This weekend I had the ultimate privilege of participating in the Extreme Cowboy Race, clinic and demonstration. The event was hosted by the Stampede Board and was held during the Acreage & Lifestyle show. The clinic was led by world reknown and respected horseman and clinician, Craig Cameron; an incredible teacher that hails from Texas. Click on "Extreme Cowboy Race" (above) to learn more about Craig's amazing career and the Extreme Race.
I took Outback Jack and we were both so completely out of our league and comfort zone that I actually considered withdrawing from the clinic so as not to embarass myself and more importantly, put undue stress on Jack. I am so glad I didn't withdraw because we received amazing support and encouragement, not only from Craig Cameron, but from other participants. Because of that support, Jack and I are a far more confident team. It was truly only of the best horse experiences because of the people I rode with. They could have easily written me off and judged that I had no business being there but instead they were cheering and offering advice that helped us improve.
Our friends, Dave and Lisa, came down and took video coverage of our runs so if you are interested, check out the YouTube clip, located in the right hand column of the blog site under "Our Favourite U Tube Videos".
The participants ranged from professional trainers who ride full time; and riders who grew up riding and showing, to backyard keeners like me that muddle along with videos and magazines and juggle our riding schedule between jobs and family.
As good as Jack is, I believe that Jack's biggest problem has always been me and I really felt that more this weekend than ever. When I become unravelled, so does he. When I can stay calm and present in the moment, so does he.
Both we and our horses can achieve greater accomplishment through gentle persuasion and patient guidance. As intimidating as it can be, surround yourself with excellence and wisdom; but more importantly, be receptive to learning what others are willing to share.
Happy Spring!
Tovie and Outback Jack
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
2010 is off to a great start...
Hello all,
To our blog followers, I apologize for neglecting to post for awhile. I appreciate your interest and am grateful you have expressed your disappointment because it tells me you enjoy reading the blog. I promise to work harder at posting regular updates.
As you know, 2009 was a bit of a downer with the loss of so many wonderful four legged companions, but I am happy to report the "Boys" are fluffy and happy. We managed to get in quite a bit of riding over the holidays which was a nice change over last winter.
2010 is already off to a great start and we'll be "Horsing Around" more than ever. Lori Kovach, from the Calgary Board of Education, recently visited to review our program and check out the facility. Lori advised us today, they will be adding our program to their Continuing Education roster. While we didn't get the details sorted out in time to be published in their brochure, the course information will be posted on their web-site under Chinook Learning Services, so keep an eye out for that.
Our first course will run four Thursday's in May (excluding the Thursday before the long weekend). We will still be offering the private one-on-one sessions but for you social folks who enjoy learning in a group environment, this will be a great option.
Happy 2010!
Tovie, Gord, and the "Boys"
To our blog followers, I apologize for neglecting to post for awhile. I appreciate your interest and am grateful you have expressed your disappointment because it tells me you enjoy reading the blog. I promise to work harder at posting regular updates.
As you know, 2009 was a bit of a downer with the loss of so many wonderful four legged companions, but I am happy to report the "Boys" are fluffy and happy. We managed to get in quite a bit of riding over the holidays which was a nice change over last winter.
2010 is already off to a great start and we'll be "Horsing Around" more than ever. Lori Kovach, from the Calgary Board of Education, recently visited to review our program and check out the facility. Lori advised us today, they will be adding our program to their Continuing Education roster. While we didn't get the details sorted out in time to be published in their brochure, the course information will be posted on their web-site under Chinook Learning Services, so keep an eye out for that.
Our first course will run four Thursday's in May (excluding the Thursday before the long weekend). We will still be offering the private one-on-one sessions but for you social folks who enjoy learning in a group environment, this will be a great option.
Happy 2010!
Tovie, Gord, and the "Boys"
Monday, November 9, 2009
Continuous Learning
Many horse people will tell you that half the fun of being with horses is the opportunity for continuous learning. Every new situation and every new horse increases your knowledge base and improves your skill set. The more challenging the horses' temperment, the more that horse can teach you. When someone becomes stuck on a particular training method or tool, it can inhibit their growth. A particular tool or training method may work well for the horse you have today, but may not be as effective for the horse you have tomorrow.
My favourite analogy is the public school system. The system works well for the majority of students, and they do well; but what happens to more challenging students who don't excel, for whatever reason. In days gone by, these students were often labeled incorrigible, rebellious, lazy, or stupid. Thankfully, there are exceptional teachers who have explored unconventional teaching methods and tools to help those challenging students excel.
In the horse world, challenging horses are labeled because they can't be trained using conventional training methods and tools. All too often, these horses end up as neglected pasture ornaments or worse - shipped for slaughter.
