In my email (yes I do read emails!) I received an email from Corissa with the following questions. I get this type of thing regularly and decided to share it with you.
I always loved horses. I never thought that I would make a living in the industry. Actually I didn’t even know there was an industry until I was in High school and a math teacher asked me what I wanted to do when I graduated. I said that I wanted to ride horses…but I couldn’t go to school for that. Then he challenged me to see if I could and I found the University of Findlay.
Hi Stacy,
Watching you, on the black mare, without bridle or saddle brought tears to my eyes and goose bumps to my skin. That probably is not the first time you have heard that, however, for me , to say it was inspiring would be something of an understatement. It was motivational!!!
The photo I have attached was taken by my husband earlier this evening. This is my QH mare, Just Gimme Diamonds, aka "Ice" and she is as smooth as her name suggests.
What makes this particular ride so significant for me is the fact that 2 short years ago if anyone had asked me to do this, at a lope, I would have made an excuse as my heart pounded in my chest. I did not have that kind of faith in myself or in my horse. I had created boundaries for myself.
I met you at Equine Affaire, in Ohio, earlier this year and your genuine nature was refreshing and made what I had seen you do more "doable" for me, in my mind and in my heart, cause you are a 'regular" woman who just happens to have a very special gift with horses. I began to think that maybe there did not need to be boundaries. You said something this year that I have not forgotten as you talked about horses and how they will "tell us" if we listen whether or not we should remove the bridle. We just need to listen to them cause they will not lie. I began to think about trust in myself and in my horse.
I began dropping the reins with Ice earlier this year, at a trot, as she responds very well to my leg cues. Like most things in riding and training I had the hang up, not my horse.
As I sit here and ponder what I have accomplished the one aspect of it all that resonates for me is not so much that I let go of the reins and rode, at a lope, without them but rather that I finally let go of my boundaries and trusted myself and my horse. That's it!!!
This is only the beginning and I needed you to know that you played a part in this and I will be forever grateful and I hope that I can be as motivational to my students as you have been for me.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Sincerely
Kim R
Clarence Creek, Ontario, Canada
General Clinic Alumni
What do all these people have in common?
They have all attended a Stacy Westfall clinic.
Watch for more info on how to become a part of this group.
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One of the best parts about what I do now (traveling and teaching) is all the great people I meet. From those of you that come to my home and attend a clinic, to those whom I meet at a single event, all of you are what make the event what it is.
I had the pleasure of meeting so many great people while in Waco, TX at the World Barrel Racing-Barrelnanza.
Tracy and Michael Mahan in the booth next to ours,
Dena Kirkpatrick (pictured here),
Kay Blandford,
Sherry Cervi and many more. If you get a chance visit their sites and take some time to get to know them. I look forward to getting to know them better myself!
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'Herd Member’ Noelle asked, “Do you plan to release a training DVD for young horses (foal through to the start of saddle training)? And if so when? Do you have any training suggestions or tips for working with the very young horse?"
Yes and No. I do not have a video that deals with foals yet. The YouTube video shows me working with a yearling who is not halter broke.
In the spring when my four foals are born I will video the process I used with foals.
I would encourage you to watch the four part YouTube series to learn theTHEORY behind what I am doing. I think the example in the video of teaching the horse a ‘safe spot’ is a great one.
I do have two videos that pick up after they are halter broke that I would recommend, Basic Groundwork and Starting Young Horses.
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Stacy and Roxy are back together again for the BreyerFest 20th anniversary celebration! Whizards Baby Doll (Roxy) has been chosen to be the BreyerFest 2009 Celebration Horse and is a limited edition Breyer Model. You can come and meet Stacy and Roxy July 17-19 at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky. Stacy and Roxy will be doing demonstrations, signing autographs, and posing for pictures. The Breyer Roxy will be included with the purchase of all three-day tickets while supplies last. If you are unable to make it to the BreyerFest Celebration but would still like to purchase the Roxy model, a limited number of Breyer Roxy’s will be available for purchase on Stacy’s website after the BreyerFest Event, click here to order yours!
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“A $99 monitor saved his life”, Stacy Westfall says about the birth of Maggie’s first foal. “My kids thought I was crazy when I pulled into Babies R’ Us and told them we were shopping for Maggie,” Stacy said laughing. Maggie had been dripping milk for almost two weeks and was one week overdue the night that little “Newt” was born.
So how did the monitor save him? When Maggie went into labor at 1:30 a.m., Jesse was the first to notice. The small black-and-white monitor, complete with sound, showed that Maggie was getting up and down and, Newt’s front legs were already out. As Jesse and Stacy swung out of bed Maggie lay down in the middle of her stall and in a moment of pain rolled violently all the way over-fully casting herself firmly against the wall!
“We RAN! It took less than a minute to get there,” Stacy says. Maggie was stuck and Newt was born and laying behind her. The sack had not ripped so Newt wasn’t getting any air and his little head was bobbing around. Stacy quickly jumped in and ripped the sack and moved him slightly away from his cast mother. In the meantime Jesse ran to get ropes to flip Maggie back over and allow her to stand. After being helped up Maggie quickly took to little Newt and has been a great mom.
