Ruby Morgan and Me

I was working with Ruby Morgan, at this time she is our in-house Iridologist, who is here at my ranch working in an apprenticeship program with Honey her project horse. We were working on Leading From Behind. Honey was learning very quickly, so at one point when I thought that I could ask him to turn to the left, when I was on his right, he became very resistant. Up until that point I had not tried to turn him.

How I start Leading from Behind

When Honey is really relaxed, standing still and is enjoying my company, I ask him to move forward. I then begin to follow after him slowly, looking forward to when he will come to a halt again. No matter how fast he chooses to travel after my initial push I do not try to direct him in where he chooses to go, even if he chooses to travel around in circles, just as long as he does not try to turn around, stop and face me. If he does, I move his head away so he turns around and leaves me. This puts me behind the horse so I can … Read more

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Hi, this is Mark here. As you may have seen, Carolyn’s site has been down the last day or so for which I profusely apologize. At this stage, we do not know exactly what happened. I am guessing it was some sort of hack attack, a professional hazard of working online. Anyway, we have restored a backup from LAST SUNDAY 23rd, so if you made a comment on or since then, it may have been lost. Please go back and check if you are not sure.

Apologies once again and normal service will now been resumed… here’s Carolyn!

As many of you know, I use treating and food very specifically and purposefully in my work with horses. However, in the ‘Saying Hello’ Waterhole Ritual, you do not want to use treats. The reason for this is it causes the horse to focus on the treat and not on you.

I gained a deeper insight into why not to use treats during the Hello Ritual from the dog whisperer, Cesar Milan. Watching his TV show, I learned more clearly the way a dog’s mind operates. I was feeding my food-aggressive dog, Apollo, the way Cesar suggested and now that I have … Read more

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Hello. Today I would like to tell you about the experience I had once with an Egyptian (Arabian) Stallion.

At 3.5 years old, this stallion was labeled a human hater. He was very dangerous. When offered treats, he had no interest in the food, he only wanted to bite fingers. When he came to me, I put him in a stall. The stall front was solid wood about 3-4 feet high and then there were vertical bars so that air could circulate, light could get in and the horses could see out.

So for this stallion, I stacked bales of hay until they were at the height where the bars began and I unrolled my sleeping bag there. Every night for a month or so I slept on that stack of hay. I had to be careful not to get too close because that horse was just looking for an opportunity to get me.

During the day, I would bring my mini horse called Laddie in the aisle of the barn to train. At the time I was asking him to wait at the far end of the aisle for my signal, then come over to me. On the way, … Read more

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Hi again. As you may know, I have a horse named Cat. Unfortunately Cat has not been well over the past couple of weeks but is now doing better although I suspect that the medicine is what is really working for him. I believe he still has a lot to healing left to do. Cat has a level 2 ulcer and has been put on GastroGard for 30 days. I also have him on Allay, a licorice based product.

I want to thank everyone who sent in their suggestions. From all your suggestions, I decided to but him on clay and probiotics and the Allay, plus I am feeding him every four hours except at night. I feed him last thing at night between 10-11pm and then in the morning between 5.30–6.30am. I also think it this is very helpful. I changed his paddock which he seems to like. However, I would like to find a Bach Flower remedy for him.

I am posting some pictures of Cat so that the people who offered a reading on him might have some more insight to how to make him more comfortable. I also have Adrienne Moore a highly recommended vet and … Read more

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Hello again. Today I would like to talk a little more about treats as it’s one area that seems to cause a lot of people a lot of confusion. When people are having difficulties with using treats, it is always because they haven’t put in place the right foundations.

Treats work for me because I set a strong bond without treats first and then I develop respect with a horse using treats. In formative training, I do not carry treats on me because it helps to keep the horse’s attention on my direction instead of begging. In short, a horse will then perform what I ask without wanting a treat when I don’t carry them with me. A horse will learn respect quickly if you put food on the ground, explain to him that the food is not his and that he needs to look for your direction when he is allowed to eat and when he isn’t, just like a nursing foal. By not having the treats on me, I notice the horse thinking more about his performance and trying to figure out what it is that I am asking him to accomplish and he loses interest in the … Read more

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Hi. I find that treats are an enjoyable way to socialize a horse to have a reliable character and willing attitude in his performances. Offering treats to horses may be the surprise answer to creating a magical connection with them!

Most trainers are against offering a horse treats for many good reasons. The most common is that a horse can become rude and spoiled, more interested in the treat than in the connection and the performance.

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Hi. Today I would like to share with you an email I received from our regular contributor Margaret, who has been having some telephone coaching with me. Her horse Autumn had been causing her a few problems by demanding treats in a somewhat grumpy fashion.

Now as you read Margaret’s story, think about how you can take the advice I gave to Margaret, adapt it and use it with your horse if he is presenting you with problems. A lot of horse training is about using your imagination and coming up with solutions that are fun for both of you.

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