Update on Paddock Paradise Project

I have had a bunch of hits from searches on Paddock Paradise in the last few days (maybe from people who were given the excellent book by Jaime Jackson for Christmas?) and Sheil recently asked for an update here.

I have to admit, I have not yet completed my track. My many excuses include the process of changing jobs, ill grandparents living next door and needing extra care, finances, and a general lack of time. Excuses, excuses. Sheesh! I will say, however, that I only have to put about 20 posts in and put up the electric tape, and now that the ground is finally wet, that wouldn't take me very long. Unlike in the summer, when every single posthole has to be soaked for days on end to have any chance of penetrating our concrete that passes as dirt! I am hoping to get time for finishing the project soon. No promises though...

In other ways I am doing my best to give the horses a healthy life, including:

Fed 3x a day, with grass hay almost constantly available. Hay is placed in several small piles to encourage movement.
Only fed enough alfalfa to keep protein at the proper level.
Barefoot and trimmed regularly.
As much exercises as I have time for now, and more as things settle down.
Regular work/play with their minds as well as bodies to keep them stimulated.
Outdoors 24/7 with a run-in shelter when it rains.
Varied terrain (more varied than I'd like, in fact!)
Thorvin kelp in addition to their regular salt and mineral blocks.


I am very happy with how healthy they both are, and Mira, who has naturally great feet, is almost self-maintaining her trim, and has been for the last few months. Very little ever needs to be done to them. Andolu has only been here for about 6 weeks, so I am still getting to know his feet, but he seems to have pretty good ones. They are a little flat, which I believe is typical for a TB, but he is quite sound. He only shows a tiny amount of tentativeness on gravel.

Both horses look very satisfied when you watch them in the pasture. Watching them is fun, because even when they are bickering they look contented overall. They are always ready to get fed, of course, but since they are basically munching all day, they are not desperate at any time. I believe this is one reason why The Dude has gained probably 50 pounds since he arrived - he is a "hard-keeper TB," remember, and is on grass hay and alfalfa with almost no concentrates, but he has gained quite a bit of weight. I like the benefits to their digestive systems in being able to let them "graze" all day.

Other than that, it gets kind of hard for me to describe the benefits of a more holistically-oriented way of keeping horses. It just feels right to me, more and more as I keep making little changes. The horses will show you how much they like it.

To me, health in humans or animals, total health, means not just absence of disease. I believe that the ultimate goal is to have vitality and contentment that radiates from the animal or human. I am seeing more & more of that in the horses, so I know I am heading in the right way. So, if you are considering changing some of your horse-keeping habits to a "Paddock Paradise" or other holistic strategies, I definitely would encourage you to do so. You will not regret it.


However, just as with humans, I strongly believe that the most important aspect, the part that truly affects everything, is the attitude and the love shown towards the horses. I grew up wanting my own horse, and because I never got one as a child, it became a passion. I still can't believe I have 2 horses, and I know the horses can feel how thrilled I am to be around them: You can see it in their expressions. Just like children, it makes them feel secure.

So, the biggest single piece of advice I have for anyone who has horses, or wants to learn how to deal effectively with them, is, be a little kid again! Rediscover the joy of these wonderful creatures!



Well, it looks like this turned into a book, but I won't apologize. :-) I know a lot of you reading this feel the exact same way I do, and for anyone who is still new to horses, I hope this will serve as a reminder to keep your attitude of excitement. Work hard at the skills of horse keeping and horse training, but do it with an attitude of PLAY!

And I will TRY to get that track finished SOON!

L

What kind of training prospect am I?

Of course, the next step from thinking about God as a Trainer, is thinking about myself as the Trainee. Again, comparing humans to horses, you could compare yourself to a wild horse, a green horse (just barely started) a young horse in training, a horse that is coming along nicely, a show horse, or a schoolmaster. One thing that is important, is to realize that even the finished old schoolmaster horse, the one that can teach young riders so much and so well, is never "perfect." They still have bad days, or feel tired, or just don't feel like working at the moment. The difference between them and the green horse is that the schoolmaster has a long history of a trusting relationship, many years of painstaking care put into it and its development, and a lot of thought over the years has been devoted to how best to strengthen, challenge, rest, tweak, excite, and reward, the schoolmaster. The green horse has only a tiny bit of training, and is just starting to realize that it is going to keep on learning new things and being asked for different efforts. The green horse is not even sure yet whether the Trainer is worth trusting or obeying.

