Horse Talk

[Kusanar]

I still don't understand people selling horses. I have 6 currently, have put down 2 (old age and health issues), and traded one for one of the ones I have (never wanted her, I wanted her colt but they were a package deal). All of my horses are with me for life, heck, one of them was supposed to be a great trail horse, he had never even seen a saddle before... I trained him myself, and another one has 60 day training on him but will likely never be ridden due to exploding into bucking fits when ridden. I will keep both of them for their lives...

My first horse was a GREEN 10 year old arabian and we made that work. You don't need a horse you click with immediately, you need to work with the horse (even if you can't stand it) until you come to an understanding with each other. The only one I traded went to a friend, and I didn't get rid of her because she was green, or mean, which she was, I can deal with that, no problem, but she had NO respect for fences and if she wanted on the other side would just flat out gallop at the fence and run through it... I haven't seen a fence yet that would stop a 1600 pound mare if she did that, she never even TRIED to jump, just threw her head up and hit it with her chest and neck... CONSTANTLY... she was letting the other horses out, so she left...

 

[Bunnylady]

Quote:
It would be better if you keep your dad away from Armira as much as possible, because if you treat a hot blood like that, you'll turn it into a nervous wreck. They are sensitive, intelligent animals, and like a child that bursts into tears if you so much as raise your voice, they just don't deal well with rough handling. Remember the old guy that I mentioned that got bitten by one of the boarders' horses? Well, he has been breeding Appaloosas for donkeys' years, and he likes his horses so docile they are almost brain-dead (seriously, the two-year-old that he considered one of the best horses he had ever raised was so quiet, a girl who was trying to train her thought she might have brain damage). The horse that bit him was a 18 year old Arabian. Nobody else was there at the time, so nobody knows exactly what the guy did, but when he told me about the incident, he said, "he won't do that again." All I can say is, the horse was almost afraid to stick his nose over the stall door if there was anyone in the barn aisle. A few weeks later, when someone who had known this horse for years happened to stop by, the horse was in his stall and the visitor thought he'd go say hi to him. When he approached the horse, it jumped back so violently it nearly hit the back wall of the (10' x 12') stall. The visitor was like, "Dude! I know we've had our differences over the years, but really?"

With any horse, you should meter your correction to just as much pressure as it takes to get the job done, but that is doubly true with hot bloods. You really need to be as soft as you possibly can be with them; if you ramp up the pressure when they act crazy, they may get crazier.

 

[PeepersMama]

It would be better if you keep your dad away from Armira as much as possible, because if you treat a hot blood like that, you'll turn it into a nervous wreck. They are sensitive, intelligent animals, and like a child that bursts into tears if you so much as raise your voice, they just don't deal well with rough handling. Remember the old guy that I mentioned that got bitten by one of the boarders' horses? Well, he has been breeding Appaloosas for donkeys' years, and he likes his horses so docile they are almost brain-dead (seriously, the two-year-old that he considered one of the best horses he had ever raised was so quiet, a girl who was trying to train her thought she might have brain damage). The horse that bit him was a 18 year old Arabian. Nobody else was there at the time, so nobody knows exactly what the guy did, but when he told me about the incident, he said, "he won't do that again." All I can say is, the horse was almost afraid to stick his nose over the stall door if there was anyone in the barn aisle. A few weeks later, when someone who had known this horse for years happened to stop by, the horse was in his stall and the visitor thought he'd go say hi to him. When he approached the horse, it jumped back so violently it nearly hit the back wall of the (10' x 12') stall. The visitor was like, "Dude! I know we've had our differences over the years, but really?"

With any horse, you should meter your correction to just as much pressure as it takes to get the job done, but that is doubly true with hot bloods. You really need to be as soft as you possibly can be with them; if you ramp up the pressure when they act crazy, they may get crazier.

Okay. Thanks, I will definitely keep that in mind.
Hmmmm.... Maybe THATS why he doesn't like Arabs... "They're high strung and crazy" is getting old, especially with all the good stories I hear about Arabians being lesson horses for little kids.
*waits for impending flood of examples *

 

[ChickenLover200]

Yep! I volunteer at an equine assisted therapy barn. We had an Arabian in the program for a few years till she fell one day while walking with a patient on her back and had to be retired because of arthritis. She was a great horse. Had to be able to keep up with her fast gaits tho!

 

[Kusanar]

Quote:
They are intelligent and sensitive, not high strung and crazy. Most Arabians are smarter than their owners... They CAN be spooky, but that's because people expect them to be. I work with my horses the way I want to work with them and am surprised if they spook, if you don't go into something expecting the horse to blow it's lid, most of the time they won't. I use a wet/dry vacuum on my horses, blow dryers, clippers, and all of this with them standing with their lead tossed across their back. I never drug them for anything training related such as teaching them to clip, I just put just enough "pressure" on them that they are a little uncomfortable and leave the "pressure" at that point until they relax, then take it away, this teaches them that if they want the scary thing to leave, they have to relax and ignore it, eventually they get to the point where a new thing startles them, but then they take a deep breath and drop their head which relaxes them. You can't longe an Arab and "take the edge off" the more you longe them, the more fired up they tend to get, and they can go ALL DAY... Even when they are blowing and dripping sweat they will still go if you ask them to... But, because of their intelligence, they learn fast, but they also get bored fast, you can't ride an Arabian in the same pattern every day, they learn it, and then daydream while going through the pattern on auto pilot. There are a lot of advantages and disadvantages to having a horse that smart and sensitive, but, if you use YOUR brain, you can turn those brains to making a really good horse, or you can do everything wrong and create a neurotic mess....

