Patches the Pony-Dealing with the Death of an Equine Friend

This morning we said good-bye to an old friend. It was an absolutely beautiful morning and my friend and neighbor Cheryl got up early in anticipation of the vet’s arrival at 7:00 am. When I arrived at her place 6:30, Cheryl had Patches nicely groomed and was walking her out in the field to let Patches nibble on her favorite morsels.

As we wandered through the field, going wherever Patches led us, we chatted about the hundreds of kids Patches had taught to ride when Cheryl had her riding lesson business. We watched as Patches bit off, chewed up and spit out the grass as she nibbled while we walked. We listened and remarked at the squeaking sound of her gums rubbing together, hopelessly trying to masticate the forage.

At nearly 40 years old, Patches’ grinding teeth were long gone and Cheryl was past the point of keeping her going on Senior feed and bran mashes, which she had recently been turning up her nose at. Cheryl tried any and all foods and strategies she could think of to keep the pony eating and healthy for as long as possible. The little pony would like some for a bit, then go on a hunger strike, then like something for a while again, then stop eating again. It was getting difficult to see the pony slowly starving to death though she thought she was eating with the rest of the herd. Patches had such a precious place at Cheryl's farm--she was allowed to roam most anywhere on the property and was often the first greeter when you pulled down the driveway. The pony was the topic of discussion many times--was it time? Was she healthy? Cheryl worried and wanted to make sure she was doing the right thing--whether that was making a choice to let go or trying some new feeding ritual and recipe.

Patches was a lucky pony. Even though she worked for a living over several decades as a lesson pony, she was loved by many children and most certainly her photo adorns many refrigerators and scrap books. She was also fortunate to have an owner that gave her a comfortable retirement and one who could afford the expensive feed required to keep an old horse going.

An issue that I’ve seen coming for some time revolves around the incredible strides we humans have made to keep old horses alive long past the time they lose their teeth and would naturally die. Is this all the extra treatment for the horses or the humans? Sometimes I drive past pastures and see an old horse, nothing but a bag of bones, and wonder when and if someone will turn the owner into the animal control for neglect, even though his herd mates are fat, happy and healthy and chances are good the horse is just old, not neglected. Just because we have the ability to keep old horses alive longer, does that mean we have to? And what if the owner cannot afford the $100+ a month it would cost to sustain an aging horse, what then? Is that considered neglect to let nature take its course? Just questions to throw at the moon....

When I was a kid, the life span of a horse was considered to be 25 years and many didn’t make it that far. But now it is common to see horses in their 30s and even 40s. Don’t get me wrong, I think the advancement in health care and nutrition that has led to this longer life span is a wonderful thing and many of these horses remain useful for many more years than they would’ve back then. But I also think it is okay to let horses go when they get too old to chew grass or hay.

We have the option of humanely ending a horse’s life when it is time, but sometimes that decision is a tough one to make--whether it is age, sickness or lameness that prompts the question. Have you struggled with this decision before? When do you know it’s time?

Cheryl made the right decision to let Patches go before she got so weak she couldn’t stand or before some crises forced an emergency call to the vet in the middle of the night and a stressful euthanization. Cheryl wanted a calm and dignified death for Patches and that she got.

Cheryl said her good-byes at the barn and as the vet and I walked Patches toward her final resting place, she picked up her head and actually started trotting. Maybe she was ready to go or perhaps she was just excited to be headed toward a new place on the farm.

Patches went quickly and quietly with hardly a twitch. She was ready to go and did not fight it a bit. We laid her to rest wrapped in a warm blanket and laying in a deep bed of shavings, with a bag of carrots sprinkled on top to keep her busy on her way to horse heaven.

We’ll miss you Patches, but we know that you are in a better place.

Julie

For training tips from Julie, visit the Training Library at http://juliegoodnight.com/q&a.php and check out her online store--full of training tools and DVDs-- at http://juliegoodnight.com/products.html

Police Horse Update

Thanks in part to all the comments they have received from many of you and others in Hawaii and beyond, the Honolulu Police Department has indicated that the horses will all be kept together and will most likely be sent to the retirement home on the Big Island. It is not official yet, since they still have to work through all the bureaucratic channels, but they have made statements that indicate that is what will happen. When we get an official word, we’ll be sure to let you know. Here's the original post and your many comments: http://juliegoodnightontheroad.blogspot.com/2009/06/police-horses-face-uncertain-future.html

On a sad note, someone tweeted to me last week that the Boston Mounted Police unit was disbanded and the horses were sent to the NYPD to go on patrol there. I am sorry for those officers that lost their partners and whose hard work had to end so abruptly. But I am glad the horses will continue their police work as long as they are able.

Hopefully the NYPD Mounted Unit is strong and not being threatened by budget cuts. If any of you have more information than the “word of mouth” info I’ve gotten on Honolulu, Boston and NYPD, be sure to let me know.

Thanks for all your support of horses and our law enforcement officers.

Julie

Photo: Sgt Deborah Wilson has headed up the Honolulu unit the past 10 years and who now is working to care for the horses and insure their future.

The Great Escape

This week starts all-new episodes of Horse Master, which were filmed at a beautiful location in the South Carolina “Low Country,” where they filmed Forest Gump. Although we were filming in April, in keeping with all of our shoots so far, it was unseasonably cold and windy, so my illusions of evening walks on the beach unfortunately never became a reality.

This first episode is about a lovely young warmblood—I think he was Anglo-Trakhener—who had learned the dirty habit of ripping his nose away and running off whenever he wanted. Fortunately most horses never figure out that if they can get their body positioned directly away from you that there is absolutely nothing you can do to stop them, but “Cosmo” had figured this out. Have you ever had a horse that did this?

When a horse learns this trick, you’ve got a big problem and there’s absolutely nothing you can do to unlearn it—he’ll know this trick forever. But you can dissuade him by making him very uncomfortable when he attempts to get into position, but sometimes this takes a considerable amount of pressure—more pressure than many people are with able or willing to dish out. Depending on how much he has been rewarded for this bad behavior in the past and how often he has experienced success with this tactic, it may take a little pressure or a lot, but you always have to find the amount of pressure that motivates a horse to change. This is a very fundamental concept in training horses—or any animals (including people) for that matter.

Some of you may remember the trailer loading episode that aired recently. That horse had also learned this dirty trick (unbeknownst to us until we started filming). I had to put a chain on his nose to get better control of him and since this problem wasn’t directly related to trailer loading, I did a little schooling off-camera so that we could go on with the trailer loading. Once he realized he was not going to be able to get away from me, and that it would be very unpleasant for him if he tried, he totally gave it up and in short order he was walking right in the trailer.

In “The Great Escape,” which is airing for the first time this week, Cosmo turned and ran off when the owner longed him, simply because he didn’t want to do that and didn’t think he had to do anything he didn’t want to. As a 4 y/o, he was just being started under saddle and hadn’t really learned a work ethic yet (an important argument for not waiting TOO long to start a horse). On top of that, raised by his owners, he was quite spoiled and thought he pretty much ruled the roost. This is one reason why I probably wouldn’t buy a horse that had been raised by amateurs—chances are, they’ve been spoiled. And while I can certainly un-spoil them (pretty quickly actually), I’d prefer a horse that has been taught good manners from the beginning (or not handled at all) and a horse that has not LEARNED and had success with bad behaviors.

The funny thing is that Erika, Cosmo’s owner, is actually a good and very accomplished rider and her other horses are well-mannered and respectful of her (but she did not raise them). But for some reason, she had abdicated her authority to Cosmo and he was taking full advantage of her. Not because he is a mean or wicked horse—quite the opposite in fact—but because when there is a void of leadership, the horse will always take over.

I think Erika turned a new leaf with Cosmo after our two days together. All she needed to do was step up to the plate and show some leadership to the horse and he instantly responded.

Horses are amazing that way—if we can change the person, the horse almost always responds. Have you ever seen someone (or experienced for yourself) a situation where the human is abdicating authority to the horse? Usually a little assertiveness training is in order, and a better understanding of how horses view leadership and how dominance is created. Sometimes our human brain is our worst enemy. But if you can get the human to act like a leader, there are usually instant results. Some people come by leadership and authority naturally, others have to work it. Where do you fall into that picture?

As for the dirty trick of ripping the nose away and running off, the main prevention is to be proactive and not let him turn his nose to begin with. In fact, I’d make a horse with this habit always carry his nose slightly turned toward me, whether I was leading or longeing or doing anything else. Of course, going back and doing some groundwork with Cosmo and teaching him good ground manners would be a good start. Erika left the shoot with a copy of my video on ground manners, Lead Line Leadership, and I know she and Cosmo are on the right track now.

Enjoy the ride!

Julie

For training tips from Julie, visit the Training Library at http://juliegoodnight.com/q&a.php and check out her online store--full of training tools and DVDs--at http://juliegoodnight.com/products.html

The Gaited Horse Craze

Well, I am about to take the plunge and buy my first gaited horse. It’s not for me personally, but a horse for my sales program. I am strictly a regularly-gaited type horse person although I totally get the current popularity to this type of horse. For myself, I prefer the trot and canter and the athleticism that those gaits bring. But I totally get the appeal of gaited horses.

Between the influence of the Baby Boomer generation (born between 1946 and 1964) on the horse industry and the number of new riders coming into the sport (most of whom are in that age bracket), it’s no wonder the gaited horses have gotten so popular. It’s sort of like pushing the ‘easy button’. Have you tried a gaited horse? Are you sold on them or do you miss the trot?

I’ve always had a lot of requests for gaited horses in my horse sales program and the only reason I haven’t bought one before now is that it is very hard to find mature, well-trained, seasoned horses of that type that are for sale. There’s lots of youngsters on the market and the older gaited horses I found don’t meet my high standards for very broke, mannered horses. It’s getting increasingly harder to find good quarter horses in that category too, but they are much more prevalent than the gaited breeds, especially out here in the west.

Another problem with the gaited breeds is that just because a horse is bred and registered as a gaited horse, does not mean that he gaits well or gaits naturally. What many buyers of gaited horses are disappointed to discover is that a lot of gaited horses require the assistance of the rider to maintain their gait properly. Well, if you’re buying a gaited horse because you’re a beginner and  you want it to be easy, this presents a problem. If the rider has the skill to assist the horse in its gaits, she’d probably be just fine riding a regularly gaited horse.

Finally I’ve found a cute little double registered TN Walker/Mountain Horse that meets my criteria for training and temperament. He is a 14 y/o black and white gelding, cute as a button, shown extensively and successfully by a young girl and trail ridden heavily over the past five years. He’s a been-there-done-that broke horse that anyone can ride and he’ll go over, under or through anything you point him at. He’s a great size too, at 14 hands. As I’ve said before, the older I get, the smaller I want my horses to be and this is a perfect size for a trail horse. I am eager to get him here, but it’ll be a few weeks before I can get him on a van.

What’s your take on gaited horses?

Enjoy the ride,

Julie

For training tips from Julie, visit the Training Library at http://juliegoodnight.com/q&a.php and check out her online store--full of training tools and DVDs-- at http://juliegoodnight.com/products.html

Bitting Experiment, Part 2

Recently someone sent me an email asking about their horse’s training issues and she said, “I’ve had has teeth floated and his mouth checked by a vet, we even changed his bit but he’s still throwing his head. I think it’s just that he likes to throw his head.” Sure, that’s it—he likes doing that. I hear people say stuff like this all the time as if a horse’s anxious behavior can be explained by something as simple as, he just likes doing that.

If a horse is throwing his head, rooting the reins, star-gazing, opening his mouth or sticking his tongue out, there is a pretty simple explanation but it has nothing to do with him liking to do that. Once you have ruled out a physical/medical problem (which is always the first question) then you have to look at what is making the horse uncomfortable in his mouth—is it the rider or the bit or, more likely, both.

When horses are uncomfortable with the bit, it is usually a result of too much pressure on their tongues and in all of the behaviors listed above, the horse is simply trying to relieve the pressure from his tongue. Often, people think they are doing their horse a favor by putting the horse in a mild bit, like a basic snaffle, when in fact, they are putting maximum pressure on the tongue.

For our bitting experiment, our two subjects are Cari and Lakota. Cari is an experienced rider and Lakota is well trained but through the years of being used as a school horse and a therapeutic riding horse, he has become hollowed out and travels with his neck stiff and his head up too high. If you saw the first installment, you saw the before footage and the dramatic improvement he made when we switched him to the Myler Combination bit. This particular bit uses nose, chin, and poll pressure and minimizes the pressure on the tongue. Lakota was instantly better. This bit is somewhat of a miracle-maker and helps all sorts of horses relax and get comfortable and helps riders develop a better feel.

The next step in this bitting experiment is to use the Goodnight bitting system to recondition Lakota in a rounded frame, teaching him to relax his neck, drop his head and use his back and hindquarters more from a specific signal from the bit. For this, we put Lakota in my favorite bit, the Myler 33 mouthpiece on an egg-butt. This is the bit I use on my horse (both in the egg-butt if I want to ride 2-handed and with shanks if I am riding one-handed or working cattle) and it gives the maximum amount of tongue relief with the shape of the mouthpiece. You can see it briefly in the video.

Cari told me she was a little intimidated by using a new bitting system (she was on her own—I wasn’t there to help her) but was pleasantly surprised that it was not too complicated. The beauty of this system is that it teaches the horse to search for the release, which comes the instant he breaks at the poll and rounds his back. He learns self-carriage—meaning he holds himself in the frame, not leaning on the bit; so in this system he learns lightness too, while he conditions and strengthens his top line. The best feature of all about this bitting system is that the rider can mimic the feeling the horse gets from the bitting device once she is riding.

In this video, Lakota is in the bitting system for the first time and you can see him searching for where the release is. Watch for the moment when you see him totally round up and get very fluid in his body, using his hind end well and moving with a strong cadence—it’s beautiful! It’ll probably take a few more works before Lakota holds this type of frame for the whole session. I’d like to see Cari work Lakota 2-3 times a weeks in the bitting system for a few weeks and then give us another peak at his progress.

BTW- this process is thoroughly explained in my newest video, Bit Basics. In this video I work with a young filly that’s never had a bit in her mouth as well as an older rope horse who’s had his head tied down and is terribly confused about how to respond to bit pressure. Both horses make excellent progress and you can see the benefit of using this type of bitting system.

Until next time,

Julie

For training tips from Julie, visit the Training Library at http://juliegoodnight.com/q&a.php and check out her online store--full of training tools and DVDs-- at http://juliegoodnight.com/products.html

Training Priorities

Horses are not good multi-taskers. They can really only focus on one thing at a time. That’s why you can’t pull on a cow horse all the time and expect him to hook onto the cow. If you’re pulling on his mouth, he’s thinking about that and he cannot possibly be thinking about the cow and what it’s doing and how he should move with him. Do you know what I am talking about? I see this kind of confusion in horses all the time, with or without cows in the picture.

Actually, as I age (and therefore get smarter), I have discovered that multi-tasking is not such a great thing for me either. When I had my office in my house, I was the queen of multi-tasking. Every time I was talking on the phone, I’d wander around my house starting projects. By the end of the day, I’d have about a dozen started and unfinished projects ranging from reorganizing cabinets to weeding the flower beds—and my house would be a wreck.

A few years ago, I moved my office out of the house to its own location nearby. At first I was at a loss not being able to check my email in the middle of the night, or work on the computer while Rich watched football or start working at dawn in my PJs. But it wasn’t long before I realized that the quality and quantity of my work was greatly improved when I went to the office and focused just on the task at hand, without all the distractions my home offered. And the quality of my home life improved too! Just ask Rich. Does multi-tasking work for you?

For horses, multi-tasking is pretty much an impossibility. Sometimes even a singular focus is difficult for them. One thing that I always talk about in clinics is that you can only train one thing at a time to a horse, so you have to know what your priorities are at that moment. For instance, if I am working on a prompt canter departure from the walk and my horse gives me a very good departure but takes the wrong lead, I cannot really correct him for taking the wrong lead without taking a chance that he thinks the correction is about the departure—maybe he shouldn’t have done that. Plus I have to take some responsibility for not setting him up well for the correct lead.

Here’s another example that always arises in clinics, during the ground work. We’ll be working on teaching the horse to walk beside you and behind you in a very specific place, so that he matches you step for step as you go and stop. We’ll correct the horses each time they step in front of the imaginary line that we have dictated and pretty soon, the horse starts watching you and thinking about where his proper place is and is no longer reliant on your holding him there. Then we’ll progress to the trot and at this point, lots of people will have trouble getting the horse to trot. Finally, the horse breaks into a trot, but the handler isn’t moving fast enough so that the horse ends up in front of the person; then the person turns around and shanks the horse for getting in front. That’s training two things at once (the trot departure and not getting in front) and the horse doesn’t know how to deal with that. Chances are, he learned that he was not supposed to trot at all. Have you ever made this kind of mistake in your training?

Horses learn by making associations. In other words, he makes an association between his actions and the release, reward or correction. It is only possible for him to make an association if the release/reward/correction comes within three seconds of the action—and the sooner in that three seconds, the more likely he is to make an association. The optimal time for the release or correction, according to research, is one half of one second. Wow. That’s good timing.

 Horses make incorrect associations all the time, like the ones mentioned above, and they make associations on their own that we never intended them to make, like if they pin their ears and bare their teeth at feed time, you will feed them. Or if they throw their head up, they get a momentary release of pressure from their mouths. Or if they buck when you ask them to canter, you’ll stop them.

The timing of the release is the essence of good training and whatever your horse is doing at the moment you release the pressure is what you are training him to do. Unfortunately, if you have to think about what the release or correction is or whether or not your horse did the right or wrong thing, you’ve already missed the optimal time for the release or correction and you risk the horse making the wrong association.

