One thing you should NEVER do with horses! by Don Jessop

The one thing you should never do with horses is...

Assume they understand everything that is expected of them.

Many people think the horse knows what they want when, in fact, most horses don't have a clue even if they've done it a hundred times. I often hear someone say "my horse knows how to get it the trailer, why won't he do it?" As a result, of thinking the horse "knows" it, many people get frustrated and when a person looks upset, nobody wants to be around them, let alone, listen to them. When I say nobody, that includes horses too. To avoid frustration you simply need to know the real reasons why a horse won't do something.

Let me clarify.  There are in fact, six basic reasons a horses wouldn't do what we want them to do for us, such as: get into a trailer or walk over a creek even if they've done it before.

Number 1. Alignment (the horse is not aligned physically for the task).  It takes a keen eye to see misalignment issues but once you see them you can't NOT see them anymore and when you learn to correct alignment you can make immediate shifts in your horses behavior.

2. Energy (the horse doesn't have the right level of energy) It's either too much or too little for the task at hand.  Once you learn to manage energy levels you get results like only the masters in the industry get results.  It's absolutely amazing what you can do.  I teach all about this in my book "Leadership and Horses"

3. Connection (the horse is distracted, focused on something else). Easy to see, not always easy to correct.  Reading and addressing distraction takes practice and patience and a lot of re-aligning the horses attention, but with practice you can become a very effective leader for your horse.

4. Fear (the horse is genuinely afraid of you, the task, the environment, or her position relative to the herd).  Fear is tricky and easy to misread which thing the horse is actually afraid of, but in time you can become an expert.  Read my article on a guide to natural horsemanship.

5. Confusion (the horse simply does not understand what you want or perhaps why it's so important to you)  Maybe he has done it before, that doesn't mean he understand in this very moment. When subtle changes take place in the environment, (even smells we can't pick up) your horse may act differently or feel confused. When you learn to see confusion pop up, you can address your horse with more clarity and simpler tasks with more rewards to help them see what you want.  

6. Physical limitations (the horse is too unfit, uncoordinated, too tired, or simply too lame to achieve the results you want). Learning to read physical limits of a horse doesn't have to take a lifetime.  You can learn everything you need to in a simple course with me.  (coming soon - tell me in the comments below if you'd be interested) or go through the school of hard knocks and learn it yourself in a few years time.  That's certainly what I did.

Notice how.  Obstinate behavior was NOT one of the six.  

If your horse doesn't go in the horse trailer and you say "He knows what I want, he is just being obstinate!" You could substitute the word with "naughty, rude, disrespectful, etc." but the truth is... If he knows what you want and he's not doing it, he is confused.

but the truth is... If he knows what you want and he's not doing it, he is confused.   

Let me clarify again.  He's may not be confused about what you want.  He's confused about "why" it's so important.  He sees no value in it.

I know it's just like semantics, but words are important.  

When you say your horse is being obstinate, you tend to get slightly frustrated and maybe even a little offended.  When you're frustrated, you tend to add inappropriate amounts of pressure to a situation and end up compounding the problem. Or you just walk away from the situation and end up compounding other problems later down the road.  The point is: FRUSTRATION LEADS TO POOR LEADERSHIP!

FRUSTRATION LEADS TO POOR LEADERSHIP!

When you say your horse is confused rather that obstinate, you being to see how you need to help clarify or simplify things to help him.  You begin looking for more opportunities to reward.  You also begin looking for ways to make the right thing easier and the wrong thing uncomfortable without giving your horse the impression that you are a complete asshole!  Pardon my language.  

Back to the top now.  What's the one thing you should never do with horses?  

Never assume he knows everything and anything related to what you want.  After all, science has proven today that horses have the brain of a four-year-old human child.

I like that perspective.  It keeps me slow, soft, playful, repetitive, rewarding, calm, and assertive in safety situations.  It sets me up more like a preschool teacher.  That's how all horse trainers and horse owners can learn to act around their horses. Not that they shouldn't go after higher performance. I think that's great too. Just keep in mind how horses learn along the way.

To learn more about the six reasons horses don't do what you want, get the book Leadership and Horses Simply click the link here or find it on amazon.com

Thanks for reading.  Follow us, like us, sign up for emails and comment below.  I love hearing from my readers.

