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Horsemanship

Jan 14
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Happy New Year

By Blog, Horsemanship, Uncategorized

Happy New Year, I trust that everyone had an opportunity to enjoy a break over the Christmas and New Year period and catch up with family and friends. As I put pen to paper, we are just starting to enjoy some much needed rain at home. Horses and cattle will be the beneficiaries of the green grass.

Whats Going On; We continue to take horses in for starting and have a list to work our way through, we are getting there. At the beginning of February we have a home course on the 4th & 5th, this course is filling up, so if you are interested then please contact me at: [email protected] We also have a course in Queensland at Anstead Acres in Brisbane on February 18th & 19th. For more information on these course, please go to the website: www.davidstuart.com.au

Online courses : https://www.davidstuart.com.au/courses/online-course-the-start/

Our website shop: https://www.davidstuart.com.au/shop/

Below is a horsemanship article about one of the horses that I started in Western Australia, titled – Going Slow To Go Fast

Going Slow to Go Fast – The horse above, many may have seen on social media. He is from memory, a 7 – 8 year old warmblood that I started in Western Australia at the end of 2021. He is a very sensitive horse and could easily have gone in the wrong direction. It was a case of preparation, for saddling and riding and going slow to go fast. While this is not the end of the story, the progress that this gelding has made over time is really pleasing.

These type of horses are not for everyone for many reasons with the human often guilty of trying to knock that sensitivity or self preservation out of the horse. As these horses gain more confidence in themselves and their environment, they often become great horses with time. The sensitivity starts to work for everyone. You have to work with the horse on many fronts, physical, mental and emotionally.

Some years ago, whilst in the U.S. attending a Buck Brannaman course, Buck spoke about getting the horse mentally with you. Using as an example, horses that are sweet on home or herd bound. Many will know and understand the words of causing the wrong thing to be difficult and allowing the right thing to be easy. So with a horse that is herd bound etc you may just want to keep him walking or trotting in circles etc until they start to look for another solution. That of course, is look to you as a place of comfort and peace, many of us miss that moment, when you feel the horse asking, that is the time to sit and rub. Sometimes it is not what you do, it is when you quit doing what you do.

This is not just applicable to horses that are herd bound or sweet on home. With sensitive horses, they pick up on this really easy. It was easy for this horse to move his feet, but without direction he would get lost, again going slow to go fast.

Dec 05
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Its Is Beginning To Feel A Bit Like Christmas

By Blog, Horsemanship, Uncategorized
It is that time of year when Christmas is upon us and another year has gone by, with a new one soon approaching. What did you accomplish in the past year, horsemanship wise ? What are your plans for the New Year? A good friend, reminded me some time ago of the importance of reflexion. The answers are different for everyone and there is no right or wrong answer. Just the fact that you participated, you and your horse are most likely in a better place.

As we ride towards Christmas, you maybe thinking that you have all the rugs, boots and riding accessories needed, in fact you may have your own tack store. Some more thoughts for your Christmas stockings below.

DS Enamel Mug
DS Cap
DS T – Shirt

The Online Course –  The Start; is exactly that, it is designed to get you started.  There is 4 videos with 2 hours and 40 minutes of video content. The videos include ground and ridden work. In addition there is also a trailer loading, plus a saddling and bridling video. The lessons and notes associated with each of the videos I trust all will find useful.

This week I start a series of courses and lessons in Western Australia at Horsemanship First, near Serpentine.

2023 Schedule: Is now up on the website, more courses will be added once confirmed.

2023 Course Schedule

Horsemanship – The Canter; In previous articles I have spoken about transitions, not overriding your horse and balance. With regards to downward transitions, you may find that doing them on a circle or in the corners will be of assistance in having your horse not fall on the forehand.

I do lots of transitions within the gaits of walk and trot and want to feel that my horse is on the aids, this includes my seat. When you start to bring the canter into play, with a young horse I may extend the trot and let my horse role over into the canter.

As my horse begins to develop gaits within the gaits in this case the trot and I can feel the trot start to develop some bounce my horse is going to be able to start to lift into the canter.

The above takes time to develop and there are many ways to have your horse go into the canter. For those that are having issues with the canter this maybe an approach to play with. If you are struggling with impulsion, your horse won’t go or has too much go, the above is going to help. When riders are having issues with the horse being behind their leg or not wanting to go, this is also where bucking, kicking out issues start when going into the canter.

Having your horse in front of the riders leg, when riding and carrying you in the gait is going to help with your canter. As a rider if you are always having to peddle your horse along then the canter is not going to have a lot of quality to it. Knowing a good rhythm and tempo for the gaits will also be of assistance.

On the ground, if your horse is not walking out and you are chasing your horse forwards. Or having to slow them down, this will be a transition into how your horse rides.

For those that are on instagram, I have a video of myself riding a chestnut horse that makes a couple of small jumps. I don’t have the skill set to upload the video unfortunately, looking at the video you can see how the horse’s stride length is short at the trot and he is not tracking up. In this case it is an indication that he is not relaxed and the energy is right on the surface, so it only took some cattle to tip that energy and life over the top. Later, not on the video, he started to let down and relax and his stride length at the trot lengthened and then he was able to canter. This situation is very common for many riders.

