Behaviourist Sarah Fisher works with Claude the Shire

14m 54secs
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Made by:Horse Hero

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Claude is a 19 hand Shire who is a little stiff and needs some work to loosen him up before his next show! Behaviourist Sarah Fisher works with him on the ground doing some 'S-ing', and he improves noticeably. "It's easier to work a stiff horse on foot before he has the added impediment of a rider", Sarah says. She also uses touch to move Claude's body as he is walking, and the 'wand'. A forelock and tail exercise loosen Claude's back and help him adjust to his balance. Sarah says 'the walk is the mother of all gaits' and valuable insights can be gained through careful observation on the ground. Claude soldiers inspite of the rain!

Comments

ChrisW 28 Oct 2009 There's so much to learn in this video. It will be one to play several times.

Bibbett 18 Oct 2009 Brilliant, I would love lots more like this, it so beneficial to us all and all our horses, this is the way forward, please give us more of Sarah and her teams work, rather than most of the old order methods. This one of the few systems that I am intersted in. Thank you Sarah :-)

Sarah Fisher 7 Sep 2009 Hi Hidden Farm - thank you for your lovely feedback. I think of my feet and keep my knees and hips soft and rotate through my pelvis which moves my hand into the shoulder of the horse. If you just push you will make the horse sore and brace through your body which will also make him brace. You want to keep the movement fluid and soft and let it come up through your body from your feet - not just through your shoulders. Does this help????? Hope so!!!! Best wishes Sarah

HiddenFarm 30 Aug 2009 Sarah, you are wonderful! When you have your hand on Claude's shoulder, etc, what are you doing with your hand? Is it still or are you pushing, circling? Love the videos...looking forward to more (hopefully, in dry weather!)

Sarah Fisher 24 Aug 2009 Hi Rossy - we sometimes teach it from the ground first in the same way that we start chest line driving as shown in Barney's video on Horse Hero if the horse is heavy on the fore hand. You need to give an 'ask and release' signal and avoid maintaining a pull on the balance rein as this will encourage the horse to lean in to it which is not what we want obviously. Leading through a labyrinth will also be helpful for your horse as it teaches him balance and flexion so there is a lot that you can do to help him. We sell the balance reins here at Tilley Farm but you could also try using a length of rope although you need to ensure that it won't fall off. We use a round rope rather than a flat neck strap as this encourages the horse to soften and lengthen through the neck and back whilst helping him to move his centre of gravity backwards. The body wrap that we used in the Barney video is also brilliant for improving hind limb engagement which in turn helps the horse to move in better balance - again you would be best to introduce this on the ground before attaching it to the saddle. Hope this helps you - do email me if you need any further information - best wishes Sarah