Chestnuts

Comments

[unais]

Dear Darren,
Hope you and your team all wel,
Thank you so much for letting me know about this web site it is very informative, even though i seen your DVD's some of the things you havant explain in the DVD have explained in this site which i found very advance informations.

Thank you for answering all my emails so kind of you, i had my first ride on my arab yesterday after four weeks of training, she is not 100% as you said she will with right training what you teach.

i have question that, i been told not to train a horse on "windy day" is it true and what happen if you go for ride nature deside to blow a wind, do we have to get back to the paddock and let the horse to hurdle?
Even if you can train what are the specific sessions that you can train on?

Please answer
Thank you so much
Unais
From Melbourne Australia.

[Darren Wetherill]

Hi Unais,
You have a very good question!
Yes, it is ok to train or even ride horses on windy days as long as you have them under control, emotionally and physically! When it's windy a horse's energy will rise as they become more alert and aware of their surroundings. Some horses get more reactive where as other horses become more playful. It really depends on the personality of the horse. The main thing when interacting with a horse when it's windy is to stay in control. If you are riding them you can bend them laterally to gain control of their emotions. You bring up a good point about wind occurring while you are riding. This is why it is important to be able to train or ride them in the wind so you are prepared of these types of situations.
I appreciate your post and look forward to hearing more about your experiences with your arabian!
Take care and Happy Trails,
Darren

[Mona]

I was really surprised when I tried this and it worked. It's amazing how there are actually buttons on horse that will cause them to respond. Thanks for sharing.

[Mary Risavi]

Mona - Glad to hear it worked! Please feel free to share any other 'buttons' you find.

[Roberta]

Hi, Darren
I am new to your site, and hope you can help me and my 2 year old paint stud. I have to sedate him every time I get his feet done. Now that he is going into training he is going to need shoes. When he was a baby he cut his front leg and required it to be washed and wraped daily. I then had to be hospitalized with a blood clot to the brain. Ever since then we have had problems with him picking up his feet. Other then that he is very
respectful and I can do all most any thing else with him, but pick up those feet.
I am limited to bending for a long time. So I hope you can help me and my guy.
I am bidding on your ebook on ebay and hope I get it!!!!!
Thank You!
Roberta Lewis
Cortland Ohio

[Darren Wetherill]

It sounds like your horse could benefit from some friendly flipping of a soft rope around those over sensitive front legs until he is calm about things moving fast around him.You can ask your horse to lift his foot without bending over very far then you can grab and hold it with your hand palm against the frog,fingers gripping the toe so he can be held even if he attempts to pull away! The key is to give the foot back before he jerks it away. The procedure is explained in "Training made easy"
Thanks for you interest in Horsemanship
Let me know if you have any questions after you read and learn from the e-book
Happy Trails Darren

[sarah]

everytime I try and lift my horses front foot he stamps it down with 2 seconds...the back foot he kicks as I move my hand down his rear leg...what should I do?

[Mary]

Hi Sarah,
Thanks for writing! I would start off by desensitizing your horse's legs first. Make sure he is confident having it touched all over. Because he tends to kick, I would suggest using a horseman's stick or some type of object that will allow you to touch his leg without putting you in danger. Build his confidence until you are able to touch him all over, including his entire body. Then you can start asking him to pick up his feet by putting a rope around it and gently pulling. Start will a small amount of pressure and increase it until he yields and lifts his foot. Then you can immediately have him put it down. Continue to do this until he is comfortable lifting his leg. Then you can start asking him to hold his foot up for longer periods of time each time he lifts it. I would start with the front legs first. Give this a try and let me know how it turns out!
Mary

[Becki]