Don Jessop - the breakthrough guy

Do horses suffer from PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder)?

YES, THEY DO!

I’ve seen it hundreds of times.  People often chalk up misbehavior as “naughty, bad, disrespectful, or stupid.”  Chronic behaviors like cribbing, bucking, bolting, freezing, swaying, sudden reactions from seemingly nothing, chasing, ear pinning, tongue or mouth displacement, grinding teeth, and many more can be signs of something going on deep inside the horse.  I always give the horse the benefit of the doubt when someone tells me he’s being “a bugger, an ass, a jerk, a bitch” because the horse cannot speak for herself in our world.  More often than not, when you get a clearer picture of the history each horse has experienced you start to see why they react the way they do. 

Sometimes you don’t know the whole history.  For example.  You don’t remember when your horse was mistreated but suddenly he’s become ear shy.  You can’t think of any moment from birth until now that he’s had a confusing or stressful experience yet, here he is… showing all the signs of PTSD.  The truth is, it takes very little for a horse to develop PTSD like behaviors.  They simply can’t wrap their minds around our human experiences very easily.

The strange thing, is that horses can get PTSD much easier than we can, simply because we have the cognitive skills to manage heightened emotional states. We can figuratively wrap our mind around more painful or scary experiences.  But anyone who has actually suffered from PTSD will tell you.  Logic isn’t the issue.  Sounds, sights, smells, they can all trigger a traumatic moment in your memory and imagination.  The same thing is happening for horses. 

All of the above doesn’t mean that your horse suffers from PTSD.  Many behaviors are minor in nature and not recurring. Horses buck, bolt, bite, strike, and rear at play. Why wouldn’t they attempt to do those things with a rider on their back from time to time.  It makes sense they would do those things. In other words, “a horse is a horse of course of course”. 

Signs of PTSD are more obvious when a horse starts doing abnormal things related to certain stimulus.  Things that aren’t typical.  Things that don’t make sense to us.  Things like cribbing in a stall.  Things like grinding teeth with a bridle on.  Things like sudden bolting or twisting or bucking, seemingly out of the blue but happening more and more often.  Things like freezing, sweating in odd places or prematurely.  Things that go beyond the typical playful behaviors a horse would exhibit.  All these things can be signs of PTSD.

What can be done for horses that suffer from PTSD?

In my book, Leadership and Horses I talk about the Four “B” s of Leadership.

Boundaries

Bonding

Bravery

Basic to advanced skill development

In the book, each piece is detailed out for better understanding and application, but for the sake of clarity and brevity. I want to give you the value of just one piece today.  “Bravery”

Specifically, a certain type of bravery call “flash training”

All horses, but especially horses suffering from PTSD need flash training.  What is flash training?
It’s a simple strategy that trains and rewards calmness and relaxation immediately after a visual, auditory, or tactile sensation flashes past the horse.

Basically, horses react to sudden sensations.  They need to learn to relax with sudden sensations.

At my clinics, I often tell a short story then pose a simple question.  Here it is:

Years ago, I was leading my horse across my neighbor’s lawn.  My neighbor saw me through the window and wanted to say hi before I got too far away.  She ran to the door and opened the door to call my name. In that instant, my horse jumped up, sideways, and down, landing squarely on my foot and breaking several bones. 

Now I pose the question…  Is my horse afraid of doors? Or is it the sudden “flash” of the door that created the reaction?

You guessed it.  My horse, like all horses, reacts to sudden sensation, the only cure then becomes more exposure to sudden things (many you can simulate on your own if you have a strong imagination) and then training the horse to hold still and settle.  Each time he settles, he’s must be rewarded with rubbing, scratching or treats. 

One of my favorite techniques is to flash my hand at the horse’s eyeball.  From a distance, it looks like I’m going to smack him in the eye, but come a little closer and you’ll see my hand slow down right at the last second and kindly rub his eye.  After a few repetitions, he becomes quiet and calm.  He begins to trust the experience.  He begins to see the flash and “be” ok about it, even rewarded, because each time he gets a kind petting experience from the same hand that looked evil before.

