Below is a link to an article on a study done in France on pain related behaviors in horses.

Also pain issues I have found will change herd dynamics as well. A horse in pain will often act as the herd dominate and/or stay farther distanced from the core group in trying not to move or be moved by the other horses in turn being aggressive . When the pain is reduced or removed they can change from being an aggressor in the herd dynamics.

http://aboutthehorse.com/Chronic%20Pain%20and%20Aggression.p

Liz

It's all on our shoulders!

It's spring again and folks are starting to head for their horses and it is sad with every new year I get the tight feeling in my gut knowing what I'm am going to start hearing of tragedies in accidents and sadly deaths.

All to often the horse gets blamed and pays with it's life and it was humans who let the horse down, not the horse that let the human down.

Many different scenario's will be become all to real in the coming season.

Even when we do everything right things can go wrong.

Many will be of horses that have sat all winter and were working well last fall. But understand they have been standing all winter and on what we know as unemployment and have again established strong herd dynamics and we all to often think because we want to ride them now they should willingly do so. This is not alway the case and it is wise to go back and review ground work and establish your old relationship getting them back to work.

Also get them conditioned for the work expected, don't just tack up and head out for 2 hours first ride and expect them not to be sore the next day. It is all to often I see folks year round not ride their horse 6 times all year or just before a big weekend ride of 4-7 hours per day and wonder why their horse got sore or was unsettled. Often we see white marks later with next new seasonal coat growth show up from this too and it's not that the saddle did not fit but the back was not conditioned to carry weight again, hence the back gets sore and white marks from saddles. The horse has not been conditioned to carry it's self in a weight bearing posture.

Sometimes a horse does not want to go back into work as it just says no from having bad experiences it with the rider before and just zoned out then and is not willing to now.

From my own experienced in a case.

I rode a horse that was not mine but had been recently purchased by the new owner after a clinic on a trail ride. I knew where the horse had come from and who had trained it. I was right and it was a well mannered well trained horse and had a great ride.

Knowing the new owner it ran through my mind that this one she could not have messed up already.

1 year later I rode that horse again on a trail ride and it was a mess, scared of everything and would spook and spin, kick out at other horses, it went down pinning me to the ground till it got up and continued on. In one year the wonderful horse had lost all confidence and was fearful of the world and nothing I could do on that ride would fix it. She was a rehab horse that was going to take much training to bring her back. Sad thing was she was sold as a brood mare with the new owners not knowing her new fears and problems believing she was the same horse I had ridden the year before.

Hence my dislike for horse jockeys that are just good marketers and not horseman.

Below is a link to a pdf file on a recent e-mail I shared with a new owner of a young horse. The names have been removed as it's not about who people are but the willingness of a good owner to ask the right questions and the value in the information I shared back to help . Just another scenario that can and has thousands of time before taken place.

I love how he later stated he was glad saying he did not listen to his friends as his BS detector was telling him not too.

http://lizgraves.org/rocky_issue.pdf

So in closing here, sometimes those of us that teach are not the most popular of teachers.

OK sometime we receive hackles up just because of what I term the claw factor, jealousies or even just competitions no matter what we say it's not OK ,but about pure individual issues inside themselves and we pay the price through their bad mouthing and slander along the way and they love to bully others into believing they are right, the more followers they get the more they feel empowered in their convictions. Other times folks feel threated by teachers in that they are so honest in delivering information to save your selves and your horses and it's not alway conducive to the fantasy the people want to hear.

Often folks just are willing to do steps A,B, C and are not willing to also do E,F & G hence their failure and then it's our fault.

So just know ,for a good teacher it's not about us, but you, your horse and your success.

Teaching honestly not a popularity contest , it's a service to our communities in which we care deeply about and we care deeply about you!

We don't alway tell you what you want to hear but thats not our job, but it is our job t share what you need to hear weather it's received well or not.

So all be safe this year, use your common sense and don't ever be afraid to get help or ask questions.

Liz

Goings on!

Nancy Jurgensen , RMH Johnny, Tom Leventure

So much going on and some horses have gone home now.

Today Johnny graduated from basic training and went home with his owner Nancy.

Tom finished his training internship and was a delight to teach and have here on a daily basis, Dave and I both enjoyed him.

Sad news it seems everyone that comes here a lot ends up losing weight, so I'm sorry Tom and Eric to for turning you both into skinnier guys.

Teaching astride from Mia the Fell Pony

Thursday was Chiropractor day, so shown is Floyd getting his adjustment.

I really do encourage Chiropractic check ups on horses by quantified Doctors for horses.

Next week it's the hoof trimmer.

