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US actor Matthew Broderick has broken
his collar bone falling from horse
The 44-year-old was with actress wife Sarah Jessica Parker when he
fell at a secluded beach in Donegal. The Producers star was
discharged from Sligo General Hospital after receiving a few hours of
treatment. The couple are staying at their clifftop holiday home
along with their three-year-old son James and other members of their
family.
Find out more and read the full story, click
here
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Horse
breaks Ringo's wife's leg
Ringo Starr's wife is spending her 60th
birthday in hospital after her horse kicked her and broke her leg.
Barbara Bach, a former Bond girl, was admitted under her
married name, Starkey to the Royal Surrey Hospital in Guildford on
Sunday morning.
Read this story
here
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Royal Zara wins horse riding gold
The Queen's granddaughter Zara Phillips has scored a major
sporting success - winning gold in the three-day eventing contest at the
World Equestrian Games.
Zara, 25, moved from fifth to first place with her performance in the
cross country event on her horse Toytown.
To read about this and interesting features on the UK Royal Family
click
here
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Willie Nelson joins
campaign against horse slaughter
Texan Willie Nelson is speaking out in defense of a symbol of the
American West, the remaining stock of roaming wild horses. Country
singer Nelson is the latest to join an effort to ban the slaughter of
horses in the U.S. for consumption of their meat abroad. The U.S. House
is scheduled to vote Sept. 7 on a bill aimed at ending horse slaughter.
"If you've ever been around horses a lot, especially wild horses, you
know they are part of the American heritage. I don't think its right
that we kill them and eat them," Nelson said in a telephone interview
Tuesday to the Washington Post.
For the full story click
here
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Therapist uses horses to reach out to kids
Susan McNutt said many of her clients get out of the car and run to
the stairs where they get on the horses. But if they don't, she
doesn't force it.
"These are kids who feel threatened by life anyway," she said, "and
I'm not going to add to their anxiety."
Horseback riding is an important part of McNutt's work with children
who come to her therapy practice, Pediatric NDT and SI Therapy
Services (neurodevelopmental treatment and sensory integration).
She finds that some kids who have Autistic Spectrum Disorders as well
as children with other diagnoses such as cerebral palsy, Down syndrome
and head injuries, can learn important skills on the back of a horse.
And they have a ton of fun. What is the difference between autism
and Asperger's disorder? What are the benefits of horseback
riding for these kids? What if the child does not enjoy horseback
riding?
These questions answered
here |
Now for this week's tips
and advice
Problem Behaviour – Bolting – part 2
Last time we looked at why the horse might be bolting, this time we’ll look
at how to stop him.
So we said that the reasons for bolting
could be:
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You may be using too much leg
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He may be frightened
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He may be stubborn
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He may not like being in a
group
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He may be in pain
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He may be neurotic or have
mental problems
This time we’ll look at some of the
potential ways of dealing with a bolting horse, relative to the cause. Then
we’ll cover ‘retraining the stop’ command.
Using too much leg
If
the horse is bolting because his sides are sensitive, you will need to get
him used to riding with at least some leg pressure, but you will have to
find out what his tolerances are. Ride him in the pen or controlled space to
start with, and squeeze the sides, first a little, and then progressively
more, until you can squeeze the sides as you like and he doesn't react.
Remember here we are talking about the pressure to the horse’s sides, not
the way that you stay in the saddle.
So, what the rider has to do if the horse is bolting for this reason is to
give out more rein, slacken it off and then take it in again, repeating this
until the horse stops.
If
you are out riding and you see a scared rider on a horse that's going too
fast, call and remind the rider: "Give and take" and "No leg". When you're
scared, so often your mind goes blank, and you don't remember that this is
what you were going to do, and then it can help tremendously to have a
friend helping.
The frightened horse
Some
horses, when they see something scary, stop and stare. If the horse gets a
whip in it's behind then, it has no option but to run past or away from the
scary object. Try to notice the signs of this behavior and learn to
recognize it. Then if the horse stops, allow it to watch the scary object
for maybe 10 seconds, before asking it to walk past. If you see something
ahead that might be scary, slow the horse to a walk and let it walk past.
Some trainers think it best to keep the horse moving in these circumstances,
I am not so sure because this might teach a horse to move if frightened. I
want a horse to stop if frightened. You need to teach the horse a response
he can always use when frightened: To stop, think, and then walk.