Do you see how it works now?  Flash training for certain horses can be a miracle cure.  It won’t all get fixed overnight of course, and there are more pieces to the puzzle.  For instance, outlined in my nine leadership principles you’ll see how horse owners must ensure the horse has what he needs to survive and thrive in our world.  Thriving requires different skills sets and different thinking on our part as owners. 

In summary, yes, horses do suffer from PTSD.  Is it curable.  Yes, just about as curable as it is for us humans.  Is it easy? Depends on the situation of course.  Will Leadership and Horses help you understand your horse better? Yes. Pick it up.  Give you horse the gift of become the best leader you can be for him or for her.

Don Jessop – the breakthrough guy

The horses I couldn’t help!

“I lay awake thinking of the animals.  I can’t shake the images from my mind.  I am haunted by their cry!”

Just a few minutes ago I put the phone down, my body was shaking.  My thoughts we’re reeling.  My inner voice was shouting “I should have said more! I should have…done more.  This isn’t OK? Why is this happening?”

The woman on the other end of the line was a telling me how “it just doesn’t matter” that her horses weren’t getting fed enough.  That her horses we’re “none of my business.” 

“If you think I’m neglecting my horses, why don’t you just take them!” She shouted.

My heart sank.  I knew I couldn’t take her horses.  All I wanted was to encourage her to care for them in the way they deserve.  I knew and have known for years now that I can’t take on more horses.  Not only because I don’t have the space but because the very minute I take on more is the same minute I lose time to promote proper horse training and care industry wide.  

I felt her frustration and normally I would be able to simply let it go. But for a few years now a special kind of tension has been building inside me.   I see horses differently.  I used to see them as four legs and a strong back that could carry me across the Snowy River with Jim Craig in the Australian highlands.  Things have changed for me.  Maybe it was the concussion.  Maybe, I always saw things this way but couldn’t admit it.  Now, when I look at a horse, I see a being.  I see a heart and lungs.  I see a vivid memory inside a vibrant mind.  I see the pain of slavery and captivity expressed in reactive behaviors or a sullen countenance.

I want horse owners to succeed with their horses.  I want horses to succeed with their humans.  I care deeply for the safety and well-being of these special animals.

The problem is… I can see the future. The horse industry isn’t getting much better for horses, not yet anyway. But with your help, maybe it can.

From the perspective of the public, the care-taking of horses actually has improved, due to the natural horsemanship movement started nearly fifty years ago by men and women like Ray Hunt, Linda and Pat Parelli, Tom Dorance, Bill Dorance, John Lyons and many others. However, the natural horsemanship movement has only impacted a small portion of the entire industry and… even within the natural horsemanship style, horse abuse cases are taking place every day.

What are those abuse cases? What does abuse actually mean?  Basically, in my opinion, horse abuse takes place when a trainer is consequence oriented instead of reward oriented.  This kind of thing happens every single day among “natural” trainers.  When I see a trainer spank a horse to go, then offer no reward when he does go, I see abuse.  When I see a trainer ride a horse and put it away before the sweat dries, I see abuse.  When I see an owner confine a horse to a twelve by twelve stall day after day, I see abuse. When I see a rider take a horse through challenging circumstances, far beyond the developed skill of the horse and mechanically force cooperation, I see abuse.  

. 

Abusive training styles run rampant in the natural horse industry and in the traditional training industry.  But it is not the biggest problem.  The biggest problem is careless breeding.  People keep bringing horses into the world like they’re going out of style.  We need to stop careless breeding.  Notice I didn’t say we should stop breeding altogether! I mean we should stop breeding just because we like babies, or because we want our special bloodline to last, or because we forgot to close the gate and the stallion got loose, or because someone offered us a bit of spare change.  Breeding should be carefully assessed for quality horses of sound mind and body.  Horses that are compatible for human hands in a human world.

The reason careless breeding is such a big problem has to do with neglect.  There are simply not enough practical thinking horse owners to care for all the horses flooding the industry. There is simply no outlet for horses. Horses are being left to starve.  Mistreated horses or horses with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) are being left to wither away and pass from home to home because they are no longer “safe” to ride.  Injured horses are being tossed out, and if you have a heart (which you must, if you’re reading this) you find it hard to see horse families being torn apart.  Horses are in fact herd or “family” oriented creatures.  Mares and foals create a connection that lasts a lifetime.  They never forget! Never!  Would you forget if you we’re taken from your parents at an early age?  Probably not..