Many of you may know the story of Nugget, our beautiful black horse that other trainers had labeled, "dangerous and unpredictable". During the three years since Nugget came to me, the only time I have ever encountered problems with Nugget is at clinics, when traditional trainers used methods that caused him to become angry and resistant.
Over the years I have participated in many clinics, taken lessons, studied countless hours of video, read anything I could get my hands on, and most importantly - practiced. Some of the folks who have directly or indirectly influenced my learning are; Linda Tellington-Jones' sister Robyn Hood, Alexandra Kurland, Ray Hunt, Clay Webster, Deb Ladaroute, Clinton Anderson, Jonathan Field, Lane Moore, and Nettie Barr. Some of these folks use more traditional methods and tools, while others have explored and shared, unconventional training methods and tools; all this learning has served the horses I interact with very well.
My wish is for you to remain open and have fun learning from horses!
Tovie
My favourite analogy is the public school system. The system works well for the majority of students, and they do well; but what happens to more challenging students who don't excel, for whatever reason. In days gone by, these students were often labeled incorrigible, rebellious, lazy, or stupid. Thankfully, there are exceptional teachers who have explored unconventional teaching methods and tools to help those challenging students excel.
In the horse world, challenging horses are labeled because they can't be trained using conventional training methods and tools. All too often, these horses end up as neglected pasture ornaments or worse - shipped for slaughter.
Many of you may know the story of Nugget, our beautiful black horse that other trainers had labeled, "dangerous and unpredictable". During the three years since Nugget came to me, the only time I have ever encountered problems with Nugget is at clinics, when traditional trainers used methods that caused him to become angry and resistant.
Over the years I have participated in many clinics, taken lessons, studied countless hours of video, read anything I could get my hands on, and most importantly - practiced. Some of the folks who have directly or indirectly influenced my learning are; Linda Tellington-Jones' sister Robyn Hood, Alexandra Kurland, Ray Hunt, Clay Webster, Deb Ladaroute, Clinton Anderson, Jonathan Field, Lane Moore, and Nettie Barr. Some of these folks use more traditional methods and tools, while others have explored and shared, unconventional training methods and tools; all this learning has served the horses I interact with very well.
My wish is for you to remain open and have fun learning from horses!
Tovie
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Peppy's Epitaph
Yesterday we said good-bye to Peppy San Poco (aka Peppy). We made the sad decision to put him down after a visit over the summer from Grant MacKinnon, the equine dentist. Grant advised that Peppy had simply run out of teeth, making it difficult to process his food efficiently. Despite supplemental daily feedings of senior's ration, it was nearly impossible to keep weight on Peppy. We decided that putting him through another cold winter would be selfish.
Gord bought Peppy as a 4 year old back in 1984 and rode him for 20 years. They rode many miles of mountain trails, many cattle drives, and paticipated several times in the Calgary Stampede Parade. In 1989, Peppy and Gord were awarded a trophy, for the Best Looking Horse in the entire parade. With his glorious copper coat and undeniable presence, Peppy was definitely a looker.
Peppy has always been the BOSS of our herd. I'm not sure if that was his choice, but for the other horses, he was the unequivical leader. Rarely did we witness Peppy do more than lay an ear back to another horse. He led the herd with dignity and fairness. He would permit the more submissive horses to share a meal with him and the other dominant horses wouldn't even try.
Dessa Hockly has written a terrific book entitled, "Is Your Horse A Rock Star". (<-- Click link to Dessa's web-site - it really is a fun read). After observing hundreds of horses, Dessa identified 8 different personality types and groups them together to help you identify your horses' personality type. She then goes on to describe each personality type by assigning them appropriate names (i.e. The Rock Star, The Sceptic, The Steady Eddy, etc). This is similar to what has been done by Briggs and Myers for people. Dessa then recommends handling and training methods that work best for that particular personality type. Appropriately, Peppy's personality is identified as "The Boss". Peppy was extremely Dominant, extremely Energetic, extremely Aloof, and extremely Afraid - DEAA and Dessa describes him perfectly in her book. She wrote, "The Boss takes life and his job seriously. Come along for the ride if you like. There will be times when you will do most of the work and they will be there to take more of the glory, even act like they did it all by themselves". For students of our program "Just Horsing Around", Peppy was the complete opposite of the type of horse a beginner should start with. This made him an excellent example of how "The Boss" reacts to life. Interestingly, after students had handled all the horses, I would ask them which horse they would like to purchase and many would say Peppy. Not only was he beautiful, his ground manners were impeccible and he was extremely sensitive and responsive, making him a joy to handle. You could think a change of direction and Peppy would comply whereas duller type horses say, "make me". But - Peppy also had a dark side. For years, Peppy's Aloofness made him difficult to catch and we would have to corner him in a coral away from the other horses. His Fearfulness would make him spooky, causing him to spin and bolt for home if I wasn't paying attention, his Dominance could lead to power strugges under saddle, and his Energy was often difficult to contain. Several years ago Kevin Pole suggested we ask him to gallop until he wanted to stop and then push him a little harder. After 45 minutes, Peppy showed no signs of slowing down and we were both drenched in sweat. All Kevin could say is, "he's got a big motor". Peppy's complicated personality could make him a challenging horse but he and Gord just seemed to work. Gord hunted with him, rode parades with him, and used him to gather cows. There seemed nothing Peppy wouldn't do for Gord. Peppy was very sensitive to cues, and such a beautifully smooth ride, that he always made Gord look good. Needless to say, Peppy was no beginner's horse but he was a wonderful leader of our herd and Gord had 23 good years with him.