So . . . how did Newt get his name? Lonesome Dove of course! Maggie is the name of one of the main characters in the book, which Jesse and Stacy recently finished reading together. Maggie’s son was named Newt.
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The Smooth Snaffle
The smooth snaffle bit is the first bit that I use in a young horse’s mouth, and it is a bit that I return to frequently in older horses. This is because of the way that it signals the horse. With the young horse I primarily use one rein at a time. For example, I trot circles to the left using only the left rein. When used this way the snaffle will apply most of the pressure to
the opposite cheek (in this example the right cheek). This is consistent with the way that a halter, when pulled on from the left side, applies pressure on the right. The horse has been, and is being trained to move away from pressure, and using this bit reinforces this thought process.
I also like that the way the snaffle applies pressure causes the horse to turn its head with its nose FIRST and not by leaning the head. Try this test the next time you ride in any bit - pull on the left rein only. When you do (and move your hand normally - not too fast or exaggeratedly slow), does your horse bring his nose around first or does he tip his head - so that his eye comes first?
Not sure? Watch his ears. As he turns to the left does his left ear tip drop below the right ear or go higher that the right ear? If it drops below then he is NOT bending nose first.
Many shanked bits actually encourage this incorrect head tipping (that is another article). So if your horse is displaying this incorrect head tipping, this is a great time to return to the trusted snaffle and do some Spring fine-tuning.
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Stacy’s newest DVD WHOA: Teaching Your Horse to Stop.
This DVD covers a topic that I am frequently asked about. People are always interested in how I can teach my horses to stop without a bridle, and they are interested in how this information can be used to help them in getting their horses to have a good stop. I am happy to say that I have finally put together the DVD that explains it all.
In the DVD I discuss the three different cues I use for stop, and emphasize that each cue should stop your horse 100% of the time. I explain how to teach each one of these cues to your horse.
Knowing that many of you who will use this DVD have horses that will be learning these cues for the first time, it was important for me to use horses in this DVD that also DO NOT know these cues. You’ll see how I correct a horse that is just learning (one of them even speeds up when I say “Whoa.”).
For this DVD I used four different horses to show you things you can do from the ground, and how to advance to working from your horse’s back.
I have given a talk all over North America that includes the exact information you’ll find in this DVD, and using that information people have taught their horses to stop all three ways. Some have even been able to train them to slide 5 to 10 feet.
When you are done watching “Whoa” you will no longer wonder how it is possible for me to stop my horses predictably with no bridle.
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As far as groundwork goes this is one of my “must have” tools. There are several reasons why it is a valuable training tool and there are many uses for it.
A high quality stick and string will outlast all lunge whips I have ever personally tried. It is great for rubbing your horse all over, including areas you may be shy of touching such as your horse’s udder, sheath, belly, legs, etc.
The stiff stick allows you to rub your horse with accuracy while also being specific with your cues. The string has enough weight to be accurately “tossed” over your horse’s back, whether your horse is standing or moving. The stick and string can be used to make a very loud noise on the ground, which I use, with rhythm, to teach my horses how to respond to pressure.
Some of the things that you want to look for in a stick and string are the weight of the stick, the weight of the string, the length of the string and the type of tip connecting the string to the stick. The stick should be light and comfortable in your hand. My stick and string has a tapered stick, which ensures strength while allowing it to weigh less.
The opposite is true of the string. In strings HEAVY is better. For the string to be accurate it needs to have some weight behind it. Just imagine swinging baling twine compared to swinging a lead rope. The weight helps. My string is marine-quality rope, which holds up well with the dirt and sweat you will encounter around your horses. The weight allows you to be accurate with your placement of the string when using it to sack your horse out (see Basic Groundwork DVD).
The string on mine is also longer than most others, allowing more distance and more contact with the horse. The tip is made of leather. Beware of tips that look like they are held on by string wrapped around the tip. These tend to fall apart with use. The golf-style grip on the end of my stick will allow for comfortable use.
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This week’s thought is about the new activity ball introduced above. Many of you who were at the Midwest Horse Fair last year will remember (and have written in) requesting more info on the ball that Vaquero was playing with as well as a video clip. Well, I am still working on the video clip but here are a few photos of the ball in use. The DVD that comes with the ball has footage of him playing with it as well as the technique for introducing it to horses who are not as excited about it as he is (look closely and you will see all his feet off the ground in that one photo!). I also use it for balance. I discovered that when I first tried I could not balance for even fifteen seconds with both of my feet off the ground. I practiced and practiced and worked up to being able to sit on it for up to fifteen minutes without touching the ground…and then I was bored and didn’t stay longer. I plan on taking a ball with me to expos and sitting on it as well as challenging people who stop by…so prepare!
Do you have any employee issues (ie. finding employees, keeping employees, etc.)?
Do you ever have one of those days...those days where you begin doing a very normal thing and it turns out to be special?
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