The point is, horses are subject to human hands. If those hands are not careful and conscious and intelligent, horses will suffer.  You can help me curb the suffering of horses by sharing this article and following me for more insights, inspiration, and technical information about skills and learning.  I want you on my team because together we can start to make a difference.

Thanks for reading.

Don Jessop - the breakthrough guy

WHY MIDDLE AGED WOMEN ARE THE BEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO THE HORSE INDUSTRY

- Don Jessop

Now a record 90+ percent of the horse industry is made up of women. Most over 40. 

I wanted to uncover why there has been such a dramatic shift and how it has impacted the industry in general. 

The first answer came after nearly 20 years in the industry myself.  I’ve been teaching riders and training horses for a variety of different people and a variety of different reasons.  I’ve helped Olympic riders, I’ve trained Olympic quality horses.  I’ve helped backyard enthusiast, and professionals. 

In the beginning, the people who came to my classes varied. I’d see women and men of all ages.  But over the last few years my clientele has shifted to middle aged women. Occasionally I’ll see a young girl in my class or the husband of another clinic participant. But generally, in fact almost exclusively, my classes consist of women riders between 40-65 years old. That doesn’t mean there aren’t classes out there being taught for younger generations.  And certainly, in western performance classes we still see a lot of men competing, but rapidly, the industry is changing.  And I believe for the better!

Why did this shift happen?   In my book Leadership and Horses, which you can pick up right here on this website or buy from Amazon.com, I talk in depth about the value of a horse and how it’s shifted through the centuries.  Thousands of years ago people hunted horses for food.  Then used them to farm. Then came transportation. Then came warfare, and industry.  When machines replaced horses in industry, people began using them primarily for sport.  In the last half century, horses have been used almost exclusively for recreation and entertainment.  There are still people who rely on horses for farming in certain parts of the world but most people have the resources to do without them.   

The shift in demographics (the types of people who participate in horse activities) changed with the tides as well.  People who used horses for industry don’t see the value of a horse.  People who used horses for transportation, no longer need their four legs and strong back.  People who used horses for war, found tanks and trucks were more effective.  And most of the people involved in those work-related endeavors came from a male dominated work society.   But today, society has changed.  Women have a real voice, a well-deserved and respected voice for change.  It is women who found the horses true value.  It is women who see past the four legs and strong back to the very heart and spirit of the animal.  It is women, who are reaching out to rescue animals, and connect with them in a way that men generally struggle with.  That’s why I think it’s the best thing for the industry that women are engaging with horses more and more.  Women are more sensitive (of course only generally) than men and therefore tend to be less abusive.  Women are kinder, sweeter, more aware of the being they are interacting with.

Women have brought horses into their lives for a variety of reasons.  Many find the connection with an animal compares to little else in this world.  It’s a place where a heart and mind can clear, where the problems of the world go away.  Some want horses to explore the trails, or to challenge themselves in ways no other course in history can compare to.  When a rider engages in Mastery Horsemanship (that never-ending pursuit of perfection), the human soul can literally change and heal.   When a rider takes her horse into the ring to teach a new task, both engage with each other in complicated and beautiful ways.  Owning horses requires leadership skills, some of which need to be honed and trained.  Women can be natural leaders with the ability and desire to increase their leadership skills. To better themselves.  The horse is a fantastic vehicle for all of the above.  And fortunately for the horse, more and more women are becoming interested in training and leadership and connection. 

I believe without the demographic shift in the horse industry, one of two things would have happened in the last 20 years.  Either horses would be abandoned altogether and sentenced to die in captivity with no positive stimulus or men would continue to assert their dominance over animals for the sake of sport. (another generalization to be sure).  Many men are kind, thoughtful, creative, supportive, and spiritual.  I encourage all the men in my classes to listen close to their equine friends.  Many do, and many make magical changes in their own lives as a result. 

Many horse fans continue to engage in sports and recreation.  I encourage this as well.  But I hope to inspire a change in the industry of sport.  I hope to show people how to see the horse beyond four legs and strong back.  I want to help people teach horses to love our human interactions. Horses can learn to engage with us in ways they would never even think of.  These new interactions can expand their own experience while in our care. 