Horses have different personality types also, similar to humans. In training, there are 2 chief ways in which a horse will resist the process of training, depending on its personality and the situation. It can either resist openly (leaning on the bit or the leg aids, kicking, bucking, rearing, biting, are some examples) or it can suck back, (i.e. dropping behind the bit so as not to contact it, being over-reactive to the leg, staying far behind when leading, etc.) It is usually easier to see the open defiance and fix it, but the sucking back type of resistance is much more subtle and tends to cause all sorts of performance problems. I have noticed this in humans too - open aggression/rebellion can be a lot easier to deal with, simply because it is so hard to ignore its presence, whereas passive aggression/quiet resistance is often not even noticed by the person harboring it. It is hard to fix if you can't see it.

One thing I like about horses though, and where they are different from humans, is they are so much easier to deal with overall! Of course training a horse is a lot of work, and excellence is something to pursue your whole life, but horses are much easier to train than humans! People are a lot more complicated, but the same basic principles do apply to how we are to treat humans. Then it is the human's choice how they will respond...

Whereas horses will usually respond very well to truly good trainers. Horses (and dogs, and many other animals) are extremely good at reading people. They know right away if you are pretending, even to yourself. They need transparency, kindness, absolute consistency, and an appropriate amount of emotion. I suppose one reason why I and so many other millions of people love animals and need them in our lives is because of how they inspire us to adjust and be more real, so as not to "betray" their willingness to try for us. And it is betrayal of a sort when we require them to perform for us while giving conflicting signals or, for example, trying to love on a horse when you are really mad at it (or someone else) - that will not make it feel good - the horse will see right through the facade and get insecure and nervous.

There have been times when I was really depressed or upset about something and I went to play with Mira (or other horses, or dogs I have trained) and tried my best to be "up" for the animal. I have found repeatedly that the only thing I should do is be open - grimace at something not alive, stomp your foot, cry, or whatever, and get it over with quickly. Then I just work on entering into the animal's world. Animals are so good at empathy, and usually after a couple seconds, when I am able to focus on the animal, just feeling their empathy and presence makes me feel MUCH better. And this way the animals don't seem to stress at all. They just accept what I am feeling at that second. But trying to "jump in" without having recognized the emotions I'm feeling has never worked.

The cool thing is that God is perfect, so He always knows how to relate to us, and He is always honest. We might not hear Him, but if you ask He will be very transparent... which is a somewhat scary thought, but He is love, and that is what will shine through, even when He has to use tough love!

There are so many aspects to good animal training as related to God, and the same principles also work perfectly when switched over to children. How many parallels can you come up with?

Oh, and right now my image of myself if I were a horse, is a youngster who wants to learn but is still just a bit afraid of the Trainer. I have a tendency to try to be perfect so as to avoid any necessity for even the most gentle correction - in other words, I tend to be behind-the-vertical , tense, and thus lack rhythm & proper alignment, not to mention a steady connection/communication. As God works on me, our relationship will get less like shortwave radio and more like a telephone. :-P

When a horse relaxes and starts to really trust in the Trainer is when they start really achieving the goals of training, and they get closer and closer to the high levels of performance which will make them so dynamic. And, I do want that! I used to fret about how I was not doing enough to be close to the Trainer, (and sometimes still do!) but more and more I am reminded that it is His responsibility to do the Training. All I need to do is trust, like, relax, and obey the Trainer. That adds up to loving Him.

I hope someone has enjoyed this last couple of articles. I do not usually want to overwhelm my readers with long-winded articles, so I hope to post more fun pictures and videos for y'all soon. But I wanted to share some of what I keep learning more and more about lately. If anyone wants chapter-and-verse references, or clarification of my clear-as-mud writing, feel free to let me know! And if you have more thoughts on this topic, I'd love to hear them!


L

Why do We Hate the Basics?

I've been wondering about this for a long time. Anybody you ask, on any subject, not just horses, will agree that laying a good foundation first, and often going back to the basics, even when advanced, is a very important practice. In fact, usually articles/books of advice on every subject will stress that the more advanced you are the more important it is to go back to the basics.

So, my question is, why do so few people follow this advice? Yes, the horse world has its share in this, but my rant for today is broader in scope. For every skilled activity there are a lot of people who want to do well, but can't seem to put in the effort necessary. That's why I made a decision a long time ago not to be an "artist." If I put in the hours and practice necessary, I might get pretty good, but it's not where my passion is. It's fine to try things out and see if you like something enough to do it wholeheartedly, to just dabble in it. But, you cross a line if you start saying you love this activity or are committed to something, but you don't ACT at all like what you are saying.

