Senior Horsemanship - Tips to Help Us Enjoy Better Years with Horses and More of Them

If you are fond of a horse and wish to do him a favor, train him well. Teach him good manners and good habits, both in the stable and under saddle. You need never worry about the future of such a horse if for any reason, you may have to part with him. You assure him of friends wherever he goes. Perhaps the greatest kindness you can do any horse is to educate him well.

This is a quote from Australian Horseman, Tom Roberts

Perhaps the most important aspect of better horsemanship in the second half of life is that you care enough to set up your horse for a happy future even if you can no longer care for her.

That’s where the quote from Tom Roberts comes in.  I remember the person on a clinician’s Facebook page saying in a proud way that she was the only person who could handle her horse. 

I remember another rider at my boarding barn who trained her Arabian in the arena at night by spraying aerosols at the horse — I guess there was a reason to encourage flightiness in the horse. 

I served as a volunteer groom at the National Horse Show many years ago and my sole function was to lead a horse to and from the arena. I found out later that the reason I was chosen for the job is that the horse sometimes reared when being led and I was much bigger and stronger than the horse’s rider.

Those horses were not being trained to assure them of friends wherever they go. They may have been trained to win in competition, but they were being trained to lose in life.

In the second half of life we cannot know if we will survive our horse or our horse will survive us. It may happen that we have to part with our horse because age or finances prevent us from continuing to care for him.  We need to use our horsemanship skills to prepare our horses for success with new owners.  We need to assure our horses of friends wherever they go in life.

When I use links to books, products and services in the podcast, some of those links might be referral links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I earn a small commission when you purchase something through those links, but you will not be charged more by using the links.

Please our website at Second Half Horsemanship!

The episode starts with this quote by Australian Horseman, Ross Jacobs, in his book, The Essence of Good Horsemanship.

“If we don’t substitute anger with compassion and blame with understanding, we are not open to learning. If we see mistakes as the horse’s fault, how can we change what needs changing in ourselves? My anger was a hindrance to me becoming a better horse person, and until somebody pulled me up and pointed out how ignorant I was, nothing was going to get better.”

In my experience anger, can be expressed as “don’t let him get away with it” or “make him do it”. Our horse doesn’t do what we want, and we feel that it’s a challenge to our authority or leadership.  We view the situation as a battle.  I’ve certainly done it in the past and perhaps you have too.

A battle usually has a winner and a loser, but a battle in a horse training situation usually has two losers - the horse and the human.

If you keep having battles with your horse, you’re certainly not building trust or a good relationship.  Your horse probably won’t fill in for you’re on the trail and faced with something scary.  Your horse will might try to take advantage of you when you’re distracted.  You certainly aren’t developing your horse to be a pleasure to ride or to train.  You aren’t prepping your horse for a good future if for some reason you can’t keep your horse.

So if you feel yourself getting angry, stop.  Take a moment to recenter yourself and rid yourself of your anger.  You’ll be in a better mental position to really evaluate what’s happening and come up with a good solution for yourself and your horse.

When I use links to books, products and services in the podcast, some of those links might be referral links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I earn a small commission when you purchase something through those links, but you will not be charged more by using the links.

Please visit our website at Second Half Horsemanship!

I have to remind myself that I'm always training my horse when I'm around my horse.  Gold Medal and Rolex Champion Eventing Rider Kim Walnes says this.

"Every single time we interact with a horse, we are teaching him. We are either teaching him that he can trust us or that he cannot … That we will listen to his side of the story or that the relationship will only be one-sided.”

This quote appears in the book, What Horses Really Want, by Lynn Acton.

We tend to think that we’re only training our horses when we enter the arena or the round pen.  But that’s not the case.

We are training our horses from the moment we enter their stalls or walk out to catch them in the pasture.  They pick up on whether we’re focused on them or not, whether we’re calm and relaxed or not and whether they should be tense or relaxed.

I took a Masterson Method Equine Massage Weekend Seminar a few years ago.  Our chief instructor started every hands-on session with the reminder to “leave our stuff at the door”.  If you’re angry or frustrated or sad or preoccupied, leave that stuff at the stall door or pasture gate and focus on what you’re doing with your horse.

I took that reminder and placed it on a sign on the entrance door to my tack room.

You’re teaching your horse if you’re checking your cell phone while you’re riding.  You’re teaching your horse when you’re listening to audio books while you brush your horse or pick her hooves.  You won’t pick up on the small signals your horse is giving you if your attention is elsewhere.

So I hope you have a great time with your horse today.  Remember you’re teaching your horse from first contact and please remind yourself to leave your stuff at the door.

When I use links to books, products and services in the podcast, some of those links might be referral links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I earn a small commission when you purchase something through those links, but you will not be charged more by using the links.

Please visit our website at Second Half Horsemanship!

Does someone have to compete in order to be a good  horseman or horsewoman?------NO

Does someone have to ride or drive to be a good  horseman or horsewoman?------NO

If we take it a step further it should become clear that those who neither compete, ride nor drive but who are in some other ways involved with  horses are the underpinnings of the entire world of  horses.

This is a quote from a Facebook post from Hall of Fame Eventing Rider Denny Emerson.

This is a story about second half horsemen who use creative solutions to teach their foster horses to trust humans and load in trailers without a fuss.

What do we mean by Senior Horsemanship?  How is is different from horsemanship in the first half of life?

Paul describes how your horsemanship can change in the senior part of life IF you learn to use  your mind more and your muscles less on your path to better horsemanship.  If your horsemanship is defined by your success in the show ring or in lessons, you're probably not on the senior horsemanship journey.  If you've learned to work on building a trusting relationship with your horse, you probably are.

Horsemanship is a creative process in the senior part of life.  We recognize that we are each unique individuals, our horses are unique individuals and our horse-human relationships are unique.  We'll borrow ideas from a variety of sources to work with our horses and ourselves.

Check out our website at SeniorHorsemanship.com and leave a comment.  We're always looking for topic and interview ideas.  Thanks for listening!

This is an introduction to the Second Half Horsemanship Podcast where we talk about using our minds more than our muscles on the path to better horsemanship in the second half of life.

What's better horsemanship?  It's horsemanship based on building a trusting relationship with our horses and horsemanship focused on setting up our horses for a happy future even if we can't continue to care for them.

So if you're in the second half of life, either by age or by outlook, I hope you'll join us on our horsemanship journey.