I hope to show people how to see the horse as a partner in progress.  Only this time it’s not about building bridges or digging canals. Instead it’s about finding the human soul and expanding it.  When a rider begins to see the true value of a horse, like so many of the women in my classes do, they can transform their own lives and give back to the creatures that gave us everything we see and touch today. This can be done in a way that is rewarding and pleasurable for everyone.

Maybe together, you and I can change the value of horses completely.  We can shape the world around us to where we see less abuse and more harmony.  We can change the future for all horses.

Thank you for reading! Support me now to do more.

Buy Leadership and Horses here, or on Amazon.

When you buy this book, a percentage of your sale goes to the “Horses for Orphans Project”, which helps underprivileged children engage with horses to find healing inside and confidence. Find out more when you follow the link. 

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The horse is a being of raw emotion, expression, power, and beauty.

Look in the mirror and see how you are the same!  The only difference is, you were given the gift of language.  Something you learned by the age of two years old.  The horse never got language skills and people all around the world seem to think they lack intelligence.  But the interesting things is, when we take away your language skills, for instance if I tape your mouth closed and expose you to challenging circumstances, then every behavior or desire you have would be expressed exactly the same way your horse does. EXACTLY.  It is called the language of emotion and it’s happening all the time, all around us.  We are speaking in the language of emotion too, we simply mask our emotion with language from time to time. But a good observer would be able to read your emotions anyway, so language doesn’t often do as much as we might hope.

The proposition I’ve always asked of horse owners, is to see that their horse is more special than they ever imagined. 

Does a horse dream?  Answer: Yes.  Not only does science show us this, I’ve seen it myself. I’ve seen horses act out or cry out while sleeping.

Does a horse remember? Answer: Yes.  I’ve seen this too.  I’ve seen horses connect with their mother after a decade of separation and instantly become “inseparable”.

Does a horse think of the future? Answer: Yes, Absolutely!  I see it every single day I ride.  I sense my horses desire to “be” somewhere else!  That is a futuristic thought.

The point is, we are the same, horses and humans.  The horse has a brain of a four-year-old human child.  Cognitively that is.  Animal behavior scientist have confirmed this now.

He gets nervous when learning, just like a child. He gets frustrated when he’s misunderstood, just like a child. He gets so scared he can’t see where the opening in the fence is to follow his pasture mates into a new field, just like when a child can’t see the shoes in the closet when mommy is calling for him to hurry. 

He’s not dumb! She’s not stupid!  She’s just young!  Unfortunately, without language he or she will never “grow up” cognitively just like some children who failed to learn language and face their entire adult lives thought of as “slow” or “retarded”.  These children who become adults face their challenges with emotional responses.  They show their desire with sounds, wales, screams, grunts, sighs, tension in their muscles, smiles, holding breath, breathing loudly, and more.

These same behaviors are not beneath you and I either.  In social experiments I’ve done with my students at certain clinics. I’ve asked them to close their mouth and speak no words while they attempt to communicate a series of very simple tasks to another person who has to figure out what they want.  Always, without fail, my students resort to grunts, noises, motions, and almost always, forms of fear and frustration show up too.

You see we are the same!

So why am I telling you this?  Because taking away this “sameness” is exactly what gives many people the perceived right to hold captive and enslave our four legged friends.

Throughout history societies will enslave other “different” populations of people or animals. It’s an interesting human dynamic that can leave some people indifferent and others heartbroken.

For me personally, it leaves me heartbroken. 

So where am I going with all this?  Am I saying horses are slaves? Am I saying we should free the horses and turn them back to the wild? 

Yes! And absolutely NOT!  Yes, I believe horses are held captive.  They did not choose the life of human industry and recreation.  But a resounding NO, is my answer for turning them back into the wild.  It’s too big of a leap.   There is a better path to freedom.  If we turned them loose today, most domestic horses would perish, either by lack of space and food or fatal wounds caused by human inventions (such as cars and fences).

We must protect them, we must serve them, because they have served us.  We built our roads, canals, and cities on their backs.  We built and entire industry of recreation on their backs.  They deserve better than to be turned out blindly into a world without support and maybe in a hundred years or so we’ll be able to evolve into a species that takes no more from them. 