When I was a kid and got in trouble, my mother would send me to my room to wait until my father got home, so that he could dole out the punishment. The wait was agonizingly more painful than the spanking I would get when he finally arrived—I didn’t have any trouble at all making the association between my bad actions and my father’s punishment that came hours later. But horses aren’t like that.

You should always know what your training priority is as you are teaching your horse something new or working on improving an existing skill and focus on that. Don’t change priorities in the middle of an exercise. The only thing that trumps your training priority is obedience. When a horse becomes disobedient, you should immediately change your priority and work on that—you cannot teach something new to him anyway, if he is disobeying you or not listening.

Even if you are a good multi-tasker, remember that your horse isn’t. Try to focus on one thing at a time in your training sessions, starting with the most simple thing and moving toward the complex. Keep it simple. Little by little, you’ll get there.

Enjoy the ride,

Julie

For training tips from Julie, visit the Training Library at http://juliegoodnight.com/q&a.php and check out her online store--full of training tools and DVDs-- at http://juliegoodnight.com/products.html

Five Pound Challenge Update

It’s been a little over a month since we started the five pound challenge and I have been pleased with all the people who have joined in and/or made comments! Some of you still have a week or two to go on your personal challenge, but I look forward to hearing how you’ve done. Make sure to comment below!

I am pleased to say that I met my first five pound goal and am one pound into the second five-pound challenge. Let me know if you're up for another challenge! Keep going with us. It’s been a lot easier to have friends involved and to help cheer each other on. Even my husband has signed onto the challenge, so that has made it a little easier when faced with temptations at home.

Rich and I are on our way to a spa resort in Boulder for the next few days and I intend to collect my reward for the first five pounds while there. I also plan to do two-fers in my workout routine while at the spa. Rich has business meetings all day while we are there, so that will leave me free to workout and get some rest. After a grueling eight weeks on the road, I need a little break.

I’ve noticed that the loss of weight becomes a reward and a motivation in and of itself. With five pounds gone, I see a difference when I look in the mirror after stepping out of the shower. And my jeans are a little more comfortable. It becomes an investment that I want to protect and I want the number to grow—not stay flat. I know there will be the inevitable back-slide, but it seems like it’s easier to lose the weight again.

Thank you also for all your support with Honolulu police horses. We are continuing to increase the awareness of the plight of these horses and are very hopeful that the city of Honolulu will make the right decision and let these horses go to the retirement home that they deserve. Click here to read that blog entry>>

I look forward to reading your comments on the five pound challenge and hearing how you’ve done—for better or for worse!

Julie

Police Horses Face an Uncertain Future

I’ve had the great privilege in my career to work, on several occasions, with police officers from the Honolulu Mounted Police Department. I have helped to train their officers to ride better and also to train their horses to be more responsive so that they can both do their jobs to the best of their ability. It was always an unusual experience for me, but highly enjoyable, and quite different from any other training I’ve ever done.

The officers had a level of dedication and determination unlike any other riders I’ve trained. Of course they did—they were not in the clinic for fun or personal fulfillment, in fact that was the last thing on their minds. They were very serious and focused on improving their riding and their horse’s training so that they could do their very important job better. And at the back of each officer’s mind is always the fact that their lives may be dependent on how well they ride and how well their horse responds to their requests.

For most of us, owning and riding horses is about fun; but not so with police officers. They take their job very seriously and they constantly train and drill to get better and better. The horses and police officers do crowd control—breaking up drunken brawls in parking lots after football games, keeping unruly protesters in line at demonstrations, patrolling the beaches, intervening in gang wars and the drug trade. In addition to this serious and dangerous work, the mounted unit also does ceremonial work—presiding over the funerals of slain officers, and community service—bringing the horses into the elementary schools with their anti-drug program. The officers and especially their horses are highly respected and loved by the community.

So you can imagine how stunned I was to discover that the current police chief had decided to disband the mounted unit. After years of hard work and dedication, this mounted unit had developed highly trained officers and horses and had made a significant impact on the community. I suppose that is the prerogative of the chief and I am sure he has found a way to justify it with budget cuts, but what I found most appalling was their initial intention to auction off the horses that have served the city and county of Honolulu for the last decade. This move was fuled by the city's finance department, which has tried to make the horses fit into their regulations for liquidating unwanted equipment and since no other department in the city wanted the horses, the regulations called for public auction.

Most of these horses are in the 18-19 year old range and have slaved hard each and every day to do the bidding of the HPD for the past nine years. Legally, in many jurisdictions, animals used in law enforcement are considered law enforcement officers—if you assault one, you’ll be charged with assault on a police officer. In Hawaii, it seems that these horses are considered property. Still, they've served their communities and had full careers.

Police horses are incredibly courageous and trusting—willing to walk into a 200 person drunken brawl—strictly on the assurance from his rider that it will be okay. They have been taught to trust their rider and walk into certain danger when asked. They have been hit, screamed at, had objects thrown at them by unruly citizens and have walked blindly and willingly into dangerous situations on the command of their officers. And now, if the HPS finance people have their way, these horses will wind up in uncertain homes with an undetermined future where, in their twilight years, after years of dedicated service and hard work, they’ll have to start all over in a new career and be left to an undetermined fate.

From what I've been told by my inside sources at the police department, many parties lust after these horses. The ropers want them because of their size and training, a trail ride operation wants them to carry tourists down the beach day after day, a therapeutic riding program—yet to be started-- thinks they can build a program with these horses, a group wants them to play polo on. These are not therapy, polo, roping or pleasure horses—they’re police horses; and there’s a big difference. They are finely trained and responsive and programmed for a totally different job. While anyone of these groups may be able to make these horses work for their goals, the main question is, don't these horses deserve a comfortable retirement and the security of knowing they’ll be taken good care of the rest of their days?

Believe it or not, a philanthropic citizen, with an impressive history of doing good deeds, has offered to take these horses to the Big Island of Hawaii and turn them out together on green pasture and take good care of them for the rest of their lives. She has an incredible track record of philanthropic work for humans and animals in the poorest countries. http://cdhinternational.org/ This will cost the HPD absolutely nothing; the HPD hasn't taken this offer, in spite of the numerous pleas from the police officers and the community. Apparently, the community outrage at the thought of auctioning these horses did make an impact so they agreed not to put them up for public auction but to take applications from people that want the horses instead. Perhaps that will mean there is a little accountability.

But almost all of the applications are from people that want these horses to advance their own personal agendas and in almost every case—except the philanthropist from the Big Island, the horse’s futures would be uncertain—they could end up anywhere with extended careers. And for what? A few thousand dollars maybe? Why not give these horses the dignified and secure retirement they deserve? Doesn’t the police department have an obligation to these horses?

My brother is a police officer, so I understand and highly respect the difficult and dangerous job that they do and I understand the political forces that can affect their abilities to do their jobs. I also understand how devastated these HPD officers are at the disbanding of the program they worked so hard to build and the ultimate insult that the HPD would turn its back on the four-footed partners who gave so much.

I’ve also had the pleasure of working with Disney World in their horse programs and discovered that the WDW company actually funds the retirement of its trail horses after only 5-7 years of packing guests around on trial rides. If a for-profit company can have this kind of sense of responsibility for horses used in recreation, why can’t the HPD? Should we expect less of a police department? It’s not like we’re talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars here—and their retirement would be totally funded by a kind and generous donor. Is there something I’m missing?

It is my sincere hope that the HPD will recognize the value of these animals and the risk they face if their futures are not secured. I know the officers from the disbanded unit are working hard toward this goal and are losing sleep every night with their concern for these regal horses. I hope you will join me in supporting the safe retirement of these horses with your thoughts and prayers and if you want to make a comment on my blog, I’ll make sure all the comments are received by the HPD. I’ll keep you posted on the outcome. Check out the news video, too: http://it.truveo.com/HPD-Disbanding-Horse-Patrol-Unit/id/1302796689

Julie

My Newest Saddle

Good day!

Man, did I have a blast riding yesterday—like a kid at Christmas! I’ve always been an equipment junkie—in every sport that I’ve done, I’ve discovered the virtues of using the best equipment you can get (you should see our collection of skis!). So it was with a great deal of excitement and anticipation that I finally got to ride in the brand new prototype saddle that I designed, made by the exceptional craftsmen at Circle Y Saddles.

After nearly a half-century of riding (more than 30 years professionally), I have a pretty good idea of what I want in a saddle. For me, functionality is paramount; but comfort and aesthetics follow closely as important qualities. I have been working with the designers at Circle Y over the past year to develop a line of signature saddles—saddles of my design that I am willing to put my name on—and riding in the new prototype for my performance/trail was the culmination of this venture. I was so thrilled with the saddle that it almost brought tears to my eyes!

This saddle, which at this point remains un-named, is the third saddle in a line of five saddles that will be in my signature series that will be coming on the market soon. The line includes a high-performance saddle for riders doing more demanding disciplines like cutting, working cow and ranch roping; an arena performance saddle for reining and “dry work”; the performance/trail saddle for those riders who spend time both training in the arena and out on the trail; a trail saddle and a gaited-horse trail saddle. With these five saddles, we have something to fit the vast majority of western riders.

All my saddles have unique qualities that I felt were important and with the help of the design team at Circle Y, all of my ideas were incorporated into the saddles. First and foremost, they offer a balanced ride, putting you in the best position for good balance, fluid riding and effective use of the aids for better communication and control. The stirrups hang right under the seat and the cut-away under you leg gives you a very close contact with your horse (not to mention lightens the saddle significantly). The stirrups are ergonomically adjusted so that your foot and leg is in the correct position for cueing and for comfort—reducing knee and ankle pain and putting your leg close to the horse. We eliminated the fleece underneath the saddle to give a close contact and the gel inserts between the bars of the tree and the horse’s back give the horse a great fit and more comfort. Except for the high-performance model, all my saddles have the revolutionary Flex2 tree, which again gives a closer contact feel, fits the horse better and makes for a more comfortable ride for you and your horse. And one of the best features of the Flex2 saddles is how light-weight they are. This is an important issue for me—I got no interest in hucking heavy saddles up onto my horse’s back if I don’t have to.

The performance/trail saddle also feature a unique rigging (how the cinch attaches to the saddle). It is double-rigged, allowing for a better fit in the middle of the horse’s back and less pressure-points at the shoulders and withers. What makes the rigging more unique is that the cut-away under your leg means the double-rigging looks more like two Js rather than like two Us. This helps diminish the bulk under your leg; again, for a closer contact feel and greater comfort. Between the double rigging and the Flex2 tree, it gives a superior fit, even for hard-to-fit horses like mine.

Each saddle in my line will also have a customized saddle pad—made to match the saddle. The pads are made from wool felt, with a contoured shape to protect your horse’s withers, matching leather at the wear points and cut to perfectly match the outline of the saddle; it is a perfect compliment to the saddle. Even with all the high-tech materials on the market today, it’s hard to beat wool felt for saddle pads. Although getting the pad will add a little to the cost of the saddle, in my opinion it is money well-spent, in terms of functionality, comfort and aesthetics.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve also developed more interest in comfort when it comes to saddles. When I first sat down in my performance/trail saddle yesterday, I was pleasantly surprised at the cushiness of the seat—a feel I could definitely get accustomed to—especially on those days when I sit in the saddle all day while teaching. With extra padding and a memory foam liner, the seat gives exceptional comfort but still gives a good feel of the horse. I was a little worried that I wouldn’t have the same ability to cue my horse with my seat, with all that padding, but Dually very quickly put my fears to rest. He worked as well—or maybe even better—than normal, shifting his balance with the slightest rocking of weight on my seat bones. We even practiced canter pirouettes, in addition to the regular routine of spins, roll back and slide stops.

Amazingly, these saddles have a broken-in feel, right out of the box. Because of the high quality materials that Circle Y uses and the “Softee®” leather in the seat jockeys and fenders, the shock absorbing skirt and the pre-twisted stirrups, you could ride in this saddle all day the very first time with exceptional comfort. I am very happy with the beautiful 3-D looking tooling and conchos, as well as the contrasting colors of the seat and the saddle strings. Certainly, it is a beautiful saddle and one I am proud to have my name on.

I still have to test-ride the two proto-type trail saddles to complete the collection. But they look great and based on what I felt with the performance/trail, I am quite sure I’ll be happy with them. Both the trail saddles are designed with strictly trail riding in mind (and with the special needs of the gaited horse’s shape) but will also give the rider good balance and position.

The biggest remaining task, before we can get these saddles on the market, is to name them. While I am clear on each saddle’s purpose and type, coming up with good names seems like a daunting task, so I may need some help from you. Please let me know if you have any ideas for names or even for a theme in the names.

I am on my way to Ohio this weekend for a big clinic—then off to Sacramento next weekend. I can’t wait to get home and ride my horse again. My biggest dilemma now will be which saddle to use! I know, I am spoiled.

Enjoy the ride,

Julie

For training tips from Julie, visit the Training Library at http://juliegoodnight.com/q&a.php and check out her online store--full of training tools and DVDs-- at http://juliegoodnight.com/products.html

The Release is Everything to Your Horse

Greetings!

It’s been my observation through the years that few non-pro riders understand the power of the release—it’s meaning to the horse and the critical aspect of the timing. Horses always work for the release of pressure—both physical and mental. And whatever your horses is doing at the moment you release the pressure, is what you have just trained him to do—right or wrong.

In this week’s episode of Horse Master, I work with a young horse that is displaying a lot of resistant and fearful behavior, which has been trained into her by an owner that had been releasing her at the wrong time.

You’ll see at the beginning of the show that whenever the owner approached her with a “scary thing”, which is this case was simply a leather show halter, the horse pulled-back in resistance, then the owner took the halter away. From the horse’s point of view, she was doing the right thing by throwing her head up in the air and backing up, because every time she did that, the owner rewarded her by taking the halter away. This is what I refer to as anti-training—training the horse to give the wrong response. It happens all the time. Have you seen it?

I see this type of problem all the time—releasing at the wrong time and not releasing at the right time. For instance, I see people that have a lazy nonresponsive horse give the horse a command, say to trot, and the horse ignores them, so they stop asking (releasing the pressure), so the horse is rewarded for his lack of response. He thinks he did the right thing.

Or, the horse that is being ridden with heavy contact tries to find the release and eventually guesses right and breaks at the poll, lowers his head and rounds his frame, but the pressure never goes away so he thinks that is not the right response and starts trying other tactics to get a release. Unfortunately when he throws his head or roots the reins, he gives himself a momentary release, so he thinks that’s the right answer.

You have a 3-second window of opportunity in which to release a horse (or apply a correction) in order for him to make an association between his actions and the release (or correction). After 3 seconds, it’s not possible for him to make the association and the sooner in the 3 seconds that the release or correction occurs, the more likely the horse is to make the right association. Research has shown that the optimal time is one-half of one second. You have to be really good to have that kind of split-second timing. Timing is everything in training; it’s hard to have good timing if you have to think through the proper response.

Maybe you’ve had a horse that has inadvertently been trained the wrong thing? Even a very well-trained horse can become confused in his training from the rider not releasing him. Or worse, he loses his incentive to respond and perform if the release never comes. Have you witnessed the power of the release?

And don’t forget, we have to release the mental pressure we put on horses too. They feel mental pressure just as keenly as physical pressure and they can respond either offensively or defensively to pressure, moving away from pressure or into pressure. Here’s an article from the Training Library of my website that explains all the types of pressure and how and why the horse responds. http://juliegoodnight.com/questionsNew.php?id=163 Let me know if you read anything enlightening there.

BTW- we had a great weekend at C Lazy U! We met some new friends, caught up with some old ones, did a lot of good cow work with our horses and even survived the weekend without gaining weight. I actually lost two pounds! Putting me very close to reaching my first 5-pound challenge.

Enjoy the ride!

Julie

For training tips from Julie, visit the Training Library at http://juliegoodnight.com/q&a.php and check out her online store--full of training tools and DVDs-- at http://juliegoodnight.com/products.html

5-Pound Challenge Update

Greetings!

We are two weeks into our challenge and I have been so pleased with all the great responses we have gotten from readers and they just keep coming! Cheryl and I (one of my challenge partners) have stepped up our walk up “butt hill” every morning and as we huff our way up the mountain, we have been mulling over your comments and ideas.

I was most impressed to have our humble little challenge joined by someone who had just celebrated the loss of 100#. Wow. Here I am whining about trying to lose 5 pounds and you have achieved an unimaginable milestone. And yes, I have spoken with several other riders who have lost 50-100# about how that affected their riding. All have reported to me that they had to re-learn balance on the horse; and some have commented they had to re-learn how to use their aids (seat and legs) because they could now feel their seat bones. I suppose as your body changes in shape, your center of gravity changes as well. I am not sure of the mechanics of drastic weight-loss as it relates to riding, but it is interesting to me. I’d love to hear from you about exactly how weight-loss (in any increment) has affected your riding.

Many of your comments have included personal tips for dieting and ideas about rewards. Cheryl and I have been mulling over these ideas as we walk up the hill. For some, it is not a challenge for weight loss as much as a challenge to get more fit. Take Cheryl for instance; she’s a waif. She really cannot afford to lose 5 whole pounds since she had already lost 2# before our weigh-in where she tipped the scales at a whopping 113. But she wants to be more fit—so how do you quantify a fitness challenge? And, it has lead me to ponder this question: is it easier to lose 5# if you have only 5# to lose or if you have 100# to lose? I’ve thought about this a lot over the past two weeks and have come to the conclusion that they are equally hard, but for different reasons. What do you think?

