Hi, I’m Caroline Rider of Rider Horsemanship. This month’s Holistic Horse “Ask the Expert” Q&A is about “Re-training the Ex-Racehorse.” This month’s viewer question is: “Dear Caroline, I recently adopted a former racehorse who is pretty up and disconnected. I love your method and would like to know how you would begin applying your method when re-training the ex racehorse?”
I begin every horse that comes to me, whether a young untrained horse or a horse that needs to be restarted, the same way. I have specifically designed exercises, and in a systematic program of application, so that each horse has an opportunity to engage, connect, work through triggers and learn.
I have three key training areas to focus on, develop, when training and “re-starting.” These core areas establish trust, respect and leadership thus creating the relationship, bond, I need and want to take into the work:
1) Connecting, focusing, paying attention
2) Establishing, Developing Relaxation
3) Feeling Ease, Safe and Comfortable
I begin each horse at liberty and in the structure of a round pen or round corral. This space and the techniques, exercises, I use assist in acquiring the horse’s focus, attention, on me. This is the first area I work on. If I don’t have the horse’s eye and ears joined with mine, hooked on me, I don’t have their mind. I need and want their mind as this is where a trusting, open learning frame of mind begins. Their body will hook on and follow once the mind does.
Creating the space for the horse – energetically and structurally, to feel safe is most important when re-habing, re-starting horses. We also want to develop a horse’s left brain, cognitive side. Horses are hard-wired to live in their right brain, their sensory awareness. The more hyper-vigilant, spooky, sensitive a horse is the more they are reacting to their surroundings and not thinking. The techniques, exercises I include in this video, are about both exercising the horses mind, especially his left brain – his thinking side and getting him to connect, trust me.
Also, when rehabbing, which I am doing with Billy, I am working on getting him to release more endorphins. He is an “adrenaline junky” meaning he is use to getting “high” on adrenaline and living his life in that state of Being. My job is to get him to release his tension, stress, and begin to relax into the work thus produce natural endorphins – the “feel good” hormones. Please click here for more information: https://www.riderhorsemanship.com/pdf-2014/Rehab-the-Rescue-Horse.pdf.
The following educational DVD’s will assist you in developing this level of connection when training and rehabilitating:
- Discovering the Spirituality of Horsemanship: https://www.shoppingcartdepot.com/c/RH-2011/products/DVD-DSH/7Q7t7H7N7Mw
- Round Pen Approach: https://www.shoppingcartdepot.com/c/RH-2011/products/DVD-Vol1-DVD1/7l7V707k7Z2
- Lunging with a Purpose: https://www.shoppingcartdepot.com/c/RH-2011/products/DVD-Single-Lunging/7Q7t7H7N7Mw
Please visit www.riderhorsemanship.com for more education materials, DVD’s, clinic opportunities, training and the TAO of Horsemanship Online Foundation Course.
Thank you and may you always be one with your horse! Caroline