Tag Archives: horse-back riding

Motivation from Moshi 77, by Jane Savoie

Two brains. That’s right, I have two brains. So do you. The difference is you have a bundle of nerves called the corpus callosum between the two halves of your brain that lets the sides chat. My brain doesn’t have that. It’s true that my brain, or brains, have a very difficult time talking to each other.

For a horse, this means I have to be trained to do things from both sides. What might be easy for me to understand through my left eye may be difficult to understand through my right eye. It’s a pain, but it’s the price I pay for having eyes on the sides of my head like a prey animal.

Humans can have binocular vision, so you can see things with both sides of your brain. That means your left brain hemisphere, the logical, linear, thinking side, can analyze things and explain that to the right, the more artistic, big picture, emotional side. That corpus callosum is very handy, as long as it’s working.

When humans are under extreme stress, the corpus callosum shuts down. Communication stops. That means you could get stuck in responding to the situation from only one side of your brain. If it’s the logical side, you’ll probably analyze the situation and handle it without emotion. If it’s the emotional side that takes over, you may find yourself hysterical or locked up and frozen. Speech is located in the left, logical side, and if the emotional side takes over, that’s why you get tongue-tied if you get upset. Have you noticed that when you’re stressed and can’t think of what to say, but then calm down and the corpus callosum starts working again, suddenly the perfect words for that snappy comeback show up in your mind? Frustrating, isn’t it?

Continue reading Motivation from Moshi 77, by Jane Savoie

What Are the Aids to Ask My Horse to Stop or Slow Down? by Jane Savoie

It’s important to know you can slow your horse down or stop completely (your brakes) so that he’s a safe and obedient mount.

With a young horse, your outside hand is your primary speed control aid. Give a quick squeeze and release on that rein as if you’re snatching a fly out of the air. For example, if your horse is going too fast in the trot, give a quick squeeze and release on your outside rein to slow him down.

When you first use your brakes, combine the squeeze on the outside rein with a voice command that your horse knows, like “slow” or “whoa”. The voice command helps him make the link between the rein aid and what you want him to do.

As your horse becomes more educated, you’ll add your “stilled” or “retarding seat” to your outside hand aid.

If your horse ignores your light aid to slow down, don’t pull harder. Instead, make a correction. Correct your horse by halting sharply. Sit deeply in the saddle and give a firm, upward pull on the outside rein.

Then go forward again. Within the first stride or two, RETEST with the original polite squeeze and release on the outside rein.

If he slows down immediately, PRAISE him. If he doesn’t react immediately, repeat the steps above.

Note from Jane

I want to thank all of you who wrote in asking how we fared during Irene. I truly appreciate your concern and am so grateful that personally we didn’t suffer from this horrific hurricane.

Continue reading What Are the Aids to Ask My Horse to Stop or Slow Down? by Jane Savoie

Horsemen Embrace Wildlife Opportunity in Western Kentucky

Morganfield, KY, September 5, 2011 – About 40 men, women and children gathered on August 14th near Morganfield, Kentucky to clear hiking and horseback riding trails at the Higginson-Henry Wildlife Management Area.  Cicadas provided the music.  Volunteers provided a rewarding lunch that included smoked deer meat sandwiches.

Many volunteers were members of the Western Kentucky Back Country Horsemen, a non-profit affiliate of Back Country Horsemen of America.  BCHA advocates for continued, responsible horse use of public lands and provides information about conservation and maintenance of land and other natural resources used for equine-based recreation and travel.  The Kentucky Horse Council provided volunteers as well.

Western Kentucky Back Country Horsemen, formed in 2005, hosts cleanup days for the equine and hiking trails in the Higginson-Henry Wildlife Management Area.  This WMA, located in Union County, holds much appeal for those who yearn for access to the natural world.  Acquired in 1968 by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, the 5450-acre property has ridges and bottomlands; streams and lakes; wooded and cleared areas; wildflowers, butterflies, and birds of many kinds.  According to Foreman Curt Divine, the WMA is most revered for its deer and turkey, particularly for bow hunting, and small game as well.

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Safari Ride to Raise Money for Starved and Abused Horses

August 24, 2011 – Monroe, North Carolina – The United States Equine Rescue League, Inc. (USERL) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, incorporated in North Carolina in the year 1997. This horse rescue organization is funded by private donations/fundraising, and staffed solely by volunteers.  “All of the money raised goes to the starved and neglected horses that we bring into our Foster Home Network,” says Tracy Kloc, Regional Director of the USERL’s Central Piedmont Region of North Carolina. “We rescue abused, neglected, and/or abandoned equines; provide them with care and rehabilitation; and finally find them a compatible, loving home.”  For information on events, volunteering, donating, fostering, or horses available for adoption, go to www.userl.org or www.userl-nccp.org.