For me, I am holding steady at a loss of three pounds—only two to go! But this weekend we are headed into dangerous waters and I am really worried I will be set back in my challenge. Rich and I are headed up to Granby, Colorado, with Dually and Diggs, to the C Lazy U Guest Ranch www.clazyu.com , where we will attend a three day Versatility Ranch Horse clinic and competition www.nvrha.org . The ranch is a 5-star resort, complete with gourmet full-course meals in copious proportions. I am really good at not buying high-calorie food and can maintain some semblance of self-discipline at home and when traveling—but put it right in front of me and my determination dwindles.

Rich and I have discussed our strategy to try and overcome the temptations of the weekend, with a little in-put from my challenge buddies, and we have decided on a multi-pronged approach. First, we are going to not eat potatoes and bread; that should help a lot but it is a hard push for me since I could live on bread alone (as long as I had butter). Secondly, we are going to remind ourselves to slow down and only eat until we’re full—not until we hate ourselves and fell sick. I personally subscribe to the theory of wearing tight pants to dinner so that there’s not too much room to over-stuff. We decided not drinking was unrealistic since this is a hugely social event but I am going to forego my beloved martini for a wine spritzer (which I won’t consume much of since I don’t really like wine). Plus I will take my regular walk every morning. If I can survive the weekend without gaining any weight, I’ll consider it a success!

Anyone have ideas for maintaining a healthy weight when you are vacationing or partying? Do in-between-meal snacks help you eat less when you sit down to the dinner table? And if so, what’s your favorite healthy snack?

I hope those of you that have signed-in on our challenge are having some success. Please let me know how it goes.

Enjoy the holiday weekend!

Julie

For training tips from Julie, visit the Training Library at http://juliegoodnight.com/q&a.php and check out her online store--full of training tools and DVDs-- at http://juliegoodnight.com/products.html

When Whoa Means Go--Working with Off the Track Thoroughbreds

These days, seems like I am seeing more and more rescue horses in my clinics and on the TV show. I guess it is a sign of our times and a trend that will only be increasing in the coming years. We’ve also had quite a few OTTBs (horse slang for Off The Track Thoroughbred) apply to be on the TV show and this week’s show features one such horse and rider. Be sure to watch "Back Stretch to Backyard, 208" this Wednesday at 5:30 EST on RFD-TV with airings again on Thursday night and Saturday night.

Andrea bought her TB gelding after he had been turned out to pasture for a couple years following his 8- year stint on the track. She was hoping to make a family horse out of him, for her kids and husband to accompany her on occasional rides. But from what I could see, he was a long way from that. He wouldn’t stand still at all and would start kicking randomly when you tried to make him—typical of a race horse. They are prone to having tempers and standing still is just not something that is required of race horses very often because they do best when they are moving. Often, race horses are saddled, mounted and dismounted while in motion. So that was one problem that needed addressing before he qualified as a “husband horse."

When being ridden, Andrea’s horse would keep his head very high and launch impulsively into a trot whenever he wanted and in her effort to make him walk, she ended up programming the horse to “jig” (a bouncy, prancing trot that is quite uncomfortable to ride). Many people have this problem with OTTBs—as do many owners of pleasure horses as well. It’s a question that comes up a lot, “How do I stop my horse from jigging?” (Hint: See the Training Library tab at the top of www.juliegoodnight.com for more tips and Q&As.)

While any horse can be inadvertently taught to jig by their riders, race horses are particularly prone to this problem and as with many “horse problems”, the issue is actually the rider. On the track, horses are galloped on very heavy contact and when you want them to stop, you loosen the reins. So, they have learned that loose reins mean stop and tight reins mean go. Believe it or not, most horses have inadvertently learned this, although to a lesser degree, because when you hold the reins tight, horses tend to be poised for action and when you are not going to ask anything of them, you’ll usually loosen the reins and sit very casually.

The problem that Andrea was having with her OTTB was that she was so sure that he was going to take off at any moment, that she held the reins tight and was perched forward, ready for action. To any horse, this can become a cue for them to get jazzed up and jiggy. This is almost always the cause of jigging and the solution is to stop the horse abruptly when he trots, but then drop the reins and ride on a loose rein. Pick them up again for correction if he breaks, but don’t hang onto the reins or he’ll be poised for action and begin jigging. For race horses, this is because how they are ridding on the track, but almost any horse, when faced with unyielding and meaningless pressure on the mouth, will become antsy and even begin to “run through the bridle” (the more you pull, the faster he goes).

Many times it is hard to know which came first, the chicken or the egg. Is the horse jigging because the reins are too tight or are the reins too tight because the horse is jigging? It really doesn’t matter—horses and riders develop this kind of co-dependency all the time. I see it at every clinic I do; sometimes with the ground work and sometimes in the mounted work. If you micro-manage your horse too much he becomes dependent on you to constantly tell him to slow down, speed up, or whatever, instead of trusting him to do his job correctly. If you try to prevent him from making mistakes (like breaking gait), he will never learn from making a mistake and then getting corrected for it. The same could be said for children—you’ve got to let them make decisions, right or wrong, and learn what the consequences of their actions are.

In this episode with Andrea, she did a great job of breaking the co-dependent cycle and with the exercises I showed her, the horse make tremendous progress in just one day. Do you have a tendency toward co-dependency with your horse? Do you ever get the feeling that the horse is cueing you instead of the other way around? Or that he is controlling your actions? I find that most people don’t recognize the co-dependency, even when it’s there.

And what is it about OTTBs that people like so much anyway? Is it that they are cheap and readily available if you live near a race track? Or maybe that the need is so great and people want to do the right thing and give a home to an unwanted horse? I’d love to hear from you if you have an OTTB.

Having grown up riding OTTBs converted to hunter/jumpers and after riding on the race track through college (it’s a great college job), I have a great deal of appreciation for the breed, but they tend to be a lot of horse for the average rider and probably not a good choice for a novice. What’s your opinion?

Enjoy the ride!

Julie

A clip of Andrea's episode:

Clips from other OTTB shows:

For training tips from Julie, visit the Training Library at http://juliegoodnight.com/q&a.php and check out her online store--full of training tools and DVDs-- at http://juliegoodnight.com/products.html

Introducing The Bit Experiment: Helping a Horse Learn to Relax and Collect

One of the most common questions I get and one of the most common issues I address at clinics is, what is the right bit for my horse? Many, if not most training “issues” are in someway connected to the horse’s mouth. When a horse is resisting the rider’s hands (as evidenced by his hollowed framed and seeming inability to round and collect) or evading the bit with typical antics (head tossing, star-gazing, rooting, putting tongue out/over/above the bit) there are three things that can be wrong: the horse may be uncomfortable from the bit; the horse may have never been trained to respond properly to bit pressure, or the rider’s lack of skill. Often, I find that all three issues are contributing to the horse’s discomfort and resulting poor performance.

Bits are so often the problem that I carry 5-6 bridles with me to clinics—with the Myler bits that I know will help a horse be more comfortable and which will address a variety of common problems that I see, be it a lack of control or other behavioral problems. It’s really satisfying to me to change something as simple as the bit and see an immediate improvement in a horse—often accompanied by an ecstatic rider with a huge grin on her face, as you’ll see in this video.

While it helps for me to be able to see the horse and rider in action, to diagnose what bit the horse needs and see what training and rider-skill issues there are, there is help available to anyone who may be struggling with bit/control issues. The Myler Bit site is an online resource that through a series of questions, can suggest a Myler bit that may help your situation. The Myler brothers, Ron, Dale and Bob, are passionate about making horses more comfortable in bits and have dedicated their life’s work toward this goal. From them and others, I have learned so much about bits over the past 20 years – it is a very deep subject and one with many misconceptions about what is mild or harsh, what is good or bad, and what the right bit is for any given horse.

Any sage horseman knows that a bit will never fix a training problem—only training will. But the bit may either make the training highly productive or a sad failure. Surprisingly, many horses I see on the road are struggling with the bit in the above mentioned ways, simply from confusion on how to respond and what gets them the release of pressure. Often young horses, at the start of their career, have a bit jammed in their mouth and immediately start being ridden, without any training on how the horse should respond to bit pressure. Through a combination of the rider’s forceful hands and the horse’s willingness to try and do the right thing, the horse’s riding career begins. It’s like a child being advanced to 5^th or 6^th grade with no knowledge of how to read. It leads to a confused an concerned horse who resists any pressure at all from the rider’s hands, even though he may go about trying to do his job to the best of his ability (as well as he can do with his head up in the air or while he is trying to protect his mouth).

An older horse that has spent years being ridden in a resistant, hollowed frame, has wrongly developed the muscles in his neck, his back and abdomen and, equally problematic, he has developed incorrect muscle memory and has engrained inappropriate responses to cues. The horse has learned that the wrong thing gets him a release of pressure from the bit on the tongue: when he tosses his head, there is a momentary release of pressure as his head comes back down; when he star-gazes, the bit rests on the corners of his lips, not his tongue; when he roots the reins, he finds a release as his chin comes back; and by sucking his tongue up in his throat, putting it over the bit or sticking it out of his mouth, the pressure on his tongue is released.

Whether young or old, show or pleasure, many horses would benefit from systematic training and/or reconditioning that my bitting system offers. It will teach a horse where to find the release and the correct response to specific cues from the rider to give to pressure both laterally and vertically and round his frame. It will train or retrain his muscle memory and develop the musculature along his top-line and abdomen so that he can comfortably lift his back and hold himself in a collected frame without relying on constant contact from the rider.

Even when the bit is right for the horse and the horse has been properly trained, the rider has a huge amount of culpability in how well the horse can perform. If the rider’s hands are constantly and relentlessly applying pressure to the horse’s mouth, even a well-trained and responsive horse will get confused and begin acting defensively to protect his mouth. The rider must first learn to balance on the horse without holding on or balancing on the reins. And most importantly, the rider must learn to release the pressure on the horse’s mouth when he gives the right response. So often, riders hang on the horse’s mouth, with constant and meaningless pressure—if a release never comes, any horse will eventually reach his boiling point and begin evasion antics or acting out with bad behavior like running through the bridle or worse. After all, horses are programmed to run away from things that make them uncomfortable.

The Bit Experiment:

With attention to all three of the things that can go wrong, the wrong bit, the horse’s training and the rider’s skill, we have started a little experiment of our own with Cari and her horse, Lakota, whose career as a therapeutic riding horse has left him in a bad frame (literally). Since Lakota’s issues are moderate and Cari’s riding skill is good, our focus is on putting him in the right bit and reconditioning him both mentally and physically. We’ll check in with Cari and Lakota weekly and will have a video to show you of their progress. In this first video, you’ll see Lakota’s initial resistance to the old bit (his hollowed frame, his attempts to round, but his failure to be able to hold a frame), and his drastic improvement when we switch him to the Myler Combination bit, which takes some of the pressure off the mouth and puts it on the face, jaw and poll.

Notes from Cari:

The response Lakota had to this bit literally brought me to tears. I have been trying to get him to relax and give for years. Because he is an ex-therapy horse, he has never had the opportunity to consistently give to pressure and have a release as a reward. He was so relaxed in this bit, and dare I say, he had spring in his step. It was the best ride we've had since I have owned him. He was using his body correctly and it was a very dramatic give to the pressure, so it was easy for me to follow suit and give him the release he needed. We first lunged to give him a chance to get used to the new bit, and it did not seem like it was hard for him to get used to. He adapted nicely. We rode walk/trot only and after a few times around a circle, he figured out the pressure on his nose meant he should drop his head and in turn, he got a release. VERY nice! He tries so hard and was very pleased with himself for figuring it out (he told me so).

Then, after watching my training video, Bit Basics, Cari will start a systematic reconditioning program with Lakota using the Goodnight bitting system—and we’ll document the progress here. It’ll take 3-4 weeks to start seeing the muscle development, but Cari will notice a drastic improvement with each day’s progress. And she’ll be sharing her experience with us, here on the blog.

Is your horse troubled with bit anxiety? Do you have periodic bouts of feeling out of control? Are his gaits rough and rushed, with his body tense and giraffe-like? If so, hopefully you’ll find some answers here that will help both you and your horse enjoy the ride more.

Stay tuned for more fun!

Julie

PS- I am thrilled by the response to the 5-pound challenge and the variety of thought-provoking comments. We’ll keep checking in with everyone on that front too—I promise! I have some progress to report already; how about you?

For training tips from Julie, visit the Training Library at http://juliegoodnight.com/q&a.php and check out her online store--full of training tools and DVDs-- at http://juliegoodnight.com/products.html

The 5-Pound Challenge

Good day!

Inspired by your comments, and by the response from my friends, I want to extend my five-pound challenge to everyone—at least everyone interested in getting fit and shedding a few pounds (or more). As long as dieting/exercising are approved by your physician, why not give it a try?

Getting in better shape builds your confidence—you can’t help but feel better about yourself when you workout. It feels so good when you stop! Making an effort to get in better shape is something I talk a lot about in my seminars for people that are fearful of horses and it is part of the over-all plan for building more confidence. It’s an added bonus that being in better shape makes you healthier and able to ride better. By starting on a fitness and/or diet plan, you’ll not only feel better about yourself, you’ll also appreciate your greater strength when it comes to the physical exertion that horses entail. And hey, if those jeans aren’t quite so tight, it’ll be a lot easier to mount!

In case you want to join us, here’s the way the five-pound challenge works:

Find a friend (or friends) willing to take the challenge with you—or join our online friends who are joining me in the challenge, by signing in below (hit the comments link at the end of this entry).

1. Agree that you will lose five pounds over a certain period of time—we decided on one month, but it could be longer or maybe even have no time limit at all.
2. Then agree on what the prize will be when you reach that goal—it should be something you’ve been wanting for a while but haven’t yet treated yourself to. We decided on a manicure this time, but also considered massages, a new pair of shoes, a day at the lake, Sunday brunch at our favorite restaurant, a lesson/clinic with your favorite instructor, a day-ride with your friends.
3. Next have the weighing-in ceremony and document your starting weight—everyone on the same scale. Write it all down—starting weight and goal and everyone signs it. We followed our weighing-in ceremony with a rigorous hike up “butt hill”, kicking off our five-pound campaign.
4. Then go to work to lose the weight—keeping in close contact with your fellow challengers and spurring each other on. Sharing ideas, recipes, successes, agonies and defeats, with a hard eye on the goal.

Dieting need not be so hard—there’s lots of ways to make it easier. There has never been a shortage of faddish new diet plans, each with its own gimmick. But at the end of the day, any successful diet always boils down to two important factors: eat less and move more. The trick is to finding the right system for you—whether it’s a proven formula like South Beach or Atkins, or a customized formula to meet your personality, lifestyle and blood type.

A while ago, I heard a health tip on the radio that said that if you wanted to lose 5-10 pounds, all you had to do was 20% more—or less. Eat 20% fewer calories and/or exercise 20% more. I’ve thought a lot about that since our challenge began last week and have decided that this is a good plan for me. I was already jogging 25 minutes every morning on the treadmill, so to do 20% more, I only have to add five minutes. That fits my schedule and my tolerance level just fine. Maybe you can add more time at the barn—more vigorous grooming, cleaning stalls, doing more ground work, riding without stirrups. Can you think of fun ways to increase your exercise while enjoying your horses?

Cutting 20% of your calories shouldn’t be that hard either. Heck, I can probably do that by just drinking water! Most of us have things we can either substitute (i.e., no-fat mayo instead of real mayo) to lose calories or we can cut portions. I like this idea because I can still eat what I want—not depriving myself, but just eating less of it. I proudly set aside 20% of my French fries last night, but still enjoyed “burger night” at our favorite restaurant with friends (of course, Cheryl, my challenge-mate, out-did me by having her salmon burger on a salad—no fries or bun!).

Spring time is the perfect time to get in better shape for the riding season. Will you join our challenge? I am already scheming on what my ultimate reward to myself will be when I reach my ultimate weight-loss goal. Right now I am leaning toward all new under garments—and I’m talking the good stuff, not the Wal-Mart undies I’ve been wearing!

What would your five-pound reward to yourself be? What about the ten-pound mark and other mile-markers you meet? I talk a lot in my clinics about what motivates horses and how to find the right amount of pressure to motivate a horse—but we work the same way! If we can motivate ourselves by sharing successes and failures with friends, with reasonable goals and scrumptious rewards, by making it as easy and fun as possible, it’s a whole lot easier to do!

I hope you’ll sign-on. Please comment below to join the fun and share any ideas you have that make it fun and easy!

Enjoy the ride,

Julie

For training tips from Julie, visit the Training Library at http://juliegoodnight.com/q&a.php and check out her online store--full of training tools and DVDs-- at http://juliegoodnight.com/products.html

NOTE: this challenge reflects the authors’ experiences and is provided for general reference only. It is not intended to be a substitute for medical or psychological advice or counseling. Therefore, you should consult a physician regarding your individual physical needs before undertaking any diet, exercise, or fitness program.

QuarterFest

Greetings!

We had a great time in Murfreesboro last weekend for the inaugural QuarterFest 09; a fantastic tribute to the American Quarter Horse and the people who own them. There was certainly something for everyone; from great shopping to thrilling entertainers; from horse camping to riding trial obstacles; from reining to roping to mounted shooting; from colt-starting to learning advanced cues for collection and lateral movements. Kids could get a star, strip and a snip painted on their faces, then get on a trusted old steed and take a test ride. It was a power-packed program with some of the top performers in the industry in terms of entertainment and education. Click on the links from this page, http://www.aqha.com/ to see a slide show from the event.

Unfortunately, the torrential downpours and lightening that happened all day Friday put a bit of a damper on the whole weekend. It rained so hard on Friday that the steady rain all day Saturday seemed like an improvement. The hay rides were cancelled, but not the trail ride on Saturday—the hard-cores ride rain or shine! Some of the outdoor events were moved inside and although the weather kept some people away, everyone there had a wonderful weekend, myself included.