This is a Back mapping Tom and I did today on one of the horses. A great tool in learning to see and understand our horses bodies, also to track progress in physical rehabilitation's too.

Liz

Paddy's Day and It's Getting Warmer!

RMH Pretty Boy Floyd and his new halter

Of course this is one very smart horse having great taste in football teams and being a fan of the Irish in green being his favorite color!

I'm so proud of the work this boy and I have done together, he better than ground ties, he knows Stand and Stay, no lead needed!

How do you explain when you share souls with a horse?

Thank you so much Joanna Swartz for this custom made gift .

I know it was very hard for you being a Steelers fan, so Pretty Boy Floyd and I will very much cherish it.

One more layer of cloths gone, spring is on it's way!!

This is SSH Tcyoiya, a new arrival just in for some Shades of Oak spa treatments and a spring tune up getting ready for the new riding season.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day and a soon to be spring everyone, I feel like I'm blooming!

Liz

Pockets behind withers!

This is driving me crazy so I have to just say something here.

Those pockets as termed, of muscle depressions behind a horses withers are not a natural element to a horses shape and conformation!

Poor fitting saddles, improperly placed saddles, improperly strapped on saddles and/or poor horsemanship create these pockets and they should not exist on a horse.

In my over 50 years in this business, have I ever ever created these pockets on any horse and work hard to build a horses shape back up to eliminate them on the training horses that come in with them. I would kick my self into a ditch if I did, feeling so bad that I had created this to happen to any horses back.

Also no saddle should be fitted or shaped to fit a horse that have these pockets, but have enough flare to the front of the tree bars that the horse can build these muscles back up in proper condition filling that space.

It is so sad that what was known as" wrong" and undesirable in the industry is now thought of as right today. This ignorance has got to be stopped to help horses, in turn keeping horses from being in pain and riders from getting hurt and/ or thrown. When a horse is in pain and discomfort, I never think of that as a safe horse or one that is completely open to any teachings. . When a horse is to the point it has pockets then the whole spine and body need to be addressed by the proper practitioner.

Another myth that has evolved today is that gaited horses have more curve to there spines that their non-gaited counterparts. This is not true, and another sign indicative of saddle issues and or poor horsemanship practices in the industry.

I am just trying by this to help folks and their horses, this is not about me, but about you, keeping you and your horses safe, sound, so you can save money and heart ache in the end.

Don't be a follower of the crowd but get educated, open your eyes, help yourselves.

Please don't chose to learn this the hard way folks.

Liz

Busy, Busy and Fun!!!

Spotted TWH 'Rocky"

RMH" Pretty Boy Floyd"

RMH" Johnny"

The new girl just in" Mia" a Fell Pony

It may be winter still but that's not slowing me down.

I have had the best bunch of training horses coming and going all winter.

These are some of the string I'm working now.

Life is great and I'm doing what I love the most, teaching horses and people.

Liz

The Ribbon

Oh the brightness of a new day in the beautiful Colorado landscape, an exciting day. One she had been waiting for, yet was nervous about as well. The work she had put in getting ready for the big day, the fun and friends she had made along the way. It was all coming together at one time with her parents coming to see how well she had used her time in riding lessons with Col. Robertson , retired US Calvary.

The year is 1958 and all the parents of her fellow students will be there.

It’s a “Fun Day” to share how well all the students have done in their young journeys by way of the horse.

She brushed her little mare extra today and whispered kind, gentle words to her lesson mare reminding her of the relationship they had developed over time. She tacked the mare up just right checking everything twice. All the children were giddy with excitement and each so proud of there learning’s under the expert instruction of the Coronal. The big event of the day was the speed event though. Who had the fastest horse!

The winner would be whoever’s horse was fastest to the tree with a carrot placed in the fork of the tree to entice the horses.

Her turn had arrived, she takes her small 9 year old hand and places it softly on her mare’s neck and the electricity of understanding passes between her and the mare, they both know how badly they want to get to the tree.

She and her mare line up into position, all at the same time she urges her mare forward, with her little legs squeezing her mare to go, the mare hears her communication clearly. She feels the air pushing on her face, making wisps of her hair tickle her face and neck, and to the tree horse and girl fly.

THEY DID IT!!!

THE FASTEST TEAM TO THE TREE!!

Oh the pride, the pride in the mare and the pride in herself.

The prized blue ribbon is hers to cherish for a life time to come, just one important event to build a career upon by way of the horse.

It was an event that gifted so many over the years with her dedication to be a student first and teach so many along the way and share in her passion of understanding the horse.

That little girl was Lee Ziegler and the ribbon above is the very ribbon she won that day.

Missing you Lee!

Liz Graves

Copyright 2011