Equivice - Recently Updated Pages

My favourite websites / Links

SLW84 — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 15:23:09 CDT

Here are a few other sites which I would recommend - check them out;

Equine Market Watch Sanctuaries (There is further information about myself on this site and also my monthly diary for my pony which I have permanently rehomed from this fantastic Sanctuary)

Open Mind Equine Training (Working in conjunction with EMW)

Interdressage (If you sign up to their free, monthly newsletter, you will see my editorial each month)

NAF Horse supplements

The Horse Boutique

Blue Chip Feeds

Barnstormers

Rowan Barbury Feeds

Central Horse News

Dengie

Home

SLW84 — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 15:18:59 CDT

Welcome to Equivice.

A unique site where you can get experienced advice and solutions for schooling problems you may be encountering with your horse(s).

No matter how small the problem - I am here to help! Just add a comment of the problem you are having and I will post a reply as soon as I can with an
experienced, sympathetic solution. Or for a more detailed and confidential reply to your question, check out my contact details for further information and my email address.

This is a new site. I am still in the process of building up the pages and adding more images etc. If you have any comments on this site, do let me know and I will take them all into consideration.

Remember - any problem can be fixed if you go about fixing it the "right" way!!

Email - equivice@fsmail.net

Open Mind Equine Training

SLW84 — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 15:18:22 CDT

Bringing together a common sense approach along with tried and tested methods of traiining tailored to suit each individual horse/pony.

Quote:

If you have a problem you can't resolve and need help Open Mind Equine Training may be able to help your horse and you.
Our methods of training are do not involve gadgets or selling our brand of equiptment to you...just plain sense.
Open Minded Equine Training will be supporting EMW Sanctuaries enabling more horses and ponies with abusive and neglectful past lives to find a way back to happiness and usefulness.

For more information please visit OMET

My Methods

SLW84 — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 02:59:30 CST

My favourite saying is;

"By the horse, not by the book"

I have been trained by a fellow of the british horse society which is the best you can get. From this training I have developed my own unique methods with horses. In my mind, horses are individuals which need to be trained according to the way they are. I think too many people try to change their horse into what they want, rather than accept how the horse is and work with what you have already got. No horse is the same and I think the main thing that makes a great horse trainer is understanding this and being able to work out what methods will suit each horse individually. Just because something works well with one horse, doesn't mean it will work at all with another horse.

I also believe that nothing should ever be forced onto a horse. There are so many riders these days just cranking horses heads in to get them to look "pretty" as they trot around the menage, but what they then forget is that this is forcing the horse, not working with the horse in harmony. Just because a horse is physically at least twice our size doesn't mean it can't be forced into doing things. Remember there are two types of bullying - physical and mental. Many riders are mentally bullying their horse without even knowing it which is what I am here for.

The key is to find a comprimise with the horse, afterall they have been kind enough to let us ride and jump them, why should we abuse this? Horse and rider is a 50 / 50 partnership. We don't just plonk our backsides on the saddle and expect the horse to do all the work, nor should we ride in such a way that the horse actually stops being a horse as the rider is taking control over everything, meaning the horse has no need to engage his brain.

To work together in harmony is what every horse and rider should be aiming for, and I am here to help you all get there - it is a great position to be in.

My thoughts on Training Aids

SLW84 — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 12:38:56 CST

In my opinion, too many people these days are relying on the vast amounts of training aids on offer as a quick fix to get their horses working "on the aids".
Riders just cranking the horses heads in to make them look "better" are often doing more harm than good. There is a lot more to having your horse working correctly then people think.

I am a big believer of free lunging which is where the horse is lunged off of a lunge cavesson and booted up - that's it. I will not even use a lunge whip unless absolutely necessary as I believe the horse should be listening to your voice and body language alone, so artificial aids should not be needed. Provided the horse is working with us and the rhythum and impulsion is regulated, the rest will fall into place.

Rhythum & Impulsion = balance, cadence, relaxation, stretching, engagement of hind quarters, flexion, bend.

However, with artificial aids which I do not use, I still think they have a place for certain horses and will help to improve a horse, if used correctly.

Horses need to be built up to using training aids - they are not just a quick fix to be thrown on the horse and will immediately make a difference. For example; A horse that constantly works with a tense back and a high head carriage. In this case, the horse has probably never used his/her back muscles before so putting side reins on to "tie the horses head down" is going to cause muscle tension and strains in the back. The horse will need to be worked and encouraged to work long and low to stretch the muscles before they are asked to work. This is where my free lunging would come into place. When the horse is then working long and low, it is then ready for training aids. In my view though, if the horse is working well free, why put training aids on??? If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Training aids are not a quick fix and should be used with caution and by experienced trainers/riders only.

If anyone would like any further advice on this, please either post a comment on the comments / problems page, or go to contact details where you can send me an email.