 

[PeepersMama]

They are intelligent and sensitive, not high strung and crazy. Most Arabians are smarter than their owners... They CAN be spooky, but that's because people expect them to be. I work with my horses the way I want to work with them and am surprised if they spook, if you don't go into something expecting the horse to blow it's lid, most of the time they won't. I use a wet/dry vacuum on my horses, blow dryers, clippers, and all of this with them standing with their lead tossed across their back. I never drug them for anything training related such as teaching them to clip, I just put just enough "pressure" on them that they are a little uncomfortable and leave the "pressure" at that point until they relax, then take it away, this teaches them that if they want the scary thing to leave, they have to relax and ignore it, eventually they get to the point where a new thing startles them, but then they take a deep breath and drop their head which relaxes them. You can't longe an Arab and "take the edge off" the more you longe them, the more fired up they tend to get, and they can go ALL DAY... Even when they are blowing and dripping sweat they will still go if you ask them to... But, because of their intelligence, they learn fast, but they also get bored fast, you can't ride an Arabian in the same pattern every day, they learn it, and then daydream while going through the pattern on auto pilot. There are a lot of advantages and disadvantages to having a horse that smart and sensitive, but, if you use YOUR brain, you can turn those brains to making a really good horse, or you can do everything wrong and create a neurotic mess....

Okay, makes sense. Very good to know, thank you so much!

 

[Bunnylady]

It's been my observation that the people who believe that Arabians and/or Thoroughbreds are crazy tend to take the "if it won't go, force it" approach to horse training. During the time I worked at the barn, I probably handled at least a couple of dozen Arabians or Off the Track Thoroughbreds, and I didn't see any sign of craziness in any of them. With some of them, before I went into their stall or went out in the field to get them, I'd stop, take a deep breath, and make a deliberate point to assume an attitude of calmness and composure before I went near them. I wanted to absorb energy, not project it; if there was going to be drama, I wasn't going to be the cause of it. Most of the time, they took their cue from me and were equally composed. I dealt with more than a few spooks, though (there were a couple of places where a lot of horses spooked, and I was never sure what the cause was). Most of the time, all they needed was a chance to get a good look, and then we'd be fine. And yes, one of the lesson horses I remember was an Arabian mare. she wound up being painted at more than one pony party.

 

[PeepersMama]

It's been my observation that the people who believe that Arabians and/or Thoroughbreds are crazy tend to take the "if it won't go, force it" approach to horse training. During the time I worked at the barn, I probably handled at least a couple of dozen Arabians or Off the Track Thoroughbreds, and I didn't see any sign of craziness in any of them. With some of them, before I went into their stall or went out in the field to get them, I'd stop, take a deep breath, and make a deliberate point to assume an attitude of calmness and composure before I went near them. I wanted to absorb energy, not project it; if there was going to be drama, I wasn't going to be the cause of it. Most of the time, they took their cue from me and were equally composed. I dealt with more than a few spooks, though (there were a couple of places where a lot of horses spooked, and I was never sure what the cause was). Most of the time, all they needed was a chance to get a good look, and then we'd be fine. And yes, one of the lesson horses I remember was an Arabian mare. she wound up being painted at more than one pony party.  

Oh all this is all so helpful. Thank you!

But in regard to your previous post... If longing doesn't take the "edge" off them, what is a good way to calm them down in crazy situations?

And BTW, she isn't an Egyptian bred. She is Russian bred, and I have never meet a sweeter horse - the majority of my perspective on Arabians is from listening to Dad rant

 

[Kusanar]

Quote:Oh all this is all so helpful. Thank you!

But in regard to your previous post... If longing doesn't take the "edge" off them, what is a good way to calm them down in crazy situations?

And BTW, she isn't an Egyptian bred. She is Russian bred, and I have never meet a sweeter horse - the majority of my perspective on Arabians is from listening to Dad rant

You CAN longe them, but not traditional longing, if you let them just go around in a circle in the same direction looking to the outside and zooming around, they will still be doing the same thing 3 hours later. If you do a lot of direction changes and insisting that the horse focuses on you the entire time, they calm down pretty fast. Have you ever looked at any of the Clinton Anderson stuff? He's a little rough around the edges and cusses some, and he doesn't take any lip from the horses, but his horses are relaxed, respectful, and would walk through fire for him. There is some stuff on youtube, but if you want to PM me your e-mail address I can send you some other videos that would be helpful so you can see what he's all about.

 

[PeepersMama]

Quote:Oh all this is all so helpful. Thank you!

But in regard to your previous post... If longing doesn't take the "edge" off them, what is a good way to calm them down in crazy situations?

And BTW, she isn't an Egyptian bred. She is Russian bred, and I have never meet a sweeter horse - the majority of my perspective on Arabians is from listening to Dad rant

You CAN longe them, but not traditional longing, if you let them just go around in a circle in the same direction looking to the outside and zooming around, they will still be doing the same thing 3 hours later. If you do a lot of direction changes and insisting that the horse focuses on you the entire time, they calm down pretty fast. Have you ever looked at any of the Clinton Anderson stuff? He's a little rough around the edges and cusses some, and he doesn't take any lip from the horses, but his horses are relaxed, respectful, and would walk through fire for him. There is some stuff on youtube, but if you want to PM me your e-mail address I can send you some other videos that would be helpful so you can see what he's all about.

Okay cool. Oh yeah, Clinton Anderson was the basis for my "horse training" if it could be called that he's really the only pro horse trainer I know anything about But if you would PM me links and videos (so they don't get lost), that would be awesome