the tempo of the swing of my reins to get the horse to get with me a little more. We have all ridden horses that walk well in the direction of home and can get the reins to start to swing. I like them to walk away from home the same way.

A Course Report Blog

By Blog, Uncategorized

MapMarkerI have now just arrived back into the U.K. stopping over in Dubai to catch up with good friends over there. Since my last blog all the young horses that were in for the May / June young horse intake have gone home.  All reports are that they are going well for owners.   The week before flying out for the U.K. I had the first horsemanship / cow working course at home in Qld. DSC_0863

This went really well and as I said to everyone on the course, what will help to make this course unique is the facilities.  With different sized round pens, a mechanical cow and access to cattle.

This course was only 2 days and next year I am planning to run a 4 day course. The dates for this will be up on the website schedule in the next week.

The image below and to the right is of a young horse that I own and who has now had a couple of starts on cattle. As I mentioned to the riders on the course he is a horse that does buck and does a few other things, but that side is getting less. I don’t get to ride my own horses as much as I would like due to travel and schedule commitments, that aside for me as the horse grows in confidence and the foundation gets solid and dependable the rest starts to fall into place. With this course being a horsemanship / cow working course you have the principle and purpose combination.

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For horses and riders I think that there is a real need to see a reason for doing things.  With the cow working side you are going to have transitions and need  to have your horse lengthen and shorten and learn to rate. So the horsemanship side was also about making smooth transitions up and down, straightness,  having  your horse be forward and off your leg.  As riders improved in their horsemanship they got better with the cow working. The cow working will always show up areas for improvement.  The mechanical cow was used in preparation for the cow working.  The good thing with the mechanical cow is that it stops when asked and goes at the speed that you tell it. Over the 2 days you could really see an improvement in all riders and their horses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Blog For May

By Blog, Uncategorized

MapMarkerMay began with Beef Week in Rockhampton, during which I was able to catch up with many friends that I had not seen for a long time. As well as have the opportunity to sit in on seminars and listen to speakers from  an aurae of fields.  After Beef Week it was back to the horses with a new bunch of young horses coming in for the month, all are making good progress and are now being ridden outside.

The image below is of some of the new intake of young horses.  The country side here at home in Qld is in stark contrast to that of the U.K. with many places in Western Queensland facing a long winter with little chance of rain until the end of the year. The horses below are mostly 3 year olds with an older gelding in the herd as well.

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Last weekend I was in Gatton in South East Qld doing a 2 day horsemanship course. It was good to have riders from the previous course in October last year and see the progress that they had made. Many thanks to Wendy Palmer and Ron Howland for their hospitality and all their efforts in organising the weekend. Everyone made good progress and I often believe riders make more progress when they go home and have the opportunity to put into practice the lessons of the weekend.

One of the topics of conversation that I spoke about during the course was the need for your horse to be off the leg. There are times when you will feel that your horse is moving forwards but when you put your leg on there is a resistance or a lack of forwards or your horse is escaping from the leg. This is something to be aware of as some horses will buck, or  hold the rider to “ransom” , with a, if you put your leg on, I am going to buck you off, or kick out, run off etc .  A quote from Baucher  ” I like the horse to be behind the hand and in front of the leg, so that the centre of gravity is placed between these two aids, as it only on this condition  that the horse is absolutely under the control of the rider.” I have heard other words and metaphors used to describe this and  help riders gain a better understanding and meaning.  Over time with experience and understanding the meaning of  these words will change and enlighten. Better yet, as riders we will get to feel this with our horses even if it is only briefly.

Towards the end of next month I travel back to the U.K., I will have the opportunity to catch up briefly with friends in Dubai on the way over.

 

A Late April Blog

By Blog, Uncategorized

MapMarkerApril has come and gone and May will be similar I am sure. Yesterday I returned home from DeGrey Station, in the Pilbera of Western Australia. While every year is always a great experience for all. This year everyone made great progress in both their  horsemanship, cattle work and overall stockmanship. The Bettini family who own DeGrey Station put a lot of effort into training their staff and this was showing through with individuals really trying hard throughout the course. The image below shows Mark Bettini riding a young 2 year old horse, we started last year and rode a couple of times and bought back in this year as a 3 year old.  All went well and we picked up from where we left off. When you take the time it takes and the horse gets confident you will often pick up where you left off, even if it was 12 months ago.

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During the course riders had 2 horses, in the morning they would ride one set of horses and in the afternoon the second set of horses. The morning horses were young horses that had been started. In the mornings we would work through some ground exercises and ride, with afternoon sessions then following on from the morning sessions with the older horses, that were already in the mustering string. We also would have cattle to work with in the afternoon sessions. The image below was of one of the morning sessions where we turned the young horses loose and moved them around to expose them to the saddle a little more at a walk, trot and canter. On the last day, riders were tracking cattle around on the young horses, I am sure that these horses will also soon move into the mustering string. When horses and riders have a purpose it gives a reason for the principle.

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This coming month I have a full young horse intake and a course in Gatton, Queensland, This course can be viewed on the course schedule page of my website. In June, I travel back into the U.K. for 2 months again, my UK schedule can be viewed on the website. For those interested in courses or young horse starting in the U.K. please contact Tina at:  [email protected] ,   Buck Brannaman will also be in the U.K. in June.

 

An Aust Autumn or U.K. Spring

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MapMarker

I have just returned from the U.S. where I was attending the Legacy of Legends event. It was great seeing how this event has grown over the short number of years that it has been going. This year I believe audience numbers were up on previous years and if the weather in the U.S. had been kinder, numbers could well have increased again. It was good to see this event well supported from not only the U.S. but particularly from the U.K., Australia and Dubai. As I heard mentioned once, you can travel to the other side of the world to see the same faces.

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After Legacy I was able to catch up with Craig Johnson from the reining world and finally to track down a guy who I rode cutting horses with back in the late 80s. The following weekend after Legacy I went to one of Buck Brannaman’s courses just outside of Dallas. While there were many horsemanship lessons to take away from the 4 day course. An enjoyable part of Buck’s course and Legacy event was listening to the stories that Buck and others had of their experiences of both Ray and Tom. Over time lessons and stories can be diluted and turned into something that was never intended. So when you hear those stories and lessons from Buck they are closer to the original version.

In last months blog I had a short Q & A of questions asked during courses and due to the response, I have continued with this format.

 


DSC00130This was not a question but a comment that Buck made during his course in Texas. ” A horse will not be emotionally stable until they are in balance.”  There is much to consider with these few words.

Q A question that comes up periodically when starting horses is what cues due you use to canter?

A With a young horse that only has a few rides they are not going to understand your cues for canter.  [ Also if a rider has feet and hands going all over the place to get the horse into the canter they are going to be giving many cues ]   While you may have to initially use the end of your lead rope or mecate to get the horse into the canter as this transition becomes smoother and you are doing less you should try and feel which lead the horse is apt to take when they are making this transition into the canter. So as opposed to trying to cue the horse onto the left or right lead you are trying to time your asking for the lead for when the horse is set up to take that lead.  It is really about timing your “thoughts” to that of the horse and feeling when the horse is ready or setup to take the lead.