If there are certain objects that often scare the horse, take some time to
introduce it to them. This will takes lots of patience and perseverance
because it will have to be done very slowly with each different object.
If the horse is scared of you wearing a raincoat, lead the horse and put the
raincoat slowing on it's back, and more slowly over it's head, very
cautiously until he doesn't get frightened anymore. Repeat this until the
horse doesn't care about the raincoat anymore.
If the horse is scared of a flapping plastic or a sign, go off the horse and
lead it to the scary object, allow it to sniff, pet it, touch the scary
object, and let the horse touch it. Spend half an hour watching flowers
while the horse watches the object if possible. Next time, you might have to
repeat this, but it's more likely your horse will walk past the object,
while maybe staring at it.
The stubborn horse
This type of horse has to be taught that you are in charge (kindly of
course) and you must never allow him to get away without doing as he is told
– this is the type of horse that will take advantage of any opportunity he
gets to assert his own authority over the rider.
Teach it to stop in the pen or controlled area. If the horse hurries, let
it stop and back up, as a reprimand, and to get it to think. Make him stop
from the walk, from the trot or from the canter. Make him stop straight away
– not when he feels like it. If the horse obeys well, allow it to walk
relaxed for a few seconds as a reward, if clicker training works that is
good, but stubborn horses do often not fall for bribes. If it disobeys and
doesn't stop on the spot, another reprimand is to do as is described in the
beginning of this page, shorten one of the reins, and let the horse walk in
a tiny circle until you feel it softening, and is willing to obey.
Then, start off riding outside the pen, first at a walk, and concentrating
on the stop comand. Teach the horse to stop and stand with relaxed reins,
count to 30 or 100, and let the horse stand still.
If the horse has been stiff in the mouth for a long time, the clues may have
to be harsh sometimes, but short. You pull the rein, for 1 second, then give
the horse the rein again. Repeat again and again if the horse does not
listen. Long pulling at the reins may make things worse, even though the
horse will maybe understand in the end.
The horse that can’t be in a group
If
you have a good horse that doesn’t mind leading others, then tie your scared
horse to the placid one and lead him, first at a walk. When he is happy
doing this try a trot like this.
Once
the horse is comfortable with this get someone to ride him whilst he is
still being lead by the other horse. If the horse still gets very excited,
ride on a track or in a pen with the other horse. Gradually introduce the
horse to more horses and to being on the road with another horse/horses.
The horse that is in
pain
You need to check over his legs,
back and mouth particularly. There may be something under his saddle or the
bit may not be in his mouth correctly. He may have an injury or a cut
somewhere, so make sure you check him over well. Treat any ailment he has
straight away and do not ride him again until he is fully recovered.
Re-training the stop
If
the rider senses that the horse wants to bolt. Then he still has some
opportunity to stop it. When sensing this, the rider turns the horse to the
side and up to a wall, fence, or ditch, and speaks softly to him. Sometimes
it can be enough simply to turn the horse to the side of the road or other
such "imaginary" barrier, because then the horse starts to think, and might
also be able to see a frightening object better. When the horse is calm,
ride on steadily again. You may have to stop that way again after a short
while.
Be very wary of trying to bend the horse to a wall, when he's bolting at
full speed, the horse could turn and you could end up having a nasty
accident.
If your horse is prone to bolting you will have to teach the horse to stop
when you command him. He must know what stopping means, under all
conditions, and have a SOFT mouth. Teaching a horse that is stiff in the
mouth and does not listen to soft "whooa" (stop) or another word, takes
time. This may take at least a month’s work, if you ride the horse 5 times
per week.
You start off teaching him by walking at his side, teaching him to obey to
the bit in his mouth. You then do this from the saddle, all the time
reinforcing the message that you want him to stop immediately you command
him to.
Like all training this may take time, but you must treat it as if you have
never done it with him before. Just doing it once or twice and hoping for
the best will not reinforce the message with him.
That’s it for now, but next time we’ll talk about other problem behavior
like biting and kicking.
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Warmly
Roger
Bourdon
Author of
“Introduction to Horseback Riding”
http:www.anyhorsebackriding.com
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BOOK OF
THE WEEK
Over 650 pages
offering a wide range of topics
including history, breeds, breeding and genetics, nutrition
and feeding, movement and unsoundness of selection, and
health management and training. |
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P.S. Do let me have photos and
a short synopsis for future "Horse of the Month" features - I am
sure your horse deserves the title! There's a new one this month - go check
it out!
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