For example, I know a LOT of parents who never really built a solid foundation of trust, love, and obedience with their children. They often have fooled themselves into thinking they have done their best for their children, and thus it can't be their fault that the kids eventually grow up selfish, rebellious, distant, resistant, and unable to relate to other people in a functional, mature, and balanced manner. PLEASE don't take me wrong! There are of course many cases where the parents cannot possibly be blamed for how kids turn out. And unfortunately a lot of times very good people raise their children the best they can, and the kids still make bad choices - every human is ultimately responsible to God for his/her own choices.

But, there are many, many cases I have seen where parents did not do their God-given duty as parents. They did not lay the foundation for life that is the primary job of a parent. I believe that when I have children someday, (hopefully) that my first responsibility will be to make them strong in the basics. Basics like ability to truly love and receive love, ability to adapt to life's challenges, a thirst for knowledge and learning, the ability to be content and have a purposely thankful attitude most of the time, the ability to control anger... etc. This is definitely a hard job! People that have done this have my utmost respect. And yes, just as with horse training, it takes time. A LOT of time, which means sacrifices.

I think knowing the above, and having a standard to attempt to reach, might be very discouraging to contemplate, which might be why people don't usually sit down and think through their parenting goals. But this should NOT make us discouraged. At times it will seem like an overwhelming task, but as Christian parents, if we are truly walking in step with God, being soft to his hand on the reins, we don't have to be perfect! All that is required is to be responsive to Him, and God will take care of the rest! (Some people think that all that is required is to mean well, and have good intentions. NOT TRUE. What I am saying is we need to both mean well and listen for God's voice - we can make mistakes when we truly mean well, but if we are being soft to His cues, he can and will correct us). I believe that gives us a lot of freedom as parents, and should make us give a sigh of relief. ;-D

Also, and very important, God is the God of redemption. If your parents did not do their duty, did not even come close to the standard God has for parents, and if they did a lot of damage to you - guess what! If we are breathing, (which I assume you are if you're reading this!) then no matter what choices you or other people have made, and no matter how badly they affected you, God can begin to restore you to wholeness. It's true. Believe it. I have seen this process happen so many times already in my short life - we're all wounded to some extent as we travel through life, and the older I get the more I realize that the only real way to heal from life is to give myself to God. He is MY Good Shepherd, and that is SOO comforting. 'Cause, as I said above, that means HE is responsible for my life - food, clothes, growth, care, direction, shelter - everything. ALL that I have to worry about is if I'm paying attention to Him and obeying!


"I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten— the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm -- my great army that I sent among you." Joel 2:25


God promises to restore the things the locusts have eaten in our lives if we let Him...




Anyway, back to the title of this post. :-) Why do we hate the Basics?


L

Rounded

Longeing a horse is the act of sending it around you in a wide circle, attached to a long, light line, and controlling the horse's speed, direction, and distance from you. Roundpenning a horse is similar, but you rely on a fence and not a rope for boundaries.

Horse people often use longeing to "get the fresh out" before riding a horse, so the horse can buck and play before you get on. It can also be a very useful training tool in a lot of ways.

One of the common, and dangerous, problems a young horse will have that is addressed by longeing/roundpenning is an eye-changing problem. This is where a young horse feels insecure and wants to use one of their eyes to watch you at all times - if you ask them to turn away from that side they might spook, kick, or run. Obviously, you don't want that happening under saddle, so it is a good idea to get that taken care of at the beginning of training. That is one of the first steps in becoming a well-educated, well-rounded horse.

All horses have strengths and weaknesses, just like all people do, and it is SO satisfying to be able to help a horse get over a fear, develop a strength, and overcome a bad tendency! Horses are capable of such incredible things, and don't ever let anyone tell you they can't think - I have seen them stop and think something over very carefully. It is so cute how you can see the wheels turning in their heads!

My goal in training is not so much to produce a "well-trained" horse as it is to produce a "well-educated" horse. I think of the "well-trained" horse as one that knows it's job very well, while the "well-educated" one not only knows it's job, but it thinks about how to help you with yours. Examples: A cutting horse that "reads" a cow and controls it's direction and movement with no help from the rider; a babysitter horse that carefully watches small children to keep them from getting hurt; a trail horse that moves over next to a stump so you can easily get back on, etc.



But how does this relate to people?