The evening performance was a top-rate production with Tommy and Karen Turvey and their wild act; Jerry Diaz, famous Charro and trick roper; Bob Avila giving reining and cow horse demos and other great acts. Meanwhile, during the day, Curt & Tammy Pate, Jeff Griffith and I all gave clinics each day—covering a wide range of topics and interests. QuarterFest will be an annual event and I’m sure, baring bad weather and tornadoes, more people will take advantage of this fabulous opportunity next year.

I am home three days this week; sadly only one to go. But I’ve already walked up “butt hill” twice this week and ridden my horse once. I signed on today to a five-pound challenge with my friends Cheryl and Lucy. We all got down to our skivvies and weighed in; now all we have to do is lose five pounds in the next month and we win the big prize (which we haven’t decided on yet). It’s fun to make a solemn pact with friends—makes dieting easier and more fun. There are only two ways to lose weight: eat less and move more. I think I’ll try them both. What works best for you?

Until next time, enjoy the ride!

Julie

For training tips from Julie, visit the Training Library at http://juliegoodnight.com/q&a.php and check out her online store--full of training tools and DVDs-- at http://juliegoodnight.com/products.html

Photo by Holly Clanahan, courtesy AQHA

Sunrise in South Park

South Park.

Yes, there really is such a place and I drive through it on my way to the airport about 40 times a year.

It is a huge alpine valley—with open meadows and expansive uncluttered vistas—stunningly beautiful from the inside of a car, but I wouldn’t want to live there. There is very little development in South Park and it will likely stay that way forever, in spite of the very reasonable real estate prices. You could say it’s “Climate controlled.” There just aren’t that many humans that can tolerate the extreme winters there (and summers for that matter).

You may have seen the animated TV show called South Park; if so, you probably remarked on the bizarre and crude sense of humor depicted in the show. I think the guy that created it actually lived in South Park for a while. While all the folks I’ve met there seem perfectly normal and salt-of-the-earth to me, it does take a strong character to survive the long and brutal winters and the harsh foreboding climate there.

However, South Park is home to tons of animals who thrive there. This morning the sun was just peaking over the mountains as I dropped into the valley, sunlight reflecting off the snow covered peaks and the rambling reservoirs. I saw herds of deer, elk, cows and horses; I got up close and personal with a few deer that were toying with suicide by truck. A pasture of broodmares boasted a few young foals—imagine how hearty these youngster will be!

It reminds me of how often people ask me, upon discovering I live in the high mountains of Colorado, “what do you do with your horses in the winter?” The answer is, the exact same thing we do with them in the summer. Our horses are kept in stalls and pens—but not for their survival—they’d do just fine turned out in the winter landscape, if left to their own devices. People think we need to blanket them up and store them neatly in hermetically sealed barns. The truth is, we do blanket them, but not for their benefit—for ours. Since we ride indoors all winter, we try to keep their hair coats short so we can manage the sweat that inevitably arises after an indoor workout and before we put them back outside in the elements. They wouldn’t need the blankets if it weren’t for us.

Horses are one of the most adaptable species of animals—adaptable not only to climate but to an ever-changing society as well. That explains how they not only survived but thrived in a society that no longer needed them for transportation and as beasts of burden. As they say, horses paved the way for civilization. But even after their “usefulness” was made obsolete, they re-morphed in ways that helped them remain indispensible in our lives. They can adapt to changes of climate amazingly well, which explains why horses evolved simultaneously all over the world (Horse Behaviour, by Daniel Mills). I always think of the horses in South Park when people are aghast that horses would be kept outside in such extreme winters. The herds there are healthy, happy, fat and hairy, for the most part.

How pampered is your horse in his accommodations? And how much of what you are doing is for your benefit, not his? For the most part, we are doing it for our own convenience. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that! It’s just good to be honest with yourself. I think it is good to be clear on what your horse requires and what his natural inclinations are. I recall an email from a woman in England who was investigated by the humane society because she did not blanket her horses or bring them in stalls at night (even though they had a run-in shed). She preferred that her horses live as closely to what nature intended as possible—complete with thick hairy coats, which were sometimes covered in mud. Apparently it didn’t sit well with the traditionalist in her neighborhood, who thought horses should live in barns.

Don’t get me wrong; our horses are tucked into their stalls, cozy in their blankies each night. But I am totally clear on the fact that it is my mission, not theirs, to have slick and shiny coats, an individually designed nutritional program and to be at my beck and call in the barn, so I don’t have to brave the elements and trudge through the pasture when I want to ride. I think our horses are happy too and appreciate the pampering, but running free with the gang has its own appeal. If you could change your horse’s accommodations in some way, what would you do? And would it be for your benefit or his?

I’m in Nashville, for QuarterFest—a celebration of the American Quarter Horse, Friday through Sunday in Murfreesboro TN. I think it is going to be an exciting but hectic weekend, with clinics, speakers, entertainment and shopping. I am giving three one-day clinics, in addition to a keynote presentation on Friday. AQHA has quite an agenda planned for the weekend and I looking forward to meeting up with a few of my colleagues—I haven’t seen Curt Pate in a while and I’ve already said hello to Bob Avila, since he was on my plane! I’ll also have a chance this weekend to meet up with some old friends and hopefully get to hang out a little when I’m not in the arena. Maybe I’ll see you there!

Enjoy the ride!

Julie

For training tips from Julie, visit the Training Library at http://juliegoodnight.com/q&a.php and check out her online store--full of training tools and DVDs-- at http://juliegoodnight.com/products.html

Clinics and Snow Storms

Greetings!

It’s been a crazy couple of weeks! I’ve only been home for six nights this whole month, with trips to OH, SC, WY and KS. The fact that I’ve only managed to ride my horse once so far this month doesn’t seem as bad when I look at it like that. If the weather holds, I may get a ride in today too!

The big snowstorm that hit Denver last week caused me a lot of headache and stress with two cancelled flights and the fear I might not make it to a clinic. I’ve never missed a clinic and the thought of what I would do if I couldn’t make it was enough to keep me up all night and travel with a stress-headache the next day. But, as luck would have it, I was able to standby for the next flight and made it to Topeka just in time for the book signing and rider’s reception! It was held at a fantastic Western Lifestyle store in Topeka, http://royfreywestern.com/ and we all had a great time shopping before getting to know each other during the excellent dinner.

Last week, I had a CHA Instructor Certification clinic at Central Wyoming College in Riverton. It was a very easy clinic with qualified and enthusiastic participants, all of whom received a certification at a level they were happy with. I’ve done a lot of CHA clinics over the years—back when I was the Program Director, I did as many as seven one year! http://www.cha-ahse.org/cert1.htm#process  But now, because of the demands on my schedule, I can only do one a year. I enjoy going up to WY and working with the dedicated students there. As a bonus, I get to spend the week with two dear friends, Polly and Patti, my colleagues in this endeavor. Even the 7” of wet heavy snow we got on Thursday wasn’t enough to dampen our spirits (thank god for heated indoors).

But the snow did wreak havoc on my travel, but I made it to my clinic in Topeka nonetheless and we had a great clinic! There was a nice variety of riders, horses and issues to work on all weekend, and everyone had success. I love the variety I get in clinics—dressage, hunt seat, gaited horses; cutters, trail riders and mounted shooters; novices and experienced hands; well-broke horses and ones that need work. The more variety the better for me, because it challenges my teaching. The days went so fast, I could  hardly believe when I looked at the clock on Sunday afternoon and saw we had run out of time.

This weekend I am headed to Richmond VA for another clinic tour stop. I am looking forward to the clinic and hope that I’ll meet some interesting horses. Then it’s on to TN next week for the AQHA QuarterFest. http://www.aqha.com/quarterfest  I am excited about that event—not only because I’ll get to see a lot of friends and colleagues I haven’t seen in a while, but also because it is shaping up to be a very cool and power-packed event! Go check it out online and come if you can.

Now, I’d better get some work done so that I can squeeze a ride in this afternoon, before I leave town again.

Enjoy the ride!

Julie

For training tips from Julie, visit the Training Library at http://juliegoodnight.com/q&a.php and check out her online store--full of training tools and DVDs-- at http://juliegoodnight.com/products.html

Details of the South Carolina Horse Master Shoot

Greetings!

It’s been a busy week and I can hardly wait to get home to see my husband, the pups and the horses and sleep in my own bed. I hope to spend the entire day tomorrow in my PJs, slounging around the house and doing absolutely nothing. Each morning this week, when the 5:30a alarm went off, I thought about how great Saturday would be.

My film crew and I all converged in Savannah GA on Monday and made the 90 minute trek up to the SC coast, to a small private island called Fripp Island, where our accommodations for the week were. It is always good to have everyone together again—Heidi, the producer; Steve, videographer extraordinaire; Cheryl, wardrobe; Lucy and “T”, assistant trainers; and Carolyn, facilitator and “craft services” (she takes care of our meals and personal needs). We were also joined for this shoot by Jackie, who we hope will become part of our permanent crew, as key grip (the grips do anything and everything, taking care of loose ends and helping Heidi keep track of what has been filmed, the time codes and what needs to be done).

It was very cool to be staying on the resort island, just off the beach, but frankly, we worked sun-up to sun-down and never had any time to enjoy the amenities. That’s sort of the story of my life. I go a lot of really cool places but rarely have time to sight-see or relax. But it still beats never going there to begin with.

We were filming at Camelot Farms; a boarding, lesson and trail ride facility, just a 15 minute drive from the island (they have an awesome beach ride). Our hosts, Anne and Mark Kennedy, were unbelievably warm and welcoming and their beautiful farm, in the SC “low country” provided a beautiful back drop for taping the show. They catered to our every need—right down to golf carts for the crew and a private trailer for me to change clothes in (which I do about 6-8 times a day during a shoot). It wasn’t a typical Hollywood trailer, but a living quarters horse trailers—right up my alley.

This is the area of SC where much of “Forest Gump” was filmed and, in fact, the farm was located on the same road where the famous “Run Forest, run” scene took place. With beautiful live oak trees, draped in Spanish moss, palmetto and salt-water marshes, we were always oohing and awing over the scenery. As we drove back and forth from the island, we passed a dock for shrimp boats that was quite reminiscent of the movie.

As usual, we filmed six episodes in three days—Tue-Wed-Thu. Tuesday was the hardest day—weather wise. It was unseasonably cold (high about 52 degrees) and with high winds. We were all very cold the whole day, but since our schedule is so tight, we just had to work through it. So much for all the cute summery outfits I had—I wore my heavy coat the whole time. A soak in a hot bath back at the house never felt so good. Wednesday was hard too since that is definitely our “hump day” and it turned out to be cold as well. On Wednesday, we finish three episodes and start three more. We start filming at the very first ray of sunshine and we tape until the light is completely gone. It’s an arduous day and one that I am always glad to see come to an end.

On Thursdays, all we have to do is end three episodes and then pick up miscellaneous stuff like commercials, voice-overs and background footage. Ending an episode is pretty easy—it’s only a 3-4 minute segment where I just follow-up after the person has practiced and give them a few things to work on in the future.

The toughest part of each episode is the beginning. First we film the “before” footage and that is where we figure out what exactly the show will be on. There’s not enough time in each episode to cover all of the issues, so we have to really narrow it down. Also, often the episode ends up being on a totally different topic than what we thought, based on the owner’s application. For one thing, often the problem is not really what the owner complained about, but something more fundamental that must be corrected before the real complaint can be addressed. And often, we cannot get the horse to display the “problem” behavior on demand. There’s something uncanny about a horse’s ability to be good when you say he’s bad and visa-versa. So we definitely have to roll with the punches.

I think we got some really good episodes this week. We had a Rocky Mountain horse that needed to learn a pivot on the haunches to show successfully in Western Pleasure (not an easy feat in a gaited horse); and a rescued Thoroughbred that needed reconditioning after his bout with near starvation. Plus a young TB-Trakhener cross that was spoiled and rude and had learned to rip the line away and run-off while being longed. Then there was another TB that had no real behavioral problems but was a lazy horse and was not performing well enough to show in Dressage, as his owner aspired to. And yet another TB, fresh off the track, that was ready to start a new career as a Hunter and the owner needed to develop a plan for starting him over fences. Finally, we had a QH mare that was throwing her head and running through the bridle—that turned out to be a bitting issue and once we changed bits and I did a little bit of schooling on her, she made a dramatic change.

All in all, it was a very successful week. We all worked really hard but there is always a satisfaction in completion and a job well-done. Thursday night, our hosts organized a “wrap” party at a nearby restaurant and a good time was had by all. In keeping with the southern culture, we had roasted pig, collards greens and baked beans; the food was great and the company even better. Waking up one more time at 5:30, we were on the way to the airport by 6:30a eastern and with a little luck, I’ll be home by 6:00p mountain. It’s been a long 10 days and I am ready to be home.

All the best,

Julie

For training tips from Julie, visit the Training Library at http://juliegoodnight.com/q&a.php and check out her online store--full of training tools and DVDs-- at http://juliegoodnight.com/products.html

A Busy Weekend

Greetings!

Well, it was a whirlwind weekend in Columbus OH at Equine Affaire, one of the biggest and best horse expos in the country. I stayed busy every moment from 9:00a when the show opened each day until about 8:00p—making for an exhausting but very fun four days. On top of my regular presentations, appearances in sponsor’s booths and visiting with people in my booth, I also judged the Extreme Cowboy Race. I was pleasantly surprised that there were overall higher quality entries in this race, compared to the one I judged in CA, but the best horses were not as good as the winner in CA.

As always, there were several entries that left me wondering, “what the heck were they thinking when they entered this race?” A few riders couldn’t even get their horses to go around the arena, let alone over the obstacles. But I have to say, about half of the 36 competitors were pretty impressive. There were some that didn’t make the finals that I thought were pretty darn good. On Sunday, there was an exciting finish, with a tie for first place and a subsequent run-off. The horse I thought would win sort of had a melt-down in the run-off, leaving a grade gelding with a 57 y/o amateur female rider to win. He was a steady-Eddie horse and she rode the race methodically—no showing off (as the other top riders did—which ended up getting them in trouble), just finishing the course correctly and working incredibly consistently. There’s a lesson to be learned there: correct and consistent will usually beat style and flash.

I was really fortunate this weekend to be able to ride a couple really cool horses—both of whom competed in the ECR. The first horse was a 17 hh Friesian stallion from Texas, named Valour. He was a surreal horse—absolutely gorgeous and a blast to ride. He was WAY bigger than any Friesian I’ve worked with before at 1700+ pounds. In spite of that, he was fairly light and responsive and moved quite well off my legs. But after an hour of sitting on that wide horse, my hips were killing me! I guess I am getting old. The presentation was on “Control & Authority with Your Horse,” and it was a really fun clinic. I had one horse that was too fast, two that were too slow and one young horse that just needed more training. We worked through specific issues on each horse and also just talked about some general principles regarding leadership, authority and disciplining horses.

Yesterday, in my last presentation for the weekend on “Mastering Flying Lead Changes,” I got to ride the QH stallion that tied for first place in the ECR. He was a gorgeous hunk of horse flesh; a big bull-doggie horse that was very athletic and really well trained by a guy from MI named Kelly LeBlanc. He was a little on-the-muscle after all the excitement of the race, but he still worked well for me. He was late arriving because of the run-off and I was well into my 90 minute presentation when I got on him. Having never ridden him before (in fact, Kelly told me I am only the 3^rd person to ever ride him), I told the audience if he missed my cue for the lead change it was probably my fault since we hadn’t had time to get to know each other. But remarkably, he picked up the lead change perfectly every time. I love a horse that makes me look good!

I saw a lot of old friends over the weekend and met many new ones too. Had dinner each night with colleagues and overall it was an excellent weekend. Now I am here in the Washington Dulles airport, waiting on my flight to Savannah GA. We’ll be filming 6 new episodes of Horse Master this week, on a private island on the SC coast. It’s going to be a busy week for me and fortunately I’ll be home this weekend, to catch up on some sleep before I head out to clinics next week in WY and KS.

Don’t forget there are brand new episodes of Horse Master playing this week. I’ve already gotten many comments on last week’s episode on trailer loading—hopefully you caught it. If not, it will air again in six weeks. Also you can now purchase individual episodes, after they have aired.

Until next time,

Julie

For training tips from Julie, visit the Training Library at http://juliegoodnight.com/q&a.php and check out her online store--full of training tools and DVDs-- at http://juliegoodnight.com/products.html

Trailer Loading

Good Day!

I’m up in the air, on my way to Columbus OH for Equine Affaire. Only had to drive through a minor snow storm to get to the airport today. With only a two-day turnaround this week and leaving on two back-to-back trips (from OH to SC to film the TV show), it was a very hectic two days. So now it is nice to be on a plane, high above it all, listening to Andrea Bocelli on my headphones with plenty of time to kick back and catch up on my writing.

I am excited about the new episodes of Horse Master that begin airing this week. Starting today, the first of six episodes we shot in Arizona in January will air—a new episode for each of the next six weeks. I was really happy with all the episodes at the AZ shoot, but I think this week’s show, on trailer loading, was definitely the best of this shoot. There’s a teaser for it on my YouTube channel http://www.youtube.com/juliegoodnight (we’re not allowed to show the entire episode) and as a result, this is the first episode that we’ve taken orders for—before it even airs.