I have had horses since Feb 2007--never had a horse before in my whole life--I am 54. It was not until Aug 2007 before they had gained enough trust in me to give me their legs\hoofs--until then, even the farrier had a tough time! (Unfortunately, I lost the 3-yr-old in Sept to colic.) I must admit that much of the delay was because we live in another county & only spent a few hours on weekends with them. Once we had a home on our ranch land (Aug 2007), I have spent most of my time at the ranch instead of our beachfront condo; because they became so much more important to me than the beach! Until recently, I have not taken any training lessons--& I am into Parelli now. I have also watched other DVD training courses that show pressing on their chestnut to get them to lift. I am amazed that mine--I now have 3: (a 14 year-old Kenturcky Mountain mare, an 8-yr-old Tenessee Walker gelding who thinks he's a stallion, and a 2-yr old Thoroughbred who is still failry green) have allowed me to lift there feet & clean their hoofs the way I have done up until now, which has been what seemed logical to me, yet with really no thought behind why I was doing what I was doing. Lately, in addition to watching Parelli Level 1 DVD's, I have reviewed Lanel Brookshine's "Basic Western Horsemanship & Riding Lessons (I bought this DVD program a year ago but just got around to viewing it. I thought I'd better do so since I am now working with a trainer who is into Parelli.--a bit of a backtrack would'nt you say?

I have to tell you from my experience, once your horse trusts & respects you, they will do almost anything you ask if what you ask makes sense to them--it is reasonable & consistent. Also, I had to treat/reward my mare with a carrot piece between each hoof cleaning in order for her to cooperate. Now she just wants to cooperate to get it over with. She prefers less confinement--no cross ties and an open stall if that is her only option. Still, I get her full cooperation when I give her a loose lead in good pasture--don't even need the carrots. My 8-yr-old gelding behaves best in corss ties, believe it or not? He is the perfect gentleman when grooming him in cross ties, & squirmy any other way--I guess he previous owners used cross ties. My 2-yr-old does not mind grooming in a stall as long as he can eat Alfalfa hay--that is what he was raised on.

So, I guess what I am saying--they all have their own horsonalities and life experiences prior to us. We need to get in tune to who they are as individuals & work with them in a compatible fashion to their horsonalities (personalities). I must admit, I have a PhD in Psychology--but with humans. Even so, this knowledge seems to benifit me when it comes to working with my larger babies!

I will end with a tidbit: I was a city girl afraid of germs & getting dirty. I have fought my husband on having a ranch for years. Finally I gave in--he seemed to need the country life for therapy--a place to totally remove himself from his profession if even only weekends. But a horse? two?? and now Three??? I was a fulltime nurse educator until last May. Now I am a fulltime ranch\horse\Black Angus cow owner who preactically lives at the ranch--love it! I have never been as dirty in my whole life--not even as a small chield playing in mud puddles. I kiss & love my horses when they let me in their space, I groom them & clean their hoofs--you know what that is like! I do not complain, but I do have the cleanest barn around. That is my obsessive compulsiveness. Even still, I get dirty when I am with my horses--those evening showers feel so great! I do wonder how the lady horse people in the movies seem to look so clean & sexy while they are riding or working with their horses--blows my mind that they could look like that! I do want to add that I have not been sick since we bought horses. I suppose my immune system has been charged up big time!

Good luck finding your horse(s)'s horseonality, comfort level, & who they consider to be Alph above them.

Becki

[Regina]

Hi,
I have a 23 y/o Qtr horse, formerly a polo horse (don't have all of his history, though)who doesn't like his back feet picked up, although I am working with him using a rope and slowly, we're making progress. My problem lies really with the farrier who seems to think that my horse is taking me for a fool by "getting his way". I ride my horse and have seen him in action so I know that he has some stiffness issues, probably some arthritis as well. Some people think that you have to really manhandle the horse into doing what we want but I won't treat my horses thusly; I believe in not whipping them or tying them up to make them do something, no yelling, etc. just doing things in a more natural, calmer way. I have my horse sedated, unfortunately, to have his feet trimmed (barefoot),having done this only once before, especially since the farrier wanted to get a rope and tie the back leg to his neck??? If my horse would have fallen, he could've gotten hurt. The guy knows how old my boy is...am I totally wrong in my thinking? Any words of advice will be much appreciated. My horses are my babies and I want to do the right thing by them, not baby them, but want as much respect from them as I have for them.

Thanks,
Regina