A very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to everyone. Thank you for all your support this year it is always greatly appreciated and we look forward to catching up in the new year.

Jul 26
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An Australian Winter

By Blog, Horsemanship

I had always thought that an Australian winter in Central Queensland was a little similar to a U.K. summer. From what I am seeing this year in the U.K. that is probably not the case. It looks like it maybe the start of an Indian summer for the U.K.

Whats been going on: Since my last blog we have had a home course with another scheduled for mid October. Horses continue to arrive for starting and return to their homes. This coming weekend we have a virtual course in the New Forrest in the U.K. at the home of Kate McMorris and Steve Parley . Kate is riding her horse Marilyn from John o’Groats to Lands End in the U.K. a distance of 1407 km, she is now nearing completion of this ride. You can follow Kate’s adventures and donate to her chosen charity on Facebook. The course schedule has had a few more courses added and continues to be updated with new upcoming courses.

Horsemanship: I have written a horsemanship article below, happy reading.

Recently in a conversation we were discussing, “The Road To Success, ” everyone has their own definition for this. What I found interesting was that this person who coached sport said that to improve their skills they did not take well meaning advice from those at the pub or coffee shop, they went to those that were attendees at a sporting academy or were ” further along the chosen road. ” This can be applied too many other activities as well, success leaves a trail. ( Sometimes you never know who you may be speaking to at the pub to I guess.)

In a recent video presentation, I made reference that for many, time and knowledge is a challenge. A genuine desire to want to improve, in this case their horsemanship is essential. If the desire is not strong you are not going to want to get out of bed to go and ride your horse on a cold winters or a warm summer day.

Over the years of teaching, which I think are now around 30. I have observed that those that make a commitment to improving their knowledge and understanding, given time make progress and have nice riding horses. A commitment to continuing to improve our knowledge and understanding and ” Polishing the Stone,” creates better saddle horses.

While the above writings are not new or perhaps not directly horsemanship related. They do reflect the reality of many of us.

Jun 27
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A Late Blog For June

By Horsemanship, Uncategorized
It is a late website blog for June, but non the less, I have just made it in time. Again as last time, it has been a busy month. Currently we have a yard full of horses with more to come in July. The middle of June saw us at Anstead Acres in Brisbane, Qld for 3 days. Pam Andrews, thank you for all your efforts in putting this course together after having to reschedule due to floods earlier in the year. It is always great to see the improvement that riders make over the course. While many have a tendency to believe that they are not making much progress, when riders look back and see where they have come from. When they could not lead their horse into the arena for the course or could not get their horse onto a horse trailer to get to the course, this helps to give some perspective.

In July we have a home course coming up, this is a 2 day green horse course, more information is available on the website. There are currently still a couple of rider places available. Email me at: [email protected]

In the U.K. starting Friday we have a virtual course starting in the county of Shropshire for 3 days. We started these courses last year as a response to Covid times and they were received very well, while a different format to usual courses, we do get some things done.

Below is a horsemanship article on trailering your horse, hope all enjoy reading.

Trailor loading is non denominational, it does not matter if you are a western rider or an english rider, or ride for pleasure or work. At some point you are going to have load your horse onto or into a horse trailer or horse float.

Horses do travel better on an angle or facing backwards and depending on how much you travel with your horses and what pulling vehicle you have, will influence what is going to work best for your situation.

My first suggestion would be not to wait until you need to load your horse to find out that they do not load. Preparation is important, have your horse lead well, know that your horse ties well and can stand tied for some time. Moving the hind and fore-quarters and being able to back up and come forward easily is good preparation for your horse to able to move their feet in the trailer. When your horse is in the trailer see if you can move their hindquarters over, see if you can back them up a few steps and then be able to have them walk forward. For horses that rush out this can also help. It may take some time to get to this point. With feed, if horses can eat in the trailer this shows some level of relaxation, although not always a guarantee. Having your horse feel relaxed and confident in the trailer is what you are looking for and that your horse will walk willingly into and back up, or walk out of your trailer willingly is something to strive for.

Whether you lead your horse into the trailer or stand outside and drive them into the trailer has a lot to do with the situation and the trailer that you have. I remember receiving some guidance a long time ago in the California with a foal. When we had loaded the foal into the trailer we turned the foal around in the trailer in both directions. This was to help him be able to learn how to move his feet in the trailer. That may not always be possible, it can help horses to travel better.

Just because your horse loads into your trailer is not a guarantee that your horse will load into your friends trailer. Knowing that you can take your horse off the trailer and get them back on if you are by yourself is also reassuring. Maintain your trailer, I have seen horses that have gone through the floor and tried to fit through the jockey door of the trailer. Some trailers are too small for the size horse you are travelling.

The above is a guide as to what you should be aware of, for when you travel your horse. Preparation is the best advice I can suggest. Some horses are going to need more preparation than others, if your horse is one that panics and goes into flight mode easily, spend more time on the preparation.