Peace
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Big Bravery
This is Kaylee right before she mounts a horse for the very first time in her life. Kaylee is a 26 year old police officer who has seen her fair share of horror. Since we first met Kaylee she has shown us big bravery with our horses. Many people are understandably nervous the first time they get up close and personal with a horse. This is due to the fact that horses are much bigger than us and could spook at any moment, (which basically means have a horse conniption). In order to keep a horse from spooking you yourself need to remain calm. Horses are very sensitive creatures and…
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A Little Desensitization
Once in a while we like to work on a little desensitization with our horses. In essence, this basically means that we scare them a little with harmless objects until they aren’t scared any more. Most horses will freak out over a plastic bag flying in the wind, especially if they have never been desensitized before. A horse that is in fear for his life, even if the object of their fear is something meant for carrying groceries, can be extremely dangerous. Horses are prey animals and are always on the look out for threats to their safety’; once they feel unsafe, the thinking part of their brain shuts off…
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The Mark
Recently my mom, Jules, has begun a new form of liberty training with our horses, utilizing a raised square object that we call a mark. Out of our four horses, Pepper might be considered our most mischievous and stubborn horse. However, he is the only one of our horses who willingly, and readily walks right up onto the mark, whenever we ask, without a second thought. Any chance to step up onto his precious mark is happily taken by Pepper, in fact, my mom has actually begun rewarding him with the mark! The mark is Pepper’s happy place. It is the only place where we can get him to stand…