Well, the older I get the more I realize how much God wants me to be well-rounded. This is NOT some self-improvement spiel - I'm talking about the simple fact that God wants to improve our strengths and fix our weaknesses. I hear a lot of talk about working with your strengths, and doing what you are good at, but it seems like people use that as an excuse to ignore their weaknesses. "Oh, I just can't help being grumpy before I've had my coffee in the morning." "I don't know how to talk to my friends about God, so I'll just pray for them." "I was born with a bad temper, so please just don't mind it when I blow up - I really don't mean to!" Etc., etc.... And I have my own little excuses and reasons why I don't need to work on this or that fault....

We also tend to do the same thing with things that are more... not neutral, maybe subtle? Like how much we read, pray, exercise---I keep thinking about the Greeks, and boy, they were really pretty smart about the whole "moderation in all things" bit.

But really, how pathetic is that, to go through life without ever sitting down and developing a personal worldview and belief system? I am not talking so much right now about moral convictions - we can thrash that out later. ;-D I'm talking more about convictions that shape how you view life and make decisions.

For example, one of my convictions that has come through much reading and talking, and yes praying, is that I want to be as healthy as I can be in all ways, and that part of the way to do that is by living sustainably. I make a lot of my decisions based on that conviction, rather than what other people think would be good, or how I might make the most money, or what would be easiest. By now, you may have figured out what my favorite word is…

INTENTIONAL

I guess you could say that my philosophy is if something is worth doing, it's worth doing intentionally. Notice I am NOT saying "worth doing PERFECT. (Or even RIGHT - I make plenty of mistakes!)" I just believe that life is such a precious gift that I want to make the most of it.

What about you? Will you join me in my attempts to live intentionally?



L

Humility - Being Willing to Look Silly

It sounds odd, but I'm actually really GLAD that I was never able to get a horse when I was a kid. My parents never could afford it, and though I did not resent them, I always used to wish for a windfall of some sort! But, the more I yearned for a horse of my own, the more I read books, and watched videos, and looked at pictures. I basically devoured everything I could get my hands on about horses. Because of that, I now have a good foundation of what the horse-human relationship should look like, IDEALLY, not just from casual encounters with other horse people. Not that talking to other riders is not also very helpful, but learning from the best of the best is a huge privilege that I might not have taken so much advantage of otherwise.

Now, you know a little bit of my background and how I think, so here goes! Something that comes up a lot whenever anyone else is around me & Mira is the thought, "Do I look silly?" It usually just sorta flits in one ear and out the other, but it is a consideration. To do a good job, though, I have to ignore that. I am learning how to give Mira MY full focus and concentration before asking for HER full focus and concentration. It is not fair to her for me to divide my attention when asking her to learn something - in fact, with horses, that is one of the best ways to upset them and sabotage yourself. I can chat with my friends or explain what I am doing later, at a more appropriate moment.

I also have to give up my pride, i.e. worrying about whether I look off-balance, silly, boring, clumsy, or whatever else I could think about. I have to ignore any embarrassment when she is not getting something or misbehaves. Who really cares how long it takes us to learn something? If it takes us twice as long, oh well! We will get there, eventually!

Basically, to be a good horse trainer, I have to be humble. If I'm not humble, I won't be any good. Period.



The um, "interesting" part about all this, is that most of the above applies to people-to-people interactions also, especially the part about doing what is right for someone no matter what it makes me look like right now. So far it has been quite easy for me to be humble in my "horse life," but it is so much harder in the other areas! Why is this so hard to learn? This can be sooo frustrating about me.

I guess that another thing I'm still learning is to really believe that "He Who began a good work in me will complete it..." (Phil. 1:6) It's not my responsibility to improve myself. Just as I decide every day what the training focus is for Mira, and what I want to improve in her today, so it is God Who decides what He wants to see me focus on learning each day, and God Who knows how much to assign me. And just like Mira, all I'm supposed to do is be at least kinda cooperative. God will do the rest! Phew! (I think...)



L


P.S. Two very good articles on this topic:

http://www.stephanieburns.com/articles/principle_versus_goals.pdf
http://www.stephanieburns.com/articles/sillybridge.pdf

A New Series

Starting today, I will be posting every few days on 2 new topics, (as well as other random subjects).

* Horse & Human Relationships Similarities: The ways that training a horse and developing a deeper and deeper bond actually parralels various human relationships, and how horses model the right ways to interact with others.

* Human to Animal & God to Us Relationship Similarities: The ways humans and animals, and animals and animals, relate, and what that shows about how God designed us and relates to us, and wants us to relate to Him.


These ponderings are a huge and seemingly endless "brain food" to me over the last few years - I constantly notice some little thing about Mira, or about dogs, or about any of the other animals I like to study, that gives me a new insight into God and His character. Way cool!

So enjoy, and let me know of insights that you get too!


L