Horsemanship 101

• Course Title: Horsemanship 101
• Home Page
• What you will learn
• The basics of horseback riding
• The basics of horse handling
• How horses communicate
• To be confident being around and handling horses
• What horsemanship is
• How to catch/bridle/saddle a horse
• How horses can help your everyday life

Description

This course is designed for horsemen of all stages in their learning. This course begins with learning basic terms to know basic horse behavioral cues and progresses into more advanced topics such as learning the correct riding position (equitation) and learning how horses communicate while you are riding. This course talks about horsemanship, horse handling and behavior, which benefits all levels of equine handlers and enthusiasts. With 19 on-demand videos, you can learn at your own pace!

Who should take this course:

• First time horse-owners looking to build their knowledge base of how horses think and interact.
• Seasoned Horse-Owners looking to gain a deeper understanding of horsemanship.
• Beginner + Advanced riders.
• People who want to prepare for a vacation when they plan to ride a horse.
• People who want to up their game and get into a specific equine college course.
• People are considering a profession in the equine field.

About Me

Hi! I’m Jenn Zeller, and welcome to my course, Horsemanship 101. The theme of my life is horses. I ride horses for a living, as a hobby, and am an accomplished equine photographer and writer. I have dedicated my entire life to horses, much to the chagrin of my mother, who told me that riding horses wasn’t a real job. But I am here to tell you that it is! I have found my passion in creating better horses, and riders through helping people better understand horses so that the horses can fit better into our world. We ask a lot of these animals, we ask them to come into our space and operate within our parameters. Yet, that is not something we are good at doing; however, we ask this of our horses, our dogs, our cats, etc. When I am not surrounding myself with all things horses, my life on the ranch includes 4 dogs, a flock of 40 chickens, and we don’t count the horses…they’re like potato chips, you can’t just have one! My other hobbies include yoga, and consuming copious amounts of coffee! I hope you enjoy this course and learn as much as you can from it. If you’re wanting to learn more, please don’t hesitate to reach out about further learning opportunities on our ranch! Introduction to the course - and me! What is Horsemanship + Terms To Know In this video you will learn about what horsemanship is, and what it means to me. Horsemanship at its core, is defined as the art of handling, riding and training horses. Every horseman will have their own personal definition of horsemanship and it serves as their guiding light in how they approach and handle horses. Before we start handling horses together, it is important that you understand what horsemanship means to me and how I view the art of handling, riding and training horses (and humans). Horse Behavior: Learning Body Language Horses speak to us primarily through body language. In this video, you will learn what our horses' ear position means, and how to respond. For example: If you approach a horse and their ears are pinned back, do you approach them? What are they saying? We will discuss what the different ear/facial expressions mean and how to interpret and respond to them. Through learning how our horses communicate, it helps every equestrian to better themselves and their relationship with horses. Horse Behavior: How Horses Think In this video you will learn how to catch your horse, beginning with catching their mind. Walking into a herd of horses can seem overwhelming, through this video you will learn how to evaluate the body language of many horses. Even walking into a pen to catch a single horse can prove overwhelming if not approached correctly. Through reading their language appropriately, it makes catching horses a breeze! As an added bonus to this video, the linked video is of my husband, Zach, working with a horse. You will see in this video how the horse goes from distracted to tuned into Zach. Link: https://cavvysavvy.tsln.com/blog/transformation-tuesday-tuning-the-horse-into-you/ Horse Handling: Catching and Haltering The Horse Haltering horses may seem like it’s a no brainer but if you have ever dealt with a horse that is not ‘with’ you, this can be much harder than you imagine. I will discuss the next steps once your horse is accepting of you being in their space, the different types of halters and of course, safety when haltering and leading your horse. As an added bonus to this video, I will discuss common mistakes made when handling horses to help you avoid accidents and injury. Include photos of halters + consider diagrams of where to stand Knots Aren’t Just For Boy Scouts In this video, I will show you the steps to duplicating my favorite knot ever, and don't ask me for the name. This knot took me almost 3 weeks to perfect, so feel free to stream this anywhere, anytime to practice! I also explain