In the meantime, here is what we can do?  Give them what they need to survive and thrive in our world.

I talk about these needs in depth in my book Leadership and Horses.

 One of those needs is positive stimulus.  (That can mean riding too!)

But there is something else we can do for our four-legged-friends.  Would you like to know what it is?

Brace yourself.  STOP breeding them.  Not completely, of course.  Any big leap in giving back the horses rights turns into a problem (I’ll explain in second).  The best thing to do is, limit breeding to horses of a certain quality.  I mean emotional and cognitive quality.  I mean “calmer, safer, braver” horses.  Stop strictly breeding for athletic ability, beauty, and muscle power, or for the mere thought of having a cute baby on the ground to look at.  

The reason we can’t stop breeding altogether, is because any big leap to change the horse industry results in people losing interest in horses altogether.  If a law were passed today to prohibit people from riding horses, many people would abandon their horses, allowing them to starve or worse.  Time must pass slowly.  And in the meantime, we can make a difference in our own backyard. We can give our horses a real “home” to live in.  A safe place, even a fun place!  We can both enjoy the experience. It no longer has to be one-sided.

Another thing we can do is ensure our methods for training and interacting develop a positive experience for our horses.  I wish I could say… “Gone are the days of forces learning and consequence oriented training.”  In truth those days aren’t gone.  Famous trainers you may know, continue to sell cruel, consequence oriented training methods to an unsuspecting public.  We can rise above this.  In my book you’ll find exactly how I teach my clients to rise above this.

What I want to do for you today is bring a cold sprinkle of the reality our horses face with a bright ray of sunshine to inspire you to do more and be more.  When clients of mine realize what value they can bring to their horse, they become excited about it.  When they realize they can enjoy their horse on a deeper level, they become excited about it.  When they realize they can achieve more, create more confidence, develop true leadership skills, they become excited about it.  I want you to be excited too. The future is ours.  How shall we share it?

I can’t wait to hear from you.  I love your comments. 

For now.  God bless and keep you!

any one of us is just one fall away from never riding again.

What do I mean by that? Nearly every day people lose their confidence to ride due to injury or near injury.  Just today I read an email telling me how she got hurt, broke her nose and cracked some ribs.  She's lost her confidence and she's asking me how she is going to get it back.  

I spend a lot of time talking about recovery because I've had to make recoveries from injury and loss of confidence.  I don't want anyone to go through what I've been through and that's why I want to set people up for success.  

In case you have been through injury, just know, you're not alone. I'm here for you. I believe in you!

Confidence recovery is a fickle thing but it's also definitely possible to recover completely.  In truth you will be more aware, more alert, more guarded but your confidence to go ahead and do what you love can return.

The safe scenario for most people is to avoid accidents altogether.  In other words, don't go out and risk your life to ride a horse, motorcycle, subway, or scooter.  Stay inside, stay safe.  But of course this isn't really the best case scenario because there is no life in complete bubble wrapped safe rooms.  Life happens outside, in the exact same places that death happens.  There is no getting around risk, but there are certain steps one can do to avoid risk and in the event you can't avoid injury, you can learn to recover physically and emotionally.

Here is how you can avoid risk:

Set the stage for a safe ride by ensuring other horses aren't apt to jazz your horse up. Ride on days that won't be so spooky for your horse (such as windy days) and do the proper ground work to ensure your horse is connected.  Because all injuries.  ALL injuries stem from a momentary lapse in concentration either on the riders part or the horses. I'm not saying accidents can't happen.  I'm saying you can minimize accidents happening when you have total awareness of the situation and every possible pitfall.  Just like a pilot crossing the Atlantic, checking fuel gauges, maps, radar screens, and more, you must be vigilant about your horse's emotions, physical limitations, energy levels, concentration levels, etc. 

In my book Leadership and Horses I talk in detail about setting the stage for safety and confidence.  Pick it up today!

And here is how you can recover from injury and lost confidence:

Time heals all wounds, except injury related fear wounds.  One hundred years can go by and you will still be afraid of injury and even more afraid because you're body isn't what it used to be.  Therefore, the only way to recover from lost confidence or (fear wounds) is to rejoin the living.  