This episode features a Thoroughbred gelding who won’t load in a trailer. He’s learned all sorts of nasty tricks to avoid the trailer, including rearing up, ripping his nose around and running straight away from you, leaving you dirt skiing in his wake—at least for as long as you can hang on. He was definitely a difficult horse, but not surprisingly, once his nasty tactics were proven ineffective, he gave it up and loaded up like a well-seasoned road warrior. Surprisingly, this didn’t take very long and almost all the training time shows on the edited episode (we might have cut 5 minutes at the most).

We knew from the horse’s history that she had owned the horse for a couple years and had made numerous attempts to train the horse to load, but to no avail (translated: the horse has had much success in NOT getting in the trailer). Being a part of the show meant she had to trailer the horse from Tucson to Phoenix—no easy feat. Before the trip, her vet came out and tranquilized the horse to the point that they could shove him into the trailer with little resistance. Of course, that’s easier said that done (picture shoving a 20# bag of beans into a mailbox). The only thing worse than a wild and fighting horse is a doped-up wild and fighting horse; and, needless to say, trailering a doped up hose is not an ideal scenario because his balance and coordination are grossly affected.

The horse arrived a day early and stood around in a stall waiting for his lesson in loading. As usual, we started the filming by getting the “before” footage—an attempt to capture on film the essence of the problem. Long before the gelding got near the trailer, as the owner led him toward the trailer, he was already displaying avoidance techniques by stopping, balking and turning his nose away. Watching her try to load him confirmed my suspicions of the typical mistakes that had been made to get the horse in this state to begin with. The horse was disobedient (stopping, going and turning whenever he felt like it); as she approached the trailer he stopped, backed up, turned right, backed up, turned left, jerked his head, stomped his feet and repeated until she gave up in frustration and led him away from the trailer to “ make another run at it.” Classically, with trailer loading troubles, she was rewarding his disobedience and giving him approval every time she led him away from the trailer. Needless to say, since he had so much success with his antics before (remember, all he wanted was to be taken away from the trailer—even if only for a moment) he would repeat the same antics each time she turned him back to the trailer.

Clearly the answer was to prove to the horse that turning away and backing up were not options and in fact, the only option, once presented to the trailer, was for him to walk forward onto it. It’s not hard for a horse to figure out the right answer when you eliminate all the other options. But when we escalated the pressure on him, he brought his antics to a whole new level and first ran off from the owner, then from my assistant, and then I had to have a come-to-Jesus meeting with him.

We did not know ahead of time that the horse had learned to throw his weight around and get his handler into an impossible position to stop him—as he high-tailed it back to the barn. I am not sure if you’ve ever had a horse that has figured this move out— fortunately, it is not that common. But when a horse learns that all he has to do is get his neck pointed straight away form you and he can pretty much drag you anywhere, you’ve got a real problem on your hands. Mules are sometimes born with this talent.

In order to gain control of the horse, I had to put a chain on his nose (in addition to the rope halter and long training lead), so that I stood a pea-picking chance to leverage his nose around when he made his move. He got away from me once (after having gotten away from two other handlers and running straight back to his stall twice) but soon I managed to check him and stop him dead in his tracks a couple times. When a horse learns to make this kind of move, the important thing is that you never let him straighten his neck. As long as you can keep his neck slightly bent toward you, you can stop him.

You’ll see on the show that after I stopped him once hard and he figured out he wasn’t going to be able to make that move, things changed quickly with this horse. Although we started with the owner leading him, then my assistant trainer and then me at the helm, once the horse was convinced that he couldn’t run off, he couldn’t turn right or left (because I wouldn’t let him turn his nose) and he couldn’t back-up (because my assistant would flag him hard when he stepped back and scare him into moving forward), he actually made up his mind quite quickly that going forward into the trailer seemed to be the best option.

Once in, he received a handful of tasty grain and a pet on the neck as a reward, was required to stand and settle, then we backed him out slowly (another problem he had was blowing out backwards once he did load); then we loaded him again. We probably loaded him twenty times with him almost trotting into the trailer, drawn to it like a pig to sh**. Once he got it, he got it.

The next day, the horse was to be transported back to Tucson via commercial carrier. I was anxious to hear how the horse would load into a different trailer, with different handlers. I was absolutely thrilled to hear that he walked right onto the trailer with no hesitation. I think the owner totally understood the mistakes she had made and you can see on the show that she started handling her horse with a new awareness almost instantly. He was a smart horse—therein lies the problem—he had learned the wrong thing.

As usual, as these new episodes begin airing this week, we are headed to SC for our next shoot. We’ll all converge on the SC coast, just north of Savannah GA, on Monday and we’ll film six new episodes in three days. It’s an incredible grind, but fun. We’ve got some good horses and riders lined up and one thing I’ve learned about the TV show is that there will certainly be some surprises, when it comes to what we will be filming and what problems we’ll be solving. That’s the great thing about horses—they always keep you guessing!

Until next time,

Julie

For training tips from Julie, visit the Training Library at http://juliegoodnight.com/q&a.php and check out her online store--full of training tools and DVDs-- at http://juliegoodnight.com/products.html

The Blizzard

Greetings!

I’ve been scrambling (as usual) this past week. With a quick trip to the east coast and my brother and niece visiting for spring break skiing, it was hard to juggle work, play, entertaining and travel. However, I did manage to ski on the best powder day of the year at Monarch Mountain. With all of us decked out in our new powder skis (similar to strapping a snowboard on each foot), we ate up the mountain with big grins on our faces, whooping and hollering like frat boys. Even my 14 y/o niece was chasing us down black runs, in and out of the trees, in the hip-deep powder. Sometimes all you could see was her pink helmet!

Unfortunately, the blizzard hit right before my weekly commute to the Denver airport and to listen to the news—it sounded like the airport was going to be buried (of course the news always exaggerates). Fearing the worst, and with the highway that I normally travel already closed, I cut my day of skiing short and hit the road the day before my flight. My regular 3 hour drive was only 5, which isn’t bad considering it was a blizzard and I had to drive around the long way because of the road closures.

I rarely fly on the same day as I speak somewhere—it’s a little too nerve wracking for me and plus, it pretty much takes me 8-10 hours to get anywhere. But since I didn’t have to speak until 5:30p on Friday, and I was only going to west Arkansas, I thought I could make it work. Little did I know there would be a blizzard—the first time this year weather has impeded my travel. The drive to the airport was a little harry through Denver, with about 10” new snow, but I had plenty of time since I had stayed with my friend in Denver. Driving on five lanes of interstate with traffic but no visible lines is interesting. Fortunately everyone stayed in line and drove sanely. But the airport was dragging a little and although we boarded the flight almost on time, we sat on the tarmac for an hour before takeoff.

Although I was a couple hours later than planned, I made it in time! The U of AR Horse Fest, an annual event in Fayetteville, has a training clinic on Friday night, then a fun family day on Saturday. Unfortunately, that dang blizzard chased me all the way to AR and it rained and snowed all Friday and Saturday. Although the turnout was a little low and all the many outdoor events had to be cancelled, the folks that were there were enthusiastic and had a great time.

I have a quick turn around this week, with only two day at home before I head out to Ohio for Equine Affaire. Then from there, to SC to film the TV show. It’s a packing nightmare!

Enjoy the ride!

Julie

Toddlers in the Saddle

Good Day!

I’m on my way home from an overnight trip to Baltimore, where I was the guest speaker, thanks to Nutramax Labs,  at a customer appreciation dinner and lecture for a chain of feed/tack/garden stores called The Mill. We had a sold-out crowd of about 450 in attendance and I gave about a 90 minute talk on horse behavior, called “Inside the Horse’s Mind.” They were smart to take the other speaker off the agenda—I guess they heard I have a tendency to talk too much. As much as I try to cut my talks down to an hour, when it comes to my favorite subject, horse behavior, I have a hard time stopping.

I’ve mentioned before that I have a long, but beautiful drive to the airport—175 miles through mountains and valleys. In addition to the wonderful mountain vistas, I always see deer, elk, antelope, hawks and owls, coyotes and foxes, cattle and horses. This time I saw an idyllic but disturbing scene that gave me a flashback to the days when my son, Hunter, (now almost 22) was just a toddler.

About halfway on my drive, there is a roping arena and barn, which are situated right next to the highway, below the road so you have a good view of the arena. I’ve never seen anyone riding in the arena or even any tracks that indicate someone rode in it earlier. But this day, I was surprised to see a youngster riding on a shaggy old pony, with mom mounted on her trusted steed riding right behind—both mom and trusted steed keeping an eagle eye on the pony and its precious passenger. It took me back about 18 years.

When my son Hunter was born, I, like every other horse crazy parent in the world, SO wanted him to be a rider. However, I learned in subsequent years, as many parents before me and since have learned—all the wanting in the world won’t make it happen. Your kid is either into horses or not. Pushing and prodding and pressure will not make it happen and will likely make it worse; causing the child to resent horses or worse, be afraid of them. Do you know what I mean?

Hunter is a true animal lover and I know he gets that from me. But he doesn’t love horses any more than any other animal. He always took great care of our horses, did his chores religiously and was interested in horses and riding, just not passionate about it. And as most of us know, this is way too hard a sport to be involved in if you aren’t passionate about it. From the time Hunter was two weeks old, he went to the barn with me every day. At first it was easy—put the baby swing out in front of the arena and get on with it. Later when he became mobile, it was a little harder, but he adapted well to being the son of a horse trainer and very early on learned the meaning of “green horse.” That means, don’t throw rocks on the metal roof of the barn, don’t run and shout and don’t ride your bike up to the hitching rail.

By the time Hunter was 3-4years old, I had made the decision that, in an effort to encourage his love of riding, I would always take the time to saddle a horse for him and take him on a ride any time he expressed interest, no matter how many colts I needed to ride or lessons I needed to teach. Funny how things work—ironically, Hunter’s best friend, Darby, whose parents did not own horses, was TOTALLY into the horses and so for the most part, the only time Hunter wanted to ride was when Darby was visiting. So ride we did, with Hunter on his trusted (but stubborn) Shetland/Welsh pony and Darby on whatever gentle trail horse we had, my assistant in the lead and me in the drag, keeping an eagle eye on the boys.

Even now, recalling the gleeful giggles and chit chat of the boys as they rode brings a smile to my face. Their favorite game was Lonesome Dove and they’d start the ride with Hunter saying, “Darby, you be Capt. Call and I’ll be Gus.” Little did he know then that he was acting out the adventures of his great-great uncle, Charlie Goodnight—famous Texas Ranger and inspiration for one of the main characters in Lonesome Dove. We had some great rides together and although riding never blossomed into a passion for Hunter, at least I can say I gave him the opportunity. That’s the best we can do as parents, right?

But as I drove to the airport and spotted the old pony, after my initial flashback and fond memories, one thing really struck me. The kid did not have a helmet on. Huh. My astonishment was quickly squelched by the recollection that Hunter never rode in a helmet either. To be honest, I never really thought about it. I grew up riding without a helmet and I didn’t wear one then, so I guess it was understandable that I didn’t have one for my son. But I know better now and if I could start over again today with a toddler (heaven forbid!), I’d definitely put a helmet on his head.

With the recent death of Natasha Richardson from a mild head injury suffered while taking a beginner’s ski lesson, the wearing of helmets is a debate that is reinvigorated. Just falling from standing up to the ground can cause enough of a head injury to kill you. That is why, in EMS protocol, a fall from one-time your body height is considered lethal until proven different. So put a little kid up on a horse—raising him well above one-time his body height—and the risk of a fatal head injury increases dramatically. Add to that the unpredictable nature of horses and, well, you get the picture. Knowing what I know now, I’d definitely put my son in a helmet to ride.

Riding is not really a good activity for very young children because they don’t have the strength and wherewithal to control a big animal. 7-8 years old is when kids start getting a good age to start ride. But most of us horse-loving parents cannot wait that long; and  started as a toddler and lived to tell about it. So if you put a young child on a horse, you have to mitigate the safety issues as best you can—always put a helmet on their head (an equestrian helmet made for youngsters) and always maintain control of the horse by leading or ponying. A side-walker is a good idea for very young children.

What about you? Did you start you kids riding young? Were you paranoid about their safety or did you just go about it as a normal activity, like the mom I saw on the way to the airport? And were you lucky enough to convert your kid into a horse-crazy kid who lives to ride? And if so, was it a girl? It appears to me that greatly increases the odds!

All the best,

Julie

I Feel About My Saddle Like I Do My Pillow

Good Day!

One of the best things about travelling is getting home and sleeping in your own bed. Although, I must admit, that most of the beds I sleep in on my travels are as nice as our bed at home, because of the current “added value” trends at business class hotels. What a great marketing strategy for business travelers! For many road warriors, the beds at the hotels may be better than their bed at home. Some even offer a “pillow menu”, but nothing can replace the comforting feel of your face on your very own pillow.

I do not take my pillow with me on most of my business trips (because my suitcases are stuffed full of product and there is no room), but I do carry my saddle almost everywhere I go. Do you carry a pillow hen you travel? My dad takes his because he doesn’t want to sleep on a pillow someone else has drooled on. Good point Dad!

Just as your face craves the feel and shape of your own pillow, my bottom-side and legs feel that way about my saddle. I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately because I did NOT take my saddle with me this past weekend and my bottom-side is complaining about it. Since I was only going for one day, and since lugging a 50# saddle bag through airports and expo halls is not exactly a piece of cake, I left my saddle at home.

Although the saddle I rode in for three hours on Sunday was very nice, a Circle Y trail saddle, it was much too big for me, both in width and length. Combined with the fact that the horse I rode was quite lazy and not used to having to work in an arena, let alone demonstrate collection and lateral movements, my seat and legs got a tough workout. It made both my muscles and seat bones sore.

I was very happy to come home yesterday and ride in the familiar comfort of my own saddle. I am actually pretty spoiled when it comes to saddles. For instance, I have one saddle for traveling (which stays packed up most of the time) and one I ride in at home (both Circle Ys), in addition to many other fine saddles that I have accumulated over the years. Another thing I learned from my dad is to never sell your best horse and never sell your good saddles. I have sold a lot of “best horses” in my life, since that is part of how I make my living, but I tend to hang onto the good saddles—some of which were passed on from my dad.

Some of our saddles have been relegated to adorn the living room, leaving more room for the working tack in the barn. And believe me, the living room saddles are way cleaner than our working saddles! I have a hard time getting rid of tack—even broken stuff (of which there is plenty after 30 years of training horses). It’s funny, because I am really good at cleaning out clutter and junk from my house, but not from the tack room. Do you accumulate tack or do you get rid of the old when you bring in the new?

I’ve been trying to get my tack room reorganized little by little and work my way through spring cleaning. A couple weeks ago I threw away some medicines that expired in the 80s. No kidding! And a bag of beet pulp that I estimated was 5-7 years old. It felt good to get stuff cleaned out. But I still have my trunk full of broken stuff.

Do you clean out your tack room in the spring? Or ever? I’ve always loved tack rooms and I always peak in them at every barn I go to. You see a lot of interesting stuff that way and invariably some good ideas!

Until next time,

Julie

For training tips from Julie, visit the Training Library at http://juliegoodnight.com/q&a.php and check out her online store--full of training tools and DVDs-- at http://juliegoodnight.com/products.html

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Expo

Greetings from Nebraska!

I’ve been here in Lincoln since last night, for a one-day appearance at the Nebraska Horse Expo. It was a busy, but great day and I did three presentations (total of four hours), which is a lot for one day, but fun and worthwhile. I met a lot of really nice people and had a good time. But coming to an expo for one day is weird for me. On the upside, I am not totally exhausted on a Sunday night. On the downside, I never really got a chance to look around, talk to the vendors or even get my bearings.

Although many people may think I lead a glamorous and adventurous life, really my life is pretty routine. I get home on Monday, work in the office and ride Tue-Wed and sometimes Thursday; then I head to the airport for a trip to somewhere for a weekend “gig”. I have packing down to a science but everywhere I go I take three very heavy large suitcases full of gear and products. Once my bags are checked, I am travelling pretty light with my briefcase slung over my shoulder and my hat box in my hand.

Part of my “uniform” is my cowboy hat. In fact, you’d be surprised how few people will even recognize me if I don’t have my hat on. If I want to be incognito, all I have to do is go hatless with my hair down—and NO one recognizes me. It’s a funny thing, but I guess we all tend to register things, or a “look” in our minds and associate that with the person. No kidding. I’ve had people that I thought knew me pretty well look at me as if I were a total stranger if I don’t have on my hat or the rest of the “uniform” (boots, button-down, starched jeans).

Since I prefer to travel in casual clothes, I always carry my hat in a hat box. Because if I wear it, then I have to dress appropriately—there’s nothing goofier than seeing someone wearing a cowboy hat and tennis shoes. Beside, if I wear it, I have to put it in a overhead bin during the fight and then my precious hat is very vulnerable to people cramming and jamming all their stuff in there. So the best solution is to carry my hat in a protective box, which is shaped similar to a case that you might put a French horn in.

On my very first trip with the hat box, I noticed all the curious stares of passersby and I have witnessed it ever since. Most people look at the curious case and can’t help but wonder, “what the heck is in there?” I get a kick out of watching the look on people’s faces and seeing the almost undeniable urge to ask. Invariably, in every trip that I make, eventually someone will have the nerve to ask, “what’s in there?” I’ve had guesses ranging from a cat to an organ-translpant carrier, and everything in-between. I have never made a trip carrying my hat box where at least one person couldn’t stand it and had to ask. But on this trip, the curiosity took a hilarious turn.

After going through security at Denver International, I got on the train, headed for the B terminal where my plane awaited. The train was not crowded, but there were a number of people comfortably gathered around at my end of the car. A young woman, a few people away from me was staring at my hat box with indeniable curiosity and she couldn’t resist asking. With the train totally quiet, she asked, loudly, so everyone around her heard, “What’s in the box, a turtle?”

