Horsemanship – The Tie Rail

Planning and Pressure

Years and years of riding horses have taught me that you really only need two things to, as a rider, get your horse to do stuff: (1) a plan and (2) escalation of pressure.

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.

How to Pony a Horse

[x_section style=”margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 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][/x_text][/x_column][/x_row][/x_section][x_section style=”margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px; padding: 0 0 0 0px; “][x_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” bg_color=”” style=”margin: 0px auto 0px auto; padding: 0px… Continue reading How to Pony a Horse

Your Seat

[cs_content][cs_section parallax=”false” separator_top_type=”none” separator_top_height=”50px” separator_top_inset=”0px” separator_top_angle_point=”50″ separator_bottom_type=”none” separator_bottom_height=”50px” separator_bottom_inset=”0px” separator_bottom_angle_point=”50″ _bp_base=”3_4″ _label=”Section 1″ style=”margin: 0px;padding: 45px 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” _bp_base=”3_4″ _label=”Copy of Copy of Row 1″ style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ _bp_base=”3_4″ _label=”1/1″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][cs_text _bp_base=”3_4″ class=”cs-ta-justify”]When people refer to “your seat” they’re talking about how your butt stays or doesn’t… Continue reading Your Seat

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

Saddling a Horse: Western Saddle

No matter what kind of saddle you’re using, remember to go through your saddling checklist: Pads eat horses (or at least horses think they do). So don’t just swing it all over the place. Keep it close to your body and place it carefully on your horse’s back. Be gentle. Don’t just throw, plop, or slap… Continue reading Saddling a Horse: Western Saddle

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

The Truth about Horses and Water

How much water should a horse drink? Depending on who you talk to, horses should drink anywhere from 5–12 gallons of water per day. And, since a horse’s stomach can only hold 2–3 gallons of water or food at any given moment, that amount is spread out over the course of the day. So, taking an average of… Continue reading The Truth about Horses and Water

Simple Horse Bridling

Bridling a horse can be pretty painless, but there are a few things you should always keep in mind: Prepare and figure out your bridle before you approach your horse. It’s like homework. Get it done before you go to hand it in. Never bridle a horse while he’s tied to something. If something unexpected… Continue reading Simple Horse Bridling

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

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

[x_section style=”margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 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_image type=”none” src=”https://thetierail.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Getting-Your-Horses-Head-Down-Kennedy1.png” alt=”” link=”false” href=”#” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””][/x_column][/x_row][x_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” bg_color=”” style=”margin: 0px auto 0px auto; padding: 0px… Continue reading Getting Your Horse’s Head Down

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

LAPD Mounted Unit in Venice, CA

[x_section style=”margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px; padding: 45px 0px 45px 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]I can’t think of a cooler thing than to wear a uniform on a horse. A kid’s dream job. Or maybe even… Continue reading LAPD Mounted Unit in Venice, CA

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

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