Yes, the body needs to heal, a broken rib needs mending.  And when it is healed, you must walk again, you must run again, you must ride again.  You must find the inspiration to become whole again.

"If a horse bucks you off, what should you do?"  

Answer:

"Get back on again!"

You know who said that?  Jim Craig in the famous "Man from Snow River" film.  

This is one of the films that drew me to horse riding.  I find if I stay connected to the inspiration, I recovery more quickly for riding again.  I've had injuries, and I've recovered. So can you. 

What inspires you?  What do you want to remember about riding and horses?  What will compel you to return?  Find it, find the answer!

Let's start communicating about your confidence.  Sign up for emails at the bottom of the page here and we'll send you regular inspiration.

To your success!

PS. Buy they course that will make you safer when riding! Beginner Riding

Don

Reward Oriented Training is far superior to consequence oriented training!

"OK" I said to my self... "Here we go!"

It was ten o’clock in the morning and I hadn't had my ice cream yet.  I should have known it wasn't going to work out well!

"Go ahead! Push record! I'm ready!"  I told my wife who was standing behind the camera.  She is a tall slender beautiful woman with legs that just don't quit.

"Would you quit with those legs!" I demanded. 

Ever since I asked her to film my audition I noticed a steady sewing machine like twitch in her legs. Probably because she knew I was about to undertake the most challenging task on the face of the planet and she was worried for me. Either that or she really needed to go to the bathroom.

Anyway. There we were, me, my horse, and my audience.  Of course my audience was just a camcorder and a couple of giggling ponies on the other side of the fence. Maybe they knew what I was just about to get into and thought they should stick around to watch the action. 

I was about to film my Parelli levels audition to see if I would qualify to join the elite group of people who actually passed the entirety of the Parelli program.  (The Parelli program is a wonderful measuring tool for success and progress with horses in the Natural horse training discipline).

I knew I could do it. I knew my horse could do it.  What I didn't know is that under the pressure of my audience I would crumble like a really crumbly cookie.  You know the kind you get from the free sample tray at the local super market when they put them out on display because there is no way they would be able to sell them without someone complaining and filing law suits about how they couldn't eat the cookie because it crumbled to fast.   

It's a funny thing how we crumble under pressure!  In my mind I could see it all going so well. 

"All I have to do is be perfect!" I thought to myself. “I can do this!”

It didn’t take long before my plans for perfection were thwarted.  My long ropes got tangled under my horses legs and began wrapping around my legs.  Luckily my horse was calm, but my film was ruined.  How could I send in a professional looking audition when I can’t even contain the spaghetti like equipment? 

At first I was frustrated, but then I laughed out loud.  I looked up at my wife and said.  “Spaghetti happens!”

“This is how all my students must feel, every time they have an audience or try out some new equipment.” I recalled. 

As a professional, I support many students in many different disciplines but those who are reaching for goals with in Natural Horsemanship ultimately end up advancing to longer ropes and inviting more spaghetti like experiences, as ropes wrap needlessly around legs, hands, sticks, fence posts, etc.

The bottom line is.  Don’t get frustrated when you look silly or fumble.  It’s part of the learning curve!

Understand the training cycle and learn what the masters in the industry do to create understanding and confidence in horses.

The Training Cycle and much more is featured in Don's Book 'Leadership and Horses'.  Pick up your copy today :-)

Since you're here. Check out the rest of the website :)

Industry and agriculture have all slowly moved toward machines in the last century. However, in the 1970’s through to about the early 2000’s horses played a big part of a unique industry called the entertainment industry.  Their value changed on a public scale from ranching and farming to recreation.  Then, from about 1985-2010 a huge boom in the information age changed the general public’s perception of horses and specifically, what is considered, the ethical treatment and training of horses.  Slowly, but surely horse owners around the world have become more interested in the well-being of their equine counterparts. 