My Qualifications

SLW84 — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 12:12:39 CST

I hold the follwing equine qualifications;

BHS Stage 1
BHS R & R
BHS Stage 2
BHS PTT
completed 500 hours teaching
NVQ level 2 Horse Care
National Diploma in Animal Behaviour
Trained up to BHS Stage 4

Types of yards I have worked on;

Training Yards
Riding schools
Eventing Yards
Endurance Yard
Hunting Yards
Showing Yards
Stud yards
Freelance Instructor
Freelance Groom

I have always been around horses from a young age. My horsey life started with riding lessons at a BHS approved riding school where I was taught all the basics. I then worked on a variety of yards, free of charge at the weekends in return for riding. I also exercised hunters for the local farmers - basically if I wasn't at school I was on a horse, working at local yards. I never had my "own" horse when I was younger but to be honest I never needed one!
I went into work with horses straight from school on a modern apprentiship where I gained all my qualifications and a wealth of experience.
I no longer work full time with horses, I work full time in an office to give me a good, secure, weekly wage which supports all of my other ventures. I was doing a lot of freelance work which as much as I enjoyed it, it was not secure enough to do long term. I do a lot with my own horses and anyone else's who are having problems. I no longer teach people - I want to concentrate on the four legged pupils. My aim is to set up my own livery / remedial yard, which fingers crossed is going to happen in the near future! I spent many years shadowing the best people, and now want to go it alone and use my own methods and ideas to help horses which are classed as "problem horses".

Any problem horse can be fixed, you just need to fix it the right way!

I have seen some of the worst cases of problem horses in my time and they have come out shining the other side.

Comments / Problems

SLW84 — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 05:54:08 CST

This is the page for you;-

Add any comments you have, positive or negative, and any problems you are having with your horse here on this page.

The more comments and problems added, the better.

Anything added to this page will remain here for others to see and benefit from.

Don't forget though - if you would like your comment / problem to remain confidential, check out my contact details for my email address. Anything emailed to me will not be posted on this site.

Email - equivice@fsmail.net

Free Lunging

SLW84 — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 05:38:11 CST

I am a strong believer in Free Lunging so I though I would write a short (probably long as I can go on) thread about what I do when free lunging. I would recommend this for all horses and can work wonders.

All I use for free lunging is a lunge cavesson, one lunge line with a horse booted up. I tend not to use a whip (unless needed) as I am trying to get the horse to listen to me and my body language, not artificial aids.
The basic principles off free lunging and lunging are basically the same. You position yourself in the same triangle basis etc as you normally would. The difference is, you are encouraging the horse to find their own way more and as I have said, listen more to your body language.

I will work the horse in walk, trot, canter and over poles and jumps. The idea is still to keep the horse out away from you on a large circle. This is done by your body language. When the horse is out nicely on the circle, I lower my glance and mainly concentrate on the inside hind leg as this is the leg which needs to be encouraged to do more work. It needs to step under the horse on the curve as well as forward to provide the impulsion. If the horse keeps coming in towards me, I will aim my glance towards their eye, turn my outside shoulder towards them more (this is my forward aid) and take a step towards them. I will also give some small vibration aids on the lunge line (hence why I do not use a bridle) to get their attention. As soon as they step away, again my glance lowers and I go back to my central position.
When the horse is not listening to drop down a gear or slow down, I will turn my inside shoulder towards their shoulder again keeping my glance down, kind of a "bringing them in" motion. All the time I am using voice commands to help the horse understand what I am asking them to do.

The main thing with free lunging is getting the horse to find their own way. Too many people these days, fix artificial aids onto the horse and I find it all very forced. We shouldn't be necessarily changing how the horse goes, we need to work with what we have got and just strive to improve the horses way off going, with the horse. Provided we as the lunger, regulates the rhythum, impulsion and keep the horses attention, the rest will fall into place. Rhythum and impulsion = balance, relaxation, cadence, freedom, flow, all of the key things desired to improve the horses way of going and it can all be done without "tying the horses up" in side reins and other gadgets. Of course, with an experienced and sympathetic trainer, "gadgets" have their place and I have seen impressive results, but I really do not believe it is always needed. 9 out of 10 horses I have worked with, all eventually work long and low freely on the lunge when the rhythum and impulsion is correct. I find that if a horse is going poorly i.e with their heads stuck up in the air, this would be due to tension in the horse which will lead to rushing and unbalance which result in the high head carriage. Gadgets like side reins, I have seen make situations like this worse. Free lunging, to allow the horse to find their own way, i have seen to improve such problems.

Horses are indiviuals and what works for one, doesn't always work for the next.

I could go on forever about how great this is!! I would recommend free lunging to anyone to help improve their horses and build up a stronger relationship with them. If anyone would like any further advice on this, I am more than willing to help

Have fun free lunging.

Contact Details

SLW84 — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 05:54:30 CDT

To submit your question / problem, either add a comment on the home page and I will write a reply or email me direct.

Adding your problem via a comment on the home page means that others will be able to view your problem and they may also be able to offer you advice if they sign into this wiki.

Emailing your problem direct to me means that I can give you a more detailed answer which will be completely confidential. The only thing I ask is that all emails have "equivice" as the subject. Any emails I recieve without equivice as the subject may get deleted and therefore not answered.

I am ready to help in whatever way I can so no matter how small the problem, please do contact me.

Email;- equivice@fsmail.net