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"How Long Should I Ride?," from my FREE monthly newsletter

From the Horse Training Problem Series:

"A person is able to keep his attention span for about 20 minutes before something else enters his head. The coffee pot he left on will come flying into his head. A saddle sore, his wife, something. So the best amount of time to ride a horse is for about 20 minutes, then give yourself a 10 or 15 minute break and ride for 20 minutes again. If you know you're going to work for 20 minutes, then you can focus and stay working hard for 20 minutes. But during that twenty minutes, you want to make something better. Ask yourself "What can I make better?" Find one thing and work to make it better.

"The key to training is to find improvement in what you're doing. That's what keeps you going, what keeps you wanting more. You should never be satisfied with what you've got or what you've done. "Satisfied" is another word for "content" and that's another word for "quitting." Then you can't go any farther. So never be satisfied and you'll find that there's always more to it, there's always more to want.

"Always raise your expectations. The whole time you're riding, you need to be looking for…"

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From John Lyons Trainer Keith Hosman

Round Pen First Steps
A Downloadable Book

A sample from Day 1:

"Stand there in the center, looking ahead. Do not follow the horse by turning your body. The horse is a prey animal. He's terrific at reading body language and assimilating the messages you send. He's programmed to believe that "he who causes the other to move his feet" is the boss. Keep that in mind and stay as still as practical. Listen to the fall of the hooves as he travels behind you. It's funny how they'll try and break their stride behind you at this point, when you're not looking. You actually want the horse to break stride (to slow to a trot or walk) at this point because it hands you a chance to correct the horse and thus tell him "this is what I'm looking for." What you're looking for is for the horse to continue to move – and in the same direction – until you tell him to stop. The horse will most likely try to change direction and that's just fine. Because, once again, it gives us a chance to tell the horse what we expect. Horses that just "happen upon" the right answer haven't learned it as well as the horse who's made a hundred mistakes first. That horse has learned 99 things that don't work and will be better trained in the long run."

- Print out from home
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Available Downloads:
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"Caring For The Senior Horse"
By Jo Thompson

Our older horses are loyal horses and many of them are still eager to hit the trails or even compete at a local show. Some have been retired to their pastures to live out their days in equine luxury. If you plan on keeping your senior horse until the very end, then you will want to attend to his special needs as he ages.

A geriatric or senior horse is typically twenty years or older. There are a lot of health differences in these horses that appear as they age and they often require specialized care throughout this part of their lives. This is because, just like humans, parts of their bodies simply begin to wear out. The horse’s teeth, eyes, joints, liver, gut, and kidneys all begin to lose their regular functionality. These are the parts of the older horse that horse owners should pay close attention to.

Older horses may have a hard time breathing and walking if they are becoming arthritic. They may not be able to get around as well, so it is harder to walk back and forth to the barn to get a drink and then go back out to pasture. We can make life a little easier on our horses by providing them an extra water source in the pasture so that they don’t have to do so much traveling. As their gut begins to wear out we need to consider what we can do to make it easier on them absorb the nutrients that they need.

Begin by having your vet check the horse’s liver and kidney function. They may need to do some blood work on the horse to see if anything is malfunctioning. They will also check for diseases in the blood. These horse’s teeth should also be checked at least once a year. If there are any problems, your vet will prescribe new medication and a diet for your horse.

Switching to a senior feed can do a lot for these older horses. The nutrients are designed to be easier to absorb and they contain higher amounts of nutrients because it is easier for the horse’s digestive system to miss out on them as the feed travels through. The best forage for a senior horse is grass. Grass contains seventy percent water and ninety percent dry matter. Most horse owners will rely on hay of the horse’s forage, so you may need to find a higher quality hay for the senior horse. It is also important to be sure that you maintain the same deworming schedule that the horse has been on his whole life to keep the parasites at bay. Making some simple changes such as these will make life much easier on your dear old friend.

Happy Horsing
Jo Thompson

About the Author: At www.gifts-for-the-horse-lover.com find out about carousel horses and painted ponies.

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