Continuing on from my last post, where I talked about reminding a horse how to soften to the feel of the lead rope and soften when there is a proactive pressure introduced, I now want to carry the idea of softness through the horse’s entire body before I think of moving forward with riding or training. In Relational Horsemanship, touching the horse with the flag is not a way to “sack out” or “desensitize” the horse, but is a way to help him remember how to think through pressure and relax, rather than simply react and become braced in his body. One of the first things I will do at this point i ..read more

At this time of year, many of us are thinking about the coming Spring and finally being able to get back on our horses after a long Winter. However, when a horse has had some real time off, getting them going again is best approached as a process of reconnection. In this post, I’ll begin explaining how I bring a horse back after a period of layoff. The troubles many of us encounter when bringing a horse back are due to the fact that the horse has returned to its natural way of thinking. This doesn’t mean that all their training has disappeared, only that their first thought may not be to respo ..read more

On December 23, 2019, we added two miniature horses to Winsong Farm – Lad and Kye. Both are one-and-a-half years old. January 23, 2020 we added two more. Here are Bo (chestnut paint, seven months old) and  Willow (grey and white paint, nine months old) enjoying their first time in the arena.   The post Introducing Bo and Willow appeared first on Horse Canada ..read more

Pax, along with Katherine’s miniature horses were in the Schomberg Christmas Parade. The weather was agreeable (about -3), no wind, no rain, no snow, YIPPEE!!! Pax did not load in the trailer to go home. Sniff. In the DARK with a vehicle in front of Ron riding Pax and a vehicle behind the procession went west on Church Street, south to the Aurora-Lloydtown Road and east on that road. We got to Gryphon Farm where Christi and Mac found “room at the inn” for Pax to experience his first overnight/slumber party away from home. Ron and Pax. Good news!!!! The next morning Pax was hungry (Christi ha ..read more

This afternoon around 3:00 Bill placed hay in the paddocks for the horses. All was well. At 4:30 we started bringing the horses in from their paddocks. I was working on the east side of the lower barn, bringing in Zelador and Zeloso. Bill was working on the west side of that barn. He called to me, “Where’s Bob Marley?” I replied, “He’s got his red plaid coat on. He should be relatively easy to spot.” Bill answered, “I don’t see him.” I countered, “Look again.” He said, “Winnie, I don’t see Bob Marley.” I stopped what I was doing. “Are you serious? Often you joke about how Bob Marley blends int ..read more

by Nancy Jaffer The sale this month of 16 HITS shows in California and Arizona means an upgrade for the company’s offerings in Ocala, Fla., according to CEO Tom Struzzieri, who now will be able to direct his focus toward only one circuit in the winter. “I think it’s going to be a renewed commitment, and a little extra cash to be able to do it,” he said. While declining to give an exact figure, he said “millions more” will be invested. HITS’ West Coast shows were purchased by a partnership headed by Steve Hankin, president and CEO of the Desert International Horse Park, home of the Thermal seri ..read more

Ron has spent tons of hours working with Pax, helping the horse learn how to load into a trailer. Ron’s been patient and carefully thought through the loading problem. Many times in the past 11 years his practice sessions with Pax have ended with Pax loading. However, when push comes to shove on the day of an event Pax invariably takes a LONG time to load. Most recently Pax took one hour and 15 minutes to get on the trailer to perform at the Doon Village. As Ron was preparing to leave that morning he really wasn’t sure if he’d be able to get Pax on the trailer to come home. This episode prompt ..read more

Here are the miniatures, Whisper and Robin, filmed from above. You get an idea of the shape of the mazes. Here’s Pax with his first day playing with mazes. The post More Horse Mazes at Windsong Farm appeared first on Horse Canada ..read more

Winnie’s got a new challenge for the horses at Winsong Farm – mazes! In the following videos, she puts Dora, Bob Marley, Doc, Spring Song, Angel and Zelador to the test. This was the first experience with mazes for Doc, Spring Song, Angel and Zelador. The post A New Challenge – Many Horses, Many Mazes appeared first on Horse Canada ..read more

Here’s Bob Marley displaying Walmart’s new line of equine lounge furniture.   The post Sit Pony, Sit! Bob Marley Takes a Load Off appeared first on Horse Canada ..read more