tying a simple slip knot, every horseman should have a couple knots in their tool-belt. When learning to tie knots, it is always a good idea to practice without a horse until you are confident in your ability to support your horse should he become nervous, or spook. Once you feel confident in your abilities, it is ok to progress to working on your tying ability with horses on the other end of your lead. Horse Handling: Hoof Handling There is an age old saying “no hoof, no horse”. Learning about the horses hooves, the tools we use to clean them, and some interesting facts to share with friends! Tools Of The Trade: Hoof Pick Picking up a hoof: Be Aware. Stand at the horse's shoulder next to the horse's left front hoof, facing the horse's rear. Stand in an athletic position and bend down, while running your hand down the front of the horse's leg, stopping when you reach the fetlock. Apply pressure with your hand to either side of the fetlock, or gently pull up on long hairs of the fetlock. The horse will shift its weight and allow you to support its hoof with your hand. Continue to stand in an athletic position. You can now pick the hoof as you saw in the video. Horse Handling: Grooming There are a variety of brush types used on horses, please refer to the document for a full list of brush types and their purposes. In this video demonstration on brushing, we opted for a soft brush. This video discusses proper form when brushing such as rules of thumb, and safety measures to observe.   Saddle Up! Did you know there is a proper order in which to saddle and unsaddle your horse? How many parts of the saddle can you name? In this demonstration I will teach you to saddle, and unsaddle your horse the correct way. As always we will discuss safety measures to observe, and learn new skills! Proper Saddling Order: Saddle Pad Front Cinch Back Cinch Breast collar Proper Unsaddling Order: Breast Collar Back Cinch Front Cinch Pull your saddle and pad together Learning To Bridle Learn the basics of how to bridle and unbridle your horse. We will also discuss rein handling while bridling, and ways to work with a horse that may be difficult to bridle. Mounting and Dismounting Your Horse There are many ways to safely and properly mount and dismount from a horse. In this video we will discuss the way I recommend mounting and dismounting to keep you the safest, while being kind to your horse. We will also discuss how to mount if you might not have the best flexibility. Equitation: How To Properly Sit on A Horse We will discuss pre-ride steps, and briefly review mounting your horse. Once mounted, there is a proper posture, better known as equitation, while riding your horse. Riding involves full awareness of your body and mind while mounted. I will cover common issues of equitation, how to correct them, and things to remember while mounted. Rein Management Holding your reins is more than just holding onto them. There are a variety of types of reins, and the way you hold and manage each will be different. I will cover how to hold your reins, where to hold your reins and how this affects what your horse does. We will begin discussing hoe your rein handling affects your horse's movement. Riding The Walk We have covered all of the basics and now? It’s time to ride! The first gait we will cover is the walk, which is the slowest of the 4 gaits of a horse's movement. In this video we will discuss the gait itself, your equitation while at a stand still and once your horse goes into the walk. Riding The Trot: Sitting Trot The next gait after the walk is the jog or trot. As a review, the jog or trot is a 2 beat gait. Jog is a slower pace than the trot. This video covers the gait itself, how it affects our equitation, proper equitation and common issues I see when teaching how to sit the trot. Riding The Trot: Posting Introduced in the previous video, the posting trot is a more athletic, and forward gait. Still a 2 beat gait, but inspires more forward motion. This gait is used very commonly in ranch work and when warming horses up. We will discuss proper equitation, what a diagonal is, and preparing to ride the lope. Riding The Lope The lope or canter is the three beat gait of the horse. We will discuss the mechanics of the gait, proper equitation while riding the lope, and what a lead is. For the more advanced riders we will cover loping with balance, and lead changes. Beyond Basics This video will go beyond the basics of equitation through the gaits and controlling your horse. Topics we will cover will include riding the transition, speed control, what is feel, and how to use your body to better communicate with your horse. For continued learning on speed control please visit: https://cavvysavvy.tsln.com/blog/speed-control-seat/ Horsemanship Continued Now that you have learned the basics of riding, and what horsemanship is, you are set up for success. In this video, I will dive further into horse behavior, the training of horses and horsemanship. Thank you for taking this course, please feel free to ask any questions, or leave a review with some things you learned during this course!