Ground Work – The Tie Rail

Approaching and Moving Around a Horse Tied to a Rail

Navigating horses safely is humongously important, mostly because the consequences of not being safe can be catastrophic. There are two risky areas in particular: (1) when you are approaching a horse and (2) when you are walking behind a horse.

Using Your Voice

When working with horses, you have four basic aids: legs, weight, hands, and voice. Of these aids, voice is often overlooked or forgotten—maybe because people are embarrassed or think it sounds silly, or maybe because people just plain forget most of the time. Truth is, a lot people spend much of their time around horses without ever making a sound. And if… Continue reading Using Your Voice

Being Malleable

2 Knots

There are 2 knots… that I think are a must to know if you have or work with horses. But the first thing I want to stress is the importance of watching your fingers. Fingers get caught in knots, when they do you lose them. Don’t put your fingers in any loop – ever. Hold the… Continue reading 2 Knots

Introducing Your Horse to Stuff: Umbrellas

Along the lines of Letting Things Take as Much Time as They Need to Take are the essentials of desensitizing your horse to crazy scary things—basically anything your horse hasn’t seen or experienced before. Let’s use umbrellas as a starting point for jumping into the wonderful wild world of introducing your horse to the unfamiliar and helping him see them… Continue reading Introducing Your Horse to Stuff: Umbrellas

Mounting and Dismounting, or How to Get On and Off a Horse

I see it all the time, people mounting in a way that makes their hose scared or uncomfortable and puts them (the rider) in danger. When getting on or off a horse, there are a bazillion options of where to put and organize your body parts. But keep these rules in mind when deciding how to do… Continue reading Mounting and Dismounting, or How to Get On and Off a Horse

Basic Grooming

So many tools…hoof picks, dandy brushes, body brushes, curry combs, shedding blades and vacuums. What’s a girl to do? Here is a basic guide on how to get a horse ready to ride. We’re not talking competition grooming, we’re not even talking nice-restaurant clean, but we are talking clean enough and thorough enough for everyday… Continue reading Basic Grooming

How to Swing Up on a Horse – With a Saddle

DON’T DO THIS. But if you want to, this is how you can. But… DON’T DO IT. Below is a brief how-to. Stop laughing and press play.

On Relationships & Shoveling Poop REPOST

The following seems fitting after the post Letting Things Take as Much Time as They Need to Take. Think of it as real-world proof that everything takes time. But even more important is what happens after that time has been taken. On Relationships & Shoveling Poop addresses that end—taking your time is worth it. Caro’s relationship with her horse (after… Continue reading On Relationships & Shoveling Poop REPOST

Letting Things Take as Much Time as They Need to Take

Patience is key. When you work with horses, you have to remember that to do it right, it takes time. Slow down. Watch and listen. Remember that weeks, months, and years should be your time frame, not seconds, minutes, or even days. Take Buster here. He doesn’t like bridling. Don’t know why. Maybe someone… Continue reading Letting Things Take as Much Time as They Need to Take

Getting Your Horse’s Head Down

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Circles, Let Us Count the Ways

Here’s the deal. If you work with horses, circles are your friend. Use them. Abuse them. Incorporate them into every activity you can. If something isn’t working, circle. And when you get dizzy, keep on goin’. What is a circle? A circle is round-ish. Depending on what you’re doing, you may be in the center of… Continue reading Circles, Let Us Count the Ways

Horses and People and the Rule of Three

[x_section style=”margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px; padding: 0 0px 0 0px; “][x_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” bg_color=”” style=”margin: 0px auto 0px auto; padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px; “][x_column bg_color=”” type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px; “][x_text]Here’s the deal—for a horse to listen to you, you must mean what you “say.” If you don’t mean what you say,… Continue reading Horses and People and the Rule of Three

Entropy and the Inevitable Decline into Disorder

[cs_content][cs_section parallax=”false” style=”margin: 0px;padding: 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][x_image type=”none” src=”https://thetierail.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/entropy-e1435215512609.jpg” alt=”” link=”false” href=”#” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][cs_section parallax=”false” style=”margin: 0px;padding: 0px 0px 0;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto 45px;padding: 0px 5%;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ class=”cs-ta-center” style=”padding: 0px;”][x_custom_headline level=”h1″ looks_like=”h1″ accent=”false” class=”man”]Entropy[/x_custom_headline][x_gap… Continue reading Entropy and the Inevitable Decline into Disorder

The Importance of Not Taking It Personally

The Rule:When you’re working with horses, you’re not allowed to take anything personally. Why? There are a lot of reasons. First and foremost: horses are horses. They are not people, so when they do things, they do them for horse reasons, not people reasons. We, as humans, have all kinds of reasons why we do what… Continue reading The Importance of Not Taking It Personally