I am not sure what came over me; I guess I thought she was joking, so I said, “Yep, it’s a turtle.” And we both chuckled politely, while everyone else around me looked down at the hat box sitting on the floor of the train between my feet.

Then she said, “You know, I’ve seen people take dogs and cats on a plane, but I’ve never heard of anyone bringing a turtle.” It was then that I realized that she, and everyone else around us, believed I actually had a live turtle in there.

So of course, I agreed, “Yes, it’s not very common at all.”

To which she replied, “Does he travel well?”

“Yes, he travels quite well. At least he doesn’t make any noise.”

At that point, we had everyone’s complete attention in our end of the train and the woman next to me, a flight attendant, turned to me and said with all seriousness, “What kind of turtle is it?” At this point, I couldn’t take it anymore and I burst out laughing. I felt bad for embarrassing the flight attendant—but you would think she, of all people, might know that people don’t carry turtles onto planes.

I finally admitted that it was indeed NOT a turtle, but a cowboy hat. Then one woman said, “Well, I wondered about that because I couldn’t see any air holes.” To which the first woman, who guessed that it was a turtle to begin with, felt compelled to defend herself and said, “Well, I noticed there weren’t any air holes that I could see, but I thought maybe they were on the other side.” Then the discussion deterirated to the various sizes of turtles and what if it were a snapping turtle.

This whole interchange made my day and I still can’t help but laugh out loud every time I think about it. I’ll remember this interchange for some time to come. And now I know exactly what my response will be from now on when someone musters up the courage to ask what’s in my hat box. Next thing you know, I’ll be known as the Turtle Whisperer.

I hope my journey through the airport tomorrow is half as entertaining.

Until next time,

Julie

My first clinic of the year!

Greetings!

I’ve been running all over the country with a horsemanship clinic in Massachusetts last weekend and a lecture in Denver Monday night. Both events were well-attended and very successful! If this economy is slowing down horse people, I’ve yet to see it.

We had a full house at my first clinic of the year in the Berkshire mountains. It’s a beautiful part of the country, although it’s hard for me to think of them as mountains. Something about being surrounded by 14,000’ peaks at home makes me think of them as foothills. The Berkshire Equestrian Center is a beautiful indoor facility and a perfect spot for a clinic. http://berkshireequestriancenter.com/ . there’s a lovely country inn on the property with exquisite accommodations and gourmet breakfast. Some of the clinic participants stayed there with me and it was fun to spend some casual time with them at dinner and breakfast. http://www.innatrichmond.com/

We had a house full of spectators to watch 15 horses and riders and there was a lot to see! Most of the horses were pretty fresh, after not being ridden much over the winter. But by the end of the clinic, they were all perfect angels! We had an abundance of “witchy” mares (spell that with a B) who had never learned the rules about riding in a group—absolutely no herd behaviors or gestures allowed. No kicking, no biting, no pinning ears or threatening other horses in anyway. This is a fundamental rule that all horses should learn at the youngest age. I’ve written about this in my blog before and we’ve even done a TV show on it. It is a really important protocol because it relates to human safety.

Quite a few horses really benefitted from the ground work during the clinic and learning to control their tempers and impulsiveness. And as always, the riders made great progress in improving their riding and gaining better control of their horses. It was a great weekend and although I was thoroughly exhausted by Sunday night, I really had fun. I look forward to going back to BEC in August. That clinic will be full soon so if you have plans to register, do it right away.

On my way home on Monday, I made a detour to Brighton CO (just north of Denver) to one of our best tack store in the state, Brighton Saddlery http://brightonsaddlery.com/ . It was their annual Horse Owner’s Workshop, a free event sponsored by Purina, and I did a talk on horse behavior, my favorite subject, to a packed house. The Power Point presentation, called “A Part of the Herd,” was complete with incredible photography by Heidi Nyland http://wholepicture.org/ and video clips from Horse Master. I had fun and I think the audience enjoyed the presentation as well as the incredible food that was served.

This weekend I head to Lincoln Nebraska for the NE Horse Expo—Sunday only. I’ll be filling in for my friend Ken McNabb so he can go to the Road to the Horse to cheer on his mentor, John Lyons. I am sad to be missing the Rocky Mountain Horse Expo this year, for the first time since it began over 15 years ago. But maybe I’ll be back next year.

My next horsemanship clinic is near Topeka, Kansas, April 18-19, and I am looking forward to it being every bit as successful as the MA clinic. Maybe by then the horses won’t be quite as fresh. It’s fun to be able to work with horses and riders individually, like I can at clinics, to help them resolve their individual issues and progress. There’s still room in many clinics, so I hope I’ll see you and your horse at one!

Enjoy the ride!

Julie

English to Western

Good Day!

Today on Horse Master, the episode “Turning to Western” is airing in an encore presentation. It features a young rider from Martha’s Vineyard who bought a horse from me a couple years ago—a finished reiner—who she promptly turned into an English horse. He’s a big, scopey horse (much too big to rein) and he has a real Hunter type look to him, so it wasn’t a really big leap.

The episode is about her learning how to ride this horse western so that she can broaden her experience and take advantage of the really well-trained horse that she has. Since the show is so limited in time, we always have to narrow down the topic, and since her horse was a good spinner, we focused on that. Lily is a serious student of riding and quite talented and she took to it right away. Almost immediately, they were spinning beautifully. It sure does help to have a push-button horse when you are learning new skills! In fact, they made the cover of America’s Horse back in January!

One of the most challenging things I ever did in my riding career was switch from English to western riding. There’s a lot of misconception out there that western is easier than English, and in some regards, that’s true. The western saddle definitely gives you more support and knowing that the horn is there for you to grab when things get rough is sometimes a real confidence booster. But what was difficult for me, was learning how to let go of my horse and allow him to carry himself without interference from the reins.

After years of riding English (about 15) and then riding on the race track through college, I had learned to ride with a LOT of contact. I was never a heavy-handed rider, but I was reliant on the contact. Like many riders I talk to today, I thought the horse was reliant on the rider to be rounded and collected, to stop and turn as needed and to perform certain maneuvers. One thing that really attracted me to the western disciplines was watching horses work beautiful with seemingly no rein contact. Imagine a horse that would respond to your seat and legs! But getting myself to actually let go of those reins took some time and concentration.

It took about two years of steady work and concentration, before I could ride a horse well on a loose rein. And then, how my horizons expanded! Since then I’ve come to realize that almost everything we ask of our horse, he is capable of as a natural movement. Take collection, for example. It is a natural behavior of horses and it is known as “prideful” behavior. You’ve all seen it, when your horse arches his neck and struts his stuff in the turnout pen. If he can do it on his own, then he is not reliant on the rider to hold himself in a collected frame—only to tell him when to do it and when to stop.

To me, it’s important to teach a horse self-carriage; whether he’s an English horse or western. Once he does what I ask, he should find a release and should hold that maneuver until I cue him to do something different, like stop. I talked a little about that in this episode, if I recall. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, more behavioral problems in horses are caused by too much contact and not enough release, rather than the other way around. There is a time and a place for everything and I think it is important to learn to ride your horse both on and off contact.

Thank you for all the great comments on my last post. It’s pretty interesting to hear how you see your life unfolding in the next 10 years and I agree whole-heartedly with everything that’s been said so far.

On a sad note, today we learned of the sudden and tragic death of the father of a boy who was in one of our shows last year—Zeke and his rude little pony. I know from what Zeke showed me at the shoot that he has the strength, courage and heart to survive this terrible loss and that he will be okay. But my heart aches for him. I hope he can turn to his pony and cry on her shoulder—I know I have used my horses for this kind of therapy in the past. It is a reminder that life is tentative and we have to live everyday to the fullest and be sure to tell our loved ones how much they mean to us every day.

Until next time,

Julie

For training tips from Julie, visit the Training Library at http://juliegoodnight.com/q&a.php and check out her online store--full of training tools and DVDs-- at http://juliegoodnight.com/products.html

What Does the Future Hold?

Greetings!

I am here in Boise ID for the Horse Affairs expo. There’s been a good crowd here this weekend and although spending is down a little, there’s no shortage of enthusiasm for all things horses. There are several good clinic9ians here and a great educational program, as well as some good entertainment.

It was very fun for me this weekend to finally meet a person that I have admired from afar for the past couple decades—Juli Thorson, from Horse & Rider magazine. You have no doubt read some of Juli’s articles in various horse publications in the past; I have always followed her work and enjoyed her insights about the horse industry. We had a nice dinner Friday night with Stacey and Jesse Westfall and Charles and Anne Wilhelm. It was fun to swap stories about the crazy funny things that have happened at expos and clinics and to laugh at each other’s tales.

Yesterday, Juli Thorson, Richard Shrake and I had a very thought-provoking discussion about where we are headed in the horse industry in the next ten years. How will the recession and the unwanted horse issue, combined with the subsequent kabosh on the breeding industry affect the horse population ten years down the road? What about the move away from the show ring and toward trail and recreational riding? And what will happen when us baby boomers have moved along to more docile endeavors, who will fuel the horse industry then? These are all real concerns and important factors that will influence the shape of our industry in the future. I just wish I had a crystal ball.

Where do you see yourself ten years from now as it relates to horses? What about this summer—will the economy affect the plans you’ll make with your horses? I’ll be cutting back a little on the competitions I attend this year, but not because of the economy—because I have a fuller travel schedule this year and am doing more clinics. I am optimistic that it’s going to be a good year and if our clinic registrations are any indication, it’s going to be a busy summer!

I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Enjoy the ride!

Julie

For training tips from Julie, visit the Training Library at http://juliegoodnight.com/q&a.php and check out her online store--full of training tools and DVDs-- at http://juliegoodnight.com/products.html

Watch and Learn

Greetings!

Today is a travel day for me—and they are never particularly easy. For one thing, I have to leave five hours before my flight because of a three hour, 175 mile drive to the airport (and sometimes in the winter the drive-time doubles). Then there are the three 65# plus bags that go everywhere with me (my beloved saddle, clothes and gear, and products). That’s pretty easy to deal with on the Denver side with curb checking, but getting them to and into my rental car is always a chore. But my drive to the airport is a beautiful one—through the mountains the whole way—through the wild and scenic valley of South Park (yes, there really is such a place). Along the way I see lots of wildlife and many pastures full of horses. It’s amazing what you can observe and learn about horses just by looking at them.

I have spent my whole life observing horses, and I have learned a lot about them in the process. Sure, riding and training horses teaches you a lot but you can really learn about their behavior just by watching them interact with each other and just go about their daily lives. Our house literally sits right in the middle of the barnyard. Out the east window is the main barn; from the kitchen table you look south into the open-sided shedrow; from the living room picture window—looking to the west and the continental divide, we see the arena (and a few 14,000’ mountain peaks) and the on north side of the house is the indoor arena. I’ll never grow tired of looking out my windows and watching horses.

One thing I observed when we first moved here, some 15 years ago, was that the horses in the shedrow would always be in position to catch the very first rays of sunlight every sunny morning during the winter. It is clear that they know exactly where to stand because it hits in a different spot in each of the five pens and the horses will always be standing right in that spot. Horses are well-equipped to deal with all kinds of adverse weather, and one sign of their amazing adaptability is their ability to take advantage of solar heating.

This morning was not that cold for mid-winter—about 16 degrees. But as I headed down the road to Denver, just after the sun was up, I saw several pastures of horses where they were all lined up—perfectly abreast to the first rays of sunlight. Often people ask me, “What do you do with your horses in the winter?” Thinking that living in the harsh climate that we do that the horses must be locked away in a heated barn wrapped snugly in their blankies. But the truth is, most horses in our area are in the exact same housing in the winter as they are in the summer—out in the pasture. The horse’s ability to adapt to its climate is incredible and it is one reason why they have managed to survive and flourish all over the world.

BTW- there’s some interesting information about how horses evolved simultaneously all over the world and how where they evolved dictated their type (which later turned into breeds), in a book on behavior called “Equine Behaviour” by Daniel Mills. It is one of my favorite books on behavior and you can find it easily on Amazon.

Our horses, as I’ve mentioned before, do in fact wear blankets in the winter—but it is for our own convenience, not theirs. We like their coats as short as possible because we ride indoors and otherwise they sweat too much. But even in their blankies, they are standing to take advantage of the first rays of sun each morning. I feel fortunate to have lived with horses all of my life and it’s amazing how much I have learned from just hanging out with them and observing. I spent my childhood doing this—the horses were my best friends and sometimes my only friends and from my tree house in the pasture, I could see a lot.

Soon, I’ll be landing in Boise and I’ll start lugging suitcases. If you are in Idaho and happen to come by the expo, let me know you are a follower of my blog by saying, “Did you see any good horse behavior today?” As I write, it’s hard to imagine who actually reads this blog, but I have been surprised before by people saying, “Yeah, I read that in your blog.” I am reminded of the man who came up to me at an expo and asked me what color my toenails were after I had written about having my first pedicure! Thanks for reading.

Enjoy the ride!

Julie

For training tips from Julie, visit the Training Library at http://juliegoodnight.com/q&a.php and check out her online store--full of training tools and DVDs-- at http://juliegoodnight.com/products.html

Headed for the Beach!

Good day!

The warm sunny beach sounds great right now—beats the heck out of the 35 mile an hour wind and horizontal snow that I see outside my office window right now. But this week one of our most popular episodes of Horse Master is an encore airing that was filmed on a warm and sunny day at the beach of Martha’s Vineyard last summer.

It’s about a young event horse (combined training) that is a little spooky and resistant at times. In fact, earlier in the year he had bucked off his owner on a cross-country jump course and broken her collar bone. Since she was still not cleared to ride, I did all the riding on this horse during the filming and our goal was to get him into the ocean—tolerating the crashing surf—for the very first time. I figured if we could do that, she ought to be able to get him over just about any obstacle. And since she lives on the island, she wanted to be able to enjoy an occasional ride on the beach (who wouldn’t?).

But as we approached the ocean, the horse was already balking before we got close to the water. For a few moments, I wasn’t sure if I could get the horse anywhere near the surf. But I stuck with my plan, which was to keep the horse zigzagging back and forth, always turning him TOWARD the obstacle (which in this case was the ocean) and it wasn’t long before we were up to the water’s edge.

Getting his feet actually in the water took a little more convincing. You know how hard it is to get your toes in the cold water? What’s not obvious from watching the show is that the shoreline was actually pretty steeply sloped and the bottom dropped off quickly once you were in the water. There were a few times when both the horse and I were experiencing some vertigo as the waves were rushing out beneath us. You can tell in the show by watching for when the horse starts moving sideways with the receding waves. At one point we were in up to his belly and a big wave crashed right over the top of us. At another point he tried to jump over a wave and just by the skin of my teeth I was able to stay on—I really thought I was going for a swim that time. Unfortunately neither of those cuts made it into the show.

In most episodes of Horse Master, what you see on the show is most all of the training that occurred, but in some episodes, like this one, it takes a little longer to train the horse than we can show because of the time constraints, so some footage has to be cut. In this case, I doubt more than five minutes of actual training time was cut out. Surprisingly, I had the horse in the waves and tolerating it pretty well within a half an hour. It was a very fun ride and one of my favorite episodes to date.

I, like most people, have always harbored fantasies of riding on the beach. How about you? It was cool to be able to have an excuse to do it again. Martha’s Vineyard is one of the few places left where you can still ride on the beach and I hope to go back there someday for another ride—maybe this time it would be okay to ride a horse that was already accustomed to the surf!

Tomorrow I head to Boise ID for Horse Affairs; I think it will be a fun weekend. I’ve done this show several times in the past so I am sure I will see lots of familiar faces there. If you’re in the neighborhood, be sure to stop by and say hello!

All the best,

Julie

For training tips from Julie, visit the Training Library at http://juliegoodnight.com/q&a.php and check out her online store--full of training tools and DVDs-- at http://juliegoodnight.com/products.html

Regular Riding Routine

Greetings!

I am finally getting back on my horse and into a regular riding routine. The time off hasn’t hurt him at all. In fact, he’s put on weight, which is good and he’s gotten a little lazy—also good. Although it doesn’t really surprise me, but it always pleases me to know that my horse (like any well trained, well-tempered horse) can take an extended period of time off and then you can saddle him up and he’ll be as sharp as when he was in steady training. They really don’t forget. As one of my mentors in the business, renowned equine behaviorist Dr. Jim Heird, is fond of saying, a horse has the memory of an elephant, but the problem solving ability of an armadillo!

Winter riding in the indoor arena is a different pace and one that I enjoy—at least for a while. By the time spring hits the Rockies, I’ll be ready to be in the outdoor arena and covering more ground out on the trails. I like to do a lot of detail work during the winter. Lots of schooling exercises, pattern work, refining transitions and challenging obstacles. Today, I spent some time doing small circles at the collected trot with a counter-bend. I’ll start with a small circle right with the correct bend, then guide my horse onto a circle left while maintaining the bend to the right. After a few rounds to the right, we’ll switch to the left. This is a great exercise for body control and helps work my horse’s abdominal and back muscles.

I also did some work leg yielding, or two-tracking. Start at the walk if your horse is not moving off your leg well and come down the center line (the long line in the middle of your arena); while keeping his nose and body pointed straight ahead, ask him to move right—part sideways, part forward—by bringing your left rein in and up toward his withers (indirect rein in front of the withers), opening your right rein, pressing with your left seat bone and reaching back and pressing rhythmically with your left leg.  In the leg yield your horse is bent away from the direction of travel. Release the aids and go straight when you feel him move sideways, then ask again. Once you have your horse moving well off your aids at the walk, you can progress to the trot. This is a great exercise for lead changes, lead problems and just general responsiveness. For more on the indirect rein aids, see http://juliegoodnight.com/questionsNew.php?id=26.