Farewell Peppy.
No doubt, the "Boys" will miss having you as "The Boss".
Gord bought Peppy as a 4 year old back in 1984 and rode him for 20 years. They rode many miles of mountain trails, many cattle drives, and paticipated several times in the Calgary Stampede Parade. In 1989, Peppy and Gord were awarded a trophy, for the Best Looking Horse in the entire parade. With his glorious copper coat and undeniable presence, Peppy was definitely a looker.
Peppy has always been the BOSS of our herd. I'm not sure if that was his choice, but for the other horses, he was the unequivical leader. Rarely did we witness Peppy do more than lay an ear back to another horse. He led the herd with dignity and fairness. He would permit the more submissive horses to share a meal with him and the other dominant horses wouldn't even try.
Dessa Hockly has written a terrific book entitled, "Is Your Horse A Rock Star". (<-- Click link to Dessa's web-site - it really is a fun read). After observing hundreds of horses, Dessa identified 8 different personality types and groups them together to help you identify your horses' personality type. She then goes on to describe each personality type by assigning them appropriate names (i.e. The Rock Star, The Sceptic, The Steady Eddy, etc). This is similar to what has been done by Briggs and Myers for people. Dessa then recommends handling and training methods that work best for that particular personality type. Appropriately, Peppy's personality is identified as "The Boss". Peppy was extremely Dominant, extremely Energetic, extremely Aloof, and extremely Afraid - DEAA and Dessa describes him perfectly in her book. She wrote, "The Boss takes life and his job seriously. Come along for the ride if you like. There will be times when you will do most of the work and they will be there to take more of the glory, even act like they did it all by themselves". For students of our program "Just Horsing Around", Peppy was the complete opposite of the type of horse a beginner should start with. This made him an excellent example of how "The Boss" reacts to life. Interestingly, after students had handled all the horses, I would ask them which horse they would like to purchase and many would say Peppy. Not only was he beautiful, his ground manners were impeccible and he was extremely sensitive and responsive, making him a joy to handle. You could think a change of direction and Peppy would comply whereas duller type horses say, "make me". But - Peppy also had a dark side. For years, Peppy's Aloofness made him difficult to catch and we would have to corner him in a coral away from the other horses. His Fearfulness would make him spooky, causing him to spin and bolt for home if I wasn't paying attention, his Dominance could lead to power strugges under saddle, and his Energy was often difficult to contain. Several years ago Kevin Pole suggested we ask him to gallop until he wanted to stop and then push him a little harder. After 45 minutes, Peppy showed no signs of slowing down and we were both drenched in sweat. All Kevin could say is, "he's got a big motor". Peppy's complicated personality could make him a challenging horse but he and Gord just seemed to work. Gord hunted with him, rode parades with him, and used him to gather cows. There seemed nothing Peppy wouldn't do for Gord. Peppy was very sensitive to cues, and such a beautifully smooth ride, that he always made Gord look good. Needless to say, Peppy was no beginner's horse but he was a wonderful leader of our herd and Gord had 23 good years with him.
Farewell Peppy.
No doubt, the "Boys" will miss having you as "The Boss".
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Happy Ending
You may remember my blog in August, when students Linda and Tim bought their first horse and Daktoa tragically died just a few hours after they purchased her. The vet speculated that she may have had a heart defect. Even though she was a young horse, the stress of moving her was too much for her. Needless to say, Linda and Tim were devastated and never wanted to experience that pain again. They felt horse ownership was simply not meant to be for them.
However, once their grief began to subside, Linda found herself searching for horses on-line again and fell in love with a lovely paint mare. They have named her Miakoda - a Native American name that means “Power of the Moon”, short form of Koda means “friend”. She has the most beautiful blue eyes and white eyelashes and the sweetest personality. They brought her here to get a good start with her and we have had a lot of fun playing with her. Miakoda now thinks she is just one of the "boys".
Linda is finally starting to worry less about losing her and is really starting to enjoy her. I think Linda and Tim are going to have many years with Miakoda and we wish them all the best on their journey of horsemanship.
