Swing those hips like grandma’s porch swing!

I’m back in the states and back on Mo!  It’s taken a little time to get back in the saddle literally and figuratively.  When I arrived I found I had to earn Mo’s respect back so we started with hours of ground work.  Now that we’re back in the arena, I have to retrain my body to move in rhythm with his….again. This requires me to relax and let my hips swing with his…you’d think this would be easy but recently I noticed that even when I walk my hips are tight, so I decided to practice relaxing during my morning walks.  When I let my hips swing during my morning walk, I found I had less back and knee pain!

 

Take some Advice from A Dumb Blonde, try walking with loose hips, you’ll feel the difference all over!

Getting your horse on the bit…..

Getting your horse on the bit connects you mentally and physically to your horse.  It gives your horse balance. This requires you to take up the slack in the reins and maintain a firm grip on the reins without pulling too hard on the horse’s mouth.  If you lose your grip, the reins will slide through your fingers and you will become disconnected from the horse. It’s kind of like that with life….

Take some Advice from a Dumb Blonde, allowing too much slack in your life can cause you to become disconnected.  Maintain a firm grip on your reins while moving forward so you stay connected and balanced in life. Like the saying goes,…Hold on loosely, but don’t let go. https://youtu.be/GL733e8-VZs

 

 

Know what disrespect looks like from your horse……

A horse may start with small signs of disrespect such as stomping his foot when you’re grooming.  Soon the stomping turns to yanking his foot away or worse, kicking while cleaning out the hoof. Be quick to reprimand this behavior so it doesn’t advance to bigger issues.

It’s kind of like that with people….

Take some Advice from a Dumb Blonde, a bully doesn’t always start off with a bite.  If you see a small sign of disrespect in a relationship, it’s best to deal with it immediately so it doesn’t progress.

Horseplay and head swinging….

My deck overlooks the gelding field in Va so I’ve spent hours watching the horses play.  I noticed they like to play a game that involves a lot of head swinging and the first one to move their feet losses.  It’s horseplay but they are in fact testing their place in the herd.

So if your horse swings his head around you, he may be testing his place in your herd.  Don’t take it personally, just keep your feet planted and use your lead rope to move him back.

It’s kind of like that with people…

Take some Advice from a Dumb Blonde, sometimes those closest to us try to test our boundaries, don’t take it personally just stand your ground!

To heal the crack on a horse’s hoof, you need to treat the root of the crack

If you see a crack in a horse’s hoof, you’re probably only seeing a part of the problem.  You must clean out the crack and get to the root to treat it before it will fully heal.

 

Take some advice from a Dumb Blonde, if you’re feeling a little “crack” in your spirit, get to the root of the problem so you can fully heal.

Sometimes you have to back a horse up before you can move forward.

When dealing with a horse, the first thing you should teach them is respect.  Using a loud voice or strong hand will not bring you the results you want. Instead, ask him to backup and establish your role as leader, then you can move forward.

Take some Advice from a Dumb Blonde, when dealing with a large personality you may need to back the relationship up and establish your role.  

Take some advice from a Dumb Blonde…

You’re teaching your horse something about you everytime you’re around him….

Every time I am around my horse, I’m teaching him something about me. As soon as I walk in the barn, my horse is reading my body language.  If my body language says I’m not confident, then the horse will not have confidence in me. However if I walk in the barn and everything I do shows confidence then he will have confidence in me.  I first have to believe it before he will. It can be the same with people…..Take some Advice from a Dumb Blonde…If you’re teaching something about yourself when you walk in a room, be sure you’re projecting what you want people to see!

Give clear instructions to your horse

When working with a horse you must be clear on what you want him to do.  For instance, if I am lunging him off line (without a lunge line) in the round pen I use one hand to show him the direction I want him to go and the other to signal him to move forward.  

 

Take some Advice from a Dumb Blonde, don’t spend your life giving hints and hoping people get it, give clear directions!

Don’t just walk in the stall and snog (British word for kiss) the horse!

This was something that was said to me by a fabulous British instructor in Hong Kong (we lived there for 2 years in 2013-2015).  I didn’t really get it then and didn’t need to since I was rarely in a horses stall while taking lessons there (you show up and your horse is saddled and ready to go).  But boy did I understand the meaning once I brought Moe back to the barn!

I would open the stall and give Moe a treat, love on him and baby talk….and yes I would “snog” him.  But soon I realized these things were expected all the time so when I was ready to “work” he was still trying to get his treats.  The foot stomping, asking/demanding another treat escalated to nipping at me and quickly turned to biting!

Like with a horse, if you start a bad habit in a relationship then that bad habit becomes expected (ie. Giving too much).  How many times have you been nice to someone and they’ve taken advantage of you? For me, the times are countless.  I’ve learned to ease into my new relationships instead of jumping in with my hand held out.

Take some advice from a dumb blonde, teach people not to take advantage of you by not giving “treats” every time you see them.