I like to do some fun stuff too—not just collection and lateral movements, etc. Today we dragged the log all around the arena, going in the more challenging direction to the left and also dragging it backing up. It’s fun to see if you can maneuver the log into a specific position. If you’ve never dragged anything off your horse, start at the beginning just getting him used to ropes first then just dragging a rope. Then progress to something light weight—let him follow while someone else drags it, then put him in front and have someone drag it behind him. It’s not natural for a horse to be attached to something following him from behind and many horses will spook at this. So if you try this, be careful and work up to it slowly. But when you can drag stuff, your horse will be better broke. We like to drag all kinds of stuff like tarps, barrels, whatever we can find and can tie onto.

Then I dragged the tarp onto the ground and proceeded to walk and trot over it. That always makes me a little nervous because I think about what might happen if he got hung up on it and it started following him. Even though that’s never happened, for some reason I always picture it, whether it is me going over the tarp or I am watching someone else (mind pollution). But the good thing about riding a very broke horse is even if that happens, it’s not a big deal. For Dually, walking and trotting over the tarp doesn’t even raise an eyebrow (figuratively speaking).

Anyway, I thought I’d give you an idea of some things you might work on while your riding is limited—that is, if you’re in a cold climate like me. People are often asking me what to do in the arena— they get out there, do a little warm up and then can’t think of what to do. That’s why my audio CDs with mounted workouts are so popular. I’m getting ready to record new ones—one will be a fresh horse workout, the other will be a rider conditioning workout. What would you like to hear about in a mounted workout plan?

Until next time,

Julie

For training tips from Julie, visit the Training Library at http://juliegoodnight.com/q&a.php and check out her online store--full of training tools and DVDs-- at http://juliegoodnight.com/products.html

Bad Medicine

Good Day!

Another foot of new snow at our ski area (Monarch Mountain) has left me thinking a little more about skiing than riding today! But the sad truth is that I am so busy in my office that neither one looks like it will be happening. But the alternative, of not having enough work, is not a good thing either. So for now I am content to be busy writing articles, reviewing the editing of the TV show and catching up on general business.

This week on Horse Master is an episode featuring a very stubborn little horse who has learned to make a big fuss out of de-worming or any oral medications. He throws his head up in the air, pulls you off the ground and slams his head into you. He’s not opposed to running you over in the process either. Have you ever had a horse like this? Not fun to work with.

Basically what we did with this little guy was just break down the steps and train repetitiously at each step before moving on to the next one. First we taught him to drop his head on command; then we taught him to accept sticking our fingers in his mouth; then to open his mouth; then to accept the tube, etc. We used applesauce to squirt in his mouth when we got to that stage.

Although we made significant progress with this horse, not all problems can be solved in a half hour TV show! In fact, the more engrained a behavior is, the longer the horse has been acting that way and the longer he has had success, generally the longer it will take to fix it. In this case, the horse was older, maybe 17, and had been doing this forever. Think of it this way, if every time the horse threw his head up and got away from the medicine he scored a point, the score was probably 987 to 5 at this point. Now we have to score 982 points without him throwing his head up before the score is actually even—as if you were starting from scratch. Hence, the repetition.

It’s something to keep in mind as you train your horse. Remember, every time you work with a horse you are either training him or un-training him. And every time he gets away with something he scores a point. That’s why repeating the same thing over and over without success is not a good thing with horses. All you’re doing is engraining the wrong behavior. There’s lots of articles about this in the Training Library on my website, but this article on “Ask, Tell, Command” is a really important concept. http://juliegoodnight.com/questionsNew.php?id=237 .

We did see some improvement on this little horse during the short time we had with him while filming this episode, but most importantly, we left the barn manager, Mary Ann, with a training plan for how she would work with this horse over time to correct his bad behavior. What I remember most about this episodes was some of the behind-the-scenes stuff.

For reasons I don’t exactly remember, we had to do the intro part of the show, where she and I came walking out of the barn together, over and over—like 20 takes before we got it. It had something to do with bad sound quality I think. All I remember is walking out of the barn with Mary Ann, saying our intro remarks again and again. This is pretty unusual because almost all our scenes are shot straight through on the first take. When working with horses and training issues, you pretty much have to do it this way. You can’t just yell “cut” and ask the horse to do it again the same way. Horses with training issues present a unique challenge in filming a TV show!

Until next time,

Julie

For training tips from Julie, visit the Training Library at http://juliegoodnight.com/q&a.php and check out her online store--full of training tools and DVDs-- at http://juliegoodnight.com/products.html

Quick Horse Master Survey!

Copy and paste this quick survey into an e-mail to press@juliegoodnight.com during the month of February and you'll have a chance to win a copy of Julie's new Bit Basics DVD!

1: If you have a television, which do you have, satellite or cable TV? (satellite, cable, none/air waves only)

2: Do you have a DVR? (yes or no)

3: Do you watch Horse Master with Julie Goodnight? (yes or no)


4: If so, do you watch Horse Master live as it airs? (yes or no)


5: If you watch Horse master, do you watch it from a DVR recording? (yes or no)


6: How many times do you re-watch a Horse Master episode before deleting from your DVR? (1, 2, 3....or "I keep them forever")


7: What topics would you like to see covered on Horse Master?

Extreme Riding & Skiing

Greetings!

Today it’s cold and snowy here—a good day to be inside by the fire. There’s a big red fox curled up in the snow bank right outside my office and I’ve been watching him all afternoon. He doesn’t’ seem to be bothered by our dogs at all and they have not even noticed him. It’s great to live in the mountains where there’s still a lot of wildlife. Speaking of wild, our snowcat ski trip over the weekend was quite a wild ride!

Although there’s tons of new snow now, on Friday and Saturday, our days out on the cat in the backcountry, it hadn’t snowed in a week and with warm days and cold nights, the snow was quite challenging! The slopes are very steep out there in the back country but I managed to get down everything without embarrassing myself—actually I thought I did pretty well. We had an incredible amount of fun with Rich, my brother, and a few other good friends. Just being in the backcountry on the Continental Divide is an adventure all its own—you can see forever and everything is totally wild and pristine. Only 12 skiers plus two guides go out on the cat every day—into terrain larger than the ski area itself, where thousands of people are skiing. The Monarch Snow Cat Tours are highly coveted as some of the best skiing in Colorado and the cat sells out for the whole year, pretty early in the season. So you just have to be damn lucky to hit a powder day (not really that lucky when it snows 450” a year). We only missed the fresh powder by two days! Next year  maybe we’ll be a little luckier.

Speaking of extreme, I promised to tell you about the Extreme Cowboy Race (ECR) that I judged in California last weekend. Produced by Craig Cameron, my friend and well-known clinician and TV star, this event was not for the TV show but just a regular ECR competition, sponsored by Equine Affaire. It was held in an arena and the obstacles were all man-made, consisting of things like jumping barrels, pole bending, log drag, galloping around the arena, going over huge dirt mounds, through the “shower curtain”, backing through the narrow “L” made of corral panels, etc.

There were 36 competitors; 18 competed Thursday night; the other 18 Friday night; then the top 10 made it back to the finals on Saturday. It was timed, so the riders were flying around the course, but horsemanship was judged too. Good horsemanship and speed don’t always go together. A lot of riders sacrificed horsemanship for speed, which was not a good ideas since your HS scores were worth a lot more than your time.

Both nights of the preliminary rounds were a total mixture of horses and riders. There were one or two outstanding rides each night, a few more decent rides and quite a few rides that left the judges cringing. Steve Edwards, mule skinner extraordinaire, and I were the judges. Craig did the play-by-play. After the first night, Steve and I felt that there were only a few riders worthy of moving on to the finals, but we didn’t have any say-so other than filling out the score cards. The second night was close to the same with a few more decent riders. But I have to say, the 10 riders that made it into the finals were pretty impressive.

The finals course was quite a bit more challenging. All the obstacles were more difficult, the clincher being that you had to ride the second part of the course bareback, including two big jumps, the free gallop around the arena and the pole bending (which was really more like a slalom course). I am not sure if I could’ve done it, but I am sure I wouldn’t want to!

There were two strong crowd favorites and even though they didn’t make it into the top three in the finals, everyone loved them! One was a 74 year old man on a beautiful Appaloosa stallion. He was an incredible rider and his horse was awesome. And when he rode right by the bareback jumps and waved at the crowd, the crowd went wild! You get a lot smarter as you age, and he was smart enough to know those jumps were too big to be going over bareback!

The other crowd favorite was a 58 year old woman who had just recently recovered from hip surgery. Again, she was a lovely rider and her horse performed quite well. You could see as she ran across the finish line leading her horse (part of the course) that she had a hitch in her getalong but when she told Craig she had recently had a hip replaced, the crowd was totally impressed.

The winner was Mr. Cam Schryver, Director of the Thacher School Horse Program, on an incredible QH stallion named Sticks. They were absolutely poetry in motion and completely unbeatable. You can see pictures of Cam and his gorgeous horse here http://www.thacher.org/podium/default.aspx?t=204&id=xKgqGs7tc4A%3d. Cam is a 60 year old professional, a beautiful rider (I think he may have marked some 10s in horsemanship) and the national ECR champion. His horse was a machine—beautiful and correct and fast. He posted the fastest times AND the highest horsemanship score.

It was really fun to judge this event and although it made for some very long days (after 11 hours of trade show and doing presentations), it was fun to be a part of it.

Until next time, ride hard but ride safe!

Julie

For training tips from Julie, visit the Training Library at http://juliegoodnight.com/q&a.php and check out her online store--full of training tools and DVDs-- at http://juliegoodnight.com/products.html

A Busy Week!

Greetings!

It’s good to be home after a week on the road! Sunny CA was a pleasant break from winter weather but I was cramming and jamming so much, I hardly had time to enjoy it! I was attending Equine Affaire in Pomona and stayed busy Thursday through Sunday doing presentations, visiting people in the booth and judging the Extreme Cowboy Race at night. I had some wild rides, talked with some real characters and watched (judged) some really extreme riders.

On Thursday, I had the very first presentation of the event—not the greatest time slot, but someone had to do it. They like to put their headliners first and last to get people in the doors early and keep them all day. But in spite of the early hour, I had a decent crowd for my clinic on The Natural Ride. Equine Affaire provides me the horses I need to ride in my clinics and in this case,  I had a really interesting mount for myself.

His name was Chance, an 8 y/o QH and champion reining horse (sounds good so far, right?) up until last summer when he was diagnosed (through a MRI) with crippling Navicular Disease. After the owners spent more than $6,000 on diagnostic procedures, the recommendation was to euthanize the horse immediately—nothing could be done for him. But instead of following the vet’s advise, the owners gave the horse to Steve Karshner, http://www.navicular-founder-rehab.com/, a farrier specializing in founder and navicular rehab through natural hoof care. Chance’s death sentence was handed down in July and by September, after intensive treatments from Steve, the horse was serviceably sound and this is the horse I rode.

Apparently Steve did his job a little too well because Chance was not only sound, but totally full of himself, threatening to buck me off several times during the presentation. Without question, a horse sore in his front feet will not buck because then all his weight is on his front feet, so I know Chance was not hurting. Actually, he made the presentation a little more entertaining than I had planned with his antics. Believe me, it was quite a challenge to keep going with my talk while struggling to keep control of this horse. Steve and I figured out later that the horse was probably having flash backs to being shown, since the environment was much like a show with the announcer, grandstands and clapping crowds. No doubt his previous show experience was traumatic since he was probably hurting badly in his front feet for much of that time. So it’s no wonder he was acting out a little. Fortunately Chance settled down and in fact did not buck me off.

After a while I figured out that he only pitched his fits when headed toward the gate and as long as I kept him away from that end of the arena we did okay. But even though the crowd really got a kick out of it (they apparently thought it was a LOT funnier than I did), it did impact what I could do in my presentation, so I relieved Chance of his duties and got assigned a great little cutting mare to ride for the rest of the weekend, thanks to Kelly Baker, http://cowbiz.com/.

Also on Thursday, I was asked to do a TV interview, which of course I was pleased to do. The camera guy and director set up in front of my booth, I was miked up and the news person was in position and we were rolling. “Hello, I’m Chatty Cathy with Channel XYZ, and here at Equine Affaire with me is the famous horse trainer, Julie McKnight.” Cut. Fortunately it was being taped and not a live feed. She said, “what’s wrong?” Now, we were standing right in front of my booth, which has 18” high letters saying my name; so I just turned around and pointed. It was pretty funny and the crowd that had gathered to watch got another good laugh at me that day. So for the rest of the weekend, everyone was calling me Julie McKnight, a famous McTrainer and  teacher of McHorsemanship. Who knows, maybe this will start a whole new trend….

The Extreme Cowboy Race, produced by my good friend Craig Cameron, was an interesting three nights of wild rides. There’s enough fodder there for a whole new post, so I’ll leave that story for tomorrow.

Until then,

Julie

A Rising Star

Good Day!

Still reeling from last week’s shoot in Phoenix, it seems like ages since we filmed the show in Martha’s Vineyard, but those are the episodes that are playing now. Even though my mind is still processing the episodes we shot last week, I still remember the MVY shows well, especially this week’s episode.

It features Katelyn, a very young and very talented rider—at the tender age of 8, she is already an accomplished equestrian—showing hunter, pony club and dressage. Her goals are to ride in the Olympics one day and I have no doubt that she has the talent. I told her parents to forget saving for college—the horse she’ll need to take her to the Olympics will cost way more than four years of college!

But now she is riding a very nice, right-sized pony who, remarkably, is very sweet and dependable. They are just cute as a button together and at a level where she is primarily working on refinement. One thing I noticed was that Katelyn had to look down to see if she was on the correct diagonal—so that’s what we made the episode about—teaching her to FEEL her diagonals instead of looking (see my Training Library for more info on this topic).

Katelyn is showing primarily in equitation—as young riders should. And while you can get away with looking down for your diagonals in schooling shows, to make it in the highest levels, you need to feel them. Surprisingly, they are not hard to feel but sadly, most people are taught from the beginning to look. And looking always interferes with your feel because your mind will over-ride what you feel.

I’ve taught a lot of people to feel their diagonals and some of them get it right off the bat, while others have to practice for a while. What’s difficult is not feeling them, but rather posting at a given point. Most people just begin posting, then look to see if they are on the correct diagonal—so they are not posting at a certain time. These people have the most difficulty getting their diagonals by feel—they can feel the right time, but they have trouble posting at a given time. But all it takes is some dedicated practice. Katelyn had to practice but got it eventually.

One funny side note to this episode… Katelyn had a total melt-down right before we started filming her—tears and frustration and nothing could console her. That was not entirely unusual—especially with kids—because the pressure seems like a lot, but Katelyn is typically a very happy and cheery little girl. We have since learned that our “cast members” are feeling a lot of pressure at the beginning of their show. The first thing we do is film their “before” footage—where everyone on the set is watching them perform-- and then we go straight to the interview—which is just them staring at the camera and telling their story. It’s a really hard beginning. In fact, the rest of it is pretty easy because once I come in and take over, they only have to follow directions and I do most of the talking.

It didn’t take us long to get Katelyn straightened out, especially with the help of my multi-talented crew who soon had her laughing and chanting, “I’m cool, I’m cute, my horse does not need bute.” And it was on with the show!

I am on my way now to sunny CA for Equine Affaire. It’ll be a fun but hectic weekend and I look forward to seeing lots of familiar faces there, doing my presentations and judging the Extreme Cowboy Race on Sunday. Leaving single-digit temperatures behind this morning and arriving to 75degrees has its own appeal as well.

Enjoy the ride!

Julie

For training tips from Julie, visit the Training Library at http://juliegoodnight.com/q&a.php and check out her online store--full of training tools and DVDs-- at http://juliegoodnight.com/products.html

Six more episodes "in the can"

Greetings!

It’s been a very hectic week or so. I spent three days at the Western & English market show in Denver. It is one of the biggest market shows there is—a show where manufacturers and distributors sell goods at wholesale to tack stores and the like. It’s a bit overwhelming with all the products, from fashion apparel to tack to new and innovative products just coming on the scene. It’s fun but exhausting, and a great time to network with other professionals and see what’s new in the industry. It was nice to say hello to a fellow clinicians like Ken McNabb, Craig Cameron, Chris Cox and Stacey Westfall.

On Monday, we jumped a flight to Phoenix and Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday was spent filming six new episodes of Horse Master. It’s a very busy three days when we film. We start at first light and continue, with only a brief lunch break, until the sun sets and it’s too dark. Thankfully, we have an awesome crew—the regulars are Heidi (producer), Steve (videographer and editor), Cheryl (wardrobe) and T Cody (trainer that works with the riders in their practice sessions). We are also always dependent on a few volunteer “grips” (Hollywood slang for go-fors) and this time we had two local women that were absolutely incredible to work with—Vicky and Leanne. We always try to have fun while we are filming but it is still lots of hard work and long days and I appreciate the dedicated work of all the crew.

We had a great variety of subjects to film—Barbara, with a giant forward moving TB that she couldn’t stop; Andrea, with an OTTB (off-the-track Thoroughbred) who she was hoping to convert into a family horse; Mika, with a herd-bound QH mare that threw tantrums any time you separate her from her buddy; Beth, whose spooky young horse was afraid of everything, including the saddle; Devon, a young man with a half-Arab sport horse that had very explosive canter transitions; and Laurie, whose TB gelding wouldn’t load in a trailer (understatement).