Here is the real interesting part:  From about 2010 to our current time, horses have slowly started leaving the entertainment scene and fading into the background.  Not completely of course. Just ever so slowly, horses are losing their value into today’s world.  This change is noticeable, only to a few people in the horse industry known as “master horseman.”  These are people who’ve devoted their lives to learning everything there is to know about horses. From bloodlines to training methods. From care taking to facility management. From Western, English, and Traditional riding styles to ground training of all types including, liberty, driving, and tricks. From working with the most difficult of abuse cases to most expensive sales transactions.  These men and women have seen everything and done most everything for themselves with their own horses.  Many of these men and woman have their own unique specific skill sets but they all have one thing in common.  They all believe that the horse’s dignity must be preserved.

We have a special responsibility to our equine partners. Not just for what they’ve given us but for what we, as a people have taken from them.  We’ve placed them in small spaces compared to the great outdoors, mother nature provided.  We’ve mindlessly split mothers from their foals. We’ve bred horses needlessly and watched horses suffer in stock yards and neglected homes. 

The fact that horses are fading into the background and slowly losing their value is discouraging news, because the problem of mistreated horses becomes amplified. As people’s interest for horse’s fades, so do their care-taking responsibilities. 

You must realize, of course, that all these observations are generalizations and not true for everyone in the industry.  Many wonderful people put their energy into ensuring this world is a safe and beautiful place for horses and horse lovers. This good news is that these same wonderful people (perhaps, you included) are starting to share their passions with the world around them using the horse as a vehicle of change and growth.  But this time, it’s not about industrial growth, it’s about emotional healing, and the development of leadership qualities.

Anyone willing to risk thinking of a horse as more than just a piece of property will begin to see how horses have feelings. Horses have dreams. Horses have memories.  If horses could speak, they would.  They can learn.  They can solve puzzles.  Most animal behavior scientist believe horses have the brain of a four-year-old human child.  I agree. Some horses are more reactive, just like some children.  Their ability to focus, think, solve problems, and manage their own emotions is just about the same level as a pre-school child.

As more and more people discover how easy as 4-wheeler is to ride compared to a horse, less people are learning about what it takes to be a steward of emotion and relationship.  I agree, horses aren’t the safest thing to be on or near.  You’re looking at 1200lbs compared to the average 200lb human.  When you fall, you fall hard.  You can get hurt.  But if you’re willing to look at your life as an opportunity for growth, passion, energy, relationships and more, you will feel something only a devoted horse person feels.  There is a connection, a special bond between riders and horses, that can only be understood if your see the horse as more than a four-legged ATV.

I want the value of the horse to remain in our society.  In fact, I want the value of a horse to increase in our world.  Let me be clear! I don’t want more people breeding horses.  Breeding too many is the leading cause of horse neglect and abuse.   There is no outlet for too many horses.   They have become disposable items.  Even cows get eaten when they are no longer useful.  Horse get cast out, abused, starved, then finally die a lonely, slow death.   Again, I’m generalizing, but I hope my point is clear.  Horses deserve better from us.  After all, they gave us industry.  They gave us transportation.  They gave us farming. They gave us entertainment.  No I ask the question… What can we give them?

I say, let’s give them the life they deserve.  Let’s keep their bodies in motion through positive exercise and pleasant relationships.  Let’s use them again for riding and play, but this time, let’s take a closer look at our relationship with them.  How do we ensure their integrity is maintained? How do we ensure they say sound, healthy, and happy? How do we ensure they know their true value in our world?  And that’s where I come back to us.  How do we become the leaders they deserve?

If you’ve read through this article this far, I thank you.  You are a devoted horse person.  Devote yourself further to becoming the best person you can for the equine world around us.  Pick up my new book created to help people strike up meaningful relationships with their horses in today’s world.  The book is called “Leadership and Horses” buy it today by clicking this link:

Special note: A portion proceeds from every single book purchased, goes to support Horses for Orphans. Which is a powerful leadership program created by some very passionate people for some desperate children in underprivileged worlds.  Look it up here:  www.horsesfororphans.com

God bless,

Don Jessop

www.masteryhorsemanship.com

This is so cool.  Fishing on horses! Wow!

It takes a confident horse to not only stand quietly in shoulder deep water and watch a fish leaping high into the air just a meter away from her nose.  Mastery Horsemanship invites you to show us your most extreme confident horse experience.  Post your comments below.

I'm the one standing on the horse while my friend Richard casts his fly rod out to catch a rainbow trout near our Montana home in the beautiful Bitterroot Valley.