Big hug to Linda, Tim, and Miakoda.
Tovie, Gord, and the "Boys"
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
The Chair is Empty
Today, I am saying goodbye to our dear old German Shepherd, Shilo. Shilo was 11 years old and was diagnosed with lymphoma in July. Sadly, last week Shilo started to deteriorate and by Sunday, it was clear he was ready to go. Unfortunately, Gord was away fishing on the west coast so was only able to talk to Shilo over the phone. It was heartwarming to see Shilo's response to Gord's voice, even in his weakened state.
We have many wonderful memories of Shilo. He was a big beautiful boy - with a glorious sable coat. Shilo weighed in at whopping 115 lbs. and I loved to tease folks who met him for the first time by saying, "they were safe because Shilo had already eaten". He was the perfect dog - beautiful, friendly and kind. He got along well with other dogs and after we lost our other Shepherd, Sparkie, last year, his best friends became our cats, Clover and Brutus.
You are probably wondering about the title of this post. "The Chair" was an old recliner that was headed to dump after Gord bought himself a new leather recliner. Minutes after Gord set the old recliner out on the deck, Shilo claimed it as his "Chair".
I can't tell you how embarrassed I was by the condition of "The Chair", and often mentioned how glad I would be when it was gone - not really considering what that implied. Now, I would gladly keep that ugly old chair forever, if it meant that Shilo was still curled up in it. Seeing Shilo and the cats curled up together on "The Chair" always made us smile.
I came upon the following poem a couple days after losing Shilo - I hope you enjoy it.
Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.
There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together.
There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.
All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.
The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.
They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.
You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.
Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....
Author Unknown.
The affection and love Shilo gave us over the years, far out outweighs the pain of losing him.
Good-bye Shilo. You were a great dog and we'll miss you forever.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Tragic Horse Week
As with any endeavour, we have to take the bad with the good. While there is a ton of joy that comes from horse ownership, there is inevitably sadness. Two ladies that came here as students and subsequently became my friends, tragically lost their horses this past week.
Cindy had been leasing a lovely older mare named Macs, for a couple of years. Macs taught Cindy a lot and Cindy adored Macs, and cared for her as her own. Sadly Macs broke her leg last week and had to be euthanized.
Linda and Tim have been coming out for lessons and were getting excited about purchasing their first horse. A couple of weeks ago, we went out to look at a 6 year old mare they were interested in. Dakota was a beautiful Fjord X, with a lovely disposition. She had loads of experience from her days at Griffen Valley Ranch, and would have been a perfect first horse. Linda and Tim made the decision to buy her and took her out to their property in Sundre. Now, I haven't been able to speak to them because they don't have cell service out there. I only received a message from Tim saying that 4 days after they got her home, she died from tying up. The vet thought it may have been caused by the stress of moving her. Now Dakota was a hardy little horse so it is hard to imagine how such a thing could happen. Horses are moved regularly without adverse affect.
Any of us who have experienced the excitement of getting our first horse, can't imagine the loss Linda and Tim are feeling.
I also met the young lady they bought Dakota from. Kayla was selling Dakota out of necessity and was very emotional about parting with her. She truly loved Dakota and was very happy Linda and Tim bought her. I can only imagine her grief as well.
Big hugs to Cindy, Linda, Tim and Kayla
and farewell to the two wonderful horses they loved, Macs & Dakota
Cindy had been leasing a lovely older mare named Macs, for a couple of years. Macs taught Cindy a lot and Cindy adored Macs, and cared for her as her own. Sadly Macs broke her leg last week and had to be euthanized.
Linda and Tim have been coming out for lessons and were getting excited about purchasing their first horse. A couple of weeks ago, we went out to look at a 6 year old mare they were interested in. Dakota was a beautiful Fjord X, with a lovely disposition. She had loads of experience from her days at Griffen Valley Ranch, and would have been a perfect first horse. Linda and Tim made the decision to buy her and took her out to their property in Sundre. Now, I haven't been able to speak to them because they don't have cell service out there. I only received a message from Tim saying that 4 days after they got her home, she died from tying up. The vet thought it may have been caused by the stress of moving her. Now Dakota was a hardy little horse so it is hard to imagine how such a thing could happen. Horses are moved regularly without adverse affect.
Any of us who have experienced the excitement of getting our first horse, can't imagine the loss Linda and Tim are feeling.
I also met the young lady they bought Dakota from. Kayla was selling Dakota out of necessity and was very emotional about parting with her. She truly loved Dakota and was very happy Linda and Tim bought her. I can only imagine her grief as well.
Big hugs to Cindy, Linda, Tim and Kayla
and farewell to the two wonderful horses they loved, Macs & Dakota
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