I think all of the episodes turned out well. My two favorites were Devon and Laurie, because their horses made the most dramatic turnarounds. When I watched Devon as we filmed his “before” footage (the very first thing we do in each episode—this is the time when we decide what the issue really is) I could see the very obvious problem, but wasn’t sure what I could do for him. When Devon cued his horse, he would explode into the canter, sometimes bucking, always running off; then he would be nervous and jiggy and anticipating the cue. “Rocky” was a very handsome horse that they bought with the hopes of showing but his behavior made showing impossible and it wasn’t obvious to me what Devon was doing to cause this kind of reaction. I got on and rode Rocky and found the key to smooth transitions and amazingly, Devon was able to change the way he rode this horse right away and the results were tremendous. Both Devon and his mom were thrilled with the progress they made.

The trailer loading episode was pretty wild and I have sore muscles all over my body as a reminder. Turned out the horse had some ground manner issues (no surprise) and had learned the very nasty trick of rearing, snatching his nose away and running off, dragging behind him whoever happened to be holding the lead line (fondly referred to as dirt skiing). This issue was separate from the loading problem, but made loading difficult, if not downright impossible. I had to put a chain on his nose, over the rope halter, in order to gain the leverage I needed to keep control of him. Once we got that problem resolved, it was a short time before he was walking calmly in and out of the trailer. Again, the turnaround was very dramatic and I think we got some great footage.

As always, it’s good to be home again and I am enjoying a relaxing day on the couch, reading, catching up on emails, CNN on the tube and watching the snow storm up on the mountain. Maybe I’ll muster up the energy to unpack and do some laundry; on the other hand, maybe not. Life is good.

All the best,

Julie

For training tips from Julie, visit the Training Library at http://juliegoodnight.com/q&a.php and check out her online store--full of training tools and DVDs-- at http://juliegoodnight.com/products.html

East Meets West

Good Day!

I have started my final countdown today. I leave town early Friday morning for two back-to-back trips (what a way to start my travel year!). Normally packing is quick and easy for me, but back-to-back trips always makes it a little challenging, plus one trip is a shoot for Horse Master—and that is a major packing gig! Since each show requires two outfits, plus extra stuff for commercials and special projects, plus my saddle, bridles and gear I might need—it’s a packing night mare! Happily, the hardest stuff is done, thanks to assistance from my wardrobe wrangler, Cheryl.

It seems like forever since we filmed the episodes that are currently running—back in September at Martha’s Vineyard. When I think back on how much has changed in the past four months—gas prices, the election, the economy, the weather—it seems like a lifetime! But I remember filming this episode well, because it involves a horse I used to own.

I bought Jackson (known at AQHA as Quick Foxie Doc) in the summer of 06 in AZ. He was much a younger horse than I normally buy for resale, as a 6 y/o, but I was totally smitten with his solid gold temperament and his extensive training. He was also bigger than I prefer, but so pretty, a joy to ride and a perfect gentleman. I knew I’d find the perfect human for this horse, but little did I know it’d be a wisp of an 11 y/o girl and this NRHA money earning reiner would end up as far east as you can get and turn into a hunter.

It’s true, Jackson is built more like a hunter than a reiner, with his big scopey frame and his tall stature. When Lilly and her mother and grandmother came to look at horses, I had a barn full and she rode 4-5 different horses. Jackson was not the one I thought would be perfect for her, but I knew she wanted to try them all. Lilly was already a really good rider, so I knew she had the ability to handle any of the horses I had to offer—most of whom had been bought with beginners in mind. Really, what it boiled down to was chemistry and there was no doubt from the very first moment, that the chemistry was strong between Jackson and Lilly.

A year later, I end up in Martha’s Vineyard with Lilly and Jackson scheduled for one of the six episodes we were filming in three days. It was great to see them both and how beautifully their relationship had developed. Jackson will do anything for Lilly and he always takes good care of her. I was pleased to see how well he was going as an English horse—not really too surprised, since the foundation of reining training he had would take him anywhere.

I got on Jackson in Western tack, so see what it would take for him to remember his reining maneuvers—he was an awesome spinner with big stops. The spins were right there where I had left them, but the stops took a few reminders. Not surprising since no one had done anything similar to a spin with him, but they had been stopping him English, not Western, so the waters were a little murkier. At the end of the day, a well-trained horse will always remember his training, no matter how long it’s been. And if his training is not devolved, by spoiling him, scaring him or hurting him, it won’t take you long to find it.

If you don’t get to watch Lilly and Jackson on RFD this week, you can read all about them in America’s Horse this month. Check out my website for a link to that article.

Back to packing!

Julie

Goal Setting

Greetings!

I haven’t been riding much lately, have you? Between the holidays, tons of work to do in the office and the bitter winter weather, it’s been hard to get motivated. I have ridden one of my geldings for sale a few times, because I had some motivation for that, with a buyer coming to see him.

What I need is some motivation to ride my own horse. Once I am on him, I have plenty of motivation because he is a total blast to ride! It’s the suiting up and braving the cold and treacherous trip to the indoor that I have trouble psyching myself into. Especially if I have no pressing need to ride—like a clinic, show or expo to prepare for. It’s not like he needs the training--he’s very push-button and can stand for months and still be on the mark in his riding.

But when I have a goal looming in the future, it is an easy thing to get myself motivated to ride. This year, because of a hectic travel schedule, I don’t think I’ll be able to do any competing and it looks like I may only make it to one, or at best, two clinics with my husband this summer (hopefully he will not read this). So it looks like my horse may be destined to get fat and out of shape this year.

For now, it’s easy to make the excuse that it’s too cold (sometimes it is in January—once it’s in the zero range, we don’t ride for health reasons), too windy (a true concern when it is gusting to 30-40 mph as it does with some regularity here) or I’m too busy (like now with several deadlines hanging over my head)! Soon, both Rich and I will get antsy about riding and we’ll find the motivation. Maybe I’ll work on a new video with my horse for this summer or record more mounted workout audios.

This is my last of four weeks at home and I am going to take full advantage of it. As much as I love to travel, it’s always good to be home. Our new pup is growing up fast—she’s nearly doubled in size and she’s training up nicely and staying out of trouble for the most part and it’s been good to have time at home with her.

At the end of this week, I head to Denver for the Western/English Apparel and Equipment Market, then on to Arizona to film six new episodes of Horse Master; these are the first of nineteen trips I’ll make in the first half of this year. I’d better start packing!

Enjoy the ride,

Julie

A Wet and Wild Ride

Good Day!

I am so glad the holidays are over! Although I truly enjoy them, I am always happy to get back to work and back to a normal daily routine. And then there’s the post-holidays diet; I am even glad for that! As much as I enjoy all the delicious party food and drink, the Christmas cookies and the elaborate holiday meals, by the end of the holidays I feel so over-stuffed that it is nice to get back to simple meals and my exercise regimen.

Today on Horse Master, starts a series of all-new episodes, filmed at Martha’s Vineyard, that will run for the next six weeks. This week’s episode is called Wave Runner and it is one of my favorites. Partly because I got to do all the riding in this one and partly because we were at the beach. We took a young eventing horse named Poco, and introduced him to the surf for the very first time.

It’s one thing to cross still water and it’s a little harder to get a horse to cross running water, like in a stream. But at the ocean, when the waves are coming in and out—it’s a whole other story. The owner was recuperating from a broken collar bone, having been thrown from her horse earlier in the year, so she could not ride—leaving it all up to me. When I first approached the surf, I couldn’t even get within 50 feet of the water without him balking on me. For a moment, I thought I might not get him in at all.

Surprisingly, within about 10-15 minutes, I had his front feet in the water but he was shucking and jiving at every wave—leaping sideways and up in the air. Although there are some pretty wild scenes in the show, I am not sure the camera really conveyed the challenge of the ride. For one thing, the shore was very sloped, which doesn’t show too much on film. And the drop off once we were in the water was severe, so once I got his whole body in, we were suddenly up to his belly.

And then there was the vertigo—we both got it from the waves and sand moving in and out. I could tell that when I felt the vertigo, the horse was feeling it too because he would start walking sideways. With vertigo, you lose your perspective and are not really sure what direction you are moving. It’s a bit disconcerting.

Almost all the footage of this training session was included in the show—maybe 10-15 minutes were cut due to the time constraints. At one point, Poco jumped so hard that I thought I was going for a swim without him, but I managed somehow to stay on and keep going. Unfortunately, I think that part was cut.

By the time it was all said and done, I had Poco standing belly deep in the ocean with waves crashing into him and we were both soaking wet. It was one of the most fun times I’ve had on a horse in a long while. Although the horse was a big chicken, he tried really hard and finally sucked it up and went for it.

I hope you get to watch the show. A portion of the show is available for viewing at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQnChIArvas&feature=channel_page. This part shows him first entering the water and getting that first shock of wet toes. It wasn’t long after that he was completely in the surf. The show will air today at 5:30p EST, or you can set you DVR for one of the re-airs Thursday at 3:30a or Sunday at 1:30a EST.

Now I am headed out to the barn to give a lesson to the new owner of Luke! She’s so excited about her new horse and we want to make the most of her time here so that she can get to know him better. He’ll get on a van in a few days to head for the east coast and his new home in Massachusetts.

Until next time,

Julie

Back in the Saddle Again

Greetings!

Finally got on one of my own horses yesterday, for the first time in over a month. Although I ride a lot of horse when I am on the road, the time I get to spend with my own horses is very limited. Sadly, I didn’t get to ride my horse Dually, whom I haven’t been on in a month. Two trips out of town in December, plus the scramble for the holidays, just got in the way of my riding plans. Does that ever happen to you?

My brother and niece are here for the holidays and we’ve been enjoying lots of skiing at Monarch Mountain. The conditions are excellent and except for one day of frigid weather, we’ve had warm bluebird sky days like today. You can see for yourself at http://skimonarch.com/main/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=114 .

Rich and I only have five horses right now—the fewest I’ve had in decades. We each have our personal horses, Dually and Diggs, plus I have three horses for sale. Normally I like to have about six sale horses in my barn, but I haven’t been shopping for a while. I have two more old mares that are leased out to people that will pamper and love them until the need to retire and come back home.

I have two wonderful barn workers that keep my horses safe, fed, exercised, clean and comfortable for me seven days a week. Susan and Dianna take such great care of our horses that I can leave town 45 times a year without a moment’s concern for my horses. What a luxury! But due to circumstances outside our control, Dianna has been unable to ride for the past month.

It certainly doesn’t hurt the horses to have some time off-- all of whom are well trained and worked steadily throughout the year. Especially since we pulled their shoes a couple weeks ago. One of my stated goals with both our personal horses and our sale horses is that they can sit idle for months, then you can bring them in, saddle up and head out for the ride of your life. But until the horses actually go a month with no riding, you don’t really know for sure if they will get a case of the freshies.

Since Dianna has not been riding and since I have a buyer coming to look at horses next week, I knew I had to get some riding done. I went to the barn and saddled Luke http://juliegoodnight.com/horses/tequlo.html. He is the youngest horse I own, coming five. Most of the horses I buy for resale are about 10 years old—a minimum age in my mind for solid, reliable horses that I can sell to novice horse owners. But I fell in love with Luke’s temperament the first time I saw him—which is as solid gold as his color.

We’ve had Luke for four months now, which is about how long I like to keep a horse before finding its perfect rider. By then we’ve really gotten to know the horse and can be totally confident that there are no holes in his training. Luke has passed every test we’ve given him with flying colors and has shown himself to be a lovable and gentle horse who tries his guts out to please you. It was a good test to see how such a young horse would do after a month’s layoff. I only wish the buyer had been here to see it.

Luke had also never been ridden in the indoor arena, since up until the end of November we had beautiful weather here and Diana had been pounding the trails with him, since that was the weakest spot in his training (having been in two solid years of reining training). Although I have to say I was not surprised at how well Luke did, I can say it made me love him even more. He worked quietly and steadily from the first, only gawking once at our stuffed calf that hangs from the cutting machine (I can truly say that one gets 100% of the horses the first time they see it, because it looks like a dead calf). The tarp hanging on the fence made him a little uptight the first trip around but on the second pass, he boldly reached out and snuffed the tarp with his nose. Gotta love that!

We had a great ride. I sure do like this horse and I am excited about finding him the perfect human. Although he is gentle enough to promote as a beginner’s horse, I will not sell him to a beginner because he is too young. It would be as unfair to the horse as it would be to the beginner buyer. In my mind, Luke’s dream owner is an experienced rider—one who can appreciate a well-trained and responsive horse. A rider that wants to have a fun recreational horse to ride to church on Sundays, but who will also take advantage of his excellent training to progress their own riding skills. Luke is a finished reiner but he has excellent all-around potential. With his big scopey build and his gorgeous way of going, he would make a great English horse too, either hunter or dressage. So I hope to find someone who is looking for just this type of horse. I think I may have found the perfect match—we’ll see next week!

I’ll try to ride him again today, then maybe I can spare some time to get on my own horse later this week. Tonight is the big torch light parade and fireworks display up at the ski area; I haven’t missed that in the last 15 years (it’ll be Rich’s 32 year!), and in fact, I used to be in charge of it back when I worked winters at the ski area (that’s where Rich and I met). So I’ll head up there this afternoon and get some runs in with my brother and niece. We’ll toast the new year up on the mountain at about 7:30, then head down for a party in the neighborhood.

Wishing you a fun and safe new year’s eve, and a healthy and prosperous 2009.

Julie

Another White Christmas

Greetings!

We celebrated another mellow Christmas this year, same as usual. Rich got up early and went to work—he’s worked xmas day for the last 30 years or so (being in the ski business means the winter holidays are major crunch time). I got up a little late and fixed my traditional xmas breakfast: egg & ham cups, home-made sweet rolls and fresh fruit salad. Yum. This year I mixed it up a little and added potato pancakes—thanks to a recipe I saw on the Today show.

Normally I fix b’fast by myself then haul it all up to the ski area and Rich and I enjoy it in his office. This year, my son Hunter stopped by with his friend, so we ate it at home. Rich was SOL on the traditional xmas b’fast this year. After doing the barn chores and cleaning up a little, I headed up to the ski area and Rich and I had great fun skiing in some AWESOME conditions at Monarch Mountain. We always ski on Christmas and it makes for a fun day—especially with an abundance of fresh powder. POW! As we like to call it.

Today we are in full-blown blizzard conditions and they are forecasting 20-30 inches of snow for the  mountains. My brother and niece are driving up from New Mexico today in challenging weather. Almost every road between here and NM is closed, so they are having to take a circuitous route. But it will be worthwhile because tomorrow may be one of the best powder days of the year. They’ll be here for a week of skiing and we’ll be sure to have lots of fun—day and night.

Rich and I did not make much of xmas this year for ourselves. In fact, we agreed not to exchange presents and just focus our energy (and money) on all our loved ones. This really took a lot of pressure off both of us and I highly recommend it. After spending weeks trying to find a puppy for Rich’s December BD, I was pretty spent on trying to find a present for him. And we are really enjoying the puppy—most of the time. She’s well on her way to being house broke and so far the chewing damage is to a minimum. I expect the latter to change.

Tonight I will cook a Christmas dinner for our family and friends. Yes, it’s a day late, but who cares? I’m making Beef Wellington, twice baked potatoes and sautéed zucchini. Before you get too impressed, the beef wellington came from the Honey Baked Ham store, compliments of my sister.

The horses are hunkered down for the storm—glad to have their blankets on for a change. And just so you know, horses do not need to be blanketed here—they’ll do just fine in the winter coats mother nature gave them. We keep them blanketed strictly for our own convenience-- to keep their coats thinner and laying down so that we can ride indoors without lathering them up and so that the look better. People often ask me, “What do you do with your horses in the winter?” Simple answer: the same thing we do with them in the summer. But I have to say, between keeping water unfrozen and shoveling frozen poop—it ain’t that easy.

How about you? What do you do with your horses in the winter? Is your riding time restricted or even impossible? Is it actually nicer riding weather in the winter where you live?

Happy holidays!

Julie

For training tips from Julie, visit the Training Library at http://juliegoodnight.com/q&a.php and check out her online store--full of training tools and DVDs-- at http://juliegoodnight.com/products.html

Horse Master Online

Greetings from the frozen north!

Winter has arrived with a vengeance here in the “Heart of the Rockies” and we welcome the snow, but I could live without the single digit lows. The skiing’s great and right now that seems more appealing than riding. There’s something about highs in the teens that makes riding hard. To check out the webcam at our ski area, click here: http://skimonarch.com/main/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=114.

We’ve been working hard to upgrade the Horse Master website. We’ve uploaded clips from every episode on the website and there are also links to articles from my Training Library that relate to the topic of each episode. So even if you do not get RFD-TV, you can see what the show is about and maybe learn something about the training issues addressed in each show. Unfortunately we are not allowed to upload the entire episode, but there’s enough to see what the show is about. http://www.horsemaster.juliegoodnight.com/episodes.html

I cannot believe that Christmas is next week! I’ve been so busy with work that shopping and Christmas cards have eluded me. It dawned on me yesterday that if I hadn’t sent out cards by now, it was probably too late. Actually, it was a good realization because now I don’t have that task hanging over my head anymore—I just gave up for this year. Some years are like that for me and being out of town for a week in the middle of December definitely was a contributing factor. Does this ever happen to you or are you the type that does your cards before thanksgiving so they are ready to mail? Fortunately I had done a little xmas shopping in advance this year, so I don’t have much to go.

I spent most of my time and shopping energy this year looking for Rich’s BD present. I got him a beautiful puppy for his birthday, which was last week. I brought her home on Thursday and she is a real cutie—a Yellow (white) Lab. Although it was a fun surprise, he already had a name picked out for his future dog—Samantha—named after the awesome hero dog from the movie “I am Legend.”Although it is a lot of work having a 10 week old puppy in the house, we’ve been having a lot of fun with her and even