If you are struggling with a horse or a health issue or an emotional upset or a Not Quite Right that you cannot get to the bottom of, where you need some support – then I am available. Life is supposed to be good – and it is supposed to be happy – so if you need some one on one support for that, I am available for that too.
I feel slightly silly, but I just realised that many people who read this blog didn’t realise that I am available for private lessons and healing sessions and combinations of the two.
Fast Track to Brilliant riding was originally developed BY nervous riders and nervous horses FOR nervous riders and nervous horses and it INCLUDES one free private session with me – usually most useful at the beginning of your course.
However – you don’t have to be in that program to have a healing session or a private lesson.
For Price changes and bundling of lessons over time click here
Hmmm if you think about it – that makes the Fast Track to Brilliant Riding program even better value!
Hi Jenny, I just listened to your last bonus lesson…thankyou. My question is how do you manage a horse that is stopping. I live alongside the rail trail in Fish Creek. I don’t often ride alone as my horse is spooky about everything. Yet I know that if he was to escape he has quite happily headed off down the rail trail on his own?!?!?! He really is a lovely horse and isn’t one to run, so I’d say he would fall into the freeze group, how to I ask him to go forward or should I be doing something different at home first? thanks Larissa
He sounds like a horse who should be systematically working on all his small fears, Larissa. Fear is cumulative – each fear that our horse is unable to act on to keep himself safe or to make himself FEEL safe, then each of those is added to the other until you have a big reaction over what looks like a small fear. It sounds like I am beating my own drum – but go have a look at the nervous horses program, it sounds like it might have been written just for him…
Awesome, thanks Jenny I’ll try ‘speaking’ with him and see what happens. It’s funny, after we did the exercise at Meggins we headed out to the herd that afternoon. As I walked up the hill I got this really wierd sensation in my legs. I just knew it wasn’t mine and when I looked behind me River was there. I thought to myself ‘one of the horse has sore legs!?!’ does that sound wierd? But as soon as I thought that it went away. I would really like more information about making the horse feel safe. How do I do it? Was that the backing away exercise we did? thanks
The answer to this will be in your in box over the next day or so Larissa – probably today if I remember seeing your name come through as having registered on The Six Keys to Happiness with Your Horse a couple of days ago. It’s The second and third keys that will give you your big eye openers about how to help your horse with their fear. Enjoy them!
Thanks Jenny, I think I need some one-on-one work…in the mean time…
I have another question. I went out into the round yard and sat with my horse. I got this terrible pain right across my back below my shoulder blades so think I might get him checked out. Anyway I spent some time with him and just watched him not expecting anything and then he came up to me.
We had the rail between us so I started side passing and he was copying me. Then he got a bit playful and nudged me….then he got even more playful and went to have a nip…like I see him do to the horse he shares a paddock with when they are playing. I didn’t like that so I slapped him away. He instantly dropped his
head and stood very quietly.. The only way I can discribe it is like the lights went out!!! How can I play and connect with my horse and maintain my boundaries.
Oh and he was following me and seemed really happy and I laughed….that’s when he chewed.
Larissa
Wow Lisa, what you were describing in the first part of the email is awesome – well done! Now do you see how much of what you are feeling on a normal every day basis can actually be your horse? And you have had a taste, with your horse copying you in the side-passing, of how fast your horse can turn around and co-operate and how willingly they do that. Wooohooo!!!
And then you slapped him for biting and the lights went out… darn it, you stuffed it up! Can you feel me smiling while you are reading this? So now you have an opportunity for a deeper understanding of each other and a deeper bond as a result as you fix that.
There are a whole bunch of different ways that you can handle that differently for next time:
1. Stay in connection so that you feel the playful energy coming up BEFORE he bites you and then get him to go further away from you and express that playfulness in some other way.
2. Have a quiet mind session with him and explain that you don’t like biting and mentally show him how you would like him to express his playfulness with you instead. (that quiet mind lesson is a later bonus in your freebies The Six Keys to Happiness with Your Horse series.)
3. You can express your displeasure by sending him away (in the way of the lead mare).
4. Or by leaving yourself. I know someone who completely turned around a very aggressive horse just by leaving every time he was aggressive, instead of meeting his aggression and escalating it. In your case he was clearly being playful, not aggressive, but it could work there too – you could just refuse to play.
5. Pat Parelli always says “I find rubbing the bit spot helps” if the question is about AFTER you have been bitten and he advocates allowing them to meet your elbow AS they are coming towards you to bite. I have seen few horses take offence at that but your timing has to be excellent – and the timing is not excellent if your elbow happens AFTER they have bitten.
6. I personally prefer the gentler ways first, but I am not above using the elbow if no other way is working! It’s much better than getting angry about it.
I am going to post this up on the blog too, where more people will see it – thanks for great questions!
Hi Jenny, I met you last week at Meggin Kirby’s in Daylesford. I’ve got home and spent some time with my little horse Leon and am still feeling quite disconnected with him. It’s almost like the lights are on but nobody’s home. I’ve had him since he was a yearling and love him to bit but just have never felt the same connection that I had with my big t’bred that I lost about 12 months ago. They grew up together. I was also widowed nearly 6 years ago. At the time I sort of ditched the horses as they were always and bit of a bone of contention between us. I’ve just never really got back into the horses since although I know I want to…need to. My new partner is really supportive of me spending time with the horse but I almost feel like I avoid it.
Where do I start?
Hi Larissa, that was a beautiful day at Meggin’s wasn’t it? I can hear all kinds of things in your post here that will bring up opportunities to get the connection you are looking for, but the place to start is The Six keys to Happiness with your Horse. Register for that freebie on any page of this website. I know you have just done some extraordinary work at Meggin’s, so allow yourself some time to process that. From Your Horse’s Heart nervous riders nervous horses program is systematic about building that connection. As to the other opportunities that I heard in your post, I am not sure of everything that Meggin addresses, but when you are ready for the next stage, talk to her and maybe come back to me for any private horse or healing work that might come up.