With the approaching winter months and an ongoing national economic recession, monetary donations have been extremely difficult to obtain.  The organization is hosting a Safari trail ride at Why Not an American Ark (WNAAA) in Monroe, NC on Sunday, August 28, 2011. Ride between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.  The “safari” will be a hunt for stuffed animals along the trail. Bring back a stuffed animal and win a prize. The harder the animals are to find, the better the prize that will be attached to it!

After the ride, enjoy lunch (concessions available) and continue to school your horse on the Ark’s cross country course, the new Extreme Cowboy race course, or go for a swim in the pond. You can also find out how your horse reacts to a real live camel or a zebra! There is also a covered arena, jump arena and dressage arena.  If you don’t have a horse, you can still come out and enjoy the day on the walking trail!

$15 to ride (your own horse).  Current Coggins Required.  Riders will have to sign a waiver for USERL and for WNAAA.  WNAAA (http://www.wnaaa.com/) is located at the intersection of Medlin Road and Charlie Williams Road in Monroe, NC.  For more information on the Safari ride or to make a donation, contact Deb Carl at dbcarl@bellsouth.net or 704-651-1831.  For more information about the US Equine Rescue League, Central Piedmont Region go to http://www.userl-nccp.org/.

Contact:
Deb Carl
704-651-1831
dbcarl@bellsouth.net

Motivation from Moshi 76, by Jane Savoie

Photo by: Liz Ritz Photography

A terrible thing happened today, and I’m really struggling to get over it. There was a loud hissing sound that hit my nervous system with a scream that said, “RATTLE SNAKE!” I was so startled, I jumped sideways really hard and fast, and unseated Jane! Her off balance body clinging to my side triggered “MOUNTAIN LION!” in my brain. So, I bucked. Not just a little, I bucked from one end of the arena to the other until I shook off the “Killer Lion!”

But that lion was actually my best friend, Jane. I dumped her! In the dirt! I bucked her off! I’m so upset! Jane and I have been best friends for ten years! I’ve never bucked her or anyone else off. NEVER! Not even once.

Fortunately, Jane was not seriously hurt. She’s a bit banged up, but no broken bones. Of course she was wearing her helmet. She ALWAYS wears her helmet. Thank goodness! I would never have intentionally hurt her, but I could have anyway just reacting like a normal horse!

No one has ever come off me before, and it freaked me out. I was wide-eyed for twenty minutes. But I’m not going to let this ruin my time with Jane. I’m going to look at this with clear thought, do some EFT meridian tapping to release the energy pathway that my neurons created during this fear episode, and move on.

Jane understands that I was acting out of instinct, not maliciousness. Still we both feel really bad about it. We have to just have to make sure that we FEEL our feelings, do the techniques we know to release the energy of the past, and move on.

Continue reading Motivation from Moshi 76, by Jane Savoie

Motivation from Moshi 72, by Jane Savoie

Words have power. They have energy. They create a state of being in our minds. Horses don’t use words, but we understand the energy behind what you say.

You’ve probably heard the saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” I say, the wounds from a stick or stone will probably heal, but the damage caused by the negative words we hear may sting for life.

Never underestimate how your words affect those around you, as well as how they reflect back and affect YOU. If your self-talk is negative, your experience is going to be negative. If you speak positively, your experience will reflect the same. If you bark and growl at your horse without careful thought to the attitude you’re projecting, your horse is going to feel insecure and you’re going to maintain a negative vibration. If you’re snapping at the people around you, the energy you’re projecting can be just as damaging as a pointed stick jabbing into someone’s heart.

Have you ever asked yourself, is it better to be right, or is it better to be kind? It’s a very pertinent question. Sometimes you have to stand your ground and be firm in what you consider “right.” Sometimes being right is just not that important. Choosing which applies in each situation is one of the things you have to decide on your own. Observing the results of your choices, right or wrong, is where wisdom is born.

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Motivation from Moshi 71, by Jane Savoie

Winning. What does that feel like to you? For me, I’ve “won” when I feel that flow through my body and everything comes together. I find it easy to feel flow when I’m cantering. I have a “winning” canter. It’s my favorite gait. When Jane was first teaching me tempi changes, I lost that sense of flow until I had the muscle memory of changing leads whenever she asked. Once I got that muscle memory, the changes became easy and flow returned. I felt like I’d “won.”