You Can’t Do This Enough

[vc_row no_margin=”true” padding_top=”0px” padding_bottom=”0px” border=”none”][vc_column width=”1/1″][x_video_embed type=”16:9″][/x_video_embed][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row no_margin=”true” padding_top=”0px” padding_bottom=”0px” border=”all”][vc_column width=”1/4″][gap size=”1.313em”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″ fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px”][text_output] Hoof Reading: This (all about Hoof Picks) This (all about Picking Hooves) This (all about Hooves) and This (all about Hooves vs Hoofs) [/text_output][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][gap size=”1.313em”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

All About Hooves

Let me tell ya, picking a horse’s hooves is one incredibly important thing to do. And you can’t do it enough. Those feet are your only connection with the ground when you’re on your horse’s back so take good care of ’em. Doesn’t mater if your horse has shoes or is barefoot one of… Continue reading All About Hooves

My Approach

My Approach is the hardest definition I’ve had to produce yet. The short and sweet is that My Approach is Natural Horsemanship with an emphasis on the school of “I’m open to new ideas.” I wish I could say I believe in whatever works, but when I take a hard look into myself, I have a few beliefs that outweigh this… Continue reading My Approach

Anthropomorphizing Horses

Prerequisite: Understanding Anthropomorphizing Anthropomorphism Horses are horses. People are people. Horses aren’t people and people aren’t horses. This doesn’t mean that a person can’t have a nice, understanding relationship with a horse. What it does mean however, is that people (due to their size in relation to the horse) need to be careful and a bit… Continue reading Anthropomorphizing Horses

Picking a Hoof

Just Bought a Horse?

So you just bought a horse. Now what? If this is your first horse you probably have nothing but a horse and maybe a halter. Well here’s a list of the essentials. Go to the store and spend more money. If you bought a horse you probably have more than you know what to do… Continue reading Just Bought a Horse?

How Horses See

[x_section style=”margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px; padding: 0 0px 20 0px; “][x_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” bg_color=”” style=”margin: 0px auto 0px auto; padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px; “][x_column bg_color=”” type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px; “][x_custom_headline level=”h2″ looks_like=”h3″ accent=”true” class=”center-text “]How do horses see?[/x_custom_headline][/x_column][/x_row][/x_section][x_section style=”margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px; padding: 0 0px 0 0px; “][x_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false”… Continue reading How Horses See

Haltering and Tying a Horse

Prerequisite steps needed… Step 1: Read my post 2 Knots. Then come back. It’s important to have a knot down so well that you don’t have to think about it. Then come back and move on to step 2. Step 2: Learn to tie a rope halter correctly right now. The halter will be much safer… Continue reading Haltering and Tying a Horse

Hand Feeding a Horse

“But it’s so fun” said every girl in the history of all time. – Denise OK, first things first. Don’t hand feed your horse. But, if you are OK with the possible implications of it…go for it. As long as you are aware of the following information, make your own decisions. But, don’t hand feed… Continue reading Hand Feeding a Horse

If your horse wants to move… And you don’t.

Lets say you’re standing there having a good ‘ol time just standing still, talking to a friend. Out of nowhere your feet start to move. They just start walking around. Walking to no place in particular, at least none that was discussed and agreed upon. Would you be happy about this? What would you say… Continue reading If your horse wants to move… And you don’t.

Feeding

Good lord this is a hard one. Once again remember the incomparably smart words of my better half: “I’m a firm believer in whatever works….” –CA Here’s the basic breakdown: How much food? ~2% of the horse’s body weight per day in total feed. What kind? This is where it really gets sticky. But basically for a… Continue reading Feeding

Helmet, Rope, Boot

[cs_content][cs_element_section _id=”1″ ][cs_element_layout_row _id=”2″ ][cs_element_layout_column _id=”3″ ][cs_element_headline _id=”4″ ][cs_content_seo]Helmet\n\n[/cs_content_seo][/cs_element_layout_column][/cs_element_layout_row][cs_element_layout_row _id=”5″ ][cs_element_layout_column _id=”6″ ][cs_element_text _id=”7″ ][cs_content_seo]Troxel Sport It’s really hard to know where to start when looking for your first helmet. There are a lot of companies that sell ’em so if your looking for an inexpensive, good looking and safe helmet . . . The… Continue reading Helmet, Rope, Boot

Online Resources

PARELLI’S ONLINE RESOURCE http://www.parelli.com/articlestips.html This is a great place to look through some of the best training articles on the net. When you find a place like this, it’s hard not to spend the whole afternoon reading. HORSETRADER.COM http://www.horsetrader.com/ Looking to buy a horse? Thinking about it? Look here first. Start searching, see what’s out… Continue reading Online Resources

Reading materials

CHA COMPOSITE HORSEMANSHIP MANUAL The Certified Horsemanship Association has one of the most comprehensive and well organized manuals out there. It’s really too bad that more people don’t know about this. It’s organized into four sections that will take you from novice through advanced riding. I’ve found this to be my go-to manual for 20… Continue reading Reading materials