Winning doesn’t have to be about blue ribbons. If you’ve been away from riding for a while, you may feel like you’ve won if you simply get out to the barn and get on your horse for ten minutes. Walking around may be as far as you want to go today. If you’re a serious competitor, you may have that sense of a w in by perfecting that challenging movement. If you’re a teacher, you may feel like you’ve “won” when your student ends the lesson with a smile.

There are many ways to find that sense of a Win. The key is simply to look for it. And when you do, remind yourself to pay attention to how it feels. Then you can consciously create it again and again. It’s being in that positive space that creates even more success.

What could you do today that would make you feel like a success? I’m going to perform perfect pirouettes today, both directions. That gives me a terrific successful feeling!

Continue reading Motivation from Moshi 71, by Jane Savoie

Motivation from Moshi 69, by Jane Savoie

She likes me! She likes me! I’m so excited! That new mare told her friend that she really thinks I’m pretty neat. She said I had the most handsome face and cutest butt in the barn. I was blushing pink through my black hair. I’ll admit it’s true… I do have a nice big, round hip. It’s one of my best attributes.

There’s a joke I hear in the barn a lot. People say, “Does this saddle make my butt look big?” I don’t understand why so many people worry about the size of their butts. People like horses with big rear ends. I’m constantly hearing people talk about losing weight, this diet or that, who’s too fat and who’s too skinny. It’s strange. We horses don’t care what size you are. Your weight is not nearly as important to us as how you ride. One of the most uncomfortable sessions I’ve ever had was with a really skinny rider. She pounded my back like a farrier’s hammer. And one of the most elegant riders I’ve ever experienced was a very large woman. She was so balanced and so at one with me, that it was very easy to carry her.

Riding is a sport, and all sports require some level fitness. If you’re a casual rider who just wants to walk down the trail, you won’t need to be as fit as a rider who is a serious student of jumping or dressage. As you ride regularly and learn more, your fitness level will naturally improve. It’s a given. If you want to improve even faster, add a regular brisk walk to your day, and do some crunches or sit-ups every evening before you go to bed or every morning when you first get up.

But please, stop worrying so much about your size and weight. You get more of whatever you concentrate on. So, if you concentrate on a negative view of your weight, you’ll hold onto or increase the problem. You can’t help it! Instead, concentrate in getting FIT. Think about all the small ways you can become stronger and fitter, and you’ll get more of that. Put your bathroom scale in the back of your closet and stop obsessing about the pounds. They’re not that important! Instead, learn to ride light with softness and balance. Your horse will be happier.

Continue reading Motivation from Moshi 69, by Jane Savoie

Motivation from Moshi 64, by Jane Savoie

Patience. I hear it is a virtue. I think it’s a habit that can be developed.

Having patience with your horse is very important. He or she thinks differently than you do, so you have to be able to recognize when he tries to do what you’re asking, even if he didn’t quite get it. Rewarding the “try” is very important.

It’s also very important to recognize why you might be losing patience. Very often it’s because you’re afraid. Fear is very uncomfortable, so many people appear angry when they’re actually afraid. It’s a natural human coping mechanism. Recognizing this fact is very important, especially if you’re working with children and animals.

Do you have a temper? Are you sure it’s anger you’re feeling, and not fear or lack of control? If you suspect this might be true for you, or really don’t know why you get angry, it may be time to take a second look. Next time you feel your temper flare, stop and examine what’s going on. What caused this? What are you REALLY feeling? Could it be fear you’re covering up with a different emotion?

Continue reading Motivation from Moshi 64, by Jane Savoie

Motivation from Moshi 63, by Jane Savoie

There are all kinds of dreams. Big dreams, small dreams, fantasy dreams, and the important dreams you really want to realize before you leave this life.

Funny thing about dreams. Sometimes they take on a life of their own. The key is holding the vision of what you want to accomplish, and then follow the trail that providence sets before you. A good friend of mine calls it “following the spiritual popcorn.”

Do you have a clear vision of what you want to do? Do you think about it much? Are your thoughts positive or negative? Do you see yourself accomplishing the dream, or do you fret about the obstacles in the way? Remember, you get more of whatever you give your attention to. Knowing this, how might you direct your thoughts in a way that serves you best?

I have a dream of rolling in fresh, dew covered grass with the bright sun warming my shiny black coat. Then I dream of sleeping the afternoon away in total peace and relaxation. Maybe today is the day.

Continue reading Motivation from Moshi 63, by Jane Savoie